Now, if they can just keep the leader from blowing them all to hell and back.
Chapter 18
The man took another drink from his water bottle as he watched the scene vigilantly. Since the initial breach, no more attempts had been made to enter the building. The walkie-talkie beside him remained silent. Time was about up. Even if the desired media presence didn't show, the bomb will cement today's actions in the minds of the entire world. The final stage was fast approaching.
- 4 hours
The roving guard slumped forward as Wolf pulled his KA-BAR out of the body and eased it to the ground. Without a word, Railroad grabbed him under the arms and dragged him into the tiny storage area to rest with the other three they had dispatched. Closing the door, he gave a nod to Wolf then joined Dude in a final sweep of the exterior area. Wolf joined Toad in the media center.
"How's it going?"
"Good. This is the last one." Toad lifted his chin toward the monitor he had rigged on the soundboard. He fiddled with the device until a picture zoomed into focus. "There," he declared triumphantly. "That's it. The exterior cameras are all looped back. We have the run of the outside."
"Great. Also, good job in finding that electrical service egress and disarming the alarms. It was a tight fit but at least we weren't seen."
Toad's lip lifted slightly. "Just another glorious day in the service."
Wolf chuckled and pressed the button on the mic. "We're ready." Leaving Toad to monitor the electronics, he joined the others at the elevator. Within moments, the hatch opened, and the rest of Bravo, minus Bruiser dropped in one by one. With his injured leg, Bruiser was staying back at the command center and coordinating things for them. Well, that and pacifying the Feds who were not happy at staying on the outside of this op. However, they finally conceded that the SEALs were better trained to handle the situation inside. That left the Feds with the task of finding who the watcher was that had alerted Amir of their presence earlier.
Carefully, the team worked their way to the small storage room. Dude and Cowboy disarmed the C4 packs that were on the chained access points. The defunct bombs sat on a shelf out of harm's way.
"How's it looking, Toad?"
"Clear," came the terse reply.
"It's a go." Wolf climbed up on the steel shelves and disappeared through the missing ceiling tile. Reaching the top of the wall, he moved along it quickly. Without looking behind him, he knew Abe, Cookie, Railroad, and Mozart followed. The rest of the team would stay on this side of the building. The only way to move from one side of the exhibition hall to the other without using the floor itself was via a small catwalk along the back wall of the room. Toad had found it earlier.
Once they traversed the spans, they went completely silent, using hand signals to coordinate their movements. It wasn't the first time he was grateful for the new ASL protocol that the SEALs had established. Being able to talk to the others without making a sound was a Godsend. Since this side contained the only door not chained and therefore would allow one of the remaining eight tangos to appear at any moment, it was beneficial to be able to relay orders silently.
Quickly, he signed to the others, and they dispersed to their assigned spots. Looking over at Cookie where he stood in the doorway, he gave the nod. It was almost time.
Hick listened to Bruiser as he ticked off the Sit-Rep through the coms in his ear. He and River had both been given the plan and knew all hell would break loose soon. He barely resisted the urge to look up at the walls and search for the holes he knew Railroad and Benny had made in them. They were the snipers today, watching over the situation with a trained eye. Railroad was a dead shot when it came to taking down targets with forty confirmed kills. He didn't know what Benny's record was, but if Wolf and Bruiser had decided he was the best man for the other nest, then nobody would second guess them. Even though they were a hybrid task force team, they all trusted each other explicitly.
The other deadliest sniper in the building, River, sat a few feet away. He had Joselyn in his arms, holding her tightly as he watched the movements of their captors. He had retired from the SEALs last year, but Hick had no qualms that the man retained his skill set. Even now, he could see the quiet steel as he assessed and calculated in his mind all the scenarios of 'what if.'
Hick's attention returned to Annabeth pressed tightly against his front. She was trembling again. Wrapping his arms around her, he whispered in her ear, "Shhh, Georgia. It's all going to be okay. Just remember, when the shooting starts, flatten yourself on the ground. River and I are trained, we can handle anything. Your job is to keep low and take care of yourself."
