“Ha. The more the merrier I always say,” Hulk grumbled.
Hands adjusted his pack. “Just get in and keep to the script, Lexi. Make contact. Distract Broodryk. Plug in and pass the location info to the team. The virus is our number one priority here. If possible, grab Elvis and get the hell out. We’ve got to remember the ultimate mission will be delivering Broodryk a special welcome-to-the-neighborhood gift.”
I thought of the SEAL team headed toward the compound in Gabon. I worked through a mental checklist of all the things that had to happen for Slash’s and my alternate plan to work. We all had our missions. Right now, my mission was at the shack. I had to stop the virus and save Elvis. Elvis took priority in my heart, but millions of lives were at stake with the virus. If it came down to a push of a button, I wasn’t sure what I’d do.
That scared me. What if Broodryk won after all? What would that mean?
Logic said it would mean life was a risk however we lived it, and in the end I supposed the greatness of a person wasn’t defined by what they had, but by what they were willing to risk for others. Besides, no matter what happened, even if I went down, Broodryk wouldn’t leave me defeated.
As planned, we drove off-road to the shack. After about five minutes en route, I made a mental note to find and beat to death with a heavy keyboard the intelligence analyst who called this area gently rolling. While Land Rovers were built for this type of off-roading with heavy-duty shock absorbers, the combination of a heavy load, the relentless speed Wills was maintaining, and the uneven ground was punishing. I kept my teeth tightly clenched to protect my tongue from getting bitten.
If Hands and Hulk were bothered by the terrain, you couldn’t tell by looking at them. They were on high alert, their heads were swiveling non-stop, looking for hostiles. The windows were rolled down to allow freedom of fire and prevent flying glass if we became targets. As much as I longed for a smoother ride, this was the way to go. The roads were likely peppered with IEDs or heavily patrolled by al-Shabaab militants, the same group responsible for the vicious attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi. I wasn’t anxious to encounter them anytime soon and I suspected the guys weren’t either. But it was highly likely that at least a few guys from this group were poised to engage us at some point at the shack. I couldn’t see how Broodryk could have pulled it off otherwise.
Somalia had a rugged sort of beauty, but it was hard to appreciate the scenery while jammed into my seat with my pack on my lap and my head flopping around with every jolt. Body armor plates I couldn’t reach to adjust were attempting to relocate my spleen. I found it impossible to do anything else but stare at the back of Hands’s head, so I mentally rehearsed the lessons from our last mission.
A.) Avoid embarrassing face plants; B.) No hysterical screaming; and C.) Under no circumstances should I take my helmet off. That last one almost got me left behind and I had no intention of spending the rest of my life in Somalia.
Finally Wills announced over our helmet comm link that we were approximately ten minutes out from the shack. I had no idea how he could possibly know where he was going or how Bravo team even managed to keep up. Still, given that notification, Hands and Hulk somehow completed yet another equipment check while barely taking their eyes off our surroundings.
We abruptly hit a moment of surprising calm as the ground smoothed out. Apparently it was the eye before the storm, maybe my last one ever. I scanned the three guys, looking for any sign of anxiety or concern. Here we were at the last minutes before a fight we might not walk away from, yet they seemed completely at ease.
I struggled to understand it. Their peace couldn’t just be due to experience. It was something more.
Hulk looked over at me and gave me that infectious smile of his. “We’ve got this, kid. It’s going to turn out good.”
Suddenly I understood. It was faith. Not necessarily the religious type, although they may have that as well. I had never asked. But this was faith in themselves, in each other as a team, the mission, everything. They knew that each of them would do the best they could do and together that would be enough, no matter who or what they faced. It wasn’t rational, but they shared it, and now I was a part of it and I felt calmer, too.
Our planning would pay off, the bad guys would fail and we’d come out alive. I refused to let myself calculate the odds. For the first time in my life, I didn’t want to know.
Hands asked over his shoulder, “You’re awfully quiet. Everything okay, Keys?”
