ASSASSIN 5 - SITTING DUCKS (Assassin Series)

by Bryan Murray

  “We’ll be coming out through the gate at the front, it looks like there are still hostiles in the village, so be alert, shoot first, and ask questions later.”

  “Yes, sir.” the Pilot replied as the rescue team prepared to head out across the compound towards the street.

  * * *

  Unknown to the intruders, in a house down the street, another group of terrorists were suddenly alerted by one of their group who was sitting at the radio transmitter, head phones to his ears. He had heard the static of the communication between Joseph and the chopper.

  He immediately roused his dozing colleagues and they all grabbed their rifles and headed for the door.

  * * *

  Across the compound, the rescue party with a protective cordon around Ben, who had hurriedly been fitted with a Kevlar vest, were moving as quickly as they could as Ben limped along.

  When they made it as far as the street, sudden gunfire started to spatter in the ground ahead of them and the Mossad agents, all wearing night goggles, immediately started to return fire and three of the terrorists dropped immediately.

  Jake screamed across at Joseph. “Keep moving, Joseph!”

  Joseph nodded and as they moved on, Jake suddenly felt a searing pain in his ribs. “Damn!” he gasped as he continued to urge the party away from the compound.

  “Keep moving! Keep moving!”

  Behind them, one of the Mossad agents was hit in the leg and three more terrorists fell dead in the dust from the fire of the Mossad agents who quickly grabbed the injured agent and helped him to follow the group ahead.

  Across the street, another group of terrorists emerged and started firing, but they all looked up in consternation at the sudden sound of the gunship as it quickly landed in a cloud of dust. The gunner in the open doorway was already spraying the terrorists with high velocity weapons fire. The breathless rescue team arrived at the open door of the gunship, boosted Ben in first and followed him inside as the gunner was still spraying what little resistance was left. Jake scrambled on board last and screamed at Joseph. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

  Joseph nodded and patted the Pilot on the shoulder as the gunship took off in a cloud of dust and rose quickly away into the clear night sky.

  As the dust settled below, the street was littered with bodies and back in the building a few yards away, the radio operator was already relaying the details of the attack to his superiors in al-Farakesh. On the other end of the line, Jamal was furious at the loss of his men and that the hostage had been freed.

  * * *

  In the gunship, Sarah was already attending to the leg wound of the injured Mossad agent and Ben was still catching his breath, his heart rate going a mile a minute. Joseph was making sure he was okay, having brought some heart medication pills with him.

  To one side, Jake was still feeling the pain in his rib cage and when he opened his jacket to check, he said a silent prayer to the inventor of Kevlar as he removed the bullet embedded in his vest. Just two inches to the right and it would have entered his flesh.

  Up front with the Pilot, Joseph was already on the phone with Director Ephron, letting him know that the rescue attempt had been a success.

  Also, back in Tennessee, Doug Mulgrave heaved a huge sigh of relief when he heard from Jake that Ben had been rescued safely.

  “And is he in good shape, Jake?” Mulgrave asked.

  “I think so, Doug,” Jake replied. “Looks like they roughed him up a bit, but he was just about fit enough to make a run for it with us!”

  “That’s excellent news,” Mulgrave replied. “And did you meet much opposition?”

  “Well, let me put it this way, Doug, there must be at least twenty JOD’s who are NLB!”

  “NLB?”

  “Yeah, no longer breathing!”

  “Well done, Jake, so where are you now?”

  “We’re heading back into Tel Aviv in the Mossad gunship. They were fantastic, an extremely professional group of hard-assed, no-nonsense guys. We have a slight Mossad injury, just a flesh wound, so once we get that taken care of we’ll get Ben to the embassy in Tel Aviv, get him checked out and then I suggest we get him back safely to Tullahoma with Sarah and I as soon as possible, Doug.”

  “Absolutely,” Mulgrave replied. “I’m beginning to see what the President meant about you and your partner, Jake. There’ll be an extra bonus in this for both of you, I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am!”

  “Our pleasure, Doug. So, if you’ll excuse me, I need to bring the White House up to speed. I’ll keep you posted on what’s going on.”

