by James Flynn
Not stopping for breath, Luke kicked the thrown bottle against the long, flowing curtains that covered the front window; he then pulled the pin on a second Flashbang and tossed it in the same direction, covering his eyes and ears. The explosion was loud, and the alcohol and curtains were instantly alight, flaring bright in the night vision.
As Luke jumped the dead body and moved toward the entrance hall he heard the guy’s radio crackle: Two men down in the kitchen area, repeat, two men down. Plus flames, we have flames at the rear of the building.
Luke kept the Browning extended as he entered the entrance hall. He had six bullets left. Smoke was starting to form light wisps throughout the bottom floor and he could now feel the heat take hold from the lounge. He could see no one but he knew there were people clearing the kitchen. He didn’t waste a moment.
I have to reach Seona.
He ran up the stairs two at a time. It was not a good feeling ascending back to the middle level with a raging fire below. It was a negative move, but he had to get Seona. The fire was designed to level the playing field, now everyone was in danger.
As the stairs curved back on themselves, Luke heard a muffled voice from below: “Armed police, freeze! Now!”
The shout was accompanied by gunfire. Luke felt a sudden and sharp pain shudder up his arm and he dropped the bottle, smashing it on the stone floor. His arm felt like it had been hit by a train.
He made it to the top of the stairs and examined the wound. Through the goggles it was difficult to make out, but what was obvious was there was blood coming from his bicep. The pain was acute but not crippling, the bullet had passed straight through.
Keep focused.
He crashed into Seona’s room,
“Seona, let’s go, now!” Luke spoke in Russian to confirm it was him.
Seona edged the wardrobe door open. She had heard all the gunshots and explosions but the sight of Luke wearing night vision goggles in darkness was truly frightening. Luke helped her to step out, wincing at the pain in his arm. He took off the goggles.
“You’re hurt? My God, what happened?” Seona tried to stop and check Luke’s arm.
“Forget it, we’ll sort it later. We have to get to the car!”
Seona moved to grab her bag, Luke cut her short. “No, leave it!” She had to be able to move fast. They reached her bedroom door, and were halted in their tracks. From outside a voice boomed: “Come out slowly with your hands in the air. We have you surrounded.”
They were trapped.
54.
The red glow from the fire lit up the night sky; it threw a menacing red tinge across the surrounding area. The flames were steadily eating their way from the far left side of the house, digesting each room in turn. The operative cursed silently; picking up the sniper rifle, he kept his eye pressed to the night vision sight and scanned around, wanting to make sure there were no other people lying in wait around the perimeter. The radio communication he was listening to wasn’t good. He needed Seona Latvik alive; it was part of the agreement that Mulberry had reiterated very strongly. That idea seemed like it may be going up in smoke along with the house.
The smoke was now pouring out of the house and obscuring the operative’s view of the exterior. His telescopic sight was rapidly becoming redundant which, in turn, meant that he wouldn’t get a clear shot at this range. He would need to move closer. He scanned the area and decided that the van would offer the best angle on a new view of the house. If he needed to, he would approach the house himself. He had confidence in the SO19 team but it had become more apparent with every hour that Temple was no ordinary foe. Another surge of excitement rippled through his veins.
He locked up the bipod under the weapon and strapped it to his back. Keeping low, he moved in a zigzag pattern across each field, making his way to the idling van. There had been no radio communication in several minutes; he couldn’t leave it much longer.
55.
Stay calm. Panicking only forces your hand into a false action. Luke fought to control his breathing.
“Come out with your hands up, you are surrounded.”
“Luke, let’s just go out, they are going to kill you. I will explain everything, I’ll just tell them you were trying to save me.”
Luke’s mind was racing, there was no way Seona would be safe if he handed her over, plus there was no way they would spare him. Aubert’s corpse was testament to that. Luke discovered great clarity in fear and high stress: it was his training.
