by Matt Rogers
‘Overwhelming force.’
‘Yes.’
‘That works for me.’
Raul caught up to them and King saw his eyes widen at the sight of the Cobra. ‘We can’t be using that! We’ll draw every Mover in the shipyard to us.’
‘That’s the point,’ King said. ‘More effective than trying to carry out a slow burn. I’d rather this.’
‘I—’
‘You don’t have to come with me, Raul. I never said you had to. I’m doing this mainly for myself. It’s not your responsibility to get wrapped up in it.’
Raul stared at him. ‘You know I can’t do that. What if you die? Then I’ll have to sit back and watch as Rico slaughters my family.’
‘Suit yourself. But it’s on you.’
‘What are we waiting for? We’ve got less than an hour.’
With that, the decision was made. King didn’t prod the man any further. He was clearly desperate, and King had enough experience to know there was no reasoning with desperate men. It would be against Raul’s better judgment to willingly dive into a war, but it seemed that was inevitable. He wanted his family back.
King didn’t dare let him know that in all likelihood they would never find them. He’d seen the shipyard from a distance. His mother and sister could be anywhere amongst the desolate shipwrecks. It was a barren wasteland that would take months to search from top to bottom.
They didn’t have months.
José helped him cart a trolley full of guns to the Cobra. Four assault rifles, four sub-machine guns and four grenade launchers, along with a few thousand rounds of ammunition. If they needed more than that, they would never make it out of the shipyard alive. He tugged open the rear door, feeling the weight of the frame. José and Raul got to work hauling the weapons into the back of the Cobra, where there was space for four or five soldiers. King glanced into the interior of the vehicle, noting that the gunner’s perch had no turret attached. From experience, he knew the Cobra usually came equipped with a 12.7mm machine gun with a mounted shield.
‘Where’s the turret?’ he said. ‘That could be useful.’
‘Afraid you’re out of luck,’ José said, hauling the last grenade launcher into the vehicle. ‘That was the one condition of the exchange. The Turks kept the big gun. Needed it for their armed forces, or something along those lines.’
‘Or had their own self-interests in mind.’
‘More than likely,’ José said. ‘But I’m not one to complain. Especially when Rico couldn’t give a shit about the lack of a turret. He just wanted it for intimidation purposes, I assume.’
King nodded. ‘I thought so.’
It meant there was nothing but a circular hole in the roof of the Cobra. It left them awfully exposed.
‘One of the Movers can lob a grenade straight through that when we slow down,’ he said.
‘So keep your foot on the accelerator,’ José said. ‘Throw their aim off.’
‘Right.’
‘Hey, you asked to do this.’
‘And I’m sticking to it.’
Raul slammed the rear door closed. The noise echoed off the aluminium walls. It rang out across the open space. King felt his heart race increase. The sound had a ring of finality to it. They had committed to the task at hand. There was nothing left to wait for. Soon they would be on their way to Rico’s stronghold.
Just like that, he found himself in the exact situation that he’d left Black Force to avoid.
He rested a hand against the hull of the Cobra. Breathed deep. Channelling the inner hum that signalled approaching combat. Nothing masked the feeling of complete terror before throwing yourself into the line of fire. Not much could. He’d experienced the same sensation a hundred times over, but it didn’t seem to grow any easier.
King turned to José and the two shook hands. He knew it would be the last time they’d ever see him again. Whether they died or not, the man would be halfway across the planet by the time the day had drawn to a close.
Sometimes crime pays, he thought to himself.
‘Good luck, my friend,’ José said. ‘You’re not quite right in the head for doing what you’re about to do, but you’re doing me a favour — so I won’t protest.’
‘You’re doing me a favour, too,’ King said. ‘Without this we’d still be scurrying from building to building, scrounging whatever we could. We’d probably be dead.’
‘You’ll be dead in an hour. I think I just hurried the end result along. But that’s not my concern.’
‘You’re right, it’s not. And I’ll try my hardest not to be.’
