The sheltering tree, p.17
The Sheltering Tree, page 17
“John, head south and take Baker over to Gilmore,” Teri said. “That way we can have that sector covered.”
“Gotcha,’ I said. “Any guess on where they’re headed?”
“So far it could be the office. But there are a lot of exits yet. One more thing. They’re using standard security formations.”
I found Baker and headed toward Gilmore.
“Hold up,” Teri said. “They’re exiting. Connors Street Exit.”
“They’re not going to the office,” Killian said.
“You can pick them up at Brentwood, Mason, if you hurry.”
“Roger.”
I turned onto Gilmore, knowing they weren’t close to me. I continued onward and mentally calculated my position in relation to theirs. I turned down a side street and headed west.
Teri’s voice was in my ear, an ever-present companion. “Visual in three, two, one...”
“Got ‘em,” Killian said.
The trio of SUV’s hit the left lane.
“They’re turning around,” Teri said.
“They’re heading back to the freeway,” Killian said. “They did that to see of they had any tails.”
“Break off, Kil,” I said.
“Yeah.”
I heard the frustration in his voice and knew that Killian would hate to have to drive past them.
For nearly an hour we tracked them, using the cars sparingly and relying on Teri’s satellite to follow them as they eventually got off the freeway and across the Bay Bridge to the island, down A1A to a spacious estate bordered by high fences and shrubbery. The gate closed behind the last car and Jeff’s voice sounded. “They’re in.”
Killian: “Okay, everyone, that’s a wrap. Teri, continue monitoring and see what you can see around there.”
We knew where Niko was. All we had to do now was get in and kill him.
* * * *
Although the satellite views helped, a lot of the yard and house was blocked by trees. We did manage to deduce that it was about an acre, had a circular driveway, and that the house was two stories with a pool and large deck in the rear. It was enclosed by a high stone wall; access was through a double iron gate. There was no other way out that we could see. There was a canal in the rear on the other side of the wall which might be promising. We also couldn’t determine how many guards were there. We knew there would be the dozen from the airport because no one had left but we didn’t know if there were going to be more.
“We need access to better satellite views,” Teri said. “This one is mostly for tracking movement. We need one that can get us details.”
Huxley sat beside me. “That will take some doing.”
“So do it,” I said. “I’m not sending my team in blind.”
“You have a reputation as being a lot braver than that, Major.”
“Brave, perhaps,” I said. “Not stupid.”
He sighed and took the laptop. “Let me do this, Lieutenant. Your clearance has expired, I’m sure.” He tapped the keyboards. “This will take awhile. You might plan your strategy. I can work the satellite and guide you from here.”
“No,” Killian said. “I want the Colonel to do it.”
Huxley glanced over at Travis. “His clearance is—”
“Screw his clearance.” Killian’s arm came out in one smooth movement and the muzzle of his Desert Eagle .44 was suddenly pressed between Huxley’s flaring eyes. “You people screw the goat and dance with the devil and my team dies for it and now you want to still call the shots.” My friend’s voice was low and in the same icy tone that I knew too well. Killian was a heartbeat from pulling a trigger. “Travis does it or you die. Make your choice, Huxley. I got people to kill.”
“You kill me, Sergeant, and your life will be over.”
“Go for it.”
Huxley glanced at me. “Are you just going to stand there, Major?”
I shrugged. “What he said.”
The CIA man sighed and nodded at Travis. “All right. I’ll get you up to speed after I print the layout.”
The Magnum disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Killian stared at Huxley for a moment behind those sunglasses, turned, and walked away without a word.
I would have preferred a full platoon of men for a mission like this. I had Killian and Teri, plus Jeff and Alec. Huxley had come through on his promise and we had night vision goggles, suppressed H&K MP5K submachine guns, high frequency com systems, everything you needed to kill people in a quiet, efficient manner.
Huxley got us a good view of the compound. “There’s no sign of cameras or motion detectors, but there’s no way to be positive,” He said.
“The canal might come in useful,” I said, “if we could easily scale the back wall.”
Killian nodded in agreement. “Hit them from two directions. Scale the back wall and also take out the gate guards.”
Alec nodded to Jeff. “Sounds like our kind of party.”
“What about me?” Teri asked.
