Fallen: A Leopold Blake Thriller (A Private Investigator Series of Crime and Suspense Thrillers Book 5)

by Nick Stephenson

  Leopold flinched as a high-pitched siren filled the office. Robert Blake frowned and turned his attention to the computer monitors. The well-built man next to him did the same, his eyes wide with surprise.

  “What the hell?”

  Smiling, Leopold looked into his father’s eyes. They stared back at him, cold and empty.

  “Remember what you said about distraction?” Leopold said. “Well, it turns out you’re not the only one with a game plan.”

  Chapter 76

  ISABEL KANE HAULED herself onto Thanatos’ deck and made straight for cover as the rest of her team followed. She moved slowly, weighed down by her wet clothes, leaving small puddles of water in her wake.

  Radios off, Kane had no idea how Hunter’s team was faring. But the lack of any audible activity made her nervous.

  Assume the worst, stay alive. She repeated her personal mantra in her head and gripped her MP5 a little tighter. Thanks to the zip-sealed plastic carrier the SWAT team had used while waiting in the water, her weapon was as dry as a bone.

  Unlike the rest of me.

  Kane had studied the vessel’s schematics on the drive over. Although a custom design, it seemed to be based on a standard Lubecker Flender Werke layout. That meant the navigation and systems master controls were most likely located in the center of the ship, on the lowest deck. Assuming Blake hadn’t reconfigured the entire structure of the vessel, that’s where the comms systems would be housed.

  Waiting for the rest of her team to catch up, Kane headed for the nearest access hatch.

  Chapter 77

  LEOPOLD KEPT HIS eyes on his father. Robert Blake was on his feet, screaming at his men. Any sense of calm had vanished – he looked ready to explode.

  “Sir, they’ll try for the control room,” the well-built man said, his voice steady and measured. “We should relocate. Now. We can hold the area with the men we’ve got, but only if we get there first.”

  “Take these two with us,” said Blake, getting his anger under control. “There’s still time.”

  “Sir, we still have a chance to get out of here. I can launch the lifeboats. We might be able to –”

  “I’m not leaving this ship, Colonel.”

  The man called Hawkes nodded. “Yes, sir.” He turned to face the other men. “Kowalski, Grayson – you heard him. Let’s move out.”

  Chapter 78

  KANE TOOK THE stairs two at a time, her ears straining over the noise of the ship’s engines. She wondered why they weren’t moving already, but shook the thought out of her mind.

  Stay focused.

  Her team of seven behind her, Kane reached the foot of the stairs, following the signs to the control room. At the end of the hallway she saw a set of locked glass doors. She turned and addressed one of the SWAT officers, a man named Carlson.

  “Everyone get back,” she ordered. “This is going to get loud.”

  Carlson and the rest of the team obliged. Kane turned and aimed her MP5 at the glass. She fired a controlled burst of rounds, shattering the door. She aimed a boot at the pane and kicked it through, sending shards of glass flying across the floor.

  “We need to move fast,” she said, stepping across the threshold. “If they don’t already know we’re here, they will now.”

  Carlson followed her through. “I’ll need you to cover me while I take a look at the control systems,” he said, pointing toward a bank of computers against the far wall, surrounded by stacked server units locked up inside Perspex cabinets. “And we’ll need to get Sergeant Jordan and Agent Marshall back on the radio. We’ll need their help.”

  “Copy that,” Kane said.

  She moved fast, kept low. The room was dimly lit, maybe a dozen workstations set up around a central office. The room in the middle was surrounded by glass, a single desk in the middle. The entire area looked deserted.

  They reached the far wall, six men covering the approaches, Carlson heading straight for the computers.

  Kane said, “How long do you need?”

  Carlson peered at the controls. “It’s not a system I’m familiar with. Get me a line through to the RTCC and maybe I can make something happen.”

  Kane glanced at one of the monitors. “Copy. We’ve got less than fifteen minutes, according to this. Better make them count.”

