by Bryan Murray
“Good,” Jake replied. He suddenly had another thought. “Talking of choppers coming and going, we also need a few diversions.”
“Diversions?” Giancarlo looked confused.
“Yes, if Lorenzo has a chopper up there, if he spots me and wants to come after me, a remote detonation pack to make sure that he doesn’t would be a start!”
Sarah was also thinking it through. “Right and a couple more to add to the confusion after blowing the chopper would also help.”
Jake was still thinking. “Yes, you’re right and in case I’m able to get away undetected, I need to hide the unexploded devices where they may not even find them for days.”
“That also sounds dangerous, Jake,” she replied. “Particularly with the chopper, where you’ll have to get close enough to the chopper to hide it and my guess is that the helipad will be pretty well guarded.”
“Don’t worry, as long as you can get me the kit, Giancarlo?”
“No problem,” the Italian replied. “I’ve got just the thing, packs a hell of a punch. You’re also going to need something else, Jake.”
“Such as?”
“If and when you get up to the villa, there’s no way you can get inside the villa from the front, so you will have to climb up to the balcony to Don Lorenzo’s bedroom.”
Jake spread out the plan of the villa on the table. “And where’s that?”
Giancarlo pointed. “There, just past the swimming pool.”
“And how do I get up there?”
The Italian smiled. “A grappling hook!”
“Really?”
“Yes, my friend and with padded hooks so they don’t make a noise.”
“Now you’re getting into the spirit of things. And don’t forget the two Glocks, one for each of us plus spare ammo.”
“No problem. Okay, you crazy Americans. I have things to do. I have no idea why you are risking your life going to check on that monster and I don’t want to know. I will be back by noon tomorrow with all the equipment and in the meantime I suggest you lie low. Walls have eyes and ears around here and there is no telling who is on the payroll of Don Lorenzo.”
They nodded and shook hands as the young agent left. Jake and Sarah then continued to study the layout of the villa and the photographs of the cliffs. Once again the hairs on the back of Jake’s neck were standing on end. Definitely not a good sign.
After a relaxing afternoon by the hotel pool, followed by a delicious meal of Lasagne and Chianti, they both settled in for the night, totally unaware of what the next day would bring.
CHAPTER 28
Following the morning briefing in the Oval Office, the President called his running mate and told her to spend time with her son, do some Christmas shopping and he would be in touch if they had any problems around the world.
Maria was pleased to get a break, she had many things on her mind and she was still devastated that Lorenzo’s plan had gone so badly wrong. She hated that man Jake Harrigan with a passion, even though he had returned her son safely, since he had also ruined her one chance to control the most powerful nation on Earth and for that she would never forgive him. She was already saying a silent prayer that Lorenzo and his soldiers would hunt down Harrigan and his partner in Hawaii and finish them for good.
* * *
The President was reviewing a series of files on his desk when he was interrupted by the arrival of John Mulroney with the Senior Consultant Clinical Hypnotherapist, Doctor Herman Rosencrantz, a bearded man in his 60’s, who had been examining both Jeff and Andrew.
Mulroney did the introductions. “Mr. President, this is Doctor Rosencrantz, he’s been examining the boys after their ordeal.”
“How do you do, Doctor,” the President shook hands with the learned, older man. “And what are your thoughts so far?”
Rosencrantz thought for a moment. “Well, Mr. President, we are dealing with two very different young men in your son and the son of the Vice-President.”
“In what way?”
“First of all, I decided to give each of them a simple test of their resistance to basic hypnosis.”
“And what happened?” the President was getting curious.
“Well, sir, I have to tell you that your son is an excellent candidate for hypnosis, while the son of the Vice-President is exactly the opposite!”
“Really?”
“Yes indeed, so much so that I feel that we do not need to worry any further about the boy Andrew being pre-programmed, firstly because of his natural resistance, but also in view of the fact that Mr. Strapinski, whose work I am very familiar with, would have realized how easy it would have been to work with your son and also be certain that the boy would be spending a lot of time close to you, without security standing by!”
“So, what do we do now, Doctor?” the President asked.
“Regrettably, we cannot begin to successfully reverse the evil work of Strapinki, particularly since I understand he is now dead, until we know the trigger words that are still embedded in your son’s brain. Without them, we won’t know for sure that we have successfully removed them from any subconscious connection to any similar murderous attacks as previously seen and be sure of success, I’m afraid.”
The President looked patient. “That’s okay, Doctor, I’ve got people working on that very thing and as soon as I can get some information we’ll be in touch with you immediately. In the meantime, please keep working with my son.”
“Of course, Mr. President.” The Doctor shook hands and left.
The President looked at Mulroney. “I wonder how Jake and Sarah are doing.”
“Me too, sir.” Mulroney sighed.
CHAPTER 29
Towering above the beautiful beach of Pozzallo, at the far end of the bay, the majestic cliffs rose from the Mediterranean, to where the Cagliari Villa looked out like an impenetrable fortress.
