Immaculate Spirit c1-242

by Newbiel

  "No, we are going to stay. You see, I knew something was not right from the beginning. Despite what Bernard here tries to demonstrate, he's not sophisticated. In fact, he lacks the smartness, the education and the charisma to be the head of anything. Even being the leader of these five was not logical, he's not a hunter, the man on the left was smarter and the woman more aggressive than him. No, I believe he was the lieutenant because he's from the same family as the one who ran the entire show." Nathaniel said before taking his phone out and dialing his favorite number.

  "Genius of the immaterial, you can speak mortal."

  "Lina." Nathaniel laughed. "I didn't know you had a title now, I should think about having one also."

  "You already have one but I'm not supposed to tell you about it, in fact let's act like I didn't say anything. What do you need sir?��

  Nathaniel was curious to know his title but decided wisely to let it go.

  "Geolocate my position and use the NSA satellite above LA right now to search for vehicles in formation coming my way."

  "Alright, wait a minute." Lina said before being silent for a few moments. "I got it! Four cars are coming your way, they are four miles to your west. Based on their position and their speed, they will be at your position in five minutes. I'm picking eighteen different heat signals in those cars. Do you need help?"

  "Can you make sure that no calls coming from this area are going to connect to 911 for the next ten minutes? I'm going to try to keep everything silent but there is no telling what they are going to bring in terms of firepower."

  "Sir, this is going to be difficult. If they call from their cell phone, I can filter those calls easily but landlines are completely different. I'm going to do what I can." Lina said hesitantly.

  "Thanks Lina, you are the best." Nathaniel said affectuously before hanging up. "Okay guys, we have eighteen hostile people approaching the property. Ethan, I want you and Keith to join the others outside and form two teams. The entry of the ranch is located to the North East, I want one team to the North and one team to the East. Don't try to defend the gathe, let them enter the property and make their way to here, I will stay in the barn and take the last information that I can off of Bernard before they arrive. Once it's done, take them in a crossfire, put a suppressor on your weapon and don't let anyone get away, got it?"

  "Yes sir." They answer at the same time before Ethan adds. "But sir, it will put you in harm's way, are you sure you want to do this?".

  "I do." Nathaniel nodded.

  "Sir." Ethan also nodded, taking his sidearms and presenting it to Nathaniel, who smiled in return.

  "I won't be needing it, you should keep it. Twenty five feet Ethan, that's the only thing I need. When I will need a gun, I will just pick one on the ground. Now go, we wasted too much time already." Nathaniel said, sending them out.

  Once they were outside of the barn, Nathaniel got back to interrogating Bernard while Ethan started giving orders.

  "Echo one, Echo two. Assemble, find a hiding place to the North side of the property and wait there, we have eighteen hostile approaching the perimeter. Our orders are to let them through and then strike them from the flank. Echo three, with me to the East of the property. ETA, four minutes. Everyone put a suppressor on your weapons, even your sidearms, let's try to be as quiet as possible."

  "What was he talking about twenty five feet?" Keith asked while running to the East.

  "Not now Keith!" Ethan answers while also running.

  Once they found a good position to see without being seen, Ethan briefed his team.

  "Okay boys, you know your job. We have no idea who is going to come, we have no idea their training or what firepower they are going to bring. It's almost like we are still in operation for the military." Ethan chuckled darkly, a few of them joining in the com and near him. "But we know they will be twice as much than we are. Let me be perfectly clear, even if we are home, these people don't care, we are going to shoot to kill, no mercy."

  Hearing that everyone was on the same page, Ethan kept radio silence, waiting for them to arrive. That's when he remembered something and turned to Keith who was lying down, alert and his M4 ready.

  "When I was training, we had an instructor who was a Native American. He had a name unpronounceable but his tribe was the more fearsome in knife fights and he was teaching exactly that. He used to say that anyone who was at less than twenty five feet from him was in his killzone because whatever weapon you had in hand, you would never have the time to take it and aim it at him before dying. That man was a serious badass." Ethan said.

  "But, he doesn't have any knife on him." Keith answers.

  "Does he? I guess we will see very soon if he has one or not. They are here." Ethan said, seeing the car headlight approaching the property.

  Chapter 208: :

  Seeing the first car rolling silently into the driveway and cutting it's headlight, the three other cars quickly followed the call and cut their engines as well.

  "It seems that they want to take us by surprise." Keith said.

  "Make sense, they must think that we don't know about the watch and that someone other than us knows this place. We also learn something, the one in charge is in that first car." Ethan said to Keith before sending a message in the com.

  "Echo team, we have the leader in the first SUV passing the gate, try as possible to take him alive."

  Once the cars stopped, Ethan and the other ex-Seals members started paying particular attention to the gear that they were wearing and the weapons they had in their hands. To his relieves, he saw no one with a bulletproof vest or any tactical gear at all. Some were wearing camo but that was it. Based on his observation, none had sidearms either, they only had what they had in hands which was a ragtag of MP5, shotgun, pistols and he noticed with a displeased expression at least four people with a MAC-10.

