A Touch of Revenge (A Nick Bracco Thriller)

by Gary Ponzo

  “Relax,” she said. “I’m staying within viewing distance.”

  Matt kept rolling down the street. He turned his lights off to aid Steele with her infrared canvass of the neighborhood.

  “Keep an eye on her, will you Tommy?” Matt called out over his shoulder.

  “You kidding? I’m already fogging up the window back here,” Tommy said.

  Nick caught Matt staring in his rear view mirror. “Stay focused,” he said.

  Matt glanced over at him and frowned, but said nothing.

  Methodically they moved through the neighborhood with the windows down, eyes and ears wide open. They were all beginning to lose their patience.

  “Eddie?” Nick said. They hadn’t heard a word from the kid in several minutes.

  “I think we passed it,” he said. “I don’t recognize this.”

  “Stop,” Tommy said.

  Matt hit the brakes.

  “I see Jennifer back there waving her arms,” Tommy said.

  They all turned to see exactly what Tommy was talking about. Once Jennifer saw the SUV stop, she lowered her arms and headed toward the car in a sprint, glancing over her shoulder at the house as she ran.

  By the time she reached Nick’s window she was out breath, panting while holding something in her hand. Nick had to wait for her to shine the flashlight on it before he knew what it was. A cigarette butt.

  Nick’s heart raced as he realized the significance. He handed the butt and flashlight to Stevie.

  “There’s a bunch of them under this tree,” Jennifer said, catching her breath. “It looked like a perfect spot for a lookout.”

  They waited while Stevie inspected the butt, smelling it, then rolling it in his hand. Finally he looked through a magnifying glass for confirmation.

  After a minute, Stevie looked up at Nick with a smile. “It’s the same one,” he said. “No doubt about it.”

  “Okay.” Nick jammed a thumb over his shoulder. “Get in, Jen.”

  Steele hopped in the car.

  “Get to the end of the block and turn the corner,” Nick instructed Matt. He got his cell and called the SWAT team. He sensed adrenalin surge through his veins with a massive force. He hadn’t slept more than an hour in days, yet he felt as if he could run a marathon.

  Matt pulled over and everyone got out and waited. Even in the chill of the fall night, Nick pulled off his jacket and tossed it in the front seat. Less than two minutes later, the posse rolled in from a different direction as instructed. They parked all in a row and immediately flowed from their vehicles to circle Nick.

  Between the SWAT team, FBI agents and Special Forces, there were more than thirty of them. Everyone was already black-faced but Tommy and Jennifer who used the SUV’s side view mirrors to rub on the black wax.

  “Okay,” Nick said in a low voice. “Let’s be careful here. I don’t want to take any chances. These guys are notorious for leaving booby traps, so be careful. If it takes an extra few minutes to get where you want to be—take the time. This probably won’t turn into a fleeing situation. They’ll dig in and fight until their last bullet has been used.”

  Nick looked directly at the soldiers now. “Anyone with some IED training?”

  One of the young men in the back raised his hand. “I do, sir.”

  “Good,” Nick said. He pointed to Stevie. “Take him with you and examine the perimeter. I don’t want any surprises.”

  “Done,” the soldier said, while watching Stevie unload his duffle bag from the SUV.

  Nick handed the parabolic to Stevie. “And make sure you take the metal detector as well.”

  “Got it,” Stevie said, then headed toward the KSF safe house with the soldier. Nick pointed to the leader of the FBI’s SWAT team and held up three fingers in the dark. Moments later, three SWAT agents fell in behind Stevie and the soldier.

  Nick’s face dripped with sweat. His body was betraying him while he resisted the urge to hand the lead over to Matt. The PTSD was kicking in as he fought to hold it together.

  Matt already had his sniper rifle out and strapped over his shoulder. Nick pointed to him. “You have a shot at Barzani, you take him out, whether or not I’ve given the signal yet. Okay?”

  Matt patted his weapon. He was ready.

  Nick looked at Tommy. “Stay here with Eddie and make sure no one enters this street.”

  Tommy gave his cousin a thumbs up.

