Alpha dogs, p.24
Alpha Dogs, page 24
part #6 of Witness Protection Series
“This is Custard’s last stand, isn’t it?” Bogart remarked with concern. “We’re going to die here, aren’t we?”
“You might, if you don’t shut up,” Kirk informed him. “I intend to die when I’m eighty and having wild sex with a twenty-something-year-old redhead.”
“You’re a true romantic,” Bogart muttered then returned to watching the door. “Should we be standing this close?”
Kirk groaned and glared at Bogart. “You’re like the nagging wife I never wanted.”
“Well, excuse me if I prefer my body parts intact,” Bogart snapped.
“Just stick with the plan,” Kirk huffed.
The door puckered with several hits then finally gave away. As the door flew open, it struck a wire, which sent a flame from a small welding torch into what looked like a pile of garbage. The flammable objects exploded as the men stepped through the doorway. Kirk and Bogart hit the floor to avoid a large ball of flames shooting above their heads and many pointy objects projecting across the corridor. The first few men through the doorway took the brunt of the sharp projectile objects and fell to the floor in bloody heaps. Kirk and Bogart leaped to their feet and rapidly fired into the doorway, striking several men who had taken cover from the explosion. As the first few men fell, the men behind them fired back. When a canister emitting smoke was hurled through the opening at them, Kirk and Bogart fled the scene and the pile of human remains.
“They’re getting through barrier one,” Kirk announced into his hand radio as he ran behind Bogart along the corridor. “Makar’s men are dressed to kill in their finest SWAT uniforms. Second team, you’re up.”
Only moments later, nearly two dozen men dressed in black combat gear forced their way through the empty cruise ship corridors. A particularly pissed off man with a pronounced limp pushed past the others. Corbin motioned for his men to split up. Makar joined him and glared at the men.
“Remember, we want Lindsey Cicco alive,” Makar shouted to his men in anger. “No witnesses left behind. Sweep and clean.”
Corbin frowned but didn’t comment. They broke off into four, six men teams to search the ship with a very specific mission in mind. Kill everyone they found.
§
A second helicopter flew overhead and hovered over the cruise ship’s bow. More than two dozen men on cables dropped down to the deck and immediately secured their weapons while fanning out. Cicco’s men were wearing gray camouflage uniforms and looked like a mini-militia. Just before the helicopter took off, the last man slid down the cable and straightened. It was Vinny Cicco. From his hidden position high on a perch above the bridge, Zack watched more than two dozen men hurry along deck and split into several groups, taking separate stairwells. Vinny Cicco had lagged just far enough behind to give Zack unhealthy thoughts. His eyes narrowed as he silently removed the Bowie knife from his boot and held the tip between his fingers. Vinny’s right-hand man, Dawg, rushed to his side.
“I just got word that the other interested party is a group of Russian mercenaries,” Dawg informed him. “There’s no telling how many of them are on this vessel searching for the girl.”
“We’d better find her first,” Vinny announced. “Alert the men. Let’s go.”
Dawg hurried Vinny toward the stairs. Zack frowned and cursed to himself, having missed his opportunity to cut the head off the beast. Once they were out of sight, Zack replaced his Bowie knife to his boot and raised his hand radio.
“Guys, we have company,” Zack announced into the hand radio. “Cicco is here with two dozen or more heavily armed Boy Scouts in gray camouflage. Might be worth stepping off to the side and letting them kill one another.”
“Roger that,” came Monroe’s response.
Once Cicco’s men had dispersed and the helicopter was flying from sight, Zack straightened and looked across the beach. Two motor rafts filled with men dressed in black and gray combat uniforms rode the waves to shore. Zack leaped from his perch and approached the railing. He raised his assault rifle and checked out the new arrivals through the riflescope.
“Oh, this just keeps getting better,” Zack muttered while lowering the rifle and again raised his radio. “Uh, guys. Guess who’s coming to dinner?”
“Who?” Monroe demanded through the radio.