“It is now.”
I thought of Slash, and somehow that calmed me further. Be smart, be careful, but more than anything, don’t let anyone manipulate you.
Don’t let anyone manipulate you. Easier said than done. Being able to outwit Broodryk in the middle of Somalia on his terms wasn’t looking like such an attractive option. But we are who we are and we can only do the best with what we’ve got.
Hands spoke softly to someone on a separate radio—possibly to Bravo or maybe Mother. He wasn’t speaking through his unit comm.
“One mile,” Wills called. “Last weapons check.”
Everyone gave their weapons a final check even though I had no doubt they were in perfect working order. I swallowed hard, my heart starting to beat faster. I braced my hands on the hand rest and the back of Hands’s seat where I sat waiting for the next bump. The telephone poles in the distance pointed the way to our destination.
Surprisingly, Hands turned around and handed me an automatic handgun. “I heard you can use this and may find it useful. We have no idea what you may find in that house and if Wills is incapacitated, I want you to be able to take care of yourself.”
Without a word of protest, I took the gun. That’s how I rolled these days. I didn’t have a holster, so I made sure the safety was on and jammed it into my backpack.
“Target in sight. Alpha Star, get down.” Hands’s voice came through my helmet. I instantly dropped to the seat, my head nearly in Hulk’s lap.
“We have a visual on the house,” Hands broadcast on the radio to Mother. “Are the overhead assets on station?”
“Affirmative. You are a go and we have detected no additional activity at the target. The winds are kicking up out of the southwest, so drop your grenades early and expect it to dissipate much quicker than usual.”
“Roger that.” Over the helmet comm Hands asked, “Wills did you get that smoke report?”
“Sure did. Alpha Star and I will make it quick.”
“You’d better. If you don’t you may find yourself with more holes than a Congressman’s alibi.”
I rolled my eyes and Wills snorted as Hands ordered, “Bravo, report.”
“Ready and at your six o’clock.”
“Good. We release two smoke grenades from each vehicle as we round the south end of Jar Hill. Toss the grenades out the left side and as far as you can. Delay the release of the right-hand grenades for a count of three and then throw them over the car. The wind should carry everything up hill and give a few extra moments. Bravo, then continue to your positions. Release another set of smoke grenades as soon as you take your positions. Alpha Star, you stay put in the vehicle until I say so.”
“Okay,” I answered.
Wills abruptly yanked on the wheel, spinning the vehicle as we came around the end of the hill. I thought for a breathtaking moment he had miscalculated the speed and we would topple over. But he righted it at the last moment just as Hulk and Hands tossed the smoke grenades out the window. Then he slammed on the brakes and we skidded to a whiplash halt. There was so much noise and action, I had no idea if we were under attack or not.
“Out! Out! Out!”
I couldn’t tell if the voice was coming from my helmet or not. “Alpha Star, be prepared to move once we have secured the area. Alpha Two, check the shack entrance. Let’s get a move on, team.”
I clenc
hed my fists in a death grip. What were the three things I was supposed to remember? No screaming, keep my helmet on no matter what and...what the heck was the last one?
“Alpha Star, exit the vehicle now.” Hands’s voice came through commanding and calm. “The site is secure, but the smoke isn’t lasting as long as we expected. You need to get inside quickly.”
I threw open the car door. There was an awkward moment when I struggled with my pack, which had become wedged between the front seat and me. I yanked it free and leaped out of the Land Rover.
Unfortunately, I forgot how much higher a Land Rover is than a normal vehicle and I hooked my foot on the sill. As my momentum carried me to the ground, I executed a perfect face plant in the dirt.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
I heard someone swearing via my helmet comm. It seemed like I lay there with sand in my face for an endless minute, trying to process what had just happened.
Wills’s voice sounded in my helmet, “Alpha Star, get a move on. Now.”
