“What are you doing at your end, replied Ramón?”
“I have told them I am sending four of my people over to assist them.”
“Okay; delay sending them for forty-five minutes, I’ll contact the people there, it’s time the Hooke family were reunited down here.”
“I’ll expect a little extra in my account for this,” replied Tremaine.
“Don’t worry yourself on that; we always look after our people.”
Ramón replaced the phone and redialled the number for the Washington Hotel.
In the Washington Hotel, the call was being paged over the hotels speaker system, “a call for Mariana Lopez.”
Mariana looked over at the reception desk and spoke to her companion Vito Torres, “wait here Vito.”
Mariana was a beautiful woman aged thirty-two, with the typical jet-black hair and a slender body, she was wearing a camel coloured trouser suit, she walked over to the reception desk and spoke, “I am Mariana Lopez.”
The male receptionist acknowledged her, “madam you can
take the call on the courtesy phone over there,” he pointed to a phone nearby.
Mariana walked over to the phone picked it up and said “yes.”
Ramón replied, “Mariana; you have company, MI-6 have a man in the foyer watching you and three more in room seven-eleven opposite the Hooke family in room-seven twelve.”
“What do you want us to do Ramón?”
“This is important Mariana I want the Hooke family brought here, do whatever it takes the two men you have are expendable, and my contact within the CIA is delaying sending some more back up for forty-five minutes.”
Mariana was quickly scanning the foyer area and quickly spotted Sammy Dickson seated at the bar drinking a hot drink, “I have spotted the man in the foyer, leave it with me Ramón.”
“I’ll have your plane tickets ready for you and the Hooke family at Baltimore Airport Mariana.”
“Thank you Ramón,” she replied before replacing the phone.
Mariana walked back to the table with Sammy Dickson watching here he spoke to the barman, “have you a phone here?”
The barman pointed to a phone at the end of the bar.
“Thank you,” replied Sammy.
He walked over to the phone and dialled room seven-eleven,
Tony Lawrence picked it up, “Tony it’s me Sammy, the woman has just taken a call do you want me to ask the reception to trace it?”
“No; keep an eyeball on them; I’ll speak with the hotel management on the trace.”
Sammy hung the phone up and went back to the bar sat down and ordered another coffee.
Mariana had returned to the table and spoke with Vito Torres, “that was Ramón; we have company in the form of MI-6, go out and get Eduardo. I will take the lift and draw their agent over at the bar to follow me and deal with him, take Eduardo and meet me on the seventh floor. There are three more agents in room seven-eleven. When we meet we will take out the agents in room seven-eleven and grab the Hooke family.”
Vito stood up and left the foyer to go outside.
Mariana watched him leave, then stood, and walked to one of the nearby lifts.
Sammy had observed the brief conversation and the male going outside followed by the female heading towards the lifts; he finished his coffee and quickly moved towards the lift just as Mariana was entering, he followed her
in.
Mariana had pressed the level eight floor, so Sammy pressed level nine.
Sammy was standing to the left of Mariana, as he was watching the illuminated floor lights rising; he felt an enormous impact like being hit by a hammer to the right side his body. He rapidly began to weaken and his body wobbled, the area of the impact began to burn like he had been burned by hot grease. His vision began to blur rapidly and his body began to feel cold, he turned towards the area of pain and was looking at a knife sticking out of his chest. The woman who gave it a vicious twist was holding the knife.
Sammy fell to the floor of the lift; he was dead before he hit the floor.
The lift arrived at the eighth floor, Mariana quickly looked outside and observed the floor was clear she bent down and dragged the dead body of the MI-6 agent out of the lift and found an empty unlocked cleaners room nearby.
She dragged the body into the room, found some bed linen and covered him with it; she quickly rechecked the floor before emerging walking back to the lift she pressed the call button, when the lift arrived she entered and pressed the level seven button.
Vito had liaised with Eduardo outside and both were now waiting by the lifts in the foyer.
Tony Lawrence had spoken with the hotels manager having apprised him of his authority.
The manager was now making a call to their reception and was being informed that the recent call for Mariana Lopez had originated from Bucaramanga Colombia.
The manager called room seven-eleven, “Mr Lawrence; the call was made from Bucaramanga Colombia the call was transferred to one of the foyer phones and it lasted
Twenty-one seconds, is there anything else I can do for you?”
“Lawrence replied, “No; thank you for your help.”
Lawrence hung the phone up and redialled for the bar,
The barman answered, “No sir he left a few minutes ago and entered one of the lifts.”
Lawrence hung the phone up; he quickly spoke to his two operatives Jim Mason and Colin Mead, “heads up I think we have been rumbled, collect your weapons and let’s move into the Hooke’s room.
Sixty seconds later, they were in room seven-twelve.
Lawrence asked Mrs Hooke to take the children to the bedroom and to stay there until he came for them.
She replied, “what’s going on? You told me we would be safe.”