  She pulled out her radio and turned it on.

  Chapter 79

  HAWKES ARRIVED DOWNSTAIRS first. He gripped his UMP submachine gun in both hands as he approached the broken glass door, waving the rest of the men forward. The younger Blake and his bodyguard were cuffed, following behind with Kowalski and his team taking up the rear.

  The control room looked empty, emergency lighting basking the area in dim light. The workstations and the center office blocked the colonel’s view to the comms systems at the rear, but the shattered glass was evidence enough they weren’t alone.

  Hawkes gritted his teeth and decided to try an alternative route.

  Chapter 80

  “GET JORDAN ON the line!” Kane hissed the words as quietly as she could. Carlson was hunched over the computer console, punching something into the keyboard. It seemed to be having no effect.

  Harper, one of the other SWAT officers, held up his radio. “I’m trying, but there’s too much damn interference, same as yours. I’m not getting through either.”

  “Then find somewhere with better reception,” said Kane. “We’re not shutting this thing off without some help.”

  “The comms systems or the servers must be interfering with the signal.” He took a few steps to his left, stepping around the five other unit members toward a more open area. “Maybe if I –”

  Harper was cut off in midsentence as a blinding flash of light erupted from the other side of the control room. The SWAT officer buckled and dropped to the floor, dropping the radio. It skidded away across the polished surface and out of sight. Harper groaned in pain and lay still, barely breathing.

  Kane flinched and ducked down, as another barrage of gunfire exploded from across the room, shattering several of the abandoned computer monitors. The screens popped and fizzled as their plasma displays ignited violently.

  “Hit the floor!” she screamed out, getting on to her belly.

  “Just give me a minute,” Carlson shouted, tensing up as another volley slammed into the wall nearby. “I can do this. Just keep me covered.”

  “How the hell did they get so close without us noticing?” said Kane, hands over her head as glass flew all around.

  “Must be a way in here we don’t know about,” said one of the officers. Kane couldn’t remember his name.

  “Shit. Well, never mind that now – just return fire, dammit!”

  The SWAT officer darted from cover and let off a burst of rounds. The others followed suit.

  “You see how many?” Kane asked, as he returned to his position.

  “Negative. At least six, but there could be more.”

  Another burst of fire from the opposite end of the room confirmed his suspicions.

  “I’m nearly through the first layer of protection,” said Carlson. “But I’ll need the RTCC to hook up and decrypt the rest. How’s that comms link coming?”

  “Little busy right now,” said Kane, shouting over the racket. Another computer monitor exploded a few feet away, sending sparks flying. The SWAT officers returned fire, trying to hold their position.

  “We’re dead in the water if you can’t get us through,” said Carlson. “Better make time.”

  Kane swore loudly, but she knew he was right. They needed the RTCC to provide the decryption, and then maybe they’d stand a chance of shutting the devices down remotely. It was no good sitting tight waiting to run out of ammo.

  She peered around the corner, her body obscured by the bank of computer servers. Another volley of bullets screamed past her ears, and she tried not to pull away.

  No direct line of sight, she thought. They’re firing into the dark. Hoping to get lucky. Hoping we’ll run out
of ammo before they do. She smiled. They’re getting desperate.

  She noticed one of the empty desks, just a few feet away. The shattered computer monitor had fallen on to the floor and some holes had been punched out of the wood, but the workstation still looked like it would make acceptable cover – and maybe get her far enough away from the server station to get a decent radio signal.

  Kane drew in a deep breath, got to her knees, and pushed off with her feet. She coiled herself up into a ball, and rolled across the floor.

  There came a satisfying thump as she collided with the desk, and Kane scrambled underneath it as another burst of rounds flew past her. She waited for Blake’s men to aim for the workstation, fill it full of holes. But the bullets kept on flying wide.

  They didn’t see me. Still no line of sight.

