Assassins Betrayed

by Robert Cuma

“Well, let’s see what unfolds in the next few days.”

  After a good meal, we all washed up and got some rest. As I lay in a small bed in one of the cubicles by myself, I began to assess the situation. Someone is dirty in my group of contacts. How did the word of the raids get out so quickly? Who would have a direct line to Marco or perhaps Bono? Can I trust Gina? Because of my feelings toward her, I don’t want to believe she is the traitor. Did the word come from the mobsters to Marco? But he was there, in Naples, too fast. It was as if he was tipped off ahead of time. I would have to give this whole mess more thought. I eventually fell asleep.

  The next morning we were all refreshed and met at the breakfast table. We sat around somewhat tired and without a plan for the next step in this operation. It was Mike, who broke the silence, and said, “Where do we go from here, Boss?”

  I responded, “I really don’t have any ideas. Does anybody want to make a suggestion?”

  Gina chimed in and said, “We still have a Bono drug facility in Uzbekistan that Bianca told us about. Maybe we should take it out.”

  “That is a good idea. Let’s keep Bono on the run. At least we could try to destroy whatever processing plants he may have left. Mike, use the coordinates that Gina has and contact the Washington comm. center to get an accurate fix on the location.”

  “Will do, Boss. Gina, do you have that information handy?”

  Gina responded, “I have it on the maps that Hannah and I worked on the other day.”

  “Okay, then get started on that and Hannah and I will take Tina to see her mom. Would you like to do that Tina?”

  “Sure. Are you going to leave me there?”

  “I don’t think so but I would like to talk to her since we will be taking you to a faraway place and you may not be able to see her for awhile.”

  “Okay, Steven, whatever you say.”

  While Gina and Mike worked on the new plan, Hannah, Tina and I headed for Naples. Tina’s house was located in one of the better areas of downtown Naples. As we approached the house, Tina told us the family lived on the top floor of the four-story building. It was a quiet neighborhood. We stopped the car about a half of a block away. Tina pointed to two men sitting on a bench across the street. She told us they were her father’s thugs. I suggested Hannah go upstairs with her. Hannah could always pass for a teenager. The two left the car as I kept a watchful eye on the two creeps Tina identified. The two girls weren’t upstairs more than ten minutes when I heard a loud noise sounding like glass breaking. At that moment, I saw a screaming man coming through a window from the fourth floor of the building the girls were in and crash on top of a parked car. I quickly jumped out of my car and ran into the building behind the two thugs that were on the street when we arrived.

  Once in the building, I pulled out my silencer pistol, shot and killed the two as they ran up the stairs. I know I killed them because I shot both of them in the back of their heads. I seem to like headshots. The door to the apartment was open as I went blazing inside. There I saw three men lying on the floor bleeding profusely with their throats cut. I didn’t have to guess how that happened. Hannah has lightning reflexes. She probably saw the danger and immediately went into action. The guy flying out of the window, I could safely assume, was by her tactics. What appeared to be the last man standing had a grip around Tina’s neck holding a knife to her throat. Her blouse was torn off her body and I noticed some cuts around her stomach and chest. He was screaming in Italian that he would kill her if I didn’t drop my gun. The guy was high on something weird. He had this crazed look on his face. Just then, Hannah came from another room and distracted the madman long enough for me to take another head shot. Down he went, like a rock. Tina ran to me and hung on for dear life crying hysterically. I quickly covered her with my jacket and motioned to Hannah to come over and take care of her.

  I asked, “Hannah, what happened here?”

  “They tried to molest Tina as soon as we entered the apartment. I had to go into action within seconds.”

  “I can see that, but what else?

  “Go look in the room I just came out of,” as she pointed to the doorway. I walked over to the room and went inside. There I saw the naked body of Tina’s mother. She had been brutally stabbed numerous times. I moved closer to her lifeless body to check for the possibility that I might be wrong, but that was not the case. She had been dead for a while. I recognized her bloodied face as Tina’s mom. I felt a deep sadness for the beautiful child she left behind as I covered her with a sheet. These creeps were definitely flying high on some crazy drugs.

