The Zimmer Doctrine (Corps Justice Book 11)

by Cooper, C. G.

  Then something changed. It took Cal a couple seconds to figure out what it was. The water. He no longer felt the rush of the spouts on his bare feet.

  “The water’s off,” he said, the room was now eerily quiet except for the sound of lapping water.

  “Is that it?” Neil asked, clutching onto the wooden sofa he’d been sitting on minutes before.

  No one said a word as they listened. Nothing. Not a sound. Liberty whined for the first time since the water had entered the room. Then Cal heard a squeal, like a huge rusted door creaking open.

  “Shit!” Gaucho cried out. He was the closest one to the window.

  Cal’s eyes widened when he saw what his friend had noticed. There was a crack at the top of the window, like it had somehow folded down. It remained that way for a moment with everyone staring at the only thing keeping them from plunging off the cliff and into the agitating water below.

  Then, without warning, the entire windowed wall folded outward into the night sky, and Cal and his friends were flushed out of the flooded room into the hurricane-whipped sea.

  +++

  It seemed like every warning light in the cockpit was going off.

  “We’re losing her,” Johnny said.

  Benny was trying to bring the bird back around. The bastards on the ground had gotten off a couple of lucky shots, but that hadn’t been the worst of it. The TJG warriors had gotten lucky when the island defenders decided to launch an anti-air missile their way. At that range, it should’ve been a direct hit. Benny knew that from painful experience. But the storm must have done something to the missile because they only got a glancing blow from the projectile. It managed to severely damage the Pave Low, but at least for the moment they were still in the air.

  He couldn’t see anything with the wind kicking up debris all over the ground. It looked like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie where a nuclear blast scorched everything in its path. Benny had to find a place to land, but where?

  “Tail rotor’s going down,” Johnny said. Benny already felt it. The control felt heavy, like the steering fluid going out of a car. She wasn’t responding to his gifted touch anymore.

  Benny gritted his teeth then said, “I’m taking her in.” Then he aimed for the only thing he could, the only beacon that any sane person would avoid at all costs. With a grunt and a mighty push on the controls, Benny took her down.

  +++

  Baxter frowned when he lost sight of the helicopter. He’d so been enjoying the scene unfold. It was a good thing he’d outfitted his men with anti-air capabilities. When his security chief had asked about them, Baxter had calmly explained that if he wanted the island to one day be a fortress they should start with the right weaponry to defend against an assault.

  Now he wished they’d installed heavy machine guns on the roof, but that wouldn’t be proper considering the clientele he brought to the island.

  As he got closer to the twelve-inch thick glass, he got his answer. The building shuddered despite its fortress-like construction. The lights flickered.

  “They crashed onto the roof,” Baxter said, admiring the daring. Maybe it was time to leave.

  “Efraim, grab your things.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Somewhere safe. Come, we’ll get Dr. Nahas on our way.”

  “What about Hannah?”

  Baxter thought about it for a moment. “Leave her. If she survives, we can always come back and fetch her.”

  They hurriedly departed the room and passed Baxter’s armed men sprinting for the roof. Baxter wished them luck as they ran by. It wasn't that he cared; it was what he paid them for after all. But it was the polite thing to do.

  Chapter 34

  Great Sale Cay

  The Bahamas

  August 29th, 9:01pm

  Cal’s legs kicked furiously as he tried to stay vertical. It helped, but it couldn’t stop him from face planting in the water, the jolt feeling more like a smack on concrete. He plunged deep, the water around him swirling angrily like he’d jumped into a pool full of gigantic eels.

  Somehow he’d held onto Liberty but she felt lifeless in his arms. Cal didn’t have time to think about that as he pushed for the surface with one arm while he kicked mightily with his legs. His face broke through the water's surface and, as he was taking a long breath of air, a wave slammed into him forcing water down his aching throat.

  Up he bobbed again and this time his bearings were better. He had to stay away from the cliff lest he be crashed against the sheer wall. Liberty moved, then squirmed in his grasp. He held her tight as he sidestroked away from shore. His mind searched for a way to shore. He should have paid more attention when they’d flown in. Suddenly, he recalled the map they’d looked at in Charleston and he knew where to go.

  He called out every few seconds as he swam, the stamina from miles and miles of ocean swims over the previous months keeping him going. Finally, he heard someone. He swam towards the voice and found Neil and Jonas clutching the wooden sofa.

  “Are you okay?” Cal called over the screaming wind.

  “I’m okay,” Jonas said.

  “Got a little banged up, but I’m okay,” said Neil.

  “We need to go that way,” Cal yelled, pointing down the coastline.

  The others nodded and began kicking that way.

  Cal kept going, still calling out to his other missing friends. No one answered as they swam further, every inch a tortuous task as they were slammed time and time again by the raging sea.

  +++

  Hannah sat on the edge of her bed, listening. Ever since the conversation with Chance Baxter, she’d been locked in her room waiting for word. Would Baxter go back on his word and kill her? Where was Maya? How could she use Baxter’s altered plan to her advantage?

