by David Nees
Max picked up his phone and called three men. He explained he had a job for them in Rome and they should be ready to depart within an hour’s notice. There would be fifteen grand in it for each of them. He would be calling them in the next twenty-four hours to send them on their way. They were to drive together, but stay in separate hotels if an overnight stay was required. They were to bring all their tools which meant sniper rifles, submachine guns like the MP5 along with semi-automatic pistols. The details of the job would dictate the tools used.
Dan called Conti to tell him they would meet on Saturday. He’d call the day of the meeting to give him the time and place. Pietro felt frustrated. He couldn’t set up any trap ahead of time. He’d have to improvise, or rather the men the book seller sent would have to improvise. They were professionals, though, and could do the job, even without advance planning. One nagging worry was that the two men he had sent to Austria were also professionals. Let’s hope the book seller’s men are better. He would be glad when all this was behind him.
In the three days Dan had to wait, he picked up his car in Milan and drove back to Venice to collect more gear. On Saturday morning, already in his observation spot on the roof of the apartment building, Dan called Conti and gave him the address. He instructed him to meet at noon. At 10:00 am he watched as a car drove into the courtyard. Three men got out including Conti. They engaged in animated discussion with much pointing in different directions. The trunk was opened and the two men pulled long guns out. They had scopes and looked to Dan like sniper rifles. The two left and each went to a nearby warehouse and forced open the door. Headed to the roofs. He would have eyes on them from his vantage point two blocks away, just as the Watcher had implied.
Conti pulled what looked to Dan like an MP5 submachine gun out of the trunk. He opened the rear passenger door and laid it inside. Then he got back into the driver’s seat. The windows were tinted dark enough that Dan couldn’t see inside.
The watcher said to be careful of a surprise. Was there another shooter inside the car?
Within ten minutes the men appeared on their separate roofs. The courtyard was now quiet with only Pietro’s car sitting there, waiting for Dan to arrive.
Dan relaxed. It was only 11:00 am. Let them stew for an hour. The tension will only fatigue them. Pietro Conti had set him up in Austria and was now trying to do it again. He probably didn’t bring the money with him. Dan allowed a cold, grim smile to cross his face. You’ve tried to double cross me once too often and now you will pay the price.
He relaxed, keeping a loose eye on the two men set up on the rooftops. His ribs still hurt and he stiffened up when he was still for too long. The men were professional. Dan could see them sighting in the rifles, adjusting their scopes and making sure they were concealed from anyone looking up. The men on the roofs had radios and Dan noted that they had checked in fifteen minutes ago. Suddenly the driver’s door opened. Conti got out and ran over to the side of one of the warehouses and stood facing the wall. He’s relieving himself. Must be nervous. Conti kept looking over his shoulder and when finished ran back to get into the car.
At five minutes to noon, Dan tightened up the bullet proof vest he had brought, ignoring the pain it set off in his rib cage, and slipped his M110 sniper rifle over the parapet wall. He had loaded the magazine with subsonic rounds. With the suppressor, no one would hear it in the courtyard. The men on the roofs had finished a check in with their radios. Dan assumed it was Conti they were calling.
When they were done, Dan put his sights on the farthest sniper. He settled his breathing in the familiar pattern. There was only Dan, his rifle, and the target. The deadly connection formed; the sense of a link between him and the target grew strong and solid. There was almost a Zen-like quality to the task, an unconscious process that involved a deadly art as well as mechanical technique. His hand closed and he squeezed the trigger. The rifle fired with a muffled whoomp and kick. The sniper had been sitting up, his head just above the edge of the roof wall. His head exploded and the body dropped back to the roof.
Dan barely noted the kill and turned his rifle to the second target. The connection came quicker this time but the results were the same.
