Divide & Conquer (24 page)

“I just read the full report on the alleged Mayday at Laredo. Alleged my ass, the Russkies landed their equivalent of a jumbo.”

“You are fucking kidding me, how in the fuck could they get away with that?!”

“They’ve been working on some stealth technology and created a couple of stealth transporters. We’ve just checked, one took off from an airbase outside Caracas in Venezuela that fits perfectly with the Mayday in Laredo. Once in the air it’s pretty much impossible to track.”

“When you say Jumbo?”

“Over 400 passengers!”

“Oh good God, we’ve got a team of five!”

“We think at least two to three hundred passengers re-boarded when they left Laredo!” offered Mike as some comfort.

“Shit, so worst case there are two hundred to five!”

Mike shrugged at what could be the case.

“Jane, get me the President!” announced Vincent somberly.

“Don’t do that Jane,” instructed Mike.

“Why in the hell not?”

“Because we have not got one shred of verifiable proof and we are currently enjoying the best relations we’ve ever had with Russia.”

“But you just told me about the plane?” argued Vincent.

“I told you the information fits but there is no evidence any plane landed in the US other than a pot head kid who filed a report. A report that has no evidence anywhere in their logs to back it up.”

“The communication system being activated in Texas?”

“The guy that filed it is likely to be redeployed to Alaska anytime soon. He’s a genius but a genius who Vice Admiral Kenyon would happily shoot himself!”

“We can’t do anything?” pleaded Vincent.

“I agree! Look I need to run, I’m waiting on a call that may make some sense of all this.”

“Good or bad?” asked Vincent.

“Let’s just say I hope I’m wrong, because if I’m not, this could be very bad!” replied Mike heading out of the door.

“So what about the guys in Texas?” shouted Vincent at Mike’s back.

“Keep calling the numbers and hope someone answers!”

Chapter 45

Sean crawled towards the empty building. So far, so good, no hostiles. Which was just as well as neither himself nor Luis were armed. Vincent’s Desert Eagle was on its way to be analyzed as evidence that he shot the shooter, while Luis had dropped the rock that had not endeared himself to Sean. Surprise was their only weapon. From what Luis had told Sean, it seemed apparent that whoever the soldiers were, their interest was in Katie’s house.

Sean raised his hand and instructed Luis to stay where he was. He didn’t want Luis stumbling and alerting the world to the fact they were there, particularly as they were sitting ducks, unarmed. Sean raced across and lay prone under the window of the empty property. Plastic sheeting covered where the glass panes would finally finish the exterior of the property. It offered some cover in itself, as the sheeting was opaque but unfortunately that also meant Sean couldn’t see in. With three large windows and one main patio door to the rear of the property, Sean tucked himself under the windows of what he assumed was the kitchen and next to the patio doors belonging to either a living room or dining room overlooking the garden. He listened carefully but heard little more than the ruffle of the plastic as it undulated in the warm breeze.

Sean signaled for Luis to make the dash. As he waited for Luis, he crawled closer towards the patio door. The sheeting covering the patio door had been sliced along the wooden support. Of course, it could have happened anytime since the sheeting was installed but knowing the back of the Katie’s house was being watched, there was every chance it meant somebody was inside. He motioned for Luis to wait where he was, as still and silently as possible. Sean crept forward and listened, nothing. He edge forward and managed to look into the room, the sheet blew just enough in the wind to allow him a brief view into the room. A solid wall stared back, the room did not go right through and as such offered no view to the front. Even if there were somebody inside, it was likely they would be in the room beyond which would offer a view of Katie’s house.

Whatever the case, it was no place for a rookie. Sean signaled back for Luis to wait before slipping through the slit in the sheeting and disappearing inside. Sean remained on his belly as he entered the room. The bare floorboards were not going to hide even the softest of footwear. He pulled himself silently across the floor listening for any movement. As he reached the doorless doorway to the hall, he pulled himself up and braced himself against the wall, just in case anybody was in the hallway ahead. Nothing.

