Sharp Teeth and Bloody Claws (Gray Spear Society Book 12)

by Alex Siegel

  * * *

  Ipo narrowed his eyes. He had been spying on the brief conversation between Hanley and the man in the black cowboy hat, but now the enemy was walking away unexpectedly.

  Ipo crouched down. He and Liam were hiding behind a stack of cars.

  "Stay here," Ipo whispered to the rookie legionnaire. "Keep an eye on Hanley and Katie. Make sure they're safe. I'll follow the other guy."

  "But..." Liam said.

  "Stay!"

  Ipo crept through the junkyard silently. The man in the black hat was moving quickly towards a back corner, and seven armed men were with him. Ipo hurried to keep up. Where the hell is he going? he wondered.

  * * *

  Rat-man was both excited and sad. The junkyard operation had been very good to him, but now he had to shut it down. Bill Burch's orders had been very explicit. At the first sign of the enemy, Rat-man was to destroy all evidence, escape, and make absolutely sure nobody was following him. Burch had also told him to expect a serious fight even if there was no apparent danger.

  Rat-man led the way to a shack in the rear of the junkyard. It was made of sturdy steel plates welded to a steel frame. The frame was sunk into a concrete foundation for added security. Junked cars stacked high around the shack made it hard to see if one didn't know where to look.

  Rat-man used a key to unlock the door, but he didn't enter immediately. What looked like bolts on the door were actually buttons, and he pressed them in a specific sequence to disable an explosive booby-trap. After he heard a latch release, he opened the door.

  The shack contained assault rifles, Kevlar vests, and helmets. The weapons were already loaded and ready to fire. He handed out the equipment to the men with him.

  "What's going on?" one said in a tone of bewilderment.

  "We're leaving, and we could run into trouble on the way out. Anybody who sticks with me will get paid twenty grand cash, plus an extra twenty for every person you have to kill to protect me, and an extra thirty if you get seriously injured. But you have to stay with me."

  The men stared at him with wide eyes.

  "I'm not shitting you," Rat-man said.

  He took the best equipment for himself. He started with military-grade body armor which covered everything from his shoulders to his thighs. He grabbed an Adaptive Combat Rifle with an extended clip and a suppressor. A scope would allow him to make accurate shots at long range. He put on a gun belt which already had a pair of HK45 pistols in holsters. Finally, he hooked on a couple of grenades.

  When everybody looked ready to go, he said, "Let's move!"

  * * *

  Ipo couldn't see what was happening. Stacks of cars blocked his view of the enemy. He circled cautiously in an attempt to get a better angle.

  The man in the black cowboy hat emerged from hiding, and now he was equipped for war. The men with him weren't quite as well armed, but they still made a potent little force.

  They headed back towards Hanley and Katie.

  "Shit," Ipo said. He took out his phone.

  * * *

  Hanley's phone rang. The men in black T-shirts around him gave him curious looks.

  "Sorry." He smiled apologetically. "I'd better take this call." He put the phone against his ear. "Yes?"

  "It's Ipo. Your buddy with the big hat is coming back, and he's dressed to kill. Get out of there. Liam has your back."

  "Got it. Bye." He stuffed his phone into his pocket.

  Katie raised her eyebrows.

  "The situation just got interesting," he whispered. "Ready?"

  A burning sensation in his gut told him God was certainly ready. The tingling extended out to Hanley's fingers and toes, and his heart was pounding. At that moment, he felt powerful enough to pick up one of the junked cars.

  Katie's expression changed to alarm. She shook her head. "No."

  "Now."

  Hanley kicked the gun out of the hand of the man closest to him. He continued spinning and plowed his foot into the face of a second adversary. There was gunfire. He ignored it and kicked a third man in the gut hard enough to send him sprawling backwards. Hanley grabbed the gun from a fourth man, jerked it out of his hand, and shot him in the face, all in one motion.

  Hanley dove to the ground to protect himself. He started shooting at whatever targets looked good, but he wasn't the only one killing.

