Collateral Damage d-14

by Jim DeFelice

  Why the hell had they tried to blow them up?

  * * *

  Rubeo crawled up the side of the road, away from the SUV. He tried to fight through the mental fog, focusing his thoughts on what he saw before him.

  Dirt. Sky.

  Kharon pulling him away.

  Rubeo coughed. Jons was back by the vehicle, firing his weapon.

  Rubeo pushed at Kharon. The young man released him and Rubeo got to his feet, pulling his gun out from under his jacket. Two men were running toward him. They had rifles.

  On his side?

  They were wearing brown fatigues. His men wore Western clothes.

  Rubeo pointed and fired twice. Both fell.

  “Neil — Neil stay with me!” Rubeo shouted. He rose to his feet. A dozen men swarmed from the other side of the road. Jons was firing ferociously.

  Rubeo spun around. There was no one nearby. He could see a wall with houses behind it some forty or fifty yards away.

  “We can retreat to cover!” he yelled to Jons. “Let’s go!”

  A fusillade of bullets sent him diving for cover. Kharon crawled next to him.

  “Stay near me,” said Rubeo. He began to run. He sensed Kharon near him, but temporarily lost track of Jons. He threw himself down as he reached the wall.

  Jons ran to him. “Over the wall, over the wall!” yelled the bodyguard. As he yelled, he picked Rubeo up and boosted him over the wall. Rubeo tried to land on his feet but stumbled, his legs giving way. He fell onto his back, momentarily stunned.

  Kharon scrambled over the wall next to him.

  “Guns!” yelled Kharon.

  Rubeo pushed over, trying to get up. He couldn’t see what Kharon was pointing at, but raised his weapon anyway. Then he turned back to see Jons jumping over the wall.

  “Our other SUV is coming,” yelled the bodyguard. “Go right.”

  Rubeo started in that direction, then realized that Kharon was still behind him. “Come on.”

  They began running toward a dirt alleyway twenty yards away. They cut up it to the left, Jons trailing behind to watch their backs. Rubeo ran toward a cemetery filled with mausoleums and surrounded by a low wall. Winded, he collapsed against the wall.

  Kharon helped him to his feet. Clambering over the wall, Rubeo steadied himself against a nearby tomb, taking stock.

  I’m a scientist, not a soldier. Can I do this?

  You can do anything you need to, to survive.

  Jons came over after them.

  “If we go up this way there’s another street,” he told them. “Our other truck will meet us there. I have the helicopter coming in case.”

  “Who attacked us?” asked Rubeo.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Were we hit by a missile?”

  “May have been a grenade. Or maybe an IED,” said Jons. “God damn place is going all to shit.”

  “What about Joker?” asked Rubeo. The Filipino had been in the back with Kharon.

  Jons shook his head. “Can you run?” he asked Rubeo.

  “Yes.”

  Jons turned to Kharon. “You?”

  “Yup.”

  They sprinted for a hundred yards or so, running up the hill to the knoll at the center of the cemetery. But once more Rubeo began to tire, and after another ten yards his pace was nearly a walk.

  “The helo is coming,” Jons told him. “Come on. We’ll wait out by the street.”

  They ran under a row of trees and stopped at the edge of a walled yard. Rubeo dropped to his knees, holding the gun. Kharon moved back next to him. He wore an angry expression.

  “It’s all right,” Rubeo told him.

  “Truck is coming up,” said Jons. “Let’s move to it. Helo can shadow us.”

  They rose together and began running toward the road. As they did, there was more gunfire. Rubeo ducked back and turned. A gunman wielding a pistol jumped over a low wall in the alley behind them. Rubeo zeroed his pistol and fired.

  The man fell. Kharon took off, running to him despite Rubeo’s shout. The young man scooped up the gun and returned. Rubeo pushed his legs in the direction of the helicopter’s heavy beat. After he’d gone about twenty yards, he looked behind him, but couldn’t see Jons.

  Kharon caught up. He pointed his gun at Rubeo.

