Long Shot

by Christopher Williams

  “The local emergency services uses something called an emlift. It’s basically an open air repulsor lift that they use to rescue people who get stuck high up in the mountains to the east. It has four seats and two emergency stretchers along the side.” He grinned at the rest of the group. “I won’t have any problems flying one.”

  “But we don’t have one,” Jessica said slowly, pointing out the obvious flaw in his plan.

  “I know but there’s a fenced-in lot not far from here,” Adam said. “Shouldn’t be a problem to hop the fence and fly one out.” He paused and considered for a moment. “Russell better come with me, just in case they have a tracker installed.”

  “Wait,” Russell said quickly. “Even if we get an emlift, how will you get us in there silently?”

  “The emlift is made for maneuvering high up in the mountains. It’s got a sophisticated array of repulsor technology built-in. Once we get close, I’ll cut the main engines and guide it in with the repulsors. It’ll be silent and absolutely safe.” If anything, Adam was looking more pleased with himself than normal.

  “What do you think, Russell?” Aaron asked. “Is this better than sending our three little lambs in while you and I attack thirty or so guards?”

  Russell didn’t answer right away, instead he just scowled at the other man. Then the rest let loose with howls of laughter and even Russell had to smile.

  “Won’t they have defended against a ship landing?” Susan asked.

  “The roof wouldn’t support most ships,” Adam answered. “That’s why I recommended the emlift. It’s light and silent.”

  Aaron looked at the tablet in Russell’s hands. “Do they have any type of radar, lidar, or aerial sensors?”

  “No,” Russell answered. “This is supposed to be someone’s house. They might could explain away having armed guards, but not a sensor installation.” He paused and then added, “It makes sense. They don’t expect that we can land a ship on the roof, so they think we’ll have to land it on the grounds and they already have the grounds covered in guards, motion detectors, and heat sensors.”

  “Anyway,” Russell said after a moment, pulling everyone’s attention back to the display, “once Adam gets us to the roof, then what?”

  They all looked back at the display. The main building was a large sprawling three story house.

  “Can we get in one of those windows on the third floor?” Susan asked pointing at the display. “Surely the third floor windows won’t have sensors.”

  “Perhaps,” Russell said studying the display. I took some gear from Locke’s that I think we can use to get in one of those windows, even if they have a sensor.”

  Aaron considered for a moment. “Listen up,” he said and there was no mistaking the command in his voice. “This is risky and I don’t much like it, but we don’t have a lot of choices and if we can get that cube back for Locke, then we’re significantly improving our financial situation. Anyone want out of this?” The four of them looked around for a moment and then shook their heads. “Good. Try to get some sleep. We’ll leave at midnight. Russell and Adam will get the emlift and meet us north of the city.”

  Chapter 13

  Although they all lay down to try and sleep, none of them got much rest. It reminded Aaron of the times when he had been in the army and was about to go on a dangerous mission. He still wasn’t happy with this plan, but they were short on options. He went over their hastily prepared plan for what seemed like the one millionth time. There were too many things that could go wrong, but he trusted his friends instincts. No plan went exactly as expected, the success or failure of a mission basically came down to how you reacted when things didn’t happen as expected.

  Aaron finally gave up on trying to sleep and got up a couple of hours early. He wasn’t the least bit surprised to see lights on in the two rooms. Once the others realized that he was up and awake, they quickly emerged from their rooms and began packing in earnest.

  When they had left the hangar earlier today, they still didn’t have a clearly defined attack plan, so they had taken a wide assortment of equipment. Now that their plan was a bit more refined, they could eliminate the necessity of quite a bit of the stuff.

  “Maybe Locke will forget we have all this stuff,” Russell said, looking around at the collection of gear. “Ya never know when this stuff might come in handy.”

  “Yeah, I doubt Locke will forget we have it,” Aaron replied after a moment. “He didn’t get to where he is by giving expensive shit away.” Russell didn’t respond and Aaron caught Adam staring off into space. “You okay?” he asked quietly.