“We have Dexter and more than a dozen armed men storming the beach,” Zack informed him. “They’re heading this way. Dexter’s men are sporting the finest in black and gray prowling wear.”
“Great,” Monroe remarked. “Avoid engaging Dexter’s men. They’re on our side.”
“Yeah, let’s hope they know that,” Zack remarked into his radio.
“All that’s missing from this little beach war is the Coast Guard,” Monroe announced through the radio.
“Copy that,” Zack remarked and watched the men run for the ship. “World War III has officially started.” He then turned and bolted away from the railing.
§
The ship’s lobby was filled with the sound of gunfire as Cicco and Makar’s men clashed in their first official meeting of the afternoon. It was approximately six-on-six since others from each group had already branched off in search of their prize. Although the lobby had withstood a few years of neglect, one afternoon of a much-anticipated war ravaged the once elegant lobby. Everything made of glass, which seemed to be just about everything, was now shattered on the floor. There wasn’t a single piece of furniture that didn’t contain multiple bullet holes, and several men were profusely bleeding on the once expensive carpet.
Zack remained on his perch three stories above the open lobby and watched the battle rage on below. He stayed concealed on top of the elevator, forever locked-out on deck eight, with his rifle poised for the perfect sniper shot. Since he no longer had Cicco’s less accurate rifles containing their nifty silencers, he didn’t want to risk involvement. Involving himself for mere sport would be foolish if it gave away his location and risked the lives of those he was protecting. He had to be amused with watching the men kill one another instead.
One of the suite doors on deck eight opened. Sid poked his head out and looked around. When he didn’t see anyone, he motioned for his friend. Sid and Bill hurried along the hall with their newly acquired assault rifles courtesy of Cicco’s men from the earlier hull offensive. Sid pointed toward the back stairs to avoid the war raging in the lobby. They nearly made it to the stairwell door when one of Makar’s men appeared in the corridor with his weapon raised.
“Don’t move,” the man in black announced gruffly with his finger firm on the trigger. “Drop the weapons.”
Both inexperienced men did as they were told while staring at the weapon aimed at their faces. Their weapons hit the carpeted floor with a slight clatter, and they immediately put their hands in the air. The fear on their faces indicated they weren’t professionals, and Makar’s man didn’t need to fear them.
“Where’s the girl Lindsey?” Makar’s man demanded in his most intimidating voice.
“We don’t know,” Sid informed him. “They put her into hiding without telling us where.”
“It’s the truth,” Bill added while trembling with his hands in the air.
“I believe you too,” Makar’s man replied and pressed his finger against the trigger.
The M416 assault rifle was flung in the air, shooting several rounds into the ceiling. Sid and Bill screamed while shielding themselves then seemed surprised that they hadn’t been shot. Zack kicked the man in the side several times until he released the weapon. As the weapon flew to the floor, the man swung for Zack. Zack easily blocked the blow, kicked him in the groin, and caught him around the neck as he doubled over. With little exertion, Zack snapped his neck. The man dropped to the floor when he was released.
Zack glared at Bill and Sid with impatience. “If you haven’t noticed, there’s a war going on down there,” he informed them. “You’re supposed to remain inside your stateroom unless they find you.”
Sid indicated the hand radio. “We tried radioing anyone, but no one responded.”
“That’s because we’re laying low until these assholes kill one another,” Zack snapped as his eyes tore through both younger men. “We don’t need idle radio chatter giving away our position.”
“It’s the Coast Guard,” Bill announced without hesitation. “We saw them through our window. They’re just sitting out there. We need to contact them.”
“They’re sitting out there because they probably saw or heard the war happening here,” Zack informed them. “They aren’t going to move in without proper backup.”
“How long will that be?” Bill asked.
“A few hours,” Zack replied. “Go back to your stateroom and wait until we come for you.” He then turned and walked away.
“But--” Sid attempted to protest.
“I’m serious, kid,” Zack snarled without looking back. “I’ll fucking shoot you myself.”
