“What the hell,” one roared. He brought up his machine gun to fire at anything that moved, but it suddenly went flying into the darkness from a foot kick.
The second mercenary now stumbled as a karate chop hit him in his neck. It momentarily paralyzed his arm and he dropped his machine gun. It slid away in the sand.
They quickly drew their knives and stood back to back. “Who are we fighting?”
“I don’t know, but I think there are three of them,” the other replied.
“The one we were tracking was just a little girl,” the taller mercenary said almost in a laugh. “When we grab her, you hold her down and when I’m done, I’ll hold her down for you.”
“Deal,” the shorter one replied in a machismo-filled voice. “Then we’ll kill her.”
“Sounds like you have done this before,” the other man commented. The two mercenaries had not met before this mission.
“I have, many times. I like it when they struggle.”
“That sounds like you’ve just admitted to a number of death penalty crimes to me,” Loni broadcasted into the desert.
“What are you going to do about it?” The taller one said while tightening the grip on his knife,
“Carry out your death sentence.”
“Let’s rumble then, bitch,” the shorter man screamed.
Out of nowhere, a flying kick to the midsection of the first man sent both of them airborne. They landed in a heap on the sand. They still had not seen their attacker, but a large knife wound was bleeding along one of the men’s arms. He had to switch his knife to his other hand. The taller mercenary had received a kick to the face that broke his jaw. He howled in pain.
“Give up yet?” Loni asked. “How does it feel to be defenseless in a fight?”
“Surprise! Who said we are defenseless,” the short one announced. He pulled a gun from his boot and waved it around. He didn’t know where to aim it.
Suddenly, something grabbed his hand and pulled his arm straight. He was unprepared for the vicious leg kick to his armpit. It dislocated his shoulder and he wailed in pain and bent over.
The mercenary with the broken jaw now went for his extra gun. Loni anticipated the move and calmly pulled her own gun. She was only five feet away. She shot it out of his hand.
The shorter man noticed the flash from the gunshot and charged. It caught Loni off guard.
She prepared to defend herself, but before the man could reach her another gunshot rang out and a bullet hole materialized in the man’s head. Maya had taken the shot from only two feet away. Banyon rushed into the scene and finished off the remaining mercenary.
“Darn, Colt,” Loni complained in frustration. “I wasn’t done punishing them yet.”
“We’re on a mission here,” he replied. “We can’t afford unnecessary risks.”
“You’re right, of course,” Loni said as an apology.
“Now let’s get to the Range Rover,” he ordered.” And wait for the rest of the guys.”
“Colt?” Loni suddenly asked in her sexy voice. “When we get to wherever it is we are going, can we get a private room?”
***
Meanwhile, back under the canopy, Ahmed Fasi went to fire his handgun at the voice in the darkness. But he discovered that it wouldn’t shoot. The ammo clip was gone. He screamed again and threw the weapon at the voice in the desert.
At that precise second, four of the mercenaries charged into the light. One had his armed cocked and launched a grenade at where he thought Eric was standing. It was too late for Banyon’s team to cover up. Fortunately, Eric had left the spot as soon as he had last spoken. The grenade landed in the sand over twenty yards from the Banyon team and blew a harmless hole in the soft ground.
“Nice try,” Eric yelled. “You have three seconds to give up, or we open fire.” He then started counting.
There was mass confusion around the canopy as everyone prepared for a firefight. It was the distraction that Ahmed Fasi needed to get away. He raced out of the canopy and headed towards the old fort. He felt that once he got inside, he could hold out for days. He knew the insides and where the old well was located, no one else did.
Eric had instructed his men to begin firing on two. There was no need to be honorable about his promise and he didn’t want any of the defenders to track the muzzle flashes from his men. Six machine guns began firing at one time.
The killers under in the canopy area didn’t stand a chance. They were mowed down in seconds. Not one of them had returned a bullet.
“Status on the remaining mercenaries,” Eric quickly asked Banyon.
“Four have decided to live to fight another day,” Banyon answered. “The remaining four are waiting to see what will happen next. But Fasi has escaped and is headed for the old fort.”
“Should we go after him?”
“No need,” Banyon explained. “The mercenaries have noticed Ahmed Fasi and are closing in on him with their knives out.”
“So your idea worked,” Eric said with admiration.
“Yes, his head will be making a trip to South Africa to collect some reward,” Banyon replied.
Eric could now hear Fasi’s screams in the distance. It suddenly became quiet.
“Turn the headlights of the Range Rover on so we can see you,” Eric requested. “Come on boys. This mission is over.”
***
It was a tight fit and uncomfortable in the vehicle. Nine people tried to fit into the limited space. The six man suppression team took up most of the vehicle. They weren’t small men and hadn’t washed in days.
They had all jettisoned their weapons and buried them in a sand dune along with their night-vision goggles. While they were burying their equipment, Banyon spoke to the group.
“Great work team,” he said cheerfully. “The Casablanca team was also successful.”
“Thanks Colt,” Eric replied. “These guys are the best.”
