Devil's Island

by David Leadbeater

  “Got it.”

  Dahl gritted his teeth. All this time he’d been harboring a quiet hope that there was no real bomb. Just a ball of plutonium maybe. It would have made their journey off this island more comfortable and he was more than ready to get the hell off this island.

  And back to his family in DC.

  “Got pliers?” Molokai asked.

  Dahl moved behind Kenzie and unfastened her backpack. He reached inside for its toolkit and extracted a pair of pliers. He handed them to Molokai as he peered over the big man’s shoulder.

  “You do know what you’re doing, right?”

  “I’m betting I know more than you.”

  “That’s not reassuring at all.”

  Dahl saw a black steel casing sheathed in what appeared to be thick polystyrene. At one end of the casing, a flashing digital timer showed the numbers in blood-red. There was no keypad.

  “Two and a half hours to detonation,” Kenzie said. “C’mon, boys, it’s getting real.”

  Dahl knew what she meant. When you knew a bomb was going to detonate in six hours, depending where you were, the urgency wasn’t immediate. But as those hours counted down it quickly started to mount.

  Molokai prized the casing apart with the pliers. Dahl bit his lip, wincing slightly. He saw wires exposed. Blues and yellows, reds and browns, a hot mass of color all twisted around each other. He saw a small dial that looked like a compass, and a pair of ends that appeared to be crocodile clips.

  He barely breathed as Molokai picked among the wires with his pliers.

  “One hundred and forty five minutes,” Kenzie said.

  Molokai paused, pliers poised around a single blue wire. “Please stay silent.”

  Dahl watched him close the pliers. Gently, he rested a hand on the man’s arm. “How do you know that’s the right one?”

  Again, Molokai paused. He let out a long, deep breath before speaking. “Do you want us to blow up?”

  “Not really, no.”

  “When you touched my arm I almost clipped this wire. This isn’t the wire I want to clip. I’m moving it out of the way. If I clip this wire—we explode. Okay?”

  Dahl cleared his throat nervously. “Okay.”

  “Maybe you should have packed your sledge hammer,” Kenzie whispered in his ear.

  Even here, Dahl shivered from the closeness of her lips, the sound of her breathy voice. It was quite a contrast to the scene in front of his eyes. Molokai eased the blue wire out of the way, so that he could reach the black wire.

  Dahl was about to repeat his question, but gritted his teeth, keeping his mouth shut. Kenzie’s grip on his shoulder grew tight, painful. Dallas, holding the main flashlight, could barely keep it still. This wasn’t anything they’d ever been trained for. Yes, they’d defused a nuke before under desperate circumstances, but this was entirely different.

  Also, it didn’t need to be done. Molokai was taking a chance. Molokai was still mostly a mystery man. There was time to think, time to plan if they left the nuke alone. And if this was the wrong wire . . .

  Molokai snipped, and Dahl momentarily closed his eyes. Right after it, he heard a terrifying dull click. When fire and death didn’t consume him, he managed to look at the bomb. Nothing had changed.

  Molokai was frowning at the device. “Ah, shit.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “It means it didn’t work. It means . . . run!”

  “No, no.” Kenzie stopped them. “You haven’t kick started the bomb. You’ve sped up the timer.”

  Dahl glanced at it. There were now only one hundred and twenty minutes remaining.

  “Whatever you do,” he told Molokai. “Don’t cut any more wires.”

  * * *

  Drake fired on full auto as he ran with the others arrayed around him. Bullets shredded the old van and made it shudder. A moment later it exploded, flames licking the castle walls and shooting up into the air. Men, guns and metal flew to left and right, striking other men. The SPEAR team raced for the gap in the eastern wall that led to the beach, covering each other from front and rear.

  It was a double formation. Drake, Hayden and Kinimaka at the front; Alicia, Luther and Karin at the back; Dino and Mai at the side, all firing at everything that moved. They made it to the gap and took cover behind the castle wall, their backs to thick concrete.

