Mako (The Mako Saga: Book 1) (55 page)

“Which is?” Danny inquired.

“Four guards at the entrance and two at the exit, plus your perimeter rotation.”

“Don’t forget about Sparky up in the guard tower,” Link added, squinting an eye through the scope of his rifle.

“He check in yet?” Lee asked, tracking the watchtower’s spotlight, which bounced from building to building.

“Thirteen seconds ago,” Link replied. “I’ll tell you when he checks in again.”

Lee gave him a cursory nod and started the timer on his watch.

“Okay, what’s the play?” Danny concluded. “Daylight is almost on us, so if we’re gonna do this, we’ve gotta do it now while they’re still running a skeleton crew, and we’ve still got the dark for cover.”

“Agreed,” said Lee. “We start with the command post.”

Link’s expression flashed with incredulity. “Way to go for the gusto there, Top,” he muttered.

“Sorry, fellas, but none of these other structures look fortified enough to house a holding cell, and some of them are so old and run down, they look like they could collapse with a stiff breeze. If Mac is here like we think she is, that’s where we’ll find her. The key to this is gonna be stealth. That means suppressed fire all the way, understood?”

They nodded.

“Alright,” Lee went on. “Link, as usual, you’re the eye in the sky throughout. Danny and I will maneuver around into zone six and cut the fence there.”

“Why six?” Danny cocked an eyebrow. “They’ve got security in that area, whereas over in three or four we’d be free and clear.”

Lee dismissed the suggestion. “Yeah, but out of all the active zones, six gives us the lightest resistance, plus Link can still see us from his nest, which is gonna be crucial. Link,” he turned, “once we’re through, we’ll need you to bird-dog security for us goin’ in, but especially comin’ out of the building. If this thing goes off the rails when we grab Mac, these guys are gonna come out of the woodwork like cockroaches, which means we’ll need you up here, primed and ready to lay down cover fire from on high while we make a break for it.”

“That’s a lotta guys, boss, and I’m not exactly perched up here with Hamish’s favorite new toy,” Link answered, scanning the ground for loose foliage or anything else he could add to his ghillie suit. “Mine’s bolt-action, remember?”

“I know,” said Lee, “but the bulk of the personnel are gonna come from the barracks, and that’s literally on the other side of the compound from where we’ll be. So theoretically, with a little luck and a decent head start, we oughta be able to beat their response time.”

“Theoretically?” Link grumbled.

“It’ll be fine,” Lee assured him, wiping the sweat from his forehead as the sting in his cuts returned. “You just worry about settin’ up shop with a clear line of sight on the east side of that building, alright? Besides, if this thing blows up, and Hamish does his job, trackin’ us will be the least of their worries.”

“I like the sound of that,” Hamish grinned. “What do ya have in mind?”

Returning to his goggles, Lee spied a tarmac and a trio of hangars to the west. “Feel like makin’ something go boom today?”

Hamish clasped his hands in delight. “Always!”

“Good. A tarmac means ship traffic and ship traffic means refuelin’. Refuelin’ means a fuel depot. The woods over there look to be pretty thick, so circle back in that direction and wait for an opening. Once it’s clear, get in, find the depot, plant your bomb, and get out. After that, I want you to double back to the rocks at the foot of this hill to help Link with the cover fire if we need it.”

“When do ya want me to blow the tanks?”

“If this goes off without a hitch,” said Lee, “not until we have Mac and are well on our way back to the ship, but be ready with your finger on the button anyway. If Danny and I are discovered, we’ll use the explosion as a diversion to keep everybody busy while we’re hopefully makin’ our escape.”

“Why don’t you see how much of their air support you can take out while you’re at it,” Danny added, turning a suggestive eye to Lee. “Every little bit helps, ya know?”

“That’s the idea,” Lee agreed. “But even still, there’s no way we get back to the fenceline without hittin’ resistance, which means the two of you need to be ready to shoot anything and everything that stands between us and it. We’re gonna be haulin’ ass at that point, and stoppin’ to fire a halfway accurate shot won’t exactly be on the to-do list.”

“Don’t sweat it, Top,” Link assured him. “We gotcha covered.”

“One more question, Lee?” said Danny. “Once we’re inside, it’s just us. Any thoughts about how you plan on dealing with internal security?”

