Hostage!: A Hugh Ranier Novella (Hugh Ranier Short Series Book 2)

by Robert E. Crull

  “So other than wanting to jump my bones, what else is going on in your world?”

  “I bought a mountain house on Monday,” I said.

  “You what?”

  “I’d been thinking about it for a little bit and saw one that really interested me.”

  “So you bought it?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Should close in a couple weeks.”

  “I can’t imagine having two house payments.”

  “I won’t have. Both houses will be paid for.”

  “You’re kidding me right?”

  “Nope. See why we wanted to share with you?”

  “Uhh, no.”

  “Oh good, here come our steaks.”

  Megan set the plates in front of us.

  “Can we get two more glasses of wine and a couple waters please,” Laura asked.

  “Sure, let me just take the empty glasses,” she said picking them up.

  The steak was superb.

  “How’s yours?” I asked.

  “Great. I don’t want to talk with my mouth full.”

  And, the fifteen year old virgin went nuts. The mental image was stuck in my head and there was no way I would ever forget that moment.

  The wine came, and went along with the meal. I had a more than respectable buzz on and thought maybe it would be best just to have a car take Laura to her place, and me to mine. I was tired.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” she said.

  “Bad case of the tireds just hit me.”

  “Does that mean you need your nap old man?”

  “Maybe,” I said.

  “Let’s go back to your place and I’ll rock you to sleep.”

  “I don’t need to be rocked.”

  “Trust me, when I’m finished with you, your damn sure gonna need a nap.”

  “Alrighty then, let me get the check.”

  “Allow me. I feel like being the big shot this afternoon.”

  “I’ve got this,” I said.

  “I know that, and I know that I’m buying lunch.”

  “If you say so.”

  She paid the bill and we exited the restaurant. I’d probably had too much to drink, but it was only a couple miles to the house. I was going to roll the dice.

  +++

  “Hugh,” I said answering the cell.

  “Hey, I just got a call from Koothrapoli,” Don said.

  “Yeah.”

  “There is a meeting tonight where all the players are going to be there.”

  “What time?”

  “Looks to be around ten.”

  “I’ll call Bill, you wanna call Earl and Rob?” I said.

  “Yeah. What about Laura?”

  “She’s with me, we’ll see you at the office.”

  “Something you need to tell me?”

  “Not until after this mission is over.”

  “Ok,” he said ending the call.

  “What’s up?” she asked.

  “We’re a go for tonight.”

  “Let’s go then,” she said standing from the bed.

  I looked her over, God she was gorgeous. Her red dress had fallen to the floor in a pile. I busied myself getting dressed out in mission clothes. I had the body armor at the office and would get equipped there.

  She walked up to me, stretched up, and placed her lips on mine, gently. The time for rushed neediness had passed. We’d put out the all consuming fire that could’ve only been done through physicality.

  “I don’t have a damn stitch of clothes here you could wear,” I said.

  “It’s alright. We have to drive right past my place on the way to the office.”

  She pulled the dress over her naked frame and I wondered when underwear went out of vogue. She slipped on her shoes and did the best she could to straighten the wrinkles from her dress.

  We’d been at the house for a couple hours. Long enough for the effect of the wine at lunch to dissipate. If we were going to be doing a night mission I was going to need more coffee.

  “I’m going to make a coffee for the road, do you want one?”

  “Sure,” she said.

  I walked into the kitchen and started brewing the two cups and called Bill Smiley in the process.

  “Bill. Hugh.”

  “What’s up?”

  “We’re a go for tonight.”

  “When and where?”

  “The office at eight.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Great,” I said ending the call.

  I pulled the first cup from the brewer and started the second. Laura walked up behind me and wrapped her arms around my stomach. I had to admit there was a comfort with her being this close. It almost felt like it was meant to be. We’d see of course over time whether we were a good match.

  We left the house and headed toward Laura’s place for her to change and got to the office around seven thirty. Don was already there, and we met Hartley and Jones in the parking lot. The only one missing was Smiley. We still had time.

  In the office Laura and I walked into the warehouse to see Don had opened the weapons lockers.

  “Jesus, I didn’t know there was this many weapons on site,” Laura said.

  “Part of the discovery process. Walking through the inventory with you hadn’t been a priority,” Don said.

  “Are there any more things you guys have not told me?”

  “This pretty much covers it except for the storage at Hugh’s house.”

  “I’ve got a few supplies out there, it’s safer,” I said.

  “Alright, lets get this party started,” she said.

  Don reached into the rifle rack and pulled out the Automatic shotgun with a canister of rounds. Then he pulled 4 H&K MP-5s and stacked up four magazines each.