  “Bye, Jake and thanks!” Mulgrave rang off.

  * * *

  John Mulroney was working late at the White House when his phone rang and it was Jake on the line.

  “Yes, Jake? What’s going on?” he was most anxious to hear.

  “We got the engineer back safe and sound, sir.”

  “Excellent news. So where are you now?”

  “We’re heading back into Tel Aviv with the Mossad team in the gunship. They did an outstanding job of helping us out, sir!”

  “That’s great. I’ll make sure the President calls David Meissner to offer our sincere gratitude. Did you encounter much resistance, Jake?”

  “Quite a bit, sir. They were holding the engineer in a JOD encampment just inside the Israeli border with Iraq. They seemed to have knocked him about a bit, but we managed to get him out to the chopper with the rescue team.”

  “Go on, I’m listening?”

  “We took out seven hostiles in the building where they were holding him and as we headed for the chopper, more seemed to come out of the woodwork as we shot our way out.”

  “My God, that’s incredible. So, what’s the plan for the engineer now, Jake?”

  “Well, sir. We’ve told the CEO of Winston that Sarah and I will escort him back tomorrow after he’s checked out and debriefed at the Embassy in Tel Aviv, so maybe you’d like someone from the CIA to be there?”

  “Absolutely. And what about the rest of the Winston personnel?”

  “Well, sir, we kept the lid on the abduction, the show ends tomorrow and they seem to be very busy which is good news. So, the VP who was with Ben Jacobs is under close security supervision and the Mossad are also keeping an eye on him until he returns safely to Tennessee.”

  Mulroney was impressed. “Once again, Jake, you and Sarah managed to pull the chestnuts out of the fire and keep the lid on what could have been a very ugly incident. With the millions of dollars of future aerospace business at stake, I just hope Winston are paying you enough!”

  Jake chuckled. “Don’t worry, sir, the President’s old college buddy, the CEO, has already told us we’ll be getting a bonus, but it wasn’t really necessary.”

  “Well take it, Jake. Another job well done, goodbye.”

  “Bye, sir.” Jake rang off.

  * * *

  It was late in Tel Aviv and after a busy day at the show and a long technical dinner with the Jordanian Defense Minister and his staff, who were prospects to sign another impressive order for more ‘Death Darts’, the Winston sales team were having a nightcap in the hotel bar.

  When Roddy received the call from Jake to advise him that Ben was back safe and sound, he and his senior colleagues were overjoyed. Roddy ordered another round of drinks to celebrate and he asked Jake if Ben was okay.

  “Yes, he’s fine,” Jake replied. “We’re heading over to the embassy now to get him checked out. He’s got a few cuts and bruises but he seems to be okay.”

  “That’s great, so what next?”

  “Well, I’ve spoken with Doug and we agreed the best thing to do is fly him back with Sarah and myself tomorrow and get him back to work as soon as he feels up to it, which knowing Ben will be ASAP!”

  Roddy was curious. “Did he say what happened to him while he was with his captors?”

  “Not yet, Roddy,” Jake replied. “Once we get him cleaned up and checked out, both the CIA with Sarah an
d I will debrief with him in the embassy to see what happened.”

  “Good idea,” Roddy replied. “So, keep me posted, Jake, we’ll be wrapping up the show tomorrow, so I’ll see you both back in Tullahoma and thanks again for everything.”

  “No problem, see you later,” Jake rang off and looked at Sarah as the gunship came in to land. “Well, now Doug, Roddy and the White House are up to speed, so let’s get Ben over to the embassy.”

  CHAPTER 15

  For Ephraim, the Mossad agent specifically assigned to keep an eye on Roddy Fergamo, it had been a long series of days, staying discreetly in the background, trying to keep his assigned babysitting target in sight.

  He had been quietly sipping a soda in the back of the hotel bar, watching the senior executives of Winston Aerospace enjoying a nightcap before retiring for the night.

  Across the bar, as the last two sales people, a man and a woman finally said goodnight to Roddy, they left him at the bar to finish his drink.

