Lethal Authority (Wade Hanna Series Book 2)

by Joseph D'Antoni

  “Do you have your distances and windage calculated?”

  “Down to the quarter centimeter.”

  “I thought so. Speaking of Stephan, it looks like he just finished doping his scope.”

  “We need to be ready. They’ll probably fire on his command.”

  There was a brief pause before Wade gave Max his instructions. “Assume your firing position and be ready for my command. We are hot. Hold for green command to fire when ready.”

  Max immediately replied, “Ready to fire on command. Over.”

  Preliminary speeches of introduction were starting at the podium. The first to speak was the Belize Minister of the Interior. According to the published schedule, he was to introduce the military guests, and the British admiral would introduce the Prime Minister.

  Stephan was splitting his focus between checking his rifle scope and observing the frequency dial on the detonation device. It looked to Wade like Stephan hadn’t made up his mind which action he would take first.

  “Stephan is on his transmitter. Shooters are in ready position.”

  Stephan called out orders. Each of his men held their positions as ordered. He picked up the detonation device, pointing the antenna directly at the podium.

  A British admiral dressed in a white uniform with medals glowing in the sun rose from his seat to approach the podium. As he adjusted the microphone to his height, Stephan pressed the detonation button but nothing happened. He pressed it again, and nothing.

  Stretching out his arm, Stephan extended the antenna getting the maximum distance toward the cases, and pressed it for a third time. Retrieving the device for a closer look, he readjusted the frequency settings and pressed again. Still nothing happened. Stephan shook the device, pressed buttons, and turned dials before slamming it down on the roof in frustration. He picked up the radio transmitter to yell instructions to Boris and Jackson.

  Stephan’s operatives were already in their firing positions when they began their personal countdowns. Max had his earpiece in place and heard Wade’s voice.

  “You have a green to fire when ready.”

  Boris had just moved his finger from the trigger guard to the trigger when Max’s round hit his neck, severing his carotid artery, so that he fell lifeless in a pool of blood. Jackson glanced at Boris, looking for a final confirmation. Before Jackson’s head returned to his scope, Max’s second round struck its mark in his chest. The impact knocked him back into a contorted version of his original shooting position.

  Wade glanced back to see Max’s successful shots. In the split second it took Wade to return to his scope, Stephan was no longer in his position. Stephan was still on the roof, but his quick reflexes sent him rolling behind a large metal vent. Knowing his shooting position had been compromised, Stephan shielded himself behind the metal ducting while he contemplated his alternatives.

  Wade scanned the rooftop, frustrated that he had hesitated. He saw the shadow of Stephan perform another quick roll. The target hugged the metal ducting and roof surface. Realizing his mission had failed, Stephan’s only option now was escape and extraction.

  Wade kept scanning, trying to anticipate Stephan’s next move. He saw only fingers from a raised hand grab the rigid door handle and pull. The door opened wide enough to block the small space between the HVAC unit and the duct. Stephan slithered past the door and down the stairs head first like a snake. Wade didn’t have a shot. The only movement was the swinging door left to the mercy of afternoon ocean breezes.

  Wade pressed the button on his transmitter. “Base to Sky. The rabbit is on the run. I have him going down stairs. Initiate Extraction Plan 2.”

  Max’s response was quick. “Copy. Plan 2 in progress.”

  Wade turned to confirm Max’s two kills and briefly turned back to the stage, where the ceremonies were going on undisturbed. He pounded his fist on the roof’s surface, angry at himself for his split second hesitation. Wade wasted no time in disassembling his rifle and scope for his music case before descending the roof stairs in chase of Stephan.

  Instinct told him Stephan had multiple options planned. The question now was which option would seem more feasible now that his mission had failed. The motor bikes were the closest extraction vehicles to Stephan now, but Wade didn’t think he would try to use them. In fact, Wade had always believed the bikes were for Boris and Jackson under certain extraction scenarios, but never for Stephan. With his detonation immobilized and his two operatives eliminated, Stephan knew the entire mission was compromised by some group that was just on his heels. He would need to get as far away from Belmopan as quickly as he could. Soon the ceremonies would be breaking up, and traffic congestion around the city would hamper his departure.