  “Careful where you’re pointing that,” Rubeo told him. He took a step back against the wall. There was a flash above — Rubeo glanced toward the sky in time to see a red fireball flash and turn into a black fist above him. Then metal began raining down.

  The helicopter had just been shot down.

  “You’re mine,” Kharon said, jumping on him.

  Stunned, Rubeo raised his gun. Kharon hit him in the temple, then stepped on his wrist. Rubeo squirmed to get away, but Kharon hit him again. This time Rubeo’s eyes closed for a moment.

  When they opened, two men were next to him, AK–47s in their hands.

  2

  Sicily

  Being a senator had a number of advantages, and one of them was immediate access to any military officer who had even the faintest dream of making general — by law and long tradition, promotion to the star rank required approval by the Senate.

  Colonels tended to be very aware of this. So when Ginella’s aide in the outer office told Zen that he didn’t think the colonel was available, Zen told him to pick up the phone and try anyway.

  The colonel appeared so quickly Zen wondered if she had even bothered to hang up.

  “Senator, I’m pleased that you’re interested in our squadron,” she told him. “Won’t you come in?”

  “Glad to.”

  Zen couldn’t remember meeting Ginella when he was in the service, but he nodded agreeably as she mentioned several generals he knew, deciding he had nothing to lose by letting her drop names.

  “Would you like to see the aircraft?” she said finally, running out of names.

  “I’d like to, but unfortunately I’m pressed for time tonight,” said Zen. “I have to catch a flight in ten minutes.”

  “I see.”

  “I’m interested in the incident yesterday, when your squadron was covering the retrieval of the allied commando unit.”

  “Yes, the SAS troops. We were up for quite a while,” said Ginella.

  “And then you lost one of your planes.”

  Ginella’s face clouded. “I did.”

  “Why was Captain Mako flying in your squadron?”

  “Captain Mako? He was a substitute pilot,” she said defensively. “He… came to the squadron at my request.”

  “That’s a little unusual, isn’t it?”

  “Not if you’re undermanned. I think he was an excellent pilot. He had experience in the A–10E before any of my pilots, or myself. And I think he’s clearly a good combat pilot.”

  “So do I,” said Zen. “So what happened on the mission?”

  “Are you here in an official capacity, Senator? Your tone seems a little formal.”

  “I’m interested in knowing what happened,” said Zen. “I’m interested in making sure that Captain Mako gets a fair shake.”

  “He’s not in any trouble that I know of,” said Ginella.

  “Good.”

  “I assume you’re referring to the fact that he passed over the area the missile was fired from just prior to the shoot-down,” said Ginella.

  “I understand he did.”

  “He missed the missile launcher. Whether he would have seen it in time or not, I don’t know.”

  “You’re sure he missed it?”

  “I have to tell you, Senator, it’s difficult to believe the missile wasn’t launched from that point. So by definition, if he didn’t see it—”

  “What do the reconnaissance videos show?”

  “Unfortunately, the closest UAV was not in a position to capture that portion of the battlefield. The others show just the general area. And the images from his plane are inclusive as well.”

  “I think any account of the incident should indicate
that,” said Zen. “But it should also indicate what he said.”

  “I’m sure it will.”

  “None of your other pilots saw the missile.”

  “We weren’t close enough.”

  Zen nodded. “As for personal feelings, I hope none will enter into any of your reports, or actions. One way or another.”

  Ginella stared at him but said nothing.

  “Great,” said Zen finally. “I’m glad that will be the case.”

  He started to wheel away.

  “Personal feelings have no place in battle,” said Ginella.

  “Agreed, Colonel,” said Zen, not bothering to look back. “Though in my experience, they often seem to intrude.”

  3

  Tripoli

  Kharon kicked the gun away from Rubeo, then pulled the scientist to his feet. His arms were shaking.

  The revenge he’d dreamed about since he was a child was in front of him now. The only question was how to take it.

  The two thugs who’d run up from the highway shouted at him in Arabic to put the gun down.

