Head of the Serpent

by Allen Manning

  “Sorry I couldn’t do more, John,” he said.

  His grip tightened on the steel mag. Curtis dropped the rifle and stood, hurling the magazine at the incoming soldiers. For a split second the lead man flinched, thinking it was a grenade. Just as the steel box clanked against the concrete, the air around them pulsed out as explosions rocked the room.

  The serpents looked back in shock and Curtis glanced down at his hands. Ears still ringing, he could barely hear the additional combatants. French voices joined the chaos of the serpents’ shouts. RAID had just stormed in, using breaching charges.

  Gavreau and his team moved through the battle zone with trained precision, firing with disciplined control, dropping anyone that posed a threat, with no hesitation.

  * * *

  The pops and thumps of the firefight hardly registered this far back in the reinforced facility. John held his pistol, pressed between both hands, the front sight covering bin Hashim’s upper chest in his view.

  Azhaar bin Hashim, leader of the Four Serpents, held his AK-47 close to his body, muzzle pointed at John, while he used his other hand to swing Dr. Takada into the line of fire. Twenty meters of open hallway lay between them. John slowly closed the distance as he spoke.

  “It’s over, bin Hashim. If you don’t think I’ll put a bullet between the doctor’s eyes to get to you, you’re sorely mistaken.” John’s words echoed, adding to the sporadic crackling of the distant battle.

  “My serpents will strike your friend down, and swarm in here to finish you off.” Azhaar bin Hashim leaned out to one side. “And then the world will feel our wrath.”

  “P―please don’t shoot me,” Takada said, his voice cracking as tears streamed down his face.

  “You had your chance to come with me,” John said, advancing with slow, measured steps. “But it’s not too late, Doc. Just run away. Let me and this dirtbag settle up.”

  “Enough!” bin Hashim shouted. “You’ve lost, and you know it, American. You’ll never make it out of here alive.”

  “I don’t need to make it out. I just need to stop you. Or perhaps I can just put Takada out of his misery. I’m guessing he hasn’t given you what you need to accomplish your mission.” John shifted his point of aim, just enough to cover the doctor. A smile spread across the Serpent leader’s face.

  “I have everything I need now,” bin Hashim said.

  He shoved Dr. Takada to the side and brought his rifle up. John aimed, and took the slack out of the trigger. Then, the entire building shook. Both men fired, their shots missing. Azhaar dove behind a pair of steel drums and John strode forward, shooting his Glock.

  After the explosions from the battle out front, John heard the volume of fire escalate. There was no way Curtis would be able to hold back that number of men. He had to push ahead and get to bin Hashim fast.

  The serpent lifted his rifle up over the barrel, spraying wildly. His blind volley of fire flew overhead, and John answered back. He fired the last round from his pistol and wasted no time to rush forward.

  Azhaar stood and leveled his AK, but it was too late. John’s shoulder impacted with the steel drum, driving it and the man behind it back toward the drone. With a swipe of his arm, John hurled the second drum out of the way, as he closed the distance.

  Bin Hashim screamed and whipped his weapon up. John snatched the handguard and hoisted the serpent to his feet. He plowed a fist into bin Hashim’s jaw, stripping the AK from his grasp. He let the rifle clatter to the floor and stood over Azhaar bin Hashim.

  “Like I said. It’s over.” John’s words echoed, no longer competing with gunfire.

  The battle had ended.

  “No,” Dr. Takada said. “You can’t kill him.”

  John glanced back over his shoulder as Dr. Steven Takada clutched the AK-47 awkwardly, tight to his hip, walking toward him.

  John shook his head. “You’re making a huge mistake, Takada.”

  “You hear that?” Takada said, circling around to help his leader. “Your friend is dead. The Four Serpents―”

  John whipped his arm out, smacking Dr. Takada across the face with a backhand. The doctor spun, dropping the rifle, and collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

  A flash of movement snapped John back. Bin Hashim drew a knife from his belt and lunged for the kill. John’s hand swallowed the man’s wrist. He squeezed, popping and separating the small bones. Bin Hashim let out a shrill cry, dropping the knife. John snatched the blade in a reverse grip, as it fell.