  Wade continued going through Stephan’s options. He might not try to return to either safe house, believing their location had been discovered. He would also assume the international airport would be covered and too risky. Wade reasoned that Stephan’s car, wherever it was located, was his best option. The closest safe border of escape would be either Mexico or Guatemala.

  Wade had to get to his own car if he was going to catch up with Stephan. He didn’t want to draw attention by running, so he briskly walked with his music case in hand like a frustrated musician leaving the orchestra because he’d broken his instrument. Wade finally reached his car and went to the safe house to check to see if Stephan was there. As he expected, Stephan was nowhere to be found. He drove back, retracing the steps Coverall had made, trying to locate Stephan’s car. Unfortunately, he was out of options for most probable evacuation routes.

  He needed to get out of the mounting double-parked congestion around the ceremonies. The traffic was getting worse, and Wade was running out of options.

  Lacking the crowd confusion Stephan had expected, he had to change tactics. Wade tried to put himself in the mind of this rabbit who had gone from being in control to being on the run. Knowing Stephan was no longer on foot, Wade thought about routes Stephan might take to flee the city.

  Wade knew Coverall had parked Stephan’s car far enough from the ceremonies that his route wouldn’t become congested after the attack. He assumed that Stephan would be on foot until he got to his car, so the car couldn’t be parked so far away that it was not easily reached.

  Wade looked at his maps and plotted locations that met those criteria. He drove up and down the streets that made logical sense to him, but found no sign of Stephan or his car. Pounding the steering wheel out of frustration for missing his shot, Wade sat idle at a stop sign, having run out of ideas. His sights were now set on Stephan and nothing else.

  Extraction Plan 2 meant Wade and Max would extract separately, following a specific protocol. The various extraction plans had been rehearsed so many times that Wade and Max could perform them in their sleep. Five different extraction plans called for each man to do designated tasks before leaving town. Each had a prescribed route out of the country.

  For Wade, leaving the country now was out of the question. His mission was to find and eliminate his target, and he was on his own to accomplish that task. Wade took comfort knowing Max would be safely back in Houston in a few hours, assuming everything went as planned. Right now he was worried about losing his prey, and after driving past several possible locations, Wade had nowhere else to turn.

  Then he remembered a service station at the intersection of two main highways going east and west away from Belmopan. The service station might be a good location to observe that entire intersection. There was only an outside chance Stephan would pass that point, but Wade had no back-up plan.

  He backed into a parking spot reserved for cars waiting for repairs and shut off the engine. Scanning the intersection below him with his binoculars confirmed that it was a good plan. Clearly visible were all cars approaching entrances for the two highways, regardless of which direction they were headed. Maybe this spot was not such a bad idea after all.

  If Stephan wanted the fastest driving route out of town, he would
most likely pass this point. What Wade didn’t know was whether Stephan has already passed. He settled in for a long wait.

  Looking down at the radio receiver on the seat, he called Max. “How did the extraction go?”

  “Not a problem. I’m at the storage unit right now. Where are you?”

  “Trying to find the Rabbit. I’m waiting at a service station I think he might pass. It’s all I could think of. I checked the bike location before I extracted. Both bikes were still in place. ”

  Max had confirming suspicions. “I didn’t think he would try to use the bikes.”

  “Why do you think Stephan hesitated?”

  “I don’t know. I was concentrating on the operatives. I couldn’t tell when they failed to respond to his command or when his detonation device failed.”

  Wade replied, “I think he decided at the last minute to go with the detonation first. When his men didn’t fire, he didn’t wait around to find out why. Unfortunately, I hesitated, which was my mistake. I think the Rabbit had an alternative extraction plan from the other operatives all along. He wasn’t leaving town with those guys. Remember, the original plan was to leave Mashburn’s body when they extracted.”

