Noah Wolf Box Set 4

by David Archer

  "Well, that’s what we’re here for. What I’m trying to figure out is how we are supposed to drive him back toward Noah, but so far I’m not seeing it. I mean, we don’t even have a clue where to start looking for him over here.”

  Denny was nodding. "Yeah, it's not going to be even a little bit easy to get to Tushar. Did you see the people standing around him in the photo she had? No doubt those people are handpicked, probably some of the best from ISIS, Al Qaeda, all of the different groups. They’re going to do everything they can to protect him, I’m certain.”

  Sam leaned forward and looked Denny in the eye. "I'm going to tell you something. I'm not a bit worried about getting past those people, because if they get in the way, I want to go right through them. As far as I'm concerned, if they're working with him, they are just as bad as he is. If I have to take a page out of Noah’s book and blow them all away to get to him, that's fine with me."

  Lizzie grinned and looked at Denny. "Your friend here has the same fiery determination that you always had. Remember our little trip to Barcelona? That's how you felt about Iglesias, and we were able to take him down. I was actually quite impressed, to tell you the truth."

  “Lizzie,” Denny said, “Sam isn’t actually like us. I don’t think we need to be talking about old missions, they might actually irritate him.”

  The woman turned and looked Sam over. "There must be something special about you," she said. "Albert told me I'm to obey your orders as if they were coming directly from the crown. He's never given anyone instructions like that before, so that tells me he has the ultimate confidence in you. Now, I’ll follow your orders, but I don't know anything about you other than what I’ve read, might be a bit more cautious. However, if Denny is happy working with you, then you can’t be all bad."

  Denny winked at Sam. “Just a touch of advice, Sam,” he said. “If Lizzie is being nice, take a good look and see where she’s got that knife hidden. I can assure you, she’ll have one somewhere, and it’s probably aimed for your guts.”

  "I'll bear that in mind," Sam said. "So, Lizzie, do you have any ideas on how we can find this Tushar Balakrishnan?"

  She shook her head. "Not at this moment, no. Right now, I'm waiting for half a dozen different surveillance teams to spot him coming into the country. That may give us some opportunities, and that's all we can hope for, don't you agree?"

  Sam shrugged. "I just want to put a stop to this monster, and at this point I don't care how I do it. He's a mad dog, and the only way to deal with a mad dog is by putting it down, permanently."

  "What about weapons?" Denny asked. Lizzie picked up the case and tilted it so that Denny could see inside, and then did the same for Sam. There were a pair of Glocks inside, along with extra magazines and silencers. Sam nodded his head in approval.

  The waiter brought their meals, and they switched to small talk as they ate. Sam was obviously enjoying breakfast, so much so that Denny began to chuckle at him. "That's pretty good, isn't it?" he asked, but all Sam could do was nod his head vigorously as he continued to chew.

  The meal was delicious for all of them, but soon it was over. Lizzie accompanied them up to their room, and they spent some time looking at other parts of the file she had brought. There were more photographs of Tushar, taken from many different angles and at different times. “Too bad some of these were taken by snipers,” Lizzie said. “If we’d only known just how dangerous he was, I’m sure we would have tried.”

  Both of the men nodded, agreeing with her assessment. "I think," Denny said, “that we ought to try to track him to a specific location, then lie in wait. If we can draw a bead on him while he’s entering or leaving a building, then we have a chance of making a good strike. I don't want to miss, because I don't know that we’d ever get a second chance. This bloody bastard has been prancing around the world, and he seems to be able to change his appearance quickly. If we take a shot and miss, there might not be another opportunity.”

  "Agreed," said Lizzie. "But you also can't forget that he is planning a lot more than just an attack on Tel Aviv, on the U.K. From everything I’ve been told, he is setting up some kind of sequential disaster. I don’t know if all of them are going off at the same time, or if perhaps he’s going to wait until one is finished before triggering another, but I’m quite certain he intends to keep the entire world off balance with a series of attacks that are going to leave many nations crippled.”

