The Malta Escape

by Chris Kuzneski

  Particularly when approaching it by sea.

  Impeccably dressed in a blue suit, Volkov felt like George Washington crossing the Delaware as he made his way toward the fortress, but unlike the courageous American general, Volkov remained seated in the back of his boat, hidden behind his men in case someone opened fire as they drew near.

  “Are we clear?” Volkov asked on his comm.

  Blokhin monitored his approach from above. As far as he could tell, the southeastern flank was wide open. “All clear, sir. Kaiser’s men are headed toward the submarine.”

  “And where is Kaiser?”

  “He is hiding in the tunnel to your south.”

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Prior to his mission briefing, Jones had asked to see a full inventory list in order to make sure that all of the equipment that he had requested had made it to Helsinki.

  While going over their supplies, Jones’s eyes had practically popped out of his head when he had spotted one item in particular. He had instantly asked about its presence on Suomenlinna, and Kaiser had said it had been his job as a supply sergeant to know what the troops might need to complete their duties even before they realized it themselves.

  Jones had laughed it off at the time. He didn’t think there was any chance in hell that he would be tempted to remove the item from its crate unless Volkov attempted a hostile insertion with a heavily armored helicopter, but lo and behold, it was the first thing Jones had thought of when the drones had made their appearance.

  From personal experience, he knew that it was difficult to control drones in windy conditions without line of sight, so he reasoned that Volkov’s mission control would be located on a boat in the Gulf of Finland where they could keep an eye on things. And since he had accurately predicted that Volkov’s men would be based in Vallisaari, Jones felt there was a damn good chance that the boat would be floating in the water to the east of Suomenlinna.

  Hiding in the trees between the isthmus to the north and the King’s Gate to the south, Jones used field binoculars to spot the motorboat just across the channel between the islands. He watched for a moment, just to make sure the men onboard were actually controlling the drones. Once he was certain of their involvement, he reached down and picked up his weapon.

  Nicknamed the Vampir, the RPG-29 was a Soviet rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher. Adopted by the Soviet Army in 1989, it was the last RPG to be used by the Soviet military before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Over the years, it had been phased out by more modern rocket-propelled weapons, but it was easy to find on the black market in Eastern Europe. And in spite of its age, it was still incredibly lethal.

  Particularly in the hands of an experienced soldier.

  Jones placed the tube-style, breech-loading, anti-tank rocket system on his shoulder, and then lined up the boat with the optical sight on top of the launch tube. Underneath was a shoulder brace for proper positioning, along with a pistol-grip trigger mechanism.

  Prior to launch, Jones stepped out of the trees and steadied his breath as he studied the movement of the sea. The craft bobbed ever so slightly in the water near the northern tip of Vallisaari. If it had been farther out in the water, it would have been a much more difficult shot, but from this distance, Jones knew that the drones were about to be grounded for good.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Blokhin was focused on Volkov’s boat as it made its way toward the King’s Gate, but out of the corner of his eye, the hacker noticed a bright flash of light. He turned his head to the north and followed the loud roar as the sound drew closer.

  Loaded with a TBG-29V thermobaric anti-personnel round, the Vampir had ignited the rocket before the projectile had even left the barrel, sending a massive discharge out of the rear of the weapon—which is why Jones had left the tree line. The missile instantly deployed eight fins as it left the launcher, which stabilized the rocket during its flight toward the boat.

  “Fuck me,” Blokhin said in Russian.

  A second later, he and his hacker friends were punished for the past several years of their lives, time spent covering up hundreds of murders and thousands of crimes for Volkov and his comrades. And in an ironic twist, the hackers’ deaths would never be reported—just like many of the crimes they had concealed—because the impact of the missile was so catastrophic that there would be no remains left to identify.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Jones felt the shockwave across the channel as the boat erupted in flames and debris. Unlike a conventional condensed explosive, the thermobaric round used the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, making the blast much more devastating.

  Despite the show in front of him, Jones shifted his focus to the air above. He scanned the surrounding sky until his gaze latched onto the eastern drone as it plummeted from the sky and fell harmlessly into the cold water of the Gulf of Finland.

  Behind him, the other three drones dropped as well.

  Clearing the heavens of aerial surveillance.

  And extinguishing Volkov’s main advantage.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

  Payne heard the blast while driving to the submarine. From his position on Island 2, he had no idea what had exploded until Jones called it in.

  “Sorry about the noise,” Jones said as he dashed back into the trees. “But I just took out mission control with a rocket launcher.”

  For the briefest of moments, Payne had been concerned that Volkov had brought out the heavy artillery to breech Suomenlinna. He was relieved to find out that it was his friend doing the damage. “You bastard! I wanted to use the RPG.”

  “I have to admit: it felt like old times.”

  “Speaking of time, shouldn’t you be headed to the King’s Gate?”

  “Damn!” Jones said as he kept on running. He needed to be in position for Volkov’s arrival. “Can’t a brother have a moment to relish his victory? I just took out five Russians, four drones, and one boat in a single shot! I’d like to see you top that.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m getting ready to attack a submarine on a golf cart!”

