Witness Protection 2: The Return of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

by Holly Copella

  As the intruder entered the two-bedroom suite, Tonya appeared from the first bedroom. She stopped when she saw the man dressed in black standing within the living room and nearly cried out. He aimed a gun with a silencer at her. She held back her scream and stared with horror at the gun.

  †

  Beck hurried down the main stairs and checked on Monroe, who remained unconscious on the steps. Beck looked around and appeared to consider his next move.

  “What’s happening?” Kirk asked in a loud whisper from the top of the stairs.

  Beck looked up the steps to the hastily dressed Kirk, who only wore a pair of pants. He held an assault rifle against his muscular, bare chest and his semiautomatic was partially exposed down the front of his pants. Beck motioned him back the way he’d come. Kirk nodded and hurried back down the hall. Kirk approached Ross’s bedroom door and tapped twice. When there was no response, he kicked in the door with a thunderous crack. He stepped into the room with his assault rifle leading the way. Within two seconds, he was back in the hall. A fully dressed, heavily armed Zack was standing directly behind him. He gave a curious nod to Kirk. Without words, Kirk signaled to Zack. Zack nodded and ran down the corridor toward the backstairs. Kirk approached the suite door, tapped on it twice, and awaited a response. When there wasn’t one, he kicked in the door with the same vigor as the last. He slipped into the room with his assault rifle aimed and ready to fire at a moment’s notice. The women’s suite was alarmingly silent. The living room was empty and both bedroom doors were open.

  “Bogart?”

  There was no response. Kirk immediately headed for Tonya’s bedroom. He threw his back against the doorframe and aimed the assault rifle into the dimly lit room. Kirk flicked the light switch, brightening the room, which revealed Bogart lying on the floor alongside the bed in only his manly pink briefs. Kirk hurried to the fallen man and assessed him for injuries while hastily checking for a pulse. Apart from some blood in his hairline, Bogart wasn’t badly injured. He possibly suffered a concussion from a blow to his head. Kirk gave him a slight, reassuring pat on the shoulder.

  “Hang in there, buddy.”

  Kirk straightened and hurried from the room.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Ross and Lee sat at the island counter with glasses of iced tea before them. They talked and laughed softly. Lee realized she had been wrong about Ross when she’d first met him. He wasn’t nearly as serious as he portrayed himself to be in front of his team. Perhaps she’d been wrong about all of them. Maybe none of them were as serious and tough as they wanted others to believe. Were they really even Navy SEALs? Or was that all just an act to garner business? Their good time was interrupted by the sound of a faint clunk from the floor above them. Ross eyed the ceiling, appeared concerned, and sprang to his feet while removing his gun from his pants. His quick reflexes with his gun enforced his skilled training. She was about to comment when the back door was kicked open with a thunderous crack. Lee screamed in response as she turned then froze at the sight of the intruder dressed in black aiming a gun at her.

  “Down!” Ross cried out.

  Even though she was frozen with fear, Lee heard his words and instinctively ducked on command. Ross shot the intruder twice in the chest. Despite being thrown back by both shots, the man didn’t go down. The intruder fired back at Ross, who was already returning fire. The bullet made contact with the man’s forehead, snapping his head back. Lee watched as part of the man’s skull exploded out the back, spattering blood and brain tissue against the door behind him. Lee cried out with surprise then looked back at Ross, who clutched his bleeding right arm. She sprang to her feet with a look of alarm on her face while staring at his bleeding arm.

  “Stay down,” he ordered despite the pain.

  Lee couldn’t take her eyes off Ross’s bleeding arm, and his order didn’t register. Before she could comprehend what was happening, another intruder entered through the doorway. Unaware of the second attacker, Lee stood in Ross’s line of fire, obstructing his shot. Ross lunged past her with his gun aimed and a wildly unpredictable look on his face. Lee turned toward the doorway, saw the second man with the gun aimed at her, and cried out. The second intruder’s body suddenly jolted in unison to loud, rapid gunfire, which sent him to the floor. Body armor aside, the force of the powerful shots was enough to knock him down. Lee turned toward the side kitchen door where Zack stood with his assault rifle. Much to Zack’s surprise, the intruder sat up with his weapon raised. Zack casually shot the man in the head with a single shot. The massive assault rifle shell took out a large portion of his skull. Lee cried out and dove behind Ross. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the gruesome sight as the man’s blood poured across the floor. Possibly disturbing her more was Zack’s expression never changed. There was no fear and no emotion on his face.