  The MAC-10 was a very filthy weapon in Ethan's opinion. It was a very deadly weapon in close quarter and even someone with no training at all could go on a rampage with it. The cadence of fire was so huge that you could empty a thirty round magazine in less than two seconds. With the recoil and the fact that this weapon was so short, it was making it hard to control and so it's effectiveness at long range was almost useless. Which means that for them it presents little risk but for Nathaniel it was extremely dangerous.

  Seeing the barn was the only thing lit in the ranch, they started walking in that direction, not making an effort to make a plan or get into a formation but trying to move quietly. Looking at them massing around the double door of the barn, Ethan knew they were going to ram their way in very soon.

  "Echo team, start picking your target, try to focus people with MAC-10 in your hands. Wait for the go before engaging." Ethan orders while aiming his M4 and picking a target of his own.

  Kicking the double doors open, five of them immediately rush inside to stop almost as fast.

  "NOOOO!" Ethan heard someone yell before seeing a form running inside.

  That's when all the light inside the barn suddenly shut down, leaving only the two lights outside and positioned on top of the double door still on. Ethan knew to recognize a signal when he saw one.

  "Go." He ordered in the com before opening fire on the man he had targeted.

  The team quickly followed and opened fire on the braconeers, seven people were the first to go down and were followed by four more. Surprised by the sudden attack and not knowing from where it was coming from, some froze on the spot where others try to gain cover or hurriedly went to the ground to escaped the hail of bullet coming their way

  "Move in." Ethan ordered.

  Putting a fresh magazine into his M4, Ethan and his team start walking in the direction of the barn in an arrow formation, not stopping firing in the direction of the enemy. It was almost too easy, with the light just on top of them while Ethan's team was moving under the cover of the night, they were almost invisible. Even the light coming from their guns was masked by the suppressors they put
on their weapons. Once near the barn and seeing no more movements, Ethan was starting to worry that maybe Nathaniel took a lost bullet in the middle of the fight.

  "Sir, are you alright in there?" Ethan shout. he and his team not relaxing even a little bit and disarming the people on the ground.

  "Oh Ethan, everything is resolved already?" Nathaniel's voice sounded almost surprised.

  "Yes sir." Ethan answered.

  Entering the barn, Ethan tried to find Nathaniel but because it was too dark, he couldn't see anything. That's when all the light turned back on and Ethan had to blink a few times to get rid of the sudden brightness. It was a few moments later when he could see five mens on the ground, four were dead with a knife in their throat or to the back of their head and one was still alive with a knife in his right knee.

  "Up here." Nathaniel said.

  Raising his head, Ethan could see Nathaniel was sitting on the wooden beam almost fifteen feet in the air, near him was an electrical box. Seeing the look that Ethan and the others ex-Seals members on the ground direct his way, Nathaniel just smiled.

  "What? You really thought that I was going to be on the ground, in the middle of this nightmare? Fat chance." He laughed, letting himself fall from the beam, landing on top of one of the wooden doors before jumping to the side and landing on the ground. "Do we have injuries?"

  "No sir, it's a miracle really." Ethan was surprised to say the least when he realized that they were all unscathed.

  "No, it's not. It's juste the difference in training, gear, strategy and situation between you and them." Nathaniel denied instantly before walking to the man on the ground with a knife in his right knee. "Hey you, I have a lot of questions for you." Nathaniel gave him a predatory smile, the man shivering in fright.

  *****

  White House, Washington DC. 05/04/2013. 17:00.

  "Mister President! Mister President! Mister President!" Reporters shout while the President is flooded with flash.

  "Please, let me speak to people." William said, raising his hands in a sign of appeasement.

  Seeing them settling down, William nodded before starting to speak.

  "Thank you. Like you heard in the last two days, the US Fish and Wildlife Service with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made a lot of arrests including celebrities, chief of industries and politicians, some of them working inside this government. This is why I announce today, that Bryan O'Connell, Secretary of the Interior and Mason Trunches, Advisor to the President are no longer working for this administration. The clear violation of the Endangered Species act and a number of international treaties is a real danger to our very future and cannot be tolerated by anyone. Some animals were found in perfect health while others show clear signs of brutality and some others were sold just for the pleasure of eating exotic species." William stated in a grave voice, making a pause to make sure everyone was following before continuing.

  "All still alive animals are being brought to different Zoo or veterinarian offices around the country to be treated and then relocated in a correct habitat where they will be able to strive and not be locked away for the twisted pleasure of the elite. This is why I will introduce a bill in Congress in the next week to augment the budget dedicated to these animals. Thank you everyone, I will now leave you to the very competent hands of Dave, my spokesperson." William excused himself from the press conference, ignoring the numbers calls directed his way and exiting the room.

  Walking back into his office, William slumps on his chair before untying his tie in a tired move. Soon after, the side door of his office opened and his wife came behind him and put her hand on his shoulder.

  ""How are you?" Linda asked gently.

