Scorpion's Vengeance

by Lawrence Hebb

  ‘Wait until you see the colour of their eyes’ was his thought, as they charged forward, he waited until they were right on the position then sprang out Glock at the ready, fired the first shot which missed, but wasn’t even noticed, the second caught the lead man in the neck, he went down and stayed down, shot three was at the second man, it hit square in the chest knocking him off his feet, shot four hit the next man in the leg, he was crippled, but not out of the fight.

  He raced forward, the Glock still had eleven rounds in the mag, he got to the one with the injured leg and shot him in the shoulder, the screams were unnerving for even him, and that was the intention, but he ignored it, he was here to take them down, but preferably with the maximum pain, the other guy was slowly climbing up and reaching for a weapon, one shot to the shoulder stopped that, but just to make sure Smithy kicked him on the other arm, he heard bone splinter, this guy was out of the fight, the screams from the two would unnerve the other shooters, there’d be time to sort them out later, he still had some stuff to deal with.

  He was in the line of sight for the shooters, but they were so shocked it took them three seconds to respond.

  In that time he’d stripped the three men of their weapons and gotten back to the safety of his original position, from now on it was a game of ‘hunter and hunted’ and he had no intention of being the latter. The men were shouting instructions at the shooters, they were giving his position away, but he was already on the move, they were getting false information.

  Snipers aren’t just good at shooting, they also have to be experts at stealth, they have to be able to move about the battlefield without being seen or heard, and they have to be able to do it with speed.

  “About fifty feet from the vehicles” was what he’d been told, but which way? He was pretty sure they were to the left, but that can have changed. “Where are they?” was the main question.

  “What the hell?” he could hear a voice, but that was only a guess at what was being said as it was speaking Russian, he got some bearings from it, one of them at least was still where Sam had said they were.

  Replacing the Glock in its holster he reached for the .303, sliding the bolt back he reached into the pouch on his right-hand side and took a clip out, five rounds in the clip, he placed it in the slot just behind the breach and using his right thumb slid all five rounds into the magazine, then did exactly the same with the next clip before sliding the bolt back home, he didn’t even check the safety, there was no need as the rifle wouldn’t ‘go off’ unless he pulled the trigger, and the pressure, at five pounds was pretty substantial for any rifle, another reason he loved the rifle so much.

  Mac had gotten to the door, and duct taped the two men’s mouths shut, the last thing they needed was a warning given to the men inside, it was going to be hard enough.

  “Scorpion two and three, this is Scorpion one, sitrep?” Jacko’s voice came over the radio.

  “Scorpion two, door secured, two bandits down” Mac replied.

  “Scorpion three, seven bandits eliminated, three down, two to go” Smithy’s report was brief, yet graphic, they’d all heard the explosions but he's got seven of them in it.

  “Roger, three carry on” Jacko replied, “two stand by for breach, Sam” are you still in the hole?” Jacko’s voice came over on the radio, it sounded worried, “are you still secure?”

  “Affirmative” she replied simply, “we’re still down here, and the door is secure, though I think your friend is on the other side by the sounds of things”

  “Roger that” Jacko replied, “make sure the doors are secure and remain so for until we inform you otherwise” he broke off. She looked over at Hene, they both knew what was coming next, and neither had any desire to get in the way.

  Jacko came back on the radio, “Scorpion two, breach on three, one, two, three”

  “What’s going on?” Paul asked, he was scared, but at least he was doing what they told him, he wasn’t hyperventilating anymore, that was a good sign.

  “The help we told you about” Hene began, “they’re dealing with the people who came to kill you, but we need to stay here a bit longer” they couldn’t hear much, the room was almost totally soundproof, almost, but not fully, they could still hear some things, and they’d heard pings against the door that Sam had told Paul were bullets being fired, she’d also assured him that the steel was thick enough to take the bullets, she didn’t tell him there was another entrance, one they’d kept quiet about.

  “They’re arresting them then?” Paul asked, “are the police here?”

