by Young, Mark
Willy nodded. “Tons of ’em. It’s like they suddenly crawled out of the ground and started spreading all over the property. Look at this!” He pointed along the shoreline.
Heat signatures showed a number of four-man teams sweeping the water’s edge, east and west. At least two teams approached the site where he’d selected to hit land. “They know we’re coming.”
“You think?” Willy scoffed. “They’re coming right for us. And we haven’t even gotten close yet.”
“So, how did they get tipped off? They have some kind of trace on us? Some kind of surveillance you missed?”
Willy shrugged, looking defeated. “Beats the living daylights out of me.”
“Not what I wanted to hear, Willy. Right now, our eyes and ears just went blind and deaf.” He took a deep breath. No use hammering Willy over what already happened. “I’ve got another idea. I hope you guys are ready to use a little muscle. You’re going to need it.”
It was a waste of a good boat, but he had no other choice. Gerrit ordered them to gather their equipment and store it in the Zodiac they had tethered alongside. Once they passed Kane’s complex, Gerrit killed the engine and let the craft drift in the current. After the other two climbed in the rubber boat, he untied the rope and leaped into it, letting the cabin cruiser drift away in the darkness.
Alena and Gerrit grabbed the paddles and guided the craft to shore. They struggled to fight their way toward the shoreline against a strong undercurrent. It took almost thirty minutes. Once on land, they faced their next biggest obstacle—sheer cliffs rising straight up for more than a hundred feet.
“Listen up,” Gerrit whispered. “I’m going to make my way up the cliff first. Once I reach the summit, I’ll anchor the rope and lower it down to you. Alena, make sure Willy has his carabineer properly connected and show him how to break his fall using the rope.”
“My fall?” Willy hissed. “I’m not planning on falling, man.”
Gerrit moved closer. “I just want you to know how to use the rope—in case you slip—to stop your descent. I’m going to send down a second rope around your chest, to give you added support as you climb.” I’m going to be pulling you up that cliff, Willy, So just shut up.
Alena leaned close and whispered. “You be careful, Gerrit. You have to free climb that rock with no ropes and a full backpack.” She glanced upward. “You are the one I’m worried about.”
Her breath, close to him, felt warm on his skin in the cool night air. He drew back, almost as a reflex. “Just be ready to move when I get Willy topside. We’ll be sitting in an exposed area, no cover all the way to the first building that I can see.”
She nodded and moved away, helping Willy slip into his climbing harness.
Gerrit slung the coiled rope and his H&K assault rifle over his shoulder and began his ascent. Although steep, basalt rock formations offered good handholds and jutting edges provided a solid foundation for toe holes as he climbed. But the climb was slow, as he made sure the rock beneath him would hold before he ventured farther. The crashing water beneath him started to diminish as he gained height. Midway, his arms started to shake from the weight of his backpack and ropes, and he rested for a few minutes before continuing. He hugged the rock and looked up. It seemed like he would be climbing forever.
He started upward again, trying to ignore the muscles in his arms and neck tightening with strain and exhaustion. He had to push on. Everything depended on him reaching the top. Resting again, he gazed out over the water. A full moon climbed into the dark sky, a finger of silver light cutting a path across the water toward his direction. The sight might be enjoyable if his body didn’t hurt so much.
He pushed on until he finally reached the top. Grasping the edge of the cliff, he raised himself until Kane’s complex loomed in sight. Only a few yards away, several boulders lay together, offering limited cover. Beyond the rocks he saw the main structure to his right, and to his left, a heliport that could accommodate several choppers at a time.
No one seemed to be walking the grounds.
He pulled himself up and rolled onto his back after slipping out of the backpack. Catching his breath, he quickly wrapped the end of one rope securely around the largest boulder and dropped the line below.
