Death Drones

by Christopher Fox

  “Great pictures,” said Jimmy as the landscape unfolded on the 15" screen.

  “4k resolution with HD zoom camera,” Alex replied proudly. “Best in the business.”

  After about five minutes, the compound came into view, and trees fell away, the landscape more barren .

  “There it is,” Miguel said.

  Alex zoomed the camera in and the compound filled the screen. It was exactly as the satellite photos had depicted, so there were no changes in the layout. The ‘copter viewed the compound from angles that a satellite cannot see, which is a side view that would show windows, doors and other structural features. It also gave a better idea of elevation even though the ground around the compound was flat for several miles. As it scanned the buildings, they saw several people, and it was obvious who the guards were by the AK-47s slung over their shoulders.

  “Don’t see any dogs yet,” Miguel said.

  “Maybe they only patrol with dogs at night,” Roberto said. “Kinda hot during the day.”

  Roberto had joined the group behind Alex and watched as the drone made a complete 360° clockwise circle until it returned to its starting point.

  “We’ll be able to view these in more detail later,” Alex said. “Anyone wants to view anything else?”

  “Looks good to me,” Miguel said, getting a nod from everyone else in agreement. “Bring her back and we will check it out back at base.”

  They watched the sky, looking for the drone when it returned. Alex was correct in that it was hard to detect, even when looking for it. Their own image was visible on the monitor screen before they could see the drone. It floated down under Alex’s expert handling and landed in the grass a few feet from them. Alex folded the rotor arms and laid it back in the case with the control unit, then lifted it into the back of the SUV. Miguel started the engine, and they headed back to base.

  Alex downloaded the recording to the computer and projected it onto a large 65" screen with the team pulling up chairs to watch. He fast-forwarded the video to where the compound was in sight, then played at normal speed as the camera circled the facility.

  “Two storey high for the east portion, which is the main house.” Alex made a commentary as the video played. “Open terrace surrounding the second floor and two guards patrolling. The rest of the building is a single-storey on two sides and a wall that wraps around the courtyard. The part opposite the main house is likely the kitchen.” It was normal in older homes to separate the kitchen from the main building because it was easier to control any resultant fires from the old, open-flamed appliances. The scene continued to unfold as the camera continued its circumvention. In typical hacienda style, the exterior was a series of white-stuccoed, arched walls enclosing a covered porch on the ground floor. “I would guess the building is roughly square and about 100 feet on each side, making an area of close to 10,000 square feet, including the courtyard.” A large fountain sat in the centre of a circular driveway with an interlock stone path to the front door. “Main entrance faces east with two other entry points.” As the view faced the south wall, there was a patio door leading to a large, flag-stoned deck that surrounded the azure pool. Turning to the west wall, a third entry point came into view; a large, iron-studded wooden door, no doubt to the kitchen. The last elevation for the north wall showed a large, semi-circular opening in the wall leading to the interior courtyard.

  “You can see guards in the courtyard and a few around the gardens.” Alex continued. The view then changed to a birds-eye view from above as the ‘copter climbed and scanned the rest of the compound, including the metal-building labs and barracks. “We don’t want to disturb anyone in the barracks or other buildings,” said Roberto. “They are far enough away and most are just workers, so unlikely to react to noise from the main house.”

  “So,” Alberto said. “That’s about it. I don’t see that anything has changed our original plan. Roberto, did you get confirmation that Mohammad was there?”

  “According to my contact, he is there.”

  “Good, then it’s a go for tonight. Weather is good, overcast and no moon. Miguel and Roberto; you two and I will penetrate the main building and go after Mohammad. I think the courtyard would be the best entry point as once we disable the guards there, we are out of view from the other guards. Jimmy and Maria; I want you to cover the front of the house and keep an eye on the two guards patrolling the second-floor balcony and any other potential risks. Alex; you will keep track of us and the rest of the compound people through the drone’s infra-red tracking and relay information to us. I’m especially interested in where the guards with dogs are.”

