No Girl Left Behind: A Jamie Austen Spy Thriller (THE SPY STORIES Book 5)

by Terry Toler

  The boats sped away. Full throttle. This time they didn’t try to disguise their engines. I ducked back down. I could hear the bottom of the boats pounding the waves until they were away from the shoreline.

  I looked up again and my gaze followed them out to sea. The boats made no move toward the yacht which was my next concern.

  “Anybody left alive?” Josh asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Bond replied.

  “We’re coming down. Approach carefully,” Josh said. “Dolly, you can come up for air now.”

  A-Rad and I stood up. I stretched my arms and legs and then assessed the situation. Feeling safe, we got out of the boat and walked down the pier back toward the house. I had my gun drawn though, just in case.

  The smoke from the machine guns still hung as a haze over the scene. The back of the house looked like something you’d see in a movie. Bodies were strewn everywhere. Bullets had busted the large panoramic windows along the back. Bullet holes had peppered the stucco and siding. The swimming pool had blood in it from where one of the guards fell in.

  I approached the house with my gun still drawn. A-Rad followed right behind me, sweeping his gun from left to right and back again. Down when we came across a casualty. He made sure they were dead.

  “Bama and I are going to clear the house,” Josh said. “Seven, keep your eyes peeled.”

  “I’m coming in too,” I said. “There may be two girls still here. You guys clear the downstairs. I’m going upstairs to where the Sheikh kept the girls.”

  I had both hands on my raised weapon. I checked before going around every corner. My shoulders were taut, and my finger tense as I eased up the stairs. Not bothering to look behind me. A-Rad still had my back covered.

  At the top of the stairs was a long and wide hallway. Rooms were on each side, and I remembered from the floor plans a large kitchen and living room area at the end of the hall. I cleared the first two rooms. They didn’t seem like they had been lived in recently.

  I didn’t find anything after searching the entire upstairs.

  The girls were gone.

  ***

  Clearing the house took a while since it was over sixty thousand square feet.

  Alex was going through the Sheikh’s office and bedroom.

  A-Rad found the keys to the boat, so he didn’t need to hotwire it. He also found the keys to the yacht.

  Josh was doing what Josh was good at. As a Colonel, he’d seen many battlefields after the fog of war dissipated. He was assessing the situation to decide what to do with the dead. He decided to leave them where they lay. The White Wolves left a note, so they’d get the blame for the carnage. Josh made sure the note was in clear view for the authorities to see once they arrived. Which hopefully, wouldn’t be for a few days.

  Alex made sure the security footage was erased.

  They were each telling us what they were doing over the radio.

  Bond was still outside and kept his eyes on the yacht to make sure there was no movement. He also watched the road to make sure no one approached. Through his binoculars, he could see the guards on the yacht standing on the edge, looking our way. They’d clearly heard the gunfire but couldn’t know what had happened.

  The men on the yacht kept calling the house over a radio wondering what was going on.

  That gave me an idea.

  I said to A-Rad, “Tell the guys on the yacht that we’re going to come and pick them up. Tell them there was an attack, but the Sheikh survived it. Ask them how many girls are still on the boat.”

  A-Rad took a deep breath, picked up the microphone and said in Arabic, “We’re okay. The Sheikh is alive. Inshallah.”

  That made me smile. A-Rad wasn’t known for his intellect. I thought he was smarter than most people gave him credit. He was playing the part perfectly. Down to exactly what a Muslim would say.

  “We will send the boat for you soon,” A-Rad continued. “The Sheikh wants the girls brought to the house.”

  “Okay.”

  “How many girls are there?”

  “Five.”

  My heart did several somersaults.

  Five more to fit on the plane.

  Including Bianca and Anya, we were nearing the numbers to where Brad might even think this was a valuable mission.

  Alex came out of the Sheikh’s office. “Not much intel in there that Brad would be interested in.”

  “Did you see a file for the yacht?” I asked.

  “I did.”

  “Is the title in it?”

