Shadow zero, p.16
SHADOW ZERO, page 16
“They need to… include… rock climbing… in training.”
Maybe that’s what she’d do if she left the field. Become the rock-climbing instructor at Langley. She would bore every class with the story of how she climbed a ravine in Tanzania, then make them use improvised spears and walking sticks to muscle-up their way up a sandy slope interrupted by rock ledges. She’d be the most hated instructor in the Agency.
It was several minutes before her heart rate calmed. When she rolled over, her arms and shoulders felt like jelly. Even with the help of the walking stick, it seemed challenging to get to her feet. That didn’t bode well for the fight to come, but the second half of her journey would be all walking. Her upper body would catch a break, and her legs would pay the balance.
Or both upper and lower body will be weak as hell when I get back to the compound, she thought wryly.
Well, that was all right. She probably shouldn’t attack until nightfall anyway. She needed as much stealth as she could get, especially because they would most likely be on the lookout for her.
She’d get back to the compound, hide in the trees, and wait for the sun to go down. Then, tired or not, injured or not, she would get that data core.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
“Yeah, I got the coordinates,” Alan said, “the problem is that from the sky, all I can see is trees.”
Zero frowned. “Why is that a problem? Can’t you just send people to these coordinates?”
“Well, like I said, there’s some bullshit going on at the CIA. Maya and Trent are technically supposed to be disavowed.”
“So what? Tell them you know where the data core is.”
“I can’t. I’m retired, Zero. I’m not supposed to know anything.”
“Then tell—”
Trent spun around in alarm and lifted his finger to his lips. The two of them were in the trees near the Liberation Front compound, waiting for dusk to deepen before they began their assault.
Zero pressed his lips together, then said in a quieter voice, “Then tell Todd to tell them. For Christ’s sake, Alan, figure it out.”
“I’m going to,” Alan said, a touch of irritation creeping into his voice, “but Todd’s not going to be able to send more than a few guys, and it’s a crapshoot whether he’ll be able to get a helicopter.”
“Why is it a crapshoot? You got me a helicopter. Get his guys a helicopter.”
Alan hesitated a moment, then said, “I don’t want them reporting about my connection to the CIA.”
A migraine was starting to form behind Zero’s left temple. Had two years really changed things so much? Alan never used to be so cautious.
He forced himself to stay calm. “Alan, Maya is a prisoner in that compound. She could be dead already. She could be suffering torture, or…” he couldn’t quite bring himself to specify other things she could be suffering. “Can you just forget about the risks for a moment and give me the tools I need to get her out of there? And, you know, prevent a nuclear war?”
“I already said I’m going to,” Alan replied. He seemed to be struggling for calm as well. “But I’d like to do this without landing Todd, Trent, and Maya, not to mention the both of us, into hot water again. You and I built a career out of being rogue agents, and it fucking sucked. I’d much rather not put them through the same thing.”
“I’d much rather Maya survives.”
Alan sighed. “Me too. But being very blunt, Zero, the chances of her being alive right now are very low. I hope I’m wrong about that, but… Look, I’m going to get you help as soon as I can. I’m going to try to see if I can get some good images of the situation on the ground that I can pass along to Todd so his extraction team has a good chance of success. Either way, help is coming. But you need to manage your expectations here. At the moment, no one involved in this operation is allowed to be. Whether we agree with it or not, there will be consequences if we're discovered before we have a chance to succeed and take the wind out of Harris's sails."
Zero frowned. “By manage my expectations, you mean handle this myself.” Trent flashed him a glare, and he corrected that to, “ourselves.”
Alan sighed again. “Yeah. That’s basically it. I can get you help in time to extract you, but realistically, you’re going to have to get Maya and the core by yourselves. But hey, you’re Zero, the badass of badasses. You can handle it, right?”
Zero looked down at the compound, just visible through the thick foliage. “I guess I’ll have to.”
“If it makes you feel better, you can kick my ass when you get home.”
Zero smiled slightly, but a more serious consideration stifled laughter. He hadn’t even thought about what happened after this.
Was he coming home? Alan wanted him home. No doubt Maya would want him to return to. But could he? Should he? From the little he’d heard, it seemed like Harris was just as much of a hardass as his old bosses in the Agency. She might not be a traitor, but that didn’t mean she would want the most famous renegade in the CIA’s history back on her radar or anyone else’s.
And would coming home protect his family from danger like this or put them right back in the danger he hoped to avoid.
That’s something to figure out later. You have other priorities right now.
He looked up at the darkening sky. The first stars were already flickering on. It was time to go.
“I’ll hold you to that,” he told Alan. “Make something happen ASAP.”
“You first.”
This time, he did chuckle. “Fair enough. Talk to you later.”
He put his radio away and looked at Trent. “Okay. You ready for this?”
Trent scoffed. “Probably more than you are.”
Zero hated how accurate that statement almost certainly was. He checked his weapons, then nodded at the younger agent. “Then let’s go.”