The world slowed and his mind transported him back to a freezing cold hangar set in a Danish icescape. All of Group 9’s training took place in Denmark, within various remote locations. Often giant hangars or warehouses were converted and doubled as various theatres of conflict. Luke stood in the freezing hangar, darkness all around; a single-tone five-second buzzer split the silence. Strobe lighting started up, illuminating the hangar intermittently. Several dark shapes appeared brandishing various weapons and, one by one, they attacked Luke. He was completely unarmed and could only defend and strike with whatever had been strategically left lying around the vast space. His instructor’s voice bellowed repeatedly: Improvise and adapt. Improvise and adapt. If you can’t, you’ll die.
“Luke what are we doing? Come on, I’ll tell them you tried to help me.” Seona snapped Luke back to reality.
“Do you trust me?” he asked outright.
“What?”
“Do you trust me?”
Seona didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
Luke slipped the release catch on the Browning magazine, six bullets left. He rammed it back home. He would only have one chance for his idea to work.
“We’re not giving ourselves up, you won’t make it.” Luke had regained purpose. “Move to the door. I want you to stand on one side. When I say so, I need you to reach and open the door very quickly, ok?”
Seona looked blank.
“Seona! Trust me.”
Seona moved to the door and placed her back against the wall next to the door frame, looking at Luke. He checked the last Flashbang, he wouldn’t be pulling the pin.
“This is your last chance. Come out with your hands up!”
Luke placed himself at an angle to the doorway; he gave one last glance at Seona. “Now!”
She reached over to the door handle; as she twisted it Luke threw the Flashbang. It seemed to hang in the air. Seona yanked the door open and Luke brought the pistol up and took aim. The Flashbang passed the threshold and he squeezed the trigger. The bullet passed through the aluminium casing and a bright flash of fire spread at shoulder height across the dark landing, followed by a clap of thunder.
It had worked perfectly. Screams and shouts were coming from the landing; the smoke from the downstairs blaze was now choking.
“Stay at my shoulder and don’t look round!” With that, Luke ran out of the room with Seona sprinting after him.
Bursting from the doorway, Luke put two bullets to his left and one to his right; he was shooting at no particular target but wanted to add to the disorientation. He pumped his legs to the top of the stairs, Seona close behind him. There were screams and shouts, but they weren’t aggressive, they were shouts of pain. As Luke and Seona pounded down the stairs, Luke glanced up at the landing. There had been four men stood outside the door; they were now either on fire or apparently unconscious.
The entrance hall was engulfed in thick black smoke, it caught in the back of their throats and they coughed and spluttered. The heat was intense, and their skin was tingling. Luke grabbed Seona’s hand and dragged her across the hall and out into the night.
They gulped down the crisp air. Luke regained his bearings and scanned the driveway, crouched against the fountain was a man dressed all in black coughing hard. He had taken his respirator off and was trying to get some air. Their eyes met, and the man panicked and went for his gun; he never had time to reach it. Luke took aim and put two bullets into his chest, the man jerked and fell face first into the gravel.
Seona let out a whimper. The amount of death and destruction she had witnessed in the past few days would never leave her.
“Get in the car,” Luke demanded.
The Range Rover was shrouded in smoke, pouring from the smashed lounge window on the front left of the house. Luke threw away the Browning, the magazine was empty.
Seona opened the passenger door of the Range Rover and jumped in. “Wait, what about Aubert?”
Luke leant in through the driver’s side and shoved the keys in the ignition. He studied Seona, she maintained an inner strength. He wanted to kiss her, to tell her that it was going to be ok.
“He’s dead.”
Seona felt sick, her stomach twisted into a knot. She couldn’t hold it back, she retched.
“I don’t know how they found us so fast, but we have to keep moving.” Luke went round to the rear of the car.
It’s my fault. I got Aubert killed. Oh my God. My phone call.
Seona wanted to scream the words, but instead her stomach continued to churn.
