Even though it was the right thing to do, I still had to laugh at my first human reaction of panic as the darkness closed over us. There was no time to explore the feeling as the action started to unfold. First, there was a large snapping sound as someone out in the brushy area beside the airpark stepped where he shouldn't have. You could hear the limb snap in two all over the area and both of our outside guards let fly at the sound. Well, so much for keeping the positions a secret.
Several intruders let fly at our guard's gun flashes.
I heard a window sliding open in our room to my left and when the intruders fired again I recognized Ann's rapid, three round burst from her 30-30 carbine. I had left my own Winchester leaning against the door jam and reached for it as I scanned the area for gun flashes. I have since read cheap novels where the private detective claimed the feel of his weapon was as reassuring as some part of a female anatomy. At that moment, I do believe I could have related. The sent of gun and linseed oil from a rifle stock can at times, be downright therapeutic.