I rolled onto my side to get my knees under me and grabbed my pack, slinging it on my back. I glanced over my shoulder at the telephone pole standing near the shack, with its power transformer hanging just under the crosspiece. I was struck by how normal it looked. It could have been one of any thousand such poles in Maryland, and yet here it was in rural Somalia.
“Alpha Star, the smoke is starting to thin.” Wills’s voice was pleasant, but urgent.
I scrambled toward the door where Wills was waiting. I glanced around. The vehicle was sitting there with all four doors open. I could see Hulk’s feet, but the rest of him was hunkered down. I couldn’t see Hands so he was probably beyond the SUV. Beyond the vehicle and through the smoke I could just make out the dark bulk of Jar Hill rising about fifteen to twenty feet above our position. At the left end of it, large clumps of the thorny thicket provided cover to anyone hiding there. It was absolutely silent except for my harsh breathing. Looking up, I saw a camera mounted on the roof, facing to the southwest. Broodryk wanted an outside view, too.
“We’ve got a camera on the roof,” I said. “Pointed southwest.”
“Roger that.” Hands’s voice came through my helmet, sure and steady. “Just like we planned, Alpha Star. You’ve got this.”
I didn’t trust myself to answer, so I nodded at Wills. I stood directly behind him to protect his back and hide what we were doing in case anyone was watching through the smoke. He bent down on one knee to the side of the door, then pulled something out of his pocket about the size of a cell phone, opened the door a crack and stuck his hand inside. As the door opened, an alarm inside began to sound insistently. It took about three seconds before he withdrew his hand and gave the device to me. He left the door ajar.
According to the plan, he’d snapped a few photographs in a panorama of the room. I glanced quickly through the pictures getting familiar with the layout. The room was pretty dark, without windows and lit by a single bare overhead bulb. A large television screen hung on the wall opposite the door. Beneath it, a small table held a laptop with cords running to the screen. There was a door to the right that probably led to another room based upon the dimensions of the shack. The rest of the room was empty except for a camera mounted high on the back left wall and positioned so that it covered the entrance door, the laptop, the television screen and the mystery door to the right. Assuming there wasn’t another camera above our heads over the entrance door, it was good news because it meant Broodryk would only have one fixed view.
Elvis wasn’t in sight, but behind the door to the right was probably where we would find him. On the phone screen it looked like there was some device on the door handle, but I had only a dim, partial view. I handed Wills the camera and nodded again.
I glanced over my shoulder and could see parts of the hill emerging from the smoke.
“Now,” I said, tapping Wills on the shoulder. “Remember, whatever we say inside will probably be monitored, so be discreet.”
He nodded and withdrew something from his pants pocket, opened the door a bit wider, then tossed in another smoke grenade. I heard a thump and a hiss. The alarm was still sounding inside.
“Time to party,” Wills said.
He rose from his knee and entered the room in a half crouch. I couldn’t see a thing, but I followed him in until I felt the wall. The door banged shut behind me. I felt along the wall to the left until I was under where I estimated the camera hung. I knelt down, shrugging out of my pack and unzipping it.
“Well, how nice that you’ve finally arrived,” Broodryk voice said from the smoke, startling me until I realized it came from the television screen I couldn’t see. The alarm cut off and it was eerily quiet.
“Well, well. What’s this? A smoke grenade? Really? How crude. I assure you there are no hostiles in the house. However, now that you are here I would suggest you don’t try to leave. I have an expert marksman, whom I believe you know, covering the door with instructions to shoot anyone who attempts to leave.”
Pentz. Oh my God. He had come and now he was out there hunting SEALs. The sound of gunfire from outside made me jump. Broodryk’s game of life and death was officially underway. I felt sick to my stomach knowing that Hands, Hulk and the others were out there exposed so we could complete our mission inside.
Have faith, Lexi. Everyone is doing their job. Just do yours and it will be all right.
“Crude or not, I don’t trust you, Broodryk,” I said. “Tell your guard dogs outside to stand down. This is between you and me.”