  “Hold this,” he said as he plunged the blade into bin Hashim’s thigh. The steel knife dug in deep, splintering bone as it split part of the man’s femur.

  Tears streamed down bin Hashim’s face as he bellowed in agony. John spun him around and pulled him close, wrapping a tree trunk around the man’s neck.

  He secured a choke and leaned close, whispering into bin Hashim’s ear. “I don’t need to escape to win. I just need to rip the serpent’s head from its body.”

  More men burst into the back, from where John had entered. He spun, using bin Hashim to shield himself from the assault.

  “Let him go, Stone.” A man wearing all black tactical gear stepped into the room, armed with an M4 carbine. He pulled the cloth away from the lower half of his face.

  “Gavreau?” John kept his grip on the hostage.

  “You cannot kill him,” Gavreau said. “Let us take him in alive. He wants you to martyr him.”

  Azhaar bin Hashim gurgled, futilely pulling at John’s massive arm with his uninjured hand. The American released his grip, letting the terrorist crumple to the floor, defeated.

  “Where’s Curtis?” John asked. “Is he alive?”

  “Outside. My men are treating his injuries,” Gavreau said.

  Several RAID members moved up and secured bin Hashim in flex cuffs, while the medic wrapped bandages and gauze around the knife still buried in his leg.

  Lionel Gavreau lowered his weapon and put a hand on John’s shoulder. “It is over. We won.”

  CHAPTER

  26

  John pressed a finger to the bandage across the wound on his shoulder. He looked in the mirror, admiring the bruising on his face from his battle with bin Hashim’s man, Kaliq.

  “I see you got some work done,” Curtis said, hobbling in on a set of crutches. He sat, using them to slow his descent.

  “My modeling days have just begun,” John said, pinching the bridge of his nose to make sure nothing had been broken.

  Both men looked over as the RAID medical team wheeled Azhaar bin Hashim in on a gurney, heading for the elevator.

  “I thought they’d take that guy to a hospital,” Curtis said.

  John chuckled. “There’s no way they would risk that. My way would have simplified things.”

  “Gavreau was right. It’s good that you listened to him.” Curtis watched Dr. Takada stumble down the hall, hands cuffed behind his back.

  “I know,” John said with a solemn nod, taking a seat.

  “Wow, that was much easier than I expected,” Curtis said.

  John’s face softened as he looked down at his weathered hands, rubbing them together. “We got them, though. The men responsible for Van Pierce’s death. But just like when we got Windham, it feels hollow. Like we’ve accomplished nothing.”

  Curtis pursed his lips. “Vengeance never fills the void. But the world is better off without the Four Serpents.” He leaned back and pointed toward the sky. “For MVP.”

  “I’ll drink to that.” John pointed to Curtis’ leg with the toe of his boot. “What happened, you get a muscle cramp? Did the medics give you a banana for the potassium?”

  “Ha ha, tough guy.” Curtis leaned to his left and looked at the bloodied bandage around the lower half of his leg. “That’s a twelve pack you owe me. And not that supermarket swill you chug. I’m talking the good stuff.”

  Lionel Gavreau approached, holding his helmet tucked under his arm. “Gentlemen. I do not know what to say.”

  �
��I’m guessing thank you isn’t one of your options,” Curtis said gently probing the muscle around his gunshot wound.

  “Not officially, no,” Gavreau said. “But perhaps I can pass on some of the gratitude from a few of my men. Your reckless actions did make our jobs a little easier, I must admit.”

  “Our pleasure,” John said with a crooked grin.

  “We aim to please.” Curtis pantomimed looking down the sights of a rifle.

  “With the pleasantries out of the way, we all know that this entire investigation will require a lot of cleaning up between our governments.” Gavreau’s face hardened.