  “It is.”

  I could feel a huge smile come over my face. Then Alex’s eyes widened.

  “Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?” Alex asked.

  “Why not? The Sheikh’s not going to be using it ever again.”

  “We stole the jet from Omer. Why couldn’t we steal the Sheikh’s yacht?” Alex asked.

  “Can you change the transponder ID?”

  Alex had changed the transponder ID on the airplane, so it identified as an AJAX plane so we could get it out of Belarus undetected.

  “It’s called an AIS. Automatic Identification System. I’m sure the yacht has one. All I have to do is turn it off, then it can’t be tracked by satellite. But I should wait until we’re out of the Persian Gulf. I’m sure the Iranians recognize the Sheikh’s yacht, and it comes and goes all the time. No one knows he’s been kidnapped. If I turn it off beforehand, it might draw scrutiny.”

  “Can you drive it?”

  “I don’t see why not. You don’t drive a yacht though. You captain it. Or skipper it.”

  “What direction will you go?”

  “After I get out of the Persian Gulf, I can go around the tip of Africa and then home. That would take too long. I can go through the Suez Canal. That’s a lot shorter route. That’s probably how I’ll go. Once we get home, we’ll give the yacht a new name, and no one will ever know it belonged to the Sheikh. It’ll belong to AJAX.”

  “This is great. I wondered how we were going to get all the girls out of the country. You can take the five girls on the yacht. We’ll sneak MJ and Amina on the plane.”

  “So, we’re really going to do this?” Alex said.

  “One thing we’ve got to do first,” I said.

  “What’s that?”

  “We’ve got to kill the guards on the yacht.”

  31

  Odille

  “How do you want to play this, Josh?” I asked.

  We were discussing a plan to attack the guards on the yacht and rescue the five girls. The White Wolves had done all the fighting for us at the house. So far, we’d captured the Sheikh’s house without firing a shot. Actually, Alex fired eight shots to prevent four guards from escaping. That hardly counted as a firefight. They never got a shot off at him. Probably never even knew what hit them.

  “It won’t be so easy to do if they know we’re coming,” Josh said.

  “And they’ll see us coming as soon as we leave the pier,” Alex said.

  “It’s dark enough that they won’t know who’s coming. They’ll think it’s one of their own,” I said.

  “They’ll be on high alert, though,” Josh retorted. “They saw the firefight. They can probably see all the dead guards laying on the ground. I know A-Rad told them everything’s okay. But I have to believe they’ll still be on edge.”

  “We have a long-range rifle in the SUV,” Alex said.

  “That’ll help. We still need to get close. You’ve got the wind and the bouncing waves. It won’t be easy to hit them from a distance. We also have only one rifle. As soon as they hear the first shot, the other two will scatter. If they get to high ground, in this instance, the upper deck of the yacht, they can hold us off for a long time.”

  “I also don’t want to fill the yacht with bullet holes,” Alex said, looking over at me.

  We smiled at each other. Josh didn’t know about our plan to steal the yacht. We didn’t want to ruin our new toy with a firefight.

 
; “I have an idea,” I said motioning for Alex and Josh to follow me.

  A-Rad was still monitoring the radio so I explained my plan to him and then to Josh and Alex. Everyone liked it.

  A-Rad picked up the microphone and radioed the men on the yacht. “We’re going to come out and get you. Keep the girls below deck. Have all three guards come to the back of the ship and help us dock with you. Don’t worry about the girls. We’ll take care of them.”

  “Okay,” the man on the other end said.

  A-Rad signed off.

  “Good job,” I said. “That sounded believable.”

  A-Rad made it easier for us. The guards would be in perfect position for us to kill them if they followed his instructions. The yacht had a lower platform, water level, where passengers got on and off. The area was well lit, but they wouldn’t see us until the last minute.

  “I’ll go get the rifle and meet you at the pier,” Josh said. “Jamie, you should stay here.”