He knew the kind of weight Willy would bring up the face of the cliff. Stuffed inside a backpack to leave his hands free to climb, Willy carried a 9mm Beretta that he sweet-talked Alena into giving him, his laptop, and a small digital reader. He peered over and saw Alena grasp the other end of the rope. He waited until she had Willy positioned, then he dropped the second rope, tying one end around his waist. Even from this distance, Willy looked scared.
Great, I can see the headlines now: Ex-Cop Killed by Falling Ex-Gangster.
Alena tied the second rope around Willy’s chest and under his arms. Gerrit pulled the rope until it was taut, signaling down to Willy to begin his climb. Hand over hand, Willy moved up the face of the rock, using his arms to climb and his feet to brace against the cliff. Gerrit braced himself, set his feet firmly, and began to pull on the second rope to give Willy additional support.
Again, he felt the fire in his arms and strain to his lower back as Willy’s dead weight pulled against him. He continually pulled the rope upward. In this position, he couldn’t see behind him. Couldn’t see if any security patrols came his way.
After what seemed like hours but could only be a few more minutes, Willy reached the top of the cliff. Gerrit pulled even harder, helping the younger man clamber over the edge. Gasping, Willy lay on his back, trying to catch his breath. “Man, I feel like Laurence Fishburne in The Matrix.”
“Shh,” Gerrit warned, glancing around. He untied the rope and started to lower it down to Alena when he saw she was already halfway up. He watched her agilely ascend with what seemed like effortless grace.
A few minutes later, her head emerged and he started toward her to help lift her over the edge. She swung a leg over the top and rolled onto solid ground before he could reach her. He quickly pulled the rope up, stashing both ropes at the base of one of the boulders.
They were ready for the next phase.
Willy lowered his backpack and pulled out the handheld readers before slipping the pack back on. As Willy flicked on the reader, Gerrit whispered, “Okay, when we move out, only use hand signals. We need to make it inside that building without being spotted.”
They nodded, and Willy turned the face of the reader toward him.
Gerrit eyed the screen. “Okay, where’s the enemy?”
Willy motioned to what looked like a ring of red dots in a semi-circle on the screen, only two positioned near the cliff where they stood. The red dots lay between them and the building.
Alena edged closer to Willy. “They’re not going to see our thermal signatures?”
Willy smiled. “Trust me, thanks to Beck and Thompson, we have our own drone overhead to give us cover. Watch what happens when we move out. Oh, don’t bother using your night-vision equipment. Just turn it off now.”
“Turn it off?” Gerrit shut his system down.
“Yeah, Beck just sent me a message that Thompson made the impossible a reality. And I’d do it real quick. The drone’s almost here.”
Gerrit shrugged and pointed to where the closest security guards stood. “As soon as Alena and I put those two guys out of commission, we’ll move toward the building about two hundred yards away. Willy, stay right behind us. If you spot anyone coming on your reader, tap Alena on the shoulder. When it’s clear to move, tap again and point in the direction you want us to move. Okay?”
Gerrit heard the engine of a plane overhead. It sounded like the drone was at tree level.
Willy reached up and grabbed his shoulder. “Wait, Mr. G. One, two…bam.”
A man screamed about one hundred yards away. “Man, I can’t see anything. What was that—?”
“Shut up, stupid. Our targets are somewhere out there,” another voice hissed through the night air. The voice
came from the same location where the first man’s voice rang out.
“But I can’t get a reading. Where is everyone?”
“Will you shut up? You’re going to get us killed.” The man finally quieted down.
Gerrit felt Willy tap him on the shoulder, motioning toward his night vision glasses. “I can turn them on?”
Willy nodded. “Those two are blind as bats. Their night vision gear is fried.”
He slowly rose, flicked on his night vision and signaled the others to follow.
Richard screamed across the room at a man frantically switching from one camera site to another. “Tell me what’s going on out there, you idiot. I pay you big money to take care of problems like this. And you can’t tell me what’s happening?”
The man, huge enough to scare a pro-bowl offensive line, cowered over the console. He was afraid to face Richard. His big paws danced across the keys, trying to access their wireless surveillance monitors.
