THERE WAS THIS KNOCK ON THE DOOR

I didn't hear it at first, the bellowing of the dogs woke me up first, then I heard it. Not a frantic knock, like a neighbor in crisis. I'd heard that knock before, and this wasn't that. It was an authoritative knock, the knock of someone who means business. Law enforcement has a knock like this, I remember from the noise complaints from so long ago. The odd thing was that it didn't ramp up to pounding, just that knock.Persistent and unnerving. It was also 2:30 in the morning.
I pulled on a pair of shorts and a t shirt and got my 9mm out of the bedside table and, on my way to the door, peeked out the window to see a black excursion parked in my driveway.
This is not a good sign I said to myself as I approached the door. I released the safety on my 9mm and looked out the door window.
I could see one man, who looked alot like the guy from the matrix that dogged Neo, and in the shadows just beyond my visual reach, I thought I saw a couple of other figures. I looked at my 9 and thought better of it and retrieved my 12 gauge from the hall closet. With a round already racked in, it was just a matter of releasing the safety...a silent operation.
I answered the door.
"Can I help you"? I inquired, my shotgun well below his field of vision in my darkened house.
"Are you XXXX XXXXXXXX"? Was the reply.
I responded, " Yes I am, why"? "And what are you doing here at 2:30 in the fucking morning"?
He said " I'm detective XXXX with the department of homeland security, we have a search warrant to ..."
And that's when I shot him.Through the screen door. He flew back about 8 feet and crumpled to the ground while I racked another round.
The shadowy figures came out into view, drawing thier guns and I shot them both...
The excursions doors flew open and 4 more men piled out with automatic weapons, I released a volley of buckshot alternating with slugs until the shotgun was empty. I whipped out my 9mm and fired wildly suppressing fire and slammed the door and threw the deadbolt.
I hightailed it to the back of the house and retrieved my SKS and reloaded my 9 and my shotgun. I grabbed a flashlight out of the pantry, told my wife to stay put in the bedroom and climbed out the window into the back yard with my guns.
As soon as I hit the ground a flashlight beam caught me, I rolled and opened up at the light with my SKS. 15 rounds later, the flashlight fell to the ground and rolled away.
Shots rang in from the other direction, I rolled, but not soon enough catching one in the forearm. I dropped my SKS and responded with 14 shots from my 9mm, another flashlight hit the ground and rolled away, useless.
And then it was quiet for a while, long enough for me to survey the damage. There were nine agents of the government dead or dying on my property, and all I had was a grazing wound to the forearm. I found the guy who had fucked up my tats and put him out of my misery. BOOM! Fuck you bitch. Try and take me...you can't.
I will live free or die.
I opened the gate to the front yard to a hail of gunfire, and as I lay dying, they stormed the house...killing my wife and my dogs.
In the name of homeland security.
And then the alarm went off.
And I woke up and went to work, wondering what country I was living in, and feeling like in some real way, outside of my dreams, I had died. And I needed to cut back on the iced tea.
Dreams....man.