As Moss and Kaplan neared the four men standing on the bulkhead, one of Sturdivant's men took a shot to the head. He crumpled to the ground. Seeing this, the other man pushed Tony off the bulkhead and jumped into the water after him.
Bruno took off running.
Both Moss and Kaplan had their weapons drawn.
Kaplan said, "I saw the flash. The shots came from that crane." He pointed. "That's gotta be a thousand yards. The mob doesn't take shots like that. It's our assassin. The long shot is her specialty."
"Any more good news?" Moss said.
"Yeah, I'm going after her." Kaplan turned and ran toward the shooter.
Sirens grew louder as a line of emergency vehicles turned into the shipping terminal complex. He couldn't let Kaplan go after the assassin alone. He had grievances with her and wanted her alive. She had impersonated a federal law enforcement officer and used him to locate her prey. He didn't like being played by anyone. If Kaplan was going after the red headed woman, so was he.
Moss reached the bulkhead, pulled out his weapon, and yelled down to Sturdivant's remaining man, "Where's Bruno?"
"Took off running, sir." The man pointed.
In the distance Moss could see Bruno running toward the shipping complex entrance. If the cops didn't round him up, then he would go after him later.
Moss looked back at Sturdivant's man. "Stay here until I get back." He pointed toward Tony. "Don’t let him get away, understood?"
He didn't wait around for an answer. He was never a fast runner, but he was strong, and ran long distances in high school and college. Of course, those days were long gone, and even though Moss kept up a strict workout regimen, running wasn't part of it.
Initially it was easy to keep Kaplan in sight with the glow from the fire, but the farther he got from the burning warehouse, the darker it became along the waterfront and the harder it was to keep a visual on the operative. Kaplan wasn't running in a straight line either, but a serpentine path toward the shooter's position and keeping himself in a low crouch. And then suddenly Kaplan was gone. Out of sight and Moss had no idea which direction he went.
He came upon a track-hoe and ducked behind it while he scanned the area. His eyes slowly began to adjust to the darkness and he thought he saw movement to his right. He pointed his weapon and strained to see. A hand tapped his arm. He spun around, his weapon leading the way, but the man was faster and deflected it.
"Easy, big guy," Kaplan raised his index finger to his lips. "We're on the same side."
"Son of a bitch. You almost gave me a heart attack."
Kaplan pulled out his phone and dialed.
"Who the hell are you calling?" Moss asked.
"My cavalry."
* * *
Kaplan punched the numbers in his phone, a direct line to his handler at Langley. "You probably shouldn't be here," he said to Moss without looking at the Senior Inspector. "This is a sanctioned hit…not something you want to witness."
"I'm a big boy, Kaplan, I can handle it. I spent a lot of hours alone with that bitch. I know how she operates."
"No you don't," said Kaplan. "She was impersonating a WitSec inspector. Acting. Playing a role. I'll bet she even sweet-talked you. Played you till she got what she wanted." Kaplan paused to let his accusation sink in. "I'm the one who knows how she operates. I've been after her for a year. She's killed twenty-six targets around the globe. Tony was about to be number twenty-seven."
"I got a newsflash for you, pal. She wasn't shooting at Tony. He was puking his guts out at the time and an easy target. That shot was meant for you."
"Bullshit. It was meant for Sturdivant or she just missed hitting Tony. That was one hell of a long shot."
"You don't really believe that do you? If you hadn't leaned down when you did, that bullet would have ripped your head off. You were the target, my friend. Not Sturdivant. Not Tony. And one more thing." Moss leaned into Kaplan's face and with gritted teeth said, "I want her alive, you hear me?"
Kaplan processed that revelation and concluded the deputy was likely correct. Perhaps Valkyrie was shooting at him. "Even if she was, it doesn't change anything. She is still sanctioned, whether you like it or not. She is still my target, so if the two of us are trying to kill each other, then she should be easy enough to find."
"Provided she doesn't kill you first."
