by Rik Stone
He wept from exhaustion, and awareness of his injuries came back as a fanfare. Mind wandering, he no longer knew what was real and what was imagined. Rest, he needed rest. His body relaxed on top of her, his thoughts drifted as nonsense, and he passed out.
*
Mehmet had no idea how long he’d been out, but it was the brightness of the rising sun shining along the gulley that stirred him. Caked mud held his eyes half open, he squeezed them shut, and turned his head from the glare. And then consciousness reminded him of his pain, more pain than he had ever endured. He just wanted to whimper. But there was no time for self-sympathy. If he were to stay alive, he had to get moving.
Slime had dried on his skin and hair, his mouth felt like parchment, and his lips were cracked. How long had he been there? Maybe the dry sludge had acted as a stopper, but the bleeding in his side had halted. He struggled to his feet, edged around the pond, and staggered back into the gulley. If he could get to the rise of the hill without being seen, maybe he could wind his way past and back to the scooter.
In his head he knew Oddball hadn’t chased him far, even if it had seemed like a marathon at the time. Maybe it wasn’t such a journey back to the bike, but without food or water to sustain his efforts, it would be completely dependent on luck. He came to the scuff marks where he’d fallen down the slope and gave his all to get to the top of the ridge and then crawl to the point above the barn where Oddball had first come after him. Keeping low, he crept past as quietly as possible.
And then the sound of automatic gunfire filled the air and he wondered if a new world war had broken out.
Chapter 29
Dalaman Airport, East of Marmaris
Jez flew into Dalaman from Odessa with Anna and Pavel, and found the Russian Embassy guard waiting at the airport as arranged. The soldier handed ignition keys to Jez and led the way to a blue Fiat 130 Coupe parked on a dirt road just outside the airport.
“It has a V6 3.2 liter engine and goes like the wind,” the young soldier bragged.
“And you found that out when driving it here from Yenikapi, I suppose?” Jez asked. “You clearly weren’t aware of what was in the trunk.” It was filled with the weaponry and explosive that Jez had requested from Odessa.
The soldier seemed to realize that maybe he shouldn’t have said what he said and straightened. “No, I …”
Jez furrowed his brow. “What’s done is done, but you could have ended my operation before it began … Have you got a ride back to Istanbul?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then I’ll take no more of your time.”
“Thank you, sir,” the guard said and hurried off.
Pavel struggled to hold a straight face while Anna raised her eyes at Jez as if she were his mamma and then threw the one duffel bag that held the kit for all three of them onto the back seat. Pavel got in next to it, Anna sat up front, Jez took the driving seat, and said, “We go to the seed barn first. If Yuri isn’t there, it isn’t so far to go on to the heroin depots.”
Anna had liaised with Yuri and knew the whereabouts of both places.
They drove the eighty kilometers of winding, sandy roads that had more bumps than a stingray’s backbone, until at last Anna told Jez to stop.
“We’re about two kilometers from the barn. Reverse up to the other side of that hill. If any vehicles pass they won’t see our car and we’ll be well positioned to make a quick getaway after rescuing Yuri.”
Jez smiled at her optimism, but did as he was told and reversed the car into position. He then went to the trunk and unloaded enough of the firearms for a light assault, but turning away from the car, something caught his eye and he pointed. “There’s a motor scooter there,” he said, and went over and sat on it. “The key is in the ignition. What do you think, Anna?”
“Lots of people around here drive these things. I’m pretty sure Mehmet has one, but he is supposed to be waiting for us at the boat.”
“Why didn’t we pick him up anyway? Extra hands are always a help,” Pavel said.
“Mehmet is a top operative with everything other than a gun. If Yuri is in trouble then Mehmet could be more of a hindrance than a help.”
Pavel nodded in agreement. “Okay, Michel is sure they’ll keep Yuri alive for his lists. Let’s hope Mehmet hasn’t gone all gung-ho and rushed in to save him because there are no such good reasons to keep him alive.”
No one answered. They went back to the Fiat and Jez passed weapons out. Pavel crisscrossed ammo belts across his chest, shouldered an AKM assault rifle, and removed the shoulder stock from an APB 6P13 pistol before squinting along the length of the silenced barrel and tucking the gun and a spare magazine into his clothing. Jez did much the same, but Anna took only a pistol.
Jez weighed up the situation and then said, “Okay, let’s do it.”
It had been near eighteen hours since Mehmet had sent his report to Michel; there hadn’t been much time to make plans and now time was pressing. Jez knew that however they got this job done it wasn’t likely to be subtle.
The sun glared over the eastern ridge and it was hot as they took off at a crouch. They covered the ground at speed, until the road opened out and the barn came into view. Time came to belly out, so they crawled to the rear of the building. There were three guards at the barn that were taking turns in checking the perimeters. Jez let the latest get halfway along the rear of the building and reached for his pistol, but Anna put a hand to his upper arm and indicated that she would do it. He eased back as she rested the silenced barrel on her left wrist and took careful aim before gently squeezing off a couple of shots. A noise comparable to a couple of pebbles hitting a wooden door popped and two headshots dropped the guard.
