by Roger Weston
The man screamed and twisted to the ground. Chuck sprung out the door and kicked him in the face, then kicked his rifle away. The killer went for a pistol, so Chuck kicked his face again. “You want a bullet?”
That got his attention.
Chuck said to Demetrius, “Help him up. He’s coming with us.”
After disarming him, they practically carried the back-shooter across the street into a vacant café.
The henchman was moaning in agony.
The Hood called Chuck on the stolen walkie-talkie. “Give yourself up, Brandt. I’ve got the girl.”
“What?”
“She was trying to download a virus onto Vulcan Eye. She failed.”
For a moment, Chuck couldn’t speak. Was he lying? Angela was with the boat. Had they found the boat?
Chuck said, “You want her, you got her—and you get what else is coming, too.” Chuck put away the walkie-talkie and told the wounded killer, “You talk or I’ll shoot your other knee.”
“I’ll talk.”
“Which building is the Hood in?”
“Vulcan’s Lair.”
“What?”
“The old Seashore Hotel.”
“What kind of security does he have?”
“The first two floors of his building are rigged with booby traps. You’ll never make it.”
“You’ve been very helpful.” Chuck slammed the butt of his assault rifle into the perp’s face, knocking him out cold.
Chuck and Demetrius left through the back door and sprinted down an alley of waist-high grass. Someone stepped on a bees’ nest because a dozen bees pursued them to patch of sticker bushes. They came out bleeding on the far side, but basically in good shape compared to the lawless fiends back in the hotel.
“Now,” Chuck said.
“Now what?”
“Now we enter the Vulcan’s Lair.”
CHAPTER 21
Fifty-five minutes till shoot-down
The trail to Vulcan’s Lair covered two blocks of waterfront hotels. To stay off the streets, where they were targets and could easily walk into an ambush, Chuck led the way through hotel lobbies. They entered through one side door and exited by the opposite side. A depressing gloom hung over these hotels. They were situated on one of the most beautiful beaches in the Mediteranian, yet they were all vacant, abandoned buildings. Chuck looked out the window and saw a line of umbrellas on the beach. They were wooden umbrellas that had lasted for decades, yet there were no people. Never had he seen a beach lined with hotels, yet not even a single person on the beach for a mile or more in either direction.
The fourth hotel contained an unexpected shock.
Three dead bodies!
The bodies lay on the floor of the lobby. They had all been shot execution style in the back of the head, but their wounds suggested they had been tortured. They were young white males, and they had not been dead for long. Chuck picked up a wallet from the floor and opened it. No money, but there was identification. The kid was a British citizen with a student ID card. The situation was starting to make sense. These were urban explorers who pressed their luck too far. Chuck pocketed the student ID card. Someone would have to alert the parents. If Chuck didn’t do it, nobody else would. He found a second wallet that had been stripped of cash and credit cards. He pocketed the driver’s license.
As Chuck and Demetrius were leaving the hotel, they walked through a commercial kitchen. It was a typical Varosha scene with pots and pans lying around, some still on the oven where they were left with food in them during the evacuation.
Chuck reached up and removed a big commercial sized S-hook from a wall-mounted rack for hanging large pots and pans. “This should come in handy.”
“What for?”
“Next stop Vulcan’s Lair. I’ve got a surprise for the Hood.”
CHAPTER 22
Forty minutes till shoot-down
Vulcan’s Lair was ten-story beachfront hotel. Chuck could hear the sound of waves on the beach as a warm breeze shuttered the dried fronts of a palm tree.
After he tied his rope around one end of his metal S-hook, he tied his extra t-shirt around the other end. He then heaved the hook up to the third floor balcony. It took several tries, but he got the hook looped around the balcony’s handrail. Because of the t-shirt, there was a minimum of metal-to-metal clanging noise.
“No way,” Demetrius said. “I’m not climbing up there. That railing is probably bolted into a rotted wall. The whole thing will come down.”
“We came here to take the high ground, remember? That’s what we’re gonna do.” Chuck tugged on the rope. “Feels secure enough.”
