Hard Win (Michelle Angelique Avenging Angel Series 3)

by Jason Stanley

  “Don’t worry about it,” Brandon said. “Most of the time, holding one like you mean business is enough. If you have to shoot, just remember to point it at what you want to hit, keep your eyes open and pull the trigger. Keep pulling the trigger until the other guy goes down or you have to put in more bullets.”

  “How do you do that?”

  “More bullets? Don’t worry, we’ll show you when we’re there and you can practice some.”

  “There he is.” Deja stood up waving at G-Baby.

  “Hey, Deja, this is a bad business.” G-Baby gave her a quick hug.

  Shaking hands with Trevon and Brandon, G-Baby said, “I’m glad to see you guys here.”

  “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are beginning our regular boarding for flight one, zero, nine six. Please have your boarding pass out.” The announcement caused a second wave of people to join the long line. Deja stood up but the three men all remained seated in the waiting area.

  “No use jumping up. The plane will be there until the last person is on board. When we land in Houston is when we need to move fast,” Trevon said.

  “True that,” Deja said and sat back down.

  “Also, Michelle got in touch with Tuan. He’s coming,” G-Baby said. “He called and said he is in line at security. We might need to slow-drag a bit to give Tuan time to make it through.”

  On the run, Tuan rounded the corner, coming into sight as the last of the other passengers in line passed through the check stand with the boarding attendant. “There he is,” Deja told the attendant. She stepped out into the hall waving at Tuan. Pulling a small carry-on by the extended handle he jogged over and gave Deja a quick hug. Together they handed their boarding passes to the attendant and joined the rest of their group standing in line on the jetway at the airplane door.

  G-Baby gave Tuan a hug, “Thanks for coming. This is Trevon and Brandon.”

  Everyone shook hands. Tuan asked, “Are we it?”

  “What do you know about Michelle’s abilities?” Trevon asked.

  “Reputation only, and that’s pretty serious.” Tuan said.

  “How about you guys?” Trevon asked G-Baby and Deja.

  “Reputation and results,” G-Baby said.

  “Then I’m the only one who has seen her in action,” Trevon said. “I have enough experience being in the real shit to tell you, what I saw wasn’t normal, not even close. With her skills, she may not even need all five of us. We’re gonna get this done.”

  A determined crew found their seats on the last Houston bound flight out of LAX for the night.

  A few hours later in the mostly empty Houston terminal, a young woman, speaking Vietnamese, asked, “Are you Mr. Tuan?”

  “Yes. And you are?” Tuan asked.

  “I’m your ride. I was sent to take you and your friends to pick up some equipment. Please follow me.” She said. Without another word, she headed toward the door.

  When G-Baby recognized the tonal sound of Vietnamese, he called the others to come to him. It was clear Michelle, or someone working with her, had arranged their transportation. That shouldn’t come as a surprise because she would be far too busy to spend time driving to the airport.

  Silent, the four men took off behind the woman.

  Running a couple steps to catch up, Deja asked G-Baby, “What’s happening?”

  “Michelle sent a driver,” he said.

  “And we go, just like that? No questions, no explanation. No English?” Deja asked, quick stepping to keep up.

  “Yup.”

  “Why?”

  “Tuan’s been here before, they know him. She spoke Vietnamese. Ascia wouldn’t know about any of that.”

  “Damn, that girl’s got action,” Deja said.

  “Yup.”

  * * *

  The woman pulled into the parking lot behind Michelle’s apartment. Michelle waited while everyone quickly climbed out of the van with their bags. When the last person was out, the Vietnamese woman closed the side door, waved to Michelle, and drove off.

  “Hey, everybody,” Michelle said. “Thanks for coming. We have a lot to do in only a few minutes. Let’s check the vehicles first then go up to the apartment where I can brief you.”

  She pointed to a three-quarter-ton Ford pick up truck with a cab-over camper on back and a Chevy Suburban.

