William stared at the men on horseback behind James. Gone were the overalls and homemade cotton or hemp shirts. All the men wore black Kevlar vests and tactical gear that William had purchased and stashed in the cider mill armory. “Let’s go,” William said. William led the men off the estate and down Route 5. They stopped a mile from Redwood. William and Crocco slipped into black shirts, elbow pads, Kevlar vests, and black cargo pants with kneepads. They put on SWAT helmets equipped with night vision goggles and an embedded communication system. William tested the com system; all the farmhands reported that they received William’s command signal in clear, high-definition. William double-checked the action on his assault rifle, and adjusted the flashlight and laser sights on the end of the rifle. William took a knee on the ground. James, Crocco, and a farmhand who was a former soldier and had trained the Blue Hills tactical team took a knee next to him. “What’s the plan?” James asked. “James, you take ten men and ride around the market. You’re going to lead the assault south down Route 5. I will lead ten men into the market northward from this position. Crocco, I want you to take five men into the woods on …show more content…
William tried to open the passenger side door. The door was locked. William reared the butt of his rifle back and prepared to smash the window. Three pops from a .38 Revolver exploded from inside the van. The bullets flew through the passenger side window and missed William’s head by millionths of an inch. One of the rounds nicked his helmet. Through the night vision goggles, William saw a man jump from the back of the van into the driver’s seat and try to start the ignition. William quickly flicked the switch from full-auto to semi-auto on his rifle. He fired one round clean through the driver’s head. The man’s head recoiled sideways against the driver side window and then slumped forward against the steering