72 Hours (A Thriller)

by Moreton, William Casey

  Echo snapped the night-vision goggles down over his eyes. The world turned green again. He glanced again at the readout on the GPS. It was the last thing he ever did.

  Echo felt nothing. His world blurred to a supernova of blackness. The bullet entered the back of his skull and exited through the shallow cavity between his eye sockets, taking a percentage of his face with it. Blood and brains and bone fragments sprayed out into the rain. Echo did not make a sound. Never knew what happened. His knees quivered slightly. He died instantly. The force of the blast twisted his upper body a quarter turn and he simply fell crashing down onto his side, his equipment clattering as he hit the ground.

  The muzzle of Archer’s Beretta had been half an inch from Echo’s head when he pulled the trigger. Archer squatted next to the body. Leaned over. Rolled him onto his back. Most of the face was gone. Pieces of bone from the nose and teeth jutted out through the flesh of the closed mouth.

  Archer pulled the assault rifle loose from the body. It was an XM8. Serious hardware. Very modern and expensive. These guys were well financed and that was not a good sign.

  Next, he stripped him of his radio. A good Motorola. Stuffed it down inside a cargo pocket on the thigh of his pants. He looked forward to eavesdropping in on some interesting future conversations. It would give him a significant tactical advantage.

  Archer picked the body clean of anything else useful. He pulled an Omega Seamaster watch from his wrist and strapped it around his own. He pulled several grenades from the jumper’s belt and looked for ID but found none. Then he dragged the body out of sight.

  One down, nine to go.

  * * *

  They heard the shot. The sharp report cascaded between the folds in the ridges, reaching them merely seconds after the communication with Echo had ended.

  Bravo and Foxtrot were shoulder to shoulder, traversing a thirty-degree pitch across the hillside. Foxtrot put his arm out, halting his partner.

  “Team?” Bravo said. “Report in.”

  The members of the team reported in as directed, one at a time. Everyone accounted for. Everyone but Echo.

  “Echo, do you copy?”

  Nothing.

  “Echo, what is your status?”

  No reply.

  * * *

  When the crack of the gunshot reached Raj, he jerked his head up.

  “Archer?”

  “Relax. I had to clean up after you,” Archer said.

  Raj closed his eyes and let out a breath.

  “That one won’t be bothering us any more,” Archer added.

  “Good to know. Find any ID?”

  “Negative, but he was carrying some serious firepower. Gas-operated assault rifle. Grenades.”

  “That’s bad news. There are nine more of his friends still out there to deal with.”

  “Find yourself a good high position where you can see as much of a three-sixty view as possible, then sit tight and watch for them. Feed me all the info you can. We’ve got to keep them pushed away from the bunker. Let me know when you get settled in.”

  Raj nodded. “Affirmative.”

  “Be careful out there.”

  “Goes without saying.”

  “Let’s do this like the good old days.”

  “Rock on, brother,” Raj said.

  CHAPTER 83

  Archer moved quickly through the lashing rain. Lightening smashed across the sky in sheets. Thunderclaps rolled and banged. He ran across the uneven desert terrain in long strides.

  The key would be to keep moving. Take them out one at a time. Quick and efficient, and as silent as possible. Basic jungle guerrilla warfare.

  Archer was breathing hard by the time he reached the metal panel doors that stood out from the desert floor. Rainwater slewed down the dirt-crusted metal surface. He probed the seam between the door panels with the fingers of both hands, and attempted to pry them open. No go. They were solid, held in place by the stout pneumatic arms. They wouldn’t budge.

  He spoke into his walkie, “Simeon, pick up.”

  “I’m right here.”

  “Open the outside doors, brother. Let me in.”

  “OK, no problem.”