“That depends.”
Chuck dialed a number on his satphone. “Sebastian, are the SEALs ready?”
“Yes, as soon as you confirm that Vulcan Eye is in Varosha.”
“Confirmed.”
“SEALs,” Demetrius said. “That means they can deal with the Hood.”
“Wrong. There’s not that much time. I’ll go first.”
Chuck was halfway up when the railing popped a bolt. The rope shook from movement above.
Chuck looked down. He was around twenty feet up. A fall onto pavement would be very bad. He continued up, but more slowly.
The rope twanged and moved again. He dropped down about a foot.
“What now?” Demetrius said quietly.
“A few bolts on one side popped out, but railing is holding firm.”
“No, that’s crazy. You better come down.”
“I think I can make it.”
“You better not try.”
Chuck tried. He slowly shinnied up to the railing and climbed over. He then moved the S-hook over the to the solid side.
“You next.”
Five minutes later, Demetrius stood by his side.
CHAPTER 23
Twenty-eight minutes till shoot-down
Chuck and Demetrius walked the halls of the next four stories, searching and clearing dozens of rooms, one-by-one. The sixth floor was loaded with relics. On the 7th floor, Chuck heard crying behind a door.
He opened it very slowly, but stopped when he saw the door was rigged.
“Booby trap,” Chuck said. “Follow me.”
He went into the next room and gouged at the wall with his mini crowbar. He tore away the drywall and broke through, climbing through the hole into the next room.
He immediately saw the trip wires on the floor.
He also found Angela strapped to a chair with an explosives vest on.
She had black eyes. Her face was swollen. Her lips were puffed up and bloody. Her breathing was raspy. Blood was soaked through the arm of her shirt. Her left arm was bent wrong, clearly broken.
“Chuck, stay away.” Her voice was hoarse because of the duck tape pulled tight around her neck and around a 2x6 board behind her head. The board ran from behind her head down to the floor.
Chuck slowly approached her, stepping carefully over trip wires. Over several minutes, he picked three locks. Very very carefully, he removed the vest, freeing Angela.
“I’m going after him.”
“No, Chuck. You’ll never get close. The top floor is secured like the Kremlin.”
“Alright, I’m going to detonate the vest from the next room. The Hood will come down to see what happened. Then we’ll take him out.”
“He won’t come alone.”
“We’ll deal with it.”
He reset the timer and said, “One minute. Get through that hole.”
Angela went second after Demetrius, but her belt got caught on a nail and some wires in the wall. She tried to pull free. “I’m stuck. I can’t get through. I’m stuck!”
Chuck drew his survival knife and cut her belt. Then he put his hand on her bottom and shoved her. Chuck crawled through the hole after her.
A second later, an explosion detonated and shook the walls.
Chuck, Demetrius, and Angela waited for just a few minutes until they heard voices.
>
When the Hood and his bodyguards were in the room, Chuck aimed gun through the hole in the wall. “Drop it.”
They opened fire.
Chuck dropped one henchman then another.
Shooting broke out in the hall.
The Hood ran for the door but Chuck got a bullet into his thigh.
Demetrius ran in. “I got the one in the hallway.”
Chuck crawled back through the hole into the other room. Holding his rope, he approached the Hood. “I guess I won’t have to put a bag over your head when I hang you. Your veil will do just fine.”
The Hood gasped. “No, no please.”
“Keep quiet while I string you up. Otherwise, I’ll have to gag you.”
“No…no, No! I want to live. Death is … horrible.”
“Well, you’re gonna die. You wanted to shoot down three airliners. You wanted to sell the Vulcan Eye to ruthless dictators so they could murder their own people without fear out justice from outside. You gave no mercy to your victims. Surely you knew the day of justice would come.”
The Hood’s eyes flitted around in a panic. “I don’t want to die... I don’t want to die… I don’t want to die!” He screamed frantically. He couldn’t control his panic. He couldn’t even stand. He crawled to Chuck and clung to his leg.