  “Roger that,” said Alex. “You are all wearing transponders to identify you on the screen.”

  “OK,” said Alberto. “It may seem like a cliché, but let’s synchronize watches. I have 9:31 coming up on my mark … mark!” Everyone set their watches to Alberto’s time. “We will leave here at 1:00 a.m. and assemble back to where we were earlier to day. Can’t afford to get too close with the car’s headlights, and it will be difficult trying to drive without lights using night-vision goggles. We will then hike the mile to the compound—that should take us about 30 minutes. Alex. Once we’re ready to enter, you can launch the drone, and feed us the information as to the whereabouts of the guards.”

  “When is the CIA raid scheduled?” asked Roberto.

  “I got an update from Daniel yesterday. They've scheduled it for 3:00 a.m., so we need to be out of there by then.”

  Alex nodded.

  “OK, questions?”

  “What do we do if we are engaged by anyone?” Maria asked.

  “You have to play that by ear. I don’t want collateral damage, so use your dart guns to disable. Unfortunately, you will have to be close to do so as we don’t know if they are wearing body armour. Best to aim for the legs.”

  “How do we plan to disable Mohammad?” asked Miguel. “I don’t think he will accept our invitation.”

  Alberto chuckled. “No, he will not be getting an invitation. We have a potent sedative we will inject him with so he will not be putting up too much of a fight.”

  “And if we meet family members?”

  “My guess is that any family members will be pretty docile. They know the businesses he’s involved in and probably expect something like this. If anyone gets aggressive, dart them.”

  That concluded the questions, and they each returned to their rooms to suit up for the operation.

  * * * *

  The team gathered beside the SUVs at 1:00 a.m. and loaded their gear. Miguel drove one vehicle and Roberto the other. They returned to the same location they had been the previous afternoon and parked off the track as before. It was pitch dark when they shut the car’s headlights down and each person waited a while for their eyes to adjust to the darkness. Even after a few minutes, the overcast sky obliterated any moon or starlight, and they had to don their night-vision goggles to walk to the compound. The going was easy as there were few trees and just short grass to traverse. They reached the south side of the compound in about 25 minutes and signalled back to Alex to launch the drone. Five minutes later Alex reported that he had them on the screen.

  “How does it look?” Alberto asked.

  “Two guards with dogs; one on the other side of the building from you and the other to your right about 100 yards away. Two people close to and at the front of the building, which I assume are the guards on the second-floor balcony. There’s also one person in the courtyard.”

  “What about inside the house?”

  “I’m reading … one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight signatures, all prone, so I guess they are asleep. Four look smaller than the others and are close together, so could be kids in a single room. The other four signatures are separated, likely each in separate rooms.”

  “OK,” said Alberto. “We’re going in. Is that guard with the dog still close?”

  “Actually, he is moving away from you, but the other one is co
ming around the house in your direction. If you’re gonna move, now would be a good time.”

  Alberto held up a hand and signalled to move out. Alberto, Miguel, and Roberto moved to their left and the courtyard entrance. Jimmy and Maria made their way to their right and the front of the house, or east wall. Alex watched the blue images signifying the movement of the team and the red ones signifying everyone else.

  “Jimmy, Maria,” Alex said. “Move out a little and wait for the guard to move past.” Jimmy double-clicked his mic in response.

  “Alberto, you are moving in the same direction as the guard and need to slow down.” Alberto also double-clicked his acknowledgement.

  “OK Alberto,” Alex said after a few minutes. “He has now moved past the courtyard entrance.”

  Alberto’s team moved forward and gathered either side of the courtyard entrance.

  “Guard inside the courtyard is about 10 yards to your right. He hasn’t moved and he may be sitting.”

  Alberto signalled to the other two to stay put as he eased his way into the opening. The walls were almost 3' thick as he slid along the wall and peered into the courtyard. Sure enough, there was a guard siting on a bench smoking, his rifle propped against the bench. Alberto eased around the opening and slithered against the wall until he was behind the guard, then he slowly moved up to him and smothered his mouth with his hand while he wrapped his other arm around him in a bear-like grasp. The guard struggled as Alberto pinched his nose shutting off his supply of air. After a few moments, he went limp, and Alberto laid him on the ground. He selected a syringe and injected the guard, then returned to the other two.

