Ultimatum

by Lynda Filler

Luke spoke into his comms. “Check in. Where’s everyone?”

  He waited five seconds. “And Luci?”

  “What do you mean she’s disappeared?”

  71

  CÉ LA VI, Marina Bay Sands Rooftop

  LUCI RACED ALONG the ledge that hung three meters below the infinity pools; the balmy Singapore night and amazing views forgotten. She tapped her watch initiating a sequence of coordinates to correspond with the location of their suite. “It should be directly below here.”

  “RB, come in.”

  “I’m here Luci. What’s your status?”

  “Sying’s gone. I can’t see any of the other players. It’s dark still. I lost my Ray-Ban’s in the pool. Plan B needs to happen. I’m directly over you about twenty meters up. I have a cup on the glass, and I’m coming in. Break your window now.”

  “Right.”

  Luci pulled out her DARPA designed climbing gear, thinly disguised as a belt of sorts, hooked onto the lip of the ledge, climbed up then over, scaling the curvature of the Skypark base downwards. She heard a pop. The charge against the window exploded outwards. She dangled precariously, fifty-four stories in the air. She heard RB shout out. A miscalculation of the wind factor prevented her from reaching the window by two meters.

  “Wait, Luci; don’t panic,” RB spoke. “I can’t reach you, but the S-97 is picking up the team from the observation deck on the northern edge of the park. You should hear it in 5 seconds.”

  Immediately Luci heard the roar of the helicopter. She watched Luke lowering the rope to arms reach. All she could think of was Alice.

  Grasping the rope, she let go of her climbing gear and wrapped herself around the line. The Sikorsky swung out and away over the Bay.

  “Wow, Luke. Check out the Ferris wheel.”

  The team, secure aboard the helicopter, laughed.

  “If you like, Luci, you can stay down there. I’ll have the pilot drop you into one of the Ferris wheel seats.”

  “Hilarious. Luke; let’s go home.”

  72

  Marina Bay Sands Hotel

  RB CLEARED OUT of his suite but not before he re-set the electronics for the Skypark. He rushed towards one of the service elevators he’d locked on the 54th floor. The techs from Luke’s Singapore office followed him.

  “We split up in the underground. I’ve got people waiting for me. Luke says thanks.”

  The high-speed service elevator hit ground in what seemed like a minute. The doors opened to the sound of gunfire.

  “Raven, what’s going on?” RB stayed cool, exiting the elevator crouched low. All three security techs pulled weapons from their knapsacks.

  “Wait, RB.”

  “Sure, easy for you to say. You’re safe in the Sikorsky.”

  “Watch for a white SUV. It’s for you. Stay low. Billy’s security got away. Looks like the triads are fighting it out. With Billy dead, word spread. Let them kill each other for all I care. I have operatives in the underground. Give them two minutes.”

  “Thanks.”

  Suddenly an explosion sounded very near.

  “Luke? Are you still there?”

  73

  Singapore, Malaysia

  “WE’RE GOING DOWN,” Luke commanded.

  “What are you doing Luke?” Zach held on tight as the Raider aimed towards an empty spot near the edge of a car park a block from the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. “Looks sketchy to me Raven.”

  “Look, my source on the ground says there’s trouble in the underground. I’ve gotta get RB now. They blew up the SUV. They must think it belongs to rival gangs. We can’t leave him, so you and I are getting him out.”

  “Luci, look after the others. We’ll be back in ten minutes. If not, tell the pilot to take off, and we’ll make our way and meet up where we started. Understood?”

  Luci nodded, tears forming in her eyes. “Be careful. I came back in this damn business for you Luke Raven! Don’t die on me now!”

  “Eeew. That’s disgusting!” Maggie laughed, tensions lowering in the group.

  “Raven! Come in, Raven.” There was uncertainty in RB’s voice.

  “I’m coming RB. Two guys wearing black tactical gear are coming for you. They’ll yell your name. I’ll meet you in five. Stay down.”

  “Let’s move out!”

  74

  Las Vegas, NV

  “MAMA.”

  “Yes, baby.”

  “No Mama. Alice, not baby!”

  “Mama, tell Aka thop. Thop!” Akaarn chased Alice’s little legs around the pool table.

  “Gotcha!!” They both collapsed giggling on a giant beanbag chair.

  The team was stretched out on leather couches in the family room while Maggie dished out her famous Kahlua brownies. Spectre, the latest James Bond movie, played on the 54-inch TV.

  “I miss Mexico. That chase scene on Day of the Dead in Mexico City rocks. I think we should all take a vacation. Let’s go to Puerto Vallarta. My brother David is seeing some chick there, and I need to check her out! We need some R & R.” Zach looked around for support.

  “I think Daniel Craig is hot; the best Bond yet.” Luci glanced at Luke to see if he was paying attention.

  “Kind of old to be chasing bad guys though, don’t you think?” Luci waited for Luke’s reaction.

  Luke snorted. They all laughed.

  “Butterscotch ice cream, anyone?”

  “RB, stop licking the spoon you pig!” Zach threw a pillow across the room and hit RB in the head.

