by Shane Crosby
“Send him with our parents.”
“I agree. They’re safe. We can get him out in the next couple of days.”
“I can help from there. We’ll need to do it over a satellite phone.”
“I can setup the encrypted lines. Put in a call to Jared, we’ll be all set in no time.”
“Let’s do that.”
“I’ll call him now.”
“I can get a satellite phone from my office.”
“Trev, you okay with this?”
“I am if it’ll help us catch them. I can always come back when I’m in fighting shape.”
“Good. We’re on the same page then?”
“Absolutely.”
“Looks like we’re on the hunt for a monster.”
“I always loved sticking it to the bad guys.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
THREE DAYS LATER
TAKING A CHANCE
BERLIN AIRPORT
Trevor
Our brother Jared Morgan works for the CIA. He reports directly to the director. He’s privy to more information than even I was as a SEAL. He’s the youngest of the five and has the most clout then all of us. We’re very proud of the route he’s taken and we look for any reason to exploit those government connections whenever possible. Keeping with tradition, Dub placed a call to baby brother that same night. Jared sent us a couple of phones and ensured us they weren’t traceable. With the new phones in our possession, we were ready to go forward with our plans to get me to safety.
When I got up this morning, for some reason, I was a bit apprehensive. My inability to defend myself if attacked was hanging over me. I hadn’t thought of it before. I guess my focus was and has been on learning to live this new life I’ve been forced to feel my way through. I should know that you’re the most vulnerable when you let your guard down. Grief, is one of the best ways to make you vulnerable. I have to redirect my focus on justice, not revenge. Revenge will cloud your judgement. It makes it difficult to strategize logically because you’re allowing yourself to be led by rage. Emotions cannot be a part of any successful investigation. In order to successfully defeat any opponent, leave your emotions out of it, keep a clear head and strategize.
After I finished packing everything, I placed a call to Inspector Schmidt, but it went to voicemail. I decided it was for the best and I’d communicate with him at a later time.
“You got everything Trevor?”
“Yep.”
“Get in touch with the inspector?”
“No, it went to voice mail. I’ll touch base with him later.”
“Okay, everyone ready to do this?”
“I pulled the car around.”
“Let’s go.”
We piled into Dons’ truck and headed to the airport. On the way it was the usual jokes and laughs the entire way there. When we arrived, Don parked. Dub went to get me a wheelchair and they took turns wheeling me to the across the parking lot to the counter to check my baggage.
“Sir, may I help you?”
“Uh, yes, I need a ticket to the states - Gochian, please.”
“One moment please.”
She puts in the information and the machine spits out a ticket
“Here you go sir, would you like some help getting to the gate?”
“Can my brothers go to the gate with me? Or do I have to have airport personnel escort me?”
We show her our military ID.
“Hello, I’m Lieutenant Cole Special Investigations United States Air Force.”
“I’m Darien. United States Marine Corps.”
“Oh, ok, one moment while I confer with my supervisor.”
She walks over to speak with her supervisor. The supervisor whispers something to her and she walks back over with a smile.
“Yes, they can accompany you to the gate. Have a wonderful flight sir.”
“Thank you.”
Dub
We took the ticket and started to the gate. I pushed Trevor and Don kept watch as we walked through the airport. Everyone was walking and talking as if nothing was wrong. They were going about their day, I assume as anyone would while traveling. It all looked so normal. We were starting to relax and feel like regular civilians on holiday. Right as that thought was going through my mind, Don tapped me on my arm.
“Dub look to your right do you see the guy with the trench coat on?”
“I see him. How the hell did he get in here looking like that? A damn trench coat and no one stops him?”
“Trevor, this isn’t going to go as planned. We’re going to put you somewhere to hide.
Do you have a weapon?”
“Absolutely, right here under my coat.”
“How were you going to get on the plane with a weapon?”
“I’m a police officer, remember? I have my badge with me.”
“Get it ready, bro it’s about to jump off.”
“I see them.”
Don hits me again. “Look to your left.”
“I see them.”
“How many people?”
“I count 4 in total. No wait behind you, there’s two more.”
“In front of us two more damn it! We need to get Trevor to a safe place now.”
“Let’s just keep watching and blending in, if we can get Trevor to the gate then we can raise hell.”
“I’m with you, little brother but I don’t know if we’re gonna make it. I see some places where we can hide Trevor.”
“Let’s get to the closest one. Trevor, hopefully this place has a back room. That’s where you stay until we can come find you.”
“I got it.”
“Hurry.”
We placed Trevor in a nearby store. With him hiding in the back, Don and I can concentrate on keeping us alive.
“We're out numbered and bad.”
“Tell me something I don't know.”
“They have every freaking possible out blocked.”
“Not that there's a whole lot anyway.”