  Adam looked up. “Yeah, just trying to think of anything we may have forgotten.” He suddenly brightened. “And I just did. Didn’t we get a camo net from Locke’s?”

  “Yeah,” Susan called out. “It’s over here.”

  “Bring it,” Adam said quickly. “Those emlifts tend to be painted white with a big red stripe on the bottom. We’ll throw the net over the lift to help keep the guards from seeing it.”

  They split up and left the apartment promptly at midnight. Adam and Russell watched the other three enter the tube station and disappear, then they turned and began walking east. It took them about twenty minutes to travel the seven or eight blocks to the small lot that Adam had described.

  It was indeed fenced, but the fence wasn’t electrified or anything. A single guard watched the lot, but he was stationed on one edge, near the single gate that allowed admittance.

  Adam and Russell walked to the far side of the lot and stopped near where one of the large lights was busted, leaving this section of the fence in near darkness.

  “Kinda lax security, don’t you think?” Russell asked, looking around nervously.

  Adam smiled. “Most of the vehicles in here belong to the security forces, and nobody is stupid enough to rob them.”

  “Nobody except us,” Russell corrected him.

  It took them less than a minute to cut the fence and slide through. Luckily, the more well-used vehicles were kept near the entrance and the lesser used stuff was towards the back of the lot. It didn’t take long to find the emlifts that Adam described.

  Russell raised his head and studied the guard. He was still in his little shack and appeared to be sleeping. Grinning, Russell lowered his head. “We’re clear.”

  “Good,” Adam said and pointed to the nearest emlift. “Want to check and see if it’s got any tracker or security hardware.”

  Russell turned and regarded the small craft, suddenly he liked this plan less and less. The emlift was a small craft, roughly four feet by seven feet. Like Adam has said, it was not enclosed and had four seats and two small covered stretchers. Somehow, Russell hadn’t pictured the flimsy little craft he was now looking at. He cast one more look back over his shoulder and said, “You sure this thing can stay up with all of us onboard?”

  Adam grinned and gave Russell a friendly push. “Go on and check it out.”

  It turned out that it was a good thing that Russell had come along. Not only did the emlift have sophisticated tracking equipment, but there also was a complex anti-theft package. It took Russell nearly twenty minutes to deactivate the anti-theft equipment and get the emlift ready to launch.

  Adam was quite obviously anxious about how long it was taking to get off the ground. It seemed that every minute or so he popped his head up and checked on the guard. He need not have bothered as the guard didn’t move and seemed to be asleep.

  Finally, Russell rolled out from under the small craft and said, “We’re ready to go. But how are we going to take off without anyone noticing?”

  Adam, who looked relieved to finally get started, answered as he climbed aboard. “The same way we’re going to land on that roof; with the repulsors.”

  Aaron looked around as they emerged from the tube at its northernmost stop. They were still within the city limits and nearly twenty kilometers from the compound. However, they were only three kilometers from Memorial Garden. Me
morial Garden was a publicly maintained park that covered nearly ten acres. It was also the rendezvous point where they were to meet Russell and Adam.

  The tube had been late in getting them here, and they were a little rushed. Aaron would have had the three of them jog to the park, but they each carried a heavy duffel bag; he was actually carrying two. “Susan, lead the way,” he called out. To Susan’s credit, she didn’t have to be told twice.

  They traveled quickly. Susan led the way, Jessica was in the middle, and Aaron brought up the rear. He kept trying to look in every direction at once, as the area wasn’t the greatest. This far north was a pretty poor section of town and there were quite a few people out on the street, even at this time of night. He could feel the eyes on them, but he wore two pistols on his hips, as did Susan. For the moment, any would-be thieves were properly deterred.

  Slowed as they were by their burdens, it took them nearly half an hour to reach the park. It was deserted and a little eerie in the darkness. The park had lights scattered throughout but none of them seemed to be working, which left the park in deep shadows. Even though he couldn’t see much in the darkness, Aaron trusted Susan to give a warning before anyone jumped out of the shadows at them.