  Luke looked up from his tablet.

  “Well, sorry to take you guys away from your fun. Here’s an interesting update. China is pissed. Apparently, they have filed a complaint saying we interfered in their cyber right to collect data guaranteed under an agreement they signed with President Obama.”

  Guffaws and back slapping all around.

  “There’s also been a major shakeup in their hierarchy. A sudden heart attack of one of the Generals and an up-and-coming Senior Technical Advisor has disappeared; interesting. I also received an update on DARPA cybersecurity. The problem has a temporary fix. Now with Billy Yee Lam gone, Josh coughed up all his work. The kid is brilliant. He was way ahead of DARPA and was ready to turn over his findings to China with what he thought was oversight by the US Government. It seems Billy would have used the info to siphon off billions from the American banks and cause a complete collapse of the financial infrastructure of the US economy. Of course, as usual, the government would have had to bail the banks out. The average American dodged another bullet because the new GOP government would have found a way to make the little guy pay.”

  “Did you probe the Singapore government about Sying’s body?” Luci smiled at the memory of helping her body take a swan dive off the roof of the Marina Bay Sands.

  “There’s no mention in their political dispatches. Of course, no one knows about Sying's history. All her ID is in the name of Mme Anjou.”

  “What’s up with Woo? And Mei and Jia?”

  “I negotiated a deal for the two of them; witness protection. Jia will join them. We can check in on them from time to time.”

  “And the money?”

  “It seems a few members of the CIA have disappeared. And no, they will not be returning. We took our finders share of the funds thanks to RB. The rest, let the government sort it out. And Tariq is being questioned at an undisclosed location as we speak. His leadership of ISIS is finished. I expect he will have some valuable intelligence to hand over. He will be given an ultimatum, information or death. Our interrogators are good. They will find out who’s pulling the strings in Washington and the Middle East. Capturing him is equal to killing Osama Bin Laden. Only this time the Raven Group captured him, not the SEALs!”

  “Watch it, Luke!” Zach responded to the tease. Everyone laughed.

  The team took second helpings of Maggie’s Kahlua brownies, celebrating another win for Luke’s side.

  RB interrupted their party.

  “Luke, I think you nee
d to see this. Check your secure email.” RB had his eyes online, multi-tasking, watching Spectre and eating brownies. He looked up with a look of pained expression.

  Luke grabbed his tablet and logged in.

  He cursed.

  “What’s up?” Luci asked holding a chocolate covered Alice on her lap.

  Raven was silent, a frown on his face.

  “Tariq’s escaped.”

  75

  Four months later on an Island in the Indian Ocean

  LOW ROLLING HILLS flanked by banana plantations appealed to the man who strolled on the hot coral sands along the coast. He took his snorkeling equipment into the clear turquoise lagoon, fascinated by the pink coral and the rainbow exotic fish that surrounded the shallow waters.

  An hour later he emerged, hungry and ready for the adventure he was taking after lunch.

  Fresh cooked fish wrapped in banana leaves mixed with fresh ginger and mango and baked on hot stones in a sand pit. The tiny beach bar owner used machetes to crack the shells on the coconuts and whack the mango trees, catching the ripe fruit for his mixed drinks.

  The man preferred his lunch drinks blended with the local rum and coco milk.

  In an hour, an island guide would meet him so they could venture further out near the sheer coral walls on the outer isle.

  He nodded off watching the colorful mynah birds fight for the leftovers on the bar.

  Ten minutes after one o’clock a buff guide tapped him on his shoulder and pointed to his panga. They shook hands, and the stranger followed his diving guide, hoisting his snorkeling gear over his shoulder excited for the adventure that awaited him.

  It was early evening after the sun sizzled into the ocean and the moon rose up a giant chalky white ball. The beach bar owner noticed the dark-skinned man had not shown up for dinner. He nodded his head. That’s the way things happened on the island. People stayed for days or weeks and then moved on. Too bad, he tipped well.

  76

  Las Vegas HQ

  LUKE OPENED HIS secure communications. A message waited from an old friend in Israel.

  “Those waters in the South Pacific can be perilous for a wanted terrorist.”

  Luke smiled, closed his computer and went looking for Alice and Luci.

  The End

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  DISPLACED Code Raven 4

  PROLOGUE

  Somewhere in Europe

  THE BITING NORTH winds howled through the ancient pines provoking them to dump their snow on the sleeping bodies huddled below. The child turned in her tormented sleep and cried out. The woman pulled her closer, wrapping the thermal blanket tighter, and brushing snow from her exposed face.

  “Be still my love. Sleep.”

  The woman had also woken abruptly, but not because of the icy snow. Something had alerted her to danger. Furtively she moved her eyes left, then right. No other sleeping bodies moved, and nothing was out of place around her.

  “Papa?” The seven-year-old girl murmured.

  “Shush Amira.”

  In the distance packs of wild dogs snarled and snapped, hungry and hunting. Rasha thought she heard a car backfire but couldn’t be sure. But who would be out in the middle of this desolate night? Maybe she’d imagined a disturbance while dreaming.