  “You idiots. I hired you,” Kharon answered. “Fezzan works for me.”

  “But they don’t work for Fezzan,” said a voice from up on the hill, back in the cemetery. He was speaking English, with a Russian accent.

  Foma Mitreski.

  “You are a foolish young man. Put the gun down or they will shoot you,” said Foma.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Gun down,” said Foma. He told the others to take aim.

  Kharon thought of pointing the gun at the Russian, then, dejected, he let it drop.

  * * *

  As the gun fell, Rubeo saw his chance. He dove after it, planning to grab it and shoot the man who’d come down the hill — he was sure Jons would be up the alley and take care of the men with rifles. But as his fingers touched the cold metal, the butt stock of one of the guns smacked him in the side of the head.

  He felt the air rushing through his mouth, then slid forward in the dirt, scraping his chin as he lost consciousness.

  I’m a scientist, not a soldier…

  * * *

  “What are you doing? Why did you blow up the truck?” Kharon asked Foma as the goons trussed Rubeo.

  “Ah, the idiot Libyans are too enthusiastic. But, eh, things happen. We have what we want.”

  “You’re lucky he’s alive.”

  “I want the robot and the sensors,” said Foma. “The scientist is a bonus. But I don’t know. Maybe we kill him anyway.”

  “Let me.”

  Foma laughed. “You are an idiot. You should be begging for your life.”

  “Why?”

  “You think that I was such a fool that I didn’t know your plan? Do you think that I would let you use my operation for some petty goal? You think the SVR is stupid? Something to be used by a child whom we employ? You are clever, Kharon, but not experienced. We have helped you many times, and you didn’t even know — how do you think you found the shelter under the university? Do you think you could have broken into the computer systems there without our help?”

  “I did that myself.”

  “Yes, yes, of course you did. You are a very brilliant man. You have an IQ of one hundred and eighty, almost twice as much as mine, eh? But I am the one with the guns.”

  “Bullshit.” Kharon raised his fist to swing at the fat Russian. As he did, something hit him across the back of the head and he fell forward, limp.

  4

  Sicily

  Danny Freah was not particularly superstitious, but a second before the phone rang he had a premonition that it was about something bad. It was a vague and inexact feeling, but as soon as he heard Breanna Stockard’s voice, he knew he was right.

  “Something has happened to Ray,” she told him. “We have an alert on our system — the computer is tracking him moving south of Tripoli, but he hasn’t answered his sat phone.”

  “Tripoli?” Danny stifled a flood of curses. “I told him not to go to Africa. Did you approve that?”

  “Ray is not under my command,” said Breanna. “This isn’t Dreamland anymore, Danny. We can’t tell him what to do.”

  “Damn it.” It was all he could say. “We talked about it — I talked to him, I told him not to go. His people here haven’t said a word — they claimed he was busy. Damn.”

  “We’re tracking him on the MY-PID system,” she told him. “There was a spike in his heartbeat that alerted the system monitor. His people tried to get ahold of him, and then the security team with him. It looks like his bodyguards were killed. There’s apparently some high-tech equipment that may have been taken as well. We’re still getting details — this all only happened a few minutes ago.”

  “We’ll get him back.”

  “Obviously, this has top priority.”

  “Damn.” Danny didn’t know what else to say.

  “What the hell was he thinking?” Breanna asked. “You told him not to go to Africa? What was he thinking?”

  “That he’s omnipotent. The arrogant SOB.”

  * * *

  Not more than a minute later a man named Clinton Chase sent a message to Danny on the MY-PID system’s secure line, asking for a video conference. Danny flicked the laptop screen and opened the com window. The round, slightly reddish face of a man in his late fifties appeared, practically filling the entire square.

  Chase, a former CIA agent, was the security director for one of Rubeo’s European companies, Intelligence Appliquée. Danny had never heard of Intelligence Appliquée, though he knew Rubeo operated through a veritable spiderweb of companies and partnerships.

  “I’m assuming you’re tracking his whereabouts on the system,” said Chase.