  It took nearly five minutes to walk through the park and then they realized that Adam and Russell were not here.

  Aaron checked his watch, worry trying to raise it ugly head within him. “They’re late,” he said quietly.

  “So were we,” Susan answered matter-of-factly. “We were delayed and they probably were, too.”

  Aaron nodded and then pointed at a wide open area that the local kids used for games. “That’s probably the best spot for them to put down. Let’s head that–” His words were cut off as a small craft fell from the sky, coming to a jarring halt five feet short of the ground. The craft continued its descent, although at a much slower pace. It didn’t make the first sound. The only sound came from Russell, who sat in the small seat next to Adam. Russell gasped loudly but he managed not to scream.

  Aaron looked around quickly but couldn’t see anyone. He was pleased that there wasn’t anyone around to witness the vehicle’s sudden arrival. He checked the area one more time and then hurried to catch up with Jessica and Susan, both of whom were already heading over to join their compatriots.

  “Any problems?” Susan asked.

  “It took longer than we thought to get the alarms and tracking gear deactivated, but we’re all good.” Adam hopped out of the pilot’s seat and grabbed the bag from Jessica. “Aaron,” he called, “help me get this camo net over the emlift and then we’ll be ready to go.”

  Russell still hadn’t got up from his seat and Jessica moved closer to him. “You all right?” she asked.

  Russell was breathing hard and his eyes were wide. “That was easily one of the most terrifying things I have ever endured,” he said in a quiet voice.

  Jessica smiled. “I don’t know, it looked kinda fun to me.”

  “We’ll see how you like it when you’re falling out of the sky.

  It only took Aaron and Adam a few moments to get the camo net over the sled and tied down.

  Looking around at the four seats, Adam asked, “Who’s going to ride on the stretcher?”

  “I will,” Russell said quickly. Everyone looked at him and he shrugged. “What? They’re covered and I don’t really want to watch the ground approaching that fast again.”

  Within moments they were in the air. The compound was still over ten kilometers away to the northwest, but it didn’t take long to reach it through the air. They had to fly low though, no higher than the buildings and the trees. Luckily, the emlift was made for high maneuverability.

  They each wore a small headset so that they could communicate even if they were separated. The headsets looked like they belonged in a museum, but they were the best that Locke had. Locke ran a smuggling group not a special forces unit. At least the headsets encrypted their communications.

  “We’re getting close,” Adam said quietly into his mouthpiece. He spoke quietly but they all heard fine, even over the rushing of the air.

  Aaron leaned forward and held binoculars up to his eyes. He touched a button on the side and the binoculars began shifting through different spectrums. “No sign of sensors or guards on the roof.” He sighed and leaned back. “All right, I want radio silence until we’re on the roof.”

  “You may want to close your eyes,” Adam added quickly.

  Aaron wasn’t sure what Jessica and Susan did, but he kept his eyes open and his mouth clamped shut. He didn’t want to give away their position by gasping like Russell had.

  Adam touched several controls and the engines cut out and the sled plummeted like a stone.

  Aaron kept his mouth shut but he did suck in a lot of air and then grasp his seat with his left hand.

  The compound had four buildings, but there was one large main building. It was a long rectangular structure. The roof was sloped on the sides, but the middle was a long flat strip, perfect for their purposes.

  Adam hit some more controls when they were maybe thirty yards above the roof. It took another twenty yards before the repulsors kicked in and they came to a jarring stop about five yards above the roof.

  Swallowing hard, Aaron looked over the side of the sled and made sure that the repulsors hadn’t damaged the roofing. He momentarily feared that some of the roofing materials might be thrown over the side by the repulsors, but the roof looked unaffected.

  Aaron was out even before the sled landed. He raised the rifle and scanned the roof through the infrared scope. He turned in a quick circle but saw no one.