  Katie had buried a knife in the throat of a man. The crazed look in her eyes suggested she was also feeling God's rage. She was a proper legionnaire after all.

  Distant gunshots suggested Liam was doing his part. Hanley stayed down in case one of Liam's bullets went awry. He was a pretty good shot on the gun range, but as Aaron had demonstrated, there was a big difference between shooting at paper targets and shooting at real enemies.

  The fight was over a few seconds later. The six guards were down, and blood was trickling from their wounds. Hanley didn't feel any pain, but he checked himself for injuries anyway. He didn't see any blood on himself.

  "You OK?" he asked Katie.

  Her eyes were wide, and she was breathing rapidly, but he didn't see anything wrong with her.

  "Well?" Hanley said.

  She stared at him. "I've never felt so... alive."

  "That's great, but are you hurt?"

  "I don't think so."

  "Then we need to move," he said. "Come on."

  Hanley hopped to his feet and ran off. Katie grabbed a gun off the ground and sprinted to catch up with him.

  * * *

  Ipo's phone rang. The caller ID showed Marina's code number.

  He answered immediately, "Ma'am?"

  "We saw muzzle flashes," Marina said. "What's going on?"

  "You did? Where are you?"

  "Directly above the junkyard. Aaron and I are in the helicopter."

  "Oh." Ipo raised his eyebrows in surprise. He looked up but only saw the night sky. "Hanley and Katie could be in trouble. I was going over there when you called. The situation has become complicated."

  "OK. Call me when you know more."

  "Yes, ma'am. Bye." He hung up.

  He wasn't sure how to feel about Aaron and Marina's arrival. On one hand, having two commanders around was an enormous advantage, and that helicopter was practically a gunship. On the other hand, it showed a lack of faith in Ipo and his fellow legionnaires. She had come to rescue them even before she knew they were in danger.

  Ipo put the issue out of his mind. He had work to do.

  * * *

  Rat-man readied his weapon and proceeded cautiously. The seven men with him had anxious expressions and kept glancing to either side. Rat-man didn't blame them for their fear. They had expected to face nothing worse than drunks and gamblers tonight, and instead, they had become soldiers in a war. The short gun battle earlier had sounded fierce.

  Rat-man had intended to kill the intruders upon his return. He approached the spot where he had left them, and he discovered six of his own men dead instead. Somehow, the intruders had won despite being outnumbered, outgunned, and surrounded.

  "Fuck," Rat-man said.

  This was exactly the kind of thing Burch had warned him about. Without being specific, the billionaire had mentioned extremely powerful adversaries capable of seemingly impossible feats. Apparently, "Oscar" and "Anne" were two of them.

  The men with Rat-man were shifting their feet anxiously. He realized he was in danger of losing his protection.

  "Forty grand if you stay with me," he said. "That's pretty good for one night's work."

  It was an insane amount of money to pay common thugs, but no price was too high for their loyalty right now. The offer settled them down.

  "Keep moving," Rat-man said. "We have to hit the office and then get the hell out of here."

  He jogged off.

  * * *

  Ipo paused for a moment to look at the six bodies on the ground. None of them were his friends, thank God. Judging by the results, Hanley and Katie had fought like real legionnaires. Ipo particularly liked
the knife buried in a man's throat.

  The man with the black cowboy hat was already moving on. Ipo had to choose between finding his teammates and following the enemy. He decided on the latter as obviously more important to the success of the mission. It looked like his teammates were doing just fine.

  Ipo hurried onwards.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Hanley looked around. Where is Liam? he wondered.

  A soft whistle drew his attention to a shadow between two stacks of cars. Liam was crouched there, almost invisible in his black and gray body armor.

  Hanley and Katie ran over.

  "Are you guys OK?" Liam said. "You were great!"

  "Thanks," Hanley said. "Where is Ipo?"

  "I'm not sure. He was following the bad guys. That was quite a fight! It's a miracle you two weren't shot."

  "I suppose it was. Did you actually shoot anybody?"

  "Maybe," Liam said uncertainly. "I tried."