  “Go with Zack!” Ross ordered while shoving Lee toward Zack and the side doorway. “Upstairs!”

  As if sensing some unseen monster, Zack suddenly spun in the doorway behind him and fired at some unknown attacker. Ross whirled Lee around him by her arm and pulled her toward the main kitchen door.

  “What about Tonya?” Lee cried out.

  “You let me worry about Tonya,” Ross informed her as he hurried her from the kitchen.

  As they ran along the corridor, more gunfire sounded throughout the lodge. Lee clung to Ross’s hand, although she wasn’t sure if he was squeezing her hand tighter than she clutched his. The pain in her hand was the least of her worries. Her heart was pounding with each faint gunshot. Despite Ross’s skillful look into each doorway they passed, Lee could feel panic sweeping through her body. It sounded like a war zone within the lodge, and she could only imagine Whiskey Tango Foxtrot meeting their demise along with poor Tonya. There was gunfire from behind. Lee screamed as a bullet whizzed past her head and hit the nearby wall, exploding plaster only a few feet from her.

  Ross whirled her behind him and returned gunfire, although the gunman dove into the safety of a nearby room. Lee ducked while covering her head. The fear that she would die tonight scared her beyond rational thought. Ross hurried her along the hallway and toward the lobby. He suddenly stopped and tackled her behind the front desk, reacting to an intruder she barely even saw. The tackle was amazingly hard, although impact with the floor was far worse, being Ross landed on top of her. Gunfire seemed to be coming from every direction, which was louder now that they were in the lobby. Ross moved off Lee, poked his head around the side of the front desk, and returned fire. He was careful to make each shot count, being he only had one clip in his semiautomatic. Lee saw the blood on her shirt then looked at Ross, who concentrated on shooting at several intruders. There was a large amount of blood soaking through his shirtsleeve where he’d been hit. She could do little more than stare helplessly at the blood. She couldn’t believe he’d been shot and acted as if nothing had happened. She didn’t know whether to scream or cry.

  Beck and Kirk, positioned at opposite ends of the lobby, exchanged fire with two of the intruders. The intruder appeared from the corridor where Lee and Ross had just come. To their surprise, another intruder suddenly tumbled down the main stairs. Lee looked up from her position behind the front desk and saw Zack on the second floor. He signaled something to Ross. Ross turned to Lee and held her face in his bloodied left hand, forcing her to stare into his eyes. It was the only way he could be sure she wasn’t in shock and would listen to him.

  “Do exactly what I say when I say it,” he announced firmly. “Don’t hesitate and don’t think. Just do it.”

  Lee slowly nodded. Ross half pulled her to her knees near the edge of the desk and indicated Zack at the top of the stairs. He then met her gaze.

  “When I tell you to run, you’re going to run straight up those stairs to Zack.”

  “But the man--” She attempted to indicate the man in the back corridor not far from them.

  Ross poked his head out from behind the desk and shot the man in the head, droppi
ng him to the floor. As the man collapsed, Ross looked back into her eyes.

  “I need you to trust me, Lee,” he announced firmly. “Run to Zack. Don’t stop and don’t look back.”

  She slowly nodded while feeling her body tremble. Ross stared into her eyes and kissed her quickly on the lips. He offered a tiny smile.

  “It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

  Despite his kiss bringing her out of her moderately shocked state, it filled her with a different fear. She had a terrible feeling that it was a kiss goodbye and that she’d never see him again. She was suddenly more concerned for Ross than herself. Ross turned toward the desk and motioned to Beck and Kirk. Both men partially stood and opened fire with their automatic weapons. The sound of assault rifle fire filled the lobby to near deafening levels. Objects exploded, plaster splintered, and glass shattered. For a brief moment, theirs were the only weapons firing as the intruders took cover from the barrage of bullets.