He popped open the driver’s door of the Cobra and climbed into the seat. It felt like he was sitting in a cockpit. He stared out at the industrial complex ahead through the open warehouse door. A sheet of bulletproof glass gave the view a slight tint. Raul climbed into the passenger’s seat, shaking with adrenalin. It would be uncontrollable until they got there — King knew that much. Raul had lived a hard life, with a sizeable chunk of it spent inside the walls of a brutal third-world prison, but that got nowhere close to making him adept at handling this sort of scenario.
King had seen many so-called tough guys break over the years. It didn’t take much.
Hopefully the man could preserve his sanity during the chaos that inevitably lay ahead.
‘King,’ José said as he reached out and snatched the door handle, a second away from pulling it shut.
King looked across.
‘I’ve been supplying the Movers for a year. They’re all horrible people. Trust me when I tell you Raul and Luis were a once-off. That’s why Rico threw them in jail. Because they’re good people. I’ve seen the Movers rape, torture and kill more innocent people than I can count. Rico especially.’
‘And you helped them.’
José shrugged. ‘It’s a cruel world. But please don’t show mercy. They don’t deserve it.’
King let the request hang in the air for a moment before responding. ‘I never do.’
He swung the Cobra’s door closed, sealing them into a vehicular battering ram. Then he fired it up and touched the accelerator.
The gargantuan vehicle rumbled out of the warehouse.
He turned out of the lot and gunned the engine.
They shot off the mark, roaring towards the shipyard.
Towards war.
CHAPTER 39
The sealed interior of the Cobra created a bubble of nervous energy. King had long ago worked out how to control it. He still felt just as terrified as ever, but he’d learnt ways to suppress it, to keep the fear in check, to concentrate on the task at hand with laser focus.
Raul had learnt none of these things.
He shifted every couple of seconds in his seat, unable to stay still. Every now and then he glanced back at the arsenal of weaponry behind them. Perhaps reassuring himself. Perhaps making himself even more terrified.
Whatever the case, the terror would only continue to escalate until conflict broke out.
‘I don’t think you’re ready for this,’ King said finally, breaking the silence.
‘I am,’ he said. ‘Just struggling to process it.’
‘So am I.’
‘Bullshit. You look completely calm. This is second nature to you.’
‘I’m scared out of my mind. I just know how to hide it.’
‘You enjoy this, don’t you?’
King looked across. ‘Enjoy what? Killing?’
Gunfights and fighting and violence. You thrive on it. I can tell.’
‘I don’t enjoy it,’ King said. ‘But it makes me feel normal.’
‘There’s still time for you to leave.’
‘Yeah, right.’
‘I’m serious.’
‘Every decision I’ve ever made has been final,’ King said. ‘I don’t change my mind. When I told you I would help in the hotel, I’d spent a long period of time weighing everything up. Nothing you say is going to stop me entering that shipyard. Okay?’
&n
bsp; ‘Okay.’
King gripped the wheel and looked around at the Cobra’s interior. ‘Something’s not right here, Raul.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘How well do you know José?’
‘I told you. Like a brother.’
‘He’s a good man?’
‘I think so. I mean, he’s an arms dealer … but I think he has good intentions.’
‘I don’t know,’ King said. ‘Something’s off.’
‘You keep saying that.’
‘When I have a hunch, I’m not wrong often.’
‘What makes you so sure?’
‘He didn’t hesitate to give us all of this shit. This is millions of dollars worth of equipment. And he just threw it away, and told us he was leaving this life behind. We were there for less than twenty minutes.’
‘That’s what he’s like. He doesn’t spend much time considering his actions. He just does things … and thinks about them later.’
‘You sure? It doesn’t feel right.’
‘I’m sure.’
King shrugged. ‘Whatever. His intentions aren’t our concern any longer. We have all of this. I’ll forget he ever existed.’
‘You don’t like him.’
‘He seems slimy. Like he had ulterior motives.’
