The Captive Girl

by David Nees

  After sticking the charges to the beams, Dan had to position the receiver so it could be seen from the outlook. He had marked the spot with some ribbon before he had left for the bridge. Now Dan crawled to the top of the bank, next to the concrete pier supporting the bridge on the mansion side of the ravine. He was close enough to hear conversation coming from the guard house. It was unintelligible over the sound of the rushing water filling the air. His head was a dark lump just above the bank of the ravine. Dan searched with his goggles to find the ribbon.

  He had to keep down a rising concern at not being able to find it. If you can’t, you just have to go back and reset it and try again. It’s a pain in the ass, but not disastrous, just more work. After fifteen minutes of scanning, he found the ribbon barely visible and only noticed by its fluttering in the gentle night breeze. Okay. Now to mount the receiver. Dan had some putty-like plastic that would hold the receiver in place. It just had to not be seen by the guards. He was relying on them not being too interested in the bridge. A close inspection of the beams would reveal the receiver stuck on the outside. He spent ten minutes carefully aiming the receiver at the ribbon. He would check the alignment when he returned to the outlook. If he couldn’t get the receiver in the transmitter’s sights, he’d just have to go back and readjust. He hoped it wouldn’t be a long night.

  When he was satisfied with the aiming, he dropped back into the stream. He made his way back upstream and when reaching the woods, climbed up the bank. Back at the outlook, Dan took the transmitter, which had a simple notch and post sight on the top, and aimed it at the bridge. Using the goggles he was able to finally see the receiver. If I can see it, the signal can be received. It would all work better in the daylight.

  Pietro Conti was worried. He rarely offered dissent to his employer. Herr Aebischer, while stern, was a generous man. Conti was paid well to be his assistant, handling day-to-day details and cleaning up loose ends. The work sometimes involved Herr Aebischer meeting with unsavory characters, men who appeared to be either dangerous or devious. His employer managed funds for these men or the groups they represented. Their histories were mostly obscure and their work was murky, sometimes in the extreme. Pietro didn’t look too deeply. There was much he didn’t want to know. His role sometimes involved action that would be considered illicit or morally questionable. But the work paid well. Enormous fees went into the coffers of his employer, some of which were channeled to Pietro allowing him to fund a lifestyle of modest luxury in Zürich, a very expensive place to live.

  While he purposely didn’t know all the details of most of his employer’s work, he was observant and reasonably intelligent. Herr Aebischer’s ability at making the funds untraceable to their owners was his value to the clients. It didn’t take a genius to guess that the reason for the secrecy might be more than just clients wanting to avoid taxes. It might have to do with funding activities that were outside of the law. It didn’t bother Pietro. He would do his job and was happy to not know too much. Ignorance of the activities seemed to equal safety.

  But Herr Aebischer’s actions regarding his daughter worried Pietro. He understood rescuing her, he even understood the desire to strike back at the pornographer, but he didn’t understand going so far as to arrange for the man’s killing using an obviously dangerous professional. And that professional was someone other than a low-level, underworld hitman. There was something different about him, something that set him apart, as if he was involved in a greater purpose or mission beyond killing people. Herr Aebischer’s plan to double cross the man seemed fool hardy and out of character from his employer’s normally well-considered actions. He was risking his daughter’s life in order to clean his trail. If there was a shootout, the daughter could get killed. And if the assassin survived an attempt on his life, there would be hell to pay. He struck Pietro as a man who would come looking for revenge.

  The two men with the dress shoes had followed Dan’s route into the mountains. They had found the compound and turned around like lost tourists, not waiting around to cause any undue interest by the guards. They had driven out of sight and had parked their BMW sedan just off the gravel road. They waited all day, not knowing when Dan would appear. When night fell, they returned to the village with the plan to set out the next morning. There was a discussion about whether Dan would come down the road after pulling the girl out where they could wait to ambush him or would he drive over the pass to the west. In the end, they figured they would hear shots during the operation and if the assassin didn’t come their way, they would drive up the mountain and catch him from behind. Their instructions were clear and they were prepared to do what was necessary to carry them out.

