Reprisal!- The Eagle Rises

by Cliff Roberts

  An hour before dusk, David returned to the café, sitting in the same spot he had sat the night before. He ordered another cerveza from the same woman, who was again preoccupied with her daughter and her boyfriend in the back of the café. The other customers once more sat with their backs to the street for the most part, rarely looking over their shoulders. Just as the night before, they paid no attention to David. Time dragged by as dusk came and went, with the minder standing his post two doors down, drinking from a clear bottle that was more likely rum than water. He was also once again writing on his newspaper instead of paying attention.

  Shields returned to his original perch as Montoya searched for any building across the street with roof access, thus keeping an eye on the operation while he waited. Montoya finally decided on a two story, block building a few doors closer to the safe house on the opposite side of the street from where Shields was now. The choice wasn’t hard, since it was the only one on that side of the street with a fire escape for roof access. Shields waited until after dark and then quickly changed his location. The new spot allowed him to see into the minders’ post as David demanded, but he had lost the ability to see a good deal of the distant neighborhood due it to being on the same level as the rest of the buildings.

  Captain Conners waited until dusk to start his excursion. He slipped out through the moon pool and slowly dropped down into the dark brown water of the harbor. The murky water was eerily illuminated by the work lights on the pier, affording enough light to provide a bit of hazy clarity on the harbor floor. The harbor floor itself was covered with trash of every description—car parts, building materials, an old truck, ship parts and even old furniture. The captain just hoped he wouldn’t meet up with anyone who had been sent to sleep with the fishes or anything hungry for a man-sized meal during his little trip.

  By waiting until now, Captain Conners was hoping that he’d be able to hide a little easier in the muddy brown water. His plan was to stay under the ships moored to the pier as much as possible, thus avoiding the off chance he’d be caught silhouetted against the shallow bottom by the lights of the gantry crane. Once he reached the end of the pier, all bets were off as to whether he could continue to hide in the water or not. If everything went right, he’d arrive unnoticed under the bow of The People’s Glory after a short five minute cruise and make his final approach to the pier from there.

  There was still a good deal of activity on the dock when he surfaced to the right of The People’s Glory’s bow between the ship and the pier. The lights from the gantry cranes, as luck would have it, were aimed directly at the edge of the pier he was attempting to access. The lights illuminated the entire area as if it were midday, so he had to keep his head low and stay within the shadow of the pier to avoid being seen. At the end of the pier, he climbed the built-in ladder until he could just see over the edge of the pier. He was uncomfortable being exposed to the harbor, but it was the only way to reach the top of the pier. The only saving grace of the situation was that he was in the deep shadow cast by the edge of the pier due to the angle of the gantry lights.

  There were several of the unmarked crates still waiting to be loaded and they were not very far away, maybe twenty yards, no more than thirty. The only problem was, the dock area was packed with workers and military guards, all trying to finalize the load out.

  After several minutes of watching and waiting for the opportunity to move, he decided that he’d have to forego any inspection of the crates due to all of the activity and the bright lights from the cranes.

  Slipping back under the water, he went to work placing six large, one hundred pound magnetically packaged bombs made from Semtex, which he had hauled over on the dive sled. He placed the bombs along the keel of the ship. Once the ship had traveled offshore a hundred miles or so, which the built-in GPS tracking device would verify, he would then use a Kilauea Corp satellite to relay the signal, detonating the bombs and sinking The People’s Glory. All in all, a fitting end for a ship full of smugglers and terrorists.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Just like the night before, at nine o’clock, the terrorists exited the safe house and headed towards the hotel district. This time though, David didn’t follow them. Instead, he sat waiting and watching as the minders lazily meandered after their charges.

  “Minders’ OP is clear,” Shields added as Montoya turned into the alley that led to the rear of the safe house. “Boss, you’ve got company coming your way. Your two friends from last night just came out of their OP.”

  “Shit!” David mumbled under his breath. “We don’t have time for this crap!” He stood and started to walk away from the café in the direction of Pepe and his pal, Jacko. He wanted to be sure that no one in the café saw Pepe and Jacko approach him. Pepe, unaware of David’s plan for him, quickly blocked David’s path just a few feet out of sight of the crowd in the café. David had purposely kept his head down so he could act surprised when Pepe accosted him.

  “I see you did not take my warning to heart, my friend,” Pepe started the conversation.

  “Warning, what warning?” David asked, acting as submissive as possible.

  “I told you to leave this area and not to come back. Yet you have returned. Let’s go. You will come with me now,” Pepe stepped back towards the doorway to his operations post as Jacko pulled his gun and shoved it into David’s ribs.

  Shields immediately called over the link. “I can take him,” David just shook his head, calling off Shields. “Boss, if they get you inside somewhere, I might not be able to help,” Shields replied to David’s head shake.

  “No, no, no!” David blurted out as he acted like he was beginning to panic about being forced at gunpoint to go with the two security officers.

  “Move!” Jacko prodded him forward.

  “But this is not right. I have done nothing wrong,” David protested loudly, while slowly shuffling towards the security office.