  When I returned to the room where Tina was, I asked, “Is your brother here?”

  The sobbing child shook her head in the negative.

  Then Hannah said, “These guys were seriously tripping on some strange drugs when we walked into the apartment. One of them grabbed Tina as I struggled with the others. The one guy started to cut her with a knife as he dragged her in the room where her mother was. When he heard the commotion out here, he returned with Tina in tow. That’s when you arrived.”

  I asked, “Tina, can you understand me now?”

  “Yes, I can. It was only a matter of time before something like this would happen.”

  “What do you want to do? Do you want to stay here?”

  “No!” she shouted, “Please, take me with you. Get me out of this place.”

  “Okay, Tina. Let Hannah get you cleaned up first. Then we’ll leave.”

  “I want to stay with you and Hannah, can I? Please!”

  “Sure you can. Get ready and we’ll take you away from here.”

  The girls went to the bathroom to clean Tina up.

  I was ready to call the police when another man entered the apartment shouting, “Who are you? Where is my mother?”

  I took my gun out, pointed it at him and told him sit down quietly. He reluctantly complied. I said, “You must be Tina’s brother and I guess these clowns lying on the floor are your friends. Is this assessment correct?”

  “Look, I don’t know who you are but you certainly don’t know what you’re dealing with. When my father finds out about this, you are a dead man!”

  “Good, he can join the long list of people who want to kill me. Now answer my question, are these your friends?”

  “They are my guys. Did you kill them?”

  “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that they killed your mother and I want to know why.”

  “What do you mean,” as he leaped out of the chair coming toward me. I smacked him on the side of his head and shoved him into the room where his mother was. When I pulled the sheet back to reveal his mother’s lifeless body, he fell to his knees and began to sob. Through his tears, he told me they probably wanted the money in his father’s safe and his mother had the combination. He continued to tell me how they would get so high on drugs and become psychopathic fools for money. Then he said, “Why would they do this to my mom? This was going too far.” He got up and we left the room.

  Tina confronted him and started to scream as she attacked him. She shouted, “This is your fault and I hope you die!” Hannah grabbed Tina and took her down to the car. Her brother sat down with his head in his hands. I told him he would have to live with this for the rest of his life and I didn’t think that would be too long. After calling the police, I walked out to join the girls. Hannah held Tina in her arms as we drove back to the safe house.

  8 – The Trap

  ____________

  When we arrived at the new safe house, Mike and Gina were waiting anxiously to tell us of their analysis. First, Hannah told them of the ordeal with Tina’s mother and the tragedy that ensued. Hannah put Tina in a bed and soon the kid was asleep. All were silent for a while. I asked, “Do we have some sort of plan for the next raid?”

  Mike spoke, “It looks like we have a possible plan to take out the site. I called Washington and their satellite imagery confirms our intended target. There seems to be movement in that area with trucks and planes
active day and night. The smoke detected from the facility has all the signs of an opium processing plant.”

  “That’s great news, Mike. Good job, guys.”

  Gina chimed in with, “That’s the good news. The bad news is the plant is in the middle of nowhere about 300 miles northwest of Tashkent. This region of the country is wide-open desert and this time of the year, it’s extremely cold. The only place for a command center is in a small village about twenty miles from the strike zone.”

  I responded, “That could be a problem. Also, we must be sure of the function of this facility before any strikes are ordered. I’ll call Colonel Miller to see if he has any ideas.”

  I immediately called Taipei through the usual connections. Soon Miller was on the line. I explained the entire situation to him, less the specific location. Knowing him, he knew just about where we were going.

  He asked, “Are your guys ready to go?”

  “We’re ready and waiting.”

  “Okay, stay on the line and I’ll see what can be done.” In about five minutes, he was back on the line. He continued, “Take your crew to the airport and you’ll be given further information. You know who to see and good luck.”