Jez asked, “Why stop me from making the hit?”
“Because you and Pavel have AKM’s and are better positioned to defend should anything go wrong.”
He nodded and crawled off towards the front of the building with the AKM slung over his back. Another guard was out front and alone. He seemed relaxed enough, standing with his feet wide apart and loosely clutching the machine pistol across his midriff. But for the simple job of guarding a barn, Jez thought he came across as too alert. Maybe Mehmet had made a visit and the guards were expecting more trouble.
The APB 6P13 was fully automatic, but a skillful user could easily fire one, two, three, or four round bursts with accuracy. Jez took the gun from inside his jacket and nonchalantly walked out and showed himself. The guard was a little faster than anticipated and turned, swinging his machine pistol up into firing position, but Jez had already straightened his arm and fired four rounds, panning the barrel and striking the major kill points around the guard’s torso.
The sound of Pavel’s AKM assault rifle rattled out on the other side of the barn, so Jez returned the pistol to his jacket and swung his rifle to the front. Anna ran past him and went to ground near the base of the hill out front. She was up on one knee and had her pistol balanced over the crook of her arm. Pavel came round to join them and looked at the guard Jez had killed.
“That’s all three down,” he said, as he and Jez turned to face the barn.
For around twenty seconds it must’ve sounded like Chinese New Year as they opened fire and the guns blazed until the magazines emptied. The power was focused on the smaller entrance door and was enough for it to burst inward. Jez put the rifle down, took out his pistol, and crouched in wait of retaliation.
“Don’t take anything for granted,” he whispered. “There must be something in there or why guard it?”
Anna moved swiftly to one side of the large double door and covered the opening. Pavel mirrored her action opposite. Jez dropped to a crawl and elbowed his way through the small entrance. He saw a man on the floor drawn up into the fetal position. Yuri! His arms had been strapped to a chair and he’d been pushed over and left lying on his side. But his legs were free; why hadn’t he got to his feet and smashed the chair against the ground or the steel steps?
Jez
went to him, but Yuri curled away and the terror in his face was clear. Jez hadn’t heard anything, but now, close up, he found himself listening to pitiful whimpering. Yuri was crying as if in a panicked terror.
“Yuri,” Jez whispered and leant over to put a hand to his shoulder, but Yuri shriveled back. Jez stepped away. “Secure the inside walls,” he yelled, and Anna and Pavel rushed in at a stoop, guns held out at arm’s length and ready to open fire.
“Secure!” Anna shouted.
“Secure!” Pavel echoed.
“Cover my back,” Jez said and raced up the mezzanine steps, checking the rooms at the top.
“Secure along here,” he shouted.
Anna had followed Jez up the steps, but turned the opposite way at the top. She went into the rooms on that side until reaching the end of the narrow corridor and then checked the outside area from a window there. “There’s someone crawling along the top of the rise in front of the barn.”
Jez rushed up behind her. “I see him. He’s mine,” he said, already running back down the steps. Outside, he veered off to the right and wound his way up the incline to one side of where he had seen the man on the ridge. At about fifty meters along the top, the target was on his knees and crawling away. Jez held his pistol ready for unseen tricks and ran past the corpse of a long, skinny man and on to the one crawling.
“Stop!” Jez shouted in Turkish. “Spread your hands out on the ground in crucifixion and don’t move a muscle.”
The man jerked, as if he’d been wakened from sleep, and then splayed his hands out on the ground. He lay there like some sort of pond life, covered from head to foot in something green that had dried to his skin. His hair was matted and his upper body naked, except for the sludge. There were signs of blood and most of his skin was scraped from his back. Without permission, the man pushed himself back up onto his knees and began crawling away.
Jez pressed the gun into the side of his neck and said, “Stop or I shoot. Roll onto your back.”
The man rolled over and groaned as his flayed flesh made contact with the rock.
“What is your name? Who are you?” Jez asked.
Weakly, the man croaked, “Mehmet Pasha.”
*
Jez staggered and slipped as sandstone gave way underfoot. He edged his way down the incline, taking care with his wounded comrade; if they were to take a tumble, it could be the finish of him. He had given Mehmet a quick once over and while the extent of his injuries weren’t overly clear because of the dried sludge, it was obvious enough that the wound in his side could be life threatening. The jostling down the hillside must’ve caused horrendous pain, but Mehmet made no bones about it. At the bottom, Jez carried him over to the barn and sat him against the outside wall. Pavel had found a switch and opened the large double doors. He watched them cross, but made no attempt to help.
“I assume that’s Mehmet,” he said.
“Yes, and thanks for the help.”
“Oh, sorry, you looked in control,” he said and then quickly added, “I’m going to check the immediate area. There has to be more to this lower level than a parking lot.”
“See to it that Mehmet has water first,” Jez said, and left to go into the barn.
The sun softly invaded the space inside, capturing dust motes in its beams. Yuri had been freed from the chair, but remained curled up in a ball. Jez said of a small table lying on its side, “Looks like they left in a hurry. Pity we killed the guards; maybe they could have told us where Adam is and what he’s up to.”
