........
I knew there were more than two, thought Tarapore as the soldier that had appeared behind him holding a C8 carbine opened fired. At this distance, he would have been hard pressed to miss. And he didn’t. Bullets slammed into Tarapore’s torso, killing him instantly.
CHAPTER 34
Athens, Greece
Mike heard the lock mechanism cycling behind him. He pivoted in the direction of the door just as it opened. The first bodyguard stopped dead in his track when he saw his colleague’s body sprawled on the floor. He then looked at Mike who shot him in the head. The second bodyguard ducked back into the corridor before Mike could fire again.
........
Eitan charged the stairs two by two.
“I’m on the second floor, Mike,” he said, his heart racing.
He turned the corner in time to see one of the bodyguards step outside the room and reach for his firearm. Eitan already had his pistol out and pointed at the man’s center of mass.
“Hands up, hands up,” Eitan yelled, not wanting to fire his unsuppressed pistol without having to.
The man turned his head toward him and seemed to hesitate for a fraction of a second before pulling his pistol out. Eitan fired twice. His two rounds found their marks and the man fell to his side.
Shit!
“It’s me, Mike,” Eitan said, announcing his arrival. “Coming in.”
When he entered the room, Mike was already on top of the general.
“Do you have a pair of zip ties?” Mike asked.
Eitan looked around the room. There were two dead bodyguards, not counting the one he had killed in the corridor. Within minutes, the place would be crawling with cops.
........
“Goddamnit, Eitan,” Mike said, “do you have a pair of zip ties or not?”
Eitan reached into his side pocket and threw him a pair. “Sorry. We need to go, Mike.”
“Call Zima and tell her to meet us in front.”
While Eitan did just that, Mike secured Adbullahi’s hands.
“We’re here for you, General. The Athens station chief sent us,” Mike lied. “Our orders couldn’t be clearer. You either come with us or you die right here. It’s your choice.”
“I’ll come with you. But we need to stop for my family.”
“Where are they?” Mike asked.
“Everything you need is in my briefcase,” Adbullahi said. He turned his head toward the work desk. “It’s right there.”
“Get the briefcase, Eitan,” Mike said. Then to the general, “We’ll get your family but we need to get out of here first.”
“I won’t fight you but we have to hurry,” Adbullahi pleaded. “The head of the Quds Force knows where I am and he sent men after me and my family.”
A strident noise suddenly filled the air. Fire alarm.
Mike grabbed the general. “Get up.” He said to Eitan, “Walk behind him. If he does anything stupid, shoot him.”
“Zima from Mike,” he said on the radio.
“Go.”
“What’s your ETA?”
“I’m here now. But the cops are too,” Zima said. “People are pouring out of the hotel. There are only four of them now and they can’t handle the crowd. If you come out now, you might have a chance.”
He looked at Eitan who gave him a thumbs-up to let him know he had understood. Mike removed the silencer and put it in his pocket. There was no need for it anymore. Mike was the first out of the room. Half a dozen people were hurrying down the corridor toward the emergency staircase. The staircase was full of people and it took longer than expected to reach the lobby. Hotel employees were urging the guests to exit the premises. Mike spotted two police officers positioned next to the exit. Their sidearms were holstered, but one of them was holding a piece of paper.
If General Adbullahi wanted to screw them over, he’d do it now. Mike glanced at the officers and was relieved to see they were wearing body armor. If the shit hit the fan, he and Eitan could fire at the officers without killing them. It was certainly not the way he hoped it would go down, but he’d do whatever needed to be done to bring General Adbullahi back to the United States. The lobby was filling up quickly, with more guests pouring out of the emergency staircase. They were less than twenty feet from the exit and Mike could see Zima through the glass door. She had parked the car perpendicular to the entrance with the front of the car pointing toward the street.
Movement to his left caught Mike’s eyes. One of the officers was reaching across the crowd, yelling at someone behind Mike to stop. That was when Mike saw what was on the sheet of paper. It was a sketch of a man’s face.
Eitan’s.
........
Eitan took half a second to assess the tall police officer yelling at him but didn’t make eye contact. The officer was using his elbow to make his way through the thick crowd while keeping his free hand on the butt of his pistol. The fact that he didn’t have his pistol out told Eitan there was a chance the officer wasn’t yet sure he had the right man. Eitan would use that to his advantage.
“You,” the officer said. “Stop.”
The moment the officer placed his beefy hand on Eitan’s shoulder, Eitan clutched the officer’s little finger with his thumb and brought the knuckles of his index finger over the second joint of the officer’s finger. He then moved his wrist in a circular motion toward the floor as he applied pressure. The officer went down to his knees to avoid getting his finger broken. Eitan struck him in the face with his knee before the officer’s other hand reached his gun. The officer’s hand shot to his face but Eitan wasn’t done. He kneed him again, this time just below the jaw. The officer fell to his side.
