Of course, that erroneous assumption was going to cost them.
A pleasant chime announced their arrival on the third floor.
The doors automatically opened, only to reveal an empty car. The Novians knew that something was up. Rys watched as they cautiously approached, talking to each other in wary speculation. From what he could catch of their conversation they were thinking that the empty car had just been a diversion to draw their attention away. He waited until they were both within two feet of the doors before giving Seger a nod.
With a beatific smile on his face, Seger set off the flashbang, blinding the two Novians and making them drop to their knees in agony. Becks, being the quickest shot, dropped instantly out of the hatch and shot them both with a tranq dart. Perhaps it was not as easy a transition to dreamland as their comrades, but they were definitely out for the duration.
Miles dropped down next, rifle in his hands, and skirted the two downed men as he headed straight for his assigned position. Rys led everyone else into an empty office next to the elevators, as he had no desire to be in a possible fatal funnel of cross fire by remaining in the hallway.
It took thirty nerve wracking seconds before he heard finally Miles say: “Rys, I am in position.”
Copy that, Miles. Go. Rys tried switching to the frequency with all the cameras, but whatever control system Gremlin had them on was unfamiliar to him and completely inaccessible in his current mode. Giving up, he pinged Gremlin.
“Sir?”
Narrate for me; I need a play by play of Miles’s activities.
“Yes, sir.” There was a pause as Gremlin no doubt panned through several camera placements to locate the other Captain. When he found him, he instantly dubbed it over with a blank loop, in case someone else was watching at that moment. “He’s in the room directly above the President’s bathroom. He’s laying down surface detonators on the floor. Oooh, nice pattern!”
Gremlin…. Rys’s tone only one step away from a growl.
“Sorry, sir. The no-go standing guard on the President is firmly parked near the bathroom door. He’s not moving an inch any direction; his back is to the door and he is facing the President. Captain Diener put the charges directly above his head. Okay, he just set the first cascade charge and backed away…”
There was a muted concussive sound, followed by the unmistakable echo of explosives going off in a small, contained area.
“…and he just jumped into the room, using the guard for a mat to cushion his landing. The guard is out of the game. Our snipers hit both of the guards in the President’s office. Top marks for a perfectly timed landing on the floor! Diener is urging the President to go up a rope. The President is shaking his head and looking up at the rope. I doubt if he has the strength to get up that rope, he is pretty chunky. The Captain just tossed two PGs into the outer office to buy them some time.”
Two proximity grenades should certainly stop anyone foolish enough to burst through that office door.
“Four no-gos from the civilian hostage group are heading down to the second floor at a fast pace.”
The words were barely out of Gremlin’s mouth when the sound of men in heavy boots running on a solid surface reached his ears.
“That leaves you with two no-gos guarding the military hostages and another two guarding the civilians.”
Inside or outside the room?
“Outside for the military, inside for the civilians.”
Rys roundly cursed his luck. Why couldn’t they both be outside the room so he could safely snipe them and not worry about friendly fire endangering the hostages?
Seger, it’s time to provide our military hostages an edge. Becks, go with him and cover him.
Both men nodded in confirmation before easing the door open and quickly vacating the room. He knew the instant that they arrived in the adjacent hallway that held their targets, as there were two cries of alarm, quickly followed by two thuds as bodies hit the floor.
“Sir, the no-gos from the front entrance and the basement stairs have been drawn up to the second floor. Diener has run out of PGs and now he’s throwing everything he’s got.”
Rys had grimly expected something like this might happen. He knew getting the President into his hands and safely out of the building was his top priority. Martin, Snails, I assume you’re helping.
“Trying to, sir, but it is difficult to see through all of the smoke and particulates that’ve been kicked up.”
He could well imagine. There must be little to no visibility in that room.
“Rys, they’re bypassing the door. I can see them through my DIVs; they’re trying to go through the wall to get in at us. I’ve got about ten seconds before they breach the wall of the bathroom.”
Thinking quickly, he ordered, Head up the stairs. I’ll get air support to grab the President in a jerk harness.
“Roger that.”
Rys switched frequencies and tapped Major Ray. Sir, are you following us?
“Barely, Captain. Your man is not overly generous with his supply of words.”
That was Gremlin, alright. Sir, we need air support, NOW. My man will give you precise coordinates on where to pick up our cargo. Make it hot, Major, and don’t spare the engines.
“Understood, Captain,” the Major calmly responded. “Pick up for two?”
One, Rys corrected. The President is your only concern.
“…one, then.”
Rys flipped back to his team’s comm frequency. Gremlin, give them the location, and tell them the story in real time. Miles, air support is inbound, this is going to be tricky. Stay in that room until the last possible minute.
“We’re not even in the room yet!” Miles practically snarled in frustration. “President or not, this man is seriously out of shape. Screw this.”
Rys wanted to poke Gremlin for a description of what was going on, but didn’t dare. Right now the priority was giving the pilot specific coordinates of where to go.
