by Orion Gaudio
“So… they know your real identity?”
“It seems like it. Rollins knows who I am, so he could have easily told them about me. I didn’t even think of it at the time, but it kind of makes sense. From there, I guess they were able to track me down.”
“It sounds like they’re well-connected,” Holloway said.
“Definitely. It makes sense, too, if they’re working with Trivet.”
“Someone needs to put that dude down.”
“Did Howard say anything to you about taking him out?” Turner asked.
“No, you?”
“Nothing. The only thing he was concerned about was getting the flash drive back.”
“Well, Trivet has clearly betrayed his country… so it might not be the end of the world if a bullet were to somehow find its way into his brain.”
“Fair enough… but then we’d risk bringing down the entire government on us.”
“Not if we get in and out of there without them realizing we were there.”
“You think that’s even going to be possible?”
“I think we need to give it a shot,” Holloway said.
“I agree, but I’m skeptical. These guys that attacked me… they weren’t messing around. They were dressed and armed the same way as the guys in Oakland that I took out. I’m sure they’re itching for another chance at getting me.”
“Is that your way of volunteering to be bait?” Holloway asked.
Turner laughed and shook his head.
“I’d rather not.”
“Fair enough.”
“Thanks again for getting me out of San Fran, by the way.”
“Just doin’ my job.”
“I know, but still… you put yourself at risk for me.”
“I’ll remind you of that if we happen to find ourselves in a sticky situation on this mission.”
Turner smiled and shook his head. He hoped it wasn’t the case, but there was a decent chance of it happening at some point.
34
Holloway slowed the car as they entered the neighborhood where Trivet lived. Turner looked out the window as they passed the house and noticed a large black SUV in the driveway.
“Same make and model as what showed up at my house,” he said.
“So, we know at least a handful of guys are here.”
“What’s the plan?”
“Park a few streets away, then check the exterior of the house.”
The sun had just dropped below the horizon and it was starting to get dark. It would give them enough cover to sneak around the neighborhood before the street lights turned on. They would still have to be careful, the area was fairly exclusive and people living there could easily notice two men sneaking around in the night.
Holloway turned down a street and parked the car in front of a house without any lights on.
Turner took his Glock out of his bag and checked to make sure the magazine was loaded. He grabbed his combat knife and attached the sheath to his belt. The knife would be his go-to weapon for the mission, but he wanted the Glock in case things got out of hand. The rest of his gear had its purpose, but he didn’t think he’d need it for the kind of mission they were about to embark on.
“You ready?” Holloway asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“You approach from the south. I’m going to loop around the block and approach from the north.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Well, I’m assuming he’ll have guards posted on the entrances… maybe some patrolling the perimeter.”
“Right. So… we’re each responsible for the guards on our side of the house?”
“Yes. Make your way inside and we’ll meet up.”
“Which floor?”
“Second. We can clear that and then make our way downstairs if we don’t find the flash drive.”
“Did you happen to see plans for the house?” Turner asked.
“No… I asked Howard about it, but he said he wasn’t able to get them. I’m assuming it’s a newer house and the plans are not public for security reasons.”
Turner nodded. It was going to make their jobs that much harder.
He was ready to get the mission over with. Ever since he’d gone to New York and found out about Chimera, everything had been downhill. Turner had almost gotten killed at every step of the way. He was ready for a break. The thing that had kept him going was his budding relationship with Alice, but he knew it was over. She had seen him for who he truly was… a killer… and he knew there was no reality where she would want anything to do with him. It was hard for him to think about, but he felt like he was going to coming to terms with it as long as she was safe. That’s what mattered most to Turner and he knew she’d always be in danger as long as she was anywhere near him.
“You going with a knife?” Turner asked.
“That’s the plan… I don’t really want to draw attention to our presence. Is that what you were thinking?”
Turner nodded.
“I mean, in an ideal world we’d get in and out with the flash drive without ever having to fire a shot.”
“Let’s wager on it.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah,” Holloway said, nodding.
“What’s the wager?”
“First one to use anything other than a knife loses.”
“And what’s the reward for winning?”
“Besides being the most badass agent at NIA?”
Turner laughed and shook his head.
“Yeah… other than that.”
“Steak dinner.”
“I can get on board with that.”
Turner was aware of how stupid the whole contest was, but he was still uncertain how he’d do handling the gun. If his feeling of uncertainty and the shake in his hand came back when it mattered… he’d rather not have to rely on his Glock. It would serve as a safety blanket in case he got caught off guard.
“Let’s hit it,” Holloway said.
They stepped out of the car and met at the back.
“I have to say one last thing.”
“What?” Turner asked.
“I’m not sure if Howard said anything to you… but he made it clear to me that we’re not to fail under any circumstance.”
“I sort of assumed that.”
