Weapons

by Matt Rogers

  ‘He had a phone on him. We cracked it.’

  Slater interjected. ‘That sounds awfully convenient.’

  King nodded.

  At the forefront of their thoughts was their last operation in New Zealand, where they’d been lured to the South Island by an intricate web of lies spun to look like a legitimate paper trail. Together they’d cracked a phone encrypted with military-grade technology, and it had led them right into the jaws of death.

  Because that’s what their enemy had wanted all along.

  Violetta shook her head. ‘We have surveillance on the ground in San Francisco. Our intel is legitimate.’

  ‘What’s the intel?’

  ‘Jian’s phone revealed the attack on the festival has been in the works for months. They’re using three separate locations to amass their forces, equip them properly, and give them the necessary strategies for the big day.’

  Slater cut in with, ‘Christ — are we too late?’

  ‘No. But you’ll need to move tomorrow morning, when they’re most vulnerable.’

  King said, ‘Why not tonight? Why not as soon as we land? If you have boots on the ground doing surveillance, then why haven’t you moved in already?’

  ‘Because it’s a unique situation with unique parameters. Decisions were made at the top of the food chain and passed down. We need the three of you.’

  ‘We’re going to need more information than that if you want our help,’ Ruby said.

  Violetta stared at her. ‘You don’t need anything more than what we decide to give you. All three of you are technically working for the government again, and if you refuse orders you’ll be considered active participants who contributed to this attack by refusing to prevent it. So shut the fuck up and listen.’

  Ruby bristled, but King and Slater sat silent.

  They’d heard it all before.

  ‘There are three locations that we’ve zeroed in on,’ Violetta said. ‘All three are packed with armed hostiles, recruited by Chinese hardliners over the last few weeks, if not months. They’re a diverse bunch — we’ve got cartel sicarios brought up over the border from Sinaloa and Tijuana and armed in California, then there’s your standard disillusioned ex-military vets who will do anything for a dollar, and finally there’s something that’s really worrying me — what appears to be a collection of the most unstable ex-soldiers they could find milling around an abandoned warehouse in Dogpatch.’

  ‘How can you be so sure of all this through surveillance photos?’ King said.

  ‘Most of them aren’t hiding, because they don’t think they’re going to get caught. Frankly, if we didn’t find Jian’s phone, we never would have located them. California is enormous, and they’re covering their tracks unbelievably well — we think the ying pai have been advising them for a long time. But we’re running background checks on each face we capture, and we’re slowly starting to piece it together. So you’ll know what you’re walking into.’

  ‘To an extent,’ Slater said. ‘This whole thing sounds unpredictable as hell.’

  ‘It is,’ Violetta admitted. ‘But the pieces are falling into place. The warehouse in Dogpatch scares me the most. Every time we’ve photographed someone coming in and out, their background check rings alarm bells all through our system. Most of them have a history of mental illness — schizophrenia has been cropping up a lot. On top of that, we’ve spotted a couple of well-known Middle Eastern jihadists with ties to Islamic State. We think the Chinese have piggybacked off their hatred of the West and hired a couple of their experts for help with…’

  She trailed off.

  King said, ‘Help with what?’

  But he knew where it was headed.

  ‘We think it’s a makeshift bomb factory,’ Violetta said.

  Slater said, ‘Oh, shit.’

  Violetta said, ‘King, that’s where you’re headed.’

  ‘Just me?’

  ‘I told you there’s three locations.’

  ‘So one of us goes to each one?’ King said, flabbergasted.

  ‘No backup?’ Slater said.

  ‘Are you insane?’ Ruby said, still irritated by the earlier comments. ‘Who gave you the job of handler? You should be managing a McDonald’s.’

  You could cut the tension in the air with a knife.

  Violetta held up her hands. ‘I told you to wait until I can give you all the details. If you must know, this is exactly the type of incident that would have been delegated to Black Force in the past. But Black Force no longer exists, so it comes down to the three of you.’

  ‘There’d better be a damn good reason for this,’ King said.