  “Go! Now!”

  Lee held her breath and ran across the lobby, as gunfire seemed to come from every direction. The bullets were nowhere near her, but she swore she could feel them whizzing past her through the air. She ran for the stairs and scaled them to reach Zack, who joined his comrades in rapid fire at the two intruders, keeping them from shooting at Lee. She was nearly to the top of the stairs when she saw another intruder appear in the hallway behind Zack. She suddenly stopped on the stairs and cried out in horror. Her expression was all Zack needed. He spun into a high, roundhouse kick and knocked the man several feet away and to the floor. Lee now stood frozen on the steps, silently screaming for her body to react, but she couldn’t seem to move. She no longer heard the gunfire, only the pounding of her heart. She imagined the sting of a bullet shredding through her flesh, and the brave men of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot dying because of her. She was too terrified to move from the third to last step to the second floor.

  He should have yelled at her, but instead, Zack leaped down the last couple of steps to her, grabbed her arm, and catapulted her over him to the landing just behind him. She rolled across the floor just near the corridor then flipped onto her backside. The fallen intruder near her recovered and raised his gun to shoot Zack. Zack caught a glimpse of the intruder aiming his gun. Zack flipped through the air, wrapping around the man like a python. Without slowing his momentum, Zack caught the man around the neck with his legs and tossed him through the air. As they struck the floor together, Zack flipped over with the man’s head locked between his legs and effortlessly snapped his neck. Lee heard her own voice cry out at the hideous cracking sound. She hadn’t even realized she screamed. Zack shoved the man’s lifeless body to the floor, sprang to his feet, and reclaimed his assault rifle on the way to her. She stared with horror at the dead man.

  Before she even realized what had happened, Zack had her by the wrist and yanked her to her feet. He fired a few shots to the lobby below then pulled her down the corridor behind him. More men appeared in the back corridor from the rear stairs, blocking their escape route. Without hesitation, Zack changed direction and pulled Lee into a nearby room. She finally came back to life as Zack bolted the door. She wanted to scream but held it back.

  “They’re going to get through,” she gasped softly while staring at Zack.

  “Probably,” he casually replied and hurried her toward the window. “But we won’t be here when they do.”

  Zack aimed his assault rifle at the large window and shot out the thick glass. Lee screamed and ducked as the glass shattered. She slowly straightened and approached him and the broken window. Lee looked out the window then to the pool below. She looked back at Zack, who just stared at her without comment.

  “Oh, no!” Lee backed away from him. “There’s no way I’m jumping from a second story window into a pool.”

  Zack offered a slightly humored smile as he flung his assault rifle over his shoulder by the strap.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” he announced and offered an unsettling chuckle. “I would never expect you to jump from a second story window into that pool.”

  Lee exhaled softly and attempted to control her rapidly beating heart. “That’s a relief.”

  Zack suddenly swept her off her feet and into his arms then turned toward the window. She clung to his neck while screaming in horror.

  “No, no! Don’t you dare throw me!”

  “I wouldn’t dream of doing that,” Zack casually replied.

  Without a second thought, Zack ran for the window with her in his arms, leaped onto the ledge, and jumped out the shattered window. Lee clung to his neck and screamed the entire way down. They landed in the pool with a loud splash, parting the water in a large tidal wave. Lee felt the water rush past her. She wanted to scream but feared drowning. Before she could panic, Zack pulled her to the surface and released her.

  “Swim,” he ordered.

  Lee gasped and attempted to scream but nothing came out. She started swimming toward the steps with Zack lazily swimming behind her. As they stepped out of the pool, Lee doubled over and attempted to catch her breath. Zack casually grabbed her by the wrist as he walked past and pulled her behind him. She wanted to protest but lacked the strength. He half dragged her beyond the pool area and into the woods. He stopped several yards from the lodge and pointed up a tree. She continued to breathe heavily while looking up the tree to the sturdy tree stand several feet above her.

