Snake and Paco appeared in the doorway.
“Get in here!” Trevor yelled.
“Drop your weapon, Mr. SEAL man!” a male voice from the bedroom screamed. “Drop your weapon or your woman dies.”
“It’s over,” Trevor called out loudly to be heard through the closed door. “Let Honor go. You let her go and we walk away. You live.”
“That’s not going to happen, Mr. SEAL man,” came the reply.
“Then you will die!” Trevor replied.
“And so will your woman,” he called back. “I am prepared to die. Are you prepared to allow this for your woman?”
Trevor motioned for Snake and Paco to enter the cabin. He touched Snake’s shoulder and whispered in his ear, “Keep them talking. I’m slipping around back.”
Snake nodded and turned to the door, “Let’s not do anything crazy,” he called out. “Let’s talk about this. What is your name?”
Trevor slipped quietly out the door.
“My name is Asu,” he replied. “What is there to talk about? Drop your weapons or she dies.”
“Why do you want to die?” Snake yelled. “If you come out, I can get you political asylum and witness protection.”
“I don’t want asylum,” he protested. “I have already called Orfali. All the men are on their way back. You have no choice. You must drop your weapon or you die and the woman dies.”
“I’ve seen how you people operate,” Snake fired back. “We would die anyway. Get ready Mr. Asu. We’re coming in.”
Asu fired several rounds through the closed door.
At the rear of the cabin, Trevor quickly tested the window of the bedroom. Locked. The shade was drawn but he could see the shadows of two figures together. The man was holding Honor in front of him as a human shield. He heard more gunshots.
In an act of sheer desperation, Trevor Saunders backed up three paces and ran toward the window, hurling his large body through the glass. He landed with a thud. Broken glass left a large gash across his forehead as he came through the window. He also received cuts on his forearms and right shoulder. Shards of glass cut into his elbows and his knees when he landed. The force of the impact dislodged the gun from his right hand. It slid four feet away from him.
It was then he saw Honor and Asu for the first time. Honor was standing in front of him; her hands were bound behind her back; a bandana was tied around her mouth. Her eyes were wild with fear. The gag muffled but did not suppress her screams. Asu’s left arm was positioned around her neck. The loud, abrupt entrance startled the Syrian and he momentarily froze or Trevor would have been already dead.
Trevor glanced at his weapon. Asu screamed at him, “Freeze Mr. SEAL man.” He trained his weapon on the center of Trevor’s chest. He smiled.
The sound of the bedroom door exploded as it was kicked open. Asu spun quickly and fired, hitting Snake. The former SEAL grabbed his stomach and slumped to the floor. Trevor used the distraction to dive for his weapon. Asu recovered, spun again toward Trevor and shot at the SEAL, missing his head by inches. Trevor grabbed his weapon and rolled on his back, but Asu twisted and positioned Honor’s body directly in between he and the SEAL. Trevor could not get a shot off for fear of hitting Honor.
Another gunshot was heard. Trevor winced expecting a bullet to his midsection. It was not Trevor who had been shot, however.
The bullet went through the left side of Asu’s head, just above the ear. It made a large exit wound on the right side of the Syrian’s head, spraying blood, skull fragments and pieces of the man’s brain onto the wall.
Asu was dead before his body hit the floor. Trevor looked up and saw that it had been Paco who had pulled the trigger. He had followed Snake into the room and took the shot when the Syrian spun back toward Trevor.
“Thank you. Please, tend to Snake,” Trevor yelled at Paco. He jumped to his feet and ran to Honor. He quickly unbound her hands and removed the gag around her neck. She fell into his arms, sobbing, pulling the gag from her mouth. Trevor embraced her and began kissing her face and lips.
For a moment time stood still as the two lovers stared into each other’s eyes.
“I knew you’d come,” she cried out.
“I thought I lost you,” he replied. “I was so worried.”
“They’re coming back,” she said. “The man who was just killed, he called them. They said they were 20 minutes out. That was five minutes ago.”
“That gives us fifteen minutes to put some distance between us and this cabin,” he said. “How many are there?”