"My plan doesn't include dying," Kaplan said as his call went through to Langley.
"No one's ever does."
"Gregg. What the hell is going on?" His handler interrupted.
He turned and looked up at the shooter's position and said, "Valkyrie is here."
* * *
She lost sight of her target as he ran in her direction. He bent down at the same time she fired and her bullet struck a man standing behind him. Then the warehouse turned into a fireball. She randomly fired three more shots before being forced to turn off the night vision feature on her scope due to the blinding effect of the explosion. By the time she spotted the men who ran from the building, two were in the water, one was running away, and two were running in her direction, one several yards behind the other. Her target was in the lead.
Her cover was blown and he was coming after her.
Good. Let the hunted come to the hunter.
The farther he ran from the burning warehouse the harder it was to see him in the darkness without night vision.
Then he was gone.
Both men were gone.
She reactivated the night vision on her scope to scan the area where the men disappeared but was unable to locate either man.
The shipping terminal complex had already turned into a beehive of activity as first responders arrived at the scene to battle the warehouse fire. No telling how many more emergency units had been dispatched to control the blaze.
She used her scope to scan all the exits. Police had already barricaded the roads and all vehicular traffic on the complex was stopped. Two police helicopters equipped with spotlights scanned the warehouse. In the distance, two more helicopters approached yet still maintained a safe distance. Probably newscasters, she thought, trying to be the first to capture the breaking story. Eventually she knew the searchlights would scan the crane where she hid and with all exits blocked, her escape would have to be the river.
But not until her target was dead.
41
After an expedited briefing, Kaplan connected his phone's Bluetooth to the wireless headset system he and Moss were using. "Alan, meet Senior Inspector Pete Moss, U. S. Marshals Service. Moss, Alan, my handler."
"Okay gentlemen," Alan said. "Let's get down to business. Eyeballs in three, two, one." There was a pause. "Whoa, what a mess. Give me second to locate your phone."
"What does he mean, eyeballs?" Moss asked.
Kaplan pointed to the sky. "Spy satellite, what did you think?"
"What if it was cloudy?"
"Then it would be harder."
Alan interrupted, "Pinpointing your location…and I got you. Looks like you are tucked behind some sort of heavy machinery."
"That's us," Kaplan said. "Valkyrie is out by the water somewhere. The flash I saw came from one of those loading cranes at the end of the terminal."
"Bringing the infrared online and, … there she is. She's in the far west crane. Bird's eye view says you have her cornered. Looks like her only escape is down the ladder. That will put her in the open and leave you with a clean shot."
"You're not giving her enough credit, I doubt that's her only escape. She's not that careless." Kaplan paused. "Any cover between us and the crane?"
"Three hundred meters ahead is what appears to be a rock pile," Alan said. "Six meters wide, three meters high. Can you make it there?"
Kaplan looked at Moss and nodded. Moss returned the nod. "No problem," Kaplan said.
"Two assets enroute," Alan said. "Eight and ten minutes out respectively."
"Roger that."
Moss looked at Kaplan, "On three?"
Kaplan nodded.
Both men left the cover of the track hoe and ran for the rock pile.
Bullets peppered the ground.
* * *
When the two men appeared out of nowhere, she saw what they were running toward, a rock pile about halfway between them and her. She fired a few shots to push them back into hiding but they kept running, closing the gap.
She focused on the man to her left. He was slower than the other man. Less agile. An easier target. She zoomed in with her night vision scope—Pete Moss. Not her target, however, still a potential threat. During the time she spent with Moss while impersonating WitSec Inspector April Moore, she grew to like the man. Physically, she was attracted to him, especially his dimples and captivating smile. His voice was deep and authoritative. Somehow Kaplan had recruited him; nevertheless, he was not her target. She would not kill him unless she had to, but she might need to slow him down so she could get Kaplan without Moss’s interference.