They moved to the edge of the trees and peered at the compound beyond. There were a dozen guards standing at regular intervals on this side of the building. Zero assumed an equal number of guards on the other side. More irritating was the twenty yards of open ground between them and the compound. The depth of this valley might mean that satellites only saw trees, but anyone on the ground would see Zero and Trent at least three seconds before they reached them.
“We’ll have to create a distraction,” Trent said. “We can fire some shots here and pull the guards to the other side. Meanwhile, we move ASAP to the other side of the compound. Hopefully, the distraction brings the guards to this side and gives us time to get close without being seen.”
Zero raised an eyebrow. “That’s a good idea.”
Trent chuckled drily. “Well, it’s a crappy idea, but it’s the least crappy one we have. And don’t look so surprised. I’m young, not stupid.”
“I never said you were,” Zero replied. “Although I would suggest using a grenade to create the diversion. An explosion is a lot more alarming than a gunshot.”
“Good point,” Trent said. He offered Zero a grin. “Look at that. The old dog has some teeth left.”
God, I hope so. Zero pulled a grenade and pulled the pin.
“Oh, shit, now?” Trent said.
“Unless you’ve got something more pressing to do.”
Trent cursed and sprinted sideways. Zero waited until his footsteps faded, then dropped the grenade and took off after him. After four seconds, the grenade exploded. Dirt showered Zero’s back, but he didn’t stop to see the effects of their ploy.
He caught up to Trent on the other side of the building. The brief sprint left him breathing heavily. He was a little chagrined to see Trent reveal no sign of his exertion.
Trent tapped his shoulder and gestured onto the compound. Zero’s heart leaped when he saw the guards rushing toward the sound of the grenade. A booming voice carried over the distance, shouting something that Zero couldn’t understand.
“That’s their leader,” Trent said. “If he’s over there, we have a good chance. Come on.”
He started down the slope, Zero at his heels. The short journey across the flat ground was nerve-wracking, but they reached the other side without incident.
Trent kept moving when they reached the building. “The jail is up ahead in the central hallway,” he explained. “If Maya’s still here, she’ll be there.”
Zero didn’t like that if. Maya had to be here. She had to be alive. If he’d come all this way only to fail to save his daughter…
Don’t think about that. Focus on the mission.
They reached the central hallway, and Trent came to a halt. Zero stopped behind him and listened. Soft shuffling noise from inside told him that there were terrorists guarding the cells.
He put his rifle over his shoulder and drew his knife. Trent did the same, then held up three fingers.
He pulled them down one at a time. Zero’s heart started to pound. This was it. He would learn soon if he was still cut out for this sort of work or if his time off had permanently disabled him.
Trent’s hand closed into a fist, and the two of them moved around the corner.
There were three guards, all holding rifles. Trent reached the first one, cupped his hand around his mouth and slit his throat. Zero kept going, driving his knife through the neck of the second guard.
The third guard turned, having caught sight of their movement through the corner of his eye. He saw Zero approaching and swung his rifle toward him.
Zero lunged forward and slid his finger behind the AK74's trigger. The terrorist's eyes widened further when he realized he couldn't fire. He opened his mouth to scream, and Zero head-butted him, flattening his nose and turning his scream into a hoarse choke.
He jammed the butt of the terrorist’s rifle backwards, further splintering the man’s already shattered face. The man released a hoarse cry, and Zero cursed and jammed the rifle into the man’s throat. The cry cut off, replaced by a wet gasp as the terrorist’s windpipe deflated.
He still wouldn’t let go of the damned rifle. Zero twisted him sideways and ran him into the concrete wall. It made a thump that was far louder than Zero would have preferred.
God damn it, let go!
He head-butted the guard again and again and again. Each time, he felt the bones in the man’s face break further. Still, it took a half-dozen headbutts for the man to finally go slack and release the rifle.
Zero dropped the rifle on top of the man and regarded his caved-in features. That was brutal, but worse, it was clumsy. And slow. And loud. It was the work of an old bruiser, not a sophisticated and highly capable fighter.
“Damn it!” Trent hissed. “She’s not here.”
Zero turned around and found himself facing a line of five cells. As Trent had pointed out, all of them were empty.
His shoulders slumped. Maya was gone. The empty cells didn’t necessarily mean she was dead, but it meant that he still hadn’t found her, still hadn’t saved her.
“We’ll check inside,” Trent said. “I know where the leader keeps the data core. He might have locked her in there too. Shit!”
He followed up the curse by flicking his rifle to his shoulder and firing a burst. Zero spun the same way and fired a burst of his own, but the fact that he hadn’t been aware of the approaching terrorists until Trent alerted him was just another sign of his rustiness.
God, I’m slow.
His aim was still good, although at a distance of five yards, it wasn’t that impressive that all of his shots found vital organs. Three of the terrorists fell, but eight more were pouring into the hallway, and the two of them were forced backwards.
They ran around the corner and came face to face with two more groups of terrorists pouring around the other side. They each emptied their clips, dropping four more of the enemy, but the terrorists were aiming their rifles now, and there were a lot of them.
Zero’s instincts took over. He dropped to the ground, pulling Trent with him. The terrorists’ volleys struck their companions on either side instead, killing several more.
