by Jack Du Brul
“Oh, my God!” Lauren pointed ahead with a trembling hand.
Slicing through the air as if by magic, a bright green container swooped down the chasm directly at the dump truck. Above it Mercer could barely see the grapple carriage of the cable crane. The container had been lowered to just a few feet from the ground on stiff hawsers. There was no way he could avoid the head-on collision. Although their arrival from an unexpected corner of the facility had escaped notice, Mercer realized bitterly that surveillance cameras had tracked their escape in the ten-wheeled truck.
Standing on the brakes so the smell of burned rubber became overpowering, Mercer intentionally crashed the truck into one wall of containers, making sure the rear end broke loose and completely blocked the road. The flying container was fifty feet away, silently speeding toward them.
“Out your door and run toward it.”
“Are you nuts?” she shrieked.
“Do it.” Mercer reached across her lap and threw open the passenger door. As roughly as he’d pushed her into the cab, he tossed her back out, jumping to the ground on her heels.
He took her hand and ran at the cargo box, now just ten feet from them. The gap between the container and the pavement was only a couple of feet, and if the unseen technician remotely operating the cable crane realized what they were doing he could drop the box on them with the force of a hydraulic car crusher. Mercer held his breath and dove for the ground, pulling Lauren after him.
The bottom of the box hurtled an inch over his face, its passage stirring dirt from the asphalt. The air became fouled with the smell of stale rust. And then it moved beyond them. Mercer jumped to his feet and didn’t look back at the collision about to take place.
The container was traveling at thirteen miles an hour when it hit the truck, but it was its forty tons of mass that did the damage. The box barely swayed at the first impact. It crushed through the corner of the big rig, tore the front wheel off its suspension and then ripped the sixteen-cylinder engine off its mounts. Fountains of diesel from severed fuel lines ignited like oil-well blazes. Inertia tossed the motor through the cab an instant before the huge crate sliced it from the chassis like an enormous blade. Only when the container struck the dump body did it begin to push the twenty-ton truck across the pavement, rolling it over and over once the back axle had snapped. A lake of burning fuel spread like a flickering veneer. Gravel drizzled from where the container’s skin had split.
By running at the container, Mercer had saved them from being caught up in the carnage.
They turned two corners and put a hundred yards between themselves and the collision before pausing. Mercer was more winded than Lauren, his body not as recovered from the dysentery as he’d believed. She recognized that his strength was flagging and immediately took point, leading them from the high walls of the container maze.
“Look.” She pointed ahead to where the port’s perimeter fence stretched across a field of waist-high grass.
“How are we going to get over it? It’s electrified.” Even as Mercer said this, bullets sparked against the trailer providing their cover.
They dashed to a maintenance shed, swinging around its far side. Lauren unscrewed her pistol’s silencer to get better accuracy and took a two-handed stance, her body hidden, her eyes expectant. A moment later, two guards ran from their cover position. She triggered her weapon twice. One dropped and remained still while the other managed to drag himself behind a pallet of roofing shingles.
“He’ll have a radio,” she panted. “We’ve got to go now.”
“The fence?”
Lauren took off without answering. Mercer struggled to keep up. He felt like he was wading through molasses, his legs were so rubbery. A fifty-foot strip had been mowed on each side of the chain-link fence, creating a killing lane patrolled by the Panamanian guards who once did Manuel Noriega’s dirtiest work. At the edge of the strip, Mercer and Lauren both saw four camouflaged men studying their patrol sector over the sights of their M-16s. Keeping to the tall grass, they tried to find an area not so well defended, their route taking them farther from the main part of the facility. After three hundred yards it was apparent that the ex- Dignity Brigade troopers were perfectly spaced and disciplined enough to remain at their posts despite the gunfire they must have heard.
There was no way out of Hatcherly Consolidated.
“We have to go back and try to get on board the ship at the pier,” Lauren suggested in a ragged whisper.