  Kane pulled out her own radio and tested the frequency. She tried opening up a line.

  “Jordan, this is Kane. Do you copy?”

  No reply.

  “Jordan, do you copy?”

  Another blast of static, then Kane heard a female voice. It came through distorted, but just about audible over the noise of gunfire.

  “Jordan, is that you? Do you copy?” Kane practically screamed down the microphone.

  “Copy. This is Jordan. What’s your situation?”

  Kane smiled. Maybe she wasn’t going to die down here after all.

  Chapter 81

  “KANE, I HAVE you online with the RTCC. What’s your status?” Mary held the radio mic tight in her hand, her knuckles going white. “I hear gunfire. What’s your status?”

  Kane’s voice came onto the line, a little distorted but understandable. “What the hell do you think my status is?” she said. “I need you to run a decryption protocol on Thanatos’ systems. We’re nearly through. We can use it to shut down the bombs.”

  Mary looked over at Marshall.

  “Are you near the computer now?” he asked.

  “Negative,” said Kane. “Had to get away so I could get a signal. Something’s jamming us.”

  “What’s near you?”

  “Other than a bunch of heavily armed terrorists?” Kane paused. “Carlson’s trying to hack the main computer. There’s a bank of servers currently preventing us from being mowed down.”

  “They put out a pretty strong magnetic field,” said Walters, joining in from the RTCC. “You’ll need to shut them down so we can speak to Carlson on the radio.”

  “Just one question,” said Kane. “How the hell am I supposed to do that?”

  “You see any wires?” asked Walters.

  “Yeah. Bunch of wires sticking out of the stacks.”

  “It’s pretty simple. Keep yanking them out until the lights go off.”

  A pause.

  “You’re shitting me.”

  “The servers are just data storage units,” said Walters. “You can still access the comms systems without them. Based on the large amount of storage, the servers probably use the old spinning platter technology. Same as us. Once you stop the spinning, you’ll stop the electromagnetic field.”

  “When you put it like that...”

  Mary interrupted. “Ward’s working on getting you backup. But we’ve got no ETA.”

  “By the time they get here, it’ll be too late,” said Kane. “I’ll be back in touch soon.”

  The line went dead.

  Chapter 82

  LEOPOLD DUCKED BEHIND a desk as a hail of rounds flew overhead. He heard a yelp of pain from somewhere close by and he heard someone hit the floor hard. He glanced to his left. Hawkes had taken a team to the far side of the room. The rest had split into two-man groups and had taken refuge behind the other workstations.

  Glancing back toward the shattered door at the far end of the room, Leopold tried to map out a way through that didn’t involve getting shot in the back.

  “Don’t even think about it,” said Jerome. “If you break cover, you won’t make it five feet.”

  Leopold frowned. He and Jerome were cuffed at the wrists, disarmed, and stuck in the middle of a firefight. All things considered, the plan could have been going better.

  “We can’t just sit here and do nothing,” he said, leaning in close so Jerome could hear him over the noise of gunfire and shattering glass.

  “I agree.”

  “So, what are we going to do about it?”

  “Look over there.” Jerome jerked his head to the right.

  Leopold followed with his eyes. Two of Hawkes’ men were stationed about fifteen feet away near the side wall, attempting to edge their way forward. The SWAT unit’s suppressing fire did a good job of keeping them at bay, but they were slowly closing the gap.

  “If we can cross the floor without getting killed,” said Jerome, “maybe we can do something about those two.”

  “Any other ideas?” said Leopold.

  “Not unless you’ve got a weapon stashed under your shirt.”

  “The last time I checked, no.”

  “Then I’m afraid we’re out of luck.” He spread his wrists out in front of him, flexing the chain holding the cuffs together. “Follow my lead.”

  “Hang on, don’t –”

  Jerome ignored him and started moving. He kept low, heading for the two men.