Luke wrestled with the boot lock; he wanted to grab the MK23 Colt handgun but the rusted lock was proving difficult. He kicked the lock hard, but no luck. He took two steps back to get more force, but before he had a chance to plant his left foot, he was lifted clean off the ground, cracking his chest into the car before toppling onto the floor.
Luke was winded and he couldn’t catch a breath. At first he assumed that he had been shot through the back, but he couldn’t see any blood, and the pain was dull not acute. Luke half-rolled onto his side and what greeted him made his mouth drop wide open.
Staring down on him, lit eerily by the orange glow, was Lennon. Luke’s mind reeled.
“Evening, Leon. Oh sorry, I forgot, we’re not in New York anymore, are we? I mean evening … Luke.” Lennon fired a shot from his rifle to the right of Luke’s head to keep him pinned to the ground.
“You really are a pain in the ass, why couldn’t you just die like a good boy?”
“But … but, you were killed …” Luke stammered.
Lennon gave a sickly smile. “Well, it appears not. Don’t believe everything you hear.”
He had been stitched up completely, all three of them; Razor, Bobby and Lennon were working together. It had been organised brilliantly, bring Luke in to make sure the plan worked, and then get rid of him. The fewer people who knew, the better.
Lennon read Luke’s face and let off another bullet above his head.
“Don’t be so surprised. I have to give you credit, you really have been running us ragged. You wouldn’t give up, I respect that.”
“Fuck you,” Luke snapped.
Lennon let off a bullet that skimmed Luke’s groin.
“She’s ours, and as lovely as this has been I have to get her to where she needs to be.”
Lennon lifted the gun and took aim at Luke’s head. He held it there for what felt like an eternity. Luke tensed himself for death.
“No, don’t kill him!” Seona came tearing around the car.
Lennon turned to face her. “Ah, the lady of the hour. Seona Latvik, you need to come with me, we need to get you to safety.” He let his eyes linger across her body.
“Seona, don’t listen to him, he’s working for Medea, get back in the car.” Luke pulled himself to his feet; he was still fighting for breath.
Lennon didn’t take his aim off Luke, “Don’t be ridiculous Seona, we need to take you to your father. He’s waiting for you.”
Seona stopped. “Father? He is ok? I …” she turned to Luke.
“He is lying Seona, he is working for Medea.” Luke went to move toward her but Lennon let off a round that whipped past his head.
“Wait, don’t kill him. He isn’t hurting me. He was trying to protect me.” Seona placed herself in front of the gun.
Lennon tipped his head to the side; another smile crept across his face. Luke knew that Lennon needed Seona alive and so he made his move. Making sure Seona stayed between him and the gun, he ran and pushed Seona into Lennon. The combined weight and force knocked them both off-balance. Seona crashed onto the gravel hard, but Lennon was more agile, and after a stagger he regained balance.
Luke was on top of him like lightning, aiming his elbow at Lennon’s throat. Lennon was alive to it and deflected Luke’s attempt. Luke’s focus turned to Lennon’s rifle, but Lennon was no longer carrying it, it had skidded across the gravel. Lennon struck a solid foot into Luke’s ribs yet again, forcing the air out of his lungs, and followed it up with a solid punch into Luke’s bicep wound. The pain shot the length of his arm, causing him to scream through gritted teeth. A fist smashed into Luke’s face and he crumpled to the floor.
Lennon smiled. “I should have taken responsibility for this in the first place.”
Luke felt weak, the last seventy-two hours had taken all of his strength, and he was drained. Lennon drove his foot again into Luke’s chest, forcing him onto his back. Lennon knew what he was doing; in hand to hand combat the most effective way to drain an opponent is to work the body, specifically the kidneys and the lungs. Lennon didn’t let up, he moved around to Luke’s head and sat on the floor; he yanked Luke's head off the ground and sat it on his lap; he then wrapped his arm around Luke’s neck and leaned back, bending his whole body to add pressure.