After taking out the second target, Dan hurried down the stairs, put his rifle in the back seat of his Peugeot and gunned the car down the ramp to the street. He pulled slowly into the courtyard. Conti’s car was sitting there. Dan stopped a hundred feet away. He waited. A minute later Conti opened the door and got out. He walked to the front of his car and stood there. Dan noted that Pietro was standing so that he wouldn’t block anyone shooting from the back seat. Conti’s surprise will be coming out of the rear on the passenger side. That was good; nothing between either of them. We’ll both have a clear shot.
Dan got out. He had his M4 slung over his shoulder at low ready. It was set on full auto but it was no match in rate of fire to the Heckler and Koch MP5. However, Dan had the advantage of a vest. He hoped the HK MP5 was chambered in 9mm, not .40 caliber; his vest would stop a 9mm round. Still he didn’t look forward to an automatic weapons shootout.
“Do you have the girl?” Pietro shouted.
“Yes. Do you have the money?”
Pietro shouted he did.
“Get it out,” Dan directed.
“Where’s Evangeline?”
“When I see the money,” Dan responded.
“You can put away your gun. I’m not armed,” Pietro shouted.
“That’s smart of you, but I’ll hold on to it just the same. Show me the money.”
Dan didn’t move. If he had to trade shots with the man in the back, he wanted some distance between them. His M4 fired a .225 high velocity round that was very accurate. He would have a slight chance of hitting his target more accurately than his opponent.
The day was getting hot. Sweat started beading on Dan’s forehead. He resisted the urge to wipe it down. It would all come down to timing just like a fast-draw contest in the old west, although this one done with far more deadly weapons. The .44 revolvers of the old west were not known for their accuracy, nor were the shooters. Many shots would often be fired before one opponent dropped.
Pietro looked up, wondering when his snipers would finish the job. Nothing came from the roofs.
“Are you looking for divine intervention? There’s no help from above. Just do what I say and you’ll be fine.”
Pietro turned to go back to the car. Dan watched him in his peripheral vision. His eyes were fixed to the rear door. As Pietro pulled open the driver’s door the rear door started to open. Dan brought up the carbine and leveled it at the door. The MP5 poked out first and the shooter let off a burst that missed Dan. He responded with a burst at the door window. The man must have ducked. He lurched out and fired a second round simultaneously with Dan. Dan’s burst hit the man in the chest and head. He flopped back against the door frame and dropped to the ground.
One of the 9 mm round slammed into Dan’s vest punching him hard to the ground. He fought blacking out. Pietro started to get back into the car. From the ground Dan fired off a long burst through the windshield on the driver’s side. Pietro didn’t finish climbing in. He had just escaped being torn up by multiple rounds. He stepped back and put up his hands.
“Don’t shoot me,” he cried out.
From the ground, struggling to get his breath back and remain conscious, Dan swung the carbine towards Pietro.
“Come forward…get on the ground…face down.” Dan squeezed out the word in a hoarse, raspy voice.
Pietro heard him and obeyed.
“I didn’t want to do this.” He was beginning to whine. “It was my employer. He wouldn’t let you just do your job and get paid. I warned him not to try to double cross you.”
Dan was getting his breath back. Now his whole rib cage was on fire. “Shut up.” Dan struggled to his feet. “If you open your mouth before I tell you, I’ll hurt you.”
Dan walked over to the shooter. He was bleeding out from mult
iple wounds to his torso. He looked up at Dan. Dan would get nothing out of him. Blood was seeping out of his mouth and he could hear the sucking sound in his chest from a bullet wound. As Dan looked at him, the man eyes went sightless and his head slid sideways. He walked back to Pietro.
“Get up.” Dan motioned for him to walk to Dan’s car. Once at the car, Dan had him lay face down on the pavement with his hands behind his head. Dan reached into the back seat and pulled out a roll of duct tape. He put the M4 inside the car and took out his 9 mm.
“Put your hands behind your back. If you move, I’ll shoot you in the ass and you’ll never sit comfortably again.”
