The Society of Orion Book Six: The Moroccan Affair: Colton Banyon Mystery

by Gerald J Kubicki

  “I knew that already,” Heather quipped back.

  After two minutes they heard an announcement. “We’re inside,” the two sisters said simultaneously.

  “Proceed to the switches for the drawbridge and the gate,” Heather responded. “We’ll give you six minutes to get there.”

  Mandy and Heather immediately dropped their sniper rifles, grabbed their equipment and began crawling with Chase to the place where the drawbridge would drop.

  They needed to be ready to implement the next phase of Heather’s plan.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Ahmed Fasi marched out of the old fort like he owned the desert. The five men expedition team and the one personal bodyguard followed him in single file. He went straight to the tent like canopy and walked up to a long table that had been set up by his men. It was his control center.

  The canopy was eight feet square and had a yellow canvas roof, but no sides. Fasi’s men had rolled out a mosaic-filled red carpet and had also set up a blue canvas folding chair for him to sit on. It was the command and control center for the attack that Fasi was sure would start as soon as it became dark enough to hide people scurrying around outside the perimeter and it was almost dark now.

  Fasi glanced off to his right and could make out the silhouette of soldiers on the sand dune in the dwindling light. They were milling around on the sand dune where he had deployed them. Good, he thought.

  Once Kenny Cole had deposited the box on the table, Fasi told Hakim to call the men together. He said that he would issue their orders.

  ***

  “My friends,” Fasi started when the surly mass of men assembled. “We will soon be attacked by looters. Your job is to protect me and fight them off. Any questions?”

  “How do you know that we will be attacked?” A tall muscular Black man asked suspiciously.

  “This expedition is an elaborate trap setup by the King of Morocco,” Ahmed Fasi lied. “It is meant to attract a group of murderous smugglers. They will come. I’m sure of it,” an overly confident Fasi added. “You should shoot to kill.”

  “How do you want us to deploy?” a rough looking ex-military mercenary asked.

  “Good question,” Fasi replied cheerfully. “My five personal body guards will cover our front. The rest of you need to spread out in a circle around the remaining three sides at say fifty feet. You must not let anyone penetrate out perimeter.”

  “Most attacks come from the right flank,” Steve quickly said. “I’ll take the five guys who were in the fort with me.”

  “Ah, why don’t you also take the cook, Eric with you,” Fasi said as he once again fell into Steve’s trap. It was exactly what Steve wanted Fasi to say.

  “Of Course,” Steve replied.

  Ahmed Fasi doled out assignments to the rest of the mercenaries and then returned to his canopy to prepare his weapons.

  When he was done he surveyed his arsenal. On the table was the box from the old fort, a flare gun and the seven weapons from his vault — even though some were not actual weapons. The table also contained his personal handgun and two hand grenades just in case someone managed to break through the perimeter. He was fully prepared to take out the entire Colton Banyon team.

  Ahmed Fasi lifted his head to the sky and let out a huge maniacal laugh. He was prepared for any situation.

  “Come and get me now Colton Banyon,” he screamed like a madman.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The Patel sisters managed to avoid contact with anyone inside the Kasbah as they moved through the building. They had huddled in a corner as a young guard walked right past them smoking a hashish pipe. He clearly was not paying attention, but they could smell the hashish and his unwashed body and hid. They stealthily made their way down a circular stone stairway that wound around the courtyard and reached the small alcove where the switches for the drawbridge and metal gate were placed.

  Along the way, they had to cross the open court yard. But it was easily accomplished because there were three beautiful gleaming cars spread around the area for them to use as cover. There was a red Ferrari, a black Maserati and a white Rolls-Royce. All were owned by Ahmed Fasi.

  “That Rolls-Royce is a Phantom,” Pramilla whispered to her sister.

  “Hmm, that might come in handy,” Previne replied. “Make sure it is open.”

  “Okay,” Heather broadcasted. “Colt says that the five mercenaries and three of the security detail are in the control room eating. Two security people are walking the top of the walls. This is the best time to attack. Are we ready?”

  She heard a positive response from everyone.

  “Press the buttons,” she ordered.

  The attack began.

  Chapter Thirty

  Ahmed Fasi sat in his chair near the long table under the canopy. He held the Insight weapon in one hand and the Stop weapon in the other. He was ready to do battle. It was completely dark now, but Fasi had placed a small battery operated lamp on the table so he could see all his weapons and be able to grab the ones he needed. He was starting to feel a little concerned though. Why hasn’t Banyon attacked?

  Hakim suddenly appeared out of the darkness. There was a look of hunger in his eyes as he entered the light. He glided up to the chair where Fasi reclined.

  “May I please go and kill the infidel now? Hakim asked politely but urgently.

  “Yes, yes of course you may,” Fasi replied. He had forgotten about Eric.

  “Then I shall do it now,” the young Arab said happily and disappeared into the darkness.

  ***

  Eric was checking in with Banyon every five minutes by using the Talk weapon because he knew that Hakim would be coming for him soon.

  “Get ready, he will be here any second,” Eric whispered to the men around him. The experienced fighting men faded into the night without saying a word.