Flashes of brilliant light had blinded the cameras, and from what he heard over the air, ground-support units were walking around in a daze. The blinding flashes came across intermittently, followed by long periods of blindness as the lens of thermal-imaging readers and night-vision scopes filled with images of snow.
“Someone’s got a drone working directly overhead. Each flyover, our guys get hit with electronic pulses that make their Night Optical Devices go blind. Some of their equipment has been permanently put out of commission.”
“I can see that, you moron. What I need from you is how to take this drone out.”
The huge man shrugged helplessly. “We don’t have any surface-to-air capabilities. We never imagined that—”
“Correction. You never imagined. And yet, I pay you to anticipate these contingencies. Well, now we must react.” Richard paced back and forth, thinking. He thrust a finger at the hapless giant. “Pull everyone back. Ring the perimeter with security units. Gerrit and his people are trying to get inside the compound.”
The man turned back to his console.
“I’m not finished with you.” Richard peered down at the man seated before him. The man was twice his size, but at this point he seemed to shrink next to his boss. “Start checking for incoming aircraft. I imagine they’ll chopper in reinforcements to back up Gerrit. I want to make sure when they land, our welcoming surprise is ready for them. My demolition team set up claymores ready to go off on my command.”
Richard leaned over and pointed to a small case on the console. He opened it and carefully pointed to a series of switches inside. “Any aircraft sets down on the pad, I want you to trigger these switches. Just make sure that no one walks away from those aircraft when they land. Think you can handle that?”
The Hulk nodded, starting to disseminate Richard’s orders to all security units on the ground. Perspiration ran down his armpits as he watched Richard storm across the room and take an elevator belowground. Relieved, he breathed in easier, his giant forearms laying across the console for support.
Chapter 61
Denver, Colorado
Beck dashed toward the waiting jet as frigid winds cut through his thin suit jacket. He bounded up the stairs and into the belly of the craft. The moment he was inside and the stairs raised, it began taxiing toward the runway.
A crewmember closed and locked the hatch before Beck could grab a seat. Colonel Jack Thompson emerged from the cockpit and made his way to Beck. “Got my pilot initiating takeoff. We need to talk right now.”
Beck leaned forward. “What’s the latest?”
“Sent that drone in at your request and pulled together a small unit to hit the place as backup. But we can’t go in blind. What are we up against?”
Beck leaned back and ran his fingers through his hair. “I wish I knew, Colonel. We have the satellites photos and the images the drone sent back. The trouble is this battle will be over by the time you and I get anywhere near Kane’s compound.”
Thompson nodded. “We got to trust Gerrit to give us the green light to hit that place. Only one landing pad, and if I were Kane, I’d put that out of commission.”
“Any other possible landing sites or clearings the chopper might be able to use?”
The colonel shook his head. “All high forest around that compound, except the road leading in to the place. The best approach is that landing pad. Otherwise, our people are gonna have to rappel down with their gear, and if any of the bad guys have them in their sights, it’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel.”
“Then we just have to wait to hear from Gerrit. And hope he and his people can last long enough for our people to get there.”
“Any word on Joe O’Rourke?”
Beck grimaced. “Kane has him squirreled away someplace or the man is dead. We haven’t been able to pick up any chatter one way or the other.”
“So we know Kane’s at the compound.”
“Yeah. We picked up his signal at that location. Unless he got wise to our tracking device.”
Thompson faced Beck. “Okay, I’ll radio ahead to have our people launch the second they hear from Gerrit. But unless he can give us an update, I can’t in good conscience send our people in. Just too risky.”
The colonel hunched forward. “What’s the problem?”
