by Chase Austin
Wick crouched and took out his K-BAR military blade from his leg strap sheath and thrust it into his neck twice... before releasing the blade.
Two down. Two left.
Wick moved to Jorge - his next target. Jorge saw something approaching him. His body tensed. He turned to face his assailant, but Wick had already swung a knuckle punch aiming at his nose. Jorge spat blood with a loud cry, covering his nose with his hands, leaving his gun. Wick’s boot collided with Jorge’s chest and he hit the wall behind him, falling on the ground. Wick took no time to arch his back, wrapping his legs around his neck, tensing them until a cracking sound confirmed that his neck was broken.
Three down. Joaquin left.
Joaquin could hear the cries while stumbling in the dark with one useless knee. He was at a loss; far removed from his element. This wasn’t anticipated. He wasn’t ready for this. His only option was to find his gun. He furiously swept the floor with both his hands and eventually found the butt of the Glock. Trying to stand back on his feet, he turned in the direction of the last sound he heard and saw a man. Without thinking he opened fire.
Wick saw Joaquin getting on his feet with the gun and he ducked behind the bed’s headboard. The muzzle flash lighted the dark room. The bullets cut a rough line into the headboard from left to right. Expletives followed the shots fired. The bullets grazed the wall plaster just above his head. Wick was already sweeping the floor for anything to counter Joaquin. His efforts bore fruit soon when his left knee touched the barrel of the same shotgun that Carpio had been waving madly. He used his left hand to pull it towards him. The weight of the gun meant that it was loaded. He waited for Joaquin’s magazine to be wasted which didn’t take long. Joaquin heard his gun coughing without bullets and paused to load another magazine. It was Wick’s turn.
BOOM!
Joaquin’s left leg gave way under him, and he fell to the ground, screaming.
BOOM!
This time it was the chest. The buckshot exited through his back, taking his life with it.
Three minutes later, the backup supply kicked in and the power was restored. The fluorescent lights illuminated the room again.
BOOM!
In the light, Wick fired at Jorge one last time who was still squirming, and his body jerked lifelessly on the carpet. He looked at Carlos who was staring back at him with fear. Wick stood calm amidst the massacre, almost to an unsettling degree.
CHAPTER 36
The elevator opened in Carpio’s office on the first floor. Jessica, who was already in the office, had her SIG out, pointing at the ground but ready for anything.
The elevator doors opened, and Carlos came out first, limping, weak but relieved. Wick came next, carrying Stan on his right shoulder. His wounds were tied with a dry cloth.
“Everything’s ready?” Wick asked.
“Yes,” Jessica replied. She ambled forward and lent Stan her shoulder to lean on.
“You both go on. I need to take care of something else,” Wick said.
“Okay,” Jessica said.
“Carlos, I need you to come with me.” Wick turned to Carlos, signaling towards the door and they both exited the room.
“Mac, I will send you the location. Be ready.” Jessica spoke into her earpiece once Carlos left with Sam.
“Okay.” Mac was ecstatic.
Wick and Carlos took the main stairs to the second floor. Carlos was walking slightly ahead of Wick and as soon as he stepped in the lobby, he immediately took a step back. The smoke had subsided and all he could see was destruction and dead bodies. It was a carnage he had only heard about but never witnessed even as a human activist.
Wick could understand the shock, but he had no time to spare. Things were moving fast, and he still had to finish the last leg of the mission.
“We need to hurry.” Wick patted him on his shoulder.
“Yeah… yeah… sure,” Carlos stammered moving forward. “But where are we going?”
“To that restroom.” Wick pointed to the door at the end of the lobby. “Open it.”
Carlos walked to the door and did what was told. The bathroom floor was slick with blood. Three more dead bodies. None of them shot. Carlos covered his mouth in horror.
“Can you open that?” Wick pointed at the closet’s door. Carlos gazed at Wick and then stepped inside gingerly, avoiding the blood. Inside the closet, Ana jerked back in fright.
“Ana?” Carlos was surprised to see her alive.
“Carlos.” She got up and hugged him, crying.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I almost died. A man saved me and asked me to wait here.”
“Him?” Carlos stepped aside and Ana watched towards the door. No one was there.
“Hello, you there?” Carlos yelled.
No response. Carlos looked back at Ana, helping her to come out of the restroom. Outside, the lobby was deserted.