  “One guard down,” he whispered. “Should be clear sailing from here.”

  They proceeded to the main house and, as suspected, the door wasn’t locked and they entered. A system of night-lights provided a low-level illumination everywhere. Alberto gestured Miguel to check rooms to the right and to Roberto for rooms to the left. Alberto eased his way to the centre of the corridor and looked up the circular staircase. There was no one in sight, and when Miguel and Roberto joined him, signalling a ‘clear’ sign, Alberto climbed the stairs, keeping to the outside to lessen any creaking. He held his suppressed MP5 in front of him and reached the upper landing, then signalled the other two to follow. They gathered at the top of the stairs and their ear buds sounded.

  “Got you between them now,” came Alex’s voice. “The area where the children are is to the south, along with one of the single signatures, and one subject is in front of you. The other two are to your north.”

  There was a partly open door in front of Alberto. He looked to his left and noticed two more doors, with one at the end of the corridor with double doors—obviously the main suite. He gestured to the others to follow him as they crept down the hall. Miguel peered inside the partly open doorway as they passed it. It had a female scent, and he heard soft breathing emanating from the 4-poster bed. Alberto stood in front of the master suite and put his hand on the right hand, lever-handled door hardware, then depressed it slowly. It moved to his pressure on the lever, and he opened the door a crack. He heard deep snoring coming from the room and pushed the door open. The two small night-lights in the room bathed it in a warm glow, and the team could make out a sparsely furnished bedroom with a large king-sized bed dominating it on the far wall. On each side of the bed were doors leading to other rooms, no doubt one for an en-suite bathroom and the other a dressing room or closet. It was another 4-poster style of bed, and Miguel and Roberto went to one side while Alberto the other. Alberto extracted the already-prepared syringe from his pocket and pulled the cap off with his teeth. Easing the bed covers back to reveal flesh, he jabbed it into the skin of the sleeping subject’s neck and depressed the plunger, simultaneously placing his hand over Muhammad’s mouth.

  Mohammad jerked awake momentarily, then relaxed back on the bed. Alberto chanced using his flashlight to show the face and confirmed it was Mohammad. He nodded to Miguel, who pulled the bed sheets from him, and both he and Roberto heaved the heavy man from the bed, each throwing an arm over their shoulder. Alberto nodded to them and they returned the acknowledgement. Alberto then proceeded out of the room with Miguel and Roberto almost carrying Mohammad. Miguel took a peek into the room on his left and saw the undisturbed hump in the bed. At the top of the stairs, they changed their grip on Mohammad, opting to lift his legs and carry him down. They maintained this carrying mode, and followed Alberto to the back door, having to traverse sideways through it, and into the courtyard where the guard was still prone.

  “Hold your position!” Alex warned. “A guard with a dog is walking toward the courtyard.”

  “Shit!” Alberto uttered. “Put him down and come with me,” he said to Miguel and Roberto. They set up each side of the opening and unholstered their dart guns as the panting of the dog drew closer. The dog appeared first and barked at the intruders. Miguel fired a dart at the animal while Alberto fired one at the guard. There was a yelp from the dog and a short involuntary burst of gunfire from the guard as the dart hit him in the arm. Thankfully, the bullets missed as Roberto grabbed the rifle and wrestled it from the guard. They seemed locked in place momentarily until the serum fully entered the bloodstream and the guard fell limp and then collapsed.

  “Shit!” said Alberto.

  “Lots of movement now,” said Alex. “Second guard is coming around to your position with the dog, and the two on the balcony are moving toward you. Also got movement in the barracks. You need to get out of there.”

  “No shit,” said Alberto. “Quick, Grab Mohammad and let’s get the hell outta here.”

  Miguel and Roberto picked up Mohammad and ran with him between them .

