Vigilante Assassin

by Mark Nolan

  Jake noted that the base of the bridge tower was scorched but remained standing strong. “Mission accomplished, McKay, but they didn’t go quietly.”

  “I saw it on a surveillance cam. Son of a…”

  “Your orders were to terminate all targets. An enemy boat is definitely a target,” Jake said.

  “Get out of there—now!” McKay said.

  “Withdrawing from area of operation.” Jake put the rifle back into the cabinet and walked quickly toward the stairs to the bridge. On his earbud he heard McKay take a deep breath and let it out.

  “Wolfe?”

  “Yeah, McKay?”

  “Thank you for your service—and welcome to the POETs.”

  Jake didn’t reply. He ended the call and climbed the steps to the flybridge, where he took the helm. He maneuvered the boat away from the Golden Gate Bridge and turned the vessel toward Sausalito, pushing the throttles forward to increase speed. The twin engines growled in response, and the boat rocketed across the water.

  Jake felt a strange sense of peace. Three terrorists had left this earth by his hand. He felt lighter somehow, from the absence of their weight on his shoulders and his tortured soul. Maybe those three who had escaped justice were the reason for his recurring nightmares. Perhaps now he could sleep through the night for once.

  He opened the windows of the fly bridge and felt the salty sea breeze on his skin.

  He heard movement behind him and turned to see Sarah coming up the stairs with Cody by her side.

  Cody ran over to Jake, who got down on one knee, patted him, and whispered, “You did good, Cody. Thank you for protecting my back. We got it done, partner. Everybody is safe now. Semper Fi.”

  Cody wagged his tail and held Jake’s hand in his mouth.

  Sarah crossed her arms and kept her distance from Jake. She repeated a question from a previous time she’d had suspicions about him. “So, Jake, what were those noises I heard?”

  Jake knew she was testing him. It seemed like women were always testing him. Maybe it was in their DNA. He felt bad that he had to lie to her. “A power yacht’s fuel tank exploded. Probably a tragic accident caused by an electrical problem.”

  “You’re lying to me, Jake. I didn’t just hear it—I saw it. When I woke up and went to the galley for a cup of coffee, I looked out the sliding glass door just as you fired your rifle.”

  Jake took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m sorry you had to see that. It’s classified as top secret. You can’t ever talk about it, or the government will come down on you like a ton of bricks.”

  “If you knew it was top secret, why did you invite me on board the boat with you?”

  “I had no idea this was going to happen until I got a call from Washington a few minutes ago.”

  “So, Washington calls, and you kill people. Is that it?”

  “You have no idea what those men were capable of, or the evil things they’ve done. I put a stop to that today, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

  “Who was on board that boat?”

  “Terrorists, serial rapists, and mass murderers who have killed scores of men, women and children. They were attempting to blow up that bridge tower at rush hour to kill a lot of Americans.”

  “Were there any survivors?”

  “No. My orders were to make sure they all died. I followed my orders and killed every person on the yacht. And I did it with what the CIA calls extreme prejudice.” Jake glanced back at the smoking wreckage.

  Sarah stared at him, seeing the angry look on his face. “How can you be sure there weren’t any innocent people on that yacht?”

  “Because I asked. Those three terrorists were under constant surveillance. There was a careful accounting to prevent any possible collateral damage.”

  “I just—I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe you’re an assassin who murders people in cold blood.”

  “They were enemy soldiers, out of uniform, engaged in an act of war against the citizens of the United States. I killed them the way I was trained to do. Infantry Marines do one thing—fight and kill the enemy—and we’re damned good at it.”

  “Was this a one-time service for your country, or did you sign up for something I probably don’t want to know about?”

  “I might have to serve my country again someday in the near future. I’m sorry—I made a deal.”

  “Is Cody part of the deal?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s an innocent dog!”

  “That innocent dog attacked criminals to save your life.”

  Sarah looked at Cody and shook her head. “What about your plans to be a lawyer?”

  “I’m still going to practice law, but I’ll have to take the law into my own hands once in a while, at the request of my government.”

  “Sarah looked back toward the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun was starting to rise and smoke floated in the air from the burning wreckage. The police boat, SF Marine 1, had arrived on the scene and the SFFD fireboat, Phoenix, was firing her water cannons at the blaze. A black helicopter circled overhead, and a Coast Guard cutter was approaching the area.

  Jake saw the conflicted emotions playing across Sarah’s face. He guessed she might be thinking that if he hadn’t intervened, there would have been a catastrophe with a high number of casualties. Instead, he’d destroyed a power yacht and killed three terrorists. It was the right thing to do, but she probably wondered why her man had to be the one to do it.

  Cody pressed his head against Sarah’s stomach. She petted him and started crying. Jake went over to her and held her in his arms. She buried her face against his neck and wept.

  Jake held her and let her cry it out. She’d been through hell lately because of him. He wondered if this might be the last time he’d ever hold her in his arms. She’d probably be better off with somebody else—another man who was far different than him. He couldn’t change into that guy. He was way past that point. Maybe it was in her best interests if he let her go now so she could find someone who was better for her. That was probably the right thing to do. His heart felt heavy as he resigned himself to what was coming.

