by Young, Mark
“Does Gerrit know Kane is gone?”
Beck shook his head. “I can’t seem to raise him on the cell phone. He may have turned it off before hitting Kane’s location.”
“Well, let him know as soon as possible. Since Kane is not in Harrogate, I wonder who he left in charge.”
Beck shrugged. “Even more important…where is Joe O’Rourke?”
Chapter 56
Harrogate, England
Alena whispered over his radio, “Gerrit. Incoming!”
He felt relief for a moment. She was still alive. And she just warned him she’d chucked the flash-bang. Quickly, he closed his eyes and covered his ears. He felt and heard the blast, even with his ears covered.
The gunmen below him must be temporarily stunned. He scrambled down the stairs just as one man rose from the ground. Gerrit fired two quick bursts before the gunman could swing his weapon around. The man slumped to the ground and remained motionless.
He heard movement to his left and swung around to face the next target. A second too late. The second gunman leaped from around the corner and aimed his rifle before Gerrit could zero in on him.
A burst of automatic fire opened up to his right. The muzzle flash gave him a glimpse of Alena coming through broken windows.
The second gunman fired wildly in the air as he fell back.
Four men down.
Alena crept toward him, rifle at the ready. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I was worried. Heard all that outgoing firepower and didn’t hear you firing back.”
“I knew they were firing wildly. Held my fire until I could get the flash-bang set up to cover you from the roof.”
“Thanks for having my back. I was a second too slow for that last guy.”
“Yeah. Saved by a woman. You will never live that down.”
He smiled. “I could get used to this…partner.”
Alena returned his smile for a moment. Then she frowned. “Do you think we have any more to deal with here?”
“Don’t know. Our thermal imaging showed these four. We need to take the elevator to the lower floor to check on any others and see if…”
They both knew he was thinking of Joe. She whispered, “They could be waiting down there. That elevator might be a kill zone they set up knowing we’d come for him.”
“I know. But we don’t have a choice. It’s where they might have Joe.”
They moved toward the elevator. Alena said, “How are we going to access the code?”
Gerrit held up a card. “Searched one of the dead guys on the roof. Same card I saw Kane use the last time I was here.” He slid the card through the reader, and the elevator door slid open. He entered and used the butt of his rifle to shatter the light bulbs in the ceiling. Darkness enveloped them as the elevator door closed.
They descended to the lower level. Gerrit tapped her on the shoulder. “I’ll go first. Let’s crisscross. I’ll move to the right, you to the left. Okay?”
“Yeah.”
The elevator shuddered to a stop. “Ready?”
“Hit it.”
He gripped his rifle, hit the Open button. He shot through the half-opened door, the tip of his weapon following the direction he scanned as he pressed himself against the wall. Alena moved to his left.
Only silence and darkness beyond. All lights have been extinguished on this floor.
“Stay put,” he whispered. “I’ll find a light switch.”
He worked his way along the wall until he came to a panel of switches. “Got ’em. Get ready.” He began to switch one after another. The entire lower floor burst with light. It took a few second for his eyes to become accustomed to the brightness. He scanned the room.
Not a soul in sight.
He crept forward, clearing one cubicle after another. Each desk was cleaned off. Not a scrap of paper left behind. Together, they moved in unison through the room, clearing each spot before going forward.
Still no one.
They came to a doorway. He swung it open and saw it led to a darkened hallway, with more doors leading off from the hallway. He groped on the wall and found another panel of light switches. Turning these on, he saw an empty hallway.
Each room they examined stood empty.
At the end of the hallway, one more door sat barring their way. Peering through the door’s window, he saw a much larger room beyond, bigger than all the others. In the center of that room was a metal table equipped with metal rings where victims could be tied down.
Gerrit’s gut tightened. He knew how they used this room—to torture and interrogate prisoners. A chill swept through him as another thought came to mind.
Where is my uncle?
If Kane brought Joe here, this is where they must have tried to make him talk. The place was empty and spotless.
“No one here.” Gerrit glanced at Alena. “Except for the four upstairs, this place is a ghost town.”
Alena looked around her. “And where is Joe? This is where I thought Kane would take him.”
“Maybe he was here at one time. But Kane must have moved him. So, where do we start looking?”
“Let’s get back upstairs and check in with the others.” They rode the elevator and just stepped out when Stafford approached them. “What did you find?”
Gerrit shrugged. “Nothing. Everyone’s gone.”
Willy’s voice came over the radio. Excited. Urgent. “Mr. G., can you copy?”
Gerrit keyed his mike. “Go ahead, Willy.”
“Got another bogey you guys overlooked.”
Gerrit looked at Stafford and Alena. “Where?”
“About a hundred yards west of your location. And she’s armed.”
Collette.
“Can she copy our transmissions?”
“Of course she can’t.” Willy sounded hurt. “After I got these radios from Stafford, I encrypted our system myself.”
Stafford frowned. “They were encrypted, Willy.”
“Sorry, Spy Man. I had to make sure.”
Gerrit cut in. “Well, we’ll—”
“Get out of there now. Now!” Willy screamed into the radio.
Gerrit sprinted to the door, yelling at the others. “Follow me.”
