“Abi, keep the drone around, I’m going to surface.”
“I’ve just watched the footage of the launch. They have two men down. Take care.”
“Will do, here goes.”
Jago surfaced, opening the cockpit and placing the MP5SD in position starboard side. Van Dooren’s boat changed course slightly to avoid the Seabreacher and, as it drew close, one of Van Dooren’s men opened fire in Jago’s direction. Jago immediately returned fire, taking out the shooter and propelling him into the water. Jago peppered the boat for good measure as he veered the highly manoeuvrable craft to the right at the stern of the other boat. He manoeuvred the Seabreacher to an astern position from which he could make out two silhouettes against the distant harbour lights. The boat appeared to slow. A series of flashes emerged from within the boat, and the distinct sound of incoming fire erupted around Jago. Unperturbed, he sped up, all the while returning fire. He carefully aimed, taking account of the swell and felled the second shooter. At slow speed, Jago approached the now still boat from which emitted a strong smell of fuel.
Jago called out, “Come to the side! Do you hear? Come to the side!”
Van Dooren came to the port side of the boat.
“Place your hands where I can see them!”
Van Dooren stared at Jago and the weapon trained on him.
Jago calmly spoke, “Do as I say now, and I won’t shoot.”
Van Dooren raised his hands, one of which was holding a pistol. He quickly turned the pistol towards Jago and Jago fired a burst before Van Dooren had a chance to level the pistol at him. He fell into the boat. Jago waited for signs of life. He heard movement.
“Stand up and come to the side. Do it now!” commanded Jago.
A hand grabbed the boat’s gunwale followed by another. Van Dooren was struggling to get to his feet.
Jago called out, “Don’t move, I’m boarding. I repeat. Don’t move. You’ve got some leaking fuel, and I could be tempted to ignite it. So don’t push your luck.”
Jago pulled alongside and tied his craft with a loose tie on a stern cleat. He stepped into the boat, all the while maintaining visual contact of Van Dooren. Jago trained his weapon on him while tossing the PlastiCuffs. “Put this on and secure it with your teeth.”
He watched him obey his instructions and then checked the bodyguard’s body on the deck of the boat. He was dead.
“Do you have anything to say?” asked Jago.
“Like what? I mean, who are you? What are you even doing here?”
“I’m concerned about some recent murders, fraud, and the dumping of plastic and toxic waste in the ocean. What do you know about any of that?”
“I am aware of certain events, and that from some perspective, I may, from the outside, look to be accountable in some way. I can assure you that whatever I have done, I have done as someone who was merely following orders. I am, as you say, a little fish in a large ocean.”
“Are you telling me that you are accountable to someone above you? I mean, you own your holding company, and are responsible for the actions of those companies?”
Van Dooren started laughing. “How naive you are! My name is on the company paperwork as the owner because we need to adhere to the law of the land. It doesn’t mean that I own the company.”
“Then tell me, what it does mean?”
“It means that a person pays me to own the company. It’s as simple as that.”
“And why would they do that?”
“Because if their existing empire were to get too large, the competition commission would get involved and recommend breaking them up as they would have too much market share and that would be anti-competitive in today’s world.”
“So, who pays you?”
Van Dooren laughed again. “Someone you already know. I’ll give you three guesses.”
Jago immediately thought of Greenslade. “You mean to say that Henry L. Greenslade owns your holding company — you, the competition?”
“BINGO, you got it in one.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Look, my bodyguards are dead, you probably took out Tony and Mick too, and my boat’s leaking like a sieve. He pays me well, but not enough to die for him. I’m not that loyal. He’s your man; he plans everything. He’s way ahead of all of the competition, and he’s probably way ahead of you. Everything he does, he does for a purpose that will benefit him and only him. He lets nobody stand in his way. Nobody.”
This last statement resonated sharply with Jago. He kept thinking that Kim may be in danger from her own father. With no time to lose, Jago got to his feet and physically tipped Van Dooren over the side of the boat and threw him a life jacket.
“Hold onto this.”
Jago then untied his craft, keeping the rope in hand, and set fire to Van Dooren’s boat, creating a vision like a Viking's funeral pyre.
Climbing into the cockpit, Jago tossed Van Dooren the rope. “Hold this, and I’ll tow you back to shore.”
Jago remained semi-submersed and maintained a slow speed back to the shoreline. He dragged Van Dooren out of the water and walked him to where he’d parked his motorcycle. With PlastiCuffs, Jago attached Van Dooren to the metal uprights supporting the wooden structure.
“I’ll send someone shortly to pick you up. Don’t think of going anyway.”
“As if I could,” said Van Dooren, raising his arms to show off his restraints.”
***
Jago called Dom before mounting his motorcycle. “Dom, can you speak? Are you alone?”
“I will be in a moment, wait …” Dom moved to an empty room in the cottage. As he moved, Jago started his motorcycle and set off; he didn’t want to waste any time.
Dom replied, “Okay, I’m good to talk. What’s going on?”