  “Okay,” Nick said addressing the group, “Unless they’ve hired some new personnel, I suspect we’re looking at a number less than ten. Their scouts have already taken cover, which means they know we’re here. They will have explosives waiting for us. I don’t know where, or when.”

  Nick pointed to Steele. “Call an ambulance. Have them come without emergency signals and tell them to wait outside the community entrance.”

  Steele left the circle with her phone out.

  Nick looked in the direction of the safe house and pulled his pistol out from his holster. The cabins on either side were dark and unoccupied. “I want this area contained,” he said. “I don’t want anyone escaping that house.”

  He looked at Matt and the crew around him. Everyone seemed prepared to run through a wall for him. It made his heart pump even harder.

  • • •

  Barzani saw it all. He sat in the back seat of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and watched it on his tablet as Memu kept guard from behind the wheel. They parked in a nearby condominium complex, a place where most of the units were used by renters and a new arrival in the parking lot caused no attention. Besides, none of the authorities were looking for him anyway. They presumed he was inside the safe house.

  “Sarock,” Memu said from the front seat, “what exactly are we waiting for?”

  Barzani had the perimeter of the complex rigged with tiny digital security cameras so they could spy their surroundings. What his crew didn’t know was that he’d programmed his tablet to accept the signal from a remote location.

  “Sarock?” Memu repeated.

  “Yes,” Barzani said, “I hear you. We are simply making sure we have no one following us. Patience, Memu. We are so close to our goal, we dare not take a wrong step now.”

  The security guard seemed to be satisfied with the answer. Since they were backed into their parking spot, he folded his arms and kept his focus out the front window.

  “Yes, Sarock,” he said.

  Barzani slowly removed the metal cylinder from his pocket and kept it out of view from the front seat. At the top of the cylinder was a digital keypad with the numbers 1-4 displayed. They created a slight beam and Barzani had to cover the light with his hand to avoid Memu’s attention.

  On his computer, he could see the authorities closing in on the cabin. They were in the shadows and although he could not identify each person, he knew Nick Bracco and his partner were there. He also knew his men were watching the same image on their monitors inside the cabin. It was only a matter of time before they began firing. His heart swelled with pride. Their dedication went beyond anything he could have ever hoped for.

  His soldiers were about to make the ultimate sacrifice. Barzani wished to take as many American lawmen with them.

  • • •

  While Steele took the SWAT team around back, Nick and Matt watched the operation unfold from across the street. Matt was flat on his stomach, his rifle resting on the tripod, with his eye steady in his sight.

  Nick was next to him on one knee, viewing the cabin through his binoculars. There were no lights on inside the house, so he kept switching between night vision and regular lenses.

  “What are they waiting for?” Matt asked.

  “They could be asking themselves the same question about us,” Nick said.

  Darkness swallowed the approaching team, while Nick controlled the offensive through his wireless headset.

  Nick tapped the headset. “Stevie, you heard male voices through the parabolic?”

  “For sure,” Stevie said. “I caught fraction
s of different conversations, but I definitely heard the word Sarock several times. It’s them.”

  “Good work,” Nick said.

  Nick tugged on his arm sling; his shoulder began to throb from overuse. He’d stayed off the pain killers since the other meds didn’t seem to mix well with them.

  “Team A, you in position?” Nick said into the headset.

  “Roger.”

  “B?”

  “Roger.”

  “C?”

  “Giddyup.”

  Nick licked his lips. He didn’t want any mistakes. Barzani was finally going to be put to rest.

  Nick touched his headset. “Is the gas ready?”

  “Ready,” came the voice.

  Nick had to be definitive. He had to shake off any residual effects of the medication which kept his PTSD in check. But there was a nagging thought running through his mind, he was missing something. Like someone leaving for the airport and sensing they’d forgotten to lock the front door.

  “You okay?” Matt said without ever leaving his sight.

  “Fine,” Nick lied.

  “You going to give the order, or should we wait for them to make a mistake?”

  Nick took a deep breath. “I don’t like it.”

  Matt turned to face him. “What?”