Screwing the suppresser onto his A-90, Lee tightened his gaze. “Any way I have to,” he declared. “Everybody clear on their assignments?”

The group nodded again and rose to their feet.

“Good. Danny and I will radio in once we’re in position at the fenceline. Hamish, you do the same from the airfield. Link, find a nest and get into position, but don’t drop the hammer on that watchtower guard until I give the word. Clear?”

Link frowned.

“And don’t screw with him either,” Lee added. “Need I remind you that this ain’t the game, so no clippin’ his beard, or blowin’ the Zippo out of his hand, or any of that crap. Eyes on the prize, understood?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Link droned. “No shenanigans… I got it.”

Lee turned to Lunley. “Hamish, you good to go?”

“Aye. It’ll take me a bit to navigate the woods and get into position, but I’ll radio ya when I’m there.”

“And after that?”

“After that, I get to the rocks for support fire.”

“Excellent,” Lee said, adjusting the mic on his earpiece. “As always, radio check-ins every 10 minutes, minimum. If you find yourself in a position where you can’t respond aloud, give a triple-squelch over the comm and that’ll tell the rest of us that you’re okay, you just can’t talk. Ruah?”

“Ruah,” they agreed.

“Alright, let’s move out.”

A few minutes later, having slipped the maze of tree vines, cypress stumps, and palmetto-y underbrush to reach the foot of the hill, Lee and Danny arrived at the edge of their cover, just ahead of the clearing that separated them from the compound’s fenceline.

“Wulver, what’s your 20?” Lee whispered behind a tree as the watchtower made its final luminous pass over their position before extinguishing.

“In position.”

“Jester?”

“Yeah, I’m set. The guard in the tower is reaching for his walkie as we speak.”

Lee stopped the timer on his watch and reset it to zero. “Alright, it’s been 15 minutes on the nose since this guy’s last check-in,” he said. “That means after about 20, we can expect his friends to start wonderin’ why they haven’t heard from him. Hit your marks, and get out as fast as you can. Jester, you have a go for the shot when he puts down the walkie; copy?”

“Five by five, bossman.”

****

Far more rattled than he’d ever let on, Lincoln Baxter laid morbidly still beneath a scattered pile of leaves and perspiration, doing his best to subdue his anxiety with the slow, even breathing he’d been taught in sniper school. Peering through the scope of his likewise camouflaged rifle, he covered, then re-covered his mental checklist in preparation for the single, cold-bore shot he was about to attempt—all the while chanting his instructor’s mantra in a low, subconscious murmur.

“One shot, one kill. One shot, one kill,” he whispered.

Target acquisition, check. Firing platform stability, check.

“One shot, one kill. One shot, one kill.”

Estimated yards to target: 582. Wind factor: 9.3. Trajectory adjustment, check.

“One shot, one kill.”

His heart rate steadily slowing, Link exhaled a deep, calming sigh as the pacing guard halted for a final time in between his crosshairs, cued the walkie in his hand… and gave the final “all clear” of his life.

“This one’s for my friend, asshole,” he thought, then made the call to Lee. “Target acquired… check-in complete.”

“Take him!”

A single, pin-sized flash emanated from high atop the hillside, followed a long moment later by a high-pitched zip, and the faint thud of a lifeless weight crumpling to the tower floor above. Meanwhile, the moonlit jungle behind them chirped on, otherwise undisturbed.

“Clear,” Link breathed.

Sprinting for the fenceline, Lee watched as Danny produced a small cutting torch and went to work on the chain-link fence. Once through, the duo headed straight for the rear of the first building to the right, then held in wait for Link’s instruction.

“Two guards,” Link detailed, “moving south away from your position. On my signal, get ready to move west by 30 yards, then hold behind the tool shed on your right. That’ll put you into zone five. Alright, in three… two… one… Go.”

Slowly but surely, Lee and Danny navigated the compound’s grid of structures, moving methodically from building to building, row to row, and zone to zone behind Link’s series of “stop and go” commands. Eventually reaching zone one, the pair halted behind one of the warehouses adjacent to the command post cul-de-sac.

“Okay, hold up,” Link instructed. “You’ve got the four at the front door, but the perimeter guards are still in visual range. Stand by, and I’ll let you know when they’re gone.”

