A Dubious Curse (A Colton Banyon Mystery Book 8)

by Gerald J Kubicki

  The plan was to break into the room and order the women to the ground. If any of the guards attempted to shoot back, they would be eliminated. The SWAT team also planned to send reinforcements from the other two floors as soon as they were secure.

  It was the element of surprise that had spoiled everything. A small mistake was made by the SWAT team leader. The third floor door had a combination lock to prevent the women from coming and going as they pleased. When the SWAT team leader had punched in the code, he had accidently transposed two numbers and had to reenter the code to open the door. During that short period of time, the guards had noticed movement in the big window above in the workstation on the second floor. Their hands had immediately gone for their triggers.

  It was good training, speed, and Kevlar that had saved the lives of the SWAT team. As soon as they had burst through the door, one team member had rolled right, one had rolled left, and two had taken up firing positions in the door way. They had been immediately hit with a barrage of lead. One SWAT member in the doorway had been hit twice in the chest area and had gone down before another SWAT member had managed to put a life-ending bullet in the nearest guard.

  The five women had, instinctively, dropped to the black, stone floor and had begun screaming uncontrollably. The four remaining guards had continued to pelt the doorway with lead, but soon, they had realized that there were already SWAT members in the room and that they would be returning fire as soon as they found cover. There were many boulders and rock piles to hide behind in the large, dark cavern.

  Rather than die in a hail of bullets, two guards had simply faded back into the darkness of the open area. The two guards furthest from the doorway had had more time and were partially covered by the small workstations. Each of them had grabbed a hysterical woman by her hair and yanked them to their feet, using them as body armor and hostages. They had also disappeared into the large, dark cavern. It had become very quiet. Even the women had stopped screaming. That was when the SWAT leader had issued his call for the translator.

  Not knowing what she was going to face in the cavern, Darlene quickly turned towards the police line. The men were gathered by the gate to the property, “Move up, we’re going in,” she yelled to them.

  All of the NSA agents immediately drew their guns and pointed them upwards. They quickly formed a circle around Cindy and began jogging down the tunnel. They breezed through the third floor door and were soon crouching behind the SWAT team in the doorway to the third floor. The SWAT team member who had been shot lay next to them on the sloped tunnel. He was in considerable pain from the impact of the bullets, but was not bleeding. He told Darlene he would be alright once the bruises healed. She quickly realized how tough these men were and the sacrifices they made.

  “We brought the translator,” Darlene whispered to the SWAT leader. Her people were lined up behind her along the wall.

  “Good, she’ll need to convince these assholes to give up once we regain the advantage,” he quickly replied.

  “How are you going to do that?” she asked.

  “Watch,” the leader answered. “Turn off the lights on the second floor,” he said into his earpiece. The lights went dark almost immediately.

  “I think I understand,” Darlene uttered.

  “Somebody, please shoot out the lights in the cavern,” he ordered. The unmistakable thump of silenced machineguns filled the air, and the lights were quickly blown out. “Night-vision goggles, everyone,” was the next order.

  While they waited for the goggles to become functional, the team leader told Darlene that the first order of business was to grab the three remaining women who were out by the workstations. He told her that they would bring the women into the tunnel and then it would be Darlene’s job to protect and get them away from the fighting. He told her there would be bullets flying, and there was, unfortunately, no guarantee the other two women would go unharmed. Darlene grimaced and nodded her head in understanding. He turned to Cindy and told her what he wanted her to do. She nodded her head in agreement, moving towards the front.

  “Hope they understand my dialect,” Cindy breathed, with a degree of apprehension. “I don’t want them shooting at me, I’m just a translator.”

  “Take up positions,” the leader ordered into his earpiece. Five more SWAT members slid into the big room. They all had prearranged orders. Two took up covering positions and three headed for the women on the floor. They could clearly see them through their goggles. The SWAT men moved silently across the floor not wanting the women to start screaming and give their positions away. Once they were by the women, they clamped their hands over their mouths and easily lifted them off the ground. They hustled back to the entryway, holding the struggling women, and deposited them between the NSA agents. They continued to cover their mouths. Joan produced a flashlight and shined it on Cindy.

