by Craig Hurren
The full moon offered plenty of light for his high tech scope and Albrecht watched the interior guard carefully as he gauged the outer guard’s pace of movement, ignoring the third assailant in the car. He watched in disgust as the interior guard began to grope the defenseless hostage’s breasts but pushed his anger down to prioritize and keep the operation crisp. If he took the lecherous bastard out first, the sound of the window pane bursting would alert the outer guard and he could theoretically manage to hit the hostage with machine gun fire before he could be eliminated. He set his point of aim where the outer guard would come into his crosshairs in a few steps and waited patiently. The man’s head entered the far right of Albrecht’s scope and continued toward the center until the sniper’s finger squeezed his trigger almost imperceptibly, causing a muffled, high pitched buzz to pierce the air. Walker and Kerr watched as the exterior guard’s head partially exploded and both men immediately moved toward their targets. Kerr raced past the dead man to the thin wooden front door of the cabin and kicked it so violently that it flew off its hinges, crashing onto the floor. Simultaneous with the crash of the door, Walker’s M4 rang out and the lazy guard in the SUV met his maker.
The interior guard was completely unprepared for Kerr’s interruption of his lustful behavior but he had quick reflexes and ripped his knife from its scabbard toward Holly’s neck. The man used Holly as a shield for his chest, knowing his assailant would be trained to aim for the center mass of his torso. Kerr followed the man’s lurching head movement in his sights, and without hesitation or conscience, neatly placed a single round from his M4 into the center of the man’s face, sending his head violently backward. As the kidnapper’s nervous system quickly shut down, his arm and hand tensed, holding the knife rigidly in place and carrying it backward with the momentum of his fall until it sliced neatly into the meat of Holly’s right shoulder and she let out a muffled cry of pain through the duct tape across her mouth. The cut was more than half an inch deep but severed no main arteries and Kerr’s powerful hand was already applying pressure to her wound as Walker came rushing through the door a second later.
Walker called out, “Secure?” and Kerr replied in the affirmative. Fouts began to make his way toward the cabin but just as it became clear in his view, he felt a heavy thud on the back of his head. His vision flared bright white and his ears rang loudly as he fell forward, his face planting heavily into the leafy ground. He almost lost consciousness but soon rallied to turn and face his attacker. His eyes not yet clear, Fouts couldn’t make out the assailant as he blindly searched for his M4 but it was laying about three feet out of reach. A menacing voice said, “That would be your final move.” and the SWAT captain turned back to see the form of a small man wearing an overcoat and hat becoming clear as his vision returned.
As Kerr maintained pressure on Holly’s wound, Walker cut the zip ties holding her hands and feet to a wooden chair then removed the duct tape and asked her if she was OK. Her panicked eyes darted from man to man and Walker realized she had no idea who he was or what just happened.
“I’m Tom Walker - Alan’s boss from the Columbus Police. Everything will be OK now.” he said soothingly.
Tears streamed down Holly’s face, partly out of relief and partly from lasting fear and shock. She had studied the effects of traumatic stress at length during her training as a psychologist but her intellect was unable to overcome her natural responses and she shook uncontrollably with emotion.
Satisfied that Holly’s injury was not serious and the cabin was clear, Walker felt a sense of urgency to allay his star detective’s fear so he pulled his cell phone from his pocket to dial Alan’s number. “Beach; it’s done. Holly’s safe and I’m taking her to a secure location. Stick with Jake and get this done. Understood?”
“Understood.” Beach replied with firm resolve. “I don’t know how to thank you…I will never forget this Tom.”
Walker’s thick arms engulfed Holly as he picked her up, cradled like a child, to carry her outside. He could see the lights of the SWAT team’s SUV turning into the drive and as he strode toward them, he called for an all clear from Fouts but there was no reply. The vehicle stopped and Walker continued toward it apprehensively, with Kerr still holding pressure on Holly’s wound. Suddenly the two men froze where they stood. Three big, heavily camouflaged men got out of the SUV and at the same time, a voice came from the darkness to the right flank of the Rangers. “Do you value your comrade’s life?”
