A dozen feet behind them, David crouched behind a villa, watching. His left arm was now numb, though it had hurt like hell when he had forced his shoulder back into its socket. With one hand useless, he could not hope to use a shotgun effectively, and so had taken Mikhail's pistol, an old Makarov that still seemed to be in good condition. Their plan, as hastily concocted as it was, had been set in motion. Mayukh and Swati were to gather as many of their provisions as possible and load them into Walter's van, which Hina was to drive. David would lead the assault, and Mayukh would back him up, with Swati for added cover.
David smiled to himself as he contemplated their chances. Walter and the three men with him were armed with shotguns, and seemed to know how to use them. For all he knew, the Swami could be armed as well. That left them facing at least four armed men, and hundreds of Biters, an unknown number of them now armed with automatic weapons. David's army, as it were, consisted of a one-armed commando, a boy with a weapon that he had never fired before, a girl who did not know how to unlock the safety on her pistol, and an old romance novelist to drive their getaway car.
Mayukh and Swati edged closer to the platform, hidden behind another villa about fifty meters from David's hiding place. They had been able to find most of their winter clothing in Sharma's office, a revelation the man readily made when Mayukh threatened to break something else other than his already broken nose. However, all their food and provisions had been stored with the Ashram's stocks, and with many of the Swami's disciples around the villas that were used for food storage, they could not risk trying to get them. Mayukh hefted the shotgun in his hands, feeling its weight. He had never fired one before, and despite David's five minute tutorial, he was not sure he would be able to do much with it. The other shotgun they had recovered was slung around his back, so that he could fire more times before having to reload. Swati had a pistol in her hands, which she was trying hard to keep from shaking. They were both terrified, yet they were more determined to do something than they ever had been before about anything. That stemmed from the little boy who now stood just a dozen feet ahead of them.
Vineet was holding on to the Abhi, cursing the boy after having suffered yet another bite. He wondered where his boss, Sharma, was. Figuring he was either hiding or asleep, he cursed having to be a part of this. He wanted to live for sure, but he was not sure he liked the idea of having to hand over a kid to the Biters.
'Vineet, give him to me!'
Vineet lifted Abhi up and Walter grabbed the boy, holding him above his head. The Biters seemed to quiet down, their howling reduced to a murmur. As Walter kept Abhi raised, the Swami took one of the lit torches nearby and held it close to Abhi's legs. Abhi now saw the horde of Biters assembled below and was crying and screaming in terror, but his voice was drowned out by the howling that soon began among the Biters when they saw Abhi. Some of the Biters, no unable to control themselves, surged forward and were instantly caught in the electrified fence, where they lay twitching and smoking. The others stood back, but continued howling and screaming. The two men with Walter kept their shotguns trained on the Biters, but Walter could see them begin to lose their nerve. He knew they had to end this soon.
'Vinesh, should I just throw the boy to them?'
The Swami seemed transfixed by the mob of Biters below him, and then looked towards Walter, his face blank, taking out another joint.
Walter shouted at him.
'Vinesh, come on!'
'Do it!'
Walter leaned towards the wall, and cocked his hands back, readying himself to throw Abhi into the crowd below. He didn't know if his throw would clear the fence, and he didn't care. There was little chance the boy would survive the fall, and he hoped that would be enough to satisfy the Biters. He was about to throw Abhi when a bullet hit his left calf, sending him staggering forward, dropping Abhi onto the platform. He grabbed his leg, screaming at his men to get whoever had shot him. Both men now turned towards the inside of the Ashram, scanning for attackers. One of them saw a figure moving to the left and fired.
David felt some of the shotgun pellets pass close by, perhaps even grazing him but from thirty or more meters away, it was going to be difficult to score a direct hit with a shotgun. On the other hand, he could easily hit his targets with his pistol. The problem was his left hand was useless, and with fatigue and pain beginning to catch up with him, he was hardly moving as fast as he could. Another shotgun blast rang out from the platform as David dove behind a fence that shattered as the pellets hit it. David screamed in agony as he landed on his left hand and turned towards the platform. Knowing Abhi was there, he could not fire indiscriminately, so he steadied his aim, ignoring the pain shooting through his left side and fired twice.
One of the men next to Walter spun and fell, and the other dove for the ground.
'You idiot! Get him!'
But now it was every man for himself. Vinesh had been snapped back to reality by the shooting, and his eyes were now crazed with fear and despair.
'Walter, throw the boy!'
But it was too late for that. The Biters surged forward as one, screaming louder than ever, enraged by what they saw as a betrayal. The first few were caught in the wires and burnt where they lay, but others clambered over their burning bodies. Several of them were carrying firearms and a steady volley of rifle and pistol fire soon reached out towards the Ashram.
Walter ducked behind the wall, unslinging his own shotgun. He kicked at his remaining man, asking him to get up and shoot. The man stood up, scanning for David when he was hit by a bullet from behind. The Biters must have fired hundreds of rounds blindly, but this one round struck home, sending the man down.
David clambered out of cover and ran towards the platform, firing at Walter, who fired from his shotgun. At closer range, he nicked David, who went down on one knee, grabbing his shoulder. Walter was about to deliver the killing shot when Mayukh barreled into him. In the midst of the firefight, none of them had noticed Mayukh climbing onto the platform. He could not risk firing the shotgun with Abhi around in close proximity, so he put the shotgun to the next best use.
As Walter kicked him away and tried to get up, Mayukh swung his shotgun like a club, catching Walter squarely on the side of his head. Mayukh heard a cracking noise as the shotgun's butt smashed into his skull. Walter dropped and lay unmoving on the platform. Mayukh grabbed Abhi and was about to climb down the platform when he crossed paths with the Swami. The Swami was unarmed, but his face was contorted with rage.
'You fools! Now they will kill us all!'
The Swami tried to grab Abhi but Mayukh kicked him, all his anger and desperation going into the blow that sent the Swami sprawling. Mayukh began to climb down the ladder that led to the platform, even as he heard the Biters now pounding away at the main gate of the Ashram. It was but a matter of time before their sheer weight of numbers would win and they would be inside the Ashram. Mayukh suddenly felt a tug and looked up to see the Swami pulling on Abhi's arm. The boy was screaming in terror and pain and Mayukh realized that hanging from the ladder with one arm and trying to hold onto Abhi with the other, he had little chances of winning this tug of war.
The Swami abruptly fell back as if he had been struck and did not get up, and a split second later Mayukh heard two blasts close to his ear. He looked over his shoulder to see Swati standing near the foot of the platform, raised pistol in hand. He clambered down, and Swati gathered her little brother in her arms as they waited for the final leg of their plan.