The mass of messy red curls in front of his face nodded slightly. He could feel the lump of the Sig Saur pressed between them, and it comforted him. Granted, he would feel a lot better if Annabeth and Joselyn weren't even there at all, but he'd take what he could. His and River's job was to keep an eye on things inside and to be back up as a last resort. If things went ass up, and they very well could, it was their duty to ensure the safety of the hostages.
He knew the doors were no longer rigged due to the chatter going through the coms, but the big crate sitting on the floor near the leader was troubling. It was the wildcard here. If it weren't for it, the team would already have swarmed the room. They didn't know if the crate was rigged with a dead man's switch. River thought it probably was since all of these men were prepared to die for their cause anyway. The question was, how many innocents would be going with them? Hick hardened his resolve. None, if the SEALs could help it.
"I still don't see anything, but he keeps his hand under the table," Railroad murmured.
"With the contents hidden in the box, I can't tell what kind of device it is," Dude returned. "It could be C4 like the others. It could be a dirty bomb. Hell, it could be a firecracker for all we know." Hick could hear the frustration in his voice.
"Are we sure that it's not on a remote with someone else handling the trigger?" Cowboy whispered.
"I have all the feeds captured. If someone is watching off-site, they see business as usual. We're locked down."
Hick looked over at River. The older man shook his head slightly. Hick raised one eyebrow causing River to glare. With a shrug, he gave him a smirk then turned his attention back to the leader. Curling one hand behind his back, he raised his middle finger in a salute.
"Hold on. Hick's trying to say something."
Slowly he signed his idea in crude, rudimentary motions. He knew Railroad would be watching from his position on the wall.
"Be... ready... getting... attention..." Railroad translated.
"Oh hell," Cowboy swore into the com. "Don't do something stupid, Hick. We can still do this even with not knowing what's in the crate."
Hick leaned in and whispered in Annabeth's ear. "Hey beautiful, we are about to have our first fight. Just go with it. We need to pull the leader's attention. If I say, 'that's enough' then we stop."
The four-letter word that erupted from Annabeth's mouth shocked him. He had never heard her use that one before. Hugging her tightly, he whispered, "It'll be okay. Trust me. Just be loud, obnoxious and stay low."
"This is a bad idea, Hick. I swear to God; you get killed, I'm getting an Ouija board, pulling your ghost back into your body and killing you myself." River growled. Whispering into Joselyn's ear, the two scooted back away from Hick and Annabeth. He then maneuvered Joselyn behind him as much as was possible. "When the shit hits the fan, you flatten to the ground, Jos. Alright?"
"Okay," she replied in a shaky voice.
"Ready?" Hick murmured into Annabeth's hair.
She shook her head, hesitated then slowly nodded. "I love you, Hick. Just remember, I die because of this cockamamie idea of yours, I'm so haunting your sexy ass for the rest of your life."
He snorted then leaned back, tucking the gun back into his waistband and covering it with his shirttails. Taking a deep breath, he started.
"You know, we could be sitting by a fire
place, sipping drinks and listening to some nice music instead of this bullshit if you would have just listened to me."
"Well, this is my job, Levi. I thought you understood it. I can't just throw everything into the wind."
"That's a given, you never do anything spontaneous, Annabeth. Just for once, I'd love for you to not have a thousand lists with every moment of every day planned to a T."
They had started out in a regular tone, but it had slowly increased. Backing away from Hick, Annabeth slid around until she could see his face.
"At least I have a plan. You never do. It's always fly by the seat of your pants."
"I don't need plans for every second of every day. I get enough of that shit with my job. When we are together, I need to have a little room, a little spontaneity."
Their argument had drawn the attention of every person in the room. Two of the guards had hurried over to them. "Be quiet," one hissed at them and drew his rifle up.