Anna’s attention had been taken by something behind the table and she was picking it up. A couple of empty vials and a syringe. The vials had labels, but were smudged and damp. She took them to the door. “Dopa … just a minute, dopamine. Have you heard of it?” she asked.
Jez shook his head. “They must have used it on Yuri. We’ll take it with us. Maybe our people have an antidote.”
“No!” a voice screamed out behind them.
Jez turned to see Mehmet on his knees clawing his way towards Yuri. He hadn’t cried at his own pain but now he was sobbing like a baby. “No, no, Yuri!” He reached out a hand, but Yuri curled away.
Jez got Mehmet to his feet, forced him back outside, stood him up against the barn door, and said, “Mehmet, he’s been drugged, but our medics will be able to do something. It won’t be as bad as it looks.” But Jez had enough experience not to believe a word he’d just said. There was no quick fix for anyone in that state.
Pavel came from the back of the barn. “Nothing of interest around the barn’s perimeters and the parking lot is just that, a parking lot.” He focused on Mehmet. “How are you holding up?” he asked.
Mehmet continued to stare at the ground without answering.
“Pavel, bring the Fiat up to the front of the barn,” Jez ordered. “We have to get our wounded to the boat and arrange a pickup.”
*
Jez had organized for helicopters to pick Mehmet and Yuri up, and they had to heavily sedate Yuri just to get him onboard. By now, with luck, they should be in Istanbul. General Petrichova had patched the order through that they wait on the boat for further orders, so they motored Great White from the bay and anchored a distance offshore where radio reception would be better. The locals would have thought the temperature on the cool side, but that wasn’t the case for Jez; he hadn’t been in such heat since his Spetsnaz days. He found a light breeze up top and had just made himself comfortable when Pavel popped his head up from the lower deck.
“Michel is on the radio and wants to speak with you,” he told him.
In the saloon, Jez cleared his throat and put the earphones on. “Michel, we are prepared to leave and Yuri and Mehmet should have arrived in Istanbul by now.”
“No, I’ve given it some thought and it seems that every time we douse the flames in that area, the fire comes back stronger. I want the Turkish connection extinguished once and for all. You will destroy the drug depots along with Adam Mannesh’s Icmeler premises. And I have no desire to hear of survivors. Do we understand each other, Lieutenant?”
“Yes, General, crystal clear, sir.”
With protocol satisfied, Jez went back up top to think over the orders. While he knew Yuri and Michel were close friends, he was still surprised. The situation was no longer a Soviet concern and Michel was usually a stickler for procedure. Nevertheless, Jez couldn’t deny a twinge of satisfaction hearing the new orders; Adam Mannesh had played a cruel game and what he’d done to Yuri deserved retribution.
Anna and Pavel joined him on the flybridge.
“So where is our next stop?” Anna asked.
Jez pulled his mouth into a straight line and then smiled. “Right here. Our orders are to seek and destroy every aspect of the Icmeler operation.”
“Everything?” Pavel said.
“Yes, and Michel made it clear he would be disappointed to hear of survivors.”
*
“There’s nothing to suggest anyone’s been to the barn since we were here last, but we go in commando just in case,” Jez said, as they made reconnaissance from the approach road to the barn.
Masking up with camouflage paint and sticking pieces of tumbleweed into the necks and waists of combat clothing to change their human form, they crawled forward, surrounding the building on three sides. No signs of life. But Jez had to be sure before committing the unit. He crawled to the side of the barn and worked his way around front. Unsure of what his next orders might be, he had left small, tell-tale objects at the base of the large outside doors and a cobweb-colored cotton across the centre of the integral door before leaving with Yuri. He now broke the cotton and crept inside, inched his way to the mezzanine steps, and took them at a crouch. After a thorough check, he shone a flashlight through the upper window to let the others know the area was secure.
Anna ran from her position, crossed by the front of the barn and on up the road they’d just come in on. She drove the Fiat back in front of the barn where Pavel flipped the tr
unk lid and took out Semtex plastic bricks. She then took the car a safe distance away and returned to help Pavel. Some of the bricks were taken into the barn and the rest stuffed into the holes dug around the foundations outside. Anna joined Jez at the top of the hill where he had kept vigil. Pavel was soon to follow, but he came up the incline, unrolling detonator cord. At the top, he tightened the two wing nuts onto the wiring terminals and said, “Ready to blow.”
“Then do it,” Jez said.
Pavel pushed the plunger, the current travelled, the Tetryl in the detonator head fired, and the Semtex began its campaign of destruction. The individual bricks detonated in quick succession and came together as one great ‘Whump!’ Sand and rock blew upward and outward, a dust cloud formed and settled, and in the blink of an eye the barn was history.
Jez stood and said, “Okay, nothing much anyone can do with that. Move out.”
Chapter 30
Marmaris Police Station
“Why move here? Surely, the capital is more exciting,” the young police officer said in a wanting voice.
Nazar raised an eyebrow. “If you like having to watch your back all the time then I suppose it is.”