High Treason (Noah Wolf Book 18)

by David Archer

  “Should we be expecting trouble?” Noah asked.

  “Absolutely, but I’m not certain what kind. Andrews asked him if he could eliminate you and agreed to pay his price today. He said he’s going to need help, so you may have anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days to prepare, but trouble is definitely coming. The only thing you have working in your favor is that Andrews did not want to know where you are. She specifically insisted he not tell her, but that doesn’t mean he won’t give her that information later.”

  “I understand,” Noah said. “Aladdin, make sure you know where Senator Andrews is located. It’s possible there may be a sanction coming your way.”

  “Yes, sir,” Mark said. “We are on top of it.”

  He ended the call and looked at the rest of his team. “New orders,” he said. “We get to deal with Andrews if the sanction is approved.”

  Kate looked him in the eye. “Personally, I hope it is.”

  EIGHTEEN

  Noah had immediately called everyone back to the conference room. As soon as they were all inside, he closed the door and asked Neil to make sure no one outside the room could hear them. The moment Neil gave the all clear, he began speaking.

  “Our new man, Alex Paulson, is a rogue agent. Shortly after leaving here, he made contact with Senator Andrews back home to tell her that he had found us, and that you, Allison, are here with us. He did not tell her where we are, because she said she did not want to know. I can only assume that is for plausible deniability if this were to blow up in her face. Fortunately, Team Aladdin had been conscripted by the president to watch the situation, and they were able to intercept that call. Paulson offered to eliminate all of us for a price, which Andrews agreed to pay immediately. He told her that he is going to need help, so we have at least a small window to prepare for what is almost certainly going to be a military-style attack. His goal is going to be to kill all of us, while also exposing our connection to E & E.”

  “Teresa Andrews,” Allison said. “That little bitch. That woman has been more trouble than she’s ever been worth. I can tell you that she wasn’t in this alone, she would be working with Wellborn, and probably a few others. They weren’t quite as bad as Clark and Mitchell, but they definitely liked trying to clamp down on me whenever they could.” She shook her head. “Maybe you should evacuate, Noah. Get everyone out of here now, before it happens. If he comes back and finds us all gone, there won’t be any point in attacking the factory. If they do attack, a lot of innocent people here are likely to lose their lives.”

  “I don’t intend to let it come to that,” Noah said. “He knows who we are, at least who we are locally, which means he could easily find my wife and daughter. Neil, get me his address in Guildford; I think he and I are about to have a talk.”

  “Already got it, Boss,” Neil said. “He’s at the Kingsland Hotel, room three thirty, and according to the internal security system at that hotel, he is currently in his room. I’ve got the security cameras in the hallways, so if he moves I’ll know it.”

  “Noah, you could be walking into a trap,” Allison said. “It’s quite possible that he was fully aware Andrews’ phone was being tapped, and that you would be learning about this impending attack. If that’s the case, he’s probably expecting you to show up there.”

  “So be it,” Noah said. “Considering the risk to my wife and daughter, I intend to eliminate him before he can do anything else.”

  “Hold up, Boss,” Neil said. “I’ve got an awful lot of cell phone activity coming from his room, and I mean a lot. The cell tower log says he’s only been on the phone for the last fifteen minutes, but he’s made eight different calls. He’s rounding up a crew right now.”

  Noah bit the inside of his cheek. “Then it’s too late to handle it quietly,” he said. “Marco, take Cody and Renée and get home. Do whatever it takes to protect my family. I would say the odds are good that he’s not planning to act tonight, so it’ll probably be tomorrow or the following day. I think what we need to do is let him come on to work in the morning and watch him. Wally, I want Esmeralda up here. Alex has not met her, so we can say she’s his new secretary. Her reactions are going to be faster than anyone else’s, and she can let us know when he starts showing signs of preparing for action.”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Wally said. “You know, she has the deception detection software built right into her; she can tell instantly when someone is lying, Noah.”

  “Good, that may come in handy. Jenny, you are head of security. Contact our security company and arrange for special perimeter security. We want at least a couple dozen people hidden in the brush outside the fence. If any of his people try to come in through a back way, I want somebody running interference. Make it clear that this is a life or death situation, and that there will be bonuses for kill shots.”

  “Seriously?” Jenny asked. “Is that legal over here?”

  “I don’t think it’s legal anywhere, but any security company knows what it means. We don’t want any of these people taken alive, because that would give them the opportunity to talk. We need to silence them as quickly as possible, and then we can deal with Senator Andrews and her accomplices. I have Aladdin standing by for that purpose.”

  “Fine,” Jenny said. “But do me one favor, and leave this guy Alex for me. I want to take him out personally.”

  Neil looked at her. “I thought you had decided you were done with that,” he said. “Isn’t that what you said?”

  “I changed my mind,” she growled. “I think my problem was just a little bit of burnout, but I’m over it. To be honest, I was jealous as hell that Esmeralda was out there with my team, doing my job.”

  Noah nodded at her. “It’s good to have you back,” he said. “And I’ll agree to let you have Paulson as long as you understand that we need every bit of information we can get out of him before he dies.”

  “Oh, don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll make him sing like a canary.”