  “Not going to happen. I want to be there when we rescue the girls. I’m hoping and praying Odille is there. I’ll be worried the entire time if I’m not with you.”

  “All right,” Josh said. “Bond and A-Rad can stay here in case there’s any trouble.”

  Josh was down at the pier in no time. The boat started right up with the key, and we were on our way. Once we were on the water, an eerie feeling came over me. I could see the lights from the house behind us and the lights from the yacht ahead of us. Other than that, everything was pitch black. A slight warm breeze combined with the salt spray from the warm Persian Gulf water was refreshing, but the lights reminded me of the danger ahead.

  Alex steered the boat, and we were soon at the yacht. He circled around and approached from the back, careful to keep us out of the lights of the yacht which illuminated a radius of several hundred feet around the perimeter. The yacht was even bigger up close. Other than a cruise ship, I’d never seen anything that big before on the water.

  The three guards were on the platform as A-Rad had instructed. They had their assault rifles around their shoulders, so they didn’t act like they were anticipating any trouble.

  Alex idled the boat.

  Josh raised the rifle and aimed. He didn’t shoot right away. It appeared he was judging the up and down motion of the boat, so he could time his shot. I had a handgun, but we were too far away for me to hit a second target.

  The sound of the first shot pierced the calmness of the night. One of the guards fell right where he’d been standing. Josh reloaded the rifle and aimed to fire again.

  Just as he fired the second shot, a wave hit the boat, rocking it slightly. Our own wake had reached us. Josh lost his balance, and the shot flew harmlessly into the ocean, missing the yacht entirely.

  The two remaining guards bolted off the platform and onto the middle level of the yacht before I could get off a shot. Alex pulled up to the platform and Josh jumped out and tied us down.

  One of the guards stuck his head up from behind the railing. I warned Josh and he dove for the back wall of the lower decking a moment before the guard got a shot off. I fired a warning shot in the direction of the guard, and he ducked back down.

  It looked as though he retreated because I could no longer see him. Alex and I exited the boat and put our backs against the wall, cutting off any shooting angle from above.

  Josh gave us the okay sign that he wasn’t hit. He held up three fingers meaning he was going up the stairs when the fingers were countdown to zero.

  3. 2. 1.

  Josh rushed up the stairs in a flash. No shots were fired, so Alex and I followed. We didn’t bring radios which I now realized was a mistake. Everything had to be done by hand signals.

  We split up. Josh motioned for me to go to the left and Alex to the right. Josh continued up the stairs to the upper deck. He needed to secure the highest level. I went along a walkway, with the ocean directly to my left and the inside of the yacht to my right.

  I raised my handgun with both hands. Ahead was a corner, and I slowly glanced around it and then returned to my position with my back against the wall. I didn’t see anyone. In this circumstance, I had to be careful not to hastily pull the trigger even if I did see a person. I didn’t know exactly where Alex and Josh were.

  When I looked around the corner again, I saw a flash of movement. Definitely one of the guards. I didn’t see him clearly enough to get off a shot. He was on the move. I ran after him. We went through the kitchen galley. Then out the other side. Toward the front of the ship. I was cautious in exiting the galley which gave him the advantage. He had thrown caution to the wind and was running away as fast as he could.

  The other way now. Sprinting down the walkway, back toward the boat we came in on.

  I knew his plan. If he got on the boat, he’d get away and we’d be stranded. I could clearly see him, but I didn’t have a good shot, so I sprinted after him. He made it to the platform before I bridged the gap. When I got there, he was untying the boat. I tackled him and rolled him over.

  The yacht rose ever so slowly from the sea, but enough to cause me to lose my grip on him. He dove into the water. It looked like he was going to swim to the back of the boat and board it that way. Without thinking, I dove in after him.

  He got around to the back and started to climb up the back steps. I reached up and grabbed him by the belt buckle and pulled him back into the water with me.