“He was just here,” He said.
“Who?” Ana asked.
“The man who saved me. I didn’t even get a chance to thank him.”
“Me too.” She knew whom Carlos was talking about. “Who else is alive?” she asked.
“No one.”
“Carpio?”
“Dead.”
“Jesus!” Ana covered her mouth with her hand.
“What should we do?”
“Call the police,” Ana suggested. She was now in control.
“They are already outside.”
“Then I need to make some calls. Wait here,” Ana said and opened the nearest office in the lobby to find a phone.
CHAPTER 37
Mac and Jakob reached the location sent by Jessica, five blocks away from the consulate building. Stan and Jessica were waiting for them. A three-feet square shaped steel cover was swung open behind them.
“Where’s Wick?”
“He’s coming.”
“You okay?” Mac looked at Stan’s wound.
“Hmm,” Stan said, groggily.
Fifteen minutes later, Wick appeared at the opening.
“What were you doing?” Jessica asked, helping him slide the steel cover back to its original position.
“Tying some loose ends,” he said cryptically, getting into the van.
Jakob took over the wheels and the van lurched forward.
“What about Carlos?”
“He’s safe.”
“How did you find this passage?” Jakob was curious.
Mac looked at Wick who seemed unwilling to talk. Jessica nudged Mac to go ahead. “During my analysis of the consulate’s blueprints, I identified a glitch. The wall behind the Ambassador’s chair had three times the thickness than required. On further research, I found that the building layouts were changed two years ago. At around the same time Carpio took charge. In the original blueprint, the wall was of the right width. So, what changed? After landing in Vienna, when Jessica and Stan had gone out with you, Sam and I worked on this. As per Sam’s estimate, there should have been something in that fake wall.” Mac paused, letting Jessica carry it forward.
“When Wick sent me to switch on the CCTV cams, he asked me to check the office first. I found a hidden door, the same shade as of the wall, so not visible to the naked eye. But it had the same security system as that of that private elevator in his office. It needed Carpio’s ID card to open it. He must have this built as an escape route. When Sam killed Joaquin, he picked up the ambassador’s ID card and handed it to me.” Jessica said.
“But why would he need a secret tunnel?” Jakob asked.
“Maybe he suspected that one day the President or his minions might come for him and he needed to have a plan ready?” Jessica replied.
“Maybe but how did you know where the room opened?” Jakob asked.
“We didn’t. It was a risk that we took. The fact that it was a secret route, meant that the purpose was to get away from the consulate and it must open in a secluded place or alley far away from the building,” Mac completed the story.<
br />
“And that’s why we had to wait for them to send us their location.” Jakob chuckled.
“Absolutely.” Mac smiled.
CHAPTER 38
Henrique was staring at the television screen. The Venezuela consulate building in Vienna was rocked with blasts and gunshots. Sixteen people were dead including the Ambassador. It was a catastrophe of an unimaginable magnitude.
His face color paled when Carlos appeared on the screen, ready to give any and every detail to the media. How the President and Henrique wanted him dead and had sent his men to kill him on Austrian soil.
Henrique could see the writing on the wall. The story would run for months on prime time, and Carlos would be at the center of it as a survivor of an inhuman regime. People would look for a scapegoat and Henrique knew who it would be.
“Sir, the President wants to talk to you.” His secretary was at the door.
“Tell him I am on my way to meet him.”
His secretary took the message and closed the door behind her.
He grabbed his coat and car keys. He knew what he had to do. There was no way he would get mercy for this. Everyone in his family would also be prosecuted and killed in broad daylight. It was better to die on his own than to be tortured to death. He thought of his eight-year-old son, and his eyes turned moist.
CHAPTER 39
FIVE DAYS LATER.
“A ten minute long video has surfaced online today,” the news anchor announced enthusiastically. “It’s a recorded version of what happened in the deceased Venezuelan ambassador’s office at Vienna when the New York Times columnist Mr. Carlos arrived there. The video shows how the Ambassador and fifteen men, planned the whole thing. Ms. Ana, the Minister-Counselor, who has since taken refuge in Austria was also shown being assaulted. The uploader has mentioned that he has more such videos and would not hesitate to release them if the Venezuelan President does not resign within the next two days on the account of the reprehensible human rights violations in his country, of which this incident is the most recent. The international community is already putting massive pressure on the incumbent Venezuela President to resign and face an inquiry. Although the President has denied his involvement in this debacle, no one is convinced, not even Russia, one of his staunch allies. We will keep updating you as we get more details on this international scandal.” The newscaster excused herself for an ad break.