They turned to see Captain Fouts, blindfolded with his hands secured behind him. Beside him stood a small man with beady eyes and a cold, thin lipped grin holding a gun to Fouts’ head. They were flanked by two more camouflaged men with automatic weapons trained on the Rangers.
Walker and Kerr immediately assessed the new threat but they could see the situation was futile. Even if they could draw their weapons before the men opened fire, Fouts would certainly die and Holly would most likely be hit in the crossfire. Walker’s years of experience under fire suddenly broke through his anger and he knew what had to be done. He surreptitiously opened his transmitter so Albrecht could hear the conversation.
“It’s over - drop your weapons and give me the bitch.” the small man continued in a guttural South African accent.
Walker gave Kerr a defeated look and the two dropped their weapons on the ground. “She’s injured - take me instead.” the big lieutenant said.
“Where would be the fun in that - now, shut up and put her down!”
Holly sobbed with dread as Walker placed her gently on the ground. He leaned in and whispered, “Hold on Holly; we’ll get you back.”
“That’s not going to happen you pompous shit! Get in the car bitch!” the small man snarled then turned to the three men from the SUV and ordered, “Get their guns and telephones then take all three of these toy soldiers into the cabin and make it look like they died in the shootout with those useless morons they killed earlier. Meet us back at the rendezvous in an hour.”
While the small man in charge and the other two camouflaged men got into the SWAT SUV with Holly, the three remaining mercenaries silently searched Walker, Fouts and Kerr and handed their phones to their leader through the window. Walker watched in dismay as the vehicle disappeared down the drive. He was enraged at being so easily tricked and cursed under his breath in the realization that Alan and Jake would now have no idea that Holly wasn’t safe with him at a secure location.
Albrecht had heard every word and silently moved into a new position. He glared coldly as the SUV made its way down the drive and onto the road where he would be unable to take out the tires through the cover of the thick forest. He forced himself to focus on his new task and turned his eye back to the high tech Leupold scope atop his personalized XM2010. He deftly removed the magazine loaded with lower powered hollow point rounds and replaced it with a clip of Winchester Magnum DM131 armor piercing bullets, capable of penetrating three quarters of an inch of armor plating at two hundred yards.
There would be no room for error on this shot. The distance was only two hundred and fifty yards, child’s play for Albrecht, but the timing and the target required extreme precision. It wouldn’t be enough to simply hit the man; the bullet must enter at exactly the right point, at exactly the right time, for his plan to work. He watched as Kerr followed Fouts through the cabin door as though they were in slow motion. Walker was on Kerr’s heels and the three mercenaries followed immediately behind. The timing needed to be perfect and Albrecht’s highly trained eyes monitored all parameters carefully until he saw them nearing perfect alignment. He needed to anticipate the next split second before releasing his single shot, knowing that just as the silencer emitted its high pitched buzz, the armor piercing round would more than double the speed of sound, creating a thunderous howl of shattered air. If he mistimed or missed his mark by the slightest margin, the remaining mercenaries would be alerted and his comrades would be dead.
Walker braced himself for what he hoped was coming. H
e poked Kerr in the right side of his back and despite his surprise, Kerr responded with cat-like reflexes, grabbing Fouts and jerking them both violently to the right as Walker jerked left, dragging the closest assailant to the ground with him. A split second later, came the roar of Albrecht’s tungsten loaded round traveling at two thousand nine hundred feet per second, thundering through the air and the sickening thud Walker expected, arrived a millisecond before. The mercenary who was last in line flew forward into the man in front of him as the military ordnance, armor piercing round sped through him at more than twice the speed of sound. It ripped a massive gaping hole in his chest and continued, unfettered through the next man, then on through the far wall and into a tree where it finally came to rest. Walker had retrieved a knife from the third guard and plunged it into the man’s gut, nicking his stomach then tearing downward through his intestines and bladder. His face contorted with pain and the realization that his comrades were dead and he was next.