  “It’s an ambitious plan,” Sam said. “If he actually managed to pull it off, he’d be well on his way to setting up his own position the way he wants it. I don’t know about you guys, but the thought of this man trying to rule the world scares me to death.”

  Lizzie nodded sadly. "I agree with you," she said. "But I also see, from a purely logical and logistical standpoint, the absolute power he could obtain if his plans are successful. If he can orchestrate the strikes in so many different places at once, actually make them happen, there isn’t a single country in the world that isn’t going to be terrified of trying to stand up to him. Gentlemen, whatever it is you’re supposed to do, I should like very much to be instrumental in helping you to accomplish it. As you said, Sam, this mad dog needs to be put down.”

  Sam nodded his head. “Absolutely. I have no doubt that there will be others trying to rule the world in the future, just as there have been many of them in the past, but Tushar has shown us just how cheaply he values human life. He thinks nothing of killing perfect strangers just make a point, and gloats about having the most potent chemical weapon that ever existed. The MI6 lab people say there are a number of ways he can use this poison to kill thousands, possibly even tens or hundreds of thousands, and we can’t even figure out where he’s at. As far as I’m concerned, there could not be a worse person in the world than Tushar Balakrishnan.”

  "Which is why we’re going to stop him, Sam,” Denny said. “I may not know how just yet, but I know that we will, because the alternative is absolutely unthinkable.”

  SEVENTEEN

  Sam left Denny and Lizzie talking in the sitting room while he went to get a shower. The flight, though not very long, had left him feeling less than fresh, and he wanted to get into some clean clothes. When he got out, he got to take a look at the weapons Lizzie had brought them.

  There was an identical pair of forty caliber Glocks with sound suppressors. Sam was delighted at these, especially when he found three additional magazines for each pistol and two boxes of extra ammunition for each.

  In addition, in the bottom of the case, he found a separate weapon. It was a rifle, but it was designed so that it could be quickly disassembled into parts small enough to fit in the case. The magazine held five thirty caliber rounds, and it came with a laser sight. This was a sniper rifle, Sam knew, and he showed it to Denny.

  The weapon brought a smile to Denny’s face.

  "I haven't used one of those in a long time," Denny said. "They can be pretty sweet, especially when you need to get into a tight spot to shoot from."

  "I can imagine," Sam said. "I think it would be pretty sweet, as you say, if we got a chance to use this on Tushar."

  Denny shrugged. "We might. On the other hand, I'd give my left arm for a good fifty caliber M107, right now. I’d love to see what one of those could do to him, I would."

  "Sorry, gentlemen," Lizzie said, “but I didn’t see any of those in the armory. Albert said to provide you with handguns, and that you seemed to like the Glock. We have a number of those, so that’s what I brought along. The rifle was just an extra item that I thought might be useful.”

  “No problem, luv,” Denny said. “Not complaining, just wishing. And trust me, we get close enough to get this bastard in our sights, he’s not getting back up.”

  “Well, hopefully,” she said, “one of the teams will spot him coming in and we can get a line on where we can catch up to him. That would certainly be helpful about now.”

  Sam looked up at her. “Yes, it would.” He held up the Glock. “These will do
fine, by the way,” he assured her.

  A phone rang suddenly, and Lizzie pulled one from her purse. "Hello? Yes, this is she. All right, keep me posted. Let me know if he stops for any length of time, and where." She ended the call and looked at the two men. "That was one of the coastline surveillance teams," she said. "Four men just made a landing in an inflatable boat, and one of them closely fits the description of Tushar Balakrishnan. They climbed into a car that was hidden nearby and seemed to be headed into the business district. One of our people up high is trying to try to keep them in sight, but it’s not going to be easy.”

  Sam got up and began pacing around the room. "Okay, so we know he’s made it into Israel. He told the man back in London that he was coming to Tel Aviv, and somebody fitting his description making a stealth landing nearby lends credibility to that statement. The question is, why was he coming here? What could he have planned for Tel Aviv?”

  Lizzie shrugged. “There are a lot of things happening here all the time,” she said. “If he’s looking for a crowded event to attack, he couldn’t have come to a better city. He can take his bloody choice, here, because there’s always a crowd.”