“To cut a long story short, Kim’s father or men of Kim’s father are coming over. But they are not, repeat not, what they purport to be. You have to get Mark and Kim out of there fast. I’m ten to fifteen minutes away, and I’m on my way to your location.”
“Roger that, we’re moving now. Give me updates when you can?”
Dom quickly called out to Kim and Mark, “Get a coat, we’ve got to go, and we’ve got to go now. Mark, you said that there’s a track out the back of the cottage into the woods. Where does it take us?”
“Shocked, Mark responded, “It takes us to Orchard Farm. Why?”
“We’re going to have unwelcome company and need to get away. Jago is close but may not get here in time for our visitors. Let’s go.”
Mark grabbed his shotgun and filled his pockets with cartridges.
They left the lights and music on, and the curtains were drawn shut. Anyone visiting would think that they were at home but couldn’t hear them.
Mark led the way as the three ran at speed along the overgrown pathway towards Orchard Farm. Dom took up the Tail End Charlie position, pistol at the ready. Once they were about one hundred metres into the woods, Dom spotted two sets of headlights approaching the cottage. One held back, extinguishing their lights in the dusk, while the other advanced to the cottage gate.
“Come on, let’s get going, but slowly and quietly.” Dom then called Jago. “There are two cars, one at the gate and the other up the track about fifty metres behind. I can’t see how many occupants though. Shall I get this pair to safety and return and support, or should I stay with them?”
“Stay with them, Dom. I’ll call you if I need support. I’m pretty sure that they’ll go all out to get Kim. They think that she’s the key to the Ocean Beautiful Organisation. I’m just a few minutes away. How far away from safety are you?”
Dom turned and saw that Mark was waiting with Kim at the edge of the woods. He could see the illuminated farmhouse and some barns east of the house.
“It looks like we’re nearly there. I don’t want to drag more folks into this, so we’ll head for one of the barns on the east side.”
“Roger that, wait for my call. Over and out.”
/> Chapter 15 - Under Threat
Jago switched the motorcycle to the electric silent mode and rode slowly along the track without lights. He stopped some twenty metres away on a slight curve covered by low hanging trees. Bringing his MP5SD to the ready position, Jago advanced towards the rear of the vehicle. He could make out one person in the driver’s seat and guessed that at least one other would be close by. He lowered himself to bent knee and scanned the area. He rose, moved position and studied the area again, this time catching sight of two men crouched beside some large tree trunks bordering the cottage perimeter. The light of the other vehicle was now clear, and its engine was running. Jago could see three figures walking around the outside of the cottage, one of which was trying to peer into the windows. He held off to see what their next move would be and he didn't have long to wait. One of the three men started kicking the cottage’s front door while another was poised, weapon at the ready to enter. The other remained at the side of the house but in the headlights of the car. They made a considerable noise kicking the door, and this was Jago’s chance. He crept up to within six metres of the pair.
“Here fellas, over here.”
They turned, weapons in hand, and Jago fired two quick bursts. The men slumped to the ground and Jago relieved them of their weapons before dragging them into the bushes where he bound and gagged them. They weren’t dead, but significantly incapacitated. They were still working on kicking the door open, and the noise masked Jago’s approach to the lone driver. Fortunately for Jago, the driver had his door window down and open, an invitation for Jago to stick his weapon in the man’s face.
“Don’t move.”
The man froze.
“Put your hands on the dashboard and keep them where I can see them.”
Jago opened the door.
“Get out, and on your knees and facing the gate. Hands on your head.”
The man slowly complied.
Jago handed the man some PlastiCuffs from behind, placing them near his hand.
“Put these on. And be quick about it.”
The man hesitated and Jago knew that, if he was going to try and strike, this would be the moment. The man grasped the PlastiCuffs and pretended to put them on his wrist, then turned with a roll on the floor towards Jago’s feet. Jago had anticipated the move, sidestepped and swiftly kicked the man in the side of the torso.
Jago whispered to the man, “Don’t mess me around or I’ll put a bullet in you. Now get it on.”
The man tried one last time to evade being cuffed and Jago pulled the trigger. The first bullet hit the man’s body armour at close range and the second bullet seared all the way through his upper arm. His cry of pain was drowned by his companions kicking the door. Jago quickly tied, gagged and searched the man, leaving him lying behind the wheels of the car. He trod and smashed the man’s mobile phone and half expected a radio. There wasn’t one. Taking the car keys, Jago threw them into the dark and dense woodland.
Jago entered the gate to the property and walked along the edge of the tree line, providing him with a dark backdrop. Two of the men were now in the house. He knew that it was only a matter of minutes before they realised that Kim wasn’t there. They would then start searching more widely. Jago skirted the property and waited in the shadows at the rear beside the escape track. He could see the angled car and its driver and the man at the side of the building from this position. Mark’s car and the Aston remained in the driveway, so the men would deduce that they could have only left via the track at the rear. They would be along soon. He changed his magazine.