"See what you've done Hick, now you are going to get us all killed. How is that for spontaneity? Is that random enough for you?" Her voice had become a high toned screech.
"Typical, Annabeth, taking everything I say and turning it around. I am not the bad guy here. All I wanted was a nice quiet evening with you. Is that too much to ask?"
"If you are asking to have your nice quiet evening on the weekend of the busiest time of my year, it is. I already give you every moment you request. Why can't that ever be enough?"
Hick barely kept the grin off his face. He watched the leader stand at the table next to the crate then walk around it. He picked up a pistol and hurried over. The other guards had moved closer but had their eyes trained on the scene playing out between Hick and Annabeth.
"It could be enough if you would just let me see I am enough."
She threw her hands up. "Oh, so we are going to do this now? Seriously, Levi? You want to air out all our dirty laundry right at this moment?"
A man stood up and marched over to them. Sticking a finger into Hick's chest, he screamed, "Shut up! Are you trying to get us killed?"
"Andrew!" Annabeth said in a strained voice.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "And you. My God, Annabeth. Do you think this is the place to discuss your lover's quarrel? These men are going to kill us. Do you understand just how incredibly stupid your actions are at this moment? You need to sit your redneck ass down tell Mr. Green Jeans there to shove a handful of cornbread in his mouth and shut up!"
The room gasped in shock at the bilge flying from the author's lips. Hick stood and glared at him. "You can say whatever you want about me, but if I ever hear you saying another word to Annabeth, I will show you what Mr. Green Jeans can do with a handful of cornbread."
"Hick," River muttered. He had stood as well, pulling Joselyn firmly behind him. The leader arrived, holding his pistol firmly, watching the scene with a frown firmly on his face.
"All of you sit down." The guard took a step between the two. He raised the gun and pressed it into Andrew's chest. "Sit, or I will kill you. I will kill you both."
Fury apparently had fried the man's brain. He roared at the man. "If you are going to kill someone, kill them. They are nobody, nothing. She's a second rate agent and him...he's just some nobody who keeps her smiling. I'm an artist, a one of a kind star. I'll be remembered as a god among authors." He wrapped his fingers around the muzzle and shoved. "Now get that thing away from me!"
The sound of gunfire filled the room. Shock registered on Andrew's face as a huge hole exploded through his chest spraying blood to those standing nearby. In an instant, people screamed, and the room exploded in gunshots.
In short, hell had descended.
Chapter 19
With the first shots fired from the building across the way, the man knew things had taken a turn for the worse. Training his binoculars down into the street, he saw a group of men wearing jackets proclaiming they were FBI enter the hotel. He frowned and began stuffing his things into a bag. It was time to return home and report directly to The Left Hand.
Getting caught in America was not an option.
-4.5 hours
Andrew was dead.
Annabeth blinked in shock, watching his body crumple in slow motion.
He fell to the floor, his hand flopping out, palm up on top of her foot. She looked down into the vacant depth of his eyes and still the same three words echoed in her head.
Andrew was dead.
She took a hurried leap back away from the corpse and screamed in horror. The man was a pain in the ass and the bane of her professional existence, but she never wanted him actually to die. In her hurry to get away, she stumbled back onto a small pile of debris and slipped. Her butt made contact with the unforgiving floor, jarring her teeth until they rattled in her head. She barely acknowledged the jolt. Adrenaline dumped into her system making her heart race. Her eyes stayed trained on the body of her client staring up at the ceiling only a few feet from her.
"Annabeth!"
She dimly registered her name as an arm curled around her chest and pulled her to her feet. "Get up," a voice punctured the haze of her stupor.
"Okay, Hick," she murmured but couldn't get her body to obey. The arm pulled at her insistently until finally, she climbed to her feet.
His body molded itself to her, wrapping one arm around her waist tightly. His breath fanned the strands of hair that had escaped the severe bun she had put in it this morning. "Move," he hissed.