It reminded Jake and Sarah of a smaller version of Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, where Diamond Head towers above the far end of the beach.
Jake and Sarah were currently about a mile down the beach from the high cliffs and having a final briefing with Giancarlo as they loaded the small, powerful fishing boat. The sun was setting in the west across the Mediterranean, bathing the cliffs of the headland in a golden glow.
Both Jake and Sarah were fully armed with their silenced Glocks and spare ammo and all three of them had synchronized throat microphones. Jake went over the final plan with his team. He was loading all his climbing gear and slipping on two backpacks. He turned to Giancarlo.
“Okay, we know Lorenzo is still up in the villa, right?”
“Yes, as of one hour ago and I don’t see him leaving this evening. He likes to stay in the villa after dark.” he handed Jake a special pouch.
“What’s this?” Jake asked.
Giancarlo opened the pouch and removed what looked like a slim red cell phone with three buttons on the front. “This is the detonator control for the diversions. Each button is connected electronically to each of the three devices that you will place as you move along. Once the green light is on to show each is armed, all it takes is a touch of the button and kaboom!”
“And how long will the device stay armed once activated?”
“At least a month!”
“Right,” Jake looked out to sea at the weather as he finished stacking their gear on board. “Good thing the water is calm, so I’m not going to get smashed on the rocks before I even start the climb.”
Sarah still looked concerned. “Yes, be careful on the rocks, Jake. After centuries of being pounded by the sea, they’re going to be real slippery.”
He gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry, we’ll be in touch all the way and the minute you see me heading back down, be ready to move out fast. Hopefully, I will still be undetected, but if you see any explosions or gunfire, you can be sure we need to haul ass the minute I hit the water!”
He looked at Giancarlo. “And where will you be as we return?”
>
The young Italian smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll have a chopper standing by and if necessary we can lift you off the water and out of sight!”
Jake gave a final shrug of his shoulders. “Okay, let’s do this, thanks for all your help, Giancarlo, If anything goes wrong, make sure Sarah gets away. Otherwise we’ll see you soon.”
The young agent was already pushing the boat out, a smile on his face. “They say you Americans are crazy, but you sure are a fearless bunch of bastards!”
Jake smiled. “I think we’ll take that as a compliment.” he gave a wave before starting the engine and he and Sarah moved out slowly, melting into the golden/orange glow coming off the ocean.
* * *
Both dressed like local fishermen, Jake and Sarah carefully made their way out to sea, making sure they approached the cliffs from out at sea, not in a straight line as if they had come along the beach, in case anyone was watching from the villa.
They need not have worried. Lorenzo was feeling secure in the knowledge (from Maria) that Jake and Sarah were in Hawaii and other than instructing his security guards on the road up from the city to stay extremely vigilant, he had not given any thought to the security above the cliffs. A big mistake!
* * *
Dusk moved in fast and in the dwindling light left, Jake and Sarah made sure there were no other small craft in sight as Sarah moved in as close as she could to the rocks, so that Jake could scramble ashore. Once he managed to get a footing above the water line, Sarah tossed his climbing gear over to him and he made his way into the overhang at the bottom of the cliffs, so that even if anyone was looking down from above, they would only see the boat and no movement on shore.
Jake then set to work. He sorted out his climbing gear including his ropes, cord and webbing, carabiners, ascenders and belay devices. His main concern was that if he slipped in the dark, he needed to stop his fall quickly and after he checked his gear one last time, he was ready to make a start. He took out his hand-made frame from one of his backpacks that would fit round his neck with the detailed schematic of the route he would take up the cliffs attached to it.
Giancarlo had done an excellent job of putting the schematic together and before it finally went dark and the sun dropped below the golden horizon, Jake checked his schematic to make sure he was exactly at the starting point of the climb and that he was at the bottom of the main fissure in the rocks before he began.
Once he had his bearings and all his gear either in one of the totes on his back or, in the case of the ropes, slung over his shoulder, he then switched on the small map light on his climbing helmet and began the treacherous assault up the rock face.
Below in the boat, Sarah was watching him nervously and back on the beach, Giancarlo was also looking towards the headland, where the lights from the villa were already twinkling in the bright moonlight.
“Are you okay?” Sarah whispered into the intercom.
“So far so good,” Jake replied. “Keep coms to a minimum in case some smart ass is listening in.”
“Will do.” Sarah went off the line.
CHAPTER 30
In the villa up above, Lorenzo had already dined and he told his younger brother that he was retiring early, he was tired, but before he moved up to his room, he told Giuseppe he needed to talk to the Capo on the West Coast.
When Giuseppe asked why, Lorenzo told him he wanted to start checking out hotels in detail in Hawaii, and no matter how long it took, he wanted to find the hotel where the American Jake Harrigan was now staying!
He returned to his room, poured himself a cognac and lit a Cuban before walking onto his balcony for a final nightcap before turning in. It was a warm, crystal clear evening and the silver moonlight on the ocean below was totally soothing. He never tired of the view and his mind wandered to recent events.