  Drake pressed the comms. “Moving to the left. Cover me.”

  A compound lay that way, its tall wooden railings lashed together with stout rope, its gates secured with a heavy padlock. Behind the bamboo bars stood many figures. They knew what was going to happen to the island, but they had no way of knowing when, and no means of escape. Psychological torture had never been a problem for the Devil.

  Drake ran freely, covered by his team. Alicia was at his side. To the right, a stretch of sandy beach led to the foaming ocean where dark breakers crashed over a reef and onto the island. Further still was the long, wide dock and jetty, made up of heavy planks and pillars of wood. Dinghies and Zodiacs, speedboats, motor launches and even rowing boats were tied up along the dockside, presumably awaiting their human cargo. There was a relatively smooth wooden path that cut along the beach from the castle and led to the docks, no doubt built to make moving heavy objects easier from ship to shore. This path was full of fighting men. There was close-quarter combat and gunfire, the clash of knives, the incredible sight of men making space to fire bows and arrows.

  Drake checked the padlock then looked through the bars. “Get back.”

  A few seconds later he used a crowbar from his pack to break the lock. He rushed inside. Many faces greeted him, all of them wary. People just backed away.

  “Are you here against your will?” he asked. “If so, come with us. We can save you.”

  “I am.” A man came forward, hunched and grimacing in pain as if his back had been damaged.

  “And me,” a dark-haired woman said.

  “And us.” A young woman and a child came forward, making Drake grimace. He hadn’t realized there were children here.

  “How many are you?” he asked.

  All the captives came forward into the light, grouping close to the center of the compound. They all looked frighteningly similar to Drake. Ragged and disordered. White faced and drawn. Lacking any sign of spirit. They shuffled as close as they dared, keeping a close guard on their neighbors and on their children.

  Drake counted eighteen adults and three children. Of the eighteen six were women, one he would consider over sixty, and twelve were men, three he would consider over sixty. It would be a tough bunch to bear to safety.

  This changed everything. He checked his watch. Less than two hours to go before the nuke exploded. The docks and the castle and even the beach were still crammed with fighting men. He could see the lights of the ships in the harbor, but only four vessels remained.

  What the hell are we going to do?

  Hopefully, Dahl would have had some luck defusing the bomb.

  His comms crackled. They had managed to repair two of the comms before the team split. He was pleased to hear the big Swede’s voice. “We’re on our way. Requesting cover at the keep.”

  Drake keyed his comms. “Did you disarm it?”

  “No. We actually brought the clock forward, so we have less time now.”

  Bollocks. “We’re on our way with cover,” Drake said. “But we have an even bigger problem here.”

  “Bloody hell, what’s that?”

  “Twenty one civilians, three of whom are kids.”

  Dahl was silent for a long moment.

  Kenzie came back quickly as her distrustful side spoke up. “Make sure they’re all civilians and not enemy plants,” she said. “Get them apart and talk to them one on one. Do it quick.”

  Drake was glad once again for the Israeli’s presence. It was a sound idea. He gave the order and left Hayden, Kinimaka, Karin and Dino behind to start the conversation.

  “Wait at the keep door,” he said. “W
e’re coming for you.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

  They shepherded Dahl and the others across the courtyard and to the compound before taking stock by its broken gates.

  “Ideas?” Hayden asked.

  Luther used his rifle to point toward the docks. “There’s only one boat that can take all of us. That motor launch. And I’m betting it’s the Devil’s.”

  “So it’s a balls-out, blood and guts run for it?” Alicia questioned. “Typical Luther.”

  “You got a better idea?”

  “No, but how do we protect the prisoners?”

  “The big boys will attack,” Luther said. “Me. Mai. Molokai. Drake. Dahl. Kinimaka. You and Kenzie. The others will be their bodyguards.”

  “I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or an insult, but I say hell yeah,”

  “I’ll stay with the prisoners,” Mai said. “They may need a blood warrior too.”