He laughed. “True, but I did promise them some fun. Ah, it’s so nice to hear your voice again. I’ve missed you, you know. But I’m afraid you aren’t in charge here, my dear.”
With the thick smoke swirling around me, I spread my arms and walked around trying to locate Wills to give me a boost to reach the camera. In the meantime, I had to keep Broodryk busy.
“Where’s Elvis?”
“He’s fine and in the other room,” Broodryk answered. “But first, I want to see you. Open the front door and clear out the smoke or I’ll kill him right now.”
I really needed to find Wills. Just then someone or something grabbed the top of my right shoulder. The combination of the dark, the smoke, and jittery nerves made me scream.
“It’s just me.” I heard Wills’s comforting voice in my helmet.
My scream amused Broodryk. “Screaming already, are we? I am most disappointed. I assumed that you had a little more fortitude than that.”
I pressed my lips together and tugged Wills in position beneath the camera. First it was the face plant and now the scream. I wasn’t an honorary SEAL. I was a freaking basket case.
“You wanted me here, so I’m here. Let’s get down to business, Broodryk. Why did you bring me all the way to Africa? Afraid to meet me on my own soil?” I spoke loudly to try and hide my position and buy myself a few more moments.
“Why not? It’s my show. Why should I suffer from jet lag?”
I knelt, groped for my pack until I found it. Unzipping it, I pulled out my laptop. I opened it, took the side cord already attached to my computer in one hand and then stood. Holding the cord in my teeth, I fashioned Wills’s hands into a step and then stuck my foot there. He caught on and helped boost me up. I used my hands to feel for the line leading from the laptop to the camera.
I took the cord from my mouth and tried to stabilize myself against the wall. “Just so we’re clear, not everything is on your terms. Still, I’ll play. Might as well, seeing as how I’m already here. But I’m not your puppet. I’m not going to do what you want for the sake of your show. My participation will be on my terms.”
My voice sounded confident, but my hands were trembling as I unscrewed the jack on the back of the camera. I nearly wept when it came loose and I was able to slip my intercept device in between the connections and secure t
he connection again. I wiggled my foot and Wills helped me down. I knelt down next to my laptop and felt around for the return button. When my fingers found it, I pushed it activating the pre-loaded application.
Now the next time he accessed that camera our game began.
“I’m warning you, Lexi. Clear the room or suffer the consequences.”
I pushed my laptop back against the wall under the camera where it wouldn’t be visible from either of the cameras on the wall or the laptop.
“Fine. But I need some reassurance first. I need to know Elvis is alive.”
Outside the shooting intensified slightly. I could hear Hands on the unit comms shouting for Alpha Team to reposition and talking to Mother on the radio about assisting with identifying the location of the hostiles shooting at them.
“You are operating on limited time,” Broodryk said. I could hear the growing anger in his voice. He didn’t like my little stunt with the smoke grenades. The audience wouldn’t tune in if they couldn’t see. “Every minute you waste is one minute you don’t have to try and save your friend. Tick tock. From this moment forward, you have thirty minutes. The countdown has started.”
Thirty minutes to live.
“We have a confirmation on the Snake,” Hands’s voice came through my helmet. “Repeat, the Snake is in the grass. I recognize the crack of his gun. Alpha Three is down. Status unknown.”
I covered my mouth in horror. Hulk was down. Pentz had shot him.
“Bravo Team, hold your position,” Hands said. How he managed to keep his voice steady was beyond me. “The Predator feed shows we have no newcomers to the party yet. It looks like most of the hostiles are facing Bravo. Beware of them trying to flank your position. Mother also reports that we have weather moving in that may impact their ability to provide video. We need to take care of Snake or no one will be able to leave the shack. I’m going to coordinate with Mother while we still have options to see if we can make him move so I can go after him. It won’t be easy for him to reposition in that brush with his large rifle.”
No Woman Left Behind: A Lexi Carmichael Mystery, Book Six Page 23