  Her mind wandered back to three months ago in Damascus, Syria. It was Nizar’s birthday. The cook had prepared his favorite lamb with green beans. She could almost taste it now. Everyone gathered around her grandmother’s walnut table. But her husband was preoccupied and unsettled. He would focus on her brother who worked with him in the labs and sigh.

  Nizar didn’t want to talk about his work or what was going on in Syria, but she’d heard rumors. Finally, she got him to explain in a whispering voice what the international press was reporting—and not saying.

  A few nights later, her husband announced that they must rehearse their evacuation and showed her where he’d hidden new travel documents for her and Amira. He provided her with two untraceable cell phones that she must carry with her at all times from this moment on. He showed her a money belt and presented her with weapons.

  “This is how you will carry them on your person.”

  “Why are you showing me these things? And where are your papers?” Nizar didn’t respond. He offered instead, her last essential garment, her coat.

  “Rasha, you will keep this coat on you at all times. There are documents and extra Euros sewn into the lining.” He hesitated than lowered his voice. “You may find it appropriate to wear your burqa over it for part of your journey; and other times, not. You will keep a hijab in this knapsack. You will know when it’s advisable to appear more modern. Allah will understand.”

  “Nizar, we are a family! I will not go anywhere without you!”

  Nizar shook his head.

  “Rasha, there may come a time when I’m no longer able to protect you and Amira. And you must leave immediately.”

  Two weeks later the frenzied phone call came.

  “Take Amira. A driver is waiting who will take you outside of Damascus as close to the border as possible. And then use the map and follow the refugees. It will be difficult, but this is the only safe way to leave. Destroy this phone. If I’m able, I’ll call you on the other one.”

  She clutched that phone for ten days. Her husband never called back. It was stolen on her journey through Turkey.

  The cooking fires had long fizzled out. The child calmed down and settled in slumber once again. Rasha was acutely aware of snoring bodies, and the howling sounds of forest creatures. Her hands never strayed far from her concealed revolver and the knife fitted into her boot. She could feel the precious document her husband had sewn into her coat. What if she lost her overcoat? Or it got wet from all the snow.

  She recited passages from the Koran and prayed to maintain the strength for their continuing journey. His last words were embedded in her soul.

  “You must carry this document. I have other things sewn into your coat. Protect them as you would Amira. You will give these things to my brother in Paris. I will join you as soon as I can.”

  Rasha wiped fresh tears from sad onyx eyes. Her mother always said she was the strongest of all her children. She had to be invincible now for the sake of her only child Amira.

  She knew in her heart Nizar, and her brother were dead.

  1

  Mexico, South of Puerto Vallarta

  THE COSTALEGRE FISHING village could be reached by boat or by a several-mile-long trek-in by foot. A small stone villa stood perched on a towering granite wall above a cove in Yelapa. In hurricane season it was entirely protected by the surrounding Sierra Madre mountain range. If you listened carefully, you could hear the rush of majestic waterfalls tucked covertly into the lush jungle.

  Life moved slowly and sensually in this remote cove at the southernmost point of the Bay of Banderas. On an evening like tonight, the party boats from Puerto Vallarta had motored back to their all-inclusive bargain priced resorts. A few fishing boats and luxury yachts remained moored at the pier or anchored out in the gentle cove for privacy.

  The coastal town was made up of Mexicans, and a few gringos who’d discovered Yelapa during the sixties and never left. The odd tourists who vacationed in Yelapa were found relaxing at the Guest Houses or luxury boutique hotels nestled in amongst the coconut palms and overgrown Umbrella trees.

  At this time of night, most locals could be found at the beachfront bars devouring grilled red snapper and guzzling lime Margaritas like they were designer water. Boozy voices carried up the hillside singing along with a local guitarist to tourist favorites, Guantanamera or Born
in the USA.

  No one paid much attention to the non-descript villa chiseled into the rock face. Nor were they aware of its reinforced walls built to withstand most type of frontal assault short of an RPG. The Raven Group’s state-of-the-art security monitoring was added, plus a vault designed to house precious and/or dangerous objects when the full-time residents in the home increased from one to three.

  Discreetly hidden in the jungle were sensors to alert them to any hostile element that might drop in uninvited. Intruders might be surprised to know that a new and controversial satellite system monitored for miles outward and fed directly into the offices of the Raven Group. Few people in the world were this well guarded.

  The current purpose of the home was safety, peace, and tranquility. The Mexican government welcomed this foreign property investment registered to an international corporation headquartered in the Turks and Caicos.

  At this moment in time, this peaceful hide-a-way served as a perfect shelter for a four-year-old child, a retired FBI Agent, and an ex-Mossad assassin.

  2

  Anacortes, WA

  LUKE PACED THE living room of his multi-acre estate in Anacortes. His mind was always in deliberation. One thought merged with the next until he had all his international plays morphing into one excellent chess game in his head.

  He needed to take his mind off Luci. He’d done everything he could. She’d be here soon.

  He went over his proposal to the President of France earlier. Luke had his consortium together. But the big question is, could this work? Could the President of France sell it to his people? If anyone could get the point across it would be Luci.