“Handing out the candy bars now, sir, we have quite an eager crowd,” Seger happily reported. There was the distinctive sound of metal hitting the floor, almost like an assortment of guns being dumped haphazardly out of a duffel bag. Wait, knowing Seger, that was exactly what it was. “That’s right, gentlemen, pistols for everyone! Ammo clips for you, and for you, and…no sir, sorry, no rifles. Not enough room in the bag, you see. But I am sure we can pick up a little something for you shortly.”
Rys rolled his eyes, in an appeal to whatever Guardian might be tuned in at the moment. Seger, be serious.
“Oh, is this line still open? Sorry, sir.”
Not for the first time, Rys thanked the Guardians that Seger wasn’t his.
“There,” Miles sounded relieved and a little exasperated at the same time. “I had to go up first and pull him up behind me, but we’re up. Rys, where’s our air support?”
“It should be coming…now,” Gremlin announced suddenly.
There was another, smaller concussive sound as the building took a hit. Rys didn’t need Gremlin to tell him that the hover jet had just shot a nice, big hole in the roof so that they could extend a line in for the President.
“Line is extended,” Gremlin factually commented, “the President is secured in his jerk harness, and they are lifting him up now.”
Snails, Martin, cover the airlift, if anyone even shows a mild interest in that craft you turn them into compost, Rys ordered. Miles, get down here on the double.
“On my way.”
“Erksome,” Rys murmured quietly to the man standing at his elbow, “it’s time to get out of this office.”
“I’d thought you’d forgotten about us, sir.”
Rys opened the door, peeked out either end, and went straight across the hallway into the opposite room. This particular office had wide doorways, allowing him a respectable shooter’s profile to take out the last no-gos. He waved his Lieutenant on, to the office directly across the hallway from the civilians hostages.
“No
-gos on second level have realized that the President is gone. They’re heading back up to the third floor.”
No doubt to take advantage of the hostages still up here as human shields. The question was, which group of hostages would they be aiming for? Rys’s next strategic move would hang entirely on which group Nova valued the most, and tried to retrieve. How many, Gremlin?
“I count three, sir.”
Three…plus the three still in with the civilians…good, they still had a chance to end this without anyone dying in the crossfire. Seger, are our military hostages ready?
“Armed to the teeth and itching for a target, sir. We picked up some nice souvenirs on the way,” Seger reported with evil glee.
That was a plus, there were sure to be some excellent marksmen in that group, no matter how long they had ridden a desk. Rys kept the office door cracked, just barely wide enough for him to get a view of the hallway. He saw it immediately when three men pelted back up the stairs, as fast as they could climb. He held his breath until he could see which way they were headed. Straight ahead, that meant he would have to move to protect the civilian hostages. If they took the right hallway, he could trust the military hostages with Seger and Becks to take care of it.
He let out the breath he was holding when they opted for the right corridor. Seger, Becks, heads up, three no-gos coming your way.
“Copy that, sir, we will keep them entertained.” Seger sounded delighted by this revelation.
A door opened, there were shouts from a chorus of male voices to lower their weapons, and one shot rang out, informing him that someone had declined.
“We have three unhappy no-gos,” Seger informed him with deep satisfaction.
“No-gos with the civilians are attempting to exit their room,” Gremlin broke in sharply.
Rys immediately swung his weapon up into a shooter’s profile, edging the door out of his line of sight. He waited until all three were out of the room and in the hallway before he started firing. He didn’t aim for their chest – with the body armor, it would be useless to hit them there. There was also the risk of a ricochet hitting one of the hostages. Instead, he aimed for their knees, intending to render them immobile on the first shot. He hit the first mark easily, as the no-go crumpled with a sharp cry of pain, slamming into the carpet. Rys spared no attention or remorse for him, rapidly snapping the weapon to his next target. This guard was in the process of jumping over his fallen compatriot, while he scanned for the shooter. With a fluid squeeze of his trigger finger, Rys caught the hapless Novian in midair, and he collapsed on the man directly below him. The carpet was starting to get soggy with the accumulating blood.
The third no-go, sizing up the situation, and being comparatively faster than his comrade, dove head first for the first open doorway he saw.
This did not appear to be his lucky day, as it was the same office currently occupied by Erksome.
Even from five offices down, Rys could clearly hear his Lieutenant issuing orders in a no nonsense tone of voice, “Turn around and kneel down with your hands on your head. I wouldn’t advise making any unnecessary moves, if I were you. I am the only member of my unit without a kill to my credit today, so don’t tempt me to correct that embarrassing oversight.”
Shaking his head, he relaxed a little. Gremlin, is the building clear?
“Nary a mouse, sir.”
Finally. Rys allowed himself a second to just breathe. Status report, people, and give it to me by the numbers.
“No one has been hit, sir,” Capson answered immediately.
“The President got out safely, just a bruised ego from his undignified exit. His doctors are checking him over now just to be on the safe side,” Snelson added.
Thank all the Guardians for that. Rys had been flying by the seat of his pants for the last twelve minutes at least, so hearing that he hadn’t gotten anyone killed or wounded because of an unfortunate snap decision was a blessing showered down from the heavens themselves.
