“Teams check in!”
Nothing. He checked the feeds. They were still again.
“Teams check in!”
Nothing.
One islander had been sent to deal with the snipers. Saki had watched them as they set up earlier in the evening. Papa and two islanders took the UK Prime Minister, Kano and Kisho took the Australian Prime Minister while Saki and the other islander watched the villa. Saki had supplied everybody with Tonfas, traditional baton-style sticks with handles two thirds of the way down the shaft. Police batons were a modern derivation of these ancient weapons.
Each of Saki’s groups were also kitted with small communicators. Once they got word the snipers were down, they would begin to take out the teams. The plan was to be as quick and as quiet as possible. Saki was conscious of the army of bodyguards filling the hotel, all of varying levels of professionalism and ability. They could very easily and quickly have a bloodbath on their hands.
As they received confirmation that the snipers were down, they moved in.
Team One was ready and waiting for the Go command. The lieutenant watched from the edge of the small wooded area where he and his men waited. The guards in front of them would be taken out at any moment. The door they were guarding led directly to the UK Prime Minister’s room. There were only four more guards inside, if his guys were quiet enough, they wouldn’t even have to fight their way back out. His watch glowed 4.44 a.m., he would get the Go any second now. With his eyes fixed on the scene in front of him, he raised his hand and readied his men.
Papa watched as the leader raised his hand to ready his team, that was Papa’s signal to go.
The lieutenant had to blink to see if his eyes were deceiving him as a man materialised next to him. He had just appeared from behind the tree. He heard some noises behind him but nothing else after the baton struck him on the side of the head.
Papa made a noise similar to a small bird, that was the signal for the other two men to move in. The three stepped out from their camouflaged positions in amongst Team One. Saki had seen the leader pay particular attention to two wooded areas which is exactly where he had set up the ambushes. Papa could see the look of confusion on the three soldiers’ faces as he now stood in front of them. The look turned to fear as Papa set to work with the Tonfas. Before they had a chance to react, Papa spun the Tonfas into the side of two of their heads and delivered a double blow with the ends of the Tonfas to the soldier who was unfortunate enough to be in the middle of the three. The other two islanders dealt similar blows to their three and four-man teams respectively.
Papa couldn’t help himself, he noticed the camera on the top of the lieutenant’s helmet. He bent down and gave the camera a big smile before whacking it with his Tonfa.
Team One’s screen showed a set of beaming white teeth, somebody was smiling at him. What the hell are they playing at, thought Williams. However, he realised that nobody was fooling around when the wooden shaft came towards him at high speed. The screen went blank and then snowy.
Williams checked the other two screens, they were still on.
Kano and Kisho had a similar situation to Papa, a small wooded area in which to hide. The soldiers had come in amongst them and had actually stepped on Kisho twice. On the ready signal, they had moved in. The Tonfas were a blur as they cracked off one soldier and hit another before spinning back to hit another. With five soldiers, the likelihood of at least one soldier getting to their gun was dramatically increased. Afterall, the soldiers were highly trained professionals in their own right. It was therefore a testament to Kisho and Kano that not one soldier had the chance to think about shooting back such was the speed they moved through the team.
They too noticed the camera on the lieutenant but didn’t throw Williams a smile, they just knocked it out of commission.
As Williams saw the second camera blink out of action, he began to think that a mile may not be far enough away.
“Just keep driving, head to the airport and quick!”
Saki did not have the luxury of knowing where the third team would come from. It had not been one of Williams’ initial targets. So Saki had to guess where they would position themselves for the final assault. He had guessed right as he watched the soldiers crawl through the Spa. It was adjacent to the villa and offered a very private entrance, out of view of the main hotel and numerous bodyguards. Saki wanted to protect the villa himself. These men were there to kill his babies and he would stop them.
He watched the man ready his team, giving them the signal to prepare themselves to slaughter defenceless children. Saki stepped out of his hiding spot, he hadn’t alerted the other islander before he did so. He wanted as many of these guys to himself. With each spin and thrust of the Tonfa, another limb cracked as Saki, like a maelstrom, waded through the soldiers. The only person quick enough to react to his speed and power was the other islander joining the fray just in time to take care of two soldiers. Each soldier was to be hit once, knocked unconscious before being tied up and left for the local police to deal with once the islanders had gone.
Saki had doubled the blows ensuring each of the soldiers who had threatened his babies would remember that night for a very long time. The first blow had deliberately broken a kneecap, shattered an elbow or destroyed a pelvis and the second blow had knocked the men unconscious before they could even react to the pain.
Williams had only travelled another 100 yards before the third camera was knocked out.
“Faster, just get us the hell off this island!” he screamed to the driver.
As his launch left the shore, Saki dialled the hotel and reported three separate disturbances. Within minutes, the grounds of the hotel were lit up and swarming with police and bodyguards who took into custody a large group of heavily armed, semi-conscious soldiers already bound and ready for prison. Each was missing a tooth and had on them a small photo of the UK and Australian PMs. which none of them could explain under questioning.
