by Rick Chesler
“Where do you think is the best place on this rig to get low enough to the water where Stephen will see us from the boat and we can jump down?”
“There’s an access ladder down to the water from this side, too.” Jasmijn pointed between a latticework of metal supports down and to their right.
Dante nodded. “I see it. Let’s go.”
The two of them went back through the radio room, where they heard no chatter coming from the systems, and proceeded to wind their way down through the rig. The whine of Shah’s boat motor grew steadily louder as they neared the access point.
“This way!” Dante led them down a spiral staircase that opened up onto a deck platform made of a rectangular steel grate. Below that was the access ladder. Shah came into view, cruising around this side of the rig, slowing his speed as he neared.
Dante and Jasmijn leaned out as far as they dared over the edge of the platform while they waved their arms above their heads as Shah approached in the boat. Suddenly the boat’s motor cut out and the inflatable fell back in the water.
Shah had seen them.
He idled the small craft up to the boarding ladder. Dante and Jasmijn climbed down to the water and stepped into the boat, carefully stepping around the bound and gagged Hofstad operator, who lie motionless on the deck. His eyes were open, watching.
Shah quickly addressed them. “I’m hoping to trade him for Nay. Weapons?” Dante told them about the pistols they each carried, then continued.
“I doubt it’ll be an even matchup, but we have to go get her. What kind of firepower do they have?” He looked to Dante for the details.
“You took two out, so there’ll be three left on the big boat, all armed with full-auto rifles and handgun backups.”
Shah shook his head as they bobbed in the motorized raft. “We can’t just present ourselves to them like lambs to the slaughter. How about this: Dante, you go back up into the rig with our best long-distance pistol.”
Immediately Dante and Jasmijn raised their eyebrows. They’d only just gotten down from the rig.
“And take the southeast corner, there…” Shah pointed to the end of the rig facing Hofstad’s boat before continuing. “That’ll put you in range to take at least one, hopefully two operators out, and give us the element of surprise so that I can drop whoever’s still standing.”
Dante nodded and showed him his weapon. Shah handed him a long-barreled pistol, trading for the one Dante had and tucking it into his waistband. “Here, take this — a little better range. Fully loaded. Extra magazine, too.” He handed the spare bullets over to Dante, who pocketed them.
“Take these, too,” Shah added, handing Dante the pair of binoculars that had been in the boat.
Then Shah turned to Jasmijn. “What about you, can you shoot?”
“If I have to, I guess. I never have before.” She showed him her pistol.
Shah looked at Dante and pointed up at the rig. “Okay, let’s go. They’ll be getting suspicious.”
“What’s the signal going to be?” Dante climbed up on to the ladder but waited to hear from Shah before ascending to the rig. He had to know when he was supposed to shoot.
“It’ll have to be a hand signal. I don’t have a handheld radio.”
“More like an arm signal. It’s pretty far away.”
Shah nodded in agreement. “If I hold my arms out to my sides, like an oh c’mon, be reasonable gesture — that means take your best shot. Okay?”
“Okay.” Dante climbed the ladder. Shah put the boat back into gear and motored away from the rig.
At the top of the ladder, Dante oriented himself with respect to his target position and took off running. He would need time to get himself comfortably situated in a good sniper nest. A few minutes later he reached the end of the rig and turned right along the edge, crouching low behind a metal railing to avoid being seen by the men on the boat, which he could now see off to his left.
Shah’s Zodiac was in his field of view as well, cutting a beeline to the larger vessel. Dante crawled on behind the railing until he reached a large diameter pipe situated like an inverted “U.” On the other side of it was a cluster of smaller pipes that he thought would make a good hiding place.
He dashed past the large pipe, temporarily exposing himself to the view of the boat, and then tucked himself into the maze of pipes. Eyeing the Hofstad boat, Dante was pleased that he was mostly concealed by the pipes. He blended in with the oil rig. No longer worried about being spotted, he turned his attention to the offensive. He rested the barrel of his pistol on one of the pipes and took rough aim at the ship. He laid his spare magazine out in front of him so that it was easily accessible. Then he peered through the binoculars.
As soon as he focused the glasses he could see the Hofstad leader gesticulating to his two other men on board. And there! Sitting on deck, wrists tied in front of her and ankles bounds as well — was Nay. He let out a sigh as he spied on the boat. Her position was far less than optimal. It was a very close-quarters environment and were he to miss, the shot could easily ricochet inside the boat and hit Naomi.
The sound of Shah’s Zodiac motor decelerating reached his ears as it neared the boat and Dante turned his attention back to the gun. He played with the balance some more, getting the long barrel to rest on the pipe in front of him just right. He practiced looking through the binoculars held in his left and then quickly changing to the sight of the gun held in his right.
He watched as the Zodiac pulled up to within a few feet of the big boat. He tensed. This was it. Should there be a firefight without time for Shah to give the signal, he would need to be ready to cover them just the same. He peered through the binoculars, which unfortunately were cheap 7x25’s, not nearly powerful enough to afford him the chance to read lips. But he could see the Hofstad leader pointing directly at Jasmijn clearly enough, no doubt asking what in the Hell she was doing aboard Shah’s boat. Shah must be explaining how he found her in the water but not me…
As he continued to watch, the body language of all parties grew increasingly agitated. He saw one of the Hofstad men not doing the negotiating with Shah raise his automatic weapon to a semi-ready position…
And then Shah spread his arms wide in a gesture of exasperation.