Hearing some shouting in the otherwise quiet night, Jago expected the pair from the house to come running around the corner into his field of fire. They did, and the other man simultaneously arrived at the track. Jago took out the front two, and the third ducked back under the cover of the house. Jago fired a couple of shots to pin him down and then turned his attention to the car and its driver. He fired three short bursts into the car; being at an angle provided an opportunity to take out a wheel. The driver scrambled into the back of the car and exited a rear offside door.
Jago waited and changed his position to the opposite side of the path. He couldn’t see anyone. The only way that the two could escape now would be on foot. Jago ran to the side of the building with the now redundant car. The driver was in the process of closing the boot and picking up a weapon as Jago spotted him.
“I’d put it down if I were you. Know went to quit, and you’ll live longer. But it’s your choice.”
The driver stilled himself and dropped the weapon.
“Move slowly to the side of the house facing me.”
The man complied.
“Lay down and place your hands behind your back.”
As the man started to lower himself, his companion came into view, aiming his weapon at Jago. Jago rolled and fired twice, bringing the man down. When Jago looked up, the driver was already on the ground as instructed.
Jago cuffed him and asked, “How long have you worked for Greenslade then?”
“Who?” came the nervous response.
“Listen, what is it with you people? I haven’t got time to play around. Just answer the question.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Jago fired a round into the man’s calf muscle.
“Answer the question!”
“Six months, I’ve been with Greenslade six months.”
“So not too long then. Where will I find the old man? Airport, or seaport?”
“We were told to bring the girl to his hotel.”
“And the others?”
“Take care of them.”
“You mean kill them?”
The man writhed in pain. “If you like, they’re only words.”
“How are you supposed to let them know that you’ve got the girl?”
“We’re to call them to tell them that we’re on our way with the package, no more than that.”
“Then call them now.”
The man looked away, and Jago pushed the barrel of his pistol against the other healthy calf.
“Okay, okay, I’ll call them!”
“Who is them, specifically?”
“Greenslade has two of his most trusted bodyguards with him at all times.”
Jago thought the comment interesting as he remembered his visit to Greenslade and there wasn’t a bodyguard to be seen. He stored the information away.
The man started to call on his mobile phone, and Jago instructed, “Put the call on the speaker.”
“John, this is Kevin. We’re on our way back with the package.”
“What’s your ETA?”
“Let’s see, it’s 2105, we should be back by 2230.”
“Okay, see you then.”
The phone line went dead, and Jago took the mobile from Kevin and pocketed it.
“You’ve been cooperative Kevin. Thank you. I apologise for the gag. But I’m sure that you’ll understand.”
Jago made to leave the scene and called Dom. “Dom, all is well here. Why don’t you return and collect the Aston and take Mark and Kim to the Ranch? I’m off to see Greenslade. Don’t tell Kim though, and keep her out of earshot at the Ranch.”
“Will do, Boss.”
Chapter 16 - Head of the Snake
Jago stopped across the main road from the hotel. Guests were entering and leaving infrequently, and late diners were enjoying their meals. On the far side of the restaurant, half a dozen travellers were enjoying nightcaps at the bar. The lights in Greenslade’s apartment were illuminated. A tall man stood watch out of the window. He appeared relaxed. Greenslade passed by a window and sank down to sit in a chair. Down on ground level, a single male with radio in hand stood at a side entrance and kept watch of the road. Jago arrived at
9.55 p.m. and observed that the man radioed at five-minute intervals to the man in the window.
As a large executive car arrived to drop off passengers, Jago made his move towards the hotel. He mingl
ed with the twenty or so travellers in the melee of them collecting their luggage. He sidled along the side of the building. The man was focused on the road, presumably so that he could open the side entrance without delay. Jago waited on the corner against the wall and behind the conifer trees.
Jago heard the man on the radio to his colleague say, “John, there’s still no sign of them.”
The noise of the travellers died down as they entered the hotel and, under the cover of the coach’s departure, Jago broke cover and struck the guard from behind. He was unconscious in a moment, and Jago dragged him behind the conifers, then took his radio and a bunch of keys. After setting a timer for four minutes, Jago entered the side entrance. He could see a lift on the far wall and around the corner from that a staircase. Jago made sure that the door to the stairs was open and then called the lift. He set the lift to visit each of the floors in turn and, as the door closed, Jago sprinted up the stairway to the top level. He stopped, regaining his breath, and could hear the lift arrive at the floor below. It was time. Jago took a deep breath and then consciously regulated his breathing. He removed the safety on his Sig and stepped towards the door. The arrival announcement for the lift sprang into action and Jago could hear the bodyguard.
“Sir, get into your office, sir. We’re not expecting anyone right now. Move now, sir.”
Jago opened the door ever so slightly. He could see the bodyguard poised, waiting for someone to exit the lift. When nobody did exit the lift, he walked towards it more relaxed, and Jago moved out into the open.
“Stay where you are and don’t move. If you want to remain healthy, that is.”
The man froze, not even daring to look around.
“Toss your weapons over here using your forefinger and thumb,” commanded Jago.
The man slowly reached for his horizontal shoulder holster, grabbed the pistol grip and tossed it along the floor. And then a knife from a sheath on his other side.
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