  When Hakim approached where he expected Eric to be deployed, he found that he was alone. This will be easier than I thought, he mused. He drew out his reliable long knife and hid it behind his back as he approached. He carried his machine pistol in his left hand.

  There was just enough ambient light from the moon for the two men to see each other. Eric stood up as Hakim moved in closer. They squared off, but Eric remained casual and unconcerned.

  “What a pleasant surprise,” Eric said sarcastically.

  Hakim, who could not understand English displayed look of confusion. To him, the infidel didn’t seem the least bit frightened by the appearance of the young killer.

  “I have come to kill you my friend, just like I have killed many others of your kind,” Hakim spewed out in a roar filled with hatred. He then grinned crazily at Eric. He went to step inside Eric’s defenses, but suddenly felt a pain in his left arm.

  Steve had chopped down on Hakim’s arm from behind him. The machine pistol disappeared into the desert. Now a look of shock replaced the grin filled with hatred. It soon turned to fear as five men appeared around him with guns pointed at his head. Hakim didn’t know defense. He only knew offense. He went to charge Eric, but instead of cowering like every other infidel he had encountered, Eric held up his hands and pointed one finger indicating he wanted one second before the fight. Hakim was confused and stood still with the knife raised about his head.

  “What did he say?” Eric asked Steve who wore the Speak weapon and could now understand any language.

  “He said that he has killed many people in cold blood,” Steve said sadly.

  “Well that sounds like a confession to me,” Eric responded.

  “In any court of law,” Steve agreed and nodded his head.

  “So I guess I’ll just have to inflict justice then,” Eric said. He reached down the side of his leg and pulled a long machete from a holder.

  When Hakim saw the big knife his eyes went wide. He suddenly knew that he would have to fight for his life. With fanatical disregard he sprang at Eric, but didn’t recognize that the infidel was over a foot taller and much more e
xperienced in knife fights. Hakim was flying through the air and about two feet away when Eric threw a punch straight at his nose. The radical Arab was stopped in mid-air and flopped to the ground bleeding profusely from his broken nose.

  He sprang back up and came at Eric again swiping his knife back and forth and screaming like a wounded animal. Eric took a step backwards and swung the machete. Hakim’s hand that held the knife was immediately separated from his body. He looked at the stump of his hand as it spouted blood from the artery that had been cut. He dropped to his knees and soon fell face first to the ground. The fight was over and the radical Arab was looking for his seventy-two virgins.

  “He was a wounded animal,” Eric explained to the other men. “What else could I do but put him down.” No one disagreed.

  “I think that we should give the hand to Ahmed Fasi,” Tom said as an idea.

  “It would be poetic justice,” Eric agreed.

  “Loni is due here any second,” Steve noted. “We’ll give it to her to deliver.”

  “Wrap his hand in his shirt,” Steve ordered as he collected the hand and made some adjustments.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Back at the Kasbah, the attack began. Previne pressed the buttons which both dropped the drawbridge and pulled up the mesh gate. Everyone on the team knew that it would take ten seconds for the drawbridge to drop in place. The gate would take fifteen seconds to be raised.

  As soon as she heard the whirl of the mechanisms to make the devices work, Mandy stood up and took off running. She was a hopeful Olympic sprinter and by far the fastest member of Banyon’s team.

  She carried a pistol in one hand and a small sack taken from the bag that Chase had brought. It was draped over her small shoulders. In her other hand, she carried night-vision goggles. She hit the location where the thick wood bridge would land and vaulted onto the surface without losing a step, thankful for all the practice she had gotten while taking the shortcut to Banyon’s office by vaulting up to the balcony.

  The mesh gate was only half way up, so she dropped to the ground and easily slid under the sharp spikes at the bottom of the gate.

  As she passed through the opening, she saw the two Patel sisters duck under the gate and sprint out of the building and onto the bridge. They headed for the fountain in the garden. They didn’t stop running, but only slowed down enough to grab the sniper rifles and Chase’s bag. They then ran to the ropes hanging over the wall and were over it in seconds. Both women immediately set up the sniper rifles on top of the outside walls. They would provide the distraction and protection for the rest of the crew from their spots on either side of the front gate.

  “In place,” Previne said into her earpiece.

  “I’m blowing the electricity now,” Heather yelled into her earpiece. She pressed a button and a muffled explosion was heard outside the large compound. It suddenly went dark inside the Kasbah.

  Mandy, who was running as fast as she could, stopped and donned her night-vision goggles. She had already passed the overhang that marked the entrance to the alley which would take her to the generator. Once her eyes adjusted, she started sprinting again. She knew that the auxiliary generator was timed to kick in after thirty seconds. She needed to find the generator room and disable the machine before the lights came back on.

  “Colt says the way is clear,” Heather reported for Mandy.

  Heather and Chase were sprinting into the building also wearing night-vision goggles. Their job was to find the vault and retrieve the Orion weapons inside it. Chase was an expert at disarming security systems and opening locked safes, so they were pretty confident that they could get in and out quickly. Heather’s job was to communicate with everyone and to provide protection for Chase, the safe cracker.

