by Doug Welch
He looked around the room at the small group of people who he would have to rely on to get the job done and felt a pang of despair. Maybe his goals were too ambitious.
Although Faraz had agreed to help, he had only ten men. With Dani, her brothers and now his Family, it swelled the numbers to a meager twenty-four with at least seven of those in support. That left seventeen people to take down a powerful Shadow regime. Could it be done? He’d started this with confidence and a purpose, but the more Rodger argued the more his doubts emerged.
Striving to appear confident, he placed the tips of his fingers together and leaned forward in the armchair, his elbows resting on the armrests. “A name’s not important, Rodger. Call them what you will. We’re only using the title they call themselves. Kitty says you’ve agreed to help. So be it. We need some tactical solutions, not doubts.”
“Well how come the Bureau doesn’t know about this organization?” Rodger asked. “In all the years I’ve been an Agent, I’ve never once heard the name mentioned unless you’re talking about pay TV.”
Paris had heard enough. He released his mind to study Rodger’s inner feelings and read Kitty’s image entwined throughout. Now Paris understood. The man was using words to hide his anxiety for the woman he loved.
“Rodger, you’d be unpleasantly surprised at the number of things the FBI doesn’t know, but that doesn’t matter. Kitty is as determined to eliminate this threat as I am. If you want to help, remember that. We need to focus this conversation on how to overcome a superior force with few numbers. That’s our goal. All else is irrelevant.”
He unfolded a layout of the biotechnology site on the low coffee table, tracing the features of the surrounding terrain. “The site in question is surrounded by small brush and tree-covered hills. There’s an abandoned marble quarry to the southeast about a half mile away. To the north are more hills and to the west the terrain rapidly drops down into Naples. I’ve driven the road to Naples and it twists and turns a lot. I’ve personally surveyed the site and it’s well guarded with multiple motion sensors and infrared cameras. The guards are principally armed with semi-automatics, but that doesn’t mean they can’t produce an assault rifle when it’s called for.”
“Looks impregnable,” Caesar said. “A frontal attack is impossible. We’ve too few numbers. I assume you want to avoid taking a lot of casualties, so we need a force multiplier to make them quit before any shots are fired.”
“That’s correct. Tom and Bernardo are working on that,” Paris said. “They should have a solution soon. We’ll meet with Dani and her people in Solenzara. They’ve rented a warehouse to assemble our equipment and we’ll make last minute changes there. Then we’ll travel by boat to the Italian mainland. In Italy there will be trucks to take us all to the site. One will be a command vehicle.”
He pointed to the vicinity of Elizabeth and Alex. “That’s where the support team will reside. Beth and Alex will handle medical emergencies. Ali and Dani will handle language issues and work comms. Audrey will act as a gofer and Tom and Bernardo will work to provide our force multiplier. The remainder will comprise the assault force.”
“What’s a ‘force multiplier’,” Audrey asked.
“It’s an element of the assault that will make it more effective by providing a new dimension to it. When Tom and Bernardo begin stealing their money I guarantee it will distract them.”
He scanned the faces of his friends; people who he asked to accomplish the seeming impossible. Seeing nothing but grim looks, he continued, “Very well, here’s the plan. Voice your objections after I lay it out...”
* * *
Kitty leaned back against Rodgers’ chest. The night was peaceful. The only sound came from the waves lapping the small beach. The moon cast ripples of light on the wave tops and she could feel the gritty sand between her toes.
Rodger’s voice whispered in her ear. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
She turned her head and kissed his throat, snuggling against his shoulder.
“What happens after, Kitty?” he asked. “After this is all over?”
“We go back to work as a team, just like before,” she replied.
She felt him stiffen. “You know that’s not what I meant. I’m so in love with you it hurts sometimes. I can’t imagine a life without you. Why do you keep rejecting me?”
Caressing his chest, she replied, “I’m not rejecting you, I just don’t want to be married. We’ve had this conversation before, Rodger. Just drop it.”