  Then the sounds came. First came the clicking and the scraping sounds like mechanical robots preparing for battle. She thought she’d heard water like a giant toilet being filled, but she couldn't be sure. Then the lights in the room had gone off and the emergency red light in the corner snapped on.

  There was an alarm going off somewhere nearby. She could only hope it wasn’t a fire. As deep as she was in the complex, she would be burned alive for sure.

  So she waited and she listened, hoping for an answer.

  +++

  They’d come down hard. So hard that Benny was surprised to see that they hadn’t taken more of the building with the crash. The guys in the back had taken the brunt of the crash. Two suffered broken legs, one was unconscious, and one was dead.

  Despite the casualties, the rest of the men were all business, already having secured the perimeter of the crash site.

  Jim Powers came into the cockpit cradling an automatic weapon. He looked every bit the Marine he was. Every Marine is a rifleman, he remembered hearing once. Benny wished he were as comfortable around firearms as Jim. His gift was flying, not shooting.

  “We’re going in,” Jim said.

  “You too?”

  “I’ll let the pros take the lead, but I’ll bring up the rear. You think you can hold things down here?”

  “Yeah.”

  Jim nodded and went to join the others. That left Benny in the cockpit of a destroyed Pave Low, wondering what the hell he would do with his pitiful pistol should the defenders make their way up to the roof.

  +++

  Benny shouldn’t have worried. TJG operators, despite the heavy fall, were superbly trained and well armed. Plus, they held the high ground, something the defenders hadn’t anticipated. So, when Baxter’s men tried to ambush them at the first stairwell TJG men ripped through them. Their anger at being downed, the thought of their fallen comrades, and the hope that Cal and the others were still alive fueled the warriors.

  They only stopped long enough to make sure the defenders were dead and to pick up a couple extra flash-bang grenades along the way. With their first obstacle obliterated, they moved quickly but carefully, clearing rooms as they went. Further in
to the complex they went room by room and floor by floor.

  +++

  Baxter entered his ten-digit pin and the pneumatic door opened. Inside was a padded room with a simple array of technology on one corner. The room was fifteen by fifteen and included a row of four padded chairs on one side, each adorned with matching harnesses.

  “What is this place?” Perlstein asked, staying in the doorway.

  “It’s my safe room, of sorts.”

  “Safe room? This thing won’t keep them out!” Perlstein argued, pointing back the way they’d come. He was panicking now and Baxter was getting tired of it.

  “Do you want to get away or don’t you?” Baxter asked. Then his voice became calm. “Trust me, Efraim. Have I led you astray thus far?”

  Perlstein glared at the billionaire but stepped into the room, followed by the less tentative Dr. Nahas. As soon as the two men entered, Baxter pressed a button and the door slid shut.

  “Have a seat,” Baxter said, pointing to the harnesses. “I have some preparations and then we’ll be on our way.”

  “On our way?” Perlstein was trying to strap himself in.

  “Oh yes, didn’t I mention? This is an escape vessel as well. We’ll be safely off the island soon. Now buckle up. The fall isn’t far but we don’t want to hurt ourselves.”

  +++

  Hannah tensed when she heard a key jangling on the other side of the door. A moment later the knob turned and through the red-lit gloom she saw the the face of George, the house manager.

  “Please come this way,” he said politely, apparently unfazed by all that was happening in his master’s home.

  Hannah hesitated. George beckoned with his hand.

  “Please, there isn’t much time, Ma’am.”

  Slowly, she stood and walked to the door.

  “Is he going to kill me, George? Is that lunatic going to kill me?”

  George smiled up at her, his white teeth gleaming.

  “Not if I can help it, Ma’am.”

  And there it was again – hope. It was the only thing besides a gun to the head that could make her move from the relative security of the room. She followed George as they went down, not up. Shouldn’t they be going to the surface, away from the house?

  Hannah kept the question to herself as she followed the sure-footed servant deeper into the complex. He seemed to know exactly where he was going.

  +++

  Jim and Johnny Powers followed the TJG team at a safe distance. It wasn’t that they couldn’t take care of themselves. They'd both shot their first .22 at the age of five, but they were not trained in urban combat like the men taking the lead. They watched in amazement as Cal’s men tore through the house defenders. It shouldn’t have surprised them, but the brothers had never seen the boys in action.

  Down they went, further and further into the expansive complex. They felt it when they were below ground. It was colder and almost smelled like the bowels of a ship. From time to time they would surprise some of the household staff.

  No one knew if Baxter’s servants were in the know, so the operators zip-tied their hands to the nearest piece of heavy furniture and then moved on. It was the best they could do. They couldn’t take prisoners with them. It would slow them down, and speed was imperative.

  +++

  Cal’s bare feet touched coral and he knew they’d made it. He still couldn’t see the shoreline, but he knew it was there. If the raging waves couldn’t stop them, a short swim to land wasn’t going to either.

  A short time later they’d made it, but the near hurricane-force winds still made it almost impossible to stand. They moved from tree to tree, taking whatever cover they could. Flying palm branches slashed his face and Cal could barely see through the blinding and screeching winds.