  He handed his helmet and gloves to one of the other men and pulled a chair closer. “I cannot promise that any of us will escape without facing the repercussions of our actions.”

  “It should only be my head on the block,” John said. “I’m the one that barged into your investigation. Neither one of you should have to face the consequences of my actions.”

  Gavreau chuckled. “It would almost be easier to explain that we helped you find your friend’s killers. The alternative would be to admit that we just let a foreigner step all over our case, obstructing us every step of the way.”

  “Well when you put it that way,” Curtis started.

  “Besides, you brought Brassard to our attention,” Gavreau said.

  “You were right behind me at Keppler’s apartment. You would have found the data regardless,” John said, standing up.

  “But would I have allowed myself to see the truth?” Gavreau stood up and shook John’s hand.

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to stick around and hear what you get from Azhaar bin Hashim, and Doctor Takada,” John said.

  Gavreau looked at the bandage on John’s arm and Curtis’ crutches. “I believe you have earned that right.”

  * * *

  Patrice Cartier exited the interrogation room, a satisfied smile crossing his face. Steven Takada held his head in his cuffed hands, on the table. Wracking sobs shook the doctor’s body, torn apart by his guilt in joining the serpents.

  Curtis watched the interrogator pass by with what looked like glee in his eye. “Does he always enjoy his job that much?”

  Gavreau flipped his notebook closed and stood to exit the observation room. “Well when you have been trying to chisel the truth from a block of granite all week, it is nice to have an eggshell-like this crumble and spill everything.”

  John sat, still staring at the doctor through the double-sided glass. Curtis pushed himself onto his crutches to follow the RAID commander to the briefing room.

  “You coming, John?” Curtis asked.

  “I’m right behind you,” John said, still boring holes into the interrogation room.

  * * *

  Silvestre and Deschanel passed John, giving him a quick nod as he entered the briefing room. Curtis had already taken a seat near the front, where Gavreau prepared bits of Dr. Takada’s research data. The RAID commander flipped through the pages of his notebook, piecing everything together.

  John took a seat next to Curtis, then Gavreau turned to point at the data on the screen, starting his presentation.

  “The doctor’s most recent research, as you know, focused on utilizing data from the global weather satellites to paint a more complete picture of shifting winds, temperature, and humidity to a high degree of precision,” he said.

  “I got that part,” Curtis said, “but I thought his primary research was the kinetic-strike javelins. Was he using rain clouds to cover the attacks or something?”

  “He’s improving the accuracy of the weapons,” John said.

  Gavreau pointed in John’s direction with his notebook, nodding. “Correct. The javelins are inert, tungsten-rich rods, with no guidance systems. They rely solely on the calculations handled up front, in order to hit their targets.”

  Curtis furrowed his brow. “What are we talking here, sniper-level accuracy? Fractional minute of angle from five miles up? These things hit hard, and don’t require that level of precision to drop on an unsuspecting target.”

  The screen changed, showing a different set of calculations and diagrams.

  “Agreed, that is a bit extreme,” Gavreau said. “Takada’s research wasn’t about the effects of wind when deploying the weapons directly below. He was working on software that would grant the ability to lob the kinetic-strike projectiles over a great distance and still hit the target. The weapons would be silent and have no heat signature, making them all but invisible to our countermeasures.”

  “The answer to your first question is yes,” John said. “Like a sniper taking shifting wind patterns and air temperature into account, Takada’s software does the same on an international scale. Only instead of a mile or two, the drones would be making shots at hundreds, maybe even thousands of miles away.”

  “Thousands?” Curtis looked over at John.

  “Theoretically,” Gavreau said. “To accomplish that, the delivery system would have to operate far outside the parameters of the UAV we procured from bin Hashim’s base.”

  Curtis leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs. “Wow. And Takada transmitted his data right before we stopped bin Hashim?”

  “Yes.” Gavreau glanced down at his notebook. “His computer backed the research up to a cloud drive. We have since had the data remotely wiped.”