“Do not worry Mrs Hooke, this is just a precautionary
Strategy.”
When she had gone into the bedroom he spoke to Jim and Colin, “I’m taking a gamble here; I reckon they will attack our room first, when we make our move I want you Colin with me, Jim cover the Hooke’s.”
Lawrence returned to the door and looked through the eyehole, he did not have to wait long, two men arrived at door seven-eleven opposite leaning towards the door they listened for a few moments and then one of them placed a heavy kick against the door; that swung open.
Both men rushed in with handguns at the ready, Lawrence watched them enter and paused for five seconds before quickly opening their door and along with Colin Mead moved across the hallway and entered room seven-eleven.
Vito and Eduardo were both coming out of the main bedroom when Vito clocked a shadow on the wall near the main door.
He looked around at Eduardo and said, “Baje,” (get down).
Both men went down behind a large sofa.
Lawrence and Mead came in handguns held horizontally in the palm supportive grip style, Lawrence moved to the edge of the corner wall adjoining the hallway and main room he quickly stuck his head around and back again, just in time as several shots rang out smashing the
plastered corner wall where a second earlier he had stuck
his around.
The shots resonated in the confines of the room with the energy waves bouncing between the walled surfaces.
Lawrence moved forward quickly into a gambol rolling out and up into a crouched firing stance levelling his gun at the sofa where he could just make out the tops of two heads. He squeezed the trigger emptying the nine rounds into the sofa; both Vito and Eduardo were hit but only wounded. They both managed to raise themselves and aimed at Lawrence.
Colin Mead had now positioned himself in a kneeling position at the corner wall, he had observed Lawrence firing into the sofa and was now watching the two men behind it staggering up and raising thei
r pistols at Lawrence who was just inserting another magazine clip into his P220.
Mead quickly took aim and fired twice, Vito and Eduardo took the fatal rounds in their heads, the wall behind being sprayed with brain matter.
The room was filled with smoke and both Lawrence and Mead were still feeling the gunshot resonances in their ears.
Jim Mason had entered the room when he had heard the first gunshots his P220 held up in the firing position. As he entered, he had seen Lawrence gambol and then
firing his weapon, he had moved up behind Colin Mead as Mead had levelled his weapon and fired two rounds.
Lawrence noticed him and shouted, “You’re supposed to be protecting the Hooke’s.”
Lawrence ran out of room seven-eleven, the hallway was
crowded with room guests milling around whom had come out of their rooms upon hearing the gunshots.
He entered room seven-twelve and went to the bedroom, it was empty, Mead and Mason had followed him in, “Quickly check the other rooms,” Lawrence barked.
They were empty, “The woman; she must have taken them, Colin take the lift to the foyer Bill your with me, the staircase.”
Mariana was shepherding Mrs Hooke and the two children down the staircase, she had watched as Vito and Eduardo had burst into room seven-eleven followed by the two
MI-6 agents from room seven-twelve, she had mussed “very cunning” as she moved along the corridor the third agent came out of the Hooke’s room following his associates.
This was going to be easier than she expected, she had entered the Hooke’s room and found them in the bedroom and quickly ordered them to follow her using her handgun to obtain compliance.
The staircase was nearby and people were already coming out of their rooms as she escorted the Hooke’s to
the Staircase, this was getting better she thought, the confusion would help with her escape.
She was on level two when she heard a door opening loudly above; she quickly looked up and saw two figures descending rapidly.
Mariana quickly motioned the Hooke family to move quicker down the staircase, the youngest child was slowing them down and she ordered Mrs Hooke to pick the child up and carry her down.
Above them Lawrence had quickly looked down the staircase below and thought he glimpsed movement, but could not be hundred percent certain, as they clambered down the staircase he could feel the warm breath of Jim Mason on his neck close behind him.
Mariana made it to the foyer and ushered the Hooke’s through the main door outside with the intention of using one of the taxis nearby.
Just as she was making her way across to the taxis a black Ford SUV pulled quickly in front of her the male driver shouted, “Mariana get in, I’m Ramón’s man in Washington.”
Mariana paused for a moment unsure of this stranger, when behind her a male voice shouted, “Put you gun down and raise your arms in the air, do it now!”
The driver of the Ford could see the man giving the
order was Lawrence, with his two agents fanned out either side of him ten yards away providing back up.
All three had adopted a crouch style position similar to a boxer’s stance; the feet were spread apart for better balance, with the weak-side foot slightly forward of the other, creating an even balance.
They had a double-handed grip on their handguns directed at Mariana.
In the distance, the sound of multiple sirens could be heard.
The Ford driver moved the vehicle forward six feet to clear his view from Mariana and the Hooke’s and raised his handgun towards Lawrence and his men.
Lawrence could now see the driver clearly; Tremaine Ramsey was levelling his weapon at them.