  Archer glanced at the Omega watch on his wrist. Rain drops beaded on the glass. It took Simeon about forty-five seconds to manually hit the switch. The hinges groaned slightly as the panel doors pushed open. Archer squeezed sideways through the widening gap. He sprinted down the long ramp and down the length of the sloping tunnel, passing through the slim red beam of the laser eye which triggered the doors to close behind him. As they folded back over the opening, the roar of the rainstorm was eventually drowned out to the distant background.

  Canned lighting splashed before him as he rushed through the narrow passages toward the residential quarters. Simeon was waiting for him.

  Archer cut a glance around the room.

  “Where are they? Lindsay and the kids?”

  “I put them below.”

  Archer nodded.

  “The situation outside is not exactly ideal. I could use one more shooter out there. Grab your rifle.”

  Archer clambered down the flight of metal stairs and poked his head into the glow of the pulsing orange light. The kids were sitting quietly in a corner of the room away from the door. Lindsay was pacing. She was clearly relieved and comforted to see him.

  “Oh…you’re safe,” she said.

  “I’m going back out,” he said.

  “What? No!”

  “I’m taking Simeon with me.”

  Lindsay stared up at him in disbelief.

  “Please tell me you’re joking.”

  “You’ll be fine.”

  “Archer, please! Please stay,” she called after him, reaching out to touch his arm.

  But he was already gone.

  CHAPTER 84

  Rain was flooding in through the iron grate at the end of the west tunnel. It fell the hundred or so feet down the shaft and splashed in a torrent onto the concrete landing. They had to step into the middle of the downpour to reach the ladder bolted to the wall.

  Archer led the way, ascending first. Simeon followed close behind. The water gushed down over the top of them. A river of rain and sand and mud. It was slow going. The rungs of the ladder were impossibly slick. The constant rush of water made it difficult to breathe.

  Archer reached the iron grate, spillage gushing through the elongated grooves. He stood with both hands gripping tight to the top rung of the ladder. He put his shoulder into the grate and gritted his teeth as he pushed it against the deluge. He hoisted himself up, twisting around into an upright sitting position at the edge of the hatch. He grunted and strained as he lifted his friend up and out. They moved clear of the hatch opening, panting for air, coughing.

  Lightening flashed in the sky above the mountains.

  Archer placed a hand on Simeon’s shoulder.

  “Talk to Raj. He should be fairly close,” Archer said. “Find out his position. The two of you work together and coordinate your efforts. I need you to stand sentinel. Keep the mercenaries in the mountains. Give me time to work on them. Don’t let them get on the other side of you. If we allow them to get down inside there, it’ll open a whole new world of problems for us.”

  Simeon nodded.

  Archer dipped his shoulder to unhook the dead mercenary’s rifle. He extended it to Simeon.

  Simeon turned the hardware over in his dark-skinned hands and nodded approvingly.

  “Very nice.”

  “Use it wisely,” Archer suggested.

  “No problem.”

  “Get to the highest point you can, and be quick about it.”

  Simeon nodded.

  “Go now,” Archer said.

  CHAPTER 85

  Las Vegas

  It was after one in the morning on Saturday when the Ninja motorcycle entered the dazzling spectacle of the Vegas strip. Noella Chu cruised patiently past the garish lights of the casinos and hotels, staring out at the flow of tra
ffic through the tinted visor of her helmet. She accelerated through the hypnotic madness and followed the highway to the opposite edge of town.

  She had the street address for P. Lockwood memorized. The address led her north off the main drag, down a ragged ribbon of blacktop lined on either side with rundown apartment buildings. The road jinked through a dogleg curve.

  Noella Chu found the apartment number on the door of a low-rent ground-level unit. A couple of empty flower planters stood side by side on the wooden handrail, abandoned and sad looking.

  Noella Chu glanced around. The street was quiet. The building was sheathed in cheap vinyl siding. She edged up to P. Lockwood’s apartment. The blinds were partially open on one side of the front window. There were no lights on inside. She could see nothing but a dark swath of shag carpet amid elongated shadows. If there was anyone home they were asleep.