  But they kept going if for no other reason than to find shelter. Not knowing if his friends had survived drove Cal to continue moving against the tempest. That, along with the knowledge that something could yet be done to rid the world of Chance Baxter.

  Chapter 35

  Great Sale Cay

  The Bahamas

  August 29th, 9:10pm

  They reached the front door which was thankfully unlocked. Cal put Liberty on the floor and she spun around in a happy circle before peeing on the floor. He’d have to work on that.

  “You guys okay?” Cal asked.

  Neil was breathing hard and leaning with one hand against the wall. “Still in one piece.”

  Jonas nodded but didn’t say anything. He’d taken a nasty hit from a flying tree limb, and he had his shirt pressed against the left side of his face.

  “Find a small room or closet. Stay there until I come to find you,” Cal said. Even as they did, he heard footsteps coming from the winding staircase. He put his finger against his lips and motioned to the nearest room.

  There they waited as the footsteps came closer. Cal stepped out of the room and waved.

  A host of weapons were trained on him in a split second.

  “Cal?” one of the TJG operators asked.

  “Have you seen Top or Daniel?” Cal asked.

  The man shook his head.“We came from the roof. Benny crashed our bird.”

  Cal didn’t have any idea what the man was talking about. There would be plenty of time to find out later.

  “Who has an extra weapon for me?”

  Two men held up weapons for their boss. Cal walked over, grabbed one along with two sets of extra magazines, checked the chamber (although he knew it was loaded) and asked, “Where to?”

  “We’ve cleared everything from here up. We’re going down.”

  “What kind of resistance?”

  “Heavy at first, but after the initial battle, we’ve only found house staff.”

  Cal nodded and pointed to the hallway. “Then lead on, dear friend. Lead on.”

  The man grinned and took point. Cal followed right behind. He wanted to be there when they found Baxter. For some reason, Cal found himself hoping that the bastard would put up a fight. Every muscle in Cal’s body throbbed with anticipation. He had his friends' lives to avenge.

  +++

  He had designed the safe room/escape pod to drop into the conveniently deep ocean hole below and then be pushed by the current out to sea where it would wait until the homing beacon brought in assistance. Baxter was just finishing the pre-plunge checklist when a warning appeared on the computer screen. Someone was trying to open the door. The warning only came up when the buttons of the keypad were pressed.

  Baxter was the only one with the code so he wasn’t worried. He busied himself with the final preparations which included coding the encrypted homing signal. Thus, he was surprised when the computer screen flashed again. The door started sliding open.

  “Oh, it’s you,” Baxter said, stepping to the door.

  “I thought you might like to have her along, Mr. Baxter,” George said, grabbing Hannah’s arm and pulling her forward.

  She would have kicked, punched, or done anything if she thought she had the slightest chance of getting away. But her supposed rescuer had just handed her back to the very man she’d wanted to run from. And that man, the billionaire with the charm of a harpy, now stood in front her, a long filet knife in his right hand.

  “Just tell me what you did with Maya. Where is she?” Hannah asked, the desperation taking over.

  “Maya?” Baxter looked confused.

  Hope sprang once again in Hannah’s chest, only to be crushed for the last time, this time with the words, “Ah, you mean the young lady.” Baxter shook his had sadly. “I’m sorry to say she is no longer with us. Now, if you don’t mind, we really must go.”

  Hannah's legs crumpled, but George caught her in his strong hands. He half dragged, half carried her over to one of the empty seats and strapped her in like a child. Then he went back to his employer and asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?”

  Baxter patted the man on the shoulder fondly.

  “No, George, th
ank you. Thank you for everything. Do buy us a minute or two, will you?”

  “Yes, Mr. Baxter. Good luck.”

  He gave his familiar half bow and left the compartment. The door slid closed and Baxter said to the others, “That George is a wonderful man, maybe the best who’s ever served the family. He will be missed.” He let out a barely audible chuckle.

  And with that, Baxter pushed a couple of buttons and the chains holding the pod in place began to creak overhead. Baxter strapped himself into the last remaining harness and he grinned at his unwilling occupants.

  “I hope none of you get motion sick. It should be a fun ride.” He rubbed his hands together expectantly and the pod commenced its slow descent.

  +++

  They’d reached what Cal believed was the lowest level of the building. The place really was massive. The man running point was just peeking around a corner when a shot rang out up ahead. He ducked back.

  Cal grabbed a flash-bang from the man’s vest and chucked it down the hallway. In response, a flurry of rounds bit into the wall across from them. A split second after the flash-bang went off, they made their move. They’d practiced the next part so many times that it was second nature as they rushed around the corner, scanning for targets.

  Cal saw him before his partner did and, as the pistol came up, Cal fired his own volley. The rounds tore into the prostrate form and the pistol clattered to the ground. They kept moving and they didn’t let up until they’d confirmed George was dead.

  “What was he doing down here?” the lead man asked.

  Cal pointed at the door and stepped up to the keypad. It had been destroyed and he was certain it wasn’t by his own rounds - probably by the dead house manager.