“Twelve men by my count,” she said, “including Orfali himself.”
“Damn, we have to get out of here,” Trevor said. “We just took out five of them. That leaves seven more.”
“Snake is hurt bad, man,” Paco said.
“Snake!” Trevor called out. He ran to the fallen former SEAL. Snake had threatened to come through the door to distract Asu, knowing Trevor was by the window in the rear. One of Asu’s wild shots had hit Snake.
“I’m gut shot,” he cried out. He was bleeding profusely. Paco had given him a towel to press against the wound. It was soaked in blood.
“Paco, call 911,” Trevor said. “Have them get a helicopter out here.”
“The medical chopper comes from Olympia,” he said. “It will take 30 to 45 minutes at a minimum.”
“That still beats an ambulance,” Trevor said.
“Yes, but there’s another problem,” Paco said. “There’s only one place within a mile of here that is open enough for a helicopter to land. That place is the opposite direction of our vehicle. It’s over a mile away and up the hill. The only way Snake lives will be if we get him up the hill and meet the chopper when it lands.”
“I’m not gonna make it, Boot,” Snake cried weakly. “Get to the truck. Save Honor. Get to your truck. Get out of here.”
“You know I can’t do that,” Trevor replied. “No one gets left behind.”
“That’s right, man,” Paco agreed. “So, what do you think? Should I go get the truck, bring it here and drive to the clearing?”
“You’d be back tracking,” Trevor said. “Plus, this is heavily forested. Could we even get a truck through it?”
He thought for a moment.
“You’re right,” Paco said. “I don’t think so.”
“Damn.”
“Make the call, FBI and CIA,” Trevor said. “Call the local police too. It’s time to bring in the cavalry. And we’re gonna need all the help we can get.”
“They’ll never make it in time,” Paco said.
“Just do it,” Trevor barked.
“I’m on it, man,” Paco said. “But they’re coming by vehicle from Yelm. The force is small. They will need time to collect men and get here.”
“How long?” Trevor asked.
“An hour, maybe more. This whole thing will be done long before then, regardless what happens.”
“Make the call anyway,” Trevor said. “We need to get Snake to that clearing. We’re sticking together. Let’s go.”
He pulled Snake to his feet. The wounded man put one arm around Paco and the other around Trevor.
“This way,” Paco said when they reached the outdoors.
Chapter 18
“Faster!” wailed Ahmet Orfali. “We need to beat them to the clearing before the helicopter arrives.”
“Relax,” Barkley said, smiling. “They are on foot and dragging a man with a gunshot wound to the belly. That will most certainly slow them down.”
Thirty minutes earlier, Barkley had been tied to a fencepost seething over the traitorous acts imposed on him by Paco, a man he thought of as a friend. It had taken him a long time to loosen the ropes that bound him, and when he did, he reached into his back pocket for his cell. His first call was to Orfali.
It was Barkley’s who informed Orfali that the SEALS had found the cabin. It gave the Syrian an additional ten-minute head-start back to the cabin. Orfali picked up Barkley along the man. The fight club owner burne
d for revenge. No one could betray him like that and get away with it.
It was also Barkley who was connected to a hospital employee named Rodney McCray, a regular fan of the fight club and a man $1,000.00 in debt to the fight club owner. Rodney was an orderly working at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia. Rodney knew Wolf was laid up there and out of commission. He also overheard the emergency call asking for a chopper to be sent to a clearing one mile due south of Carter’s cabin in The Pines.
Rodney called Barkley to tell him one of the SEALS had been shot and was meeting the helicopter at the clearing. Barkley knew right where to tell Orfali to go, the clearing where Paco, Snake, Trevor, and Honor were now headed. He looked at his watch. They would beat Paco and the SEALS to the clearing by five minutes or more. Orfali’s men will be waiting for them, cloaked in darkness. When Paco, the woman and the two SEALS arrived, Orfali’s men would gun them all down like dogs.
When the chopper finally arrived, he, Orfali, and his men would be gone and all the chopper will be able to do is haul away dead bodies.
He felt a touch of guilt but Paco brought this on himself. He could not tolerate disrespect on this level. What would people think?