Valkyrie rotated her scope to the right and scanned for her target. Kaplan's figure ran through the crosshairs and disappeared from her field of vision. As she tried to follow his movements, he kept darting from side to side. At this zoom setting, her scope was tight and Kaplan's serpentine running style and speed made it difficult to keep him in her sights, so she quit trying, anticipated his movements, and fired.
And missed.
Shot after shot, she missed her target until he finally disappeared behind the rock pile. She rotated her scope back to the left and reacquired Moss. He was moving slow. He was huffing and puffing, his chest heaved in and out. He wasn’t weaving, an easy shot. She lined up her target and squeezed the trigger.
Through the scope she saw him fall to the ground. Now she could concentrate all her attention on Kaplan.
* * *
Kaplan was breathing hard when he dove behind the rock pile. Knowing Valkyrie was trying to pinpoint him in her scope was nerve racking and exhilarating all at the same time. Her reputation as a sniper was well known to him so he ran in random patterns and angles to hopefully throw off her aim. Valkyrie had fired at him several times, missing by a hefty margin each time. He could envision her swinging the barrel left and right trying to keep up with his zigzag route.
He turned to look for Moss. He heard the big man pounding his way toward the rock pile and saw a shadow backlit by the glow from the fire running in the darkness. Kaplan heard the suppressed shot and then Moss grunted. He watched his silhouette reach for his left calf muscle and stumble to the ground. Instinctively and with total disregard of the danger, Kaplan sprinted to Moss, seized him by the arm, pulled him to his feet, and moved them both toward the rock pile. The ground around them erupted from gunfire.
"That bitch shot me," Moss yelled as they raced toward cover.
They both fell to the ground behind the rock pile, breathing heavy, and sweating profusely.
"How bad is it?" Kaplan asked.
"I think it's just a surface wound but it burns like hell."
"I'm surprised Valkyrie didn't shoot you in the chest. As slow as you were running, she could have hit you between the eyes."
"Nice pep talk, Kaplan. It's not me she was paid to kill. Besides, I think she likes me and this is her way of showing it."
"What? Not killing you?"
"You said she was sweet on me."
"No, I said she sweet talked you. She has higher standards."
Kaplan leaned over Moss's leg, whipped open his knife, and said, "Let me take a look, we'll see how much she really likes you."
Kaplan pulled out his penlight, stuck it between his teeth, and sliced the fabric off Moss's pants open just enough so he could see the wound.
"Guess you are right, it's only superficial. She must be sweet on you. Now, take off your neck buff," Kaplan said.
"What?"
Kaplan pointed. "Your neck buff. Take it off and give it to me so I can clean your leg."
Moss pulled it over his head and handed it to Kaplan.
Kaplan took the buff to wipe the excess blood from Moss's leg. "Good news, Deputy, you're going to live. Bullet took a quarter inch size plug out of the side of your leg but it isn't too bad. Bleeding like a stuck pig right now though. No more running for you," Kaplan said. "Not until the bleeding stops." Kaplan folded Moss's neck buff and placed it back on his leg. "Here, hold pressure on it."
Moss clamped his hand over the wound.
Kaplan removed his own neck buff and stretched it around Moss's muscular calf. "Damn," he said. "Not big enough for your fat leg. Give me your belt."
"You're a demanding asshole."
"You know, Moss, I never took you for a whiner." He didn't look up while he worked on the wound. "Cut the crap and give me your belt."
"Your bedside manner really sucks."
Kaplan cinched the belt around Moss's leg, putting enough pressure to slow the bleeding but not enough to act as a tourniquet.
"Still there, Alan?" Kaplan said.
"Still here. Just watching you two Bozos. Like watching Laurel and Hardy. I still have a good heat signature on Valkyrie. Kind of surprising, but she hasn't budged an inch."
"Moss will have to stay here for a while. Took one in the leg. Bleeding won't stop till his heart rate comes down. Field dressing in place. You got a fix on my next cover?"
"Bad news, the next two hundred forty meters, you'll be in the open. There is a shed at the base of the crane. Can Moss shoot?"
