by Roger Weston
Lazar said, “Chano, you and Rama follow Brandt onto that plateau in the bend of the river. He made a critical mistake. You’re going to chase him right into our trap. When you make contact, engage him with light fire. Your goal is to harass and distract him.”
Chano nodded solemnly with tragedy burned in his eyes and stamped on his face.
Now Lazar turned to Rico Dávila, a big thug of a man who enjoyed killing for the sake of killing. Rico didn’t need a reason to kill. He killed because there was life. He hated all life. As a young boy, he had ambushed a kid in his village and hacked him to death with a machete. This one act had set the path for his life. As a leader of guerilla fighters, he had taken out police, wiped out patrols of hostile cartels, nailed village elders to walls, and carried out over a hundred underworld assassinations—all under the leadership of General Lazar over the past several years. He had short hair and a big thick, thuggish face with mean eyes. Lazar called him Rico “the Robot” Dávila because he carried out every assassination, every mission, and every order without question or hesitation—and always with success. He was one of Lazar’s top soldiers, a man with a future.
Lazar said, “Rico, you and Teyo go around the east face. Keep your distance and stay out of sight. When the shooting starts, move in and overwhelm Brandt with firepower. Cut him to pieces.”
Rico sniffed and nodded. He threw a malevolent glance at the low mountain.
Lazar said, “Kemen and I will take the west flank. We will hit him with everything we have. Brandt has made a fatal mistake. He’s headed for the north face of that cliff. There’s no way a man without ropes can descend the north face. He’s walked into a death trap.”
Rico said, “General, may I speak?”
“What?”
“Brandt’s a dead man. There’s no need for you to expose yourself to fire. You could wait here and give orders by walkie-talkie. Why take the risk?”
“No,” Lazar said. “With Brandt, we can’t take anything for granted. Two men on each flank will ensure that we have a body when the shooting stops. I want to be there to take his head for a prize just as sure as Pachacuti took the head of Chuchi Capac.”
Rico grinned and nodded.
“Go!” Lazar said. “Bring me a body and I will put your name in my book of deeds for future reference.”
CHAPTER 30
Chuck was breathing hard, stopping for a moment to watch the hunting party he’d noticed pursuing him earlier.
By his best guess, they were twenty minutes behind him, which was amazing. How could three men make that kind of time? Then again, this was their native territory. Chuck was the outsider. Then Chuck saw something that caught his eye. As he looked over a ridge, he caught sight of three more pursuers. They were outflanking him, driving him forward onto a low plateau that rose in a bend of the river. The land rose gently then leveled off and angled back down. It was half a mile long and half as wide. They’d split up, flanking the mountain on both sides. A third team climbed the terrain in direct pursuit. They were trying to force him into a trap. The situation looked dire. Their plan was working. Through speed and stealth, Lazar had outmaneuvered him.
When he saw what they were up to, Chuck made his way to a ravine that he’d skirted on his way up onto this bench. Then, using the ravine for cover, he started back down the sloping terrain, following almost the same route he’d taken on the way up. After five minutes, he stopped and surveyed the landscape for landmarks.
***
Chano led Rama right up the south face. He knew all they had to do was follow Brandt and force him into Lazar’s trap. Chano had seen Brandt drop out of sight by the ravine, so he and Rama hiked right up the edge of it. There was no way that Brandt was going to slip past them and escape off the plateau, which was circled by the river on three sides.
***
Rico Dávila led the way with Teyo following him up the east face. The climb was steep, but as they angled over onto the east face, the terrain became precipitous. It was not vertical, but steep enough that Rico started to sweat like a pig.
“Maybe we should take a higher course,” Teyo suggested.
“Not yet.” Rico kept going. It was a tough slog because of the sharp falloff. He was looking down a hundred-foot drop-off into a valley of rainforest. After another hundred yards, he eyed Teyo and pointed up-slope. “He’ll come out there. When he does we’ve got him.”
***
Chano and Rama had hiked three-quarters up the slope when they passed several massive rocks. In length and width, they were as big as ferry boats, but only ten to twenty feet high. Chano was leading the way along the edge of one of these when a couple of pebbles fell on the ground in front of him. He heard a scuffle above. Instinctively he knew that he was in trouble. He turned to retreat and ran straight into Rama. At that moment, a falling object flew down on top of them like the angel of death. They collapsed beneath the falling weight of Chuck Brandt, who had leapt upon both of them from an overhead rock. Chano knew that his life had fallen into tragedy when Brandt ripped Rama’s gun away from the fallen man and smashed the butt into Chano’s face. Chano reached for his own gun, but he’d lost it in the fall. The last thing he saw was the butt of Rama’s gun racing toward his face.