  Drake thought it over. If there was another way, he couldn’t come up with it right now. They could swim, but in the dark, with these waves, and then trying to haul everyone aboard the launch, they were bound to lose people.

  Dahl was the first to step forward. “I agree with Luther. Let’s get on with it.”

  Hayden waited as Molokai and Dino fired a volley at three Creepers intent on coming their way. All three attackers decided to turn and join the dock battle where it was easier to get involved.

  “Time’s short,” Hayden said. “We don’t have a choice. Make ready.”

  Within three minutes they were prepared to go. Drake watched as Hayden and Mai rounded up the prisoners, herding them into a tight group and handing out energy bars and water. It didn’t take long.

  “This is the fight of your lives,” he heard Hayden tell them. “The hardest and hopefully best run you will all ever make. It should lead to freedom. Are you ready for it?”

  There was a faint chorus of affirmations. Drake was buoyed to see fresh hope on their faces now that they were surrounded by a military team intent on their safety. He switched his attention to the front. Mercenaries had already jumped into one of the speedboats but were being swamped as several Hunters tried to join them. Men fell into the water and battled on deck. The boat pitched and heaved. The main crowd of fighters moved toward the head of the jetty.

  The motor launch was moored just beyond this pack of fighters and to the right.

  Drake nodded at Dahl and Alicia and then prepared himself mentally for what was about to happen. Together, they made a truly formidable team.

  “Now!” Luther shouted.

  They started forward at a fast jog. There were no innocents in front of them, only savage islanders and mercenaries battling for superiority. Running in a seven-strong wedge with Luther at the head, the SPEAR vanguard moved along the pathway toward the docks. As they approached the first enemy pack they opened fire.

  Men fell away to left and right, sprawling onto the beach, leaving blood in the sand. Others tried to turn, to fire over their shoulders, but weren’t quick enough. Drake kicked a wounded man in the face as he rushed by, fired two shots into another. They couldn’t risk leaving too many alive to face off against the following prisoners. The wooden planks bent beneath their weight. The sound of their boots pounding along was an ominous death knell to all those that heard.

  Drake had positioned himself next to the tip of the sword. Luther was formidable at the front, ducked low behind his gun and firing to left and right. Men fell everywhere, and those that fell in their path were shot again.

  Ahead, those battling along the length of the docks seemed to sense the new danger. Many turned, pausing in their fight. Some started to run away; others started to run back. Many more chose to continue their battle. Drake shot three men in succession as he gained the docks, then shoulder barged another man through the nearby rail and into the ocean shallows. Their wedge smashed into a tight knot of fighting men.

  And stalled.

  With no forward momentum, the prisoners and their new guards would be left milling a few steps behind, easy targets. To pull this off and gain the launch, Drake knew they had to keep moving. Luther smashed to left and right, using his gun in one hand and his knife in the other. Where possible he used elbows too. Drake loosed bullet after bullet but found he was having to push and kick people out of the way, even those he’d shot. The sheer crush of numbers blocked the docks.

  Slowly, they advanced.

  Drake glanced back. Mai and the others were twenty steps behind. The Japanese woman and the remainder of the SPEAR team had formed a protective cordon around the prisoners and were herding them along. Mai killed a wounded man who raised his pistol, and Dallas killed another. Karin was forced into a few seconds of hand-to-hand with a Creeper wielding a knife, but managed to keep her position in line.

  Drake saw they were halfway along the docks. The motor launch lay thirty feet up and to the right. There was no clear path. Men were battling on the edge of the wooden platform, falling into the water or leaping into boats. Engines roared. The bright silver moon cast a shimmering spotlight over it all, a contrast to the glaring floodlights that bathed the dock in a faint, hideous yellow. Drake heaved a man over the side, came so close to the edge that he toppled toward the sea himself, and felt a hand pulling him back.

  “Steady,” Dahl said.

  Drake nodded. “Cheers, mate.”