  Slater said, ‘Or when we get to California we get off this plane and get a commercial flight straight back to New York.’

  Ruby said, ‘Does it sound like we’re full of shit?’

  Violetta turned hot under the collar. Flustered and reeling on the back foot, she finally snapped.

  ‘Listen, you morons,’ she snarled. ‘There’s close to fifty hostiles involved in this, and they’re spread out between Dogpatch, the Rancho Corral de Tierra wildlands, and an outlaw motorcycle clubhouse on the outskirts of San Fran. They’re all armed with automatic weapons and highly emotional, and they’ll slaughter anyone and everyone they can get their hands on if they’re confronted or provoked. If we do this the old-fashioned way and send in the Army, there’ll be blood on the streets as soon as they realise they’re sprung. Jian had instructions on his phone to relay to the hired guns, and that’s what they spelled out: “If you get busted, start gunning down anyone in the vicinity. Cause chaos. Don’t go down without a fight.” But if you three go in posing as ordinary civilians, then strike them right in the heart before they even realise what’s happening, then maybe we can prevent a series of massacres. Does that sound like a feasible plan, or do the three of you want to live with the fact that you could have saved innocent lives … but didn’t?’

  King said nothing.

  Slater said nothing.

  Ruby said nothing.

  The jet engines rumbled on either side of the fuselage, filling the silence with a monotonous hum.

  Finally King said, ‘We’ll stay.’

  Violetta nodded, wiping a bead of sweat off her brow. She was pale and clammy.

  King said, ‘Do you think we’re crazy?’

  ‘I thought you’d all be a little more understanding.’

  ‘To you, we’re your best option,’ Slater said. ‘But that also makes us cannon fodder. You’re not thinking of human beings. You’re thinking of tactics. These are our lives at stake, and we’re not about to walk blindfolded into a slaughter if you think it’s the only Hail Mary that’s likely to work.’

  Violetta thought it over.

  She nodded her understanding.

  Slater said, ‘Doesn’t seem like we have a choice, does it?’

  Ruby shook her head.

  King said, ‘More details.’

  Violetta hunched forward and laid it all out for them.

  Everything they knew.

  And everything they didn’t.

  When she was finished, each of the three operatives went through their nervous tics.

  King rubbed the back of his neck with a calloused palm.

  Slater hunched over and stared at the floor.

  Ruby sat back in her seat and closed her eyes.

  The gravity of what they had to do rattled them.

  But, one by one, they stopped mulling over it, and looked Violetta in the eyes.

  ‘Well?’ she said.

  They all nodded simultaneously.

  73

  It was a cool and crisp evening when the Gulfstream touched down at San Francisco International Airport.

  There was no fanfare. No official military welcome. No red carpet.

  Just the calm quiet of an empty runway as they stepped down onto the tarmac and slung their small carry-on bags over their shoulders. They stood there in a tight cluster, staring out at the sweeping con
crete running all the way to the civilian terminals in the distance. That wasn’t where they were headed. They’d been granted approval by those at the top to land and disperse in secrecy.

  So they waited at the bottom of the stairs and admired the setting sun as they waited for a black Suburban to collect them.

  They’d talked about operational details and the minutiae of what was to come for the entire five-hour flight. Now there was nothing left to do but wait, and dwell.

  Violetta said, ‘I want to make this as stress-free as possible. So if any new information comes in, I’ll only tell you what’s necessary. I don’t want a thousand thoughts in your heads tomorrow morning. I want you to focus on what you need to do. Got it?’

  ‘Got it,’ King said.

  ‘Your gear will be brought over from Parks Reserve Forces Training Area throughout the night,’ she said. ‘But you’re not to worry about that. All three of you need sleep. I don’t want you running on empty when the sun comes up again.’

  In turn, they each nodded.

  She said, ‘You understand why it has to be tomorrow morning, right?’

  She’d already explained why, but she clearly wanted to be sure they’d got the message.

