_____
On the bridge, Sara watched the boat and made course corrections while visiting with Rachel and Riley. It was the first time she got to spend time with Riley and enjoyed Rachel telling of their success in killing Igor and Petloki.
“Rachel asked me if you came to Tel Aviv, would I train you? Why would you want to do that? Rachel and I are different than you. We have experienced things that have made us killers. You are still without guilt or remorse so why lose it now?” asked Sara.
“Because I’ve already lost it many times. Both of you need to know my past,” said Riley.
Riley slowly started telling them her story. She pulled no punches and asked for their help, which she received along with several long hugs. She was indeed their little sister and they would teach her all they knew.
56
Gulf of Mexico
2016
The boat moved on during the night continuing a southeasterly course. Herb spelled Sara while she rested. Sparks awakened early and went below decks to the Little Bird. The Israeli pilot and crew had armed the helicopter with two M134 mini guns, a GAU-19 .50 caliber 3 barrel Gatling gun, and two AGM-114 Hellfire Missiles. Sparks admired the gunship like an old friend. Ali and his asshole friends were going to have a bad day.
Sparks went to the kitchen where he found Stryker and coffee. They went above to the main deck to sit quietly and watch the sunrise. As a kid, Stryker loved watching the sun poke over the edge of the horizon with the promise of a new day and adventures. Life had taken a toll on those simple days.
“What have you named our boat?” asked Stryker.
“Well, I registered it in the Isle of Man and hid the ownership. Night Stalker is the name.
“How fitting,” responded Stryker.
“Yeah, I thought you’d like it,” he said as he drifted into the mission.
_____
“I think we need to stay in constant contact with our comms to make adjustments. If we screw up, we may sink their ship, kill Ali, and not be able to recover his body. What I propose is we set up two firing positions for you and Riley. My hope is you guys can kill the crew without me having to use the hellfire missiles. We don’t want to get too close until I rake them with the mini guns, which won’t sink them. If Ali remains below deck, he won’t be touched. When we move in to board is when we need you and Riley to take out any threats. We will use the rubber boat to take three of us to board her,” said Sparks.
Dawn of the second day, Sara announced the Night Stalker was approximately one hundred miles southeast of the target. Based on her estimates they should make contact in six hours. Everyone aboard was pumped. Sparks and the Israeli pilot continued discussion of tactics while Stryker cleaned and prepped his GA Precision .338 Lapua rifle. The rifle was accurate out to 1,760 yards. The rifle used a Nightforce ATAC-R 5-25x56mm scope. Riley had the same weapon and had used it during FBI HRT training.
Herb was up and on the bridge with Sara, who was wide awake after being up most of the night. They advised Sparks it was time to stop and let him test the weapons on the Little Bird. Sara slowed the boat and started the elevator to bring the Little Bird out from below decks. When the boat had stopped, Sparks and the Israeli pilot removed the tie downs and entered the helicopter. The turbine spooled up and came to power as the rotors spun, getting ready for takeoff. Little Bird lifted into the air and powered into the sky as everyone watched. The pilots flew away several hundred yards and made several practice runs firing the mini guns and the .50 caliber. The only weapon they did not test were the Hellfire missiles. The Little Bird was ready so they returned and landed back on the pad and shutdown the turbine. Soon the Little Bird was stowed below deck and the boat was underway.
Below deck the crew replaced both guns with more ammunition. Now the Little Bird was ready for the real thing.
_____
Sara and Herb let everyone on comms know they had radar contact with their target ship, ten miles. They brought the Night Stalker to a stop and raised the Little Bird to the deck.
Sparks and the Israeli pilot untied the helicopter, got in their seats, and began going through the checklist. While the engine was spooling up Sparks asked Herb and Sara if they were sure of the target. They told him there was a positive response from the marker put on the target by the Alpha operators in Tampico.
Little Bird gained altitude and flew a low level run toward the target, which appeared quickly. Men grouped on the deck and fired AK-47’s as Little Bird passed over. The helicopter climbed and turned to make another pass, this time with live ammunition. The Israeli pilot came in hot, firing the mini guns. The deck of the target was shredded as the bad guys got a taste of the Little Bird’s teeth. Most of the men on deck were dead or wounded. The captain driving the boat was not injured and turned, trying to get in position for his men to fire a .50 caliber, which they brought up from below decks. As they were setting up the .50 caliber, the helicopter made another pass using its own .50 caliber Gatling gun. The devastation was immense, killing more men and destroying their gun. The Gatling gun must have penetrated the engines because Sparks saw smoke coming from the rear and the boat began to slow. He called the Night Stalker and told them to approach to within one thousand yards and deploy the rubber boarding vessel.
Topside, Stryker and Riley adjusted their scopes as the Night Stalker stopped and let the boarding party proceed to the target. Dirk, Rachel and Sara would board the target while Herb remained at the controls of the Night Stalker. Little Bird would circle during the process in case its firepower was needed.