  “Thanks, Frank.” We broke our connection. I knew what he meant about going to the airport. He already had Major Reed onboard and I was sure the wheels were already in motion. I returned to the rest of the team and briefed them on what I knew. While we were getting our things together, Hannah asked, “What do we do with Tina?”

  I responded, “We’ll have to leave her here. What do you think, Gina?”

  She responded, “I don’t think it’s such a good idea. The kid is rather shook up. We can take her with us and I’ll keep an eye on her.”

  “Well, Gina, the way I see it, you’re going to remain at the base camp so she’s with you. Hannah, you’re going into the target area to confirm our objective since you understand the Sunni language. I will either, go with you or I’ll send in some of our team. Okay, let’s get going.” Hannah went to get ready and returned with Tina. Hannah gave the kid a pair of her jeans and a tee shirt. She filled out the standard uniform just fine. Tina was still in a daze and I’m sure she didn’t even know what was going on. I told Hannah to tell her what was happening once we were on our way.

  ________

  We arrived at the air base around 6 p.m. and joined up with Major Reed in our trusted hanger area. He gave all of us a briefing and explained that we would leave here on a cargo plane to Athens. From there, we would be moved to the target zone with Colonel Jackson Hawk, the same guy who led us on the other raids in Sicily. Reed also outfitted us with heavy parkers and other clothes to meet the frigid environment of the winter plains in Uzbekistan.

  In no time, we all were aboard the cargo plane headed for Athens. I couldn’t help notice that Tina sat there with a blank look on her face. Both Hannah and Gina were trying to comfort her. It was obvious this kid had a rough life and to lose her mother in such a violent manner was too horrific. It looked like she would be joining the Taipei group. She would fit in perfectly.

  When we landed in Athens, Colonel Hawk was on the tarmac to welcome us. We shook hands and headed to his office. Once there, we were offered coffee and snacks. Leaving Gina to look after Tina, the rest of us went over to Hawk’s briefing room to discuss the mission. The Colonel had a large map of the area set up for our discussions. Mike briefed the colonel to bring him up to speed and gave him the exact coordinates determined by our satellite systems.

  Pointing to the target zone, Hawk said, “I actually know this region fairly well.” He showed us a small village that was closer than the one we picked.

  I asked, “Have you been there before?”

  “Oh, sure, I did some relief work there about ten years ago. I was told the processing plant was a milling facility.”

  “Back then it might have been. This guy Bono is always changing locations.”

  “I would have to say that it’s a good possibility the raw opium is coming in from Afghanistan.”

  “You’re probably right, Colonel.”

  “One thing I know for sure, it’s damn cold out there. The whole area is wide open and the wind is brutal.”

  “It sounds like a fun place. The tough part is that we have to confirm the function of the facility before we take it out.”

  “That changes things a lot. We’ll have to set up a command post in this small village and send out a recon team.”

  “I’m going to send Hannah in since she speaks the language.”

  “Okay, we’ll land our aircraft about here,” as he indicated a place on the map about ten miles from the selected command post. “From there, the main group will move to the command post location and get set up. A small detail will move toward the target zone located about five miles away from the command post. There are some hills along the way and they will provide cover. I will go with Hannah into the plant. Too many people might attract attention. Is that okay with you guys?”

  Hannah jumped right up and said, “That will be fine with me, Colonel. Do you agree, Steven?”

  “Oh, sure, that sounds fine with me.” I kind of knew that Hannah liked Hawk. I thought they would make a nice couple.

  Hawk continued, “I’ll order up a C-130. It’s slow moving but we will be able to land on rough terrain. Besides, I think we should bring some vehicles along since it gets cold and windy out there. I figure on 0500 hrs for takeoff. I set up some extra cots in one of our bunkhouses. Captain Young, my deputy, will show you all where to go.” I motioned to my people to pick up the other girls on the way. I deliberately stayed behind to have a private conversation with Hawk.

  “Well, Colonel, the reason I stayed behind is to let you know the two girls are not U.S. personnel but I feel it best to bring them along.”

  “Okay with me, it’s your call, Steven. Can I call you Steven? You can call me Hawk. Everybody calls me by that name.”