  The Suburban was exactly what she had asked for. The color didn’t matter as long as it was nondescript. The gray was perfect. All the windows were deeply tinted, making it impossible to see in the back. She wanted a front bench seat so, if needed, they could carry more people. The rear seat had been removed and the middle seat folded down to create a flat floor. Along one side, a thick foam mattress lay on the floor. Two bottles of medical saline and drip lines hung on hooks above the bed. Additional medical supplies were in a box at the head of the bed.

  Everyone eyed the makeshift ambulance bed. No one said anything. It was for Nikky. Michelle desperately hoped they didn’t need another one for someone else.

  The camper was not ideal, but would work. An empty linoleum covered floor remained after the mattress had been removed. The sliding glass panes on both sides of the overhead sleeping area had also been removed. The empty window frames made long open slots to shoot from. It would be somewhat cramped to lay crosswise and still keep the muzzle of the rifle inside the camper. The high vantage point was worth it. Laying on the bed area of the camper over the top of the truck cab put it above the tops of any passing cars, creating a clear line of sight into the target area.

  Michelle told them what the jobs were and asked who was best with a long gun. With a few questions asked and answered, it was agreed, Brandon was the best shot. Having the best shot would make the most difference with the sniper setup. Everyone knew the person in the camper would be a sitting duck if anyone spotted where the bullets were coming from. There was no armor, no place to hide, and no place to go.

  Brandon climbed inside and examined the camper on the back of the heavy-duty pickup.

  From the open door Michelle asked, “Well?”

  “Yeah, it’ll work. I like that there is a pass-through between the cab and the camper where the truck’s window used to be. That’ll make it a lot easier to move around.”

  “I’d do it, but I have be somewhere else that only I can get to,” she said.

  “Ain’t no thang. We all got a job to do here. This one’s mine.”

  Michelle grabbed both of Brandon’s hands. “Thank you.” She turned to the group. “That’s it for here. Let’s go upstairs where we can go over everything else.”

  A silent group climbed the stairs up to the apartment.

  “I want everyone to look for problems.” Michelle said. “Assignments, like in the truck downstairs, are flexible. The plan has three sections. We have two assaults and an escape route.”

  “I like the sound of a solid escape route,” Brandon said.

  “That’s good because you are a big part of it,” Michelle said. “Let’s deal with the assaults first. They have two strongholds in a seven story building. The first is on the ground floor and the second is on the top floor.”

  “What about the ground floor?” Brandon asked.

  “Supposedly the ground floor lobby serves all of the tenants. In truth, it provides security for Ascia and little else. Three uniformed and armed security guards and a female receptionist are on the day shift and will be there when we hit them. There has always been two or three extra muscle hanging around.”

  “What about in between?” Trevon asked.

  “Good news on the in-between and below. The first through sixth floors are occupied by commercial companies. An insurance firm’s accounting and management have one floor. Two telemarketing call centers share a floor. Other similar businesses that have few, if any, visitors fill the rest of the building.”

  “Are visitors an issue?” Brandon asked.

  “They could be,” Michelle said. “The timing will work best if we wait until after 8:00. That’s go
od for a lot of reasons. First, it’s almost 7:00 and the early birds will start showing up. They should all be inside by 8:00. Parking in the single basement is limited. Only a few of the managers for each company have spots. Given the early hour we should be there before most visitors show up, but there could be some in the lobby.”

  “What about Acsia’s team? Will they be there?” Trevon asked.

  Michelle hesitated a moment. “Yes, many of them are there. I had them on all night.” She pointed to the receiver. “We have ears inside their outer office. That’s how I learned they have Nikky. Anyway, several of them stayed the night up on the seventh floor. It sounds like they are asleep right now.”

  “Do they normally live there?” G-Baby asked.

  “No.”

  “That’s good news right? It means they’ll be groggy from not sleeping well,” G-Baby said.

  “Yes.”

  “What?” Deja asked. “I saw that look, what happened?”