_____
As the boarding party neared the rear platform of the target, several men appeared from below with AK’s. Stryker and Riley fired at the same time, watching heads explode. No other men appeared except the Captain, who was frantically trying to restart the engines. Riley took aim, adjusted her scope and fired the big .338 through the heavy glass of the cockpit. The big round sent the Captain to find his virgins.
The boarding team arrived and jumped onto the rear dive deck. They moved up to the main deck and saw the devastation. Rachel ran directly to the mid-deck entry and tossed a flash/bang down the stairs. She, followed by Sara, entered the passageway with suppressed Sigs in hand. They could barely see through their masks but slowly started clearing the boat. Dirk remained above deck to protect them from other threats. He heard gunfire below and wondered if the women were all right.
Below deck, Sara had shot a man attempting to run from her. He died blocking the walkway. They looked at each man’s face but there was still no Ali. Finally, they found him hiding in one of the boats lockers. He was wounded, having been shot in the arm. They took him topside and waved at the Night Stalker. Ali ran his mouth, calling them Jew whores and yelling death to the infidels. Both women spun and fired at the same time, blowing his ass away. Ali was no more.
Epilogue
Ali’s remains were transported to the Night Stalker in a black body bag. The other bodies were stacked near the rear of the disabled yacht. Pete and the Israelis placed C-4 explosives throughout the vessel after removing the transmitter locater. The amount of explosives would leave very little evidence should the vessel be found. Once all explosives were in place, the men returned to the Night Stalker.
The Night Stalker moved two thousand yards away to observe the final chapter to what once was a fine yacht. Alex Antras would never know its final resting place. As the sun set against a moonless sky, Stryker ordered the boat blown to shreds. The explosion and fireball was magnificent. Pieces of the boat blew hundreds of feet into the night sky. Small fires remained on the water surface but the vessel was gone.
The Night Stalker gathered speed heading to the Herzliya Marina, Tel Aviv, Israel. The trip was expected to take five days.
Rachel called Daniel from her satellite phone and gave him the news. He was overwhelmed and kept thanking her. She told him they were coming home in a seventy-three meter yacht owned by Herb and Stryker. She also told him she would ha
ve the Israeli pilot make arrangements for the helicopter to arrive prior to the boat. She suggested they would like to arrive at night and be met by IDF forces dressed in civilian clothes. Her concerns were the media, which had no business being present to identify them. She told Daniel that Stryker requested that either he or the Prime Minister announce to the world the capture and death of the terrorist Ali by agents of the Mossad and CIA. Stryker would like this to happen quickly. Daniel agreed and understood the politics of an election year in the United States. No details would be given and he promised the Prime Minister would hold the conference soon.
Sparks decided not to call the CIA Director but rather let the Agency share the spotlight with the Israelis, leaving the White House, Homeland Security and FBI in the dark. He just was not in the mood to play nice. In fact, he was in a bad mood, for the DNA results from Jason Branch were not good enough for a match. He would have to find other ways to get a better sample or kill him.
The Night Stalker made the journey, moving at a steady speed in gentle seas. The women lost the combat clothes and laid semi-naked on the front of the yacht. They planned to have nice tans and were glad they had brought their bikinis. The men hung out watching the women and drinking beer, doing what men do best.
Back in the United States, battles between the media and government officials raged. There were continued calls for impeachment and resignations. The people were mad and with good reason, their inept politicians had cost them lives and property. Killing of media reporters continued with people taking out their frustrations.
Jason Branch became the Democratic nominee and was actively campaigning. He was trailing his Republican counterpart by a wide margin and was not expected to win.
Two days and hundreds of miles into the Atlantic Ocean, the transmitter locator of the Antras vessel was tossed overboard, never to be recovered.
Alex Antras sold his stock in International News Association just prior to the attacks in Atlanta. The stock value was at an all-time high. Some would say he was lucky, but Antras had played on deaths of Americans and would not be forgotten.
Stryker and Rachel watched the sunsets and sunrises, lost in thoughts about the past and wondering about their future.
Several days prior to making port in Tel Aviv, the Prime Minister of Israel made an announcement to the world. Ali was dead and the credit went to the men and women of the Mossad and the Central Intelligence Agency.
Sparks never received a call from his Director but heard the president was livid about not being kept in the loop. Sparks laughed out loud at the news.
The Night Stalker arrived at the Herzliya Marina and was met by two IDF vessels. They secured her for the night and soldiers remained on board for protection. There were no reporters and no greeters. The Night Stalker, like her name, remained a silent hunter. Riley Clark stood on the bow with Rachel and Sara. A tear fell from Riley’s eye, for today her best friend Ann Connors would have been thirty years old.
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Deadly Resonse (The Jake Stryker Series Book 1) Page 19