Mercer looked back at the glow from the quay, now a half mile distant. He spotted three vehicles speeding toward them, each armed with a light machine gun on a pedestal mount. They were trapped against the fence. He turned to her, his voice grave. “We’ll never make it.”
The pronouncement collapsed Lauren’s determination. She seemed to deflate. They hadn’t been spotted yet, but the trucks drew closer and the gunners swept the grass with spotlights secured to their weapons. They had seconds.
Without warning a section of the twelve-foot fence exploded inward. The broken electric field arced and hissed before the whole stockade shorted out and fell silent. Automatic fire raked the two Dignity Brigade guards not blown flat by the detonation. The pursuing trucks skidded to a halt and the three gunners opened up. Streams of tracers cut like lasers. A flaming streak shot from the darkness beyond the fence and one of the trucks somersaulted as the shoulder-fired rocket impacted on its hood.
In the seconds before the two remaining gunners recovered, dark shapes slipped through the breach in the stockade. Their gunfire cut down a pair of Panamanians running along the ribbon of mown grass. In less than a minute, the unknown gunmen had secured a beachhead in the facility. Without knowing who their saviors were, Mercer and Lauren scurried toward the gap.
“Allons! Vite! Vite!” a voice called as the rescuers fired past the fleeing duo and pinned the Chinese behind their trucks.
The extraction was well choreographed. The mysterious commandos fell back in twos but always kept Mercer and Lauren moving toward the fence. There were at least ten of them, each moving silently except when their high-tech guns barked. They maintained cover fire until reaching a dark van parked across the deserted road that abutted the Hatcherly port. The side door was open and a driver waited in his seat. Half the commandos followed Mercer and Lauren into the vehicle while the others ran ahead to another van. The two trucks became anonymous after driving a couple of blocks.
“Thank you,” Mercer said after everyone had untangled themselves and found a seat.
“De rien,” the closest soldier said and shrugged casually.
That was when Mercer realized the troops were speaking French. What in the hell. .? And then he understood. Certain who he would find, he crawled over the second-row bench until he was in the space between the front seats. The driver glanced over and smiled.
“They say the Foreign Legion was always a moment too late for a rescue,” the man joked. “I think maybe they did all right this time.”
Mercer just stared at the man responsible for saving his and Lauren’s life-Rene Bruneseau, the security director from Jean Derosier’s Paris auction house.
Hatcherly Consolidated Terminal Balboa, Panama
It was raining by the time Liu Yousheng’s Mercedes reached the secure warehouse, a constant pounding of water that struck the asphalt like hail. The rain looked like Christmas tinsel streaming through the coronas cast by the tall gantry lights and exploded into steam when it touched the hot bulbs. The luxury car twisted around the line of dump trucks and threaded between containers and the pile of gravel, stopping next to the armored car now resting low on its suspension because of its golden cargo. Liu didn’t wait for his chauffeur to open his door.
As a result of a life of near constant work and stress, Liu was thin, almost gaunt, with deep-set eyes ringed perpetually by bruise-dark circles. He appeared older than his thirty-eight years. Not only was his face more matured, worn almost, but he possessed an intensity that seemed to infect th
ose around him and was found in only a few leaders who’d weathered most of life’s storms. He also radiated a decisive energy, an unflagging stamina to keep fighting long after others would have surrendered. He enjoyed a position of wealth and power and worked tirelessly for more.
Greed was not a motivation to Liu Yousheng, and he’d faced down that accusation in countless business magazines. His sole interest was success, the never-ending quest to pit his wits against the global economy and come out on top. Business was more than warfare, he’d once been quoted as saying. Wars were fought between two adversaries while business was a struggle between the individual and everything else. Unlike in war, business alliances lasted only so long as profits were made. Stagger once and the corpse of your company was picked over like carrion before jackals. The other difference he’d pointed out was that all wars eventually came to an end. By definition, commerce, the continuous trade of goods and services, would go on forever.