  “Sure thing, everybody I know calls me Steven.”

  “Okay, everything is set. Now let’s get some rest.” We shook hands and I found my way back to my group. I lay down in the bunk next to Gina. I was about to fall asleep when she came over to me and lay with me.

  She said, “Steven, can you hold me for awhile?”

  “Sure Gina.” She felt real good. Again, she left the bed before Hawk came in the room flipping on the lights. All of his people were up and ready to go. Oh, did I miss my military service. This occurred just about every morning. I don’t know how people make a career out of this kind of rudeness. Oh well, here we go. My group jumped out of their bunks in a hurry. I was sitting on my bunk when Tina came over to sit next to me. She picked up my arm and snuggled into my chest. I asked, “Are you okay?”

  “I’m alright. I just can’t get the horrible picture of my mom on that bed the way she was.”

  “I understand. No one should have to go through that ordeal, especially a nice person like you. This is a dangerous mission we are going on, if you want, I can make arrangements with the colonel for you to stay here.”

  “No, Steven. Don’t leave me behind. I want to be with you guys wherever you go.”

  “Okay, then get yourself ready, look pretty and dress warm.”

  “Thank you, Steven. I need to be with all of you at this time.” She kissed me on the cheek and left.

  ______

  We were flying at extremely high altitudes for a C-130. There were the five people of my team and about thirty members of Hawk’s group aboard. As soon as we crossed the border into Uzbekistan, the pilot reduced his altitude dramatically. We began to fly about three-hundred feet above the ground. The expert pilots were from Hawk’s unit. After about three more hours, a pilot came over the intercom, “Ten minutes to touchdown.” With that, Hawk stood up and told his people to make ready for a quick departure. The plane made a rough landing on the desert floor. As soon as the plane came to a halt, the rear section opened up and we all went down the ramp. Three covered jeeps
with our people inside along with some of Hawk’s men took off to the base camp. A small truck with the rest of Hawk’s people followed very close. The weather was bad, sand blowing all over the place and the cold was next to impossible. Through the sandstorm, his drivers knew exactly where they were going.

  About twenty minutes later, we arrived at the small village. We stopped behind a not so well built concrete building. Hawk told us to stay in the vehicles while he jumped out of the jeep. He moved rapidly into the building with two of his men closely behind. After a few minutes, one of the soldiers came out of the building and waved to the drivers. They lined the vehicles close to the building and we all went inside. Hawk’s people began putting together communications equipment. The building was primitive with no rooms, just an open area but it protected us from the bitter elements outside. Hawk told his men to move quickly since we didn’t have much time.

  The Colonel came over to my group and said, “This sandstorm will provide us with good cover going into the target area. I don’t know how long it will last, so we have to move quickly.”

  I asked, “What do you need my people to do?”

  “I need you to stay here at the command post to coordinate all activities. With the miniature cameras in our helmets, you’ll be able to view what we see. Stay right at the console my men set up and call the actions as you see fit.”

  “If that’s what you want, Hawk, you got it.”

  “Most of my men will be at the first perimeter under Captain Young’s command. If you have a hard time with the communications, relay information through him. If you’re ready Hannah, let’s go.” Hannah was all bundled up and ready to move out with Hawk. There went my beautiful little trooper with goggles and all.

  “Good luck,” I shouted.

  We had five soldiers left in the building and the rest of my group. Two of the soldiers told me they would be outside guarding the two jeeps left behind. One jeep and the truck moved to the first perimeter. From there, Hawk and Hannah would go the last five-hundred yards on foot to the plant. There were two communications guys running the console with the video and audio feeds coming from the unit. I was able to observe each camera through its own individual monitor on the console. Ten minutes later the expedition arrived at the first perimeter point. I watched through the Captain’s helmet camera as the group got into position. The sandstorm continued as Hannah and Hawk went over the hill toward the target zone. Watching the event through Hawk’s camera, they appeared to be walking right up to the processing plant. About ten minutes later, Hawk radioed back to say the plant was confirmed as the target.