Taking the tiniest of steps he worked himself around the doorway and into the hall, the main door stood about twenty feet ahead. It was the only door that had been put in place. Another doorless doorway lay six feet ahead along the wall, it must be the living room thought Sean. If anybody were going to be anywhere, it would be in there or one of the rooms above. Sean shimmied along the wall as slowly as he could, ensuring not a sound alerted any potential hostile. As he reached the doorway, the room came into view. It was empty, at least the 80% that was visible to him without entering the room fully.

He had two options, enter slowly and expose himself fully or roll into the room and take whoever may be there by surprise. With benefits to both, he chose the silent approach, figuring if you were watching the house, you’d choose the highpoint. He entered silently and was rewarded, the room was empty.

Sean crouched and worked his way along the wall to the main window that overlooked Katie’s house. As the sheeting blew in by the wind, he managed to dislodge a small portion which afforded the briefest of views of the street outside, it was empty. With the likelihood of any watchers focusing on Katie’s house, he peeled the sheeting back a little further. If there were anybody out there, they were very well hidden. Sean noted nothing untoward. The tiniest creak from the floorboard above him had him cursing his nosiness. Fortunately no further noises were made. They weren’t reacting to him moving the sheeting but one thing was certain. Somebody was upstairs.

Sean eased himself back to the hallway and checked for any kind of weapon he could lay his hands on, nothing. Unfortunately, whatever workmen had worked in the house were the tidiest he had ever known. Surprise was going to have to remain his best option. Surmounting a set of unfinished bare wood stairs was going to be pretty much impossible. Another solution was required. Sean crept back out to where Luis lay tight against the wall as instructed and surveyed the back of the house. The upper windows were just out of reach, even with Luis giving him a leg up. However, a length of board which must have been used as a ramp for running wheelbarrows into the house was perfect. He laid it against the wall and with Luis’ help was just able to reach the windowsill of the first floor window. A quick check suggested the window to his right would offer a better entry, as the hallway lay directly in front of the current room. A quick move to the right had Sean slowly peeling the plastic sheeting back and slipping into the room. It took him every ounce of his strength to maneuver himself in without so much as a pin drop to alert the watchers.

For the first time, Sean could actually hear the watchers. Although he was unable to make out what they were saying, he could hear a very low murmur as they talked to one another which obviously meant there was more than one. Why were things never simple he thought to himself.

With no time like the present and pretty much no other option, Sean crept across to the doorway and worked his way along the hallway until he was just out of sight of the watchers. As their murmuring never ceased, he assumed they were unaware of his presence. He readied himself and scratched his foot gently against the wall. The murmuring didn’t stop, so he tried again a little harder. The murmuring stopped and footsteps began to move across the floor. Just one set, as Sean had hoped. As the watcher approached the doorway, his focus was on the staircase ahead of him not on the doorway to his left. Sean wasted no time and grabbed the watcher by the throat and pulled him in close and marched him into the room, catching the watcher’s hand as he desperately grasped for his pistol which Sean extracted and was pointing at the watcher’s colleague before he had a chance to realize what was happening.

As Sean’s hand crushed the first watcher’s windpipe, the second stood like a rabbit caught in headlights about to receive a bullet through his temple. It was just as he had envisioned, right up until the muzzle of the third watcher’s gun pressed against the back of Sean’s head. There had been another watcher in the bedroom opposite.

Sean relaxed the grip on the first watcher’s throat but not so as to let him go. It was probably the only thing stopping number three shooting, the likelihood of the bullet killing both Sean and Number One were pretty much a given.

“Sean Fox?” asked Number Three, his accent was perfect East Coast American.

Sean nodded, perhaps they were on his side after all.

The muzzle was not removed. Round 2 to the watchers, they knew they had their man.

The sound of a digital code being dialed was the next thing Sean heard. He heard a gruff voice bark something on the other end before Number Three replied.

“Da!” and pulled the trigger.