  Hanley took out his phone and activated the tracking app. Icons appeared on the little screen showing the locations of nearby members of the Society. The four legionnaires were shown as green icons, but two blue icons were also in the vicinity. According to the text, they were at a high altitude directly overhead.

  "Aaron and Marina are here." He looked up at the night sky. "They must be in the helicopter, but I can't hear it."

  "That's good news," Katie said. "We could probably use the help."

  "I suppose, but we didn't ask for it. Ipo is this way." Hanley pointed.

  He led Katie and Liam at a quick jog across the junkyard. Hanley slowed down as they approached Ipo's position and spotted him crouching behind a car. Hanley, Katie, and Liam crept up behind Ipo.

  Ipo was watching a small, single-story office building near the entrance of the junkyard. It seemed to be the business office for the operation.

  He glanced back. "There you are. Is everybody OK?"

  "Yes," Hanley said. "Aaron and Marina are here."

  "I know. She called, and she's waiting for a status report. Let's do that now."

  Ipo opened his phone and put it in speaker mode. He called Marina.

  "Report," she said impatiently.

  "The team is back together, and nobody is hurt, ma'am. I followed the enemy to a small, white building in the southwest corner of the junkyard. I'm not sure what they're doing inside. There are eight men, heavily armed. The leader is wearing a big, black cowboy hat. It might be the guy we saw in the phone store."

  "He calls himself 'Rat'," Hanley added. "An interesting nickname under the circumstances. He's the boss here, and he's hiding something under his hat. Katie and I talked to him briefly. He knows about the red pickup trucks."

  "Why was there a crowd?" Marina said.

  "Dog fighting. It was pretty nasty."

  "OK. Capture the leader for interrogation. If you can grab some of the others, that's great, but don't get killed going for bonus points. Aaron and I will stay in the chopper, just in case."

  Hanley smiled. Marina's helicopter was a very cool toy, and acquiring it had required some serious string pulling.

  "Yes, ma'am. Bye." Ipo put away his phone. "We have our orders. Suggestions?"

  Hanley studied the target building. It was made of ribbed sheet metal painted white. There were just a few small windows, and getting through them quickly would be tough. The team would have to enter through a door, and doors were dangerous. The building cut through the outer fence of the junkyard, so the front door was facing the street. The fence made it impossible to walk around the building.

  "I'll get a closer look," Hanley said.

  "Careful," Ipo said. "You're liable to get your head shot off."

  "I know."

  "That little gun isn't much use. Take this."

  Ipo took an assault rifle from the collection of weapons draped across his body. Hanley accepted the VHS, a compact weapon used by the Croatian Army. The bullpup design and light weight made it ideal for close combat.

  With his head down, Hanley ran across open space to reach the building. He peeked through a window, took a good look, and jerked his head back. He had seen men setting fire to a pile of papers and wooden furniture. They're destroying evidence, Hanley thought.

  Unfortunately, he hadn't seen any obvious weaknesses. The enemy was well armed and equipped, and men were covering the back door. If the Spears attacked, the battle might leave the wrong people dead.

  Hanley heard a siren in the distance. It appeared somebody had called the police because of the gunshots earlier. At one time in his life, he would've welcomed the arrival of law enforcement, but now, he saw the police as a dangerous complication. They had no idea of what they were walking into.

  He looked around. The enemy would probably exit through the front door which led to the street. There was a parking lot on that side, and it made sense to ambush them there.

  Hanley ran back to his team. "They're burning evidence," he whispered, "but they'll probably be done soon. Let's get to the front and ambush them as they leave."

  Ipo glanced towards the building. "That means climbing over the fence or finding another way out of the junkyard."

  "Then let's move! We don't have much time."

  The team hurried off.

  * * *

  The sound of a siren made Rat-man pause. "Shit!" he yelled. "Cops! We have to go."

  He had hoped to destroy everything in the junkyard office. It had seemed prudent in case there was incriminating evidence buried in the paperwork. Now he was out of time, and he would have to take his chances, but at least a nice fire had been started.