She wrinkled her brow in confusion. Why was Hick so abrupt? She turned her head to ask then spied someone standing a few feet from her, pistol drawn and focused on them. He stared at her intently with barely restrained fury in his eyes. Eyes she recognized even through the fuzzy haze of shock that pounded in her mind. Wait. If that was Hick then who had her snuggled up against him?
"Let her go," Hick growled at them. "Let her go, and you'll live through this."
In response, she felt something hard press into her ribs. She hissed in fear and tried to twist away. She couldn't move. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw it was the leader of the terrorists. Well, shit. This can't be good.
"Move back, Mr. Green Jeans," the man snarled. "Or she dies."
Hick shook his head. "Let her go, asshole. I'm warning you."
He laughed tightly, the sound loud in her ears.
"Hick?" she whispered uncertainly.
"It's ok, honey." His eyes never left the face of her captor. His hands never wavered as he stared down the barrel of the gun at them.
The terrorist pulled her back with him. She stumbled, her feet slipping on the slick papers littering the floor. He stopped then began to move to the left, toward the front. Something warm dripped down her shoulder and splattered on her hand. She looked down and saw blood covering her front. Andrew's blood. There was so much of it. Another drop fell, and she watched it mingle with the others. She wanted the coppery mess off her and barely resisted the urge to scrub her hands on her skirt.
"My dry cleaner is going to quit," she said under her breath.
"Shut up, woman," the man barked in her ear.
"You're going nowhere. Let the woman go. We have the room locked down." Hick prowled forward keeping steps with them.
The terrorist's breathing was faster than ever, panting against the side of her face. She shuddered. She wouldn't have minded Hick growling into her ear, but this guy? Not so much. She must have said so out loud because Hick's lips twitched slightly. "I'll pant on you later," he soothed her.
"There will be no later. She is going to die. Stop now, or I will kill her right before your eyes."
"And you die too, asshole. Look around. You're leaving here in a body bag if you don't let her go."
"I'm prepared. I came here today knowing I would give my life for my beliefs. Are you willing to watch this woman die?" Spittle flew from the man's lips.
The words finally registered in Annabeth's addled mind. With the realization, fear slammed into her with the force of a semi tractor.
She gasped, and her head felt light. Looking around, she saw two others dressed in the uniforms that Hick had called BDUs or battle dress uniforms. Each had a serious looking rifle pointed at them. They slowly advanced toward Hick, matching him step for step but moving in an oblique direction spreading out behind him. Past them, Cowboy and River were herding the others out the door. She heard them urging the hostages to move faster. Another SEAL hurried over the messy floor to the crate. He dropped his rifle then stared at the wooden container. Even from this distance, she could see several fingers of his left hand were mangled.
"Duuude?"
One of the men approaching Hick hissed the word but didn't take his eyes off her.
"It's going to take a few minutes, Wolf." Dude returned from beside the crate. He took one more glance at the object and advanced toward the table containing the monitors.
"Get away from there," her captor screeched. He pulled the gun up and pressed it painfully against Annabeth's temple. "He gets closer to Allah's Fire; she will die."
"Dude! Back away," Hick ground out.
Annabeth saw him stop only a few inches from the table then take several steps back. Silence fell on the room as the last of the hostages were ushered out leaving her, the terrorist, Hick and the three SEALs she hadn't met.
"Your hostages are gone. Let her go," Wolf's voice was growly and low. "You aren't getting out of here with her."
"I never intended to," came the gleeful reply. "I knew today would be the one where I finally meet Allah."
"You failed," Hick snapped out. "The hostages are gone. How is Allah and Haafiz al-Bashir going to feel when you die for nothing?"
"Soon, this building will still fall. When it does, my name will be called out. I will be remembered as one of Allah's great soldiers. Allahu akbar!"
"There's a timer!" Dude yelled then swore. "This needs to end now. I don't know how much time we have left to disarm."
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Rescuing Annabeth (Kindle Worlds) (Team Cerberus Book 2) Page 13
