by Daniel Gage
“Come on, focus,” Emma said. “How soon? And can you get a strike team there in time?”
“Twenty minutes until departure,” Colton said. “But they’re about to get a weather delay. I’ll get a strike team there within the hour.”
“You’re the best,” she said. “Send the rendezvous location to my phone. I owe you one.”
She ended the call and put the car back on the road once Colton sent the location of the airport, which was on the other side of a small nearby town.
“Where do I fit in?” Cam asked.
“You don’t,” she said. “And you don’t want to. What we’re about to face, well, you’re not ready for it.”
“I’ve been through some pretty rough stuff,” Cam said. “Or did you not see the assault at the hover station?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Emma said. “You’re not prepared. These strike teams, our agency, we’re trained to work as a unit. They’re used for several of our ops, and stationed all over. They also work with law enforcement, but you get the idea.”
“Yeah, I do,” he said, though he sounded truly disappointed. “I’m sitting it out.”
“After this, we’ll get you trained. It’ll be a priority.”
“No, I get it,” he said. “You don’t have to apologize. I’d be a liability. I’ve had to deal with that on the streets.”
“Oh,” Emma said, but couldn’t find further words. She was so used to dealing with only Michael, who would pout and pester her into submission. Cam, he took his answer like … an adult.
Maybe she did need to take Michael’s advice and have a life, go out, meet people. Granted, she probably wouldn’t meet someone like Cam out in the world, but someone mature who could handle adult conversation was a nice thought.
After this, she told herself. After this, she would make time for herself, go out and meet people. Spend time outside the office. Maybe even take a vacation.
They soon arrived at the small, sleepy town. The streets were otherwise empty, but the few restaurants seemed to have a few patrons dining and enjoying their evening. Otherwise, it seemed quiet and uneventful. The pending raid on the airport may be the most exciting thing to ever happen here.
“It’s just outside of town,” she said as she turned at the town’s single intersection. “It won’t be long.”
Cam remained silent as they left the quiet village, and within minutes, they were seeing signs for the airport. When it came into view, Emma killed the car’s headlights, and pulled over to the side of the road.
“We’ll wait here,” she said as she pulled a pair of binoculars from the car’s center console.
The airport was small, and she could tell it was one that only saw occasional use. A small terminal with a pair of dual hangars dotted the tiny runway, but large lights illuminated the area. Her first thought was that this was a toy of the rich in the surrounding estates.
Through her binoculars, she could clearly see a Gulfstream jet, the sole plane waiting to be used. A man walked in and out of the jet, with another waiting impatiently at the bottom of the stairs. Even though it was far, the man was recognizable.
It was the man from the security video she saw in Monaco.
It was Dealer X.
“It’s him,” she whispered. “We finally got him.”
“What’s that?” Cam asked.
“Take a look,” Emma said as she passed him the binoculars. “Tell me what you see.”
Cam stared through the binoculars for a few long minutes, his face tense with concentration. Then he gradually lowered them and let out a long, slow sigh.
“What is it?” Emma asked, grabbing for the binoculars. “Did you see something?”
He let her grab the binoculars, which she quickly brought back up to her eyes. But after a moment of seeing the same exact scene she saw before, she realized Cam wasn’t sighing about what he saw.
“Are you disappointed that you’re not part of the strike team?” Emma asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Is it weird that I am?” Cam asked.
The two exchanged a look before they broke out into laughter.
“Ya know, I’ve been through some pretty bad stuff, but those stories involve a few drinks,” he said once the laughing calmed down.
“Once this is over, we’ll exchange war stories,” she said while she held her grin.
Headlights behind their car broke their conversation. Almost as immediately as they appeared, the light vanished, and a dark van pulled up behind Emma’s car.
“Sit tight, and watch through the binoculars,” she said as she passed them back to Cam. “I’ll call you when we’re clear.”
Emma climbed out of the car and was instantly greeted by the strike team leader.