Both men grabbed their discarded weapons and returned to their luxury suite down the hall.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Holden and Jackie patrolled the ninth deck near the ship’s outdoor pool while carrying their AK-47 assault rifles. The pool was filled with murky water from several years of tropical storms. There was a foul odor wafting from the dark water, which may have had nothing to do with the dead bird floating in the center. The high-quality lounging chairs had been neatly stacked beneath the overhang of the bridge deck and were now rusted together. Not far from the stacked chairs was a small pool bar near the panoramic lounge.
Both listened to the sound of gunfire from within the ship and on lower decks. It sounded like a war. Jackie looked over the railing several times, although they had no way of knowing who was winning and how many were already dead. Holden periodically looked toward the white and red Coast Guard ship just far enough from shore to keep an eye on things within the once abandoned cruise ship. The Fast Response Cutter was more than one hundred fifty feet long and had a remote-controlled, twenty-five-millimeter chain gun as well as four, fifty caliber machine guns on the front. Despite its firepower, the ship remained docked safely offshore. The Coast Guard Cutter carried a crew of twenty-four, but that wouldn’t be enough men to win the war on the old cruise ship.
“We need to get the passengers to that ship,” Holden announced then nodded to the inflatable motorized rafts across the beach. “If we could get them to one of those rafts, we could load them onto the Coast Guard ship.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Jackie reminded him. “In order to get off this ship, we need to go through the opening in the hull. By ourselves, we’d have a tough time doing that. With eleven passengers, it would be next to impossible.”
The helicopter was again heard. Holden grabbed Jackie’s arm and hurried her beneath the overhang and behind the deck bar. They kept low with their rifles aimed and watched the helicopter pass overhead. The machine gun exposed out the side door was intimidating.
“You’re sure that’s not Dexter’s helicopter?” Holden asked while watching it pass.
“Unfortunately, it belongs to the other interested party,” Jackie informed him.
“That guy Makar with the Russian government?” Holden questioned.
“Or so Mac claims,” Jackie replied with a defeated sigh. “For such a young girl, Lindsey seems to have pissed off all the right people.”
“I wonder if her father knew what you were up against when he asked you to rescue his daughter,” Holden remarked and quickly turned hostile. “Did he send you in without proper intel?”
“If the answer is yes, Dexter will have us to deal with providing he survives this little coup of his,” she hissed with some bitterness.
They relaxed once the helicopter made its pass. Holden turned and nearly collided with Zack, who stood behind the bar with him and turned over an empty bottle of vodka. He had a look of disappointment on his face.
“This is the worst cruise I’ve ever been on,” Zack muttered. “That’s including the one where I was shot and thrown overboard.”
Holden groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. “I wish you’d stop doing that.”
Zack gave Holden an innocent look. “Stop doing what?” he asked then brushed the question aside. “You saw our friends, the Coast Guard, carefully monitoring the situation from a safe distance?”
“Yeah, we saw them,” Holden replied while frowning. “There’s a motorized raft, but we can’t get the passengers to it without passing through the warzone.”
“Actually,” Zack announced and offered an unsettling smile. “I was thinking we go over the warzone.”
Holden cast a look across the beach at the helicopter making another pass. He then looked back at Zack and shook his head. “You’re completely out of your mind,” he remarked. “There’s no way you’re commandeering that bird.”
“I didn’t intend to commandeer it,” Zack reported with an innocent look. “I thought I’d take it by brute force and maximum bloodshed.”
§
Jackie and Holden followed Zack into the lounge and watched him leap over the bar toward the side of the room. He removed a decorative, metal trident from the wall. Jackie and Holden watched him with bewilderment.
“What are you doing?” Holden asked not understanding. “Are you going to throw that thing at the helicopter? In case you haven’t noticed, they have a machine gun out the side door.”
“I need some rope,” Zack informed them.
Jackie nodded without questioning him and ran back onto deck. Holden hurried after her and watched as she opened a bench seat. She tossed old, cracked life rings aside and removed a large rope.
“How’d you know that’d be there?” Holden asked.