“Don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt me. Please, please, please! I beg you.”
Chuck had never seen such a coward. “Why? So you can kill more people? That’s not justice. You’re going to swing from a rope.”
Demetrius said, “Chuck, don’t do it.”
“Why not?”
“Turn him over to the local police.”
“You mean the same enablers who let him operate from here? They’ll free him by dinner time.”
“What else can you do?”
“Stretch his neck. I didn’t bring a rope for nothing.”
“No, Chuck. Turn him over to the Turkish police. You have all the evidence you need to convict him.”
“They’re corrupt. He murdered five US soldiers. You saw those kids in the hotel. He put an explosive vest on Angela.”
“Fine then. Just kill him. Hurry up and get it over with.”
“No,” the Hood screamed, scratching at Chuck’s leg and drooling on his shoe. “No, no, no!”
Chuck pulled his leg free and kicked the Hood’s chest. His head snapped back like a whiplash demonstration. He lay there with his arms shaking.
“My neck, my neck—I can’t move it.”
“Alright,” Chuck said. “We’ll turn him over to the SEALs. I don’t think this coward will last long in prison anyway.” Chuck looked at him. “You better hope they don’t let you out any time soon. If they do, I will come for you. I’ll do it right.” Chuck kicked him in the stomach. The Hood held his neck.
“No more,” Demetrius said. “That’s enough.”
“No, it’s not.”
Demetrius stormed out angrily.
Chuck stood over the Hood. “They don’t let you wear a veil in prison.” Chuck kicked his face. The veil flew back exposing his face.
There were no acid scars.
“You’re a double,” Chuck said.
Chuck put a knee on his chest and his arm, eliciting a groan. He leaned down over his face. “Where is he?”
A fast hand pulled free and jabbed a knife into Chuck’s ribs. By reflex, Chuck twisted away and fell backwards. He heard the shuffle of clothes and the pounding of footsteps as the double ran.
Angela said, “Chuck, you’re bleeding. What should I do?”
“We’ve got to stop him.” Chuck felt the sharp pain in the ribs, but he said, “I think I’m alright. The knife tip hit bone. It just hurts.”
“How can we stop the bleeding?”
“I’ve got a wrap in my pack. Get it for me.” He started to pull off his tactical vest, but stopped. He looked at his watch. “It’s two minutes till the airplanes are supposed to be shot down.”
Demetrius staggered back in, his hand on his head. Blood was trickling between his fingers from a cut over his eye. “He got me!”
Chuck looked at Angela. “What about the virus?”
“I wasn’t able to upload it.”
“Vulcan Eye,” Chuck said. “I never saw it.”
“It’s a block from here in an alley.”
“Take me there.”
CHAPTER 24
Bleeding from his ribs, Chuck jogged through a hotel and stepped out into the alley where Vulcan Eye was supposed to have been…
But it was gone!
Chuck heard the rumble of the big motor around the corner.
He took off in a sprint. Coming around the corner, he saw the big eighteen wheeler half a block ahead. It was moving slowly because it had to weave between cars in the road. Chuck ran with all he had. He flashed down the road like an Olympic sprinter. He caught up with the eighteen-wheeler just as it was negotiating a sharp turn toward the main boulevard. He jumped up on the buckboard and put an elbow through the glass, pulling the door open, and ripping a hooded man driver from the truck.
Not the hooded man!
They both rolled on the street as the eighteen-wheeler crashed into a parked car, flipping it, and plowing the upside-down Mercedes into the side of a building.
The driver tried to run, but Chuck dove at his legs, taking him down. His face smacked the pavement like a falling rock. Chuck turned him over and delivered a devastating blow to the base of the neck. It was another thug.
Not the double!
“Hey! Hey you!” Chuck slapped him a few times until he regained consciousness.
“Where’s the Hood?”
“He’s gone.”
“Gone where?”
“He left twenty minutes ago in a truck.”
Chuck dealt him a knockout punch then looked up and saw parachuters dropping down into the area around him.