Chapter 46

Arriving late at night, the CIA team had opted to bed down at the Naval Air Station where they had landed as a result of their last minute rerouting. None were overly impressed with their subsequent 5 a.m. start following the call from Jane, V’s assistant. However, with a former Seal in their team, a ride was quickly arranged for the team on one of the Coastguard’s Dauphin choppers. What was going to be a two-hour drive cross-country became a 50-minute hop. By 6.30 a.m., they were landing at Laredo and 'borrowing’ an unsecured airfield truck, they were on site less than fifteen minutes later. Not knowing what lay ahead, they had ditched the truck in favor of a silent approach from a couple of streets away. As they made their way through a number of gardens, their night vision goggles began to pick up a number of heat sources near the target property. Not knowing whether they were friend or foe, the Team Leader indicated towards the property diagonally opposite the house and it was in fact the CIA team that had slit the sheeting on the Patio door. As they worked their way through the house, they had regrouped in the upstairs bedroom and as sunlight began to break, they were about to report in to V.

The front door being opened downstairs deterred them from any such call and had them scampering for cover. The only cover they could find was the loft hatch and as the watchers who were obviously keen to hide in the daylight trooped up the stairs, the CIA team was silently slipping into the loft. It was only a matter of luck that they managed to secure the hatch before the first watcher had mounted the staircase.

Hearing the low murmur of the voices from below and with none of the insulation in place, the Team could do nothing but remain still and silent and certainly had no chance to make a call. The Team Leader reached for his phone, he could always send a text but it wasn’t in his pocket, it was in his pack which had been slung across the floor of the loft, with all the others, as they scrambled out of sight. He tried to reach out but the wood beneath him began to squeak. He signaled to his team. They all shook their heads, none could get to a phone without alerting the watchers below. They then had an added concern. What if somebody called them?

As the sun rose, the heat began to build. The un-insulated loft space was not where you wanted to be in the Texan sun. After less than half an hour, the temperature was easily touching a hundred in the confined and airless space and it wasn’t even 8.00 a.m. There was no way they could spend the day there, certainly not without water which was in their packs. Just as he was considering their next move, a noise from below had them all looking at one another. A scuffle followed by feet scrambling across the floor had them looking towards the hatch. Had they been detected?

The American accent saying Sean Fox had the nearest team member to the hatchway lifting it. As far as he was concerned, friendlies were below. After all, it was Sean Fox they were there to assist. As the hatch rose, he saw Sean with one man by the throat and a gun pointing at another. As he inched the hatch higher, a man with a phone to his ear and a gun firmly pressed against Sean’s head came into view.

“Hostiles!” muttered the hatch opener. He couldn’t do anything, both hands were holding the hatch and his body blocked the view for the others. He leaned back offering the second team member a view.

“Shit!” said team member two struggling to get his MP5 raised in the confined space.

“Only shoot if he’s in imminent danger,” warned the team leader as number two depressed his trigger. He was very certain he was.

***

Sean caught sight of the hatch opening just as he realized the guy was saying yes in Russian. More Russians, he thought.

The putt of an MP5 was unmistakable as was the wetness that hit Sean’s head. With Watcher Three dead, Sean squeezed Watcher One’s neck, snapping at least two vertebrae as he pulled the trigger that sent Watcher Two to an early grave. Three down in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, all weapons were silenced and nobody outside of the house were any the wiser, although as the CIA team with some relief climbed from the loft space, Sean suddenly remembered the phone.

“Shit!” he spun to the lifeless body that had threatened to kill him. The phone was half implanted in its head. The bullet had gone straight through the phone before killing him instantly. A bullet hole in the floor was testament to the fact that he had managed to pull the trigger to kill Sean before he died.

As the hot and extremely sweaty CIA team high fived Sean, the Team Leader looked at the two watchers killed by Sean.

“Was that really necessary?” he asked.

Sean kicked Watcher One over with his foot, a nine-inch blade was in his hand. From its positioning, it would have been pressed against Sean’s gut. He stepped over to Watcher Two and kicked him over revealing a KEDR B silenced submachine gun in his hand. The Russian equivalent of a Mac 10, its rate of fire and firepower would have killed Sean and the CIA team with one sweep of fire up and into the ceiling.