  “I did say they’re dealing with the situation, but no,” Hene cut him off, “they’re not the police, they’re a special unit from the Army called in with situations like this, ever hear of the Special Air Service?”

  The blank face said it wasn’t registering, then a light went on, “The SAS, aren’t they some ultra special forces, kinda like Ninja SEALs on steroids?” he replied.

  “Yeah” Sam chuckled at the reply, “Sorta like that, but don’t let them hear you say it! To them the SAS can’t be compared to others, they’re in a league of their own” she joked, then looked at Hene and added, “then again, with this mob, that might just be true, they are in a league of their own!”

  Mac and Jacko came in from different directions, they were methodical but quick and silent, every room was checked, making sure no nasty surprises were waiting for them, then they got to the trap door, it was up.

  Jacko looked at Mac and pointed, they could hear O’Flanagan in the hole lecturing the two others, they were prepping a C4 charge for the door, Mac took a flashbang from his pouch, struck the wick and waited.

  Two seconds after striking the wick he rolled it down the steps and dived back around the corner of the pantry. Almost the instant it hit the floor the device went off blinding and deafening anyone who wasn’t protected.

  O’Flanagan was still cussing the friggin’ Russkies as he called them, where the hell were they? They were supposed to secure the perimeter and prevent any cops or anyone else getting through, the whole friggin thing had turned to crap and he just wanted the job finished, he was focusing so much on getting the job done he missed the things going on around him, including the fact his men were seemingly disappearing.

  “We’ll blow this friggin thing, kill ‘em inside and get the hell out of here!” he spoke to the other two who were still with him, “Then we’ll sort those stupid” he never finished the rest of the sentence.

  The light was blinding, the noise knocked his hearing out, being in the confined space amplified the effect, two of their five senses ceased to work, they were blind and deaf to anything going on. All three knew what was coming next, they may be blind and deaf but their spatial awareness was still working and as fast as their bodies would function all three went for their weapons and turned to face the entrance, they were going to blast anything that came through it, they didn’t get the chance.

  Jacko was at the top of the steps leaning over literally hung upside down, he was shooting, two caught the first guy in the chest knocking him back into the second, the force of the fall sent both weapons flying, they’d forgotten to take their safeties off but were using old Sten guns and the safety was never that reliable, one of them went off and spewed all thirty rounds at head height.

  “Pull me up” he screamed as soon as he’d fired the first burst, Mac was holding his legs, he pulled as hard and fast as he could, they could hear screams in the tunnel.

  “What gives boss?” Mac asked as soon as Jacko was clear.

  “Bloody idiots are using SMGs” Jacko shouted, he was deafened by the noise, even after using ear defenders, “One dropped the damned thing, the whole mag went off” he scrambled to his feet, they knew the guys downstairs would have broken bones and the like, it might not have penetrated the body armour, but the velocity would have ‘knocked ‘em around a bit”

  They reached the bottom to see only two were moving, O’Flanagan had been hit in the face w
ith a bullet, it had smashed his goggles and gone into the eye, he was dead, the other two were moaning, and neither of them wanted to be gentle. “Shut up and spread ‘em” Mac kicked the first guy into the position for a body search, he screamed.

  “Ya damned English Bastard” the Irishman spat out as he tried to fight back, only to scream as Mac forced him back into the position.

  “I didnae tell ya to move!” Mac screamed into his ear, “And quit insulting me if ya wanna live, I’M A SCOTTISH BASTARD AND DINNAE FORGET IT LADDIE!” he began the body search.

  Jacko was giving the same treatment to the other Irishman, they also both made sure that the two prisoners could see O’Flanagans face, what was left of it, blood was pooling around the head, it wasn’t a pretty sight, but for Jacko it was very satisfying, a major player in the terror networks was dead, and their people were alive, that had to be good. “House secured” he reported, “Scorpion three, sitrep?” they hadn’t forgotten Smithy.

  “All accounted for here boss” Smithy replied, “Seven casualties, remainder injured, but not life-threatening.”