THIRTY-FIVE
Netherlands, The North Sea
Dante reacted swiftly to the signal, moving his eyes off the binoculars and onto the gun sight as he had practiced. He saw the Hofstad man in the boat who had partially raised his automatic weapon swing it to a state of full readiness. Dante held his breath, aiming the pistol. He switched back to the binoculars one more time, then quickly back to the pistol.
Now!
He let loose two rounds aimed at the chest of the shooter. Through his naked eye he saw the man twitch violently and fall backwards, discharging his weapon into the air as he landed hard on his back on the deck, not far from where Naomi sat in her trussed position.
Dante heard other shots now — Shah returning fire from the Zodiac as he ducked behind the steering console. Dante consulted the bino’s one more time as he took aim on the henchman who was swinging his machine gun toward the Zodiac in response. Back to the gun sight. Held his breath. Put pressure on the trigger, slowly…
He squeezed off two more rounds, watching in grim satisfaction as the second gunman contorted in shock and dropped to the deck.
Only one enemy remained standing.
But the leader was already on the move, backpedaling to reach the cover of the boat’s console, instead tripping over Nay. Dante could hear Shah firing at the remaining opponent, but through his binoculars he could see that he missed his mark as a fiberglass door to the cabin shattered. And the Hofstad leader was pushing himself up off the deck…
…and turning his attention to Naomi.
Dante popped the fresh clip into his weapon and took careful aim, well aware that Naomi was in very close proximity to the intended target. He squeezed off four rounds, two of them missing but tw
o snapping the terrorist’s head back in a whiplash motion.
Dante heard the whiny acceleration of the Zodiac’s outboard as Shah threw the boat into gear. He ate up the remaining distance to the Hofstad boat in seconds and jumped onto the larger vessel while Jasmijn remained in the Zodiac. Dante observed through the binoculars as Shah ran to the terrorist and kicked his auto-rifle away from him. He saw him reach out and place his fingers on the man’s neck, feeling for a pulse. Then Shah looked back toward the rig and drew his hand across his neck in a slashing motion.
Dead.
That was five Hofstad men eliminated. It should mean that there were no more terrorists on the boat, but when your life depended on being right you didn’t make assumptions. Shah cautiously circled around the boat’s deck, carefully checking all areas, even lifting open storage compartments with his pistol at the ready. When that was cleared, he moved to the cabin. He yanked the door open and aimed his gun down inside. Then he descended slowly into the interior space. Dante watched and listened for signs of gunfire.
A couple of minutes later he emerged from the cabin, nodding his head and holding up his hand in the “okay” sign.
The boat was clear, the entire Hofstad squad dead.
Shah pointed in Dante’s general direction, off to his left.
Go to the ladder.
Dante made his way back through the rig’s catwalks and spiral ladders until he reached the steel platform at the top of the ladder. He heard the Zodiac approaching and when it was within sight he climbed down the ladder until he hung just above the water. Shah pulled up to him and he dropped into the raft, giving Nay and Jasmijn a hug. Then Shah took them back to the Hofstad boat where they boarded, leaving the Zodiac tied up alongside. After a few rounds of congratulatory talk and expressing thanks over being alive, Shah got down to business.
“We should sink this boat and the Zodiac and take the old fishing boat I came out here on back to port. But before we do we need to search it top to bottom — and the bodies — for anything that might lead us to the people pulling the strings.”
Jasmijn immediately volunteered to search the cabin, knowing there were no bodies there, and headed below.
“I’ll search the bodies,” Shah volunteered. “Dante, you search the rest of the boat topside. Nay — why don’t you go down below and help Jasmijn.” The two OUTCAST operatives nodded and went about their tasks. It was a good call, sending Naomi below. Jasmijn was a scientist, not a spook, and likely wouldn’t know what to look for unless it was blatantly obvious.
Shah searched the bodies of the two subordinates first and found nothing on their persons. He was a little surprised since one of the men he’d neutralized in the Zodiac had been carrying a wallet. So there were inconsistencies in the group, Shah mused. They were not a perfectly programmed machine.
He moved on to the body of the fallen, bearded unit leader who lay in a messy smear of blood near where Naomi had been held. The man was older, for this business especially — about fifty years of age. Shah had to admire that. He was about there himself. The jihadist’s eyes were open but rolled all the way back, showing only whites, so Shah closed them while softly intoning a quick Muslim prayer. Then he proceeded to rifle through the pockets of his casual outfit — slacks and a long-sleeved shirt with a wool pullover. He found a 9mm pistol with an extra magazine secured on a side holster — his backup weapon. Shah took the entire holster, removed his own jacket, put on the holster and then donned his jacket again. Later he would see if he might be able to trace the weapon, although he doubted that particular route of inquiry would come to anything.