Beck studied Thompson before answering. The old man must be reading my thoughts. “Can’t figure how Kane knew Gerrit and the others were coming.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was like they were expecting Gerrit’s arrival. I took a look at the heat signatures the drone shot back. Just as Gerrit and his team left the marina in Seattle, I saw new replacements emerging at Kane’s location. They must have brought in more security teams and began fanning out, some heading right toward where Gerrit planned to hit the beach. Fortunately, the drone alerted us to the patrols and Gerrit switched plans. But somehow they knew, Colonel. Who tipped them off?”
“You don’t think Willy or Alena tipped Kane off? They’ve been with Joe for years.”
Beck frowned. “Yeah. Just like Redneck.”
“Maybe Kane had been able to track them with his newfangled technology.”
“Maybe.” Instinctively, Beck knew Kane was getting help from someone close to Gerrit. “If they painted Gerrit or his team with trackers, they would have gotten specific coordinates when the three hit land. Our thermal readers indicated that the security force didn’t know specifically where they were…just the general area. As if they’d been told where to look.”
Thompson tapped his fingers on the edge of his seat. “Gerrit is a straight shooter. He’d never roll. What do we know about the other two?”
“Willy came from the streets. First Alena recruited him, and then Joe took him under his wings.”
“And the woman?”
Beck squinted at the window. “Joe connected with her when he started running.”
“How did they meet?”
“Just said he trusted her with his life.” Beck didn’t look at Thompson. Joe shared a few details of Alena’s life with him a while back, information that might put her in a bad light right now. All he knew is that Joe trusted her. That was good enough for Beck.
“Yeah, and now Joe’s missing. Presumed dead.”
The two men fell silent as the jet banked after takeoff, heading for Seattle. They were powerless for the next few hours. It was all in the hands of Gerrit and his team. And one of them might be a traitor.
Gerrit felt Willy’s tap again. “Those guys are heading our direction, Mr. G.” He held up the reader. Two red dots were coming their way.
“I thought they couldn’t read our heat signatures.”
“They can’t,” Willy said, his voice barely above a whisper. “They can’t see us. The drone knocked out their system. They’re working blind.”
Gerrit motioned to Alena, pointing to the approaching men. She nodded back. He peered over the rock and heard them stumbling his way. One of the men continued to complain about his eyes. The other man told
him to shut up and they could see just fine.
Looking over his shoulder, Gerrit realized they were trapped for the moment. They could not go forward, and the cliff was to their back. He had hoped they could have slipped through security without detection. Now, they were going to have to take action.
His stomach tightened as he withdrew a serrated Marine combat knife and Alena pulled out her own weapon. Willy held the reader low, and Gerrit followed the path of the approaching gunmen. The security patrol was closing in, about twenty yards away. Gerrit took one more look at the thermal images, then prepared to move in that direction to cut them off. The two men had begun to draw apart, one moving to Gerrit’s right and the other coming straight toward him.
He could hear the boots stumble over rocks as the two men approached. Ten yards. Five yards. Gerrit crouched behind the boulder, knife in hand. Alena, also crouching, glanced his way. He pointed to himself, and then jabbed his finger toward the man to his left. He pointed at her, and then pointed to the man on his right.
She nodded. Alena understood.
The boots drew near. “What are we doing over here, you idiot? They said to keep an eye on the perimeter.”
“Hey, they told us to check the area. That’s what we’re doing.”
“Okay, we checked. Now, let’s move down there beyond the landing pad and check that area between the cliffs and the perimeter fence.”
They moved off to Gerrit’s left. Soon the guards were far enough away for him to relax. He sheathed the knife and slowly stood. “Okay, any other threats?”
Willy shook his head.
“Then it’s time to move out and take care of business.” Something began to trouble Gerrit. They’d met minimal resistance. “Wait. Willy, let me see that reader. How are they deployed?”
They all crouched down behind the boulder and Gerrit studied the heat signatures on the screen. None were near the building or the heliport. They were strung out along what seemed to be the perimeter, and he saw other heat signatures inside the building. But no one was stationed where he would have placed people. Near the buildings or satellite towers. No one guarding the landing site. All strategic targets.