He cleared the front door, sprinting toward the nearest tree line, Alena and Stafford a few feet behind. A split second later, he and the others were hurled across the grass like limp dolls as an explosion rocked the mansion.
Gerrit felt himself land on the ground. The only sound he heard after the blast was an incessant ringing in his ears. Alena and Stafford lay nearby. Both were moving.
Alive.
He looked back at the building and saw rubble piled up where the house once stood. Fires broke out among the debris. They had to get farther away in case of secondary explosions. Gas. Explosives. Who knows?
He helped Alena to her feet and they sprinted toward the trees about a hundred yards away.
“We’re okay, Willy. Copy?”
“Oh, thank God.”
Gerrit keyed the mike again. “Give me a fix on this fifth person. Maybe a spotter?”
“Mr. G, I think she is the one who triggered the explosion. And she has a sniper rifle aimed at your position. Take cover!”
Chapter 57
Gerrit and the others zigzagged a path beyond the first row of trees. Collette must not have a clear shot and didn’t want to give her position way. That bought them a few minutes.
All three caught their breath before Gerrit spoke. “Okay, you guys stay here. I’m going to break off and work my way around her with Willy’s help.”
Alena placed her hand on his shoulder. “No, Gerrit. This woman is mine. You guys provide a distraction.”
“No, Alena, I can’t—”
“Because I’m a woman?”
“No, I—”
“There is a lot you do not know about me, Gerrit. This is something I am good at. Trust me.” Without waiting, she melted into the darkness.
He glanced at Stafford
. The agent just shrugged. “I think she knows what she’s doing, O’Rourke. Let’s try to take the heat off her.”
Gerrit activated his mike. “Willy, feed us any information on the target. Al’s going to take point. My partner and I will be the bait. You’ll be Alena’s eyes and ears until this is over.”
“Gotcha, Mr. G.”
Gerrit turned to the agent. “Well, let’s keep Collette busy.”
Alena moved from tree to tree through the shadows. “Willy, guide me in,” she whispered into the mike. She heard several clicks. After activating her night-vision glasses, she worked her way in a wide circle around where she believed Collette lay hiding.
“Alena, you copy?” Gerrit’s voice seemed like a scream compared to the quietness surrounding her.
She responded with two clicks.
“Be careful.”
She smiled to herself, suspecting that Gerrit did not think she could take care of herself. In a way, that was sweet. If only he knew half the operations she’d been in, he would not have to worry as much. But her past she tried to keep locked away. Only Joe knew most of her history. And that was one person too many.
Stealthily, she wove through groves of trees that surrounded Kane’s complex, targeting a hill that lay beyond Collette’s position. Alena could crest that hill and work down the slope, giving her the high ground and—hopefully—the element of surprise.
It seemed forever before she reached it, clogged with low-lying brush and winter-bare trees. Some were evergreen, but not enough for good cover. She was thankful that whatever noise she made up to this point would not be carried down the hill to Collette’s hiding place. At least until she slipped over the crest and began her descent. At that point, she hoped Gerrit and Stafford would kick up some noise.
Just as she reached the apex, she heard Collette fire two quick shots.
Hugging the ground, Alena waited to see where the shots had been aimed. The rifle’s blast would not necessarily divulge direction. Only that it had been fired.
“Stafford,” Gerrit’s voice carried over the radio. “Move to your left, and I’ll try to flank her. Don’t give her a clean shot.”
“Watch your own hide, O’Rourke. I can take care of myself.” Stafford sound annoyed.
They were giving her the time she needed to make a move.
She started downward while scanning below for any sign of the target. Moonlight made the hillside light like day through the night-vision glasses. Movement caught her eye. There, behind a rock, facing away. Alena edged forward, using tree trunks as cover wherever possible in case Collette spun around.
Several more shots fired. Those came from Gerrit’s position. For a second, she was angry that he fired in her direction, and then she heard one of the rounds zip overhead. He was firing high for distraction.
Stafford fired several shots.
As the sound of rifle fire echoed up the slope, she used the noise as cover to dash down the hill, closer to Collette’s position. She jumped behind a tree trunk and waited to see if the woman had heard her. Nothing but silence. She peered around the trunk. The woman lay prone about ten yards away. She could kill Collette from here, but taking her prisoner was a higher priority. The woman knew where Joe might be.
Alena reached down and keyed her radio twice, hoping Gerrit would understand. She held her breath and waited.
Gerrit peppered the air with more shots. He got the message.
She took a deep breath and sprang from the tree, dashing the short distance between her and Collette. With only three more yards to go, Collette rose up and spun around to face her. Alena’s momentum carried her the remaining distance as the woman raised her rifle. She slammed into Collette with enough force to carry them both down the hill, knocking the woman’s rifle away.
As she leaped from the ground, Alena heard the blade of a knife unsheathed. Her night-vision glasses had been knocked out of place when she collided with Collette. Momentarily blind, she tore off her glasses and reached for her holstered gun before Collette could use the knife. The holster was empty. The weapon must have been jarred loose in the collision.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Alena saw a flash of metal as Collette lunged and slashed her way toward Alena. Moonlight glittered off the blade.