“But I’m afraid that I have some bad news,” Banyon continued. “We need to go directly to Turkey.”
“What for?” Steve asked with a moan.
“I’ll explain it all later after the whole team is together,” Banyon replied. “Previne has rented a suite at a hotel in Casablanca for everyone to shower and change. Your bags are in the trunk. The company plane will be landing in five hours and we will use it to fly to Turkey. We are adding three people for the mission.”
“This sounds important,” Eric commented.
“It is,” Banyon replied solemnly. “I do have one question though. Who has the Orion weapons from the old fort?”
He didn’t know it, but Banyon was testing Kenny’s loyalty. Banyon knew that he had the weapons. He would ask the same question of Chase Sanborn when they were together. Previne had caught Chase texting the ferret.
“I’ve got them,” Kenny quickly replied with embarrassment.
“Give them to Maya,” Banyon ordered. Kenny began pulling out the small objects from his pockets.
“Okay,” Banyon uttered. “Are there any more questions?”
“Does the suite have a private room for us?” Loni asked.
Chapter Forty
Banyon’s whole team was spread out around the large suite. The dining room table was heaped with food. No alcohol was allowed as they couldn’t afford a hangover.
The members of the team were relaxing after showering and cleaning up. They were taking turns relating their part of the takedown of Ahmed Fasi. Mandy had just explained her fight with the Asian ninja while doing some acrobatic impressions of his style.
“Mandy,” Eric said to the least experienced team member. “The first rule in fighting is to never give up your gun, especially if it still has bullets in it.” The others nodded in agreement.
“But I needed to use it to try to break the padlock on the door,” she whined.
“That was okay,” Eric explained. “But you don’t hammer a padlock with the barrel of a gun. Next time use the grip. It’s a lot stronger.”
&
nbsp; Everyone stopped talking when a knock came at the door. Loni rushed to it and swung it open. In walked Timmy, the geek, Carol, Kenny’s sister, and Edgar, the ferret.
“Edgar, I need to talk to you privately,” Banyon said while the rest of the team was greeting each other. The ferret followed Banyon into one of the bedrooms in the large suite. Once inside, Banyon closed the door.
Banyon didn’t look at the ferret. What he had to discuss was very uncomfortable. It involved treason. Instead, he looked down while he talked.
“I need you to explain why Timmy, Carol, Kenny and Chase are texting you about every move we make,” Banyon forced himself to say.
“I can explain everything,” the ferret responded in a voice that Banyon didn’t recognize. When he looked up he was shocked.
Instead of the ferret, he saw a medium sized man in a dark blue air force uniform. He held the rank of a colonel. He looked vaguely familiar.
“Bart, is that you?” Banyon croaked. Bart Longwood was Banyon’s former partner.
My real name is Gerald Cole,” the man replied. “Bart Longwood and Edgar Neville are two of my disguises. I am an illusionist remember.”
“What the hell is going on?” Banyon uttered.
“We need your help,” Colonel Cole said.
End of book six
Bonus Reading from my next book
The Society of Orion:
The Turkish Affair #7
Chapter One
The silence was maddening. No one spoke for several minutes. They just stood and glared at each other. The two men faced off in a large bedroom of the penthouse suite in one of the largest hotels in Casablanca, Morocco. The rest of the suite was filled with Colton Banyon’s team. They were resting and recovering from their takedown of Ahmed Fasi. Banyon had ordered the man into the bedroom for a private meeting as soon as he had come through the door.
There was a large king-sized bed between them and only that prevented Colton Banyon from attacking the other man. He had somehow transformed from the ferret to an Air Force Colonel when Banyon turned his back. This stunned Banyon, but he didn’t want to lose his cool. Instead they played a game of who will blink first.
Banyon was very angry with the other man in the room. His name was Colonel Gerald Cole, but was also known as Bart Longwood and Edgar Neville, two longtime friends of Banyon. The man had been playing a sting on Banyon and his crew for a long time. Banyon wanted to know why.
“What the hell is going on?” Banyon finally roared and flapped his arms.
“We need your help,” Colonel Cole replied sheepishly. “In fact we can help each other.”
Banyon knew that eventually he would have to deal with Colonel Cole and his super-secret SIM team. The name was an acronym for “Scientific Investigations Mandate”. Banyon actually knew a lot about the colonel and his team, but didn’t want to divulge anything. He had learned it from Wolf some time ago. However, he wanted to know what the man knew about him and his secrets.
“Why did you infiltrate my team?” Banyon angrily demanded.
“Perhaps I need to explain,” the colonel responded and opened his arms.
“Who are you?” Banyon rapid-fired.
“My name is really Colonel Gerald Cole. As I told you, Bart and Edgar are two of my personas.”
“I’ll be damned if I’ll ever call you Colonel Cole,” Banyon huffed.
“Just call me Jerry, Colt,” the man replied in a defeated tone.
“You haven’t answered my question, Jerry,” Banyon said sarcastically.
“My team had to make sure that we could trust you,” Jerry replied.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“You had sixty-five Orion weapons,” the colonel answered. “We needed to make sure that you would use them for good and not for personal gain. I’m satisfied that you and I are on the same side.”