Eitan didn’t waste time. He needed to move quickly. The other officer had seen her partner go down. Eitan was on her in five strides, but the officer had her weapon drawn. Her eyes were wide open and the fear of missing her shot and hitting a bystander made her hesitate long enough for Eitan to deflect her weapon toward the ceiling. Eitan kicked the inside of the officer’s leg, and then easily twisted the pistol out of her hands before kicking her again, this time in the solar plexus. The female cop staggered backward and tripped over a large oriental mat.
Eitan exited the hotel and ran to the waiting car. Mike was already in the back with General Adbullahi. Eitan also climbed in the back, sandwiching the general. Zima accelerated away before Eitan could fully close the door.
“Thanks for waiting,” Eitan said, looking through the rear window. The female cop was now outside but he didn’t think she had seen him get into the Audi.
They were in the clear.
CHAPTER 35
Athens, Greece
Colonel Davari was furious. He had lost men in combat before but he hadn’t expected to take any casualties on this mission. General Adbullahi had played them all.
“Get out of there, Musa,” Davari told the only surviving member of Captain Yavari’s team. “Go to the safe house and call me back once you’re there.”
Davari slammed the dashboard with his fist. He wasn’t one to easily lose control but he had just lost two good men. It pissed him off no end. He’d get his revenge.
“Sir,” the driver said, “there seems to be a commotion at the King George.”
“Pull over here,” Davari told him, pointing to a parking space reserved for tour buses. They were in front of the Greek parliament and had an unobstructed view of the King George.
Davari looked through his binoculars to see what was going on. Hotel guests from the King George and the Grande Bretagne were exiting through all the available doors. Even though they were still some distance away, Davari could hear the fire alarm in the background. Did it have anything to do with the general? In the back of his mind, he knew it did.
“Are there any other exits?” Davari asked.
The driver k
new the answer. “I’m afraid not, sir. These are the only ins and outs someone could use to escape. The other exits only lead to a small courtyard at the back of the hotel.”
Raham Vevai, his most experience assaulter, confirmed this seconds later after consulting his smartphone. “That’s correct, Colonel. If our target is still inside, and he decides to come out, he’ll have no choice but to use the main—”
“I see him,” Davari said, interrupting his man. “He’s exiting the King George. He’s wearing a gray suit.”
Are his hands behind his back? And where’s the rest of his protective detail? So many people were exiting the two hotels that it was challenging to determine whether Adbullahi was alone. He seemed to follow a Caucasian male. The man wasn’t tall—less than six foot—but his head was on a swivel, scanning left and right, his movements light and precise. Davari had found his enemy. He grabbed the camera. He wanted to identify whom he was dealing with. There was no point attacking them now with so many witnesses around.
“He’s climbing into a black Audi,” Davari said, unable to snap a picture of the man walking with Adbullahi. Why aren’t they leaving? They’re waiting for someone else. He got his answer when another man came down running the steps and climbed into the backseat of the Audi. This time Davari was ready. He took many pictures of the second man. The Audi accelerated away and passed in front of the Grand Bretagne, less than two hundred feet away from their van.
“Follow the Audi,” Davari ordered the driver. He removed the sim card from the camera and put it in his pocket. He inserted a new one and made sure the camera was off. He had no spare batteries.
Davari turned to his men and said, “Get ready. We’ll take them as soon as we get the opportunity.”
CHAPTER 36
Athens, Greece
Mike dialed Charles Mapother’s number on the Iridium SAT phone.
“For the love of God, Mike, what’s going on?” Mapother said. “The Hellenic police are reporting shots fired at the King George.”
“We have the general,” Mike said. “We’re thirty to forty-five minutes away from the airport.”
“You have him?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Did he resist in any way?”
“Not really. But we had to take out his protective detail. And Charles, he wants us to get his family.”
“We’ve discussed this before. We can’t.”
“Roger that. I’ll call you back.”
The general stirred in his seat. “Do you really have to cuff me? The zip tie is cutting through my skin.”
Mike placed his hand behind the general’s back and asked him to move forward. He retrieved his Gerber Ghostrike tactical knife from his ankle sheath and used it to cut through the zip tie.
“Thank you,” Adbullahi said, massaging his wrists. “If you didn’t lie about getting my family out of here, I’ll tell you where to find them.”
Mike locked eyes with Adbullahi. “C’mon, General. You know how this works. You’ll have to give us something first.”
“Is being here in Athens not enough? I’m the deputy commander of the Quds Force. I’m the biggest fish you ever caught.”
“I couldn’t care less about you, General. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a terrorist.”
Adbullahi took a deep breath, and then said, “The Canadian agent that killed the prime minister is one of ours. And there are many more like him.”
Mike felt as if he had just been hit by a bus.
He’s lying. He has to be. But the general didn’t flinch.
Mike had served with the RCMP prime minister’s protective detail years ago. His father, Ray Powell, had been its commanding officer before being named Canadian ambassador to Algeria.
“If you don’t get my family, General Kharazi will execute them,” Adbullahi continued. “And then you’ll never get anything from me.”
Mike grabbed Adbullahi by the back of his neck and squeezed. “You’re lying.”