Rookie move.
Alena sidestepped the last downward slash and caught Collette’s wrist in midair. Alena torqued the arm to her left and pulled, using her attacker’s downward movement as leverage.
Collette screamed as Alena wrenched the arm, practically pulling it out of its socket. Collette dropped the weapon.
Whirling, Alena used her forward motion to smash the base of Collette’s neck as the woman crumbled to the ground. Unconscious.
Gerrit looked down at Collette, bound and lying on the ground. The woman glared up at them. He looked at Alena and shook his head. “Note to self: Don’t get Alena angry. She can hurt me.”
Alena tried to smile. “She won’t talk—at least for now. We need to find Joe some other way.”
Stafford shouldered his rifle as Willy walked up. “Let me get her back to the office and see what we can get out of her.”
“Alena is right,” Gerrit said, watching Willy search the prisoner’s pockets and remove a cell phone. “We have to move now.”
“Look at this, Mr. G.” Willy had flipped the phone open, scrolling through the menu. “She received text messages from a number I recognize. The boss man himself.”
Gerrit felt his pulse quicken. “Maybe we can get Kane to tell us something. Quick, send back a text…mission accomplished.”
Typing the message, Willy hit the Send button. “Message on its way.”
“Okay, let’s get out of here before locals come to investigate.”
Stafford broke in. “I’ve got you covered here, O’Rourke. My people will take over as soon as I get them on-site. I’ll handle her.” He nodded toward Collette. “Maybe I can get something out of her. It would be better if you all were gone when my people get here. Less to explain.”
Gerrit nodded.
“Man, that was fast.” Willy stared at the phone. “Just got a return text. It reads, ‘Congrats. Now, get here as fast as you can.’”
“Doesn’t say where that is?”
“Nope. That’s all Kane sent.”
Gerrit reached down and turned on his own cell phone. “Hey, I got messages on my own phone.” All from one source. “I’ll check them on our way. Let’s meet by the car.”
“Roger that,” Willy said.
Gerrit raised the phone to his ear and heard Beck’s voice. After listening to all the messages, he joined the others waiting by the car. “Pack your bags. There’s one person I trust who might be able to help us. Start driving and I’ll try to get a message to him. We’re going back to where this all started.”
Chapter 58
Vancouver, British Columbia
“We seem to be living out of this plane.” Gerrit peered out of the window as the aircraft descended toward the international airport far below. To the north, the Pacific mountains reached for the sky, with Mount Garibaldi rising like a monarch reigning over his mountainous kingdom.
Jack arranged for them to land north of Seattle on the Canadian side of the border and set up a personal escort through security. Sea-Tac would have been the closest airport, but Jack felt Kane’s people would be monitoring all arrivals into western Washington. Anyone trying to track their travel would find it difficult to zero in on them once they touched ground in Canada.
A family-size van with tinted windows sat near the terminal when they left the aircraft, and they crossed into the United States with minimal difficulty. Their falsified government-issued documents got them through Customs without a hitch. Once across the border, Gerrit used his credit card—issued under an alias to rent another van to get them near Seattle, leaving the Canadian rental behind.
Alena, sitting in the passenger seat, watched in the rearview mirror. “If someone picked up our trail,
I’m not seeing it.”
In the driver’s seat, Gerrit found himself looking back as often as he looked forward. “Neither did I. Unless someone painted us with markers. Then they could be anywhere.”
“Hey, give me some credit,” Willy said. He’d been silently sitting in the back until Gerrit hinted at a screw-up. “I went over all our gear and personal items on the plane. We’re squeaky clean.”
“Maybe you missed something.” He glanced at Willy in the rearview mirror.
Willy scowled. “I didn’t miss anything, Mr. G.”
“We’re betting our lives on you.” Gerrit watched Willy flinch and Alena gave Gerrit a scowl. He got the message. “Look, I’m sorry. I guess I’m worried about Joe. Just forget I said anything.”
A slow smile emerged as Willy nodded. “You bet, Mr. G. And if you give me any more grief, I’ll just have Al kick your butt.”
Gerrit smiled and looked over at Alena.
She did not return his smile. “Gerrit, I’m not sure about this person you called. Can you trust him?”
He met her stare for a moment before turning his attention back to the road. “With my life.” He gripped the steering wheel. “He’ll have our backs.”
As they continued down I-5 heading toward Seattle, he thought about the last month and how everything in his life had been turned upside down. Redneck had been the latest surprise. Since that betrayal, they all seemed to be on edge. He needed to chill out and focus on what needed to be done. He hoped there were no further surprises as they moved ahead. They just needed to find Joe and get him back alive. Everything else dimmed in comparison.
Elliot Bay Marina lay straight ahead. The salt air seemed to cleanse his lungs as Gerrit stepped from the van into the parking lot. He stretched his legs as a familiar figure worked his way through parked cars, waving to get Gerrit’s attention.
“There he is. Stan Cromwell. My old boss.” Gerrit waited until the police lieutenant drew close, thrusting out his hand.
“Man, talk about rising from the grave.” Cromwell vigorously shook his hand and pounded Gerrit on the back. “I can’t tell you how good it is to see your ugly face again.”