  “They stayed up late because they beat Nikky real bad last night. With what I heard, she is bound to be injured, probably seriously. We get her out this morning or the chances are she’ll be dead by this afternoon. I don’t think she can take another round of what they put her though.”

  “How do we get to them before they are awake?” Trevon asked.

  “It’ll be tough, we have to surprise them twice. Once on the ground floor lobby and once on the top floor. If we don’t get them in the lobby before they have the chance to sound an alarm then the second assault will be harder.”

  “How do we surprise them in the lobby?” Trevon asked.

  “We to a pincer move, with me on one side and the three of you,” she pointed to Trevon, G-Baby, and Deja, “come through the front door.”

  “If we’re at the front door, where are you? G-Baby asked.

  “I’m going down through the air conditioning ducting system. I’ve been in there before, so I know my way around. That’s how I’ll come in behind them. Through the vents I’ll have line of fire to everywhere in the lobby except right in front of the elevators.” Michelle pointed to a drawing of the ground floor.

  “Slick,” Trevon said.

  “Brandon, you’re across the street, here.” Michelle pointed to a diagram of the street and buildings on both sides of the block. As an outside sniper you’ll have the long view to have everyone’s back.”

  “You got it.”

  “Tuan,” Michelle turned to Tuan, “I need you on the roof as hoist operator and lookout for the first assaults. Your job is to get me in and out fast. The winch set-up needs someone on the spot to run it. That’s you. You’re out of the shooting, but without you, I can’t do my job and pretty much everything doubles in difficulty.”

  “And after the assaults?” Tuan asked.

  “You’re point in the basement. It’s up to you and Brandon to open our escape route. We’re leaving through a utilities access tunnel. You have to get it open for us and close the access to keep the SWAT team from following.”

  “SWAT will be there?” Tuan asked.

  “Count on it,” Michelle said.

  “How do I get it open?” Tuan asked.

  “Brandon will bring tools from the other end of the tunnel. He should be waiting on you when you get there. You can’t bring your own because we need to carry that winch” — she pointed to a portable winch and battery rig — “down the fire escape ladder on the adjacent building.”

  “That answers how we get on the roof,” Tuan said.

  “Brandon, you also have three jobs,” Michelle said. “First, you are our eyes on the lobby. When you park, and go up in the camper, give us a reading on who’s in the lobby and their location. From your spot you tell Trevon, G-Baby and Deja who their targets are. When they enter, you support with sniper fire.” Michelle pointed at several drawings as she talked. “The front is all glass. You should be able to get a good line of fire from almost anywhere across the street. The guard station is in the center of the room. If the guards or Ascia’s guys drop behind the station, they’ll be out of your sight.”

  “What is the station made out of? Will it stop bullets?” Brandon asked.

  “It’s regular construction with drywall. As long as you don’t hit a couple of studs everything will pass though.”

  “Are there any other blind spots?” Brandon asked.

  “Depending on the angle, possibly the side of the reception desk could give someone cover,” Michelle said.

  “Got it.”

  “Your third job is to open our escape tunnel from the other end and meet Tuan in the basement and help him. As soon as the lobby is secured, you drive away. Your destination is the underground parking in the building here on the backside of the block from us.” Michelle handed Brandon a picture of the building and garage opening. “Don’t worry about finding it. We’ll stop there before you set up.”

  “What will I need to open the escape tunnel on the other end?” Brandon asked.

  Michelle pointed to a yellow-top tool box. “Inside that box is a set of large adjustable wrenches and a few other items you might need. The wrenches should be enough. Building code requires the access panels to have standard threaded bolts with standard nuts to allow utility and city workers to get in. Once you are in on your end, bring the tools and pass them through the grate to Tuan. Again, because of the city building code, the grate will be big enough to pass the tools through.”

  “Where’ll the tool box be? Do I take it with me in the truck?” Brandon asked.

  “No, put the box in the back of the Suburban, you’ll ditch the truck at another location.”