Lawrence re directed his aim at Ramsey just as he felt an impact to his left shoulder followed immediately by the sound of the gunshot; the sensation was like a powerful blow to the arm with a massive throbbing sensation like when it goes down to the bone.
His body was displaced backwards and he fell down on one knee.
Mariana was now turning around anti clockwise drawing her weapon with her right hand as the Hooke family ran towards the main roadway.
Colin Mead drew his aim onto Ramsey squeezing the
trigger as Jim Mason did the same firing at Mariana.
Ramsey was just firing another round at Mead as he took two fatal wounds to his head, as he died his right foot slid of the brake pedal and the auto transmission moved the car forward several yards before colliding with a nearby taxi.
Mariana was part the way through her about turn raising her weapon, when one of the two bullets fired by Jim Mason struck her in the top left shoulder stopping her dead for a moment before she collapsed to the ground.
Jim Mason ran over and kicked her handgun away covering her with his.
Lawrence had managed to raise himself and hobble over to Mason, his left arm hanging lifelessly down his side.
Chris Mead had run over to the Ford checked Ramsey’s pulse quickly noting there was none, before reaching in to switch the engine off.
Several Police black and whites from the 2nd district MPD were now arriving filling up the roadway in front of the Washington Hilton, officers were deploying from their vehicles with side arms raised shouting orders to Lawrence and his men to lay down their weapons and move away from them.
Lawrence and his team complied and then they were
Ordered to place their hands behind their heads interlocking their fingers.
Once they had complied, they were quickly and proficiently handcuffed and placed into separate Police vehicles.
Two Metro officers had secured Mariana and were escorting her over to one of three ambulances’ that had arrived on the scene.
Another Patrol officer had checked on the driver of the Black Ford SUV and had come running back to a senior officer named Watson with the dead driver’s wallet.
The senior office asked, “What you got there?”
The officer opened the wallet, the senior officer starred down at the wallet seeing the familiar CIA identification of the eagle, the shield and the sixteen-point compass star, bearing the name Tremaine Ramsey.
“What the hell’s being going down here?” He remarked.
He looked around the scene and saw a female holding two children across the roadway huddled together looking totally out of place and frightened.” I think those people over their need our help, go and bring them to me.”
The officer walked over to the Hooke’s spoke with them and then escorted them across the road back sergeant Watson.
Watson spoke to the woman, “Ma’am; you and your children
okay?”
Mrs Hooke was still shocked and frightened from her experience and did not reply holding her two children tightly against her.
Sergeant Watson repeated his question.
Mrs Hooke looked at him, “yes.”
“What happened here Mam?”
“My names Elizabeth Hooke and these are my two children,
we have been staying at the Hotel, the three men over in your police vehicle are British agents, I don’t know about the woman or the man in the black vehicle.”
Sergeant Watson recognised Mrs Hooke’s strong English accent
“Okay thank you Mrs Hooke, I’ll need a full statement from you, but first I will have two of my officer’s take you back to you room.”
“Thank you officer.”
Once the Hooke family were being taken back to their Hotel Sergeant Watson spoke into his radio, ordering the three black and whites with the three men in custody to be taken back to the precinct and the wounded woman to be taken under Police escort to the local hospital.
OSC Headquarters London
Whitehall Place
Lat = 51 degrees, 30.4 min
utes North
Long = 0 degrees, 7.5 minutes West
Saturday 31st December 1988
Fourteen nineteen hours GMT
Strayker was reviewing the data on the intended strike on Toledo Verdugo’s Hacienda when the phone rang.
He picked it up, “Yes.”
“Major it’s Pierce Evans.”
“Good morning Pierce I’m just reviewing the Intel for the South American job, how can I help you?”
“I have just come off the phone with Tony Lawrence one of the four agents I sent to Washington to guard the Hooke family, it relates to the Hooke family in Washington Major; it appears there has been a shootout at the hotel with my agents and some people whom tried to take the Hooke family.”
“Is Mrs Hooke and the children okay Pierce?”
“Yes they are okay, one of my agents was killed the other three were taken into custody by the Police.
“What happened Pierce?”
Pierce Evans spent the next few minutes explaining what had happened at the Washington Hotel.”
When he had finished Strayker said, “I’m sorry to hear about your man’s death Pierce, what’s happening with the Hooke’s?”
“I have been able to pull a few strings and they will be on their way back here with the three agents in a couple of days.”
“What about the woman that was wounded?”
“Unfortunately the Americans want to keep her, it appears she had help from a CIA agent, they want to question her which I can understand.”
“We have to presume Pierce; that Verdugo will soon know about this, what news have you from your two agents at his Hacienda?”
“They are due to report in,” he looked at his watch, “twenty-five minutes time at fifteen hundred hours.”
“Okay Pierce, route all updates to ICIS.”
“As soon as they report in I’ll have my team forward the Intel to ICIS Major.”
“Thank you Pierce.”
Both men hung their phones up.
Project Reaper Page 14