  Chapter 15

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  D an lay back in the Land Rover and tried to relax. It was 3:00 am. Sleep wouldn’t come. His mind raced over tomorrow’s sequence of events. He knew the start, how he would begin the operation, but it all got fuzzy from that point onward. There were so many variables he couldn’t box them in with solutions. Killing Feriz would not be a problem if the man showed himself anywhere around the pool. It was dealing with the guards, the number of which he still wasn’t sure about. And then finding and taking the girl who might not want to be taken; who might view him as an attacker.

  And always, he came back to the guards. How many were there? He had counted two at the gatehouse, three sets of two walking the grounds, but how many more were stationed inside? Dan didn’t fear a shootout, even though eight or more to one were not good odds. It was the girl that worried him. Your thwarted urges of fatherhood kicking in? He wondered if that frustration, triggered by the death of his pregnant wife, Rita, applied to teenage girls. Slowly his body relaxed. Think it through in the morning. Perhaps it will all seem more clear.

  When dawn came, Dan roused himself and stretched. He got out of the SUV and began a series of exercises to loosen up his body. After the calisthenics, he ate something from his camping rations and drank a full bottle of water. Going to be a busy day, got to stay hydrated. Getting ready for an operation was a bit like getting ready to play football. Only this contest had more deadly outcomes, and failure on his part was permanent.

  First Feriz, then communications, isolation, and recovery. The formula was simple; all except for the last part, recovery. Reviewing the steps again in his mind brought no new insights. His best option was to sow as much confusion and terror as he could. He even might not be noticed at first if there was enough panicked activity among the guests. He would try to fit in as much as someone wielding an M4 automatic assault weapon could, and take out as many guards as possible. His best hope was that the guards would not get themselves organized and so would be running around singly or in pairs.

  Dan was in no hurry. The morning sun would be in his eyes and also reflect off of his scope, exposing his position.

  As it neared noon, Dan gathered his gear. He’d take the kill shot with the M110 and then use his M4 carbine with its suppressor when he went on the grounds. He kept his CZ 75 holstered to his side. His clothes: boots, black tactical pants, dark T-shirt, with a tactical vest didn’t fully match the outfit of the guards, but came close. He hoped it would delay any response from them, especially if they saw him from a distance. He carried only one ten-round magazine in the M110. The M4 was equipped with a thirty-round magazine. In his vest, Dan carried two extra loaded mags. He had an extra magazine for the CZ as well. If ninety M4 rounds and thirty-two 9mm rounds weren’t enough there was no hope for him. He couldn’t afford a long-term stand-off fire fight. The operation had to be violent and quick. A furious attack that would shock and disorient and then a quick retreat and escape. A couple of water bottles, power bars, duct tape, and some zip ties completed his gear.

  He headed down the slope to the lower outlook position where he had aimed his receiver. He watched the poolside activity through his binoculars. There seemed to be no filming going on, everyone was getting into party mode. The girls were all sc
antily clad or topless, the men hung about in tight pants and shirts or swim trunks. Drinks were set up on two portable bars. It took Dan a few minutes to spot Feriz. He was surrounded by people and seemed to be holding court with everyone paying attention to what he said and seeming to laugh a lot. The man paying the bills always gets a laugh with his jokes. Dan waited.

  As the sun slipped past its zenith, he switched from the binoculars to the scope on his M110. He was about two hundred and fifty feet above the pool level and three hundred feet away. This computed to a shot of three hundred and ninety feet. Not far. Dan checked his notebook and adjusted the scope for the distance. He had done a similar computation on the satellite dish and could quickly adjust his aim for that shot. It was a well-practiced, familiar routine.