  “We are here to rescue you,” Cindy quickly said in Russian. “Your friend who escaped has sent us to free you. Don’t be alarmed and be very quiet, please. Nod your heads if you understand what I have told you?” The three women nodded and the SWAT team men removed their hands.

  “You two,” Darlene pointed to the men in the back of the group. “Take these women up top and put them in one of our vehicles. And, for God’s sake, find them something to cover themselves,” she ordered. Each man produced a flashlight and coaxed the women out of the tunnel.

  The SWAT team leader, who was one of the rescuers, now took up a position just inside the doorway. “Report by position,” he said into his earpiece.

  “Position one—I have eyes on the guard. He is ready to fight,” the man reported.

  “Position two— mine has a hostage, no clear shot yet.”

  “Position three—mine has a hostage, but is having trouble controlling her. We can take a shot.”

  “Position four – no hostage and very nervous.”

  “Okay, let’s start with position one,” the SWAT leader decided. He turned to Cindy. “Tell him he has no chance of getting out and he needs to throw his weapon down within five seconds, or he will die.”

  “Really?” Cindy responded.

  “Yes,” he replied.

  “You, on the wall left of the doorway,” Cindy called out in Russian. “You have five seconds to drop your gun or die.” The response was immediate. He sent a burst of bullets from his machinegun, but it was abruptly cut off when a bullet entered his brain. The SWAT team had fired only one bullet.

  “The first one never gives up,” the SWAT leader told Cindy, shrugging. “Position four, your man is next.” He indicated for Cindy to call out to him.

  The mercenary guard was no hero. He immediately dropped his gun and raised his hands. The two SWAT team members covering the position bolted for the man and had him prone and cuffed in less than fifteen seconds.

  “Position three you’re on. Can you take a shot?” The SWAT leader asked.

  Cindy was now getting the rhythm and spoke before she was asked. “You, with the struggling girl,” she called out in Russian. “How long do you think you can keep her under control? If you kill her, you die; if she gets away, you die; if you shoot back, you die. Your only option is to let her go and drop your gun. Do it now,” Cindy ordered with the force of a Russian mother.

  Indecision seemed to engulf the man and he lost his hold on the woman. She dropped to the ground, exposing him. Realizing that he would be dead in seconds, he threw his gun to the ground like it was a hot potato and raised his hands. He fell to his knees and put his hands on his head.

  A few seconds later, he was roughly knocked to the ground by two SWAT members and cuffed. A third man grabbed the catatonic girl, clamped his hand over her mouth, and whisked her to the entryway. Once inside the tunnel, Cindy explained that she was being rescued and was to go with another of Darlene’s agents to meet up with the rest of the women. She nodded silently.

  The experienced SWAT team leader knew the last man would be the problem and had purposely waited to go after him
. Through his earpiece, he maneuvered his men into secure positions with shooting angles before he had Cindy talk to him.

  “Okay, asshole, it’s just you left. We are…,” but she was interrupted. He suddenly screamed.

  “I have two grenades. I can kill you all,” he yelled. Cindy quickly translated for the SWAT leader.

  “Anybody see any grenades?” the leader asked through his earpiece.

  All seven responses were negative. Then, Bobby Brown responded from the second floor. He was watching through the window. “No other armaments were found anywhere else in the facility. Call his bluff,” he ordered.

  Suddenly, everybody’s earpiece became active. It was the President of the United States. “He doesn’t have any grenades and tell him to check his gun. He has no bullets, either,” the President said, passing on Colton Banyon’s intel.

  Cindy, who had clearly been involved in hostage negotiations before, yelled out in Russian, “You’re a liar. You don’t even have any more bullets. How can we trust you?”

