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experiences and their personal training, they were both tactically proficient and worked well together as a team. They both were active tactical shooting competitors as well, which helped to keep them on their game.
    As Jason covered the hallway, Evan looked the downed man over with his light and said, “This is the jerk that confronted Peggy earlier in front of her room, wanting to take her food.”
    “He wasn't kidding about coming back with more people,” replied Jason.
    “Yeah, and being in New York, where people don't have the right to own a weapon unless you're a government official, they must have just assumed we were unarmed and thought they could roll over us with brute thuggery,” added Evan.
    “Well, they know better now,” Jason said with a smug grin on his face.
    Each of the men shared an uneasy laugh and went back inside the room. Peggy was in the corner huddled up in a ball, shaking and crying. Damon tried to console her. After a few moments, she regained her composure and said, “I can't believe you shot him! All he wanted was food. We should have just given it to him.” She struggled to keep from breaking back down into tears.
    Damon said to her, “Now, Peggy, Evan did what he had to do. At this stage of the game, an attempt to take your food is an attempt to take your life. It's that simple.  Anyone who is gonna bust down your door and rush into your room in the middle of the night, plans on doing whatever they have to do to you to get what they want. Do you think they would have attacked us then started playing nice? They decided to take our group out to support theirs, and that's just not gonna happen if we have a say in it.”
    Jason walked over to her and added, “And chances are, you are going to see a lot more violence before we make it home. Just remember, we are not just fighting to save ourselves, but to get home to our families to help them through this ordeal as well. And not one thug out there deserves consideration at the expense of your little boy.”
    “You're right, guys. I'm sorry, Evan.”
    Evan smiled at her. “It’s okay.”
    Damon stood up and said, “Alright, folks, it's time to regroup. Let's go into the other adjoining room where we at least have a door still on its hinges and figure everything out.”
    Once in the other room, with the adjoining and main doors locked, they pulled the recliner in front of one door and pushed the dresser in front of the other.
    “That will at least keep them from kicking another door into Evan's head,” said Jason with a smirk.
    “Ha ha,” Evan replied.
    Damon stood up and walked over to the window.  “I think we need to get underway sooner than we had planned. We can use the dark as cover to slip out of the hotel without being obvious to our fan club downstairs. It won't be long until the sun is up, anyway. How do you guys want to handle this?”
    Jason said, “I think we should use the fire escape. I'd rather avoid going down eleven flights of stairs, with each landing being a kill zone from the associated floor hallway. Plus, these jokers are probably focused on the inside of the building and more than likely don't have a sentry on each corner of the building exterior. Evan, you provide cover while I climb down, then we can both cover Damon and Peggy from top and bottom since they’re unarmed. Once they are safely on the ground, you follow while I cover you.”
    “Sounds like a plan,” Evan said in agreement.
    “Now, everyone grab your stuff and put your extra layers on because it's pretty cold out. Also, regardless of the fact that we have sewer issues, you may want to use the restroom now. Who knows when the next time we will have a semi-secure place to go will be.”
    “Yuck!” said Peggy with a grimace.
    “Suck it up, Buttercup!” said Jason, trying his best to keep a straight face, but to no avail. They all busted out laughing together. They were thankful to have each other at that moment. It would be a totally