The silence at the gate had people in it.
Soren didn't wait to find out how many.
"Lights off. Everyone upstairs. Now."
He said it loudly enough to carry through the room and was already moving before the words finished, drawing the Beretta 92F and stepping to the near side of the front door, both hands bringing the pistol up to chest level. The room went dark as Noah hit the switch. Father George stood in the middle of the floor looking as though the evening had taken a turn he was not theologically prepared for, and then Evan and Howard had him by both arms and were pulling him toward the stairs.
Mike crossed the room without a word, went straight to the bookcase, and reached up to the top shelf. What came down was a bolt-action rifle, long and lean, its finish worn to bare metal at