Albrecht was already up and running at full speed toward the cabin, holding his rifle ready at his chest. Kerr grabbed a knife from one of the dead mercs and cut his captain’s bindings then cleared the enemies’ weapons. The first man the bullet went through had a tiny, neat hole in his back but his chest was virtually non-existent. Once the bullet had passed through him, it ripped through the second man, destroying his aorta and tearing out a great swath of flesh at the point of exit. Albrecht’s aim had been perfect and the armor piercing round met or exceeded all performance specifications.
Walker’s victim was groaning in pain as some blood flowed up his esophagus to mix with his saliva and bubble out the corner of his mouth. “You’re not dead yet asshole!” Walker grunted.
He lifted the man’s head and propped it up on his knee to drain the blood back to his stomach and clear his mouth. “Looks to me like you’ve got about half an hour to live - give or take. I might be able to get you to a hospital in time to save your life but if I do, you’ll be pissing and shitting into a bag for the rest of your days and you’ll certainly never work again. Of course, I could just leave you here to die slowly, or there’s door number three, where you give me the rendezvous point and I give you a quick, clean soldier’s death. Don’t think too long, we ain’t got time to waste.”
The doomed man was an experienced former South African Special Forces ‘Recce’ and he knew Walker was right about his condition. The only question now was whether he’d tough it out for about an hour of sheer agony or betray his employer in exchange for mercy. Life as a cripple would never be an option for this soldier, and the big man with the thick neck above him knew that full well. He looked up at Walker and grunted, “I don’t owe those pricks anything…”
Once Walker had the details of the rendezvous, he kept his word and put a round through the former Recce’s brain to end his suffering and the former Rangers quickly collected all weapons, covered all traces of the event, and carried the six bodies to the assailants’ vehicle. As they loaded bodies into the back and covered them with a blanket, Fouts looked at Walker and the big man said, “Off the books – completely. Get to the rendezvous as soon as you can – I think we’re going to need you.”
Fouts nodded solemnly and drove off into the night in the kidnappers’ car with all evidence of the event. Walker didn’t know where he would dispose of it and wasn’t interested. He knew that Fouts would ensure no trace would ever be found. He also knew that despite their current status as policemen, this band of former Rangers would never speak a word of the night’s events to anyone and nothing would ever tie the night’s events to his former charges or himself.
Walker turned to Albrecht and said, “You took your sweet time Albrecht!” then his face slowly contorted to a wide grin as his huge bear paw slapped the sniper on the shoulder. “Good shooting son.”
Kerr gave Albrecht a firm pat of thanks on his back.
“Just doing my job boss.” the sniper said with typical Special Forces humility.
Walker gave him a knowing nod then turned toward the road. “Our mission is incomplete ladies. We need to get back to my car, head to their rendezvous, and end that slimy little bastard.” Then he rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, “Beach ain’t the toughest guy in the world but I sure as hell don’t want to have to tell him that we had his girl then lost her. Besides, my wife would kill me dead! Let’s move out.”
After running to Walker’s car, the three former Rangers sat in silence as they sped back toward the city, where the kidnappers’ had taken Holly. Walker didn’t want to contemplate what would have happened if they hadn’t extracted the rendezvous point from the last mercenary at the cabin. They no longer had Fouts’ laptop to trace her signal and even if they did, her cell phone had probably been discovered by now.
Walker knew the locale of the rendezvous point and he was concerned that the new scenario would pose a significant new problem for him and his team. The location was in a warehouse district on the outskirts of town and he was worried about the possibility of witnesses and potential collateral damage. Despite the considerable threat to all their careers, he knew that he had no choice but to remain under the radar. If the situation became official, they would already be compromised, and they all knew it so they steeled themselves for what lie ahead.
Without Fouts to devise a plan and the aid of his night vision binoculars, they would have to rely completely on Albrecht’s scope for an accurate assessment of the situation. Walker knew there was a training tower for the local fire department in the warehouse district so that was his first objective. If they couldn’t get a clear view from there, he would have to improvise a close quarters attack. He broke the silence and described the area to his comrades and soon, they neared their objective.