I looked to my left and I can see them standing at each exit. They’re searching the faces of everyone who enters and exits the airport. We knew we were out number from the start, but we can’t leave Trevor. A decision has to be made. Stand and fight or leave our brother. We didn’t give it a second thought. We weren’t going to leave him. A fight it is.
We were relatively certain they didn’t see Trevor go into the store. If we sacrifice our lives, it’ll save his. To make certain we were on the same page, we turned to look at each other and nodded in agreement. Then, we each go in separate directions to find cover for ourselves. There were large wide columns standing floor to ceiling. We selected one on each side to shield ourselves from what was coming.
When outnumbered, the plan is to eliminate them quietly and quickly, so you can get out without being detected. If we can execute this successfully, we can get our brother and get the hell out of this airport.
Two of the men are approaching the location where Trevor is hiding. As they get closer, Don quietly moves in behind them and signals to me to get ready to take the other one. Before we can make our move, we’re spotted.
“There they are!”
When you’ve been discovered, don’t waste time. You need to act quickly. Don grabs the one closest to him puts him in a choke hold and strangles him. He drags him into a corner and searched for another target.
We were outed before I could get the jump on my target. We’re engaged in a good ol’ fashioned street fight. I love those. It helps me to release my pent up frustrations. We’re trading blows with each other. I can see that he’s been trained in hand to hand combat because our moves are like looking in a mirror. He knows my next move and vice versa. The rest of the crew is approaching quickly. I know I have to wrap this up quickly.
Don
I look over and see Dub engaged in a fight to the death. I had a small window to pull this off. I readied my weapon I blocked out my surroundings and I yelled,
“Dub, NOW! “
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Just like we practiced it, he ducks. When making the decision to shoot a weapon that can end someone’s life, you need to think first, especially when you’re in a crowded airport. If someone walks in the front of the bullet, you could be responsible for killing an innocent. Unfortunately, when in war, you don’t have time to think of casualties. You have a split second to help the person who watches your six and that’s all that’s on your mind. I steadied myself, slow my breath and pulled the trigger. If I hadn’t been here to see it, I wouldn’t have believed it. It was like someone was guiding that bullet because a civilian was approaching. The bullet just narrowly missed her head. It went in between the two individuals and hit its target right in the side of the head. When it hit him, the life let his body immediately and his body fell sideways.
The airport erupts into chaos. People are screaming running, grabbing their loved ones crawling on the floor. All of this helps us to get ahead of our enemy. We used the crowd to hide. There’s automatic weapon fire ricocheting throughout the airport. Plaster and glass fall onto everyone below. The columns we sought refuge behind earlier are our saviors now. The thick concrete helps to keep the bullets from penetrating the column and killing us. I peered out from behind my shield and I could see them quickly approaching our location. A nine millimeter pistol is protection, but it’s no match for an airport full of automatic weapons. Therefore, each shot we take has to be calculated and precise. Makes me glad I paid attention in sharp shooting class.
In an attempt to prevent civilian causalities, we start yelling.
“GET DOWN! GET DOWN!”
With thousands of people screaming and running, it’s difficult for us to see our targets and the same goes for them. Running, searching and hitting a target at the same time is difficult to do, this was an advantage and a disadvantage. It kept us alive longer, but it also made it more difficult to kill them.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see them running towards me, I leaned against the column, stepped out slightly kept my hand steady, pulled the trigger and hit one of them in the chest. His partner looked around trying to see where the shots were coming from. While he’s looking around, I’m peeking from behind the column just enough to use one eye to see my pursuer. In the chaos and his partner being shot, he’s disoriented which has caused him to lose visual on us. When he turns to help his colleague, I stepped out and fired. One last hired killer to run from.
We’ve done well to hold them off this long, but we know the odds are in their favor. Soon, we’ll be out of ammunition and at their mercy. We tried to keep from trading fire with them, but that’s difficult to do in a fire fight.
“Dub, I’m out.”
“Me too!”
Dub
We were pinned down and with no ammunition we’d gotten prepared to accept our fate. The focus now is to keep our brother alive and live to fight another day, which will mean surrender. They won’t execute us in here with all of these witnesses, will they? I can’t believe being behind enemy lines is in Germany. We glanced at each other knowing the end is near, just as we were about give up, I saw smoke. It started to get thicker and thicker. It makes me cough. My lungs are burning, eyes watering. I can see Don on his knees trying to get air. I realized what was going on but couldn’t understand it. Someone has released tear gas inside of the airport. All of these years in the field, I wondered how I was going to die. Now, I don’t have to wonder any more. It’ll be from suffocation. Then, I felt someone touch me.
“Here take this.”
I look up and see a face that’s very familiar, but, it can’t be.
“Jared?”
“Yeah, put it back on.”
Then someone who looks like my other brother, Scott, runs over to Don.
Jared, Trevor is in the store.
“I’ll let Scott know.”
Jared signaled to Scott and Scot went to retrieve Trevor.