  "Honestly? I'm beat. I swear, this kid is going to be the end of me." William answers tiredly, keeping his eyes closed.

  "At least, he told you beforehand so that you could get ahead of it. It could have been a lot worse."

  "Trust me, I know. The only consolation I have is that the opposition can't use it against me because it touches both sides of the aisle. Based on my counselor's calculation, we are going to lose more senators but they are going to lose more congressmen so in the end, the damage is going to even out."

  Linda was going to answer when they heard someone knocking on the door. Saying enter, the door opens and Judith, his personal secretary, passes the door looking perturbed.

  "Mister President, I have Senator John Livingston and Victoria Livingston here. They don't have an appointment but they insist it's important and I ask for some of your time. Can I let them in or would you like me to send them away?"

  "Oh come on! Can this day become even worse?" William resented out loud.

  It was only later that he learned that it very well could be.

  Chapter 208

  "What are they doing here at this hour?" Linda asked, frowning.

  "I don't know but like they said, it must be important to come here uninvited, especially considering our relationship. I'm pretty sure that whatever it is, they must exhaust every other option before coming for help here." William mused out loud.

  "So, are you going to let them in? If they are that desperate, turning them down now could enable you to gain more from them when they will inevitably come back." Linda advised.

  "You are right as always love but I'm going to receive them nonetheless. My gut is telling me to let them in so that's what I'm going to do. Judith, let them inside my office please."

  "Right away, Mister President." Judith nodded before closing the door.

  "Do you want me to leave you alone?"

  "No, since Victoria is here, you should stay." William said.

  It was not long before Judith knocked on the door again and opened it to let John and Victoria Livingston into the Oval Office. Walking to meet them, the two couples exchange some polite handshakes before William invites them to sit on the couch opposite to them. Even William could see that the couple was not looking great and the dark circles they both had under their eyes was showing that they had not slept much recently.

  "So, you mention an urgent matter John, what are you here for?" William decided to cut through the BS, he wasn't in a mood to play games right now, especially since they needed to go to the Correspondents Dinner in an hour and he had two more meetings scheduled before that.

  "I know there is no lost love between us William but I'm still glad that you received us tonight, I was expecting you not to, to be honest. I know how busy you are, especially right now with what happened in the last few days." John answers.

  "Ok stop patting me in the back, this doesn't suit you at all and it's starting to give me the creep, just tell me what you need John."

  "Alright. Our two daughters were kidnapped almost ten days ago while they were spring breaking in Cancun." He said, gravely.

  Hearing that, William and Linda were taken aback and Victoria was looking like she was going to cry at any moment.

  "Why wait until now to ask for help John? We have contingencies for this kind of problem, you know that."

  "Yes, but I was not going to put the lives of my two daughters in the hand of the State Department. The kidnappers also said that if we were to involve law enforcement, they will kill them immediately. Instead, I choose to call a team of specialists in negotiation to handle it."

  "How much did they ask for them?" Linda asked, intervening in the conversation for the first time.

  "Five millions in cash. I had no choice but to pay." John said, tilting his head down.

  "What happened?" Linda asked gently, even if she had mixed feelings about them, she could see they were not far from breaking down.

  "We don't know for sure. They were supposed to make the exchange two days ago but something went wrong. They claimed the team of negotiators sent with the money attacked them and killed some of their mens. The entire team sent with the money was found dead yesterday in Mexico but no sign of the money. They made contact last night and asked for fifty millions now. They cl
aimed that if they don't receive the money in three days at the location of their choice, they will send back our girls in pieces by the mail." Victoria starting to sob at the end. "William, we don't have fifty millions, already the five millions were very hard to come by, I don't know what to do. We need your help." He said, lamely.

  "I hate to say this but are you sure they are still alive?" Linda asked.

  "Yes, we asked for proof of life and we talked to them briefly last night when they called. They sound terrified but they said they were not abused."

  "You asked for help but what do you need? You should know by now that giving them the money is not a viable choice." William said.

  "I want your team to get my two daughters back to us safely." He said with an intense look in his eyes.

  William and Linda looked at each other with caution before turning back to him.

  "What team?" William asked.

  "Please, don't play coy with me. Last year, Robert Lyndon was kidnapped in Italy and after that detained in Saudi Arabia. The State Department couldn't do anything about it and everyone thought he was going to die and yet, a few days later, he got back to his family safely, the entire ring was destroyed and no information about who was involved could be found anywhere. Even the CIA investigated for months but found nothing more. Despite this, four days later you drop a huge stack of information to a security meeting concerning this exact ring and everyone they had ties with in the Middle East. I know that whatever you did, nothing followed the directives and I know none of our response team was used because I'm sitting in the intelligence committee, I would have known about it." Seeing the look that William was giving him, John quickly added something. "I'm not here to try to get you William, I'm just a father with no option left and so I come to you for help. If you were to bring them back to us, I would support you politically, I just don't care anymore. We just want our babies back, I'm just asking you father to father. What would you do if it was your own childrens taken away."