  His escort of seven men moved towards the front door of the office. It was the obvious way out.

  "No!" Rat-man said. "Follow me."

  He went to the back door and carefully looked outside. He didn't see any movement among the stacks of cars. He watched for another long moment just to be sure.

  "It's safe," he said. "Keep up with me if you want to get paid."

  Rat-man ran through the junkyard. The heavy gun and body armor weighed him down, and he pushed himself to maintain a fast pace. He glanced back to make sure his escort wasn't falling behind.

  He wondered where the enemy had gone. He ran even faster.

  Rat-man arrived at another shed. This one was larger than the armory but not as well protected. A thick chain and a large padlock secured the big, sliding door. He took out his key ring but excitement made it hard for him to get the key into the lock. Finally, he opened the lock and pushed the door out of the way.

  Two Ford Shelby GT500's were inside the shed, one black and one white. Rat-man had lovingly built them from salvaged parts over the last few years. The muscle cars had 500 horsepower supercharged V8 engines which barely fit under the bulging hoods. Racing tires and custom paint jobs gave them a very sporty look, but the classic stripes down the center had been retained.

  The men with Rat-man gasped in admiration.

  "I need another driver," he said. "Who can really handle a car?"

  Everybody raised their hands.

  Rat-man rolled his eyes. "I'll put it another way. Who has received actual training in evasive driving techniques?"

  Only one man kept his hand up.

  "Good." Rat-man gave him a car key. "You're driving the white one. I'll drive black. Stay right on my tail."

  He climbed into the black GT500. The interior was all black leather and steel. When he turned on the engine, it made a satisfying roar with the high-pitched whine of a turbocharger on top.

  Each car held four people, so there was exactly enough seating for everybody. Rat-man had to take off his bulky cowboy hat, and the men in his car stared at the implants in his skull.

  "Don't say a fucking word," he said in a warning tone. "You want to get paid, right?"

  He backed out and turned around. It was possible to drive a car through the junkyard, but the alleys were narrow and the turns were tight. Fortunately, he knew the place like the back of his hand. When th
e white car was ready, he proceeded forward.

  * * *

  Aaron pointed down. "Look. Two cars."

  Marina looked through the window between her feet. Two sports cars, one white and one black, were driving through the junkyard.

  She called Ipo.

  "Ma'am?" the legionnaire said.

  "What's your status?"

  "We're setting up an ambush in front of the business office."

  "You may be wasting your time," Marina said. "Two cars are trying to get out of the junkyard. They're headed west."

  "Damn. We're on the south side. What do they look like?"

  "Mustangs. One black, one white."

  "Our guy must be in the black one," Ipo said. "He favors that color."

  "We'll follow him in the helicopter. Get back to your vehicle."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  She put away her phone. She pushed the flight stick, and the helicopter glided forward.

  * * *

  "Who was that?" Hanley said.

  "Marina," Ipo said. "It seems the enemy is trying to drive out another exit."

  Hanley snarled. "Let me double-check."

  The team was in a small parking lot in front of the business office. Even though it was the middle of the night, a couple of cars were in the lot. The legionnaires were crouched behind the cars with their guns ready.

  Hanley didn't see any sign of danger, so he sprinted across the lot to the front door of the office. He kicked the door open and jumped back, but nobody took a shot at him. He risked a look inside. There was a large and growing fire in the middle of the office, and the enemy was gone.

  "Damn!" he growled.

  "Marina wants us to get back to the van," Ipo yelled.

  "We'd better run."

  All four legionnaires sprinted away.

  * * *

  Rat-man waited impatiently while one of his men unlocked a gate on the west side of the junkyard. Rat-man kept checking the mirrors and looking over his shoulder. His escape had seemed too easy.

  Finally, the gate was open, and the guy was back in the car. Rat-man drove out, turned right, and headed down an empty road. He didn't spin the wheels like a frightened amateur. Instead, he accelerated to a fast but controllable speed. The white car was right behind him.