“Agent Jennings, I’m Micha Cotter,” the woman said. Her face wore the leathery look of too much sun and combat, her firm demeanor speaking more about her ability than her small stature. “I was under the impression you were working alone. Who’s the ride-along?”
“A new field agent,” Emma said. “But he’s not involved with this op, too green. I’ll be the only one with your team.”
Micha nodded. “What’s the call?”
“The airport is well lit, but the shadows go deep into the fields around it,” Emma said. “I recommend thermal scopes, and at least one spotter. Otherwise, it’s your op; I’m just along for the ride.”
“Excellent,” Micha said, her solid face broken by a slight grin. “The targets dangerous?”
“Extremely,” Emma said. “Shoot to kill. And then shoot some more. They don’t go down easy.”
“Really?” the leader said. “Well, this is your case; you’re the boss. And footing the ammo bill.”
Emma opened the car trunk and grabbed her MP5 and attached a thermal scope to it, as well as a smaller one for her sidearm. The shadows made her nervous, and she didn’t put it beyond the dealers to have a sniper beyond the light of the airport. For good measure, she pulled out her riot vest and strapped that on.
“When we pull this off, I’ll gladly pay for your bullets,” Emma said.
“Get in back,” Micha said. “I got five with me, I make six, the driver seven.”
“Good,” Emma said, hoping that it would be enough. “Let’s hit ’em hard and fast.”
Emma hopped in the van and exchanged nods with the rest of the team, and as soon as the door was closed, the driver put the vehicle back on the road and drove to the airport.
CHAPTER 21
The driver wasted no time in speeding to the entrance to the small airport terminal. Emma noted the vehicle was well-maintained, making little sound even as the brakes were slammed in front of the building.
The van’s doors flew open, and the strike team poured out, falling into step behind Micha. The petite leader led the assault without hesitation, her weapon at low ready as she pushed through the first door into the terminal.
It’s not locked, Emma thought. Convenient coincidence, or something else?
But she realized it didn’t matter as the strike team went through the second unlocked door out onto the tarmac, and came within less than two hundred feet of the Gulfstream jet and two very surprised men. One was favoring one leg, a crippled arm held across his body. The second man held an assault rifle in one hand while he supported the first.
Next to them was a third man, a man with salt-and-pepper hair, a solid build, and a face as calm as the cloudless sky. His hands rested in the pockets of a trench coat with no visible weapons, and he regarded Emma and the strike team as if they were a mild inconvenience.
The strike team spread out, their weapons aimed at the trio of men. Micha took point next to Emma, who stepped forward with her own weapon raised.
“Freeze!” Emma shouted. “You’re under arrest for the crime of birthright theft!”
The eerily calm man in the trench coat turned fully and faced Emma. He didn’t even act as if the strike team was there.
“Well done, Agent Jenning
s,” the man said. “You got here faster than we expected. Though the weather delay, that played your hand. Not that there was much more we could have done to prepare for you.”
It’s him, Emma thought. It’s Dealer X.
“There’s nothing we can do to move past this without violence, is there?” Dealer X asked.
“Sure there is,” Micha hissed. “Surrender.”
“Agent Jennings knows we don’t do that very well, and for good reason,” Dealer X said. “But it doesn’t have to be that way. Name your price, Agent, and we’ll all part in peace.”
“We won’t be bought,” Emma snapped.
“You’re alone with that line of thinking,” Dealer X said with a slight grin.
“Drop your weapons and hit the ground,” Emma said. “That’s how this ends without violence.”
Dealer X calmly looked to his armed companion. “Put down your weapon and secure our client on board the plane. I’ll be with you shortly.”
The second dealer laid his weapon on the ground and tentatively began to help Leonard up the stairs into the plane.
“Don’t move!” Emma shouted.
She moved forward and adjusted her aim, but Dealer X took a single confident step into her line of fire. He slowly removed his hands from his pockets, only to reveal they held nothing. The second dealer never stopped in his actions, and slowly, Leonard got inside.