Chuck heard a screeching laughter—on the other side of the truck. Chuck darted around the truck and saw the Hood up at the exterior control.
“Lock on and lock out!” The Hood hit two buttons as laughter burst from his lips. Three lasers fired from a raised equipment rack. The red beams angled into the sky like fire ladders.
The Hood shrieked with laughter. Turning toward Chuck he said, “It’s too late. You lose!”
Chuck leaped up on the buckboard, grabbed a rail and swung up onto the operator’s platform. He grabbed the Hood, dragged him down and got him into a full nelson hold. “Shut it off!”
The Hood spit. “No! It’s too late. I’m locked out.”
Chuck lunged him and crashed down atop him. The Hood was knocked unconscious.
Chuck leaped up and shoved the flash drive into the port. He saw Angela jogging toward him. “What now?”
“Hit enter,” she said.
Chuck did so. Nothing happened. The lasers continued to fire.
“What now!”
Then the lasers stopped.
Chuck looked up in the sky at the skydivers—more than a dozen. A few had already landed and were running his way.
“Who are they?” Angela said, jogging up.
“Navy SEALs. Sebastian alerted them.”
Carrying sub-machine guns and combat shotguns, three SEALs jogged up to Chuck. They were dressed in black and decked out in at least seventy pounds of equipment.
“Are you Brandt?”
“That’s right. There are probably more combatants in the area. I can take you to a hotel and a garage nearby with wounded men that you can take into custody and interrogate.”
With a gloved hand, the lean-faced SEAL pointed at the black-clad man on the deck of the operator’s platform. “Is that the Hood?”
“No, that’s his double. The Hood is gone, but we’ve got Vulcan Eye, and the jet liners are safe.” Chuck pointed at the radar display. Three green blips shown on the monitor.
“Where has the Hood gone?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you interrogate this dirt-bag? Maybe he can tell you
something.”
***
The SEALs secured Vulcan Eye and drove the eighteen-wheeler onto a massive amphibious landing vehicle that splashed ashore in the glittering Mediterranian waters and drove up onto the sand. Chuck turned and saw Angela walking down the beach toward him, walking with heat waves all around her… like an Asian immigrant emerging from a mirage on Mongolian steppes.
Chuck elbowed Sebastian, who stood next to him on crutches. “I think someone wants to talk to you.”
URGENT: Thank you for reading this far! The next book in the series, SHADOW LAWYER, is now available on Amazon. Grab a copy today. Now back to VULCAN EYE.
CHAPTER 25
Quaint homes and two-story neoclassical apartment buildings lined the overgrown street. Chuck welcomed the hot afternoon sun on his face as he waded through waist-high weeds. Golden-brown grass swayed in the breeze. Everything was colored in shades of brown, tan, gold, and red clay. The roof tiles, the stucco walls, the dead grass, the dead trees.
Chuck heard the sounds of crunching grass grow louder as Demetrius jogged up next to him. Demetrius now had a band-aid above his eye.
“That’s it,” he said, pointing at a couple of two story buildings apartment buildings.
“Are you sure?”
“My father’s map.” Demetrius shook his piece of paper. “Plus, I remember it.”
“The rounded one?”
“No, the one set back behind it.”
Chuck groaned. “Always the hard one. Nice fence.” It was eight-foot high stucco fence with barbed-wire along the top. “Are you sure it’s an apartment building? It looks more like a secured embassy.”
“It’s not an apartment. It’s a home. My father was a successful merchant. He told me that his home was big.”
“He wasn’t joking. How do we get back there?”
“There’s an alley behind it. I remember that much.”
They waded through thick grass down the alley. The door was open, but grass was waist high right up to the door. Nobody had been back here in years.
Time had weathered its patchwork tile roof under the hot sun. Chunks of stucco had fallen off the adobe. Wild grass was smothering the foundation and trying to bar the door and keep people out. Chuck noticed the ornate door handle as he wiped dust from his lips. The taste of dry dust filled his mouth.