  “I think you’re right. And I’m thinking I should stay and help you finish this job.”

  Wade was firmly against Max’s request.

  “That’s a negative, buddy. You follow Extraction Plan 2 and get out now. I’ll be fine here.”

  “Your call, boss.”

  Wade’s eyes opened wide. He was drawn to a vehicle he thought he would never see at that intersection.

  “Hold on, I think I see Stephan’s car. I’ve got to run. You proceed with Extraction Plan 2. That’s an order.”

  Max replied, wishing he were still with Wade.

  “Happy hunting. See you back in Houston.”

  Stephan drove past Wade’s position like he was on a leisurely Sunday drive. Instead of taking the south entrance onto Hummingbird Highway, he took the Western Highway west, a different route from the one he used to pick up the weapons.

  This time Stephan didn’t seem to be in a rush. Wade followed staying five cars behind on a highway which seemed to have few exits. He was surprised that Stephan seemed to be in a docile mood, rarely checking his rear or side view mirrors. As Wade drove, he wondered how he could feel so confident. Perhaps Stephan hadn’t confirmed that his operatives were dead. Perhaps he believed the only thing that went wrong with the mission was that his detonation device had failed. Stephan didn’t seem concerned that anyone might be following him, probably assuming he had successfully extracted.

  Wade wasn’t so calm. That was too simple an explanation of Stephan’s attitude. Perhaps Wade was falling into an extraction trap just the way Stephan had planned. He gripped the steering wheel as tension coursed like lightning through his body. His mistakes were his responsibility and he could only blame himself. He was as hard on himself as any instructor would have been as he went through each phase of the mission.

  How could I have missed the bikes and let Coverall disappear?

  I should never have hesitated taking my shot. It was my mistake, wanting to see Stephan’s face when he pushed the detonation device and nothing happened.

  His training had taught him better. Chastising himself for waiting to see someone’s reaction, he remembered hearing his training instructor’s voice yelling: A split-second delay means the difference between life and death, or the success or failure of your mission!

  As he drove, Wade focused on correcting his mindset. No more delays for dramatic moments became a mantra he repeated out loud for the next several miles.

  He refocused his attention on Stephan’s car when he saw it move two lanes to the right. His car hugged the right lane after passing the Teakettle exit. Perhaps Stephan is not on this highway to reach the Guatemala border, as I first thought.

  Wade allowed two other cars to pass before getting in the right lane. He wanted to make sure Stephan was going to take the exit and not veer at the last second. Holding his middle-lane position, Wade did one last check of his mirrors to see that he wasn’t being followed. The traffic thinned as Stephan’s car and then Wade’s passed the Spanish Lookout exit. Stephan’s car remained in the right lane.

  Stephan was not looking in his rear or side view mirrors for tails – he was checking exits. After passing the Spanish Lookout exit, another exit was fast approaching. Wade couldn’t see the sign because of a large truck to his right. Stephan waited until the very last moment before sharply veering right across road reflectors to make the Chiquibul Road exit. Wade had to navigate an even tighter turn in order to make the same exit.

  The first turn to the south put Stephan next to a beautiful river running parallel on his left. A sign showed the well-traveled but unpaved road headed toward the Tapir Mountain Reserve. Landscapes on both sides of the road were dotted with small banana farms bordering the river that ran west to the base of the foothills at the edge of the Reserve.

  Stephan’s car was over a mile ahead but easy to follow. It turned left off Chiquibul onto an unmarked dirt road. Wade made the same turn and followed Stephan for another mile to another dirt road. Then he made a right turn on another unpaved road.

  Traffic had thinned, and Wade followed cautiously, leaving more space between the two cars. Another right on a farm road, and Stephan’s car soon disappeared into thick tree cover on both sides of the narrow road. Stopping at the intersection of two roads, Wade could see that Stephan’s car had taken a left onto another farm road. He was reluctant to follow because he would be totally exposed. Instead Wade passed Stephan’s road and took the first two-lane dirt road marked Shady Farm Road. The two cars were now running parallel, with Wade following several car lengths behind.