“Last chance, Agent Jennings,” Dealer X said. “You don’t have to take the money. Turn around and leave, and you and your team will live. That’s a more than generous offer.”
A lingering thought made the skin on the back of Emma’s neck crawl. Dealer X had no visible weapons, and was standing in front of a firing squad armed with automatic weapons. He should have every reason to surrender, but he either had the best poker face in the world or had a secret way to escape certain death that only he knew about.
The video that Olivier showed her back in Monaco was also a concern. Olivier claimed to have put two bullets squarely in the fake doctor’s chest, and at the time, she swore that the fake doctor was Dealer X. Emma didn’t call the security guard out at the time, but two shots center mass should have dropped any assailant. She just assumed that the imposter was wearing a vest, or that the bullets didn’t hit where Olivier thought they had.
But now, now Emma wasn’t so certain.
All she knew was that she had him in her sights, and she couldn’t back down now.
“Take another step,” Emma said, “and it will be your last.”
Dealer X let out a heavy sigh.
“If that’s how you want this to go, so be it.”
He took a single step forward.
Emma fired, and so did the rest of the strike team.
A wall of metal struck Dealer X from several angles. His body recoiled as they hit, but his feet never moved. Blood sprayed as bullets entered and exited his flesh, and by the time her magazine was spent, Emma was convinced that the man was more metal than human.
After the onslaught was finished, Dealer X slowly teetered backwards and landed flat on his back.
“A shame, would have loved to question him,” Emma said as she ejected her spent magazine. “But we got him. Secure the plane and—”
A grunt from Dealer X almost stopped her heart from beating. Unblinking, Emma’s head turned to see the bullet-ridden man roll onto his side, let out a cough, and then push himself to his feet.
“What the fuck…?” Micha whispered.
Bloody, but with no evidence of being hit by dozens of rounds, aside from holes in his clothing, Dealer X grinned, the white of his teeth a stark contrast to his red-stained skin.
“I gave you a chance, Agent Jennings,” Dealer X said.
The dealer’s hands shot out to the side, causing a knife to appear in each hand.
“And now you will suffer for your arrogance.”
Dealer X was a blur as he shot forward, his foot striking Emma square in the gut. Air rushed from her lungs as she collapsed to the ground in a heap, and as she struggled for breath, all she could do was watch her strike team be eviscerated.
To their credit, the strike team members held their ground and fired again at Dealer X. But their attempt was largely ineffective as he dashed to each one in succession, his knives finding their throats and other vital organs. Their riot gear was also ignored as their bullet-resistant assailant found all the gaps and weaknesses, and when he couldn’t get those, he shattered their defenses.
As he got to Micha, she threw aside her gun and drew her tactical knife, but as soon it was in her hand, Dealer X sent it spinning away before driving his own blade home in her neck.
The last surviving member attempted to run, and had she been able to breathe, Emma would have joined him. But a flash from the shadows brought him down, a bullet from somewhere beyond her vision shattering his helmet.
Emma tried to crawl away, but she knew it was useless. Weakly, she raised her weapon and aimed it at Dealer X, her grip shaking and weak.
He quickly kicked the weapon from her grasp, the MP5 bouncing off the ground.
This is it, she thought. This is my end. I’m going to die.
“Agent Jennings,” Dealer X said as he stood over her. “To say you’ve been a thorn in my side is an understatement. I had promised to let you live, but I’m afraid you’ve become too much of an inconvenience.”
He knelt down next to her, and it took all of Emma’s willpower to not turn away. She refused to flinch at death, no matter how certain or slowly it came.
“To be fair, you were a worthy foe,” Dealer X said. “A shame you didn’t have a price. Farewell, Agent Jennings. I’ll at least give you a swift ending.”
With one hand, he held her down as the other reached back, preparing to plunge the knife into her.