  The sled came to a soft and nearly silent landing. Susan, like Aaron, was already out and searching the far side of the roof. Aaron motioned for her to fan out and she nodded once. He turned and moved away from the sled, leaving Adam and Jessica to extricate Russell from the stretcher. Aaron scanned the roof for anything they may have missed. Nothing. No sensors, no guards, no nothing. For the first time, he began to get worried. He knew that the defenses of this building hadn’t really planned on an emlift landing on the roof, but still it was seeming awful easy. He just hoped it wasn’t too easy on purpose.

  He reached the end of the flat stretch of the roof and cautiously looked over the sloped section to the grounds below. From where he stood, he could see several guards moving slowly. They looked tired, or perhaps just bored. It was two in the morning, after all. He backed up slowly and then turned and quickly returned to the sled. The others were already waiting for him when he got there. He didn’t say anything, instead he just pointed at the side.

  The building was a rectangle and there weren’t any windows high up on the short ends of the building. However, the long sides of the roof had arches every ten to fifteen feet. These arches were how they hoped to gain access.

  Russell took a rope from one of the packs and tied it to the edge of the sled. He walked over to the nearest window and Aaron moved over to join him. Russell looped the rope around him and tied a quick knot, then he began edging down the slope of the roof.

  Aaron took hold of the rope and made sure to keep the rope taut. If Russell slipped, they didn’t want him to go far.

  Russell continued to slowly work his way down the sloped roof. After about five feet, he was able to reach out and touch the arch of the window. Another five feet and he was able to lean around the roof arch and look into the window. He pointed his rifle in the window and looked through the scope. The room was empty.

  Russell looked around. He wasn’t quite to the edge of the roof, but he was close. If any of the guards on the ground looked up, they might see him. He decided he’d better speed things up. He turned his attention back to the window and he looked it over for any sensors or alarms. He was pleased to find there were none. It took only a moment to pop the window open and step inside.

  Stepping down, Russell held his breath for a moment. He half expected an alarm to start sounding at any moment, but none did.r />
  He quickly undid the rope from around his waist and gave it two quick pulls. Immediately the rope went slack. Russell hastily pulled the rope into the room with him. He kept pulling until the rope went taut again, there was quite a pile of rope at his feet. He braced himself against the window with his left foot and tugged on the rope two more times.

  Breathing a little easier now, Aaron was pleased with how things had gone so far. Russell had made it into the room and pulled all the extra rope in with him. Now it was time for the rest of them to join him. He didn’t say a word, instead he just pointed at Susan.

  She nodded at him and slung her rifle over her shoulder. Then she hurried over and grasped the rope and began working her way down the sloped roof. It wasn’t that difficult, well, not as long as they had the rope. She soon reached the end of the window arch and slipped around the edge. Just inside the window, Russell stood with a death grip on the rope. She didn’t waste any time but quickly scurried over the edge. She didn’t help Russell, instead she raised the infrared scope of her rifle and began scanning the room. Russell would have already done this, but it couldn’t hurt to do it again.

  The room seemed to be a spare bedroom. There was a bed, dresser, small table and chair. Two double-doors opened into a closet and another door led to a small bathroom. The room was completely empty and didn’t appear to have been used in some time.

  By the time she got back, Adam and Jessica had already joined Russell and Aaron was climbing through the window. As soon as he was in the room, Aaron reached out and pulled the window closed, well, nearly closed. The rope still ran out the window and back up to the emlift on the roof, so the window was closed except for an inch or two gap.

  “Report,” Aaron said quietly.

  “Room’s empty and no signs of sensors or alarms,” Russell said quickly.

  Aaron nodded and looked to Susan. He wanted a report from her as well, but it was a different type of report.

  Susan relaxed her breathing and closed her eyes. She let her mind wander. After a few moments she re-opened her eyes. I can’t sense anyone on this floor, at least not near us. On the floor below us, I sense three men slightly north of us.”