  Based on the name on the phone company’s billing records, Noella Chu made the educated guess that P. Lockwood was a single woman living alone. The first name listed as only an initial was a dead giveaway.

  She glanced around again, then put her left hip against the door. Twisted a slender titanium rod into the door lock as she simultaneously turned the knob. She eased inside and pulled the door gently shut behind her.

  Noella Chu moved like a shadow from room to room. There wasn’t much to see. It was a small, cramped apartment. Two small bedrooms, a tiny pass-through kitchen and a narrow living area. Neat and threadbare. Very little furniture. Tidy. One of the bedrooms was simply a catchall. The other was dominated by a queen size mattress on a cheap frame. Only a couple of family photos. Definitely the domain of a middle-aged single woman.

  She found a pile of mail on the kitchen counter. Some of it addressed to P. Lockwood, some to Penelope Lockwood, and a few to Penny Lockwood. Noella Chu sorted through the bills and junk mail.

  Penny, she thought. Penny Lockwood.

  In the bedroom she found a plastic box with a blue lid tucked in a corner of the closet. Noella Chu used a penlight to investigate. She brought the plastic box out and set it on the foot of the bed to open it. It contained half a dozen buff file folders. Full of outdated tax information and expired warranty cards, insurance documents and ancient, warped checkbook registers.

  The assassin removed a thin bundle of old pay stubs bound together by a brittle rubber band. They were arranged in order by date, most recent on top. The most recent was ten weeks old, from the payroll of one of the big casinos. Now it was clear why Penny Lockwood wasn’t home at one-thirty on Saturday morning. She worked the graveyard shift under the big lights, serving drinks, or dealing cards, or bussing tables. She was at work. And Noella Chu knew exactly where to find her.

  CHAPTER 86

  Noella Chu placed two hundred dollars on the table and asked a waitress if Penny Lockwood was working.

  “I’ll see if I can find her,” the waitress said.

  Noella Chu sat and ignored her drink for twenty minutes. Then a face she vaguely recognized from a framed photo in Penny Lockwood’s tiny apartment materialized at the bottom of the escalator. Noella Chu studied her. A woman closing in on sixty. Dark hair streaked with broad ribbons of gray. Slim and attractive and dark-skinned. She was dressed in a staff uniform.

  Penny Lockwood approached with an expression of uncertainty mixed with mild curiosity. She wasn’t dressed like a waitress or housekeeper. A blackjack dealer, perhaps. Noella Chu could only guess. She didn’t care.

  “Penny Lockwood?” Noella Chu asked.

  She hesitated. Nodded warily.

  “That’s right. Who are you?”

  Noella Chu gestured at the seat across from her.

  “Please sit down,” she said.

  Penny hesitated before taking a seat.

  “Do I know you?”

  “Definitely not,” Noella Chu said.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Who is Ryan Archer?” Noella Chu asked.

  The question hit her like a heavy plank to the side of the head. The puzzlement dropped from Penny’s face. Her eyes darkened and she stiffened. She was no longer curious about this unfamiliar woman. No longer amused by the novelty of the mystery. She composed herself, more closely assessing the stranger before her.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “Where is Ryan Archer?”

  “I suggest you leave.”

  The corners of Noella Chu’s lips twitched.

  “I have work to do,” Penny said.

  “I’d like to suggest something,” Noella Chu said.

  Penny’s lips were flat and tight.

  “Oh? And what would that be?”

  “I’d suggest you pay attention to every word I say to you.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Beneath this table is a gun. Pointed at you. My finger is on the trigger. No need to look. Just trust me. If you even act like you’re going to stand up, I’ll kill you.”

  Penny stared at her long and hard without blinking. She did not breathe for a long moment. Confusion turned to fear, then to horror and disbelief.

  She managed to speak. “We are in a public place. You would never do it here. There are too many people. Too many witnesses. Too much security. You’d never make it out the door.”