He still found it hard to believe that he had a son and particularly a son who looked just like him. To think that if Maria hadn’t warned him, he could have executed his own flesh and blood. The thought gave him goose bumps and he shivered involuntarily.
The fact that he had missed the golden years of the boy’s life growing up, not to be able to spend time with him, teach him the ways of the family, filled him with deep remorse. However, he could also understand that Maria was, like himself, already mired in a totally different career than his, with a husband who clearly thought he was the father of the boy.
She had at least given the boy the basis of a loving family and he had no doubt that the husband loved the boy dearly as did Maria.
They had come so close to making his brilliant master plan work, in fact another split second longer, according to what Maria had told him and the First Son would definitely have killed his father. There had been just one obstacle in the way - that bastard Harrigan!
He had told Giuseppe that whatever else they did, finding and killing Harrigan was now a top priority. In the meantime he could relax, continue to run his already successful family empire and regroup after the failed assassination of the US President.
He finally flopped into bed, turned off the light and he was asleep within minutes. Had he realized that his bitter enemy was already half way up the impregnable cliff face below, he would have still been wide awake!
CHAPTER 31
So far the climb had gone without incident and Jake was pleased that it was a crystal clear moonlit night, making the climb much less terrifying. He was also pleased that his improvised climbing schematic was working each time he had to adjust his angle or level of ascent.
He had realized from the schematic that he could only carry just so much rope and that from the looks of the terrain, he could probably make it the last fifty yards up to the helipad with great care when his rope finally ran out. Not something he would want to attempt on the way back, particularly if he was being chased by the soldiers of the angry mobster.
When he reached into the next ledge for a hand hold, he almost had a heart attack as he accidentally reached into a nest of some kind of seabirds and as they suddenly squawked and flew out, he had to hang on ,eyes closed until they were gone and he could continue the climb.
He was also grateful that the rock face was dry since they had not had any rain in days, a fact he had checked with Giancarlo and he was also glad that the rock face was not crumbly, the most hazardous worry of all climbers, so that each handhold and foothold were solid without worrying about a sudden slip into oblivion.
* * *
Down below, Sarah was nervously watching the cliff face through powerful night glasses and the only way she could be sure that Jake hadn’t fallen or been injured, was to see the occasional quick flash of his helmet lamp as he continued to make his way upwards.
* * *
He was now perspiring as the weight of his back packs were slowing him a little and also the ropes and cords he still had slung over his shoulder did not help, but thankfully he was in good shape and all the climbing lessons he had been given by the Agency were now kicking back in.
Almost an hour or so later, after making slow, steady progress, he suddenly pulled himself into the cliff face and switched off his helmet light when he heard laughter from up above.
On the helipad above, two armed soldiers Gino and Mario were yawning with boredom and chatting about their latest female conquests, judging by their hand gestures, with Gino mimicking that he was holding a coconut in each hand, a lascivious smile on his face. They both walked over to the edge of the helipad, looking out to sea, glancing out there like they had done a thousand times, before they went into the guard shack for another boring game of cards.
Jake then realized that his climb had been dead on course and that he was just about twenty feet or so below the helipad. It must have been the soldiers that he had heard, no doubt bored by their zero action vigil and now relaxing. This was exactly what he needed. He waited a couple of minutes until the men were clearly into what they were doing away from the edge of the helipad, catching his breath after the strenuo
us climb, before he started to move stealthily upwards once again.
He looked up after climbing another ten feet or so, to see the concrete overhang of the base of the helipad that came straight to the edge of the cliff. He then started to drop down the cliff face all the excess baggage he had been carrying except for the two shoulder totes. He even threw the climbing helmet with the light, now switched off, down below as he prepared to move around the underside of the overhang without arousing the attention of the two men he had heard above.
He could just imagine the panic on Sarah’s face if he had forgotten to switch the light off on his helmet and she saw it bouncing down the cliff face, no doubt thinking that Jake was still wearing it!
With the security lighting from the helipad itself, it was now much easier for Jake to move along, out of sight of the people above until he could slowly raise his head above the edge of the concrete to check out the scene.
Finally, in the moonlight and the lights from the helipad, he could see the scene quite clearly. Don Lorenzo’s fast, sleek chopper was parked to one side of the helipad, tethered safely to hooks bedded into the concrete across from the guard shack where he could also see the two men inside.
He quickly removed the first explosive charge from one of his back packs and moved stealthily along the perimeter of the pad until he was on the blind side of the chopper, away from the soldiers, even if they looked out of the window.
He then slid on his stomach underneath the chopper until he spotted two built in storage lockers on the underbelly of the aircraft. He quietly opened the first one and saw that it was filled with life jackets and sundry supplies. He quickly placed one of the explosive devices into the back of the locker after activating the green light and making sure it wasn’t visible. He then closed the locker door, slid back under the overhang and started to check out the path and steps from the helipad up to the villa,