  Ephraim was still watching closely, thoughts of a nice, cozy bed looming for him, when Roddy suddenly received a call on his cell phone.

  Ephraim couldn’t hear what was being said by Roddy, but he could tell by his sudden body language that the call seemed to upset the American, so much so that he quickly finished his drink and left the bar.

  The Mossad agent watched as Roddy crossed the hotel lobby, but instead of heading for the elevators to his room at that time of night, he headed out through the revolving doors to the street outside. At that time of night, in downtown Tel Aviv, the street was still busy with tourists and late diners.

  Ephraim quickly loosened the gun in his shoulder holster and moved out in discreet pursuit of the American.

  Now outside the hotel, he could see Roddy moving quickly ahead along the well-lit sidewalk, past the casual tourists and after a couple of blocks, he saw the American turn down a narrow street alongside a big name hotel.

  Still keeping a discreet distance between himself and the man ahead, Ephraim already had his iPhone out, just as Roddy then turned into a service alley behind the hotel.

  Ephraim approached cautiously and peered around the corner before dodging back when he saw Roddy approaching a parked car down the alley.

  Now, as Ephraim peered back around the corner with his camera video running, he started to record the scene ahead. He could not hear what was being said, but as the occupant of the car wound down the window, Ephraim was videotaping his face. Roddy produced a padded envelope from his pocket and handed it to the man who gave Roddy an envelope in return that he quickly put in his jacket pocket. The man in the car was swarthy-looking with dark hair and a short black beard and after the two men shook hands, Roddy started to walk back out of the alley.

  By the time that Roddy reached the well-lit main street and headed back towards his hotel, Ephraim had once again melted into the background as he followed the American back through the revolving doors.

  Once inside the lobby, Roddy headed straight for the elevators and pressed the button for his floor. Ephraim then called in his relief guy, getting ready to leave for the night.

  CHAPTER 16

  At approximately the same time that evening, across the city, Jake, Sarah and Ben drove up to the US Embassy. They were expected and the security guards let them in immediately.

  Once inside and past security, they were escorted to the medical office where a resident nurse quickly cleaned up Ben’s cuts and bruises while Jake and Sarah waited patiently in the outside office.

  For the first time in many hours, they were able to talk alone. “So, what d’you think, Jake?” she asked.

  “Not sure, but I’m glad we managed to get Ben out safely.”

  “Exactly. I’m sure we’ll find out more in the debriefing, but I’m still trying to get my head around why they grabbed Ben, but shot his friends and hosts in cold blood?”

  “Yeah, interesting to find out what Ben’s take is on that. I suppose that if they could get their hands on the guy who actually designed the drone that’s been decimating their leadership, there’s all kinds of things they’d like to have done to him.”

  “Correct, or get him to tell them!”

  Jake’s cell phone rang and he answered it. It was their secretary Angela on the line.

  “Hi, Jake, this is Angela.”

  He smiled. “Hi, there, still holding the fort?”

  “Just about,” she replied. “Phone’s been ringing off the wall but I had an urgent call this morning. It’s about the quote we sent to the Gold Mining Conglomerate in Colorado. They’re asking when we could start their security review if they give us the contract.”

  Jake thought for a moment, trying to get his brain back into focus concerning the job they had previously quoted. “Okay, Angela, tell them we could start the job in at least a month after we get the up-front earnest money, okay?”

  “Sure, no problem,” she replied. “So, when will you guys be back in DC?”

  “Probably a week to ten days. Everything else okay?”

  “Yeah, no problems, it will be nice to talk to someone else besides the phone!”

  He smiled. “Enjoy the peace and quiet because when we get back from this job, typing up the report will be a doozy!”

  “Okay, will do, bye.” she rang off.

  Jake looked across at Sarah. “That was Angela, I think she misses us!”

  Sarah smiled. “Wait till we get back, she’ll wish we were still on the road!”

  They were interrupted when a patched-up Ben reappeared and they were escorted to one of the conference rooms. When they entered, there were two men waiting for them.