Pietro began to shiver but did as ordered. Dan secured his wrists behind him. He told him to get up. Pietro struggled and Dan finally had to help even though it ignited the pain in his chest. When upright, Dan wrapped tape around Pietro’s mouth and eyes. He led him to the trunk of the car and pushed him inside. After closing the lid, Dan walked back to Pietro’s car. The briefcase was inside but the money was faked, stacks of cut paper with a few one hundred Euro notes on the top and bottom of each stack. He’d make Pietro pay for that conceit.
Dan left the briefcase in the car. With a last look around he climbed in and drove away. The authorities would find the bodies by Monday; there would be no leads. With the briefcase, it would look like a drug deal gone bad.
Chapter 32
___________________________________
U se of the safe house outside of Milan was arranged in Langley by Henry through the Technical Services Division. Even so Jane received a call from the Chief of Station in Rome asking how long she was going to be at the house and what she was doing. She told him to contact Henry back at Langley. If he wanted him to know more, Henry would inform him. Henry called her an hour later.
“Jane, how long are you going to be using the house? I’ve got a call from Springhouse, the Chief of Station.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him he wasn’t cleared to know and really didn’t want to know. He only needed to know I’m using the house,” replied Henry.
“Did he back off?”
“Of course, but the sooner you get done with things the better. He may start snooping around.”
“I’ve got the girl here. We’re debriefing her about her father. There’s some interesting stuff coming out.”
“Where’s Dan?”
“He’s meeting the contact. I haven’t heard back yet. It’s a dangerous situation. The contact tried to have him killed before.”
“He’s meeting him alone?”
“He works alone. He’ll be okay.” Jane said the last mostly on faith. She was worried.
Henry sighed. “Keep me posted.”
“Will do, and Henry?” Jane paused for emphasis. “Tell Springhouse if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay far away from this place.”
Dan drove north. He called Jane.
“I’m so glad to hear your voice,” Jane said when she answered.
“I’ve got Conti in the trunk of the car. We’re on our way to the safe house. There are three bodies back in Rome. The authorities will assume it’s a drug gang killing.”
“Conti tried to set you up again.”
“Yeah. He wasn’t very smart about it either. Listen this guy’s got to have a lot of information that could help us. I’m going to stop on the way see what I can get out of him.”
“Don’t do what I think you’re going to do.”
“He’ll arrive safely. But he might be a little worse for the wear. Remember he’s tried to kill me twice.”
“Don’t do anything rash. When should I expect you?”
“I’ll call you when I’m near. How’s Evangeline?”
“She’s doing well. We’re getting along. She’s started to open up. She’s also worried about you. I think she has a major crush on you.”
“No thinking about it. She wants me to run away with her and live happily ever after.”
Jane sighed into the phone. “Ahhh, if it only worked that way.”
On the way to Milan, Dan turned off on a small side road and drove until he came to a wooded spot off the back road. He parked the car out of sight of the road and got out, carefully stretching his body which was growing stiff from the cracked ribs and bruising through the bullet-proof vest.
He opened the trunk. Pietro lay in a heap inside. Dan bent down and grabbed him under his armpit and pulled him into a seating position. He swung the man’s legs over the trunk sill and pulled his upper body free. Pietro tumbled to the ground with a muffled grunt. Dan bent over him and grabbed his arm again.
“Get up,” he said. His voice was tired, his body was tired, and his mind was tired.
Pietro struggled to his feet. Dan led him into the woods. He stopped at a large tree and pushed Pietro up against it. He pulled the tape off of his mouth. Pietro let out a sharp yelp as the tape tore at his face. Next he pulled the tape over his eyes which produced the same outburst. Pietro blinked and tried to rub his eyes with his wrists still taped.
“Signore Conti, you have made me very angry. I warned you to not do that but you’ve tried to double cross me and kill me. Twice.”
“I was told to do that. I didn’t want to, believe me. I had no choice.”
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear your excuses. I’m tired. I’ve been shot twice and I’m in no mood to listen to crap from you.”
Pietro stopped talking. Dan took out his 9mm with its suppressor attached.