  ***

  Inside the control room of the big building, Youssef noticed two blinking red lights out of the corner of his eye. He was away from the monitors and smoking hashish while sitting around a small table. The rest of security detail and the mercenaries sat with him while eating. He turned his head to determine which light was blinking when all of a sudden, the room went dark. A battery operated safety light immediately covered the room in eerie red shadows.

  “We’re under attack,” one of the mercenaries roared and headed for the door. He had Asian features and a fit looking body. He wore no shirt, but had a handgun strapped to his small hips and a long sword riding his back.

  The other two security men and Youssef laughed at him and didn’t move.

  “No worries my friend,” Youssef shouted out in English. “We don’t know that anyone is attacking. The power goes out in this part of the city all the time. We have a generator that will restore power in thirty seconds. Then we’ll see if anyone is attempting to get inside. It’s best we wait here until then.”

  “Besides,” one of the other security men offered. “We’ve had intruders before. To get to the buildings, they have to climb over the wall, drop the drawbridge, raise the gate and then charge inside. By the time they get past the courtyard it will take much more than thirty seconds and we’ll see them.”

  “Yeah,” the other security man added. “Only four intruders have ever made it to the courtyard so far. We killed them all.”

  But they didn’t know how fast Mandy could run.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Mandy was counting off the seconds in her head. She knew that there was only fifteen seconds left before the generator kicked in. She now saw the high outer-wall of the Kasbah at the end of the block-long alley. It was a dead end. The door to the generator room was the last one on the right. She prayed that it wasn’t locked as she increased her pace.

  A door on her left suddenly opened just as she flashed past it. The Asian mercenary stepped out and was shocked to see a small blond woman zip past him. He didn’t hesitate and took off after her. She was much faster than he was, but he could also see the end of the alley ahead. He had her trapped and grinned at the prospect of carving up the little intruder. He figured that Fasi would have to pay him a bonus for killing her.

  ***

  Heather and Chase had already breached Fasi’s personal residence and had found his bedroom where his safe held the Orion weapons. Chase attacked the device.

  “This is an older model of a safe made by SentrySafe. They are a good manufacturer,” Chase explained.

  “How long before you can get inside?” Heather abruptly shouted. She didn’t care who made it.

  “About one minute,” he replied with a smile.

  “Make it thirty seconds,” Heather said like an order. She took up a classic firing stance with her legs spread and swept her gun back and forth inside the big bedroom. Her gun sported a silencer.

  “Slave driver,” Chase replied, but knew that he could crack the safe in less than that time.

  “Need help here,” they heard a nervous voice as it came through their earpieces.

  “Uh-oh,” Heather suddenly uttered. “Mandy is in trouble. I need to go help her.” She immediately pressed her earpiece. “Where are you?”

  “I’m near the generator door, but it’s locked and there is a mercenary closing in on me fast,” Mandy screamed.

  “Avoid contact as best you can. I’m on my way. Will you be able to blow the generator in time?”

  “Negative,” Mandy replied.

  “Chase, once you grab the weapons, head to the courtyard. We’ll meet up there as soon as I collect Mandy,” Heather yelled as she headed out the door.

  “I guess we’ll discuss plan B when you get there,” Chase said to an empty room. Their current plan relied on the lights being out as they exited the Kasbah.

  “What’s going on?” Previne asked nervously when she heard Mandy’s cries for help.

  “We are not going to be able to blow the generator,” Heather explained as she ran to Mandy’s location. “As soon as the lights come back on, start shooting as much as you can.”

  ***

  Previne turned towards her sister. “I�
��ve never shot a sniper rifle before. I’m not sure that I can hit anything.”

  Pramilla, who was a veteran of many animal hunts in her diplomatic role, replied. “You don’t actually need to hit anyone. Just aim for the windows and pump out as many rounds as possible. We just want to pin them down while the team escapes the Kasbah.”

  “Then we need to ‘Rock the Kasbah’ don’t we,” Previne said quoting a lyric from an eighties rock song as she took careful aim at a window.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  The computer machines started to make noise and the lights inside the control room came back on. Youssef immediately went to the monitors and began moving cameras around while searching for any intruders.

  “The drawbridge is down and the gate is open,” he screamed in horror. “There must be someone inside. Fasi will kill me for letting them in.”

  He continued frantically pushing more buttons to locate the intruders. There was no camera mounted in the alleyway as the high wall prevented anyone from entering or escaping the building. As a result, Youssef couldn’t see the Asian mercenary and Mandy squaring off to do battle.

  He did notice one person heading out of Fasi’s bedroom and one person running inside the house, but several of the cameras suddenly went dark in those areas.

  “The three of you,” Youssef said pointing to some of the mercenaries. “You go and block the front gate.”

  “And me?” the remaining mercenary asked.

  “You go and man the walls with the rest of the guards,” the young Arab replied and pointed. “Anybody inside the building has only one way out.”

  “We need to go and find the intruders and kill them,” One of the security guards roared. “We want the pleasure of doing that.”

  “The two of you will chase the intruders to the courtyard,” Youssef said as he pointed to the security detail. “You know the inside of the Kasbah better than the mercenaries.”