The doorbell rang and Karina answered the door. It was a guy from the postal department.
“Please sign here,” he requested, handing her an envelope.
“Who is it?” Carlos yelled from inside.
“Post.” She took the heavy envelope.
Carlos walked in the hall, bandaged, and still limping. Karina was already closing the door.
“Who sent it?” he asked.
“No name.” She handed the envelope to him.
He tore the envelope and took out the documents. There was a small note along with them.
Best wishes for a happy married life.
They quickly checked the rest of the papers. They were signed. Everything was in order. Carlos looked at Karina, she was already crying. He smiled and wrapped her in a tight embrace. Their hearts were thankful to their God and to the one woman who had just delivered them the best gift of their lives.
CHAPTER 40
Ana was in the shower when her cell phone rang. She picked up her bathrobe and came out of the bathroom, but by then the phone had stopped ringing. She checked the number; it was a private one.
She looked at the door. It was locked. The window panes were covered with heavy drapes. She was on the tenth floor, all alone in the apartment and was expecting this call.
The phone rang again after a gap of ninety-one seconds. Ana picked up the call after four rings.
“How are you?” the modulated voice asked.
“I am good. Thanks for the apartment.”
“We take care of our own.”
“I can see that.”
“Heard you faced some problems in the consulate with Joaquin’s men.”
“Nothing worth mentioning.”
“Whatever happened to you still needs to come out in public. Sympathy is a powerful tool in the hand of the right people.”
“I understand.”
“We have also received information that your President had signed an order to appoint you as the next Venezuelan Ambassador to the US. You will soon get the official word.”
Ana said nothing but she was ecstatic. Professor knew about her ambitions to be at that position and he had delivered it rather too soon.
“You did well.”
“Thank you, Professor. I only passed the information you gave me to McAvoy and his men in the TF-77 like you asked me to. McAvoy will never know that his asset in the consulate was playing with him.”
“We’ve delivered our side of the bargain, as promised.” The man ignored that bit.
“I cannot thank you enough.”
“It’s time to deliver the rest of your side of the deal.”
“I’m ready.”
“You will get your chance soon. For now, we want you to enjoy.” The voice paused. “Put this phone on speaker and remove the curtains.”
Ana did as asked.
“Open the door and let the man standing outside come in.”
Ana took a moment to register what Professor meant, but she dared not question him. She went and unlocked the main door. A muscular black man was waiting. He stepped inside without a word. She closed the door behind him and followed him to the bedroom.
“Drop your clothes,” The voice ordered. Ana paused. This was getting weird and somewhat humiliating. The voice recognized her hesitation. “Is there a problem?”
“No, Professor,” she said meekly and undid her bathrobe. She was wearing nothing underneath. The man in the room observed her with interest and then started to undress.
“Do what he tells you to.” The voice said to Ana. “Adam, make sure it’s a good show.” This was for the man.
Ana was stunned, but Adam moved forward and grabbed her by the waist pulling her towards himself. She looked out the window and saw silhouettes on the tenth floor of the adjacent building, some hundred yards away, staring at her apartment.
It was a show, and she was starring in it.
CHAPTER 41
Maryland, USA
Wick was staring at the image of an infant and his parents, taken on a bright summer day. The infant was staring back at him, but the faces of the parents were distorted beyond recognition. Wick knew it was done on purpose.
The old worn out photo had arrived via email in his personal mailbox. Apart from this one, there were two more unread emails for him. One of them offered him a lifetime-free credit card while the other offered him a loan at low interest rates. Wick rarely used this mailbox. The photo had been sent to him four days ago, the same day he had landed in Maryland from Vienna. The same day he saved Carlos.
The sender’s email was encrypted, and the subject line was, “Funny Picture- do not delete,” which again was weird. The infant was Wick himself. He knew because he had seen his childhood photos in his school records. What about the other two people in the photo? Were they his parents? He suspected they might be. But what caught his attention was the one-line text in that email.
“Want to find your parents? Find Professor.”
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