  “Something’s wrong,” he said. “No booby traps. No snipers. It’s too easy.”

  Matt sat up and twisted to look behind them. “You think they’ve doubled back behind us?”

  “No,” Nick said. “We have that covered. There’s something else and I can’t get to it in my mind.”

  Matt grabbed Nick’s good shoulder and stared straight at him. “Look, you’ve taken every precaution. Sometimes you just have to take the chance. It’s risk versus reward, and Nick, right about now the reward is quite appealing.”

  Nick nodded. Since he couldn’t qualify his fears, he had no reason the hold up the attack. “You’re right,” he said. “It’s time.”

  Nick tapped his headset and addressed the entire team. “They’ll have gas masks and night vision, but they can’t use both and still fire their weapons. So we gas them, then attack. Understood?”

  He received three affirmative responses.

  Nick looked down at Matt. “If they turn on the lights, our guys could be sitting ducks. Make sure you pick off as many as you can.”

  “I’m on it,” Matt said, back into his sight, steady as a rock. His cheeks didn’t even move as he spoke.

  “Okay,” Nick said into the headset. “Fire the canisters.”

  A couple of loud popping sounds echoed throughout the treetops followed by glass shattering. A moment later a muted blast came from inside the house. It only took a few seconds before the smoke began to drift out of the cabin windows, up and away from the approaching soldiers and SWAT team.

  From their position, Nick and Matt could see Team A rush the front door. Two soldiers, one on each side of a battering ram, swung the large metal pipe and bashed in the wooden door like it was Styrofoam. The door crashed down in one piece separating from the hinges and slamming hard against the floor. The team of eight charged in the cabin single file, organized and skillful, like it was choreographed for a film.

  Nick got to his feet, too antsy to stay back. He wanted to get inside as soon as possible.

  “Stay put,” Matt barked.

  Nick tucked himself behind a large tree and shifted his weight back and forth, waiting for gunfire. Waiting for the offensive to take hold. Waiting for Barzani’s body to be carried out on a stretcher.

  Instead, there was a flash of bright light which, for a split second, didn’t quite register to Nick’s eye. Not until it was followed by a thunderous explosion. A wall of intense pressure punched the air out of the cabin at a rate of three hundred yards per second. Nick was thrown back into a thick bush and lost his breath. He swallowed gulps of oxygen like a swimmer who’d just surfaced from a long dive. The flash of the explosion overwhelmed his eyes and took out his sight. He could hear the crackling of flames and feel the heat generated from the blast. Screams pierced the night. Men’s screams. Soldiers who’d run straight into the arms of danger.

  Next to him, below him, he could hear Matt calling his name.

  “You okay?” Matt’s voice was muted, but he could tell he was probably screaming.

  Nick had to wait before he could respond. His entire body trembled while he struggled to breathe.

  He felt a pair of hands on him while the floaters in front of his face began to give way to the night sky. He could see some tree limbs.

  “I’m okay,” he gasped.

  Now Matt’s voice was above him, while his shoulder was being tucked into his arm sling properly. He could finally make out Matt’s face. He looked to be stunned, as if in shock.

  “Are you okay?” Nick said, then coughed.

  “Yeah, I was down against the ground already.”

  Nick forced himself up to see the remnants of the cabin which stood there in front of him just moments earlier. Sirens were blaring from different directions. Flames began to lick the nearby treetops threatening to turn into a forest fire.

  Matt pulled Nick to his feet.

  “C’mon,” Matt said, his expression changed. He seemed to suddenly remember something. A trace of distress showed in his eyes. “We have to find Jennifer and Stevie.”

  Matt raced across the street while Nick stumbled behind him, trying to keep up. He passed a soldier on the ground, writhing in pain, holding his stomach. When he bent down to help, the soldier waved him off.

  “Go. Help the others,” the soldier said. “I’ll be fine.”

  Nick was strong enough to break into a gallop around the west side of the cabin. He saw a SWAT team member carrying a soldier away from the flames, but no Steele or Stevie.