  “Roger that” Jacko replied, “Time to call the cavalry”

  It was Sir Michael who answered, “They’re on their way, will inform of possible hostiles in the area, they can earn their keep with the three to the north!”

  Chapter 52

  “What the?” the first officer through the farmhouse door couldn’t believe what he was seeing, they knew the situation was all over, and they were there for the ‘clean up’ but having them all sitting drinking tea as if nothing had happened was bloody ridiculous, there were bodies and injured criminals everywhere and they were drinking tea? “What the hell is going on?” was all he could say.

  “Evening officer” there was a young lady, a blonde and not unattractive by the look of her, she was the one that spoke, “I’m detective sergeant Sam”

  “She’s attached to MI6 at the moment” one of the heavily armed men spoke, “and it’s best you don’t know our names, just call us ‘A, B or C or whatever you like, but no names, I’m soldier A” he stood up to greet the officers, “and the tea helps with stress relief” carried on. “Now to business, we’ve been tracking this gang for a while, all we can say is it’s linked to the ransomware that happened a few weeks ago, apparently someone was really pissed off that young Paul here” he pointed the young hacker out, “his name you can have, but it doesn’t go in any reports or news-feeds, GOT IT” he carried on, “Young Paul here really pissed some people off who tried to kill him, we knew they would, so we set a trap for ‘em”

  “Sir” one of the cops who’d followed the first officer on the scene shouted from the Pantry, “sir we have something here!” he poked his head around the door beckoning for the senior officer to come and take a look, looks like a”

  “An entrance to a tunnel” Jacko hadn’t given his name, he was ‘Soldier A’, but he went on, down there you’ll find a body, one Patrick O'flanagan, a man the world has been after for a while if I’m not mistaken, and you won’t say anything about whatever else is down there WILL YOU!” he knew they’d had strict orders not to reveal anything they found. Everyone knew the cops were only here for cosmetic reasons, MI6 has no powers of arrest, neither does its sister organisation MI5 although ‘5’ is supposed to be the one dealing with internal stuff.

  Just then another cop walked in, this one was different, he had the six-pointed star and pip on the shoulder said he was a Chief Superintendent, the look of disgust on his face said it all, he was having to play ‘second fiddle’ and clear up a mess that was every senior officer’s nightmare.

  “Captain” he looked straight at Jacko, ‘use the man’s rank’ he thought to himself, ‘show him he’s not the only one can find things out’ he walked straight up to Jacko, “Care to tell me what this is all about?”

  Jacko didn’t even flinch, “I believe you’ll already have been told sir, and don’t use my or any of our ranks again, IS THAT CLEAR?” Jacko shot back, establishing the real control “Russians and ex-IRA terrorists working together, but otherwise no sir, I’m bound by the official secrets act.”

  “Don’t come that with me boy” the cop glared at him, “I can have your career in an instant”

  “You’d be welcome to it sir” Jacko replied raising the mug of tea, clearly enjoying baiting the cop, “but no, unless you get a briefing from your people, I’m not at liberty to tell you anything, other than thank you for cleaning up here, oh and you can look after Paul now the danger is over,” he put the mug down, turned to the others and indicated it was time to leave, they began to get ready.

  The cop wasn’t done, he turned to Hene and began to face off, “and who are you?”

  Before Hene could reply Mac stepped in, “These two lovely folks are seconded to us from overseas, mess with them and you’ll have the foreign office, not to mention us on yer case, now be a good boy and do yer job” he helped Hene grab his gear.

  Their Landrover appeared as soon as they left the house, Smithy was behind the wheel, Jacko went around the back of the vehicle and opened the back door, next he opened the lockbox at the back and indicated for the weapons to be given him, each, in turn, cleared his weapon, checked the breach and handed it to Jacko who did the same and stowed it away in the lockbox, not even sidearms were kept out. Then each got into the vehicle, Smithy gave the driver’s seat up for Jacko, Mac offered the front seat to Sam who was slightly puzzled but took it anyway and Hene climbed in the back, only when they were all in and on the way did the conversation start again.