***
Rico and Teyo were in position and ready to close the noose around Brandt’s neck. Now that Brandt was trapped on the plateau, all they had to do was outflank him and bring death and doom upon him from the right wing. If he tried to flee, then Lazar would be waiting on the left, ready to cut him down like a fleeing rat. Rico gestured their change of direction.
Teyo nodded, and they began hiking for the summit. They had taken three steps when Chuck Brandt appeared from behind a big rock and opened fire. Rico felt a swarm of bullets sting him and punch him backwards before he even reacted. He landed on his back and slid down the slope for twenty feet before he slid over a rocky edge. He fell twenty feet and landed on a ledge. Surprisingly, he was still alive. He was even able to crawl for some bushes. He dragged himself behind the shrubs. It seemed like a good place to die. As he started to lose consciousness, it occurred to him that Teyo had never gotten off a shot either.
***
Kemen froze when he heard the shooting. A deep sense of tragedy overcame him. It wasn’t that he cared about Lazar or Rico or anyone else. It was more that he understood all he needed to know about the pattern of tragedy as he had experienced it. He knew that someone had just bit the bullet. Hopefully, it was Brandt, but until it was confirmed, he had a job to do.
Lazar said, “Kemen, let’s go. Time to devastate this American.”
***
Chuck wasted no time. He crawled for the summit, well aware that Lazar was expecting him. He always considered the need for escape and evasion when he infiltrated enemy territory. He’d imprinted the entire topography map of this region in his mind. He knew about every hill and mountain for miles. He’d allowed Lazar to think he didn’t know what he was doing. Thinking Chuck had made a mistake, Lazar had made a still greater mistake. He’d divided his forces and walked into Chuck’s trap. It was just as Napoleon had said: that our own mistakes cause our enemy to make still greater mistakes, which we can take advantage of. He was right.
Now Chuck was sure that Lazar was going to make another miscalculation. First, he would assume his plan was working. When he heard the shots, he would assume that Chuck was on the run and he would be ready to cut him down.
But Chuck had other ideas. Instead of fleeing from Lazar, he crawled toward the General. Chuck had chosen this battlefield. He had set himself up with a height advantage. He had led his hunters on an exhausting trek, tiring them out, dulling their senses, shaking their judgment. While Chuck had rested and waited for them, they’d been hiking up yet another hill. They were tired. Chuck had turned Lazar’s strategy against him. Now Chuck had to deal with Lazar personally, but he was still outnumbered two to one.
Chuck crawled and found a depression in the earth that made a good
sniper’s nest. Upon spotting Lazar and his other man, Chuck shot the Black Cobra first. He fell hard. As Lazar fled, Chuck took a tough shot and saw Lazar drop his gun.
Chuck sprinted after Lazar as a mountain lion pursues a deer. He caught up with Lazar and tackled him. The two men rolled dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. Chuck even grunted with fear and terror. It was a mind-numbing sheer cliff with a hundred-foot drop-off.
Springing up, Chuck pounced on Lazar.
“You can kill me if you want, Brandt, but you cannot stop the inevitable.” Lazar threw a handful of dirt into Chuck’s face. At the moment of surprise, Chuck raised his hands in a defensive motion. Lazar knocked him onto his side and fled.
Despite his gritty, watering eyes, Chuck pursued, and he was the faster man. He caught up and dove for Lazar’s foot. The running man tripped and rolled…right over the edge of the cliff.
Chuck heard a terrible scream. He crawled to the ledge and looked over. He watched as Lazar plunged a hundred feet down into the raging whitewater of the Apurímac, the source of the massive untamed Amazon River.
URGENT: Thank you for reading this far! The next book in the series, AMERICAN OP, is now available on Amazon. Grab a copy today. Now back to ROGUE OP II.
CHAPTER 31
Straight brown hair framed the face of an angel. With long, lean legs, Maria Esmeralda Lazar stood in a field of flowers—purple, orange, yellow, and blue. The flowers were as thick as field grass. They waved gently in the breeze. Maria held a .45 Smith and Wesson handgun. She squeezed off twelve shots then lowered her handgun.
Chuck’s old pal Jeff stepped up next to her. He patted Maria’s shoulder. “Alright, let’s take a look.” He raised his binoculars. Between Maria and the target, there was a thirty-yard long alley of trampled-down field grass.
“Uh huh,” Jeff said. “Not bad. You’re starting to scare me. How about that? Nice grouping. You’re one scary good shooter.”
“Maria.” A voice called from behind.
Maria turned and saw Chuck Brandt…and her mother. She squealed with joy and ran towards her mother, then threw her arms around her. They clung to each other for several minutes.