Luke felt like he had a python wrapped around his neck, his windpipe was being crushed and he grabbed Lennon’s arm, trying to wriggle and twist on the gravel. His lungs were burning and his head began swimming through lack of oxygen; he was losing consciousness.
“That’s it, Luke, let go, let go. Nice and easy,” Lennon whispered in Luke’s ear.
Sharp dreams flickered in front of Luke’s eyes; he was lying on water, floating along, staring at the sky. A shadow blocked the light and Luke could make out a shape; a warm feeling trickled over him. Now come on you, can’t lie around all day. You promised we would be doing lots of active things. Sarah’s voice was distant but calming, his body felt warm and peaceful and he wanted to drift off. Alex, silly, come on, let’s go. I’ll race you! The shadow disappeared and a blinding light burned Luke’s eyes. A loud horn rang out, and then rang again.
Luke’s eyes flashed open, he gasped for air. The bright light was coming from the Range Rover’s headlights. Seona was sat in the driver’s seat and was pressing the horn frantically. For the briefest of moments, Luke and Seona caught each other’s eye. Seona crunched the gearbox and gunned the engine. The tyres slipped on the gravel, Lennon was struggling to see what was happening; the tyres found traction and skidded towards the two men. Luke read Seona’s mind and knew he had to move. He willed his body to roll; he dug deep to summon every ounce of strength he had left and threw his elbows into Lennon’s side. He couldn’t connect but the surge of energy surprised Lennon and the erratic elbowing wedged Luke onto his side.
The car was upon them, one final twitch and push from Luke and he was on his front with Lennon still holding onto his throat, but now hanging off his back. Luke screamed as he pushed up with his arms lifting him and Lennon off the floor. The front bumper of the Range Rover ploughed into Lennon’s head, tearing him off Luke’s back. The car halted and Lennon rolled to a stop eight feet in front.
Every breath Luke sucked in was like a set of tiny needles in his chest as his lungs re-oxygenated. The car sat over the top of him, and he stared blankly into the gravel. The driver’s door opened and Seona crawled underneath.
“Luke, Luke! Are you ok? Please tell me you’re alive?!”
Luke didn’t respond, he just turned his head and nodded.
Seona let out a cry. She gently took his wrist and tried to drag him out. Luke crawled gingerly from under the car. His arm was now in a lot of pain and his chest burned but he was alive. He staggered over to Lennon and rolled him over; his face looked as though someone had gone to work with a baseball bat, his face was covered in blood and his skull was dented and fractured from front to centre. His grey eyes stared blankly upwards. Luke searche
d his pockets; they yielded nothing but an old Nokia phone. He grabbed it anyway.
“Luke, come on, we have to go. Please!” Seona screamed from the driver’s seat.
“I’m driving.” Luke’s voice was hoarse.
“You are in no state to drive, just get in. Please, I can drive.”
Luke wasn’t convinced.
“Luke, trust me.” Seona’s blue eyes pleaded with him.
Luke didn’t have the energy to argue. He slid into the passenger’s seat and Seona gunned the engine and started down the driveway.
“That’s the second time I have saved your life. Remind me again who’s protecting who?”
“Good point.” Luke replied simply.
The house was now fully ablaze, smoke poured out from every window and the flames licked the night sky ceaselessly.
56.
Aegeus galloped across the grass. He had watched the whole drama unfold. He was disgusted with the efforts of the assault team – they were against one man. Medea had dispatched him earlier that day to observe the assault and ensure that Seona Latvik was finally retrieved properly.
Yet again this Temple had seemingly avoided death and kept Miss Latvik out of reach. Mulberry had made a grave mistake hiring Temple. Aegeus and Medea had not been given the full details about this man.
Aegeus leapt the last fence and landed on the road, making sure to keep his eyes on the battered old Range Rover as it pulled away into the distance. Aegeus’s only task was to protect Medea and his interests. Enough time and effort had been wasted on this pair. He hurried into the black BMW and sunk his foot onto the accelerator.