Now came the most unpredictable part of the operation. Rys kept his rifle at the ready, trying to anticipate a final act of desperation. Nova had a reputation to defy rational thought in these situations. They hated to lose, and often opted for death before dishonor. His finely honed survival instincts wouldn’t allow him to relax, and kept his adrenalin levels pumped at combat ready. He slowly stepped out of the office and headed directly for the civilian hostages at the far end of the corridor, scanning for possible threats as he approached. Erksome handed off his shackled Nova prisoner to Becks before joining his Captain, and dropping into lock step at his side.
Rys paused before reaching for the knob to open the door into the expansive room beyond. He clicked on his DIVs and intently scanned through the wall, assessing the group for any signs of hostile intent. He didn’t see any rifles or obvious weapons. The group was bunched near the far wall, and there didn’t appear to be anyone in the attitude of being on guard. That was a definite plus in the good guy’s column.
Jumpy hostages under a prolonged strain might be unstable, and could operate outside the bounds of rational thought. He wasn’t taking chances at this stage, so close to achieving his mission objectives. With Erksome at his back he cautiously took the open doorway in small increments, giving himself time to evaluate the room as it came into his view. Most of the people inside were sitting down on the floor with their backs to the wall or standing next to the windows. They all looked very tense and were keeping an anxious eye on the doorway. Once he cleared the threshold, he side-stepped inside, seeming to move at random. “Everyone stay down, hands were I can see them at all times!”
Erksome was right behind his captain, hand on his shoulder, rifle up, eyes constantly scanning everyone and everything in the room. Erksome split off to the right, Rys to the left, staying close to the walls and scrutinizing every angle looking for something that did not fit. Every person in the room turned to keep them within eyesight, growing more nervous by the moment.
Rys could almost feel their fear but he blocked it out, focusing on the job at hand. He saw no signs of a bomb, no suspicious wiring or switches, nothing to indicate that Nova had decided to cut their losses by booby trapping this room and killing their hostages.
Erksome had been around his captain far too long to not be able to pick up on his elevated tension. “Sir?”
I can’t shake the feeling that this was way too easy, Rys admitted to him.
“You call having to orchestrate a drop and snatch of the President by air easy?” Erksome intoned in response, trying to take the edge off of moment.
I know, I know, it’s just…when have we ever encountered a situation like this with Nova, and they DIDN’T have at least two backup plans in place?
Erksome frowned as he thought that over. “No matter how you look at it, we’ve only encountered one backup. They were definitely intent on keeping the President, no matter what the tab.”
See? Rys felt less paranoid when his Lieutenant gave a slow nod, acknowledging his solid point on the scoreboard. Putting out a general alert to everyone on both teams, he ordered, Stay sharp, people. Something about this just feels off, my instincts are screaming at me that we are missing something vital. Let’s not get comfortable until we have everyone safely out of the building.
“What are you thinking, Rys?” Miles questioned, picking up Rys’s edge in his own voice.
I’m thinking we’ve only encountered one backup plan, Rys answered grimly. I feel like I am waiting for the other boot to drop.
“That is definitely out of character for Nova. Okay, everyone initiate another headcount of our hostages. Make sure we have the right number of people, and no one’s trying to join up and slip out with the herd. See if there is someone who can recognize and vouch for every person on our roster.”
That was likely a tactic Nova might employ, when all of their other avenues of escape were blocked off. Rys blinked, considering the simplicity of that plan, and turned his attention sharply to the people sitti
ng so deathly still in the room before him. Most of them were obviously not military with their elaborate haircuts, tailored suits, and professional manicures.
It was the haircuts that caught his attention first. There were two men with crew cuts that seemed out of place in this crowd. He shifted his focus to them, and other smaller details started to emerge and add up fast. They both sat with such rigid postures, like there was an iron bar threaded into their spinal cords. Then there was the way they shifted ever so slightly, to keep both Special Forces officers within line of sight, at the same time trying to appear nonchalant. They were also careful to avoid eye contact, drawing unnecessary attention to themselves. One of them turned, and for a moment his shirt pulled just tight enough to give the impression of an outline enhanced by body armor.
Rys took a quick snapshot of the two men with his eye and sent it directly to Erksome. We are going to nail those two, Erksome. On my count. Three, two…one!
In a synchronized move, they grabbed the men, flattening them against the wall with a no nonsense gun barrel etching a crease against the back of their skulls.
The civilians in close proximity to them jerked back in alarm.
Found them, Rys informed Miles with vicious satisfaction.
“What are you doing?!” the man trapped under his hand protested in innocent confusion. “We’re with the press!”
“I might have let the crew cuts slide,” Rys informed him in a low threatening tone, “but that aura of military bearing you display without thinking, accompanied with the distinctive outlines of body armor under your shirts were a total deal breaker. Sorry, no-go, you’ve been tagged.” Rys switched to the Guard’s comm. Major Ray, this is Savar, over.
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