Her mother said, “Maria, there’s something I have to tell you.”
***
A week later, Maria was back at the gun range on Jeff’s ranch. Chuck stepped up next to her and raised his binoculars. He was clean shaven and wore a red tank top, revealing his muscular arms. A thick head of hair covered his ears and the back of his thick neck.
“Jeff was right,” he said. “You’re good. You’ve made a lot of progress.”
“I can fight too.”
“Take my advice. Don’t fight anyone if you don’t have to.”
“What about you, Chuck? You don’t exactly run from trouble.”
Chuck frowned.
Maria wiped moisture from her eyes, then said, “I want to thank you, Chuck. Thank you for saving my mother.”
Chuck turned his head and looked at the ground. “I also killed your father.”
“You can’t blame yourself for that. It’s not your fault. You saved many more lives than you’ll ever know.”
Chuck raised his chin and looked at her.
“My father was a selfish man,” she continued. “All he ever cared about was his own greatness. People meant nothing to him. He might have killed a hundred thousand more innocent people and not cared at all. They were just statistics to him. When I was a young girl, he used to terrify me. He was truly a madman. If you hadn’t killed him, I shudder to think of what would have happened. You did what you had to do. I brought you into this. I asked for your help. You’ve saved my life more than once. Now you’ve saved thousands more. I don’t even know how to thank you.”
Chuck stepped towards her. “Please don’t.” he said.
He kissed her on the cheek then turned and walked away. He had walked a hundred yards toward Jeff’s ranch house when the shooting started. He ducked and spun around.
Maria was shooting…at the target.
Chuck sighed. He rose and walked back to his truck. He got in and drove away.
CHAPTER 32
Ten Days Earlier
Apurimac River Gorge
A mile downstream from where he’d fallen off the cliff, General Lazar crawled out of the Apurimac River. He quickly wrung out his clothes then staggered a hundred yards up a rocky slope into the trees. Shaking fiercely he waited and watched until Brandt had passed by and continued on downstream looking for a body. Then Lazar began a long, hard, miserable trek back to the lost city, more convinced than ever of his invincibility.
THE END
Thank you so much for reading Rogue Op. I am honored that you not only began the book but read it straight through to the end.
Continue reading the Brandt Series here: American Op: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 5)
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Books by Roger Weston
The Brandt Series
Rogue Op II: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 4)
BRANDT IS BACK!
Chuck Brandt is determined to save America from a dangerous plot. And he's dead set on saving Maria from her psychotic father--General Ivan Lazar. Chuck is chasing a legend deep into the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, but his impossible quest leads him straight into a green hell. There he faces diverse evils, from the jungle itself to General Lazar's Black Cobra guerrillas--the sadistic monsters tasked with the slow death of Chuck Brandt. He uncovers a horrible secret, but will he be able to stop a madman?
From a monastery in Spain to deep in the Amazon jungle, Chuck Brandt hunts down the man who started it all, and gets more than he bargained for. Don't miss the explosive climax on the upper reaches of the mighty river.
VENGEANCE: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 0)
The Recruiter: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 1)
The Handler: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 2)
Rogue Op: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 3)
Rogue Op II: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 4)
American Op: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 5)
Global Tilt: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 6)
Vulcan Eye: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 7)
Shadow Lawyer: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 8)
Shadow Court: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 9)
The Doorman: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 10)
Coming soon: Book 11 in The Brandt Series
***
The Sands Series
GHOST SHIP: A Jake Sands Thriller (Book 1)
RELIC: A Jake Sands Thriller (Book 2)
THE TARGET: A Jake Sands Thriller (Book 3)
***
More action-filled adventures by Roger Weston:
The Golden Catch: A Frank Murdock Action-Adventure
Frank Murdoch lives on a remote private island in Alaska, drawn there by its peace and isolation. There he finds a secret, unearthed from a cave sealed for seven decades. His historical research attracts Abby Sinclair, a lovely archaeologist. But it also catches the attention of Mok Don, chaebol leader and Korean Mafia kingpin. Frank Murdoch-crab fisherman and ex-CIA assassin-is back on his island with Abby, but Mok Don is closing in. Now the island's peace and quiet is threatened by the clash of one man's greed and another's love.
The Assassin's Wife: A Meg Coles Thriller
Drama Professor Meg Coles is in a state of shock after her
husband is terminated and she barely escapes the killers. Now she is on the run, on the F.B.I.'s most wanted list, and a fugitive of the law and of government assassins. She learns that she knows very little about the man she's been married to for ten years. She must become a criminal to survive and to find out the truth, and she must get answers before the death teams silence her permanently
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