  “That should cover us,” I said.

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “I’ll get the electronics.”

  From the electronics locker I pulled six headsets with radios. As I turned around I saw that Smiley was walking in. Hartley and Jones were in close tow behind him.

  That’s good, I thought.

  “Lets go over the details,” I said.

  “Gather up guys,” Don said.

  “It’s a pretty simple event. First we’ll blow up the electrical transformer to the building. Jones that’s you as well as back of building cover. Hartley your first through the front door to clear the spaces on the right side of the office. Smiley your next, followed by Don, then me. Bill you go low and when you get to the meeting room, start spraying the area, left to right. Don will take the right side of the room and I’ll take the left.”

  “Easy enough,” Hartley said.

  “Yeah it really is. It’s in and out in less than three minutes.”

  “What happened to the van?” Jones asked.

  “It’s a crucial counter-forensics decoy.”

  “All it looks like is you want to be easily identifiable,” Smiley said.

  “That’s the exact point. We want everyone that could see us to recognize a neon green van without windows.”

  “Doesn’t seem smart to me,” Jones said.

  “It’s plasti-dip. It’ll peel right off giving us our blue van with windows back.”

  “I see it now. You’ll be sending the authorities on a goose chase,” Smiley said,

  “Exactly,” Don said.

  “We’ve got about an hour before we need to head out,” Don said. “Lets do a walkthrough to get comfortable.”

  “Good idea,” I said.

  “I’ve laid out the building in tape on the floor.”

  “Roger,” Jones said as he started walking down the warehouse to the place on the floor Don had taped off for the transformer.

  “Let’s get in the van and practice the exit too,” I said.

  “Ok,” they said.

  Laura went to the drivers seat, I was in first, then Don, then Smiley, and finally Hartley. We heard Jones say boom over the radios and we flew out of the van and into the spaces marked. It went
smoothly but, there was nothing to challenge us.

  Everybody took some time to check their weapons making sure everything was in order. We did radio checks to make sure we all had reception.

  “Where’s the bomb to blow up the transformer?” Jones asked.

  It’d happened so quick I didn’t have a chance to make the bomb.

  “Shit Rob, I don’t have one,” I said.

  “It’s alright Hugh. We’ll trade out the MP-5 for a semi automatic shotgun loaded with slugs.”

  “That’ll take care of it. Make the transformer blow I mean?”

  “Oh yeah,” he said.

  “Ok, let’s swap out the guns and hit the road.”

  The drive to the warehouse location took about forty-five minutes. We parked at a gas station to wait the few minutes we had left. At five till ten we left the station and drove over to the office. At the end of the building we let Jones out close to the transformer.

  “Jones?” I said into the radio.

  “Roger.”

  Laura drove us up to the building where we waited for confirmation from Jones the transformer had blown. We didn’t need to wait for a verbal since we heard it. As practiced at our office we leapt from the van and up to the front door. It was locked.

  “Bill get us through that door,” I said.

  He set his gun and pulled the trigger for an instant burst of shattering glass. It had taken from us the element of surprise but we were damn fast.

  Hartley entered the building and charged the hallway. Smiley was right behind him followed by Don and myself.

  Hartley started to scan the first office when an extremist came charging at him from the meeting room. He swung his MP-5 and pulled the trigger for a quick burst of fire that sounded almost like a burp. The person fell to the ground in an instant. By this time we were all directly behind him. The hallway wasn’t wide enough for the four of us to walk side by side. Hartley took the lead, and Smiley moved up to stand next to him. When they reached the meeting room a group of men were rushing the entrance. Bill and Earl dropped to their knees and began firing through the rush. Don and I stayed standing and focused more on the back of the crowd. We’d been led to believe the men would have weapons but, in the moment there was no sign of anything.

  As the weapons spat lead in the air, the men dropped like sacks of flour to the floor. One after another, until we were finished. They didn’t stand a chance.

  The leading members of the extremist splinter cell had been eliminated. As we predicted we were in and out in under three minutes. Back in the van we drove to the end of the building to get Jones. The men were getting settled in for the drive to some out of the way place.

  We got out of the van to be bathed in the glow of the street light.

  “Dude, you’ve been shot,” was the last thing I heard.

  Your reviews and comments are encouraged, for it is through them that I’m able to improve as a writer. Thank you for the consideration of your review. Kindle reviews for Hostage! can be left at http://www.amazon.com/Hostage-Hugh-Ranier-Novella-Short-ebook/dp/B00TKY2RC6