Don, Jared, Scot & Dub
Don
Scott helped me try and get to my feet. I kept removing my mask calling out for Dub. He never responded. I couldn’t keep it off too long before the gas started to choke me. I searched along the floor struggling to see through the gas trying to find my brother. I was desperately trying not to leave him behind, but I had to get outside.
“Don, we have to go. I’ll come back for Dub. Come on let’s go.”
I stumbled outside fell to my knees still looking around for my brother hoping he made it out safely. Searching the area for Dub, I saw Jared drive up in a jeep.
“Come on get in.”
“Have you see Dub and Trevor?”
“No, but Scott went to get Trevor. Dub made it outside. He’s here somewhere.”
“You gotta find him!”
“I’ll look for him.”
We drove around and saw Scott coming out with Trevor. We stopped to pick them up. No one had seen Dub and I was starting to get worried. I was started to believe they got him. We’d circled the airport and airport several times and still there was no Dub. None of us were willing to give up. If the airport surrounded by the German police, we were making the decision to take the chance of searching the airport on foot. We’d stopped to get out and Dub comes around the corner.
“Hey fellas.”
“Get in here! I thought they got you!”
“Nah, I was hiding. They were looking for me. I hoped you left.”
“No way. We weren’t going to leave you.”
“That’s why they have the upper hand on us.”
“We’re not willing to have casualties.”
“Exactly.”
“I guess we’ll have to figure out how to protect our Achilles heel better.”
“Well, I’m just happy we all lived to give ‘em hell tomorrow.”
“I agree.”
“I’ll bet you’ve heard this a lot today.”
“Heard what?”
“Boy, am I glad to see you.”
“Yeah, we’ve heard that a few times today.”
FAILED PLAN
BERLIN
DON’S HOUSE
Trevor
Our little brother Jared coming to visit on the day we were marked for murder was a surprise and a blessing. We’ve never actually given any serious thought to Jared doing anything except sitting behind a desk. Today, although he didn’t pull a weapon, he did show he was able to act in stressful times. With bullets flying overhead, he didn’t hesitate to help our brothers. I was proud of him. We all were. It felt good to have us all in the same place at the same time. However, this little family reunion will be short live. Jared is schedule to return to the states in the next couple of days. While he’s here, though, we plan on doing a lot of catching up and family bonding.
When we returned to Don’s house, we were all upset about our near death experience. I knew, as we all did, that they’d be looking here next. What I can’t understand is how they knew we were in Berlin let alone knew we were going to the airport today. If I hadn’t grown up with everyone I’m working with, I’d start to believe this is an inside job.
Phone ringing...
“Alvarez.”
“Hello detective, my name is Inspector Bauer. I’m calling on behalf of Inspector Schmidt.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’m calling to let you know we recovered his body this morning.”
“What? What happened?”
“We don’t know. He’s been missing for the past four days. I believe his last conversation with you was the last time anyone spoke with him. Someone called and said a body was floating in the water. It was him.”
“How did you make the identification?”
“He was intact. I know you’ve been working on these mysterious murders together.”
“Not exactly, but I had decided to assist, if needed.”
“Well, it’s needed. The other reason for my call is to tell you, he was tortured. From the looks of his body, he was put through some extensive torture for days. I wanted to warn
you that anything you discussed, the enemy may know it.”
“We just discussed the case a bit. Where was he taken?”
“We believe from his house. He left a package for you. You can come by to retrieve it at any time. We’d also like to know what’s inside.”
“Okay, I’ll have someone retrieve it today.”
“Thank you detective.”
“I’m sorry about what happened to him.”
“It’s the job. We all know it’s dangerous.”
“Thanks for the call.”
I went to let the guys know about the call I just received.
“Guys, the inspector I was working with has been murdered. They found his body this morning.”
“That’s why you couldn’t get in touch with him.”
“He’s been missing for the past four days. They found him in the river somewhere. And, get this, he was tortured.”
“Did you tell him anything?”
“I told him my theory.”
“About the dump locations going back to the club?”
“Yes, but it’s just a theory.”
“It won’t be to them, if he told them.”
“I’m betting he did. We’ve been trained to withstand torture. The average detective has not.”
“They’ll be switching up their game now.”
“Damn! I should’ve warned him. How many bodies am I going to collect?”
“Trevor, don’t start that again. He knew these people were dangerous. He saw the same bodies you did. He knew about your history. He knew what you lost. He knew.”
“We can’t sit around and cry about this. They probably know Trevor’s theory and they’re trying to clean up.”
“We have to leave here, tonight. I’ll bet they’ve already got this place covered.”
“I thought if I sold the old house and purchased a new one, I could start fresh. Serial killers never forget.”
“Doesn’t look like it.”
“They just allowed you to think they forgot. I’ll bet they’ve been watching you all along.”
“I can believe that. They wanted to know what you knew.”
“Now what?”