He grew rigid. “I don’t want to drop it. I think I deserve an answer.”
Kitty leaned forward, separating herself from him. She rested her arms on her knees and looked out at the moon light. “Okay Rodger, you want an answer but it’s not what you think. There’s a lot about me you don’t know and may never know. The problem’s mine, Rodger.”
She stood and brushed the sand off her arms, looking down at him as he sat on the beach. “As it stands we’re lovers and I don’t want to lose that. I’m afraid if you knew me as I truly am you’d reject me, and I don’t know what that would do to me. Why can’t you just let it go and enjoy what we have?”
She felt the beginning of tears prickle her eyes. To hide them, she grabbed her beach towel and ran before he could answer.
* * *
After inspecting them, the weapons, protective gear and equipment had been re-stowed in the hold aboard the largest Karela fishing boat.
The whole team gathered around an eight by four piece of plywood that lay across two sawhorses. Terrain maps and layouts of the biotechnology compound were scattered across its surface. Everyone was dressed in black jeans and black long sleeved hoodies over Kevlar chest and back protectors. Night vision goggles hung around several necks and lightweight black hunting boots with Velcro fasteners completed the outfits.
Supporting himself with his hands, Paris leaned on the table. The echoes of his last words and the subsequent translations still reverberated in the almost empty warehouse.
“Are there any questions before we head to the boat?” Paris asked.
“How long will the crossing take?” Alex asked.
“About three hours,” he replied. “While we’re aboard the boat, get some sleep if you can. We’re hitting them at three in the morning, so it’ll be a long night.”
Rodger spoke, “Can I ask where the Uzis came from?”
Dani answered him. “They are a legitimate purchase for resale to the Italian police. We’re simply testing them. Be sure to not wear out the barrels. Oh, and they will need to be cleaned once we’re done.”
“I think that’s all,” Paris said. “We’ll board when it gets dark.” He glanced at his watch. “That’ll be about forty-five minutes from now.”
* * *
As the boat cut through the waves, Kitty swayed with the movement. Standing on the bow she watched the phosphorescent glow as the vessel’s prow cut through the water. The wind whipped her hair, playing tricks with some strands of it that brushed her face and obscured her vision. Stars peppered the night sky and the moon had risen well above the horizon.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone behind her. Turning to look, she saw Rodger step carefully over some of the boat’s rigging.
Holding onto the railing, he looked up from having watched his footing. “I thought you might want some company.”
About tell him to jump over the side, she thought better of it. If he drowned, she might miss him. “It’s not my boat. I can’t tell you where to go.” She had a place in mind, but he certainly wouldn’t like the heat.
Managing the last few steps, he stood beside her, gazing at the sky and the waves. “Guess I screwed up bad, didn’t I?”
Kitty’s view changed to her feet. “You could say that.” She wanted him to hold her but something inside her prevented her from asking.
Rodger placed his hands on the railing and bowed his head. “I can’t stand this, Kitty. I’m in total and complete agony. If the only way I can be with y
ou is on your terms, I’m willing to accept that.”
His confession should have satisfied her, but in truth it deepened her despair. “If the world was different, Rodger, I marry you in a hot minute. But it’s not.” She looked up at the sky. “It’s a beautiful place but it has its nasty realities.” She raised her head to look at him. “I don’t want you to capitulate. I want you strong, my partner in life, but I feel guilty in that I’m hurting you.”
He took her hand pleading with his eyes. “The only way you could truly hurt me, Kitty is if you totally cast me out. I was terrified I’d lost you.”
She smiled, but her smile reflected a note of sadness. “Not likely. I’m as stuck with you as you are with me.”
“So, we’re back –as partners that is?” Rodger asked.
“More than partners,” Kitty replied. “Why don’t you kiss me and find out?”
* * *
Elizabeth rocked with the bounce of the truck as Paris showed her the contents of the medial supplies.