Chapter 19
“I can’t run anymore,” Honor said, collapsing to the ground. Her breathing was labored.
Trevor stopped and looked at Paco, “You stay with Snake. Keep moving. I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry,” Paco replied. “We have no time to waste. Hurry. Head south. Straight up the hill.”
Snake wrapped his arm around Paco and the two men moved on.
Trevor ran back to Honor, “Let’s go. I can carry you.”
“You can’t carry me,” she said. “Not uphill. I’m done. I’m out of breath. All those weeks at the gym and I can’t even run a mile.”
“This is uphill and with rocky terrain,” Trevor said. “Anyone would get tired. You just need a minute.”
“Still,” she replied. “I’m holding you back. Go. Save Snake.”
He squatted at Honor’s side and wrapped his arms around her, “I came here for you. You’re the reason I’m here, the reason all of us are here. I’ll never leave you again. Just rest a moment, sweetheart. Breathe deeply.”
“You can’t wait,” she protested. “If we can’t make it to the chopper before Orfali returns, we’re all dead. I don’t want you to die.”
“We’re not going to die, Honor,” he protested. “I’ve been through tough situations before.”
“But you didn’t have 135 lbs. of dead weight dragging you down,” she said, continuing to gasp for breath.
“Look, we’ll give you a minute or two and then we’ll try again,” Trevor insisted. He used his hand to pull her sweaty hair away from her face. “I thought I’d lost you,” he said. “It won’t end out here, I promise.”
She kissed his hand and began to sob, “I was so scared. Knowing that you would come for me… that you would find me… it was the only thing that kept me going. I love you so much.”
“And I love you,” he said. “Honor, please sweetheart, we need to move. Can you make it to your feet again?”
“I’ll try,” she said.
“C’mon, I’ll help.”
Trevor helped her to her feet and they began to move again. Trevor looked at this watch. Paco and Snake were three minutes ahead of them.
Honor ran slowly but managed to keep moving. Seven minutes later, Trevor saw the clearing ahead. The light of the moon illuminated the clear field, but he saw no sign of Snake or Paco.
“Where are they?” Honor asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Something’s wrong. Let’s keep moving. They may be on the other side of the clearing. Just a little more, sweetheart. Let’s move.”
Honor and Trevor made it to the center of the clearing before three sets of vehicle head lights came on, blinding them for a few seconds. The cars had been hidden in the shadows of the trees just beyond the clearing.
Trevor held his hand in the air blocking the light from his eyes. He could see two silhouettes from men on their knees – Paco and Snake. Snake’s head was slumped forward. Trevor wondered how long he could last. Standing around them were seven men, spaced out evenly across twenty or more feet. The men all held automatic weapons. Trevor heard the sounds of weapons cocking. He held his handgun high in the sky with the barrel facing upward to show that he did not intend to fire. If Honor had not been there he may have chosen to take a stand then and there by dropping to the ground, rolling and firing. With Honor there, he was not about to take the chance. He tossed his weapon to the ground, making note that it landed about four feet to his right.
He looked at Honor. His faced was grayed with worry.
“I’m sorry Honor, I failed you,” he said.
She managed a smile and touched his face, “You were up against impossible odds, and yet you came for me. That’s all that matters.”
“I wanted to save you so badly,” he said.
“At least I got to see your face and kiss you one last time,” she said. She kissed him again.
Trevor could hear handclapping as a dark figure approached, illuminated by the headlights from the rear.
“Congratulations, Mr. SEAL man,” Orfali said, as he approached. “If I had the time, I would love to torture you for information about how you got this far. Tell me one thing. Asu and my four men at the cabin?”
“Dead,” Trevor said.
He nodded, “I thought this might be the case.”
“Just let us go, Orfali,” Trevor said. “I have help on the way. If you leave now and let us live, perhaps I will be slow in telling them which direction you headed.”
Orfali and several of his men began to roar with laughter. “You are going to fight to the end, right? Protect your woman at any cost. You say you have men on the way? I know that is a lie.”