  As if reading off a transcript, King said, ‘They’ll be gearing up. It’ll be the calm before the storm. If they’re expecting anything, it’ll be tonight, so they’ll have guards keeping watch and guns loaded.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And there hasn’t been time to mobilise backup forces yet — they’re all on the way from neighbouring military bases. They have to take their time because there’s no telling whether the Chinese are monitoring the movements of our Armed Forces, so it has to be discreet. That means that if we do it tonight, and it doesn’t work, there’s nothing to stop the hired guns scattering into the dark and coming out of hiding tomorrow morning to massacre anyone they can get their hands on. If we can get enough soldiers here for the morning, they’ll be able to lay down a rudimentary cordon in case our efforts fail.’

  ‘You won’t fail,’ Violetta said. ‘The three of you never have.’

  ‘We’ve failed plenty.’

  ‘But you’re here to tell the tale.’

  Slater peered at the setting sun with a lump in his throat. He said, ‘There’s a first time for everything.’

  She said, ‘I wouldn’t be asking you to do this if I didn’t have full faith in your abilities.’

  ‘That doesn’t make it any more likely that we’ll succeed,’ Slater said.

  ‘No, but it’s some consolation, at least.’

  King said, ‘I think we’ve covered most of it. Where to now?’

  ‘A civilian motel in Ingleside.’

  They all stared at her.

  She said, ‘Were you expecting a military base?’

  ‘Maybe something … a little more serious.’

  ‘I don’t want to risk it,’ she said. ‘If there’s even the slightest chance they’re monitoring our official movements, then we need to do everything as unofficially as possible.’

  ‘That’s the way it’s always been,’ Ruby said, and shrugged. ‘Nothing new.’

  ‘I guess that’s true,’ Slater said.

  Violetta turned to King and said, ‘How are you feeling?’

  There was genuine concern in her eyes.

  King shrugged and said, ‘I’m alright. Just another day at the office.’

  ‘You don’t mean that,’ Slater said.

  King glanced over. ‘You okay?’

  ‘If we fuck this up,’ Slater said, ‘and we live to see the end result … do you know what that’ll do to us? Psychologically, I mean.’

  ‘Would you rather we don’t try to interfere at all?’

  ‘Of course not. I’m just saying … sometimes there’s jobs where I’d rather die in the process than live to see the results of my failure. This is one of those times.’

  King and Ruby stayed silent.

  Slater said, ‘That’s what scares me. That’s a hundred times worse than death.’

  Violetta said, ‘You won’t fail.’

  ‘We can’t,’ King said. ‘Let’s be honest here. Can you imagine we do?’

  ‘The cordon will be there to intercept them,’ she said, but she said it quietly.

  Like she didn’t believe it would work.

  ‘There’s fifty trained hostiles with automatic weapons,’ King said. ‘Most of them outsourced from the cartels — real killers, through and through. You think if the military moves to funnel them into a bottleneck it’s going to work? I mean, of course it’ll be effective, but a hundred percent guarantee? A few outliers will slip through the cracks. And that’s all it takes. There’s a lot of rounds to be fired into crowds nearly three hundred thousand strong.’

  ‘I know,’ Violetta said. ‘Of course I know.’

  A gust of wind rippled across the tarmac, and they all braced against it.

  Slater turned to Ruby and said, ‘You barely said a word the whole flight.’

  Ruby flashed him a devilish look. ‘I was taking in information. I’m not a big talker before a job.’

  ‘You’re okay with this?’

  ‘Okay with what.’

  ‘Going through with it.’

  ‘Do I have a choice?’

  ‘Let’s say you did.’

  ‘Then I’d do it,’ she said. ‘I was raised to be emotionless, and I had my childhood stripped from me, but I still care.’

  ‘I’m not saying you don’t.’

  ‘It’s not just a job,’ she said. ‘This is serious shit.’

  Violetta said, ‘Glad we’re all on the same page, then. Here’s our ride.’