“We’ve tried to anticipate most medical emergencies but there might be something we’ve missed,” he said. “The most likely injuries will be gunshot wounds although I’m hoping to keep it to a minimum. If the plan goes off as it should, casualties should be light.”
It appalled her to hear him discuss the results of the violence he’d planned, but she shut it out and concentrated on her duty as a doctor.
He must have seen her horrified look because he added, “The command truck will be sited well away from the action. You needn’t worry. I’d never do anything to risk you.”
He’d misinterpreted her feelings on the matter but she drew upon her inner reserves to calm herself. She watched him move to the front of the truck and speak to Tom.
“Are you ready?” Paris asked.
Tom nodded. “We’ll begin moving the money and we’ll shut down the compound’s sensors at the same time. There’s just one thing, Paris. It’s a shit load of money and it’ll take a long time to transfer it.”
“Just steal as much of it as you can before they catch on,” Paris said. He rejoined Elizabeth and sat beside her.
“It’s that easy to rob them?” Elizabeth asked.
“It is now,” Paris replied. “Someone, we don’t know who, loaded Tom’s programs into their mainframe. Tom has full access to their systems but he won’t act until the assault is underway. It’ll be a major distraction. They’ll be in disarray and slow to respond.”
After a while the truck slowed and stopped. She heard a banging on the rear doors and they opened. A group of men stood outside the vehicle, barely visible in the early morning night.
Dani and Ali climbed into the truck. When Elizabeth first met Dani she’d felt a pang of jealousy but had quickly gotten over it after talking to her.
“We’re in place, Paris,” Dani said, “just east of the compound toward the marble quarry. The trucks are off the road and hidden. If you’re ready, we need to go now.”
Seeing him take one final look around the command vehicle, Elizabeth watched as he jumped off the back of the truck. She prayed that the next casualty she worked to save wouldn’t be her husband.
* * *
Paris surveyed the two assembled groups of people that were about to separate. All were armed with night vision goggles strung around their necks. “You all know your positions, let’s get to it.” He walked off with the group trailing behind him. His team consisted of Caesar, Kitty, Rodger, and Dani’s four brothers. He’d had them memorize hand signals so their progress could be conducted in silence. In addition, each carried a communicator coupled by an ear bud. If they became separated they could notify the command vehicle as to their position. But if things worked out they wouldn’t need to.
Entering the small trees and brush, he led them up a hill. The moon had dipped below the horizon. The night was lit only by stars, but the top of the hill glowed with shadowed light coming from the Borgia compound at the other side.
Slipping on his night vision goggles he motioned to the others to do the same. Now his progress was lit by a greenish tinge. Stopping, he made sure that no one had strayed and then pointed to the top of the hill.
Resuming his steady pace, he wound through the easiest path, past trees and tall brush. In a few minutes they reached the top of the hill and could look down at the brightly lit compound. The lights of the site overwhelmed the goggles so he slipped them off and waited for his team to form up.
Seeing them all abreast of him he pointed down the hill and carefully moved forward.
After about fifty meters of progress down the hill, he heard a crackle in his ear bud. “The site’s lit up like a Christmas tree, Paris. You’ve tripped dozens of IR and motion sensors.” Tom’s voice said.
Signaling to his team to wait, Paris crouched, surveying the buildings. After a minute, he motioned for them to move forward. They proceeded down the hill another twenty meters and he heard the noise in his ear bud again. “That got their attention,” Tom reported. “I can see movement in the compound. Wait.”
Paris crouched again and motioned the others to do the same. The waiting caused tension to build. As he was about to signal further movement down the hill his radio coughed again. “They’re moving toward your position on a broad front.” Tom said. “Looks like a minimum of twenty maybe thirty. I think they’re sending almost all they have. I believe they intend to flank you.”