  John leaned back, folding his arms across his chest. “Shouldn’t you have a team out hunting for anyone else that may have this information?”

  “Yeah, we’ve got a guy that can help,” Curtis said. “He just needs access to―”

  Gavreau waved. “No. We cannot risk bringing too much attention to the search. We have bought time to track down and arrest any stragglers that might still be involved.”

  John tightened his jaw, looking at the RAID Commander.

  Gavreau smiled. “My friends, this intel is also in your government’s hands. Rest assured, our two nations will be working together to take care of the rest.”

  “What did we get from bin Hashim?” Curtis asked. “He should be able to fill in all of the gaps in the doctor’s blubbering confessions.”

  “Nothing yet. He is still in surgery.” Gavreau glanced over at John. “Apparently it is not a simple matter to safely remove a knife embedded in one’s femur.”

  CHAPTER

  27

  “I’m gonna grab something to eat. I’ll wait for you in the car,” Curtis said, settling his weight on the crutches.

  Several more members of the RAID unit walked over, smiling. They nodded at John and shook his hand.

  “You are quite a celebrity,” Gavreau said, stepping out of his office as he stuffed a stack of papers into a manilla envelope.

  He handed the files and reports over to John.

  “We had a rough start, but I wanted to say thank you,” Gavreau said, shaking John’s hand again.

  “Curtis and I should be the ones thanking you for pulling our asses out of the fire back there.”

  “Yes, you should.” Gavreau smiled. “Safe travels, my friend.”

  * * *

  John started reading a text message from Parker when his phone buzzed.

  “Parker, I was just reading your text.”

  *“Hey, John. Just wanted to make sure you saw it.” * Parker’s fingers tapped away on the keyboard as he spoke.

  “You sent the message literally seconds ago,” John said.

  “So did you read it, yet?”

  John sighed. “Just tell me what it says.”

  “Ok, but don’t get mad at me,” Parker said.

  “What did you―”

  “I read the reports from Doctor Takada’s interrogation. No one seems concerned that his research is still out there,” Parker said, his typing no longer filling in the pauses.

  “Are you still connected to the RAID system?” John asked, lowering his voice as he turned toward a corner.

  “Yes, but only to help them finish this case.”

  “Parker, yo
u’re unbelievable.” John looked around before taking the stairs to the second floor. “You need to shut that program down now, and clean up all traces of your presence.”

  “I will, but I’m reimaging Takada’s laptop to dig through it here,” Parker said. “I don’t think Gavreau is concerned enough about this data falling into the wrong hands.”

  John pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. “We’ve already captured bin Hashim. The Four Serpents are all but finished. Gavreau and his men will be putting a plan together to clean up the rest. They’re already keeping tabs on other climatologists associated with the doctor, just in case.”

  After a long pause, Parker replied. “Ok, but this the part where I need you to stay calm and not get mad.”

  “We’re a little past that already.”

  “I’ve downloaded all of the after-action body camera footage from RAID’s team, just to make sure no key members of the Four Serpents escaped in the attack,” Parker said.

  “Are you nuts?” John hissed through gritted teeth as he turned to face the window at the end of the hall.

  “I just need to be sure,” Parker said. “Doctor Takada’s research isn’t rocket science. It isn’t going to take someone with a Ph.D. to figure it out at this point. Just some raw computing power, and access to global weather networks.”

  John took a breath to gather his thoughts. “Parker, you have to cut the connection now.”

  “If those kinetic-strike javelins end up in another terrorist cell―”

  “Parker! Now.” John tightened his jaw as the phone creaked in his fist.

  “Alright. I’m sorry, John,” Parker said. “Let me just end this query and―wait a minute.”

  John listened as Parker started typing for what seemed an eternity. “What is it?”

  Parker exhaled through his nose. “I don’t know. Could be nothing, but my mob recognition seems to think that there’s something different about Azhaar bin Hashim.”