  Jones grinned. “Good luck with that.”

  “I’ll be fine. I have Jarkko to help.”

  Jarkko groaned. “Jarkko no help. Jarkko stay in cart.”

  Payne laughed at his out-of-shape friend. “No worries. You won’t like what I have in mind anyway.”

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Measuring 134 feet in length and 26 feet in height, the Finnish sub Vesikko sat on concrete blocks at the bottom of a hill on the edge of the water. Out of service since 1946, the submarine was about to see its first action in decades.

  Shortly after the explosion near Vallisaari, the Russian boat reached the rocky shore, just north of the isthmus between Island 1 and 2. Using the submarine as a shield, the six henchmen crouched behind the vessel as they figured out their next move. No longer able to rely on the drones above, they had to decide how to proceed on their own. Unfortunately, these goons were better at following orders than making decisions.

  Temporarily hidden by the Vesikko, a gunman named Alexei leaned back and admired the sub’s color scheme. The bottom half of the vessel was coated red, while the top half was painted black and white. To gauge how thick the metal was, he knocked on the outer hull. He grinned like a child when it made a hollow clanging sound.

  Alexei whispered in Russian to the goon on his left. “Does the sub still work?”

  The goon glared back. “How the fuck should I know?”

  Alexei shook his head in disappointment. “Damn, Vasily. There’s no need to be rude.”

  Vasily snapped at him. “Unless you know how to pilot a Finnish sub, I don’t see how your question could possibly be relevant.”

  Alexei sighed. “If the sub still works, perhaps it is filled with fuel. If the fuel is shot, perhaps the sub explodes. I don’t know about you, but I think that is relevant.”

  Vasily grunted. “You make a good point. Hey, Dmitry!”

  Dmitry glanced at him. �
�Shhh!”

  Vasily shook his head. “Alexei has an important question.”

  Alexei spoke up. “If submarine fuel is shot, will it explode?”

  Dmitry stared at Alexei. “Why? Is it leaking fuel?”

  “I don’t believe so. I meant the fuel inside the submarine.”

  Dmitry groaned at the stupidity of his team. Now he knew why his cousin had wanted to leave Volkov’s empire to become a plumber. “The submarine is sitting on concrete blocks on dry land. There is no fuel inside the submarine. It is a museum ship. Not a vessel of war. For the time being, we are perfectly safe. Now shut the hell up before you give us away!”

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Unfortunately for Vladimir and the rest of his crew, Payne already knew their position. And thanks to his advance research on the sub, he knew exactly how to exploit the situation.

  Payne entered the water right around the corner from the Vesikko, where the thick trees hugged the shore. From there, he eased into waist-deep water and sank into a crouch while keeping his head and weapon above the waterline as he slowly crept toward the sub.

  Although his rifle would probably function while wet, he preferred to keep it dry since he wasn’t certain about its upkeep. He knew dry-gun lubricants and modern gun paints typically repelled water, but he had always been meticulous with his weapons prior to waterborne operations and wasn’t willing to risk his life on someone else’s maintenance.

  In his former career, he had conducted hundreds of missions against all kind of enemy vehicles: boats, planes, tanks, helicopters, jeeps, Humvees, horses, camels, and even a train. But in all of his years of service, this was the first time he would ever fire at a submarine. If he’d had a military bucket list, this would have been on it—despite the weird circumstance.

  Normally gunmen hid inside a vehicle instead of behind it.

  And submarines were most effective when underwater.

  But he wasn’t going to point out their mistakes until it was too late.

  “Now,” Payne whispered into his comm.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Hidden in the trees on top of the hill that overlooked the submarine, Jarkko heard the command in his ear and grinned. Despite his nausea, he summoned all of his strength and courage to lean forward and hit the horn in the golf cart.

  Then he did it again. And again. And again.

  Honk! Honk! Honnnnnnk! Honnnnnnkkkk!

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  In the valley below, the Russians heard the honking and peered around the edge of the submarine to see if anyone was coming down the path toward them.

  Vasily looked at Alexei. “Is that a car horn?”

  Alexei shook his head. “It is too tinny for a car. It might be a goose.”

  “A goose? There is no way that was a goose!”

  “Maybe not, but it wasn’t a car, either!”

  Frustrated by the incompetence of his coworkers, Dmitry glanced back to tell them to shut up, but before he could, he saw a shadow emerge from the water.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Payne stood from his crouch and pulled the trigger on his assault rifle. He didn’t feel agony or joy when he mowed down the Russians against the back of the submarine. He realized that these goons had been sent to kill him and his friends, and he was merely beating them to the punch.

  Afterward, he didn’t cry or gloat.

  He merely called in the success of his mission.

  Then he headed back to shore to help with Volkov.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Because of the thick trees near the submarine, Archer didn’t have a clear view of Payne’s assault. With nothing better to do, he scanned Island 3 in search of the traitor.

  Upon leaving his post unattended, Harrison had crossed the bridge and headed to the rendezvous spot where the second Russian boat was supposed to make landfall. From there, he would have joined up with Volkov’s goons before leading them back to Island 2 for an unexpected rear assault against Kaiser and his men.