  Bullets flew. A large gang of men turned and came at them, brandishing every weapon Drake could imagine. An axe flew end over end toward his scalp. He cried out a warning and ducked, heard the weapon’s hissing passage overhead.

  A man leaped in holding a spear, bringing it down hard as he landed. Alicia defended the attack and swept the man away over the other side of the docks, straight into the side of a waiting boat.

  Drake fired into the attacking mass, seeing blood flow and men collapse, felling other men. Luther leapt up onto the backs of the fallen, using them to gain height and fire down at those behind. The pile shifted, but he kept his balance. Drake joined him on the right and Dahl to the left.

  “We’re almost there,” the Swede said.

  * * *

  Behind, Mai kept her concentration, fully aware she was the leader of this pack. The prisoners were quiet for the most part, huddled and scared but game to keep moving. They could see how hard their rescuers were trying. Mai watched carefully, identifying those that were wounded and those that were dead. She saw their weapons and whether they intended to use them. Twice she saved the pack ahead from men who’d feigned injury, only to rise and try to attack from behind.

  Others emerged from the surf to her right, weapons aimed. She picked them off one by one. She forced herself to take her eyes and mind off Luther, because she was too worried for his safety. Such concerns couldn’t help her at this point, and they wouldn’t help him either.

  But the biggest threat, resulting in the greatest heroics, came from the left. Mai turned from a kill to see two Creepers standing in the rolling sea, their bows stretched taut, arrows knocked. There was no way to stop them firing.

  She brought her gun around just a second too late. The arrows flew, quivering through the air, aimed for the center mass of the prisoners where the children were. Dread gripped her stomach, making her heart sink. There was no stopping those arrows and not everyone had seen them coming.

  But Karin had. She backpedalled, instinctively knowing that there was only one option. She dragged Dino with her. Grimacing, the two shared a brief glance and then barged backward among the prisoners so that they took both descending arrows full in the chest.

  The impact knocked them to the ground. The moving mass ground to a temporary halt as Dallas and Hayden reached down to first check and then haul them upright.

  Their flak vests had done the work. They were bruised, shocked, but very much alive. Mai dispatched both Creepers before they could cause any more issues and ordered them forward.

  They couldn’t stop moving.

  Their lives depended on
it.

  * * *

  Drake jumped down feet first from the pile of men, boots striking the face of an attacker. At the same time, he fired twice, hitting two hulking mercs. They fell to their knees, but it took two more shots from Molokai to finish them. Drake climbed to his feet. Luther was forging ahead, a bit too fast. Men were coming in behind him. Drake leapt to meet them, backed by Molokai and Kinimaka. Together they forced their way back to Luther’s side, heaving at and stabbing and shooting the men in between. There was a good gap to the left which meant Mai and the prisoners wouldn’t have to clamber over the pile of bodies.

  To the right, the motor launch sat tied to the docks.

  There was a small space around its boarding plank. Beyond that, a final large group of ex-soldiers and islanders still fought. There were more free boats at the end of the dock, which had drawn more men.

  Luther ran to a short plank of wood that led aboard the launch. It was free. Drake thought it odd as he approached, flanked by Dahl and Kenzie. The launch itself was deserted and dark.

  “Wait, brother,” Molokai said. “This doesn’t feel right.”

  Luther halted at the edge of the dock, hand on the rail, staring at the dark launch as if he could penetrate its secrets.

  Kinimaka and Alicia made a temporary guard in front, warding off several islanders seeking to launch an attack. Behind, Mai and the others were coming, just a dozen steps away.

  Now what? Drake thought.

  He didn’t have long to wait.

  From out of the mass of battling men at the end of the dock, stepping through their blood, broken bones and severed limbs, their bullet-shattered bodies, came the Devil himself, dripping crimson, carrying knives the size of rifles and grinning with a hard, feral insanity that sent a bolt of fear shooting through even the bravest of hearts.