He stepped from the Mercedes limousine, his face unreadable as he studied the ring of men near the armored car. What remained of the soldier who’d killed himself with his own grenade was an irregular red stain on the concrete floor. Liu hungered for a cigarette but had recently quit. In the wake of nicotine withdrawal he had a nervous tick of blowing on the fingertips of his right hand like a safecracker about to attempt a difficult lock.
At five feet ten inches, he was taller than all the men with the exception of Sergeant Huai and a few of his troops. Yet his slender build and hatchet-thin face made him look smaller, frailer, like a gangly teen around adults. None, however, could match his severity, nor could they avoid the palpable tension coiled within him. As his eyes swept the apologetic faces of the guards, each physically recoiled from the deep-seeing stare, casting their glances anywhere but at their leader. Liu’s eyes finally settled on Captain Chen Tai Fat, who was in overall command of the Sword of South China Special Forces detachment and whose primary responsibility was maintaining security at the warehouse.
Chen was a career officer, competent and professional, but like so many in the People’s Liberation Army, he’d achieved rank as much through nepotism as by ability. His father was a general in the air force, and had Chen’s vision not been less than perfect he’d be flying fighter jets out of Hainan Island. Liu didn’t blame Chen for his birth. He himself had benefited from the accomplishments of his family in a lineage that dated back to Chairman Mao’s famous Long March. What Liu couldn’t forgive was ineptitude.
Standing ramrod straight, Chen waited for what he knew was coming, a dressing down he fully deserved. Thieves had breached his perimeter, and while their attempt to steal anything from the port had been thwarted, he was responsible for the security lapse.
Liu Yousheng blew on his fingers as if they’d been singed. “You said when you phoned my home that the thieves escaped with the aid of missile fire from outside the fence,” he began, and Captain Chen nodded. “And yet you still think they are nothing more than a rabble looking to swipe electronics from a couple of containers?”
Chen blinked, not expecting Liu’s question to come so soft-spoken. “Their weaponry indicates a certain sophistication, sir, but Panama is awash in such weapons-surplus arms from the Contras and Sandanistas on their way to FARC and ELF rebels in Colombia. Rocket-propelled grenades are as common as prostitutes here and cheaper to buy.”
Liu glanced at Sergeant Huai for confirmation. The old soldier dipped his eyes in agreement. Liu continued in a mild tone while menace was building in his expression, “So common thieves have automatic weapons and rocket grenades? Interesting. And how do common thieves know to come into this particular warehouse at this particular time?”
Chen had a ready answer. “Despite our precautions, the Panamanian dock workers all knew that something would be happening in here. Our increased security was a sure tip-off. One of them could have let it slip or could even be working with the thieves.”
“Is there any evidence that we were so betrayed?”
“No, sir.”
“Have you started an investigation?”
“As soon as the thieves made their escape, I had the harbor shut down. All employees are being questioned right now.”
“In your estimation, how much of our activities did these thieves see?”
Chen considered dodging the question but too many soldiers had been in the warehouse and he couldn’t count on them to maintain his ruse if he lied. It was not lost on him that they showed more deference to Sergeant Huai than himself, and because of COSTIND’s dual nature, Liu did hold the rank of colonel in the PLA even if he never wore his uniform. “It is possible they saw a portion of the gold, sir.”
“Close enough to see the seals stamped on it?”
“No, sir. They were on the second-floor storage area. Too far away and the angle was wrong for them to get a good look.”
Liu turned to Huai. “Is this true?”
“I was checking the perimeter fence when the firefight took place but my men agree. The gold was under cover except when one of your assistants pulled the cloth from one bar. The robbers were too far away to see the stamp.”
Turning slightly to regard the two suited men who’d been overseeing the transfer, Liu’s dark eyes silently asked the question of who looked at one of the gold ingots. Both men paled under the scrutiny and many seconds passed before one of the men pushed the other forward. “It was Ping, Mr. Liu.”