  Sarah lifted her head and looked at him with wet eyes. “What does this mean for us? Do we have a future together?”

  “That’s up to you, Sarah. I haven’t changed, but now you know the cold reality of my life. I’ve agreed to temporarily resume my black ops work as one of the government’s assassins.”

  “I was so glad when you sent me that text message and called me your girlfriend, but now…”

  “Today I was going to ask if you wanted to be in an exclusive relationship.”

  “Really? Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure, but what about you? After what you’ve just seen, would you still want to be my girlfriend?”

  Sarah wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “Honestly, Jake, I don’t know. I’m willing to continue dating you, but as far as an exclusive relationship is concerned—I’ll need to think that over for a while.”

  “I understand. We can just take it day by day and see how it goes. Does that work for you?”

  “Yes, I can do that. But please don’t tell me about your missions. I don’t want to know.” She looked at Cody and bit her lip.

  “Fair enough,” Jake said.

  The sun began to rise over the Marin Headlands, painting the sky and water with streaks of purple and gold.

  Sarah watched the sunrise, deep in thought.

  Cody sniffed the morning scents from the Bay and the shoreline as he stood close to Sarah and leaned against her.

  Jake navigated the boat across the water and headed toward the harbor, his body and soul feeling beaten and worn far beyond his young age.

  The three of them didn’t know what the future might hold, but they were going to face it together—one day at a time.

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for reading Vigilante Assassin. I had a blast writing it, and I hope you had fun reading it.

  If you en
joyed the book, please consider telling your friends, or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and is much appreciated.

  Thanks again,

  Mark Nolan

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  Acknowledgments

  First of all, I’d like to thank you for reading this book. I’m honored to have you as a reader. I wrote this for you, and I hope you were entertained by the further adventures of Jake and Cody. They’ll be back soon, because they just can’t seem to stay out of trouble.

  Thank you to all of my family and friends who had faith in me and offered encouragement while I was doing the nearly impossible task of writing a novel.

  Thanks to my early readers of the manuscript’s first drafts who gave helpful feedback.

  Thanks to my secret team of beta readers, editors and proofreaders who all worked hard on the story.

  Thank you to the highly talented artist Elizabeth Mackey for designing the book cover. You were a joy to work with.

  Thank you to John W. Pilley, retired psychology professor, for writing the book, Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words. In the book, Dr. Pilley proves that dogs can be incredibly smart and that we’ve underestimated them. This scientist and his beloved dog, Chaser, are redefining what we know about canine intelligence.

  Thank you to Mike Earp, grandson of the legendary lawman Wyatt Earp, for writing the book U.S. Marshals: Inside America’s Most Storied Law Enforcement Agency. Mike Earp served as one of the top three people in the Marshals Service. He reveals how the Old West tradition of deputizing citizens to form a posse and chase criminals has been updated and now enables the Marshals Service to form task forces. Unique in law enforcement, these fugitive task forces may include contributing officers from any local, state or federal law enforcement agency. Marshals are also empowered to deputize private citizens.

  Thanks to the Northwestern California University of Law for providing information about their online Juris Doctor (J.D.) law study program. When completed, the online law degree is designed to meet the requirements for licensure and admission to practice law in the California State Courts and the United States Federal Courts as a California attorney.

  Thank you to Lisa Rogak for writing the book The Dogs of War: The Courage, Love and Loyalty of Military Working Dogs. Rogak goes into detail about dozens of these dogs and their handlers.

  Thanks to the dog handlers who served alongside my son when he was an infantry grunt in the Marines, on deployments overseas. Just knowing that you and your dogs were there with my son’s platoon on patrols outside the wire helped me to get a few hours of sleep at night—very few, but infantry Marine parents will take any hours of sleep they can get.

  Thanks to the folks who invented all kinds of unusual equipment that seems like science fiction but actually exists in real life.

  Such as:

  1. The Pneu-Dart CO2 tranquilizer pistol that fires a disposable remote drug delivery dart.

  2. The Coda Netgun that shoots a fifteen-foot knotless net into the air, with four bullet-shaped steel weights on each of the four corners.

  3. The bulletproof black Jeep with all the extra protections (which anyone with plenty of cash money can buy if they want a Jeep like the one Jake Wolfe drives).

  Thank you to Jim Slater, former K-9 cop and police dog handler, for inventing and manufacturing the K-9 Storm Vest. These are Kevlar-lined tactical flak jackets with integrated cameras and communication systems. The jackets act as dog-sized bulletproof vests, armored with ballistic panels that can stop a bullet or a knife, to protect our brave four-footed police dogs and military working dogs from harm. Officer Slater’s desire to protect his own police dog led to the creation of a vest business that has protected and saved the lives of countless working dogs who are dedicated to protecting you and me.

  Thanks again to the good people at bookstores, libraries, e-book retailers, Goodreads, Amazon, review blogs, and book-related websites of all kinds. Yours is a proud profession, and you make the world a better place.