  “So we are working on the theory that the attack is not coming until at least sometime tomorrow, right?” Allison asked. “Do you honestly think that makes sense?”

  “It does,” JC said suddenly. “This guy is a professional—he’s going to want time to recon. He’ll have his people ready somewhere not far away, but they won’t attack until he gives the order. He’ll want to be certain that he knows where each of us is going to be when that attack comes. He can’t possibly learn that without at least a few hours here at the offices.”

  “I agree,” Noah said. “He’s going to want to know every possible thing that could go wrong before the attack begins. That’s the only way he has any hope of actually taking all of us out at once, and he’s going to have to make it work that quickly if he hopes to survive.”

  “It’s likely that he’s going to pretend to be frightened when the attack begins, just so that he can get behind some of us,” Molly said. “We have to make certain he is never out of sight, that we have some kind of surveillance on him every second from the moment he arrives tomorrow morning. If we don’t, he’s going to get into a position where he can at least take some of us down, and I don’t want to see that happen. Never mind the fact that I want to live; all of you people have become pretty important to me as well, and I don’t want anything happening to any of you.”

  “All right, people,” Noah said. “We know what we are up against, so let’s get busy preparing. I’m going to keep Marco and Renée at home tomorrow, so remember that we must prevail. If we don’t, everyone we care about at the Manor is going to die.”

  “I have a thought,” Neil said. “It’s highly likely he’s going to use a cell phone or some other electronic device to remain in contact with whoever he’s recruited. I can set up a program now that will monitor all electronic communications in and out of the building. One of us can watch the monitor and see if we can learn anything about when the attack will occur. That would at least give us a warning so we can prepare.”

 
; “Do it,” Noah said. “Wally, is there any way you can have Esmeralda monitor that program? Her computing power will be a lot faster than I was trying to figure out what is and isn’t a signal.”

  Wally giggled. “No problem at all,” he said. “Neil, let’s huddle.”

  * * *

  Vladimir Popov was one of the best Alex had ever worked with in the past, and he had been fortunate that the man had been available in the UK. In less than two hours, Vladimir had been able to round up a twelve-man force comprised of Special Forces soldiers from five different countries. Any one of these men would be a match for an entire platoon of regular soldiers, and they all knew it. They were the best there were, and the only thing that motivated them was money.

  Paulson had contacted Vladimir by phone, but the man would not commit to anything without receiving half his payment upfront. It was just after eight o’clock that evening when they met at a local pub in Guildford. Paulson slipped an envelope containing fifty thousand American dollars across the table and Vladimir made it vanish instantly.

  “I need you to find somewhere to wait,” Paulson said. “You’ll be in command of the entire operation, but you can’t make a move until I’m certain of where the targets will be. I’m going to try to get them all into one area of the buildings, and I’m pretty sure I can, and that’s when I’m going to send you the signal. It will be a text message, and all it will say is ‘now,’ along with where the targets will be waiting. Got that?”

  Vladimir nodded. “This will be easy,” he said. “They will not even know what is happening until it is over.”

  “That is how I want it to happen,” Paulson said. “We strike quickly and suddenly, and we concentrate on the targets in the executive offices. Not all of them are actual targets, but it will be impossible to know which ones are and which ones are not when everything begins. We take them all, and we say our prayers for the collateral damage.”

  “I will leave the prayers for you,” Vladimir said. “I have no time for such things. Just be sure I can find you to collect the rest of our money when this is over.”

  “How many times have I hired you? Have I ever failed to pay you? You won’t need to worry about finding me, I will find you.”

  Vladimir nodded. “True, you always do. Very well, we will rest for tonight and be in place early tomorrow morning. When you send the signal, we will come through the back fence. Again, they will not know what hit them.”

  Vladimir got up and left, and Paulson sat where he was for a moment longer. He had one more call to make, and he took care of it while he sat in the booth alone.

  The call ended and Paulson decided to simply relax for the evening. He went back to his hotel and made himself a drink from the minibar, then sat down to watch some television. He found an old program about seven castaways on an island and watched two episodes back to back. As the second one finished, his cell phone rang and he saw that it was Vladimir calling.

  “This is Alex,” he said as he answered. “What can I do for you?”

  “I found a staging area,” Vladimir said. “A kilometer east of the factory. It’s an old barn, sitting empty and invisible from the road. There is an easily navigated path through the forest surrounding the factory compound, so it will take us less than five minutes to get there.”

  “Excellent,” Paulson said. “You have all the equipment you need?”

  “Of course. We make sure to keep plenty of it with us. We all have our weapons, and there is more than enough ammunition. We can complete the entire operation in less than a quarter hour.”

  “That’s good news. Just wait for my signal, and we’ll get this over with quickly.”

  * * *

  Alex Paulson reported for work the following morning precisely at eight a.m., and he found his new office with no trouble. Emily Walker—i.e., Molly—the COO’s executive assistant, was waiting there with another young woman.

  “Mr. Paulson,” Molly said with a smile. “You’re right on time. I’d like you to meet Emma Renaldo, your secretary.”