The three lieutenants, however, had not been left behind with their men. They were tied up and taken to the launch for transportation to The Beautiful Lady where they would be answering questions. Thanks to Tom’s information, their cyanide teeth were removed.
Chapter 83
It had been a very emotional reunion. The launch had sped them out to The Beautiful Lady, anchored just around the coast and out of sight of the villa. Tom and Lela jumped off the launch and into Donald and Rachel’s arms before it had even stopped. Apologies and tears filled the next half hour as the five Kennedys moved into a private study to be on their own.
Once everyone had calmed down, Donald began to explain what they had been doing.
“Before we left for Africa, Saki and I knew that we were being set up. It was not until we got to Africa that we realised how badly. We weren’t just being framed, we were going to be murdered. It was only thanks to Tom and Lela that we survived. When we left Guinea, we flew low level over Africa and landed in the middle of the night, in complete darkness, on Desroches Island, part of the Seychelles. We’d arranged for the Tylanni to meet us there, once she’d been given a complete make-over and change of name. We’d always planned to disappear but not to die in the process. We knew we needed to hide out and we knew that we would be arrested for the assassinations on our return.
Donald paused and looked at his wide-eyed audience who wanted to know more. He continued.
“The plan was that Jim would then take off and after a short while, climb to a normal cruising height and head home. He would claim that we had never boarded the plane and didn’t know where we were. We didn’t expect him to crash. That was a massive shock. Poor Jim, he was a good man. Anyway, we realised that the plane crash wasn’t a complete waste. We were reported dead, so it covered our tracks. It broke our hearts to think how you must have been feeling.”
Rachel burst into tears again, it had been the hardest few weeks of her life. Tom then explained that the crash was no accident and that the moment Jim had rea
ched 12,000 feet, he was doomed. Donald had not known this nor even thought that the crash had been anything other than an accident. He was visibly shaken by the news at how close they had been to dying.
Donald then explained that they had continued to work through the evidence and clues which he and Saki had amassed. They worked out who the next targets would be and began to make their way to Barbados. Saki, however, insisted on going via Peru because he knew that Tom and Lela were going to Machu Picchu. He guessed that if they were going to try to kidnap or murder Tom or Lela, that’s where they would access them most easily.
As the information sank in, Lela blurted out that it must have been Saki who saved Tom from the sniper. Tom and Rachel looked at each other in horror, neither had known anything about it.
That final revelation brought them back to where they were now, having just saved the UK and Australian Prime Ministers.
Tom took over at that point to update his parents and Saki on the intelligence they had and on how Lela had been kidnapped and had escaped. Tom could see that Papa was in trouble. The look on Saki’s face when he heard about Lela’s capture did not hide his feelings which would keep for the time being. Tom went on to explain about Operations Sandy and David and how they had led them to Barbados but that David was still evading them. He kept thinking Camp David but there were over 150 Marines guarding that, never mind the Secret Service.
Chapter 84
It was 5.00 a.m. when Beaumont’s phone rang. It was The Chairman.
“Hello,” answered Beaumont tentatively. He was expecting the call asking him to go down to let his executioners in.
“Operation Sandy failed. Williams couldn’t pull it off. They really are a bunch of tricky bastards. You’re back on, you’ve one last chance. Operation David and don’t mess it up.” The phone went dead.
Beaumont had never wished for a Committee operation to fail but thanks to Operation Sandy, The Chairman’s baby, he was to live another day.
He jumped out of bed, pulled out the plans and within five minutes was up to speed. Two minutes later, he was barking orders down the phone. He was back!
He checked General Powers’ condition, he was stable and definitely out of the picture for the very near future. It was imperative that he remain so for the following few days. He was the only one who could stop Operation David.
He called Williams and told him what he wanted him to do.
Chapter 85
“So where next?” Tom asked his father, everyone else had gone to bed.
“No idea. This is where our all info led us. Beyond this we’re stuck unless one of those guys talks,” replied Donald pointing to the lower deck where Saki and Papa were ‘talking’ to the lieutenants.
Saki joined them in the main cabin.
“Nothing. Those guys know nothing. They believe they’re members of a secret multi-national army and work for something like the UN, sorting out major international incidents.”
“Did you try the latex gloves technique?” asked Tom. Donald stared at him. “The what?” he asked.
“Yep, worked a treat. That’s when they told us about the multi-national army. Trust me nobody is better at the latex glove trick than Papa. He even had me terrified,” said Saki
“What the hell is this? Some kind of barbaric torture thing?” asked Donald.
Tom explained the technique to Donald as Papa entered the cabin. He had locked the lieutenants up and joined them to discuss tactics.
The four carefully sifted through the information they had, to try to work out what to do next. They were struggling, finding nothing but dead-ends.
Tom’s phone rang. It was Daniel. Donald had told Tom and Lela to keep their reappearance secret. Tom put the phone on speaker.
“Hi Daniel.”