“And whose side is that?” Banyon bristled.
“The side that is going to save the world,” the colonel responded.
“Save the world from what?” Banyon asked suspiciously.
“The imminent Sumi invasion.”
Chapter Two
“What imminent Sumi invasion?” Banyon asked with extreme concern.
“Colt, there are two starships already here,” the colonel replied. “They are stationed behind the dark side of the moon. They have been there for a month. We have been able to track them once they appeared.”
“My God!” Banyon uttered out loud. He didn’t know that the spaceships were in orbit. Wolf couldn’t track things in outer space. “There could be over four hundred thousand invaders in the two space ships.”
“More,” the man replied. “Carol has actually calculated that there are two hundred and thirty thousand Sumi on board each of the ships. That’s over a half a million people.”
Banyon suddenly remembered that Carol had done the calculations while they were in the Tayos Caves.
“Why haven’t they invaded? What are they waiting for?” Banyon suddenly asked.
“Our guess is that there are more ships coming,” the colonel said matter-of-factly.
“But if they attacked in a concentrated force, we wouldn’t be able to stop them,” Banyon reasoned in a panicked voice. “They could deliver hundreds of thousands of Sumi to a specific spot in a few minutes by using their shuttle ships.”
“We know that, Colt,” the colonel responded. “In fact, some are already here on earth doing the ground work,” the colonel added.
“What?” Banyon cried out.
“We have a general area where they have landed, but we haven’t been able to pinpoint their exact location.”
“I’ll bet they are using the Covers cloaking device,” Banyon reasoned.
“Yes, we believe that is true,” Colonel Cole said and nodded his head.
“What general area?”
“We have tracked shuttle ships to Southeast Asia around Cambodia,” the colonel responded.
“Crap! They’re going to build their new capital in the middle of an unlimited supply of wood,” Banyon gasped. “There they could produce an unlimited supply of Vril, the ultimate power source and weapon.
“Which is why you and your team needs to work with us to stop them,” the colonel pressed Banyon. “If we don’t find a solution then there will be a huge blood bath. The military is planning to fight with everything we have and may even use nuclear weapons to stop them. A war like that could destroy the whole planet.”
“But what can my team do?” Banyon asked suspiciously.
“We have several special weapons of our own,” the colonel replied. “We also will be able to use some of their own weapons against them. Then there are the original Orion weapons which the Sumi can’t control.”
“So you want us to fight? Is that it?” Banyon asked curiously.
“Colt, we also know that you have a special power to find things and people. We don’t know how you do it, and I don’t care how you do it. But I have been tracking you for a long time, Colt. You have been 100% accurate in finding out things. We need to find the Sumi base camp and pinpoint their leaders.”
Banyon was quickly feeling much more comfortable. He realized that the colonel didn’t know about Wolf even though, as Bart, the colonel had attempted to find out his secret for several years. There still was the problem of Colonel Cole knowing that he could find things, but Banyon rationalized that he could deal with that at a later time.
“Do you have a plan?” Banyon asked.
“First we need to collect all the Orion weapons. Then we need to clear out the second depository. And finally we need to confront the Sumi leadership before the killings start,” the colonel responded as he counted off the items using his fingers.
“But there are only a few of us, how can we stop them?” Banyon found himself asking.
“We know some of their weaknesses. I’ll explain.”
***
After the two men discussed what had to be done, Banyon dec
ided that he needed to find out what information the colonel would share with him. I don’t know if I can trust him. If he doesn’t share information or if he lies, I can’t trust him.
“Jerry, who do you work for?” Banyon asked.
“I am a DoD employee and have been ever since I finished my education. They recruited me while I was still on campus,” Jerry replied.
Banyon knew that anyone who was recruited directly from the college world was special and had specific skills that the DoD wanted — usually for an existing project. What is the project?
“What’s your background?”
“I graduated from MIT when I was eleven,” the colonel responded humbly. “I have two doctorates. One is in physics and one in ancient foreign languages. I also hold a law degree from Northwestern University and a license in Illinois.”
“Wow,” Banyon responded as he was expected to do. “You must be very smart.”
“My IQ is 182.”
Banyon didn’t respond to that, but asked another question. “What is your mission, Jerry?”
“My mission and the mission of my team is to scientifically investigate things that are not normal. We are charged with explaining how they work and how the DoD can benefit from the information.”
“Your team?” Banyon prompted.
“Yes,” the colonel answered. “We are called the SIM team, The Scientific Investigations Mandate. We use science to find answers to anomalies in the world.”
“Who is on your team?”
“There are actually only four of us. My team includes myself, my children, Kenny and Carol, and one other person.”
“Let me stop you right there,” Banyon suddenly said hotly.
“Why?” A confused Colonel Cole asked.
“Because I don’t believe I can trust you,” Banyon growled angrily and gave the colonel a mean look.
“Why do you say that?” the perplexed colonel responded.
The Society of Orion Book Six: The Moroccan Affair: Colton Banyon Mystery Page 10