  “He’s ten miles south of Tripoli,” said Danny.

  “When are you launching the assault?”

  “Hold your horses,” said Danny. “I literally just found out about this. I can’t just snap my fingers and charge across three hundred miles of water and another hundred miles of sand without a plan in place. I’m not even sure what resources I have yet.”

  “You’re Whiplash,” said Chase. “You’re supposed to be able to deal with things like this.”

  “I was here in a different capacity,” said Danny, practically grating his teeth. “I have team members, but we’re not prepared for a rescue at a moment’s notice.”

  “Well who is?”

  Danny decided it was better not to answer. Chase might prove useful, and it was best to avoid alienating him to the extent possible.

  “I’ll be in Tripoli by noon,” added Chase. “If you care to coordinate with me, contact me.”

  “I don’t want you doing anything that’s going to jeopardize our getting him back,” said Danny.

  “That makes two of us,” said Chase sarcastically. He killed his connection.

  “What’s up with that asshole?” asked Boston, who’d come into the office during the conversation.

  “Don’t you knock, Chief?”

  “I did and you didn’t hear.” Boston smirked. “Chief’s knock.”

  Boston’s expression changed quickly as Danny explained what had happened.

  “We’ve got Shorty and we got Flash,” said the Air Force chief master sergeant. “That’s it on personnel. Unless you want to start borrowing Eye-tralians. Two Ospreys for transport and firepower. That’s not a lot if they were able to grab Rubeo in broad daylight. What the hell was he thinking?”

  Danny shook his head. Arrogance was a difficult thing to explain.

  “How soon can you get the Ospreys airborne?” he asked.

  “Gotta talk to the maintainers,” said Boston. “Probably pretty quick, though. Half hour? Twenty minutes? Whatever it takes to get fuel into them.”

  “All right, let’s get moving. We’ll do this on the fly.”

  “Say, Cap?”

  Danny winced at the old nickname.

  “Sorry — Colonel,” Boston corrected himself. “What about having the Tig
ershark fly cover? Come in pretty handy.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “The aircraft’s all checked out.”

  “I wish I could say the same for the pilot.”

  But it was a good idea. Danny picked up his phone and dialed Turk’s cell.

  5

  South of Tripoli

  Rubeo regained consciousness on the floor of a panel truck, his arms and legs bound. It was dark, but he could tell he wasn’t alone. He pushed to the side, rolling over halfway until he hit something.

  Another body.

  Jons, maybe.

  Whoever it was, he didn’t move or speak. His shallow breaths sounded like groans.

  Rubeo pushed in the opposite direction, moving a foot and a half until he got to the wall. He maneuvered himself upright and sat, back to the wall of the truck.

  As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he examined the other person in the truck with him. He looked too thin to be Jons.

  Lawson? He’d been in the second vehicle.

  Rubeo scooted over and leaned close.

  It was Kharon, tied as he was.

  Rubeo pushed back to the wall.

  Kharon’s animosity had shocked him. But Rubeo understood exactly where it must be coming from — Kharon blamed him for his mother’s death.

  “Neil. Neil?”

  “What?” groaned Kharon. “What happened?”

  “I believe you are in a far better position to explain than I am.”

  Kharon, apparently realizing where he was, struggled to free himself. He jerked and rolled, but it was no use — the bonds were strong and well-tied. He flopped around like a prize brook trout confined to a canoe.

  “You’re only going to hurt yourself,” Rubeo told him.

  “I hate you,” said Kharon. “I hate you.”

  “Why?”

  “My mother.” Short on breath, Kharon began to choke, then wheezed and finally cried. He screamed, and banged his head on the floor of the van.

  Rubeo closed his eyes. The manic display of grief continued for more than a minute, until finally Kharon collapsed, completely spent.

  “I’ve blamed myself as well,” said Rubeo softly when the other man was still. “I told her not to work that night, but I should have made her go home. I shouldn’t have let her work. I am tremendously sorry for it.”