Adbullahi grimaced in pain. “It’s the truth. What do I have to lose? Why would I lie?”
Mike’s head was spinning. Could it be an elaborate plot? It seemed far-fetched, even for the Iranians.
“If I find out you lied to me, I’ll personally see that your family is sent back to Tehran.”
“Guys,” Zima called out from the driver’s seat. “We’re being followed by a dark van. It’s a few cars behind.”
“Are you sure?” Eitan asked, twisting in his seat to get a better look.
“Yes, I’m sure, Eitan, and they’re making a move,” Zima said, her voice pitching higher.
Mike looked out the window too. The van was indeed making a move.
“It’s the kill-team Kharazi sent after me,” General Adbullahi said. “I’m sure of it.”
The Iranian looked terrified. That told Mike there was a possibility he was telling truth. If that was the case, he had to take him back to the IMSI headquarters. Whatever the cost.
. . . He’s one of ours . . . There are many more like him . . .
The traffic was getting heavier. If these men were indeed Quds Force commandos sent by General Kharazi, they couldn’t afford to be trapped on this road. They’d be sitting ducks.
“Take the next exit, Zima,” Mike said. “We need to create some distance.”
Mike was dialing Mapother’s number when the first bullet smashed through the rear window.
........
Colonel Davari half expected his first shot to miss. They were still traveling at over thirty miles per hour and the road wasn’t the smoothest. Even more problematic was the fact he had to shoot through the van’s windshield. He planted one foot against the dashboard and trained his sights on the Audi.
His objective was to disable the vehicle either by killing its driver or by shooting at its engine block. Once it was immobilized, the rest of his team would move in and ensure all the occupants were killed. They would then take the next exit, and take advantage of the monster traffic jam that was sure to result to drive to the safe house where they would reconnect with Musa. Depending on the fallout their aggressive actions generated from the Greek authorities, they would either fly back to Tehran the next day or wait it out for a week or two.
Davari moved his sights to the driver. It’s a female. Mossad? He pulled the trigger the same moment his driver was forced to hit the brakes. His round missed its intended target and instead shattered the rear window of the Audi. With his ears ringing, Davari continued to pump round after round at the Audi. He had emptied half of his magazine before he realized someone was returning fire.
........
The bullet that had shattered the rear window had also grazed General Adbullahi’s neck. It was a superficial wound but it was bleeding profusely, and by the incoherent Persian curses coming out of Adbullahi’s mouth, it was painful too.
“Get us out of here, Zima!” Mike yelled. He tried to turn around in his seat but he was stuck between the door and the general.
“Move to the front, goddamnit!” he said to the general.
Eitan had started to engage the van with his pistol but the rounds kept coming in.
Mike was angry with the general for not moving fast enough. The thumping of bullets hitting the car’s metal frame didn’t help his mood.
“Reloading!” Eitan said.
Mike unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed the general out of the way. The van was two hundred feet away and gaining rapidly. With Zima zigzagging between vehicles, it was hard to get a shot off. Mike fired five rounds in quick succession but to seemingly no effect. The van kept coming.
“Hang on,” Zima said as she made a sharp left toward the exit.
Eitan was thrown into Mike who, in turn, was shoved into the door. Before they could recover and reengage the threat, a hail of bullets smashed into the car, shredding its fr
ont left tire to pieces. Zima yelled a warning as she lost control of the Audi and smashed it into a low cement wall.
........
Davari felt a bullet zap past his head, followed by the sound of metal hitting flesh. Davari fought the urge to look back as he concentrated on his next volley. The Audi suddenly veered left, offering Davari a perfect shot as it passed between two cars. He squeezed the trigger and didn’t let go until his magazine was empty. A second later, the Audi hit a cement wall and came to an abrupt stop.
The driver hit the brakes hard and the van stopped in the middle of the road about one hundred and fifty feet from the crashed Audi. The van was immediately rammed by another vehicle and thrown sideways, rotating one hundred and eighty degrees.
Davari looked behind him to assess the damage. Raham was holding his stomach. Blood came out from between his fingers.
“Can you fight?” Davari asked him.
Raham’s skin had turned pale but he nodded. He fumbled with his seatbelt, allowing Davari to take a closer look at his wound.
“Stay in the van, Raham,” Davari ordered.
He ejected the spent magazine and inserted a fresh one. “You two, come with me. We’ll make sure there are no survivors,” he said to the two remaining Quds Force soldiers.
They climbed out of the van with their weapons aimed in the general direction of the Audi. Unfortunately, the vehicle was shielded by another car that had stopped to render assistance.
Davari was halfway out of the van when he said to his driver, “Find us another vehicle. I want to be out of here in sixty seconds.”
“Yes, sir,” the driver said.
Davari turned his attention to the remaining two Quds Force soldiers who were advancing toward the Audi. His men were well trained and had seen combat before, but they were too close to each other.
“Spread out,” Davari yelled at them as they cornered the Good Samaritan’s vehicle. He was a quarter of a second too late.
........
A Thick Crimson Line (Mike Walton Book 3) Page 9