  “But is there anything particularly important coming up? Something a guy like him just wouldn’t be able to pass up?”

  “Wouldn’t be able to pass up? I suppose that would depend on…” Her eyes suddenly went wide, and she turned to look at Denny. “He’s a Muslim,” she said, “and this is Pride Week. The gay pride parade is the day after tomorrow.”

  “Gay pride parade?” Sam asked. “In Israel? I would’ve thought they wouldn’t allow something like that here.”

  “Well, I’m certain a lot of them don’t like it, but this is the twenty-first century. Tel Aviv is considered the greatest gay city in the Middle East, and there’s always something going on for the LGBT community. The day after tomorrow, they’re having the big annual parade, and people from all over the world have been flocking into the city for it. There will be hundreds of thousands lining the streets. I can’t believe nobody has thought of this before, that it would be the perfect target for someone like this.”

  “I’d not be surprised,” Denny said. “You have much information about it?”

  Lizzie took out a phone and spoke into it, and a moment later she was scanning through an article about the upcoming parade. “The parade,” she read aloud, “assembles and begins at Meir Park, then travels along Bugrashov Street, Ben Yehuda Street and Ben Gurion Boulevard, and culminates in a party in Charles Clore Park on the seafront. There were 200,000 participants reported in 2016, making it one of the largest in the world. The parade is the biggest pride celebration in continental Asia, drawing more than 300,000 people last year, approximately 30,000 of them tourists.” She looked up. “They’re expecting at least that many this year.”

  “Sounds like the perfect target opportunity for him,” Sam said, and then he went and stood by the window, looking over the gardens and pool.

  The afternoon wore on, and although there were more reports from the surveillance team, none of them were helpful. The only thing that seemed to be of value was when one of the Mossad intercepted a telephone call and confirmed Tushar’s voice, telling one of his people that they would be meeting up with someone important the following afternoon. A particular restaurant, a small place that was not well known to tourists, was named for the meeting.

  "There it is," Denny said. "That's our opportunity, our window. We can be there, waiting for him, since we know he'll be there later today. Lizzie, where's this place at?"

  "It's actually not far," she said. "It's off of Ben Gurion Boulevard, downtown. I know the place, it's not very big. Most of its business is carry out, but they have a half-dozen tables inside.”

  Denny furrowed his brow. "That's odd," he said. “A small place like that almost sounds like the perfect place for an ambush, so I can't imagine why he would choose it. That's almost like saying, 'here I am, come and get me.' Hard to believe he would choose such a place, it doesn't seem to make any sense."

  "Maybe it does," Lizzie said. "Depending on who it is he's meeting there, it could be that the choice of meeting place was theirs. Some people think a little hole in the wall place might be safer, because it’s less likely anyone will notice you there.”

  Denny shrugged. “Could be,” he said. “Still, it could be our best opportunity. With any luck, we can take him down quickly and without a fuss.”

  "Somehow, I don't see us getting that lucky," Sam said.

  Lizzie stood and faced them both. "Well, either way, it doesn't matter," she said. "As Denny said, it’s still the best chance we’re ever likely to get, so we need to go and look it over, get ourselves into position. Should I arrange for a sniper?”

  Sam looked doubtful. “A sniper shot into a small restaurant doesn’t sound easy, especially because there may well be innocent people around. The last thing in the world we want is any kind of collateral damage, and we certainly don’t need an international incident.”

  Lizzie turned to Denny. “And you? What do you think? Should we risk trying to bring in a sniper?”

  “I agree with Sam,” Denny said. “I’d much rather try to do this quietly. Some backup might be a good idea, but keep them out of sight unless and until we actually need them. Right, Sam?”

  Sam nodded. “I think that’s the best way,” he said. “God only knows what kind of trouble could hit us if the police end up involved.”

  Denny and Lizzie both looked at him, but she finally shrugged and agreed. “All right, no sniper. I just hope you boys know what you’re doing.”