  The salt water burned my eyes from the splash, and I swallowed water when I took a big gulp of air as he dragged me underwater with him. I fought my way back to the surface, still trying to maintain my grip on him. He was kicking and trying to get away. Flailing away at my head and neck. It took all my strength to keep my head above water.

  I felt something brush my leg and released my grip on the man as a bolt of fear shot through me like a dart.

  A Sea Snake.

  Had to be.

  The man let out a scream of horror as he must’ve felt or seen the same thing. Josh had warned us about the sea snakes. Their venom was lethal, and I could die within minutes if one bit me.

  The current had pulled us away from the boat. I began swimming toward it, no longer concerned about the man. He’d never survive in the Gulf. We’d drifted further away than I thought. I was a strong swimmer but wasn’t going nearly as fast as I would’ve liked. At any moment, I expected one of the deadly creatures to rear its ugly head and bite me.

  I could hear the man behind me fighting for his life but didn’t dare look.

  I heard a gunshot.

  Coming from the yacht.

  I could only assume that either Josh or Alex had engaged the third guard.

  By the time I made it to the platform, Alex was there. It must’ve been Josh who fired the shot. Alex reached out and pulled me up like I was a rag doll and set me on the platform.

  Then he pointed to the water.

  I could see a sea snake slithering away. It looked to be four feet long.

  I bent over from the exertion and tried to catch my breath. We couldn’t see the guard but could hear him in the water. Screaming for help. “I’ve been bit,” he kept saying. Eventually, we didn’t hear him anymore.

  I heard a splash come from the other side of the boat. Alex and I bolted up the stairs to look to see what made it.

  Josh came running down the walkway toward us from the front of the boat.

  “We heard a splash,” I said.

  “That was one of the guards. I threw him overboard. He’s dead.”

  Josh scrutinized my wet hair and clothes. “You went in the water?” he asked.

  “I went after one of the guards. He’s dead as well. I think a sea snake got him. Almost got me, too.”

  Josh put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed it.

  “We made this harder than it had to be,” Josh said.

  “At least they’re dead. Let’s go find the girls,” Alex said. We’d do a mission critique later.

  I was right behind him. Josh followed. By
instinct, he still had his gun raised. I’d lost mine in the water during the tussle with the guard. Alex had holstered his.

  The yacht was more luxurious than I’d imagined it to be. Alex led us through room after room of sheer extravagance. I couldn’t wait until Alex and I could be alone on it. Relaxing somewhere warm and tropical. While the Persian Gulf qualified as warm and tropical, this was far from relaxing. I’d be glad when this nightmare was over. We’d made a big step in that direction tonight.

  It wasn’t over, though. In two days, we had to save Amina and MJ. That’d be another pulse-pounding, nerve-wracking experience, as I had no idea what to expect at the execution. All I knew was that I was going to bring a lot of firepower to the situation. And the element of surprise.

  We found the five girls in the lower cabins. They appeared to all be in the same room with the door locked. We tried to forcibly open the door and heard a couple screams from inside.

  I always kept a small pin hidden on me for that reason. I pulled it out and picked the lock.

  “How did you do that so fast?” Josh asked. “It’d take me ten minutes to pick that lock.”

  “I robbed houses in my former life,” I said jokingly.

  I entered first. Five beautiful girls in shorts and tee shirts were standing together on one side of the room. Not cowering, but they backed up when we entered the room. I recognized two of them from the art gallery. Their eyes widened in surprise making me think they recognized me as well.

  “Don’t be afraid,” I said. “We’re here to rescue you.”

  “Oh. Thank God,” one of them said. “I remember you from the gallery.”

  “Are one of you Odille?” I asked.

  One of the girls raised her hand halfway and put it back down right away.

  “A lot of people are looking for you,” I said.

  Odille introduced us to the other four girls. I quizzed them on what had happened to them. They all had horrifying stories of how they were trapped in the same way Bianca and Anya were. None of them had believed they were signing up to become high-end prostitutes. They almost seemed apologetic. Like this whole mess was their fault. I tried to be reassuring.