  “Jimmy, Maria,” Alberto said. “Can you keep the other guards away from us?”

  “On it!” said Jimmy.

  The other guard was closing in on the courtyard entrance with Jimmy and Maria chasing him. Jimmy fired a dart but missed. The guard heard the missile whizz past him and slowed his pace. Then the dog sensed their presence and turned with a growl. The guard let go of the dog, shouldered his AK-47 and let off a few rounds, but both Jimmy and Maria had ducked behind some shrubbery and dropped to the ground. Maria aimed her dart gun at the dog now running towards them and fired just as it came around the shrubbery. The dog yelped and fell to the ground. Jimmy shouldered his MP5 and let off a few suppressed rounds at the guard, without trying to hit him.

  “Guards from balcony now coming around the south wing,” Alex reported.

  Alberto, Miguel, Roberto, and Mohammad were almost to the tree-line now and out of immediate danger, but Jimmy and Maria had guards behind them and one in front.

  “Shit-load of people coming from the barracks now, including vehicles,” Alex said.

  The best choice was to ease their way back toward the tree-line before the other two guards were upon them. Jimmy selected a flash-bang grenade from his pack and hurled it towards the single guard.

  “Close your eyes and cover your ears,” he said to Maria.

  There was a loud bang and a blinding flash as the grenade detonated. This would temporarily blind and disorient the guard while they made their dash for the trees. Once they were there, they donned their night-vision goggles and darted amongst the trees to the gathering point, but they were not sure where it was.

  “A little to your right and straight ahead,” Alex advised as he tracked them from the drone. The rest of the team had already made it back to the vehicles, and Alberto helped Roberto and Miguel lift Mohammad into one of the SUVs and strap him in. Miguel jumped into the driver’s seat and said: “See you back at base. You guys OK here?”

  “We’re fine. We’ll be right behind you once Jimmy and Maria get back.” With that, Miguel took off.

  “You’re almost there,” Alex said. “A little more to your right and about 100 yards. I’m bringing the drone in now. ”

  “OK,” said Jimmy just as he broke into the clearing and saw the SUV there with
Alex and Alberto standing next to it. They ran to the vehicle and threw their packs and rifles into the back. Alex had packed up the drone and hefted it into the back and closed the gate. They all got into the vehicle, and Alberto jumped into the driver’s seat. He started the SUV and threw it into ‘Drive’ and took off in a spray of stones and grass. No nearby connection by vehicle from the track to the compound meant any chase vehicles would be far behind. Just as they approached the main road, they heard the Whupp, Whupp of helicopters, but were unable to see them.

  “I guess that’s our DEA guys. They’re gonna be pissed,” said Alberto with a smile.

  As Alberto drove up to the house, Miguel and Roberto were hauling Mohammad into the temporary cell set up in the garage. They would meet later for a debriefing. Alberto called Daniel who answered on the first ring.

  “Got him!” said Alberto.

  “Any issues?”

  “Not really—we kinda stirred up the hornet’s nest when a guard’s AK went off. No one hurt though.”

  “Good, I will be down there soon. I will take a flight to Managua and rent a car. You can give me directions once I get there.”

  “No need to rent a car,” said Alberto. “We’ll have someone pick you up at the airport.”

  “That’s very kind of you. I’ll let you know my arrival time.”

  “Thanks.”

  Alberto punched ‘End’ and joined the others at the holding cell.

  Sixteen

  Miguel opened the cell door and looked at Mohammad who lay on the mattress in a foetal position and appeared to be asleep. They had let him sleep for a few hours after depriving him of such for the last 36. So far, he was uncooperative, and they needed to use more of the E.I.T. on him. Mohammad, like all high-value assets, trained in interrogation resistance techniques. These techniques, first developed by the US Army Special Forces at Fort Bragg, were referred to as the ‘Manchester Manual’. Ali Mohammad, a former Egyptian military officer who turned out to be an Al-Qaeda operative, stole this manual, and it was translated into multiple languages among Islamic Jihadists. Miguel closed the door and went back to his office.