He searched the man’s pants pockets and came up with a single item: a business card for a London yacht dealership. Shrugging to himself, Shah pocketed the card, adding it to the ID he’d found on the fighter he’d dispatched.
Dante returned from his inspection of the bow area and reported finding nothing of interest. Naomi and Jasmijn emerged from the cabin, also reporting no significant discoveries.
“Time to send this old scow to Davey Jones’ Locker,” Shah said in his best pirate imitation. His attempt at humor in the face of the grim situation was not enough to elicit a laugh from the group, so he simply set to work.
“Dante, take the Zodiac to the fishing boat…” He pointed off their starboard rail to where the old rental vessel lie adrift. “…and bring back the fishing boat and the Zodiac. Meanwhile I’ll get this thing ready.”
Dante nodded and jumped into the inflatable boat, started the outboard and motored away.
Shah then addressed Naomi and Jasmijn. “Go around the boat and gather up anything that might float — for example the life rings — and put them down in the cabin below. Before we sink her we’ll close that door so that there won’t be so many loose objects floating around to attract attention.”
It was best to be as discreet as possible. Leaving a floating ghost ship was a surefire way to trigger an investigation. There would likely be one anyway when people familiar with this vessel notice it hasn’t returned to its dock, but that delay was beneficial to OUTCAST’s operation.
Shah looked up at the sound of the approaching motor to see Dante returning with the fishing boat that would take them back to land, the Zodiac in tow. He had Dante simply remove the inflatable’s motor and drop it into the ocean. Then Dante used a knife to slash the boat’s air chambers. But even in that deflated state, the material the raft was made from wouldn’t sink, so he and Shah hauled it aboard the big boat and dumped it inside the cabin with the other buoyant items, and closed the door.
“That’s it!” Shah had Dante, Naomi, and Jasmijn board the old fishing boat while he walked to the stern of the Hofstad vessel. Jasmijn found an old bucket on the fishing boat, rinsed it out, filled it with seawater and then placed the anemones in it for the trip back to shore. Given the trouble they’d gone through to get them, she wasn’t about to let anything happen to them.
While Dante got behind the wheel of the fishing boat, Shah leaned over the transom and pulled the boat’s drain plug. Seawater began to pour onto the deck. It would take a while, but the boat would sink. What’s more, there would be no messy explosions or tell-tale holes bashed in the hull with some kind of implement to indicate foul play. If the vessel was discovered before — or even after it sank, as a wreck — the obvious assumption was that it was either deliberately scuttled for insurance purposes or else the plug had simply come out. It had been known to happen.
Shah took a last look around the boat to make sure they weren’t leaving anything behind. Satisfied all was in order, he leapt into the fishing boat and Dante pointed the bow toward port.
THIRTY-SIX
OUTCAST Facility
The lowly fax machine, that red-headed stepchild of modern information technology; somehow it found a way to remain in use in this age of wireless Internet, scanners and email. For OUTCAST it offered a couple of distinct advantages, which was why one occupied a space in the nether regions of Danielle’s workstation, presently spitting out a transmission.
For one thing, it was simply another way to communicate. When you had agents in the field the world over, options were desirable, regardless if they were little used. There were still a few places where there might not be computer access, but if not, a fax machine could often be found. For another, the mode of transmission itself was oftentimes more secure than a standard e-mail message or text. What made it not so secure for some people was that the printout could sit around in the machine until someone picked it up, but at the OUTCAST facility, Danielle would always be the first person to see it.
She snagged the paper from the machine and put it under a desk lamp, squinting in concentration as she discerned its meaning. After briefly examining the message header information as well as the content of the transmission, Danielle took the fax into the adjoining conference room where Tanner sat conversing quietly with Liam. Their mood had been somber since returning from their failed mission to Charleston, and Danielle hoped th
at this fax might contain a positive development for OUTCAST. Something they could use. She held up the printout as she entered and put it face down on the table in front of Tanner.
“This just came in by fax.”
“Fax?” Liam screwed his face into a puzzled expression. “What’s that?” The youngest of the group, he was kidding but liked to poke fun at the technology of the older generations.
Danielle smiled and shook her head. “It’s something created before you were born that actually works in a reasonably secure fashion.”
Tanner ignored their friendly bickering and picked up the sheet. “What am I looking at?”
“It’s a fax sent from a print shop in a small port town in Netherlands. I verified the headers and cross-referenced the business online. It checks out.”
“So it’s from either Shah, Dante or Nay.”
“Correct. As to the content, it contains only the two scanned documents: the Dutch driver’s license and the business card. No other messages of any kind.”
Liam leaned in over Tanner’s shoulder to get a better look at the man pictured in the driver’s license. It showed a thirty-year-old Dutchman with a shaved head.
Tanner looked up at Danielle. “You run this license yet?”
“No, it’s hot off the press, I wanted you to see it right away.”
“Go ahead and run it. And while you’re at it,” he added as she turned to leave, “see what you can dig up on this yacht dealership, too.”
Danielle left the room and Tanner stared at the fax for a few seconds more before letting it slide onto the table. He looked Liam in the eye. “You know what these documents are, right?”