Paris sweated in the Kevlar armor even though the night was cool. He strained his eyes in the darkness looking for the outline of a security guard approaching them. The light from the site should silhouette them as them came nearer, a fact he’d counted on.
The ear bud spoke again. “They’re about a hundred meters from your position. You’d better hustle it out of there.”
Still he waited, looking down the hill for the first head to pop up. It wasn’t long before he saw movement and a silhouette. He fired a three round burst in the vicinity of his advancing opponents which was immediately followed by the reports of the team’s Uzis.
Signaling to them to retreat, they barely made it six meters up the hill before dozens of assault rifles dug up the ground they’d abandoned.
Pausing to fire back, they continued to retreat toward the hilltop. Reaching it, they stopped and unloaded a full round of shots from their magazines, peppering the hillside with bullets
Over the crest of the hill, Paris heard what sounded like a small army open up. Bullets ricocheted in all directions.
Caesar grinned at him. “You think we’ve got them sufficiently pissed?” he asked.
“Like a nest of hornets,” Paris replied. “And we’d better be careful because they can sting.”
Hurrying now, they raced down the hill toward the marble quarry, loading magazines as they ran and randomly firing off shots. At Paris’ command they’d put on the night vision goggles to find their way through the brush. So far they’d not taken any hits but Paris worried their good luck might not continue.
Emerging from the vegetation, he surveyed the wide, cleared expanse of the quarry. Anyone who tried to approach their positions must do so without cover.
He led the team to the scattered blocks of marble at the base of the cliff and they crouched behind them, waiting for the bulk of the Borgia’s security guards to appear.
Chapter 32
Phase One
The wait wasn’t a long one. First by twos and then threes, the uniformed guards emerged from the brush, keeping well out of range of the Uzi’s accuracy.
Once gathered, they talked among themselves, occasionally firing a burst at Paris’ team to keep their heads down.
Apparently coming to a conclusion, they formed a skirmish line and dropped to the ground, crawling along the rough marble and dirt floor toward the team’s cover.
As they moved, they sprayed Paris’ position with rifle rounds, chipping fragments of marble off the cliff face. The marble fragments showered them all, he felt one sting his cheek and his hand came away blo
ody.
Paris waited until they’d covered half the distance to his position, then he keyed his radio. “Hit the flood lights and tell Ali to have his men open up.”
The din of the automatic rifle shots was joined by a chorus of staccato blasts from Uzis as Ali’s men fired from the tree line. Caught in the open and visible to the flood lights that blinded them, the guard’s fire slackened. With an unknown number of men firing from behind them, and automatic weapons firing from the front, the security guards were unsure as to which way to aim.
Paris raised his head and fired bursts along the marble floor at the guards hugging the ground. His team joined him skipping bullets toward their enemies, keeping their heads down as ricochets flew in every direction.
They kept up the pressure until after a few yelps of pain, first one then two then dozens of voices joined them.
Not comprehending the shouted Italian, he looked to Carlo for translation. Carlo hid a maniacal grin. “They want to surrender. Should we let them?” Paris had seen the look before on men he’d led. It was a look of bloodlust. He needed to end this before someone was killed.
Paris keyed his radio. “Tell Ali to order his men to cease fire.” Turning to Carlo he said, “Tell them to leave the weapons on the ground and stand up with their hands in the air. Remind them that if they don’t, we’ll keep firing.”
The sharp explosions of automatic weapon rounds died off after Carlo shouted. Many of the guards rose quickly but a few needed help from their comrades. One lay prone behind a small rise of marble rock.
He activated his radio again. “Have Ali order his men to move up and cover the guards from behind.”
Paris emerged from his position behind a marble block and walked toward the group of security guards, covering them with his Uzis. He was followed by the other seven members of his team who fanned out and motioned to the outlying guards to join the center.
Kitty turned to her partner and high-fived him. “We did it! Paris was right.”
Rodger looked amazed. “Text-book ambush. Right out of the field manual. I would never have believed it.”