  Dan settled himself and slipped the muzzle of the M110 with its suppressor through the bushes. There would be no dust signature and no flash. The sound that would be heard would be the sonic boom of the round which would offer no hint of the direction of the shot. Someone who knew about these things, about shooting, would know the direction from the response of Feriz’s body after the hit, but most would not have a clue.

  Dan lay in the brush, concealed with only the muzzle showing its deadly presence. He slowed his breathing. Things would move fast after the first shot, but now it was only Dan, the rifle and the target, all locked in a deadly connection. His heart rate slowed. Dan kept the rifle centered on Feriz’s head which came in and out of view with the people around him. Then there was a clear moment, the woman standing in between Feriz and Dan stepped aside to pick up her drink. And in between beats of his heart, Dan closed the circuit on his connection. The gun fired with a muffled whoomp and a solid kick in his shoulder.

  Feriz pitched to one side as the bullet entered his right temple and exploded the left side of his head. People started screaming and confusion spread throughout the pool area. Dan didn’t watch but turned his rifle immediately to the dish antenna. He sent a series of rounds into the dish and the base, causing the antenna to tip over on its side.

  That done, Dan laid the rifle aside and took out his transmitter. He pointed it at the bridge and squeezed the trigger on the instrument. Nothing. He moved his aim slightly and squeezed again. Nothing. There was no panic, he knew it might be hit or miss. He continued to move the aim of the transmitter inches along the side beam of the bridge, squeezing the trigger. On the sixth squeeze the bridge erupted. One of the guards had come out of the guard house, looking towards the mansion when he heard the shooting and screaming. The other one was inside on the phone.

  The blast pressure wave flung a section of the six by four timbers making up the roadbed against the guard’s head knocking him to the ground in a fatal blow. In addition his body suffered pulmonary lung contusion which probably would have killed him if the wooden beam hadn’t. The guard inside was hit by a shard of broken window glass in the neck as the blast pressure knocked him unconscious. He bled out on the floor of the guard house.

  Dan slipped back inside the screening. He placed the M110 against a tree and grabbed his M4 and scrambled down the slope. After a quick look around, he burst onto the lawn and raced towards the building. He reached the side of the mansion while the guards at the house were all running towards the pool. One of them came around the corner and Dan pointed to the woods, indicating where the shot came from. In the flurry of action, the man failed to notice that Dan was not one of the guards. He started towards the woods gesturing for Dan to come with him. Dan raised the M4 and dropped him with one shot.

  He ran to the corner of the pool area. Some people were milling around the body and being shoved by three guards to keep them away. Others were heading into the mansion, looking to get under cover or leave. Dan scanned the crowd around Feriz. He didn’t see Evangeline. He slipped into the group rushing inside without any guards seeing him.

  One guard from inside the mansion, rushing towards the pool, focused on Dan. Not recognizing him, he shouted, “Stanite!” Stop! Dan didn’t hesitate but brought the M4 up from the low ready position and shot him center mass. People close to Dan screamed and some dropped to the ground. Further away the crowd couldn’t understand what had happened, but they had heard the screaming. It only panicked them more. Three at the pool, two down, at least three unaccounted for. Dan rushed forward with the crowd while scanning for Evangeline. Got to find her quick before this gets much worse. Many of the guests headed upstairs then they got to the front foyer of the mansion. There were two guards in the foyer, one talking on his com speaker. Dan hit both of them with an automatic burst. They collapsed like rag dolls. The gunfire only accelerated the flight upstairs. He followed. Were there other guards? Would the ones at the pool be coming back into the mansion?

  There were multiple rooms upstairs and the guests were scrambling off to them. Bedrooms? Getting dressed? Dan began to open the doors. She has to be in one of the rooms, she wasn’t out at the pool. He began throwing open the doors and entering with his M4 at ready in case there was a guard inside. The guests inside screamed when they saw him. When a quick glance around didn’t show anyone close to Evangeline’s description, he backed out and went to the next door.