She smiled at him and raised her brows suggestively. “Not my first time on a ship.”
As she hurried back into the lounge, Holden chased after her still not understanding. Zack held the trident over the bar and pounded on the ends with a makeshift hammer using the butt of his semiautomatic. He bent all three prongs back in separate directions until it resembled a grappling hook. He then braced the trident against one of the sturdy bar chairs and kicked the wooden handle, snapping it near the metal end. Jackie handed him the rope. He skillfully tied the rope to the makeshift grappling hook then grinned while casually swinging it in his hands.
“Let’s rope us a helicopter.”
“How do you intend to get close enough to use that without them shooting you?” Jackie asked and raised her brows. “They have a machine gun, remember?”
“Yeah, I know,” Zack casually replied. “We’re going to need live bait.”
Jackie and Zack looked at Holden. He stared back at them with surprise. Jackie cringed and offered a sympathetic smile to her husband.
“You’ve got to be kidding?” Holden bellowed.
“Bogart’s not available,” Jackie explained almost timidly. “You’re the next best thing.”
“Hey, if you’d like,” Zack announced. “I can be the bait, and you can jump into the moving helicopter.”
“Fine,” Holden groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. “What do you want me to do?”
Jackie and Zack exchanged looks.
“Wow,” Jackie gasped with surprise. “He sounded just like Bogart.”
§
The helicopter flew toward the ship for another flyby with the intent to shoot anything that moved. Holden stepped onto the deck from the lounge with an assault rifle in his hand. He fired at the helicopter as it approached. As the helicopter closed in on him just over the pool, Holden ran back into the lounge. The helicopter spun and hovered allowing the gunner to fire, striking the floor at Holden’s heels. Holden ran through a back door and up a set of stairs to the bridge deck. The gunner was unaware Holden had run through a connecting doorway and continued to fire into the lounge, exploding the glass walls and doorway. As large caliber bullets tore up the interior, Zack appeared from the bench seat on deck behind the helicopter and swung his grappling hook for the skid. Neither the pilot nor the gunner noticed the sound or the helicopter’s slight tilt since the machine gun was bouncing the craft around already.
Zack swiftly scaled the rope and leaped through the opposite opening, kicking the gunner in the back with both feet. The gunner flew against the wall but didn’t fall out the opening. His harness tethered to the helicopter floor helped keep him in place as well. The pilot pulled his handgun while fighting to keep the craft stable as it teetered slightly from the activity in the back. Zack kicked the pistol from his hand then went after the gunner, who had already recovered. The co-pilot’s door opened to the empty co-pilot’s seat, startling the pilot. Jackie appeared feet first and kicked him in the chest with both feet. He slammed against the door, causing the craft to veer. Jackie jumped into the co-pilot’s seat and fiddled with the controls while the pilot recovered. She activated the controls on her side as the pilot lunged at her.
Jackie removed her semiautomatic and shot the pilot in the neck. He almost immediately bled out and slumped forward against the controls. Jackie struggled to keep the craft from plummeting as the men fought in the back. The gunner swung at Zack displaying amazing fighting skills. Due to the tight quarters and the position of the machine gun, Zack was unable to use most of his kicks and had to rely on hand-to-hand combat. The gunner punched Zack, sending him backward toward the opposite opening. Zack caught the edge of the doorway and kicked the machine gun. It swiveled on its base and struck the gunner. He flew out the open doorway, but the tether on his harness prevented him from falling to the deck below.
The gunner attempted to climb his rope. Zack jumped out the doorway landing on the skid and kicked the man twice in the face. He then clung to the skid, swung his legs down, and caught the man around the neck. He tightened his legs around his head and twisted his body, snapping the man’s neck. The man dangled with his head hanging limply to the side. Zack reached down and released the harness. The man plummeted into the murky pool below with a splash, sending dirty, foul-smelling water onto the deck. Holden appeared on the bridge deck in time to see the final act. Jackie turned the helicopter and approached the bridge deck. She skillfully landed the craft, shut her down, and leaped out to join Holden.