  “The rest of you will come in through the front doors on foot. You’ll be waiting in a separate car two blocks away. After Brandon recons the lobby identifying the targets, and I do an all clear with Tuan, you move in. Park underground next door and walk in through the front doors. Take out everyone that hints at opposition and anyone who reaches for a radio, tries to hit a panic button, make a phone call, or even farts too loud.”

  “What happens if someone does get word out?” Trevon asked.

  “They’ll be awake and ready for us when we hit the top floor. It could be ugly. Either way, I’ll come up through the vents and help out. We have two standard entrances. The elevators and stairs. There is a fire escape stair on the back side. I don’t know what the access is on that floor or even if it still functions. Ascia could have it locked up, even welded shut on the inside. We won’t go in that way.”

  “I’m counting five cars, is that right?” Deja asked.

  “Yes, the Suburban and a second escape vehicle. The camper, the car Tuan and I will go in and the car you three will leave in the garage.”

  “Do we have all five cars?” Deja asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Should I ask where we got them?” Deja asked.

  “There’s dangerous, and crazy dangerous,” Michelle said. “What we’re about to do is crazy dangerous. Then there’s suicidal. Asking too much about the people who are providing us with all the equipment, guns and cars is pretty far over the line into suicidal. No, don’t ask about them. Just be grateful for their support.”

  Michelle ran through the plan one more time. She had each person explain their part of the plan. Then, she had each person explain the rest of the team’s plan. The last process of everyone explaining each other’s part showed up a few small misunderstandings and wrong assumptions that could have been dangerous. Those issues were cleared up and they moved on.

  “Any questions?” Looking around, Michelle was met with solemn determined expressions and five heads shaking “no.”

  Thirty-Three: First Base

  THE PARKING GODS SMILED. The street was wide with two lanes of traffic in each direction and parking on both sides. Coming up the block on the opposite side of the street from Ascia’s building, there were only three parking places that would work. Otherwise, the truck with the cabover camper would have to be double parked. That would draw a lot of at
tention. A car pulled out, leaving the ideal spot with a driveway in front. Almost directly across from the front doors, it provided an excellent line of sight into the whole lobby. With the driveway in front, no cars could pin the truck in by parking too close. When the time came, it would be easy to drive away.

  Brandon parked the truck and put the keys under a rag on the hump in the floorboard. He crawled through the hole where the back window had been removed in to the back area, and climbed up to the sleeping area where he had an excellent view of the lobby.

  “I’m in position,” Brandon said into his headset.

  “Check in, everyone. Can you hear both me and Brandon?” Michelle spoke softly into her headset.

  “Tuan here, five by five.”

  “Deja. Loud and clear.”

  “G-Baby. I’m good.”

  “Trevon, clear.”

  “Brandon, all good.”

  “All good,” Michelle said. “Brandon, tell us what you see.”

  “Three guys in uniform,” Brandon said. “Two at the desk in the center, one standing against the wall on the left. There are two guys in suit coats and no ties. They look like muscle. They’re standing by the elevators. Michelle, they’ll be under you, so you won’t be able to see them from the vent. Two men, both White, in business clothes, are in chairs on the right by the receptionist. They look like civilians waiting for a meeting with one of the other companies in the building.”

  Michelle was already down in the main heating and air conditioning duct at the fourth floor; too far away for her voice to travel through the ducts to either the lobby or Ascia’s office. “What about the street?” she asked.

  “Regular traffic. No police in either direction,” Tuan replied.

  “Good. Is everyone parked so you can focus?” Michelle asked.

  “Yes,” both Brandon and Deja said.

  “G-Baby and I are in the car with Deja,” Trevon said.

  “Deja, you take the two citizens and receptionist on the right. If they don’t do anything wrong, make them lay down on the floor where you can watch them. Trevon, you go point in the center, focus on the muscle by the elevators. Uncle G, you take out the guy on the left, then help Trevon if there is anyone still standing. Now everyone, Give it back to me.”