"Yes, I can shoot. I took one in the leg not my trigger finger," Moss interrupted. "And I'm in range to hit the crane from here. At the very least, it will distract her. Never know, I might get lucky and actually hit the crazy bitch."
"How are you two fixed on ammo?"
"Between the two of us," Moss explained. "We have a hundred and two rounds. Three full mags each."
"I'll leave two mags with Moss," Kaplan said. "Leaves me with seventeen rounds. Moss can keep her distracted while I make it to the shed."
"It'll take me a few shots to find the right arc," Moss said.
"No wind," Alan said. "That should help."
"How do you know that?" Moss asked.
"Windsock at Newark International is flat," Alan explained. "Assets are four and five minutes out now."
"Roger that," Kaplan said. "Moss, find your arc."
Moss's first shot hit metal on the lower part of the crane. He adjusted the arc and fired again this time hitting the crane just below the platform the shooter was on.
"Anytime you're ready," Moss said.
Kaplan didn't hesitate. "Now." He vaulted toward the shed as if his life depended on it.
It did.
42
Kaplan felt slightly winded from the first sprint when he ran for the small building by the crane. After pulling Moss to safety, his rest break was no more than three or four minutes before he was on the run again. The distance was shorter this time, but not by much. Still, two hundred forty meters was a long haul. Especially in the open with a sniper taking pot shots.
Two hundred forty meters.
Roughly two hundred sixty yards.
Almost eight hundred feet.
And Kaplan's energy was waning.
Halfway to the building Kaplan's pace began to slow. He no longer had the endurance he had in his twenties. The muscles in his legs were fatigued and just wouldn't churn any faster.
Moss had done his job so far and kept Valkyrie from getting off a shot that came anywhere close to hitting him. The closest she had gotten was over six feet.
Then Moss stopped shooting.
Kaplan compensated by increasing the frequency and duration of his serpentine movements. But that also increased his total running distance to the building.
He could see the muzzle flashes in the dark from Valkyrie's rifle and clearly hear the suppressed pops as well.
"Come on, Moss." Kaplan was breathing heavy. "I sure could use a little help out here."
"Gun jammed. Give me a se
cond."
Each flash was followed by a pop and the ground near him would explode simultaneously.
Valkyrie's shots were getting closer and Kaplan's speed was slowing even more. It was only a matter of seconds before she would hit him. The pendulum had swung to Valkyrie's advantage.
"Got it," Kaplan heard Moss say through his headset and then the firing resumed at Valkyrie's position.
Her return fire was off target. Back to missing by several feet. He could hear Moss's rounds pinging off the metal structure. Sparks sporadically ricocheted off the girders.
Fifty feet and closing.
He knew Valkyrie's shooting angle had changed. She was now shooting down instead of out. The closer he got to the building, the more pronounced her barrel swings were to track his serpentine path. And the more she had to swing her rifle barrel, the better his odds of not getting mowed down by the assassin.
Moss continued firing and suddenly the assassin stopped shooting.
"What happened?" Kaplan asked.
"Don't know," Moss replied. "Maybe I got a hit."
"No, she's not hit," Alan interjected. "She's moving across the crane's lifting arm."
Kaplan reached the side of the building. It was a small maintenance shed used to support the two loading cranes at this remote end of the shipping terminal. He dropped to his knees then fell into a sitting position against the shed.
"I need a minute to catch my breath," Kaplan panted. "What's she doing now?"
"I don't know," Alan said. "She moved out on the crane's arm and hasn't moved since. At least for the past few seconds anyway."
Kaplan pulled out his weapon and scooted to the edge of the building. He took a quick glance around the side of the building and up at the crane. The tall crane structure and the sprinkle of stars in the sky above were all he saw in the darkness.
"I don't get it," Alan said.
Kaplan heard the crane's diesel engine generator fire up and noticed a large rectangular shadow lift off the loading dock.
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