But the killing blow never came.
A gunshot shattered the silence, and Emma’s face was sprayed in blood.
A new hole appeared on Dealer X’s chest, along with a look of confusion.
Another shot fired, followed by another, then several more, until a click was heard.
Dealer X, clearly irritated, looked up at the source of his annoyance. Then his eyes went wide with rage.
“You,” he hissed.
“Yeah, me,” Cam said. “Get off my partner.”
Emma’s head turned, and she saw Cam standing there, holding one of her pistols she kept in the car. The slide was locked, but he still held it out in front of him as if it could still harm Dealer X, but she figured it was about as effective empty as it was loaded against the dealer.
To Cam’s credit, he didn’t seem startled by Dealer X not succumbing to several bullets, and instead, held his defiance. He also didn’t appear to be distracted by the dealer’s apparent recognition of the man, and for a moment, Emma wondered if Cam had been keeping secrets himself.
Dealer X slowly rose to his feet, his new bullet wounds healing before Emma’s eyes. It was incredible to watch, if not downright terrifying that her biggest enemy could easily heal from mortal wounds.
“Are you sure, Cameron?” Dealer X asked. “Sure you want to do this, to get involved in this world?”
Cam flinched as Dealer X used his name, but it was the only sign of vulnerability he gave. But it was slowly replaced by realization as Cam’s determination solidified in his jaw.
“I’m already involved,” Cam said. “And I said, get off my partner.”
Dealer X didn’t answer, at least with words. Instead, he charged, almost a blur as he moved on Cam in an attempt to impale him with one of his knives.
The dealer was fast, possibly faster than when he decimated the strike team. There wasn’t enough time for Emma to wince, and she was frozen as her new partner, her new friend, was about to join the ranks of the dead.
But Cam surprised her yet again. Cam seemed to know just how Dealer X would strike, and what his target was.
The knife completely missed Cam’s chest as he dodged the strike, and countered by dr
iving his knee into the dealer’s stomach. He quickly followed up by striking with his elbow into the dealer’s back, causing one of the knives to fall to the ground with a clang of metal.
Dealer X hit the ground and rolled to his feet, but backpedaled to get some distance between him and Cam. His eyes were wide in surprise, but his lips spread in an ear-to-ear grin.
“It’s been a long time since anyone hit me against my will,” Dealer X said, a laugh building in his chest. “You’re definitely one of us.”
“I’m not some piece of shit dealer,” Cam growled.
Cam lowered his shoulder and charged, Dealer X half a beat behind. The two collided in a flurry of blows, Cam’s speed squaring off against Dealer X’s constitution.
With fists, knees, and elbows, Cam struck, but the impact did little more than momentarily stun Dealer X. And the dealer countered less often, but when he hit, it had more of an effect on Cam, especially when the knife caught his skin.
More importantly, Cam began to tire. Emma watched as his reactions began to slow, his strikes starting to lack strength. And Dealer X never slowed, never broke a sweat. He was wearing Cam down by attrition and fatigue, and she feared that Cam would soon fall.
A bang and a flash interrupted Dealer X’s plans.
A bullet that would have been destined for Cam’s skull missed as he moved with a renewed vigor, dodging the bullet. It buried itself harmlessly in the wall behind him.
More shots fired, and Cam twisted out of their path, but the staccato gunfire caused him to scramble away from his melee with Dealer X. He found refuge behind a stack of crates, where Emma could see him start to pant for air.
“Afraid to fight me?” Cam shouted. “Need your friend to face an unarmed man?”
“Nothing personal,” Dealer X said. “It’s just the job.”
Cam attempted to charge out from behind his cover, but another pair of shots drove him back. Dealer X walked calmly toward the plane as he adjusted his jacket, his confident demeanor obvious in each step.
Emma rolled to her feet and drew her sidearm, switching on the thermal scope as she aimed. She quickly scanned the shadows, looking for the shooter’s head signature.