‘I won’t bother trying to convince you,’ Raul said. ‘Like you said, it seems you’ve made up your mind. I won’t change your opinion.’
King smiled. ‘You’re catching on.’
He turned the Cobra out of the industrial zone and onto a long, twisting road that descended down to the ocean. Now surrounded by traffic, he kept his gaze fixed firmly ahead and tried to draw the least amount of attention he could. It proved useless, given the fact that he was behind the wheel of an enormous armoured vehicle.
They were both still wanted men.
‘You think the police will catch us on the way there?’ Raul said, seemingly reading his mind.
‘I hope not. If they do, I’m not stopping.’
‘That’ll cause more problems than it solves.’
‘If we get arrested again, they’ll either execute us and bury the bodies or lock us in solitary confinement for the rest of our lives. We had one chance to get out, and we took it. There won’t be another one.’
Raul breathed out. ‘Okay. So between law enforcement and the Movers, I’d say most of Maiquetía’s population wants us dead.’
‘You’re probably right.’
‘Where do I go from here? I mean, if I’m alive in an hour…’
‘Wherever you want,’ King said. ‘I can give you money.’
‘What if my family die…?’ He trailed off.
King didn’t answer that, for he had no magical solution to that question. If they stumbled upon the corpses of Raul’s mother and sister, he feared the man would never recover from such a brutal and unforgiving chain of events. And as the seconds ticked away he found it increasingly likely that said outcome was inevitable.
‘You said you’ve been in the shipyard?’ King said.
‘Yes. A few times. But it was a while ago.’
‘Where is Rico likely to be? I’d like at least a little intel before we do this.’
‘The cruise ship,’ Raul said. ‘The one in the port, resting in the water. Did you see it from our window?’
King recalled the ominous structure looming in an inlet. It had been one of the only distinguishable features in the place from their vantage point in the hotel. He nodded.
‘How confident are you?’
‘Everything of any importance takes place in that ship,’ he said. ‘I’ve never been inside. I was too low in the ranks. But that’s where all the supply is kept, it’s where most of the guards are stationed around, it’s where Rico does business. Mamá and Ana are in there somewhere. I know it.’
King brought up the layout of the shipyard in his head, recalling the view from Diamanté Resort. He remembered an open expanse of concrete that cut through the wreckages, leading to the ocean. A straight path cutting through to Rico’s stronghold. Once inside the cruise ship, he could utilise his skills more effectively. Raul had seen enough of King in action to recognise his talent in close quarters.
It was reaching the cruise ship that seemed to be the major hurdle.
King turned the wheel and brought the Cobra off the main road as they grew closer to the shipyard. He entered a claustrophobic neighbourhood where houses had been seemingly squashed together to ensure maximum occupancy. Every local they passed stopped what they were doing and stared in surprise at the armoured vehicle rumbling through the tiny streets.
Raul directed him left, then right, then left again, and finally raised a hand. King pressed on the brake and the Cobra’s enormous tyres ground to a halt on the gravel. They had stopped just before the street opened out into a wider main road. The road trailed downhill towards the Caribbean Sea.
‘Don’t go any further,’ Raul said, his eyes wide.
‘Why?’
‘It’s been a while since I navigated these streets. I was rusty. Turn right here and the road runs right up to the main gate of the shipyard.’
‘There’s guards stationed there?’
Raul nodded. ‘Rico always keeps half a dozen of his thugs patrolling the entrance.’
‘Describe the gate.’
‘It’s big. It’s some kind of steel mesh.’
‘You think we could break through it?’
Raul’s eyes darted over the interior of the Cobra, taking in the bulk of the vehicle. ‘Yeah, probably. There’s no other way in. Big steel walls running around the rest of the shipyard.’
‘Could we climb over them?’
Raul looked at him. ‘Maybe. But then we don’t have a tank.’
King opened his door and let the humid Venezuelan air flow into the Cobra. ‘Let’s take a look.’