“How about it, Ping?” Liu asked affably, the menace suddenly gone from his bearing. “Did you sneak a peek at my gold?”
The young junior executive couldn’t muster enough saliva to respond. He nodded sharply, keeping his head down in supplication.
Liu laughed softly. “Don’t worry about it, Ping. In your position I’d be tempted to want to see it too. One rarely gets the chance to gaze upon forty million dollars.”
Ping looked up, a small smile forming at the corners of his mouth. That was how he saw the discreet signal flash from his boss to the commando sergeant.
Huai pulled his sidearm and fired with the weapon still at the level of his waist. The bullet hit square on Ping’s right kneecap. As he buckled, Huai fired again and the other knee shattered in a cloud of blood and bone chips. The junior executive sprawled awkwardly on the concrete, screaming at the unbelievable agony until his body overwhelmed his brain’s ability to deal with the pain and he lapsed into unconsciousness.
Liu gave the other executive a speculative look, and was satisfied that he’d made his point when a wet stain bloomed at the man’s groin.
“Lest you forget that this is a military operation and I will not tolerate mistakes, let Ping’s punishment be a reminder.” Liu’s voice encompassed all those assembled. “We aren’t in Hong Kong or Shanghai. We are in a country that until a few years ago was America’s puppet. Because the Panamanians have only recently gained their freedom from the United States’ imperialism, they are wary of any outsider, especially us. Panama is a Catholic country whose citizens see communism as an affront to their God. Our investments in Panama’s infrastructure are welcome. We are not.
“I have designed Operation Red Island to keep our actual involvement to a minimum for this very reason. One slip, one whispered rumor about what is happening and the people will take to the streets. It’s something they love to do. Omar Quintero is this country’s most unpopular president since Noriega. Until he can better consolidate his power base it won’t take much to push this country into chaos. Captain Chen?”
Chen stepped forward. “Sir.”
“You see what happened to a man who took an unauthorized look at the gold. I want even worse to happen to the thieves.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Sergeant Huai, what about the American from Paris who turned up at Gary Barber’s river camp? Mercer?”
“We lost him after he left the restaurant last night because those drunken tourists rammed our car, but he was spotted at the airport late this morning boarding a flight to Miami. If you still wan
t the journal he bought we will have to dispatch a team to the States.”
Liu considered the proposal. “That won’t be necessary. We have enough old manuscripts to legitimize our discovery if someone ever wonders how we found the treasure. The one he bought is of no consequence.” Hatcherly’s director in Panama moved back toward his car. “Just in case Captain Chen fails to find our thieves, I want the gold out of this warehouse immediately and everything else cleared within forty-eight hours.”
Chen opened his mouth to voice an opinion but Liu cut him off. “I’m well aware of our transport guidelines. What can’t be removed from this building in two days should be stored in another location at the terminal until you can get it out. Don’t violate the guidelines but don’t leave anything in here either.”
“Yes, sir.”
Settled in the back of the Mercedes, Liu Yousheng dug around the mini-bar until he found a container of antacid liquid. He took three heavy swallows, wincing as his stomach gave one more volcanic heave. Thirty-eight was too young for an ulcer, he thought. But thirty-eight was also too young for this kind of responsibility. As he liked to do when the pain was bad, he mentally drew out the flowchart of power within Hatcherly. He enjoyed reviewing the incremental steps he’d climbed. The only people ahead of him now were the president of the entire HatchCo conglomerate, Deng Hui. Then came General Yu, the man who controlled all of COSTIND. Yu’s only superior was the defense minister in Beijing, and at the top of the pyramid was China’s president. Liu had already climbed twenty positions and had only four more to go. If he pulled off Red Island, he was assured the presidency of Hatcherly Consolidated. They’d have to make him a secret general for that, moving him that much closer to the chairmanship of the Commission on Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. He estimated that it would take only two years to move up from COSTIND to the defense ministry.