  “It’s better for them if they don’t know” Jacko was the first to speak as they turned onto the main road.

  “But they’re cops” Sam replied, she knew what Jacko was saying was right in some ways, but she knew she’d never been satisfied with the answers the cops had. “They’ll keep digging”

  “Let ‘em” Mac chipped in, “Sir Mike only needs a few days to make good on what we have, after that, it won’t matter!”

  “Why?” Hene asked as Sam turned to face Mac the same question written all over her face.

  “Look, we got the mole” Jacko answered the question, “that was the goal, but I’m guessing in Serkhov’s files is much more than the mole, I’m betting he has dirt on just about every part of our system, and he’s been using it for years, now we have it!”

  “And now they go to jail?” Sam asked, she already knew the answer, but wanted to hear it.

  “Not all” Jacko replied, “Serkhov had a lot of friends, and they’re going to pay for that friendship, but that’s not for us to deal with.”

  “So we just walk away?” it was more a statement than a question, to the coppers in Sam and Hene it just felt wrong, they would as that was what they were told to do, but that didn’t make it feel right.

  “For now” Jacko replied, “yes we walk away, and let the system do what it can!”

  Chapter 53

  “There it is!” Joey screamed as they came into sight of the airport, they were running along the wire that separated the airport from the rest of London, the runway was to their left and about four hundred yards away over the grass. The plane was a twin-engined Cessna jet, four portholes down the side told them it was an executive jet, and it was Serkhov’s own personal one.

  “We’re too late!” Billie shouted in frustration, the plane was taxiing out from the terminal, they’d already loaded passengers and were getting ready for takeoff, “They’ve already left the terminal” the anger was dripping from every word.

  “LIke Hell” Joey shouted back, he pressed the button on the electric windows, “head for the fence, get us through there and head for the plane, leave the rest to me”

  “What?” Billie spun round momentarily, just as Joey lined up the Commando he had in the back and fired the grenade launcher, the fence disintegrated, “Where the hell did that come from?” she was screaming.

  ‘That explains it’ Sandy thought “Just do as he says” She shouted at the woman,
“even planes don’t get away when he’s doing this stuff, believe me, he’s taken ‘em out before” she also had her window down and was getting ready to use the Makarov, “Move it, bring us alongside the plane!”

  Joey’s shot blew a ten-foot hole in the fence, but it was now past them so she yanked the handbrake and waited until she was lined up with the gap before releasing the brake and flooring the accelerator, the vehicle lurched forward tires throwing dirt and gravel everywhere as she picked up speed.

  The plane was still taxiing to the position, every aircraft has to wait for permission from air traffic control before they can start their run for takeoff, the pilot hadn’t seen what was happening, but air traffic control had.

  “Cessna 200 hold your position” the voice came into the pilot’s ear, “we have an obstacle on the runway, at your two o’clock, security is on the way”

  “Roger that control, please advise the delay” the pilot replied before turning to inform the passengers, “Sorry folks, we’re going to be a little delayed, some idiot just got onto the runway, should be clear soon” he smiled as he turned back towards the controls.

  “Get us airborne now” Serkhov shouted, he began climbing out of his seat.

  “I have to wait for clearance” the pilot replied.

  “You want a job after this?” Serkhov asked shouted back, “Or better yet you want to live?” the pilot looked back, Serkhov was holding a pistol of some kind, “Get us airborne NOW!”

  There were two of them in the cockpit, the co-pilot had listened to everything, she didn’t even argue, she just pushed the throttles to their take-off speed, the increase in engine power told the pilot to get on with the job. “Docklands air traffic negative we cannot wait, My passenger has advised me they need to leave now, the obstacle won’t affect us” he clicked the radio off, turning to the passengers he simply said, “Stand by” as the engines came up to speed, then he threw the brakes off and she was away like the fast jet she was.