They got out and scurried to the footpath beside an abandoned apartment complex. Scaffolding and building tools lay scattered across the structure, indicating it had been in the process of construction before either financiers or workers had given up on the project. Whatever the case, it blocked the Cobra from the view of whoever was looking up the hill from the bottom of the main road.
King moved slowly along one wall of the complex, feeling the heat of the day drawing sweat from his pores. Raul stayed back. King crouched low as he approached the corner of the building, then peeked around the bend, taking care to expose as little of his frame as possible to whoever may be watching.
Raul was right.
The cracked asphalt descended the rest of the slope, where it ended at a steel wall running the length of the road. The wall had been thrown together haphazardly, probably by Rico and his men when they moved in. Large slabs of concrete and metal and barbed wire had been slapped together at random. Just high enough to prevent intruders. He couldn’t imagine who would want to enter the shipyard anyway, save for having a death wish.
Like he did.
He counted four men loitering at a chain-link gate in the middle of the wall. All tough-looking types, most smoking cigarettes. Each man had a sub-machine gun dangling from a shoulder strap, the gunmetal glinting in the sun. King couldn’t make out their type from such a distance, but the weapons looked fearsome. Supplied by José, no doubt. The four of them strolled about with a sense of brash confidence, openly brandishing illegal firearms, aware that all the proper authorities had been paid off and as a result they ran no risk of being arrested.
They were on top of the world.
King would soon change that.
He shrank back into the side-street and met Raul’s gaze. ‘Four men on the gate.’
‘Used to be two. He’s doubled security.’
‘Is that unusual?’
‘I think so.’
‘I don’t like this, Raul.’
‘I don’t have any other options. I’ll take the Cobra and the guns if you don’t want to continue.’
King shook his head. ‘We ha
ve the element of surprise. I like that. And they look like amateurs. Street thugs. I can deal with them.’
‘You sure?’
‘I’m never sure. But I’m confident.’
King headed back to the Cobra, gnashing his teeth together as he rode out waves of anxiety. His head began to pound, either an effect of the blows he’d sustained over the last few days or because of the rush of adrenalin. He clambered back into the driver’s seat and gripped the wheel until his fingers turned white and his forearms swelled under the exertion. Raul got into the passenger’s seat beside him and watched him silently.
King didn’t bother to check whether Raul was scared. He knew the man would be. Right now, he had to focus on himself. It would take extraordinary focus to achieve what he wanted in the coming storm. But he’d done it before. He could do it again.
He gazed out at the T-junction ahead and zoned in. He touched his foot against the accelerator — ready to press it down. When they turned the corner, it would be full speed ahead. The element of surprise would lend a sizeable advantage that he knew how to exploit. They’d have to hit the shipyard fast and hard. There was no time for hesitation, which meant a single mistake would end them.
A lot of pressure to handle.
He began to put weight on the pedal when a flash of movement in his peripheral vision caught his eye. Something ordinarily forgettable, but in his heightened state of mental alertness he paid attention to every shred of movement. He glanced out the side window.
Shit.
Two men, decked out in combat gear from head to toe, brandishing automatic weapons on the third floor of the adjacent apartment complex. He saw them. They saw him.
The pair shrank back into the shadows of the construction site, disappearing from view.
And just like that, King knew he and Raul had been compromised.
CHAPTER 40
‘Fuck,’ he whispered, reaching back and snatching an MP7 off the floor. He checked the gun was loaded and racked the safety off.
‘What is it?’ Raul said. He hadn’t seen them.
‘They saw us.’
‘Who saw us?’
King didn’t respond, because by that point he’d thrown the door open and dropped to the ground outside. He set off in a full-paced sprint into the construction site. He hurdled a low fence and pushed himself faster, legs pounding across the concrete. The complex loomed overhead. He ducked through an open doorway and found himself in a dusty open-plan layout, faintly illuminated by the sunlight dipping in through open windows along the perimeter.