  The magnificent, lush scenery on both sides of the river was alluring and would have been distracting if he hadn’t been so focused on the goal. Wade stopped his car when he saw Stephan’s car stop. Stephan wasn’t looking at scenery or for tails. He was stopped in the middle of the road craning his neck right and left, probably for location benchmarks. Keeping a safe distance between them, Wade pulled down the dirt road behind a line of trees separating the two vehicles.

  His target seemed to find his bearings and turned right down a narrow farm road between barbed wire fencing on both sides. Wade waited in a cluster of trees for Stephan to reach his next stopping point.

  Wade decided not to follow that same narrow farm road; instead he turned right and ran perpendicular to the road Stephan had taken several hundred yards outside his path. Another farm road brought Wade to a further cluster of trees that provided good cover. He stopped and turned off his engine. The two cars were parallel at approximately the same distance from the edge of an open field at the foot of the mountain with the river to their left.

  Pulling his car under overhanging branches, Wade got out and scanned the horizon with his binoculars. The setting seemed similar to his last pick-up site, but it was a different location. This time Stephan’s car was parked near a white farmhouse on his far side, with the large barren field between them.

  Wade realized he would have to move his car to close the distance between them. He still had to remain hidden, so he carefully scouted the surrounding tree line for alternate routes and cover.

  Chapter 29

  A muddy road caught Wade’s eye. Although he couldn’t see where it ended, the road would bring Wade closer to Stephan’s car and the farmhouse. Bordering each side of the road Wade passed under the large, dark leaves of banana plants. The road kept winding through the mature banana farm, giving him lots of cover. An opening soon appeared in the dense foliage, and Wade got out of the car to explore. He was still unsure of his exact position. Surprisingly Wade had not been the only visitor to this remote site. Below him were old dried tractor ruts deeply furrowed through once-moist mud. The tracks led to his left, and Wade got back into the car and followed them, his own wheels just outside of the tractor impressions. The road
led back to the same tall eucalyptus tree line that bordered the edge of the banana farm.

  Wade trekked on foot over ground covered in dried banana leaves and stubble. Finding an opening from which to observe, he saw the farmhouse and a wide flat field before him. Returning to the car, Wade decided it was an ideal place to park, so he drove a little further, until he was close to the open field but still protected by deep cover.

  The new position brought his car to within fifty yards of his new sniper hide. After checking several possible shooting angles, Wade returned to his car to assemble his Steyr SSG 69 silenced Austrian sniper rifle fitted with a German 6.5x scope. It was the rifle he’d taken from Mashburn and had on the rooftop in Belmopan. With weapons in hand, he left the comfort of the car and returned to the deeper cover of dense banana plants, where he prepared his permanent shooting position.

  Training his binoculars on the landscape east of the farmhouse, Wade saw a small piece of shiny silver metal protruding from a dense cover of branches. The reflection was about five feet off the ground. Wade studied the area more closely and discovered the protruding metal was a portion of a well-disguised airplane wing and fuselage covered in camouflage netting and pushed well back under leaves and branches of the far tree line.

  His new position offered a good view of the farmhouse, the plane, and the expanse of the open field. He took his time adjusting his scope and making estimations of range and windage to different target points.

  With the sun at his back, he felt he controlled the theater in the front and on both sides of his position. Using his rifle scope, he scanned the area from in front of the plane’s propeller to the mountains beyond. The area directly in front of the plane was compacted gravel, making for a hard surface ideal for the plane’s weight.

  Fifty feet away from where the plane rested, the ground spread out into a smooth ribbon of compacted dirt and decomposed granite that served as a runway. The forty-foot wide airstrip made an ideal runway for small planes, allowing sufficient room for the plane to head in either direction to accommodate whatever wind direction happened to be present.