  The guard released the hostage and ejected his ammo clip, but before he could look inside, he was body slammed to the ground by two SWAT members, who had quietly snuck up on him. His nose and jaw were broken in the short melee and it was over in seconds.

  The last blue woman was collected and presented to the NSA agents. Lights on the second floor came on, and the SWAT team began the unpopular task of collecting the captured and dead. Bobby Brown had called in the medical, forensics, and transportation teams as soon as the second floor had been secured. So as the NSA team exited the mine, they saw dozens of vehicles vying for parking spots inside the mine entrance gates. The sky was beginning to turn blue and they could now see each other.

  “You look like you have been mining coal,” Joan joked.

  “And you look like you were on a date with a mauler,” Darlene shot back, as she pushed the last blue woman into the vehicle. She noticed the other women all had on white paramedic uniforms. The stark contrast between their blue skin and the ultra-white uniforms was startling. The women were all alert. Cindy turned to Darlene and asked what she should tell them.

  “Tell them they have been rescued and we are going to take them to a safe location. Also, tell them we are going to split them up in the two vehicles,” an exhausted Darlene told her.

  “What about the future?” Cindy asked, knowing the women would all ask the question.

  “Make something up,” Darlene dismissed in frustration. “I have no idea what to tell them. They are illegal, after all. I’m just too tired to think right now.” She slumped to the running board and Joan joined her. They sat unmoving, with their heads in their hands and drinking from a water bottle. Cindy nodded in agreement and went to address the women. Soon, three of the small women came out of door of the vehicle and headed to the other SUV. When Cindy slammed the big door, Joan and Darlene noticed Bobby Brown leaning against the vehicle and smoking a cigarette. He looked every bit like an America hero. He had taken off his headgear, and Darlene realized that he was very handsome.

  “It was a good takedown, you know,” he casually said, as he looked at the sky turning brighter.

  “If you say so,” Joan managed to grunt.

  “I mean, we closed down this whole operation, rescued five hostages— unharmed, I might add—and none of my men were hurt badly. We only had to kill four bad guys and have eight more to interrogate. Hell, I even have one guy who is claiming he was a hostage as well and can speak English and Russian. He wants to help interrogate the others,” Bobby laughed at the thought of Jason helping. It wasn’t going to happen.

  “You did a good job,” Darlene managed.

  “Something is bothering me, though,” Bobby confessed.

  “Really, what?” Joan asked without much interest.

  “I mean, all these guys are illegals, yet you guys get the pick of the litter. You’re not even from around here. How did you guys get involved in this takedown?” Bobby smoothly asked as he ground out his smoke.

  “We were after someone else, but got pulled for this job. There is nothing more to it,” Darlene told him.

  “I’ll see you guys back at the base later today, especially you, Joan. I’ll even buy you a few drinks,” he offered like someone asking for a date.

  “Sorry, probably not,” Joan said. “We will have too much work to do. We’re not done yet.”

  “I might be able to help you there,” Bobby replied confidently. “What if I could tell you where the sixth blue woman is?”

  Joan stood up and brushed some lingering dust from her black pantsuit. She flipped her hair and flashed a thousand-watt smile, revealing her pure white teeth. She then addressed Bobby in her signature southern-belle voice. “Whatever do you mean, sugar?”

  Bobby inserted a toothpick between his teeth and leaned back on the hood of the vehicle. He waited a few seconds while she fussed over him. “My team got sent to a shootout over at Echo Bay this morning. That’s a resort on the northern coast of Lake Mead,” he explained.

  “And?” Joan coaxed.

  “Big shoot-up, three cars wrecked, a water jet ski shot up, several speedboats missing, and maybe a thousand shots fired. Lucky no one was hurt,” he continued, knowing he was giving her confidential, top-secret information.

  “So?” Joan asked with her hands on her hips.