“I’m going to ask you some questions. If you don’t answer me and answer truthfully, I’m going to respond by putting a bullet through your foot. You will feel a great deal of pain and you may never walk properly again. Each time I ask a question, if I don’t think you’re being honest, I’ll shoot you higher. I’ll go from your feet to your knees to your hands and arms. I’ll riddle your limbs with bullets. You won’t die but you’ll be a cripple for the rest of your life. Capische?” Pietro looked at him, his eyes wide with fear? “Verstehen Sie?” Pietro finally nodded.
“Please, can you free my wrists? My circulation is cut off, I can’t feel my hands.” He held up his hands which were purple and swollen.
Dan took out a knife and sliced through the tape. Pietro peeled the rest from his wrists and began to massage his hands.
“Now, who do you work for?”
“He doesn’t want me to divulge his identity. He insists—”
Dan fired a shot into the ground next to Pietro’s foot.
“Herr Aebischer,” Pietro shouted. “Jan Luis Aebischer.”
“That’s better. Now who is he? What does he do?”
Pietro swallowed hard and hesitated.
“No more warning shots. The next one goes straight into your foot.”
Pietro lunged at Dan. He was solidly built and although shorter than Dan probably weighed the same. He grabbed Dan’s right arm and pulled the pistol to one side. His head hit Dan in the chest and drove them both backwards. Dan fought to keep to his feet. Pain from his ribs and chest shot through him almost causing him to pass out. His gun dropped from his hand. Pietro swung his right hand at Dan’s face in an awkward overhand punch. Dan countered, raising his left arm. He twisted to his left, letting Pietro’s thrust go past him and tried to trip him as the man’s momentum carried him forward.
The trip didn’t work and Pietro turned to renew his attack. Dan knew Pietro would attack his wounded chest and rib cage. He knew he was vulnerable with such fresh wounds. Pietro lunged forward, trying to tackle Dan who danced sideways, grunting from the pain of the movement. Pietro’s body missed its target and Dan brought a hard right-hand down on Pietro’s head. The man staggered back. This time Dan closed, shooting a left-hand punch straight into Pietro’s nose, smashing it flat. Blood spurted out. Pietro threw two ineffective punches at Dan which were easily deflected.
Dan closed in. He needed to end the fight before Pietro could hurt him or pick up the gun. He had no illusions as to the resul
ts if Pietro got the upper hand. He sent a decoy jab at Pietro’s head with his left and as Pietro put both arms up to shield himself, Dan swung his right hitting Pietro in the side just below his rib cage. The man bent over in pain. Dan swung a hard overhand-left down on his face. A sharp pain came from his fist as he felt Pietro’s cheek bone crack.
Dan’s anger now overflowed, masking his own pain. He followed up with more lefts and rights, striking Pietro in the face and torso. The man kept staggering but remained on his feet. Dan rained blows and finally, his face bloody and his eyes puffed almost closed he collapsed to the ground. Dan gave him a last kick in the chest and stepped back to retrieve his pistol.
He flicked the safety on and stuffed the gun into his belt. Pietro was twisting on the ground, struggling to regain his breath from Dan’s beating. Dan stood there panting. The pain now returned as the adrenalin stopped flowing. He turned to the car and retrieved the duct tape.
Pietro was still on the ground when Dan returned. Dan prodded him with his foot.
“No, no more,” Pietro said in a hoarse voice.
“Turn over,” Dan said.
Pietro turned over and Dan pulled his arms behind him and taped his wrists together.
“Get up,” Dan commanded.
Pietro struggled but was unable to regain his feet with his arms tied behind him. Dan reached over and helped pull him erect.
“We start again. I enjoyed pounding you and will enjoy it again, almost as much as shooting you, if you don’t answer properly. Now, who is Aebischer and what does he do?”
Pietro spoke in a muffled voice. His cheekbone was cracked, his nose still bled down over his lips and onto his shirt. His eyes were almost swollen shut.
“He is a banker.”
“Be specific.”
Pietro took a deep breath. “He’ll have me killed for saying more.”