  Leopold took a deep breath. It’s now or never. He pushed off with his feet and followed, keeping as close to the polished floor as he could, resisting the urge to screw his eyes shut as another volley of bullets screamed past him, slamming into the side of the desk where he’d been taking cover a moment before. They tore half the side of it away, sending splinters of wood flying up into the air.

  Ahead, Jerome kept moving. Hawkes’ men hadn’t noticed their approach – they were too busy dealing with the SWAT unit. Leopold steeled himself, ignored every instinct in his body, and followed.

  Jerome arrived first and aimed for the man on the right. Leopold forced himself to move faster, tensed, and threw himself forward, aiming for the one of the left. He heard a grunt of surprise as he collided with his target, sending both men tumbling into the middle of the floor, out in the open.

  With a burst of effort, Leopold managed to roll onto his back and maneuver the man in front of him, using his body as a shield. Another explosion of gunfire, and the man shuddered violently, taking several direct hits to the abdomen. He didn’t get up.

  Leopold heard another grunt of pain and he looked over at Jerome. The bodyguard was still crouched low behind the desk, the chain holding his cuffs coiled around the second man’s neck. Jerome yanked hard, and the man fell still.

  Leopold resisted the urge to stay on the floor. He grabbed his fallen opponent’s weapons: a submachine gun and a pistol. With one final effort, he forced himself to his knees and launched forward, landing hard next to Jerome. The impact knocked the wind out of his lungs.

  “Interesting tactic,” said Jerome, looking at the bullet-riddled body.

  “I won’t be trying it again in a hurry.”

  “Wise decision.” He peeked his head out from behind the desk. “With those two out of play, I count four down. Nine more to go.”

  “How many good guys left?”

  “At least one out of commission. That leaves seven. And they’ve got shelter. So long as they can keep these guys at bay, they can hold their position until they run out of ammunition.”

  “How long until then?”

  “Not long.” He unhooked the second man’s submachine gun and sidearm. “But maybe we can improve the odds a little.”

  Chapter 83

  KANE DASHED OUT from her hiding place and rejoined the SWAT unit, her ears ringing. She got Carlson’s attention, her radio still clasped in her hand.

  “RTCC thinks the server banks are interfering with the signal,” she said. “If I shut them down, we should be able to get you on the line.”

  “Do it,” said Carlson. “Six minutes left. We’re not going anywhere.”

  Kane nodded and turned her attention to the stacks. They we
re six feet high, seven cabinets in all, lined up side by side. At least half of the server trays were out of commission thanks to stray bullets, but the rest were lit up, blinking away merrily. She stowed her radio, dashed for the nearest Perspex unit, and wrenched the door open with all the strength she could muster, snapping the lock.

  Inside, coils of brightly colored wires linked the drives. Kane started pulling, sending up sparks of electricity as she yanked the cables out of their sockets. Two of the SWAT officers glanced up at her.

  “A little help?” she said.

  They nodded. Leaving their squad mates to continue defending their position, the two men followed Kane’s lead.

  “How’s it going back there?” Carlson said, still focused on the computer screen in front of him.

  “Almost done,” shouted Kane, flinching as a stray round ricocheted off the interior wall a few feet from her head. She kept on yanking. “Try your radio now.”

  Carlson obliged. “Still nothing. Keep trying.”

  “One minute,” she said, moving to the next cabinet. She forced the door open. “Hey, can that thing access the security cameras?”

  “Yeah, should do. Why?”

  “Can you get me eyes on this room?”

  Carlson paused. “Hang on.” He punched something into the keyboard. “This might take a moment.”

  Kane wrenched out another bundle of cables. “Try your radio again.”

  “Still nothing.”

  “Goddammit.”

  Carlson kept his focus on the screen. “Okay, the network drives are down, but I can get us a live feed through the cameras. Hang on.” He typed something else into the computer.

  “Last one,” said Kane, forcing open the next cabinet. She disabled the drives, then turned to face Carlson. “That’s it. Try your radio again.”