  “Shut up! Move!” Jacko shoved him forward as Pepe held the door open. David figured they were used to people just doing as they were told so he played along, although he slowed his pace with each step, keeping Jacko tight behind him and allowing Pepe to get several steps ahead.

  Pepe led the way into the security office, swinging the door open and then stepping partially behind it in order to hold it open for David to step through. Pepe continued to drone on about how David was big trouble as he slowly stepped up to and through the doorway. Out of the corner of his eye, David noticed that Jacko had done as he had expected. He’d fallen back several steps and was hesitating as he took a brief look around. Obviously, he was concerned with whether or not anyone witnessed their little abduction. It was obvious that they were not expecting any trouble from David as neither man was paying very close attention and that was all David needed.

  As David stepped past Pepe, he struck. As fast and as hard as he could, David suddenly lashed out with a wicked backhand blow to the side of Pepe’s head. Pepe never expected a detainee would fight back, so it was a complete surprise when David lashed out. The blow caught Pepe squarely in the right temple and Pepe crumbled to the ground unconscious behind the door. David then grabbed the door and swung it as hard as he could, slamming it closed in Jacko’s face. The move caught Jacko unaware as well.

  The force of the door slamming against Jacko’s hand dislodged the gun and it skittered across the office floor, coming to rest in the far corner of the room. Jacko grabbed his wrist and jumped back in pain, allowing the door to close completely and providing David with the time needed to prepare for Jacko’s entrance.

  David pulled the dart gun from the small of his back and took aim at the door. He knew Jacko would be bursting through at any second and he wasn’t disappointed. David stood calmly with his aim centered his on the door about chest high. Jacko, now enraged by the act of defiance by a lowly peon such as David, did exactly as predicted. He flung the door open and charged into the room. Jacko’s facial expression changed from one of rage to one of
curiosity at seeing David standing there, pointing a gun at him. After the briefest of hesitations, David fired the dart gun and the dart caught Jacko square in the chest.

  The tranquilizer worked as promised and Jacko had only a couple of seconds to react. He clutched at his chest pulling the dart out as he fell forward to his knees and then straight over on to his face. In one fluid motion, David reloaded the dart gun before Jacko had hit the floor. He stepped quickly back over to Pepe, just as he was about to gather his senses, and shot him in the chest. Now neither man would be a bother the rest of the evening. For a moment, he debated whether or not he should kill them because if for some reason the mission was aborted tonight, it would become a very hot town for David, but he decided to worry about that later.

  With both men subdued, David glanced around the room. It held a desk covered with overflowing ashtrays and semi official looking papers. There were two dining chairs, one behind the desk and one next to it. There was a radio, an electric desktop stove for cooking, and a small refrigerator that looked European in style. In the far corner were two cots with old blankets and pillows stuffed inside pillow cases so dirty, you could grow crops on them if desired. The final item was an old black metal file cabinet. It was stuffed so full of papers that some of them stuck out the closed drawers. But the truly interesting accessory were the set of chains complete with wrist and ankle cuffs that was obviously meant for prisoner restraint. The floor was old linoleum that was cracked and peeling up in several places, with obvious blood stains under the chains.

  The office was permeated by a musty, mildewy odor intertwined with the smell of stale cigarette smoke that seemed to grow worse with every breath David took. The place was a pitiful mess; so much so, David actually felt sorry that Pepe and Jacko had to live like this. His moment of compassion passed in an instant and he quickly decided that there was nothing of interest in the office, so he left.

  Once back on the street, David informed the team he was minder-free and everyone was to keep on the mission. They’d talk about his little diversion later when the mission was over.

  This suited Montoya just fine, for he was about to begin his portion of the mission. He’d walked only a few feet into the alley that led to the safe house, when the minder who had been drunk the night before, stepped from a different doorway and confronted him.

  “You there, stop! What are you doing here? This area is off limits!” the man shouted as menacingly as he could. Tonight, instead of a bottle, he held a small handgun in his hand, though he had not yet raised it.

  “He’s got a gun,” Montoya heard over his comlink and stopped in his tracks. “I can take him, if you’d like,” Shields offered. Shields had shifted from the front corner of the building to the rear corner so that he could watch over Montoya as he headed for the safe house.

  “Not yet,” Montoya mumbled.

  “You look familiar. Do I know you?” the man asked as he stopped ten feet away. Montoya had the dart gun in his front right pants pocket and could try to shoot him, but he wasn’t sure if the dart would make it through the material with enough power to travel the distance.

  “I was here last night. I peed in the alley, remember? You offered me a drink. I just wanted to come back and offer you a drink tonight. We could be friends. I don’t know anyone in town, since I’m new here,” Montoya stated as he offered the half bottle of rum he’d found in a doorway down the block.

  “I’m on duty,” snapped the man as he eyed the bottle and licked his lips.

  “I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I just thought, since you were drinking last night, I would stop by and keep you company for a while,” Montoya slurred his words slightly as he spoke.

  “I wasn’t drinking last night. I was acting so you and any other mother’s son of a whore wouldn’t realize that I was on duty. An Officer of the State never drinks on duty!” the man shouted loudly as he looked around the alley and up the side street. “Are you trying to get me in trouble?” the man asked in a much quieter voice as his eyes narrowed and he brought the gun clearly into view.