“Hi Tom, sounds like you guys have been busy. The assassination attempts at the Sandy Lane are all over the news down here. Well done! Suggestions are already being made about your dad’s innocence, it won’t belong before his name’s cleared.”
“Excellent! Any news on Operation David or who’s behind all this?” asked Tom, keen to skip over the bit about his father, he didn’t like lying.
“Maybe,” replied Daniel. “Tom, everything points to Washington. That’s where Jin’s grandfather and Sofie’s mother are going. Along with a number of others on the G20 list.”
“Bloody hell, so what’s the reference to David?”
“The meeting was scheduled to be in Washington. However, we’ve just learnt from Jin that her grandfather has been told that the meeting is now going to take place elsewhere in the interests of security. Guess where?”
“Camp David?” suggested Tom.
“Exactly. They’re going for the big one — the President and the remaining leaders at Camp David. The meeting starts Tuesday night.”
“Jesus, it’s like a fortress, there’s no way they’re getting in there. Hold on, I’ll get Zach.” Tom buzzed Zach. Two minutes later a sleepy Zach emerged into the main cabin. Tom brought him up to speed quickly while he muted Daniel. Donald also told him not to mention they were there. Tom released the mute button.
“Zach, do you want to give us the background on Camp David?” asked Tom.
“No problem. Since about the 1940s I think, Camp David has been the retreat for serving presidents, 125 acres of the most protected soil on earth within the Catoctin Mountains, 75 miles north west of Washington. A company of Marines from Marine Barracks provides camp security while the Secret Service provide personal security. Now we know that our enemies are resourceful, but getting past Camp David’s electronic security, 150 marines and the Secret Service seems just a little too much.”
“Maybe they’re just going to nuke them?” suggested Tom.
“Don’t think so, the guest-list includes a lot of the new leaders. I doubt if they’ll be targeted,” replied Daniel.
“OK. Zach, keep an eye on Camp David. If anything happens, let us know straight away. Anything else Daniel?”
“Yes, the first report is back from the raid on the lawyer’s office. A telephone number in Washington ties in with the times of the bids for Alba but it doesn’t exist or at least the phone company says it doesn’t. It’s getting raided tonight. Other than that, nothing.”
“Thanks, I’ll talk to you soon.” Tom ended the call.
“Washington it is then,” said Donald, sending the instructions to the bridge.
Everybody felt a rumble as the engines were pushed to full power and the bow of the huge yacht lifted as she accelerated first to thirty knots and then a second drive system was engaged taking the yacht to over 45 knots.
It was time to go to bed. They would be in Washington, 1800 miles away, in less than two days.
Chapter 86
The rest of that Sunday and most of the Monday were spent resting and working through the information to try to find what or who was behind everything. Daniel’s guys had drawn a blank at the phone company which was bizarre. The number had been used to make calls and receive calls but the phone company’s records showed the number had never existed. Zach had picked this up now, there were only a few people with the power to have non-existent numbers.
It was Monday evening when everybody noticed the ship slowing down, back to less than half speed.
“What’s happening?” Tom asked his father.
Donald didn’t answer, he just pointed to the sky. Four helicopters were flying towards them. Before Tom had a chance to ask who they were, the first helicopter touched down on the stern pad while the second touched down on the bow pad. Ten men jumped off each one and ran towards Papa who was standing, in the centre of the boat, with his arms up. The two helicopters took off but were immediately replaced by another two. With another seventeen men deposited, they also took off and flew back towards the coast. Before they were even out of sight, the boat was already back up to full speed.
Tom looked at the men and recognised all of them. He had known them all his life. They were more islan
ders. Papa and Saki had obviously called in reinforcements. They didn’t know what they were up against but if somebody was going to launch an attack on 150 marines, they were certain to have a fairly impressive force.
The islanders were delighted to see that Saki, Donald and Rachel were alive and well and after a very warm greeting, they made their way below deck to get some rest. They had been flying for the best part of a day.
Donald looked at Tom.
“Well that evens it up a bit, don’t you think?” he said jovially.
“Depends. Whoever they are plan to take out 150 Marines.”
“Hmm true, if they use gas or chemicals, we’re buggered,” thought Donald.
“Dad, perhaps we should contact the President?” said Tom who was increasingly concerned about what they may be up against.
“It’s too risky, he’ll never believe you and if I call, I’ll be back in the mix for the assassinations and if anything does happen, it’s all my fault again,” he replied. “And if that’s not enough, we don’t know who we can trust. Whoever is involved is very well connected.”
“True,” said Tom.
“We’ve got twenty four hours, let’s see what happens between now and then. If it looks like the best option, we’ll contact him. If we go making crazy claims just now without a shred of evidence, we’ll be laughed at and only tip off the bad guys,” said Donald.
“Fair enough,” said Tom, although he had a very bad feeling.
Chapter 87
The line of trucks snaked down the road. The Humvee at the front drew to a halt at the main gates. A guard approached the jeep and noticed the high ranking officer in the passenger seat and saluted.
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