Anxious beyond words, Lee and Danny waited—their foreheads glistening with sweat, rifles raised and ready.

“Perimeter guards are clear,” said Link.

Lunging around the corner, Lee and Danny drew down on the four unsuspecting guards with a quick burst of low, muted pops, dropping them to the dirt as the duo scurried over to inspect their work.

“Nice job, Jester,” Lee tapped his earpiece. “We’re good to go if—”

Whirling around on his heels, Lee spotted a fifth guard racing toward him from the shadows, his sidearm already drawn and pointed dead at him.

A familiar zip bristled through the air, and the man’s head vanished in an explosive poof of red.

“
My bad
!” Link announced.

Lee leered back into the hills. “What the hell happened to us bein’ clear?”

“Listen, fearless leader,” the sniper retorted. “You never said anything about a service entrance on the side of the building, or the extra guard taking a piss outside! I handled it, so deal. Besides, have a little respect for the deceased already. I mean, how would you like to get mowed down in mid-flow?”

“Tick tock, bro,” Danny said, glancing at his watch.

Rolling his eyes, Lee snatched a keycard from one of the slain guards and cleaned the blood from its surface with his shirt, while Danny dragged the last of the bodies to their final resting place inside the warehouse next door.

“We ready to do this?” Danny asked, closing the door behind him and stepping back outside.

Lee threw him a lopsided look. “Ready as we’re ever gonna be,” he sighed.

Then, with a quick swipe of the keycard through the access panel, the door light flashed green, and the duo pushed inside.

****

Satisfied that she’d paced every square inch of her five-by-eight holding cell, Mac collapsed down against the concrete wall beside the bunk and wrapped her arms around her knees, staring thoughtfully through the iron bars that kept her there. For the moment, she seemed to be safe inside this cramped little space, and judging from the three empty cells next to hers, she appeared to be the only guest in the house, though she wondered if that was a good thing.

As the last effects of the drugs faded from her system, she knew it was only a matter of time before the interrogations would begin all over again, and while she’d managed to resist their potent influence the first time around, she had no desire to tempt fate a second.

Rubbing her eyes to stay alert, Mac surveyed the cell block around her to find a grand total of two guards on assignment there; one of whom sat slouched behind a computer terminal—his eyes fixed on something she guessed was far from official—while the second stood propped against the nearside wall, reading a magazine and munching on a piece of fruit.

Spying the security camera above the computer terminal, Mac’s attention jumped to the doorway at the far end that creaked open, and her pulse quickened when the stubbly, bald head of Captain Hourne appeared. Surprised by the unexpected visit, the two guards shot upright to salute their husky CO, and peering over his shoulder, Mac fully expected to see the fat-man doctor trailing behind, primed and ready with his next dose. Oddly, he never came.

“Leave us,” Hourne ordered, sending the guards scampering from the room without a word.

Hearing the door lock outside, an icy-cold shiver ran down Mac’s spine upon seeing the captain step toward her cell, a dark, twisted smile stretched across his grimy face as he reached for his belt.

This was no interrogation.

Chapter 29: Prison Break

Moving cautiously through the structure’s dim interior—mindful to clear each room as they went—Lee and Danny crossed and button-hooked their way along the command post’s ground level in search of anything they could find regarding Mac’s whereabouts. Thankfully they’d only encountered one more pair of guards since entering—each of whom had been dealt with quickly and quietly—and they’d considered themselves fortunate for that fact, because god knows they were scared enough as it was.

Passing a pair of lift doors, which for whatever reason weren’t accessible by their stolen keycard, Lee halted at the sound of voices down the hall. Giving Danny the closed-fisted signal to do the same, Lee pulled a fiber-optic camera from his vest, plugged it into the GPS display, and nudged the tip of the pin-sized device around the corner.

“Two guards… one left, one right… both armed,” he indicated to Danny with a series of fingers and bladed hands. “I’ll take the right, you take the left. Move on three.”

Danny nodded and readied his rifle.

“One… two…”

“You get a look at that tasty little Auran dish they brought in on the Kamuir?” a guard asked, and Lee waved off the assault.

“She was a fiery one, wasn’t she?” said the other guard. “I just saw the captain heading down to her cell block on B-level a minute ago. Think he’ll actually be quick with this one?”