A bullet smacked the ground next to Zero’s head and blew sand in his eye. He cried out and jerked his head back, trying to blink the silt away.
A hand pulled him roughly to his feet and then just as roughly through a door. When the door slammed behind him, Zero looked at Trent and saw that the younger man had led them into the building.
“Keep moving,” Trent told him. “I locked the door, but that won’t hold them for long.”
As though to prove his point, a half-dozen rounds punched through the door behind them. One of them creased Zero’s left side, leaving fire in its wake.
They rounded a hallway just before another bullet whipped through his beard.
The battle had begun in earnest. The element of surprise was lost. It was now the two of them against over a hundred terrorists.
And somewhere out there, Maya still needed rescue. Zero felt a rush of a familiar but entirely unwelcome emotion.
He was afraid.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Maya had just reached the edge of the slope that led down to the Liberation Front Compound when she heard an explosion below. She cursed and pulled her thrusting spear off of her back, but the explosion was too far away to reach her, and the shouting that followed sounded distant.
When her initial shock faded, she realized what that explosion must be. Help had arrived! Her excitement was blunted an instant later when she realized it could also be the buyers arriving and choosing to take the data core instead of buying it.
Still, this worked to her advantage. She ran to her right around the edge of the compound. While the guards were distracted, she would infiltrate the compound and steal the core. If she moved quickly, she could retrieve the object and get up the slope before she was found.
The fifty-pound object.
She cursed. She hadn’t thought to make a sling or pouch of some sort to help carry the core. She would have a hell of a time getting back up the slope with her arms occupied.
Well, there was no helping that. She could leave her weapons behind and use the reeds that lashed them to her back to help support the core. If she had a chance, she would steal a weapon from one of the terrorists, but the core was most important. Once she was in the jungle, she was confident she could evade the terrorists. They had gotten the drop on her and Trent the first night, but she was paying better attention now.
She reached the other side and quickly moved through the trees, her thrusting spear ready. She left her walking stick at the top. She wanted the other hand available for her throwing spears.
She reached the bottom and looked through the trees. She heard gunfire and saw muzzle flashes in the center hallway, but she didn’t see anyone. Whatever battle was taking place, this side was still clear.
She started forward but cursed and remained where she was when she saw dozens of terrorists moving from the other side to flank whoever was inside the hallway. She sighed in frustration and tried to think of another way inside without being seen and overwhelmed.
Then she saw something that drove all other thoughts from her head. Two men backed out of the hallway carrying rifles. One of the men was bearded and covered in several days’ worth of dirt. She didn’t recognize him, but he moved like he was well-trained.
The other man also carried several days’ worth of dirt and grime, but she would have recognized him even if he was caked in mud. Trent was here. He was alive, and he had come back for her.
She grinned and pulled a throwing spear from her back. Alone, she would have faced an impossible task fighting such an overwhelming force with only a few spears. With Trent, she would take on the world if she had to.
She took a step forward, but movement out of the corner of her eye stopped her. She turned toward it, and her grin disappeared.
Bakari ran from the building, looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed. In his hands, he held the data core.
Maya looked back at Trent and his friend. They were trying to fight all three groups of terrorists, but the sheer numbers involved made that impossible.
She looked back at Bakari. He had reached the slope and was starting to climb up.
She turned back to Trent. His friend appeared to have been injured. Trent was pulling him through a doorway, slamming it shut before the terrorists could reach it. That was a smart move. In the close quarters of the building, the terrorists’ superior numbers would be less of an advantage compared to Trent’s training.
She looked back at Bakari. He was already several feet up the slope and beginning to disappear into the trees, the core tucked under his arm.
She looked back at the building where Trent was currently fighting off the majority of the Waswahili Liberation Front. She wanted nothing more than to run after him and help him.
But she couldn’t let that core fall into the wrong hands. She couldn’t be the reason the world fell to a storm of nuclear warheads. She cursed and sprinted toward the terrorist leader, adrenaline blunting the pain in her joints. Bakari was nothing more than a shadow now. He would disappear from her view in seconds.
Shen she was twenty yards from the edge of the slope, she pulled her throwing spear back and with a cry, threw it toward Bakari. The wooden spear whistled through the air and disappeared into the darkness. Maya heard a cry and a moment later, she saw the spear bobbing in the air, embedded in Bakari’s back.
The terrorist leader cursed and dropped the core, reaching over his shoulder to try to remove the spear. Maya planted her thrusting spear in the crook of her right arm and rushed toward him, lips bared in a snarl.
He looked up just before she reached him. His eyes widened, and she thrust with the spear.
And missed. Bakari was so damned fast for a big man. The spear sliced through his shirt and traced a thin line over one enormous pectoral muscle.
Maya cursed and pulled the spear back. Bakari grabbed it and tried to pull Maya forward, but she had the advantage of leverage. She planted her feet and tugged with all her might. Bakari was strong, and for a second, he managed to keep his balance, but when Maya pushed with her legs, he tipped over, falling into Maya and sending them both tumbling down the hill.