  None of them had noticed the Suburban pull up behind them. It coasted to a stop and the engine idled. Together they stepped away from the Gulfstream and piled into the vehicle. The driver was an unimpressive pudgy guy in his fifties who looked in no way military. He didn’t even look government. But that was the point.

  Violetta got in the passenger seat, and the SUV took off.

  The tinted windows slid up, and they were all enclosed in silence.

  They stewed with uncertainty for the entire drive.

  74

  Hours later, after several calls to high-ranking military officers and countless reassurances that they would get the job done, Slater and Ruby slipped away from King and Violetta and made for their motel room.

  It was a soulless place with plasterboard walls and dirty carpet flooring, but they didn’t need luxury.

  Ruby closed the door behind them, looked around, and said, ‘It’s not the same as your place in New York, is it?’

  Slater shrugged. ‘There’s not a whole lot of difference to me. I’m not in it for the money. Never have been.’

  ‘Then why live there?’

  ‘If I have the means to, then why not? But I couldn’t care less. A bed is a bed.’

  She furrowed her brow, then said, ‘You know — I sort of understand.’

  ‘Of course you do,’ he said. ‘We’re cut from the same cloth.’

  ‘You train like we train and devote your life to a single cause, and everything else is … inconsequential.’

  He said, ‘We’re creatures of habit. And we’ve been conditioned our whole lives to focus on the physical, which transforms our bodies and minds. Everything else falls away.’

  He sat down on the bed. Ruby drifted across the room in the weak glow of the bedside lamp, and draped a leg over his thigh. She sat down facing him, taking his chin in her delicate hands.

  She said, ‘You okay?’

  ‘I just … don’t know what I’m doing here.’

  ‘You’re with me.’

  ‘Which I hate. Because it feels like I’m back at work, and I never got close to anyone when I was working.’

  In the muted yellow glow of the motel room, her eyes seemed even more amber than usual. She rested her forehead against his and looked at him, judging him, assessing him.

  ‘Is that what th
is is?’ she said. ‘Are we getting close?’

  He touched his lips to hers. ‘I’m starting to think we are.’

  ‘Is that wise?’

  ‘For you or for me?’

  ‘You said we’re both cut from the same cloth. So I guess it’s just as bad for both of us.’

  ‘Does it have to be bad?’

  ‘One of us is likely to get killed tomorrow.’

  ‘I know that.’

  ‘Which will make it all the harder to move on if we’re having this conversation now.’

  ‘Would you prefer not to have it?’ Slater said. ‘Then if one of us goes to the grave, the other one wonders forever what it might have been?’

  ‘So what is this, then?’

  ‘I don’t know. You tell me.’

  Ruby smiled. ‘I was thinking about you in Tulum.’

  Slater nodded, and kissed her.

  He smirked.

  ‘What?’ she said.

  ‘You know, in another timeline this is the sort of thing that’d terrifies me. A seductive ex-assassin says she was thinking about you. They make movies about this shit. Is this the part where I end up with my throat cut, hanging from power lines?’

  She smirked, too. ‘Is that what I am to you?’

  ‘Far from it.’

  ‘That’s a testament to the world of black operations if I’ve ever heard it.’

  He nodded. ‘Guess we’re both as fucked up as each other, aren’t we?’

  ‘Wouldn’t have it any other way.’

  ‘Is it because we have a conscience?’ he said. ‘Is that what it is? In this fucked-up world, with this fucked-up job, giving us these fucked-up memories. Is that what gnaws at us? The fact that we think we’re decent people doing honest work, when we’re in the business of killing.’

  ‘It’s never clean,’ she said. ‘It’s never black and white. But, yes, I think that’s what it is. We think we’re noble doing this work. Because we kill the scum of the earth. But if anyone saw us doing what we do best — anyone who was looking at it objectively — well, they’d think we were monsters, wouldn’t they?’

  ‘Is that why I’ve been thinking about you, then?’ Slater said. ‘Ever since I walked away in Maine. I remember thinking — was that the best chance I’d ever get at finding someone who understood?’