  The first was Joshua Melnick, a slim, balding Senior Embassy Official and next to him was Cliff Henson, the local CIA Director, in his mid-forties, dark hair and a crew cut.

  Melnick came round the desk and introduced himself. “Mr. Harrigan, Miss Schaumberg, Mr. Jacobs, I’m senior embassy official Joshua Melnick and this is Cliff Henson, regional director of the CIA.” they all shook hands.

  “Please have a seat,” Melnick began. “And let me say how pleased we are to see you back safe and sound, Mr. Jacobs.”

  Ben nodded. “Thank you and you can also thank Jake and his team for that, they did an outstanding job!”

  Henson then eased into the conversation. “And that’s what we wanted to talk to you about briefly, Mr. Jacobs, before you head back to the US with Jake and Sarah tomorrow.”

  Ben nodded that he understood. “Of course, what would you like to know, gentlemen?”

  Henson was polite not pushy. “Perhaps you could describe in your own words what happened after your arrival at the Bernstein residence, Mr. Jacobs?” he placed a recorder on the table and clicked it on. “This saves us making volumes of notes, so take your time.”

  Ben looked at Jake who gave him a nod of encouragement.

  “Well, I’ve known Ravi and Esther for many years. They were close friends of my late wife and I when I used to work for Ravi’s company before I moved to Winston in Tennessee.”

  “And did his company also make drones, Mr. Jacobs?”

  “Absolutely,” Ben replied. “In fact they still do and the Israeli Government are still one of their main customers, just as they are with Winston Aerospace.”

  Henson nodded. “And do both companies make the same kind of drones?” he inquired.

  “Not quite,” Ben replied. “Isradrone, that’s Ravi’s company, make UAV’s, those are mainly reconnaissance drones, but Winston manufacture both UAV’s and UCAV’s.”

  “And the difference?” Henson was remarkably out of touch.

  “The UCAV’s are both reconnaissance and combat drones and since they can fly at the speed of sound, they are now the ultimate air combat weapon. That was what attracted me to the challenge at Winston.”

  Henson was getting the picture. “So, in spite of the fact that you are now involved with the market leader in this new technology and competing with your late friend on the reconnaissa
nce drones, there was still no animosity between you?”

  Ben was getting a little confused. “Of course not, why would you ask that, Mr. Henson? We had been friends for years!”

  “Of course, sir, I understand. Please continue?”

  Ben took a breath and looked at Jake again. “Well, after I drove over to Ravi’s house, where I had visited on many occasions, we were having cocktails, just discussing the air show and things in general and as Esther came in from the kitchen with appetizers, there was the sound of gunfire in the lobby and suddenly these armed, masked terrorists burst in, shot Ravi and Esther and their two bodyguards and dragged me out. I almost had a heart attack!”

  The stress was showing on Ben’s face as he continued. Jake interrupted, putting a gentle restraining hand on Ben’s arm. “That’s okay, Ben, take it easy, there’s no rush!” he looked at Henson as if to say, ‘take it easy, okay’.

  “Yes, Mr. Harrigan is right, take it easy, Mr. Jacobs. So, what happened next?” Henson asked.

  Ben was thinking aloud. “They bundled me into an SUV as we got out to the street. When I looked through the window, under the street light, in the car at the curb, I could see that the side window had been shot out and the nice, young Mossad agent, who had been assigned to look out for me, was lying dead at the wheel with the back of his head blown off. It was terrible!”

  Melnick interrupted. “Let’s take a break for a moment, shall we, gentlemen? Would you like something to drink, Mr. Jacobs?”

  Ben nodded. This had been a harrowing thirty six hours or so. “Yes, thank you, that would be nice. Water is good, Mr. Melnick.”

  The official got up and quickly poured a glass of water that he passed to Ben who took a sip and then continued. “The next thing I knew we were heading up towards the mountains and I was surrounded all the way by armed terrorists who never spoke a word!”

  Jake entered the discussion. “And did they take you directly to the place where we found you, Ben?”

  Ben nodded affirmatively. “Yes, when I started to complain that I was thirsty, they knocked me around and so I shut up!”