  “He’s getting ready to make his move. I can take him, just step to your right a little,” Shields urged Montoya. “He’s acting extremely paranoid.”

  “Don’t shoot unless he points the gun,” David ordered over the comlink.

  “I got him,” Montoya mumbled again.

  “Then get to it,” David snapped.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so stupid. I’m just a simple farmer and didn’t realize. I’ll move along and thank you for setting me straight,” Montoya said as he turned to leave.

  “You had better give me that bottle,” the man demanded, wiggling the gun at his side and staring at Montoya.

  “Okay. I brought it for you anyway, so here,” Montoya did his best to appear cowed and afraid of the man as he stuck out his hand and handed him the bottle.

  The man reached out and abruptly yanked the bottle from Montoya’s hand, then turned and started back towards the shadowy doorway. “I don’t want to see you around here again. I will have to arrest you if I do. Do you understand me?” the man stated over his shoulder, dismissing Montoya.

  When he turned around after grabbing the bottle, Montoya swiftly pulled the dart gun from his pants pocket, raised and leveled it at the man’s back. “Oh, I won’t be back, I promise,” Montoya said as he fired.

  The man straightened up slightly and tried to reach behind him as he stumbled forward into the doorway where he fell as a lump, at an awkward angle. Montoya quickly looked around for witnesses but found none. He moved quickly to the fallen man where he arranged him in a sitting position in the doorway. It appeared he was sleeping off another drunk, complete with a bottle in his lap and his gun tucked under him. Montoya retrieved the dart, slipped on his NV goggles and started walking briskly up the alley towards the other end.

  At the far end of the alley, Montoya was forced to hunt for the stinky minder. He wasn’t in the doorway where he’d been last night, and at first Montoya didn’t hear him snoring. Stepping into a doorway-drenched shadow, Montoya stood listening for several seconds before he heard the telltale sound that would lead him to the other minder. The man’s new hiding place was inside one of the doors, where he lay sprawled on the concrete floor of one of the vacation apartments. Montoya didn’t waste any time darting the man. The real challenge was retrieving the dart fast enough, while holding his breath. The guy still hadn’t taken a bath and it was all Montoya could do to keep from vomiting.

  “You’re all clear, little buddy,” Shields quipped over the comlink as Montoya turned and started to walk back towards the safe house.

  “Thanks. Skipper. Maybe you can get Ginger to meet me back at the hut. I’ll bring the coconut milk,” Montoya teased in return, keeping with the Gilligan’s Island theme as he continued down the alley.

  “Hey, Skipper, could you have Mary Ann stop by for me?” Mitchell chimed in.

  “Your speed is more Mrs. Howell,” Fields interjected.

  “Knock it off!” was all David had to say and the comlink was quiet again.

  “One, Two. All’s quiet here in the alley, just the usual rats and stuff. I’ve helped both of our friends settle in for their naps, and I’m almost back to the safe house.”

  “Roger, Two,” David replied.

  A couple of minutes later, Montoya called David. “One, Two. I’m back at the safe house and I’m ready to proceed.”

  “Three, One. Anything?” David asked Shields.

  “All clear. The minders’ post appears empty; no visuals after the two followed our friends. Nothing is moving in the alley or on the main drag,” Shields reported.

  “Four and Five, One. Do you have anything?” David asked. Both men responded that they had nothing to report.

  Okay, Two. Make your move. Four, let’s hit the minders’ OP.”

  Mitchell arrived in front of the minders’ OP next to the café in less than two minutes and stepped quietly into the doorway. David left two hundred pesos on t
he table and walked off towards Mitchell without anyone noticing that he’d left. He stepped into the doorway and came face to face with Mitchell. Neither man spoke, but instead used hand signals to indicate that they would do a search of the main floor first and then move on to the second floor. Then they slipped on their NV goggles and got to work.

  Mitchell stepped to the far side of the first door as David moved up to a position opposite the door. Mitchell slowly turned the handle and the door swung open revealing an empty room. The other first floor apartment was the same as the first, so they made their way up to the second floor.

  Across the street, Montoya had quickly slipped into the safe house where the first thing he noticed was the trash had been cleaned up and stacked neatly in the kitchen on the counter. The cockroaches though, were still scurrying in every direction under the dim beam cast by his pen light. He crossed into the dining room, where he carried on a brief search for a box of explosives that had a small gap in the contents. When he found it, he slipped a small detonator inside and taped it shut with the black electrical tape, just as the other boxes were. He rearranged a stack of boxes by the corner of the living room so that the box with the detonator in it was the one on the bottom and then glanced around the apartment.

  His attention was drawn to the short hallway where the duffle bags from the night before were now stacked. It appeared they were getting ready to leave. Checking the bedrooms, he found that they were as neat as a pin, the same as last night, except there were no longer any loose papers about and the nightstand drawers were empty. As Montoya gave the living room a brief once over to ensure his special package didn’t stand out from the others, he was interrupted by Shields announcing the return of their friends.