  “Funny thing is this,” he offered. “After we secured the area and began questioning witnesses, an order came down from up top to back off.”

  “Has that even happened before?” a now-serious Joan asked.

  “That’s just it. It has never happened before. And we were told to forget everything we discovered.”

  “Does seem strange…” the intellectual agent admitted.

  “Anyway, it seems some tough guys were after some people on a big houseboat headed out into Lake Mead, but when the shooting stopped, they all disappeared,” Bobby Brown said.

  “Maybe a mob hit?” Joan asked.

  “Don’t know,” he replied. “But several people who were on the dock told me one of the passengers on the houseboat wore a gold bathing suit. She had been quite noticeable, because her skin was blue.”

  eanwhile, Colton Banyon was pretty pleased with himself. He closed down the computer and stretched as he got ready to leave the pilothouse. Pretty good day, he thought. The President had just called and told him his fee would be sent to his account immediately. It was two million dollars— less all of the expenses that Bart could drum up. He and Timmy had almost single-handedly stopped the attempt to corner the world’s silver market. He had helped close down the entire conspiracy ring. During the day, they had also solved the mystery of why Skye was blue and, he believed, delayed the NSA agents after him long enough for them to be recalled.

  He still had problems to deal with, but tomorrow was another day and he needed rest. He noticed the sky was turning lighter and realized he had been up all night and needed some sleep. As he made his way down the stairs to the lower level, he found two guards at their posts on the back of the boat— one was Bart and the other was Guido. He waved to both of them. The lake was serenely quiet and calm. The air smelled fresh and clear. It was a very peaceful time on the big lake. Banyon was feeling pretty content and just stood there, looking out at the lake and taking it all in.

  “How’d we do?” Bart, asked, bringing Banyon back to reality.

  “The President said he would forward the fee,” Banyon responded with the information Bart wanted to hear.

  “Good, I’m glad to hear it. We’ve had a few more expenses and your credit card is almost maxed out,” Bart informed him. “I’ll get you a detailed report of expenses by midmorning.”

  “Make it late afternoon, Bart. I may sleep until then,” Banyon replied with frustration, turning and stumbling into the cabin. He was dog-tired and not interested in any further discussions.

  He found his way to the bedroom, which, he was told, he was sharing with Loni, and he quietly opened the door. He undressed
and climbed into bed in complete darkness. His eyes were already closed when he hit the pillow. He turned on his left side. Soon, Loni wiggled over to him and pressed her body to his. He fell asleep almost immediately.

  he sound of people running and a continuous buzzing of some kind of alarm woke Colton Banyon. He quickly rolled over and turned on the light in the completely dark bedroom. He then glanced at his watch, which was still on his wrist. It said the time 10:30 AM. He turned to look for Loni, but she was already gone. He realized something wasn’t right and bolted from the bed. He quickly donned into his bathing suit and tee-shirt from the day before and left the room.

  As he headed up the stairway to the main deck, he noticed the bathroom where his shaving kit was stashed was open. He immediately detoured to brush his teeth and relieve himself. He splashed water on his face and combed his hair. He decided he could now face the day.

  As he made his way through the cabin, he smelled coffee. He poured himself a cup. No one was in the kitchen area, although there was evidence that people had been eating breakfast seconds ago. Plates were still on the table. Now, they all seemed to be collected in the back of the boat. He could see several people milling around through the door and headed in their direction.

  As soon as he opened the sliding door, the buzzing became much louder. He noticed the guards all had their guns at the ready. Everyone seemed to be a little nervous. Something was happening.

  “What’s going on?” he called out to no one in particular, sipping his coffee.

  “Colt, where have you been?” Loni yelled, crashing into him. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “I was a little worried when you never came to bed last night,” she said.

  What? Banyon thought. A look of confusion came over his face. He wanted to tell her that she was right there in the bed, but he realized that she would not joke about that. I slept in some other woman’s bed and didn’t even know it?