  As he backed out of the third door, someone shouted stop again. That proved to be a fatal mistake. Dan dropped and turned as a round passed over his head with a sharp whistle. In the same motion he swung the M4 up and loosed a number of rounds on automatic fire. The man fell back down the stairs.

  Dan ran to the edge of the stairs, dropped to the floor and peeked around the corner. Two guards below fired their MP5s with the rounds going over his head. They had been aiming at the height of a standing man. Dan’s prone position gave him the extra moment to respond with his own automatic fire, dropping the two men. The clip was empty, Dan ejected it and slammed in another one. Seven down out of eight? Or maybe more.

  He moved down the hall. At the next room Dan found one of the three girls he had identified the day before. He grabbed her and pulled up her shirt. She started flailing away at him. He ignored the blows and looked for the birth mark. She didn’t have it. He shoved her away from him and backed out of the room.

  In the next room was the jackpot. The girl had the birthmark. She looked dazed. Dan grabbed her and in Italian told her to come with him.

  “Vieni con me. Ti salverò.” Come with me. I’ll save you, he said in a harsh voice.

  She looked at him, her eyes wide in panic, but also without understanding. She’s high, Dan thought in disgust. This just made his job harder.

  “Vieni, vieni!” He said louder now, gesturing with his hands. “Komen Sie, komen Sie!” Dan switched to German.

  The girl finally stepped forward a bit unsteadily. She was dressed in a pullover T-shirt and jeans. She had sneaker-style shoes on her feet. Dan grabbed her hand. Others in the room began to shout to her not to go with him. He turned and swept his eyes over the girls in the room and they fell silent, some diving behind the bed. Dan crouched and opened the door. The hall was filled with guests now running downstairs. Dan pulled Evangeline behind him and joined the crowd.

  Part of the way down the stairs two more guards, probably from the pool area stopped at the foot of the stairs. They saw Dan in the crowd and shouldered their automatic weapons shouting at him to drop his weapon. Dan shoved Evangeline down as others began to drop to the steps.

  The staircase was built in a grand curve. The two men were standing on the outside of the curve where it reached the foyer. Dan leapt over the banister on the inside of the curve. In that move, he protected himself from their line of fire for a moment. A moment was all he needed. He threw himself forward and poked the M4 over a stair step, forward from where he had disappeared. He opened up on full automatic and sprayed bullets across the foyer in front of the stairs. The rounds caught the men as they were moving to the side of the staircase to fire at him. They flopped back to the floor with their weapons flying out of their hands. One burst of automatic fire went off into the ceiling as on
e of the guards went down.

  Without a moment’s hesitation Dan jumped up and ran to the stairs. He pushed his way against the panicked guests both male and female until he reached Evangeline. She was standing and looking disoriented. Now she resisted Dan’s urgings to come with her. He grabbed her arm, not allowing her to pull away and dragged her through the front door.

  As Dan and Evangeline exited the front door, two more guards were struggling through the hallway from the pool area, against the crowd. Some of the guests were running out the front door and some back towards the pool to where the cars were parked. Dan slung his M4 over his shoulder and grabbed the girl under his arm and started running for the woods. She began to scream. Her understanding of what was happening grew, causing her to panic. He didn’t have the breath to speak but just kept running. He had to reach the woods before any guards came out of the house. As he crashed through the thick brush at the edge of the woods, he heard shots from the mansion. Bullets whistled their ominous, sharp sound of death as they flew past. Some hit trees with a solid thunk, causing chips to fly.

  Dan ran back up the hill to where he had left his backpack and M110. He dropped the girl and crouched in front of her.

  “Parla Italiano?” The girl stared at him wide-eyed.

  “Sprechen Sie deutsch?” The girl nodded.

  In German Dan told her he was not going to hurt her but he had to get her away from the men coming after them. He lied and told her they wanted to hurt her. If she was confused by drugs he didn’t see any reason not to give her a story that would put him on her side.

  “Verstehen Sie?” He had to say it twice before she nodded.