  But somehow that plan had gone to shit.

  For some reason, the boat had docked near the submarine, across the channel from where he had been waiting. Reluctant to swim through the cold water of Artillery Bay, Harrison had decided his best bet was to get back across the bridge to meet up with the men from the second boat. Otherwise, he sensed that Volkov wouldn’t honor their deal and pay him the money that he desperately needed.

  As he approached the northern edge of the bridge, Harrison carefully checked his surroundings to make sure that Kaiser hadn’t filled his post with another man. He peered across the channel to his south and searched the trees to make sure no one was hiding. Confident that he was alone, he started his journey across the span.

  Harrison was halfway across when Archer pulled his trigger.

  A moment later, the traitor’s head had an extra hole.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

  Despite his tremendous ego, Volkov was an intelligent man, and he knew his odds of success had plummeted when his drones had fallen from the sky. That setback had been magnified when he had lost contact with his men from the second boat amidst a torrent of gunfire to the north.

  As his boat reached the quay in front of the King’s Gate, Volkov did the math in his head. He had started with a team of thirty men, if he included the traitor. There were five men on his boat, but everyone else on his squad was likely dead. And as far as he knew, his side hadn’t managed to take out many of Kaiser’s goons in the process.

  Certainly no one of significance, or else his men would have called it in.

  With that in mind, Volkov had a critical decision to make. He could press forward with his invasion in hopes of killing Kaiser in the southern tunnel, or he could turn tail and run. He knew if he chose option two, there would be major consequences. Word of his failure would spread amongst his organization, and he would lose significant face.

  In Russia, that was nearly as bad as death itself.

  No, Volkov couldn’t be seen as a coward.

  That would cause too much damage to his reputation.

  So he decided to go with option three.

  Volkov pointed toward the narrow stretch of grass between the quay and the main stairs that led to the decorative gate. “Head to the grass! We’ll launch our assault from there!”

  His henchmen jumped to attention and swiftly exited the boat. Volkov was the last one to leave, purposely lingering behind in order to complete his plan. With his men facing the gate and focused on the dangers looming inside, none of them noticed their leader.

  Standing behind his guards, Volkov raised his rifle and pulled the trigger again and again until he had killed every last man, guaranteeing their silence and allowing him to spin the fallout from Suomenlinna in any way that he saw fit.

  Then, as if nothing had happened, he got back into his boat and sped away.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Jones and several of Kaiser’s men were positioned in the trees on the other side of the King’s Gate when they heard the gunfire. Confused by the commotion, Jones got on his comm.

  “Archer,” he said, “can you see the gate from the church?”

  “That’s a negative, sir. My angle is bad. But I can see the boat.”

  “What boat?” Jones demanded.

  “The one leaving the quay.”

  “You mean Volkov’s boat?”

  “Yes, sir. It appears to be Volkov. He’s wearing a blue suit and piloting the craft.”

  Jones cursed. The noise suddenly made sense. “Is he alone?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Jones left his hiding place and sprinted down the hill toward the backside of the King’s Gate. If Jones’s intuition was correct, Volkov had just repeated his pattern from Malta. He had killed his own men in order to conceal his defeat. “Keep an eye on him.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Jon!” Jones said as he slowed to a halt behind the internal defense wall. “Volkov just bailed on our welcome party. I think he repeated his methods from Malta. I’m goin
g to confirm now.”

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Soaking wet and out of breath, Payne had just started his drive with Jarkko to the King’s Gate. Assuming that Jones was correct, Payne turned the golf cart to his right and headed toward the Suomenlinna Dry Dock where they had left their boat in the marina.

  Thankfully, it was very close to the submarine.

  They could reach it in less than a minute.

  “Waiting on confirmation,” Payne said on the comm. Then he turned to Jarkko and whispered, “Call your guys at the marina. Have them untie your boat and start it up for us.”

  Jarkko nodded and did as he was told.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Jones peeked his head around the corner and stared through the open gate. On the far side of the decorative wall on the grass below the steps were several dead henchmen. They were sprawled facedown, obviously shot from behind.

  “Good Lord,” Jones said as he charged toward them with his rifle raised. “There are five men down near the steps. The sick fucker just mowed them down.”

  “Five confirmed dead?” Payne asked

  Jones stopped when he reached the bodies. He took a few seconds to inspect them before he made the announcement. “Five confirmed.”

  “Hang tight. We just reached Jarkko’s boat. We can be there in less than five.”

  Jones glanced across the water to the east. As he did, he saw Volkov’s inflatable boat pass the northwest corner of Vallisaari. “It looks like he’s heading to their base of operation. If he has a chopper over there, we won’t get to him in time.”

  Payne couldn’t help himself. He had to tease his friend. “You just had to use the RPG for the drones. Outstanding planning on your part.”

  Jones grabbed a comm from one of the dead goons and held it up to his ear. Nothing was currently being broadcast. “Don’t blame me. Blame Kaiser. The Vampir is reusable. If he had ordered multiple rockets, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”