He turned and yelled behind him, “Mr. Barkley, would you join us?”
Barkley stepped forward into the light. Trevor shook his head, “You piece of filth!” he bellowed.
“Hey man!” Barkley scowled. “This is on you, not me. You tied me up and left me.”
“You are a scum bag!” Paco screamed. “I can’t believe I ever trusted you.”
Barkley turned to Paco, “Consider this your termination notice,” he yelled.
Orfali laughed again, “Mr. Barkley has been most helpful. When he freed himself from the bondage you inflicted on him he called me. It was he who told me where you’d be. It was he who told me your man Snake was also a SEAL. The only thing you have coming is a medical helicopter to tend to Mr. Snake’s wounds. I can assure you that won’t be necessary… not for any of you. All they will need is a hearse.”
“Okay Orfali, you win,” Trevor called out. “Let Honor go, now, at least.”
“I don’t think so.” Orfali looked at his watch, “The helicopter will take another ten minutes to arrive,” he continued. “By then, you will all be dead and my men and I will be in the road. By the time the medics from the helicopter arrive and call the authorities, we will be nothing more than a distant memory.”
“My father is not with you,” Honor yelled. “You failed, Orfali.”
“Oh, thank you Miss Carpenter, I almost forgot the very best part,” Orfali replied. “When Mr. Barkley told me that your father wasn’t here, I made a call. I have deployed a team in Seattle. He will be in our hands within the hour.”
“You’re lying!” she cried out.
“I’m afraid not,” Orfali replied. “Mr. Snake holds a fake ledger I am told. Hopefully, your father has the real one in his possession. If not, at least we’ll have him. And the best part is, you will all be dead. When it came down to it, that’s all I really cared about.”
“Bastard!”
“I’d love to sit and chat more, but I’m afraid it’s time for you all to die. Goodbye, Mr. SEAL man. Goodbye Miss Carpenter.”
He turned toward his men, “You may fire at my command!”
&
nbsp; Trevor grabbed Honor and turned away from Orfali and his men, shielding Honor with his body as the sounds of gunfire exploding into the night.
“Now!” Screamed Orfali.
The sounds of gunfire were deafening.
Chapter 20
Trevor pulled Honor to the ground and covered her body with his own as the gunfire exploded. He braced himself for the multiple entry wounds that would soon enter his back, hoping that none would reach Honor. He heard bullets whistling overhead.
It took a second or two for Trevor realize that the bullets were not coming from the direction of the Syrians.
Neither he nor Honor had been hit.
He did not yet hear a single shot coming from Orfali’s direction though the wail of gunfire was nearly earsplitting. The bullets were raining down on Orfali and his men from behind Trevor’s position.
“Stay down, Boot!” he heard screamed at him from behind. It was Wolf’s voice. It was unmistakable. Wolf was here and he had brought men with him.
Trevor continued to cover Honor as much as possible with his body. Four of Orfali’s men had been gunned down in the opening salvo. That left Orfali himself and two others, who were now returning fire. Trevor could tell the opening salvo from Wolf and the men he’d brought with him had decimated the Syrians, and taken the fight out of them. The return fire was wild and irregular, .
Trevor looked toward the position Orfali and his men held. Trevor could see bloodied bodies, trees splintered, vehicles pierced with multiple rounds. Paco had hit the ground when the shooting began. He appeared to be unharmed. Orfali’s men never stood a chance once the gunfire began.
After another fifteen seconds, return gunfire from Orfali’s two remaining men fell silent. They were either dead or had decided to run. Snake lay motionless on the ground. He saw that Orfali himself had positioned himself behind Paco, and was now holding a gun to his head. Whether Snake was alive or dead he didn’t know.
Wolf and three men emerged from the position of cover he held from the rear. With Wolf were Juan, Francisco and Alejandro, the assault-weapon toting young sentries from the fight club. All were walking slowly toward Orfali. Wolf was clearly limping and moving slowly, but moving nonetheless. His gun was trained on Orfali as he approached. Orfali was sweating profusely but had a firm grip on Paco and held the gun to his temple.
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Fighting for Honor (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 11