Albrecht peered out the window at the six story training tower and instantly knew where to set up. Another moment and they were outside the chain mail fence designed to keep children and vandals out of the site. The men exited the vehicle and Walker got some wire cutters from his trunk. He cut a flap just big enough from them to climb through and they proceeded to the tower, weapons in hand. Albrecht bounded up the stairs, closely followed by the others but Walker slowed slightly as they neared the top, his advancing years catching up with him. When he reached the top, Kerr joked, “Back to the gym for you old-timer.”
“Roger that! I’m getting too old for this shit.” Walker puffed.
Albrecht’s rifle was already in place and he was making final adjustments to his equipment as Walker began to catch his breath. The sniper took up a prone position on the outer deck of the platform and Walker directed him to what he believed to be the building where Holly was being held. The moon was still on their side and it wasn’t long before Albrecht spotted the first of the two mercenaries in a well concealed position behind some empty oil barrels outside the warehouse. Assuming these men were well trained, he widened his search to include higher vantage points around the warehouse. In a few seconds, his experienced eyes found the second merc lying on top of an adjacent warehouse about thirty yards from his comrade’s position. He had an AK47 trained on the front of the building where Holly was held. The strange little man was nowhere in sight but Albrecht spotted a small window at the far end of the unprotected wall. He informed Walker and Kerr of the situation and they began to formulate a plan.
The distance from the fire tower to the sniper on the roof was close to six hundred and fifty yards away, about half the maximum effective distance of the XM2010. The shot was no problem for a sniper of Albrecht’s caliber but they had other concerns. It wasn’t so much that the shot would immediately alert the man behind the oil drums. More importantly, they had not yet been able to locate the small man who was obviously in charge. He’d gotten the drop on Fouts at the cabin, so he was obviously highly skilled and cunning. Once the assault began, they needed to be certain they could contain the situation inside the warehouse. But they had no intelligence on the interior or exactly where Holly was restrained within the structure.
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There was really no choice. Walker and Kerr would have to get close enough to see inside. That meant separating from Albrecht without any communication equipment. The base station for their high tech comms was in their SUV at the warehouse and the mercs had obviously shut it down. Their cell phones had been smashed by their captors at the cabin so they had to devise an alternative. The plan was that Walker and Kerr would get to the window to assess the interior situation. Albrecht would have to alternate his surveillance between the gunman on the roof, in case he spotted Walker or Kerr, and the side of the warehouse, to watch for Kerr’s signal to take out the first target. If Kerr was unable to get a clean shot at the man behind the barrels, Albrecht would immediately direct his aim at him. The signal from Kerr would only come when Walker was satisfied he could secure Holly.
The former Ranger sniper inserted his hollow point magazine to avoid the ear shattering roar of the higher powered armor piercing rounds. He hoped that the lower velocity rounds and his high tech suppressor, combined with the distance from target, would muffle the sound of his shots sufficiently to maintain stealth. It was night and the warehouse district looked empty but there were bound to be security guards at other properties who would alert the authorities if they heard his shots. The team would have to move swiftly once the firing started and flee the scene as soon as Holly was secured.
The plan decided; Walker and Kerr disappeared down the stairs without another word. They made their way toward the target on foot, leaving Walker’s car outside the fire tower fence for Albrecht. Ten minutes later, they reached the perimeter of the warehouse complex but there was no clear view of the front so they couldn’t be sure that the man on the ground hadn’t changed positions. The far side and the rear of the warehouse abutted other buildings so the front and near sides were their only access. Walker saw the window at the rear corner of the building and signaled Kerr to move out. Kerr couldn’t reach his destination at the front corner without being exposed to the gunman on the roof so he followed closely behind Walker. Once at the window, he would make his way along the side of the building in the shadows. Based on the angle they observed from the tower, the man on the roof should be blind to his movement.