  Esmeralda had been briefed on her temporary position, and she smiled at Paulson as he extended a hand. “Wonderful to meet you, sir,” she said with a local accent. “I’ve been hearing all about you this morning. I’m sure it will be a pleasure to work with you.”

  Paulson grinned at the girl. “The pleasure is mine,” he said. “You seem quite capable. Have you held a similar position in the past?”

  “I’ve been doing secretarial work for the last four years,” Esmeralda said. “I was delighted when this firm opened up, because I had been driving all the way into London for work. Now my commute is less than ten minutes.”

  “All right, then,” Paulson said. “Perhaps you can show me what it is I’m supposed to be doing.”

  Molly put a hand on Esmeralda’s shoulder. “I’ll leave you to it,” she said. “Mr. Paulson, let me know if you need anything else.”

  Paulson watched her walk away for a moment, then turned back to Esmeralda. “I was being serious,” he said. “Can you show me what it is I’m supposed to do in this job? All I know is I’m the production manager, but I have no idea what the production manager is supposed to do.”

  Esmeralda smiled. “I’ll be more than happy to show you,” she said. “Shall we go into your office?”

  She spent the next hour introducing him to the numerous forms he would be required to maintain regarding production quotas, actual deliverables, accidents and incidents, machine maintenance and dozens of other areas that needed close monitoring. Each of the forms was built into the computer system, so all he had to do was fill them out and save them, which instantly submitted them to the COO. He was also required to print a hard copy and keep it on file for each form. The printer, Esmeralda showed him, was near her desk, so she would handle filing them away.

  Finally, she left him alone in his office and Paulson cautiously took out his cell phone. He sent a text to Vladimir, which read: Are you in place?

  Vladimir replied almost instantly. We are ready. As I told you, the barn is only a kilometer away. It will take us only minutes to strike when you give the word.

  Very good, Paulson replied. I will schedule a group meeting and let you know when it will take place.

  * * *

  “Esmeralda to Noah,” Noah heard through his subcom.

  “Noah to Esmeralda, go ahead.”

  “Mr. Paulson has just sent a text message. He asked if someone was in place, and the reply said that multiple people are ready in a barn only a kilometer from us. I took the liberty of scanning aerial images of our location and have located a barn slightly less than one kilometer away to the east.”

  “Excellent work,” Noah said. “We may be able to handle this without waiting for the attack.” He picked up the phone on his desk and hit the button to connect him to Allison. “Esmeralda has intercepted a text message from Paulson. His strike team is holed up in a barn a kilometer from here, off to the east. I want everybody in my office as soon as possible.”

  He repeated the call several times, notifying Jenny, Wally, Neil and Molly, as well as Team Pegasus, who were all in the building learning to act like salespeople. They were all gathered in his office less than ten minutes later.

  “Paulson’s strike team is just a kilometer away,” he said. He pointed to a monitor on the wall behind his desk as a Google aerial photo appeared showing the barn. “I’m thinking that we could strike first, take them out before they have a chance to make their attack.”

  “Damn right,” Jenny said. “I’ve got two dozen mercenaries stationed around the perimeter. Shall I simply send them over there? Let them earn their pay for the day?”

  “Do you have confidence in them?” Noah asked. “These guys Paulson has lined up are probably very professional.”

  “I think these boys can handle it,” Jenny said. “Every one of them is former SAS, and the weapons they carry are definitely not the stuff you buy at sporting goods stores. I think they can do the job, Noa
h.”

  “Go ahead, then. Neil, can you get a drone in the air to watch what happens?”

  “You bet,” the skinny kid said. “Give me two minutes.” He got up and hurried out of the office, returning less than two minutes later with his laptop.

  “I have a couple of drones on the roof of the building already, just for such emergencies. Launching number one, now.”

  The monitor behind Noah suddenly lit up again, and they were treated to the view from the drone’s camera. It took less than a minute and a half for it to get into place over the barn, high enough not to be noticed by the people inside.

  Jenny had also left the office at the same time as Neil, and it was only about three minutes later when the drone spotted a number of men moving through the brush. The wild growth of trees and bushes reached almost all the way up to the barn, so they were able to stay in cover until they were extremely close.

  Suddenly, as if on a silent signal, all of the men rushed the building. Some of them fired weapons through gaps in the boards on the side of the barn, while the rest stormed in through the doors on either end. Neil brought the drone lower so that it could get a better view and turned on its microphones, allowing them to hear the sound of gunshots.

  * * *

  In the barn, Vladimir and his men were relaxing on musty bales of hay that had obviously been there for many years. Some of them were listening to music with earbuds, but Vladimir didn’t complain. These were some of the best, and he was confident in their ability to shift from relaxed to action mode in a split second.

  He himself was leaning against one of the walls, the one closest to their objective. The old building was weathered and gray, but its bones were still good. There were occasional spots where boards had rotted away and fallen off the side, and he was positioned where he could keep watch through one of those spots.

  He happened to glance out at that moment, just in time to see a flicker of motion in the brush. He froze instantly and stared at the spot, but nothing happened for the next few seconds. He adjusted his position so that he could look around outside a little better, and that’s when more than a dozen men dressed in camo fatigues suddenly burst out of the brush.