  Flashing lights illuminated the forest while Nick maneuvered around debris scattered across the ground; chunks of wood and drywall mixed with shoes and furniture. He stepped over a stainless steel sink and landed on a human arm. Burning embers floated all around him like black snow.

  While his vision blurred from the smoke, Nick heard his name, but couldn’t find the source. He saw Matt to his right, behind the cabin already, searching frantically for survivors.

  “Nick,” a voice called to his left.

  Tommy was in the woods, kneeling over a body. A female body.

  Nick ran over and saw it was Jennifer Steele flat on the ground. Tommy had his hand on her shoulder, but there weren’t any obvious wounds.

  “I’m fine,” Jennifer yelled and fought to get up, but Tommy kept her pinned to the ground.

  “Not a chance,” Tommy said. “I saw you flying like a bird. You’re staying flat on your back until the medics get here with a stretcher.

  “Where’s Stevie?” Nick asked.

  Tommy pointed over his left shoulder. In the darkness, Stevie sat up against a tree taking deep breathes. A mixture of flashing lights and flickering flames danced over his torso.

  Stevie held up a hand. “I’m okay,” he said.

  Matt found them and rushed next to Steele. He inspected her body while she took his hand.

  She glanced at Tommy and said, “He’s forcing me to stay still.”

  Matt looked at Tommy with a question on his face.

  “She’s hurt,” Tommy said. “She’s trying to be tough like the rest of the boys, but she’s hurting and I’m not going to let her make it worse by trying to shake it off like it’s nothing.”

  “But it is nothing,” Steele uttered.

  Matt brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Tommy’s right. You stay put.”

  Sid Coleman, head of the FBI’s SWAT team ran up to Nick and pushed him to the ground.

  “You said these weren’t suicide terrorists!” Coleman blasted. He kicked Nick in the legs while he tried to get up with one good arm. “I lost good men in there.” Coleman continued his assault until Matt jumped up and grabbed the agent and pulled him away.

 
Spittle came flying out of Coleman’s mouth as he went on, “This was supposed to be a combat mission, not suicide. That’s why I sent my men in there!”

  Matt was bigger than the man, but adrenalin kept Coleman from being completely contained. A nearby soldier came over and helped Matt keep the man under control.

  “It wasn’t suicide,” Nick said, finally getting to his feet. “They’re not religious zealots.”

  Coleman pointed to the ruins next to them. “Then what the fuck is that?”

  “They didn’t do it,” Matt yelled at Coleman. He looked over at Nick and seemed to have it figured out already.

  “Then who?” demanded the SWAT team leader.

  It took Nick a moment to clear it up, his head full of grief and pills. “Barzani,” he finally said, then saw Matt nodding back at him.

  “Barzani?” Coleman said. “But I thought … What are you saying? He committed suicide and took his men with him?”

  Nick shook his head. “I don’t know how, but he knew we were coming and left his men behind. He’s the one who detonated the bomb.”

  “So all this for nothing,” Coleman spat at him. He waved his hand out in a half-circle. “Barzani is still out there?”

  Then Nick felt the vibration in his pants pocket and knew his answers were a button away. He walked into the nearby woods, passing Steele being placed on a stretcher. Once he’d gotten twenty feet into the trees, he braved a look at his phone display. “Luke Fletcher.”

  Nick’s hand trembled as his thumb hovered over the “Talk” button.

  He pushed the button and placed the phone to his ear.

  “You really did not think I was dead, did you?” came the low growling voice.

  Nick said nothing.

  “There’s less than eighteen hours before your President’s speech. I hope for your sake there’s a troop removal.”

  “And I hope for your sake, I don’t find you before then.” Nick seethed. He realized he was trembling out of fury rather than fear. His grip tightened around the phone. “Because when I get you I’m going to split your gut open and slice up your liver to feed the neighborhood cats.”

  There was levity in Barzani’s tone now. “Agent Bracco, really, is that necessary? We are all professionals here.”

  “Professional what? Murderer? Those men you killed were loyal followers of your corrupted schemes. They had brothers and sisters and wives and children back home.”