“And if something happens to one of us, the other one should complete the mission if possible. We are both authorized to leave a man behind… if it comes to that. He will be disavowed considering we’re going after a sitting US Senator.”
Howard hadn’t said those exact words to Turner, but he was well aware of the stakes of their mission.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Holloway nodded.
“Good luck. I’ll see you in there.”
Turner walked down the sidewalk. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that Holloway was following his plan to assault the house from two sides.
As he walked by the front gate of the house, Turner casually glanced toward the house. The large SUV was still parked in the same spot. The glow of a cigarette appeared near the back of the vehicle. Turner snapped his head back around in the hope that the person hadn’t noticed him looking in their direction.
The house next door lacked a fence, but had a large row of neatly manicured hedges that were tall enough to keep prying eyes out. Turner dropped to the ground and crawled under it. He popped back to his feet and brushed himself off. No lights were on in the neighboring house. A six-foot wooden fence stood between the two properties. It would present more of challenge for him to gain access, but he needed to make it happen quickly or Holloway would be inside waiting for him.
Turner stopped and looked around. There was a large oak tree on the edge of the two properties. The lowest branch was a good five feet off the ground and extended up to the fence, where it had been cut as not to cross the boundary. He wrapped his hands around it and slowly pulled himself up, trying to keep his body as close t
o the tree as possible.
He stopped and flattened his body on top of the branch and looked into the property belonging to the senator. The lights from inside the house were casting a warm glow on the courtyard, but he didn’t see anyone walking around. He turned his head and looked at the car.
The man tossed his cigarette to the ground, snuffed it out with the toe of his shoe, and headed back into the house. Turner squatted on the branch and inched his way forward, keeping an eye on the house the entire time.
He dropped down to the ground and paused. Turner looked around and waited to see if anyone had seen him. He made his way to the closest corner of the house and pressed his back against the exterior wall. There was a drainpipe running up to the gutters on the roof. Above him was a second-floor balcony, but no light was coming through the French doors. He wrapped his hands around the pipe and pulled on it as hard as he could. It didn’t move. Turner pushed his feet against it and started to shimmy up. He reached out with his left hand and grabbed onto the railing. Turner pulled himself over and dropped onto the balcony.
Turner pulled out his knife and walked over to the door. He pulled on the handle. Unlocked. He walked into the room and quietly pulled the door closed, but left it open a few inches in case he needed to make his way back to the room and onto the balcony once they’d recovered the flash drive.
He paused and looked around the room. The door was closed, but some light from the hallway was coming under it. That, combined with some light from outside, made it so he could see after a few seconds of his eyes adjusting. It was the bedroom of a young boy—sports posters hung on the walls and a comforter with baseballs and bats on it covered the bed. The bed was empty, though, which was a good sign as far as Turner was concerned. The fact that Trivet had a young child wasn’t something that had been mentioned in his briefing with Howard. An oversight that could have proved costly if the child was asleep in his room when Turner came in from the balcony.
Turner walked up to the door and pressed his ear against it. Muffled voices reached him from somewhere else on the second floor of the house. He wished he could make out what was being said, but the door was solid wood.
The light from under the door wavered. Turner took a step back and grabbed the door handle. The shadow on the other side disappeared. He pulled the door open and looked to his right. One of the guards was just two feet away from him. Turner walked up behind him. In one motion, he covered his mouth and pulled the blade of his knife across his neck.
The man slumped into his arms. Turner dragged the body back into the bedroom and closed the door. No sounds from inside the house followed as he waited. The only thing he could hear was his own rhythmic breathing.
It was only a matter of time before the rest of the guards realized one of their own was missing and sounded an alarm—he needed to move quickly.
He opened the door and looked up and down the hall. No sign on anyone else. Turner was finally able to pinpoint the voices he had heard, which were coming from the bottom of the stairs at the end of the hall.
“I don’t care… they promised me ninety million… and new identities. I want that case in my hand the moment we land… or the plane is taking off again.”
Turner made his way down the hallway away from the stairs. He checked the first door on his right, which was another bedroom. There was another door across the hall from it and the light was on in the room. Turner grabbed the handle with his left hand and readied his knife. He opened the door and looked in the room.
Holloway was standing over the desk with a knife in each hand. Turner closed the door behind himself and shook his head—there were two bodies on the floor behind the desk.
“What?” Holloway asked, in a hushed tone.
He ignored the question.
“I think Trivet is downstairs… I heard someone talking about a plane and money, so I assume it’s him.”
“Well… that’s a problem.”
“Why?”
Holloway pointed down. Turner stepped over one of the bodies and looked where he was pointing. The door on the side of the desk was open and there was a safe inside. He sighed when he saw the biometric lock.
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Now what?” Turner asked.
“No idea.”
“Well, we’re going to need Trivet.”