  Sam grinned at her. “Yeah? I’ll let you in on a secret. So do I.”

  Lizzie Googled the place on her phone and showed them the photos that came up. The restaurant was about twenty feet across and about the same in depth, but the front door was narrow. It would be impossible for two people to walk in side-by-side, Sam noted.

  “All right, let’s get over there,” Sam said. “If Tushar is planning to meet someone there tomorrow afternoon, we need to be all planned out and ready.”

  “Agreed,” Denny said. “Lizzie, you’re supposed to be driving us about. How about it?”

  “Fine by me,” she said. “The place should be open by now, and they do a good breakfast trade. Let’s go and have a coffee, shall we?”

  They followed her down to her car, a Nissan sedan, and the ride to the restaurant took less than twenty minutes. As Lizzie had suspected, the place was open. They took a table near the back and ordered coffee, then sat back and tried to act like tourists.

  “It looks to me,” Denny said, “as if our only real chance of getting a clear shot at him, no matter where he might sit in here, is going to depend on rushing through the door unexpectedly. The only problem is where to hide so that he won't see us. Any ideas?”

  Lizzie stared at the area he was indicating. “What about a truck, like a delivery truck? UPS, something like that?”

  Denny frowned. “I think that might be a bit obvious. He’ll undoubtedly check out the area before he actually enters the restaurant. Anything that he can't see into could house a threat, and he could just drive on by and reschedule his meeting for another time and place. We need a way to hide that isn’t going to look suspicious.”

  Sam was looking around the area, trying to get an idea of a reasonable alternative. “The front door opens onto Ben Gurion Boulevard. Denny, if you and I each wait in one of the other buildings on the block, one of us on one side and one on the other, then Lizzie could be inside here to signal us when he arrives. Then, we can walk right in and sit down with him. He’s probably not going to try to fight his way out in the middle of so many people, and if we have backup close by outside…”

  Lizzie nodded. “I see what you’re suggesting,” she said. “Of course, he’s not going to come alone. He’ll have bodyguards, soldiers. I doubt it’s going to be quite that simple.”

  “True,” Sam said, “but it’s the best idea I can come up w
ith. If we’re careful and move quickly, I think we can take him.”

  Denny looked around and then nodded. “It's worth a try,” he said, “but I want some serious backup.”

  Lizzie nodded her agreement. “I can arrange that,” she said. “At least three more of our people stationed nearby, but out of sight.”

  Denny looked at Sam. “Why not just ask Noah and his people to come? After all, we are actually helping on their mission, isn’t that right?”

  “That’s true,” Sam said, “but this isn’t my first trip to Israel. E & E is not an acknowledged agency, and Israel does not take kindly to foreign secret agents running around their country, and especially getting into gunfights. Besides, Albert thinks he needs them in London, and that suits me just fine.”

  “Which means,” Denny said, “that you’re just bloody happy you don’t have to deal with him for a few days.”

  “Then it’s settled,” Sam said, ignoring him. “Drink up, and let’s get out of here. I don’t want to take the chance we’re jinxing ourselves.”

  Lizzie reached over and laid a hand on his arm. “Sam, relax,” she said. “I can get the help we need, and we can bring this to an end quickly. By the day after tomorrow, you’ll be on the way back home to your family.”

  Sam looked at her and Denny for a long moment, then nodded once. “Okay,” he said, “you're the pros at this sort of thing. Still, I want to get out of here. It’s going to be bad enough just sitting around and waiting until tomorrow afternoon. Maybe he’ll turn up somewhere else and we can get a chance at him today.”

  “All right,” Denny said. “Let's get out of here. I confess to being a bit nackered, so maybe it would be wise to go back to the hotel and get some rest. We never know when we might get another chance, and Lizzie will get a call if anything happens. Right, gorgeous?”

  They got up and left, then went back to the hotel. Sam planned for them to be in position the next afternoon by two, so that they'd be ready when Tushar showed up, but that left them a lot of hours. They went back to their room and Sam headed for the bed. The last he saw of them, Denny and Lizzie were sitting on the couch and talking.