  “You’re going to wait there. I have to go back and help my team,” he informed her then appeared stern. “I don’t want you to make a sound until one of us comes for you. Got it?”

  She slowly nodded. Zack grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up to the first rung, which was eight feet up the tree. She climbed the rungs the rest of the way to the tree stand, which was twelve feet above the ground. As she sat on the platform and looked down at him, Zack pointed a warning finger at her, indicating for her to heed his words.

  †

  Kirk, Beck, and Ross continued to fire upon the two remaining men near the main entrance. The exchange was fierce as assault rifle bullets tore through the furniture, walls, and windows. Zack slipped unnoticed into the lobby through the front door. By the time the first intruder saw him, Zack pulled the trigger and shot him in the head. As the second intruder turned to shoot Zack, Kirk took his shot and fired two rounds from the assault rifle into the man’s head, exploding most of his skull. The fire ceased and all was quiet. All four men slowly straightened and looked around.

  “We need to sweep the lodge for any stragglers,” Ross ordered gruffly.

  “My laptop has the heat sensors,” Beck informed him. “I can do a live body count.”

  Ross motioned him up the stairs then looked at Zack. “Is Lee safe?”

  “Safely tucked away,” Zack informed him.

  “Good,” he replied. “I want you and Kirk to find Tonya and Bogart. Keep alert for stragglers.”

  Kirk ran up the stairs after Beck while Zack headed down the main corridor. Ross found an emergency first aid kit beneath the front desk, opened it, and removed some gauze pads and wraps. He quickly and skillfully patched his injured arm to stop the bleeding then headed across the lobby. He snatched an assault rifles from one of the dead men and approached the still unconscious Monroe. He crouched alongside Monroe and attempted to wake him by tapping his face a little harder than necessary. Monroe groaned softly and looked around while holding his head.

  “What the hell--?”

  “Yeah, exactly,” Ross replied. “Someone must’ve knocked you out.”

  “More like drugged me,” Monroe replied as he sat up then casually looked around. “Looks like I missed one hell of a party.” He then eyed Ross. “Is Lee okay?”

  “Yeah, she’s safe,” Ross replied. “I’m going to retrieve her now. You just take it easy and keep an eye on things down here. We don’t know if there are any hostiles left alive.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Monroe announced and removed his gun from his shoulder holster, although it required
some effort.

  Ross hurried for the main door and left the lounge.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Beck hurried across his dimly lit bedroom, set his assault rifle on the bed, and picked up his discarded laptop. He scanned the screen for viable blips, particularly those moving. His expression dropped at the number of added blips since the alarm first alerted him to intruders. Despite having eliminated several unwanted visitors, there were several more on the property.

  “Oh, we’ve got company,” he muttered.

  Beck turned as Kirk entered his room. Kirk scanned the area, met Beck’s gaze, and indicated the laptop.

  “What’s that thing showing?”

  Beck shut the laptop then tossed it onto the bed. “We’re looking at possibly four hostiles. It’s picking up four warm bodies outside. One should be Lee.”

  “Ross probably went to retrieve her,” Kirk announced as he routed through one of the dresser drawers and removed a full magazine for his assault rifle.

  Beck held up his hand. Kirk tossed him a spare magazine as well. He easily caught it and exchanged it for the nearly spent one in his own assault rifle.

  “Zack is heading into the kitchen area, and Bogart is unconscious in Tonya’s room,” Kirk announced while exchanging his own rifle magazine.

  “With Monroe downstairs, that means there’s someone else upstairs with us. I’m guessing that’s Tonya. Her location is at the other end of the hall. She’s probably hiding. I doubt she went downstairs with all that gunfire. That means there are probably two bad guys downstairs and two outside,” Beck announced. Both men locked and loaded their weapons. “You take the kitchen then circle around out back and make sure Ross has Lee. I’ll head for the lobby, put Monroe on alert, and search the front half of the lodge.”