  “The gun is silenced. It would sound like I was blowing you a kiss. I’d place your head on the table and you’d get fired for napping on the job before anyone discovered you were dead. So yes, I’d be more than happy to do it right here, right now.”

  Penny was breathless. Her color drained completely. She shook her head side to side very slightly.

  “You’re bluffing,” she said.

  Noella Chu tapped the muzzle of the Walther against the underside of the table.

  Penny still did not blink.

  The corners of Noella Chu’s lips twitched again.

  “What do you want?” Penny asked.

  “Ryan Archer called your home phone number Friday morning. What did he want from you?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “It’s not wise to lie to me, Penny.”

  “I’m not lying. I’ve never heard of this person you’re talking about.”

  “Is protecting him worth dying for?”

  Penny didn’t respond.

  “That’s the decision you have to make, because if you don’t tell me what I know you know, your life ends here. What a shame that would be, to die for nothing.”

  The hum and buzz of the lounge faded far away as Penny stared into the small woman’s dark eyes.

  “Tell me who he is,” Noella Chu said.

  “I’ve never met him.”

  “He called you.”

  Penny nodded, just a single dip of her chin. “Yes.”

  “What did he say? What did he want?”

  Penny hesitated. She couldn’t betray her brothers’ trust and couldn’t simply give them up just like that. She knew of Archer by name only. And she knew he was to contact her only under the most dire of circumstances. She had dutifully phoned her brothers and passed on the cryptic message, having no idea what it meant. Tell them there’s smoke in the house and they need to open a window.

  With every passing second, Penny was finding it increasingly difficult to see the logic in forfeiting her own life for a man she’d spoken to only once and never seen.

  “He asked me to contact my brothers, to give them a message,” Penny sighed.

  “What message?”

  “A code, I guess. Just gibberish.”

  “Tell me what he said.”

  “’Tell them there’s smoke in the house and they need to open a window.’”

  Noella Chu turned it over in her mind. The coded message was all too obvious. Archer had been communicating to them that there was an emergency, and they needed to react quickly. It was clear to her that wherever Penny Lockwood’s brothers were hiding, Ryan Archer had taken Lindsay Hammond there.

  “How do I find your brot
hers?”

  Penny’s blue eyes turned glassy.

  “I don’t know,” Penny said.

  “Penny, don’t test me.”

  “I swear.”

  “How did you communicate with them?”

  “They have a satellite telephone. They are very paranoid. They live completely cut off from the rest of the world. They don’t trust anyone.”

  “They trust you. And they apparently trust Ryan Archer.”

  Penny took shallow breaths, struggling to not hyperventilate.

  “They’ve hidden themselves away. I couldn’t find them if I wanted to. I haven’t seen them in years.”

  “Surely they’ve told you something. Some little detail.”

  “No, I swear. I only know that they’re somewhere in the desert. That could be anywhere. They would never tell me, even if I begged.”

  “You are going to beg, Penny. You are going to beg them like your life depends on it, because it does. They won’t sacrifice their beloved sister for the sake of some friend like Archer. And if they would, then they certainly don’t deserve your protection. This is not about you, Penny. And it’s not about your brothers. You will be fine. All I’m seeking from the three of you is to give me the location of Ryan Archer.”

  Noella Chu took a small sip of her drink.

  There were tears on Penny’s face, tracing down to her chin.

  “You are going to call your brothers now,” Noella Chu said. “And they will do the right thing because they love you. And if they don’t, they will hear the gunshot that blows your head off. I’d hate for that to be their last memory of you, but I can live with it if necessary.”

  * * *

  At a bank of payphones Penny dialed the number from memory. Noella Chu stood at her elbow, pressing the muzzle of the Walther into her kidneys.

  “No answer,” Penny told her.

  “Dial again,” Noella Chu said.

  When Penny had entered the phone number for the second time, Noella Chu grabbed the receiver from her hand and bumped her aside. Noella Chu listened as it rang a dozen times. Again with no answer. Then she slammed it down.