“Or at least his finger.”
Turner nodded.
“Fair enough.”
“Any idea how many guys are with him downstairs?” Holloway asked.
“No, I got one in a room down the hall… you got these two.”
“So… that SUV out front holds eight guys… so, up to five more.”
“Right.”
“Should we call off the bet?” Holloway asked.
Turner nodded. He had forgotten about that already. Holloway leaned down and wiped the blood from his knives on the suit of one of the dead men.
“What’s the chance the flash drive isn’t in the safe?” Turner asked.
“I mean… he could have it on him, but these two guys were both in here… so I’m assuming they wouldn’t be guarding an empty safe.”
“Fair enough.”
“OK… so, up to five guys left… I’m going to assume Trivet isn’t armed.”
“I doubt he would be,” Turner said.
“So, how do you want to do this?”
Turner took a deep breath as he tried to think about the best way to capture Trivet without getting themselves killed.
“Well, we could both go back to the ground floor and assault from outside.”
“I have a better idea.”
“Yeah?”
“One of us goes outside… we set off the alarm on the SUV. That’ll draw the attention of everyone downstairs. Whoever stays inside, will then go down the stairs and catch them from behind as they rush outside.”
“That could work.”
“I think we should do it,” Holloway said, “unless you have a better idea.”
Turner shook his head.
“No, I like that.”
“The only question is… which one of us goes outside?”
“I don’t care.”
Turner knew it was the more dangerous of the two options. Whoever was outside would be the focus of all the guards for a few seconds… and that was enough time for anything to happen.
“I don’t care, either.”
“I’ll go outside,” Turner said.
“You sure?”
“Yeah. You’re the only reason I made it out of San Francisco in one piece… so I do kind of owe you.”
“Fair enough.”
In the back of his mind, there was another reason why he was volunteering, but he wasn’t going to tell Holloway. Turner still wasn’t sure if he could shoot straight when it came down to it. If he were the one inside, he’d have to be on point and not miss a shot, or he could cost Holloway his life. At least this way, he’d be the one used as bait and would just have to hold them off until Holloway made it down the stairs. Worst case scenario, he could use the SUV for cover and just fire some shots in the general direction of the men as they came through the door.
“You ready?” Turner asked.
“Let’s do it.”
Turner walked over to the open window that Holloway had crawled through to gain access to the office.
“See you on the other side,” Holloway said.
Turner nodded and dropped to the ground. He let his legs absorb the shock as he dropped onto the grass. Back on his feet, he drew his Glock and slowly made his way around to the front of the house. A few scattered trees and a large abstract sculpture provided him with enough cover.
He reached the last tree. The SUV was twenty feet away and there was no cover between him and it. Turner leaned out from behind the tree and looked through the large picture window. He could see Trivet standing in the living room. On either side of him was a guard and he could see another one standing in the kitchen. There was a
chance two more guards were somewhere inside the house. A woman, who he assumed was Trivet’s wife, walked into the room and handed him a bottle of water. Still no kid. He hoped their son wasn’t on the lower level of the house. There was nothing he could do about it, though. Turner hoped that once the gunshots started, Trivet and his wife would take cover… the whole thing would go a lot smoother if the senator made it through this in one piece, at least until they had the flash drive.
Turner sprinted across the yard and stopped only once he was behind the SUV. He raised his head and looked over the hood and waited. No reaction from anyone in the house.
He rested his shoulder against the door of the SUV and pushed with all his weight. The vehicle moved, but the alarm didn’t go off. Turner frowned. He tried again, but nothing happened.
It seemed almost impossible to him, but he decided to try the door handle just in case the vehicle was unlocked and the alarm was off. The door swung open. Turner shook his head. He reached inside and depressed the horn with his palm.
“That should get their attention.”
He stepped back and raised his Glock. Two Chinese men came running out of the house a few seconds later.
Turner went to squeeze the trigger and his hand started to shake. He fired a shot. It completely missed the man he was aiming at and the hit the exterior wall of the house. Both of the men stopped and took cover behind the pillars in front of the house.
“Shit.”
One of the men fired at Turner. He dropped behind the SUV as the bullets struck the other side of the vehicle. The men started shouting in Mandarin. Turner moved to the rear of the SUV and peeked around the back. From there he was able to get a clean shot as they were still focused on where he had been a few seconds earlier. Turner raised the Glock and fired. Through a miracle, or some divine force, his second shot struck one of the men in the arm.
He let out an animalistic scream. The wound only seemed to fuel his anger as he raised his CF-05 SMG and fired wildly. Turner pulled back behind the SUV as bullets peppered the side of it and blew out the glass.
“C’mon Holloway… where the hell are you?”
His inability to make a kill shot was proving to be a problem. Turner knew he only had a few more seconds before the men advanced on his position.