Killian pointed to the map. “How about here?”
Teri studied it. “I’ll check it out but it looks good.”
We had a plan in place. Now we waited until dark.
THIRTY-FIVE
The best time to hit an enemy is just before sunrise. Studies show that it is the time when your body is at its lowest point of energy and alertness. Guards get sluggish and you take shortcuts in your security patterns. Even the pros have a hard time with it.
Killian and I approached the gate on the sidewalk.
“You there, T?”
“Of course,” she said in my ear. “Two at the gate, no visible weapons, probably beneath their jackets. They’re bored and one is smoking.”
“You got ‘em?”
A second later we approached the gate. The first guy looked up before jerking backward. Before his companion could respond he also went down. We never heard a shot.
“Any other questions?” Teri asked.
Killian pulled out a rope and we scaled the gate easily, dropping down.
“I’ve got a blind spot from the wall. Anything on your side about twelve feet or less from the wall I can’t see.”
“I can, Lieutenant,” Travis’ voice said. “No hostiles near the wall.”
We put the night vision on and clicked the safeties off the MP5’s.
“Alpha Team inside,” I said.
Alex spoke. “Bravo Team inside.”
Alec and Jeff had come up the canal and had made it over the wall. There was a pause then Alec’s voice: “Two tango’s down.”
“Clear to the house,” Travis said. “Two guards on perimeter, Mason. One is about fifteen meters ahead at eleven o’clock. The other is near the rear north corner. That one is yours, Bravo.”
“Got it, sir,” Killian said. He was a green figure in my night vision. He raised the MP5 and sent a single silenced round out. The green figure near the wall jerked.
“Tango down,” Travis said. “Nice to see you haven’t lost your touch, Sergeant. Apex of the driveway. Three cars. I see two men.”
“There’s one on top of the garage,” Teri said. “He’s in sniper position.”
Travis: “Good eye, Lt.”
I was going to say to take all three out together but there was no need. Killian and Teri knew the drill. Killian and I worked our way up toward the driveway using the hedges and palm trees as cover. We hunched down behind a thicket of azalea.
Teri was counting. “Three...two...one...”
We rose up. Killian shot the one on the left and I took the right. Both men went down and we heard a faint noise from the garage roof.
“Three down,” Travis said. “Now to the house.”
Jeff: “Bravo One in position.”
The Ranger had a position set up to cover our escape out the back.
Alec: “Bravo Two in position.” He was at the back door.
“Go,” I said.
Killian and I moved inside while Alec came in from the rear. We moved through the house, our night vision opening up the rooms as though it were daylight. Most of the guards were sleeping and we shot them as they roused from couches and recliners and cots. Killian and I headed upstairs while Alec stayed near the stairwell to cover our retreat.
Although the house was large, the rooms were spacious so there were not as many rooms as I would have been led to believe. The upstairs was a hallway and four doors, including one bathroom.
I hit the one bedroom, and Killian took the second. There were more guards sleeping in here and we killed them before they knew we were there. It may not have seemed sporting or fair, but warfare is never about fair. You take every advantage you have and you use it to its utmost. If you’re not willing to do that, stay home.
Killian paused at the master bedroom. He took a breath.
“Ready?”
He took the com from his face and dropped it into my hand. “Let me do this,” he said. “Alone.”
“You sure?”
He went inside and shut the door. A minute later there was the muted cough of his H&K. The door opened and Killian stepped out and retrieved his lip mike.
“Tango One is down,” he said. “Sir, tell H to bring in his team.”
We headed downstairs. Alec was in the lead. We got to the bottom and there was the unmistakable dull slap that comes when a bullet strikes flesh. Alec grunted and the sound came again and the ex-Ranger collapsed.
Huxley stood in the foyer with a silenced .45. “Ease the weapons down, boys.”
Killian and I put the H&K’s down. “Where’s the team, Al?” I asked.
“They’re coming,” he said. “But I have my orders too, Major. Langley wants this mess cleaned up. All of it. That’s what I mean to do.”
“Where’s Travis?” Killian asked.
“The Colonel and Lt. Johnson are being taken care of as we speak,” Huxley said. “It’s too bad. This whole mess is quite an embarrassment to Langley. One of their own makes a deal with a private citizen to take over an international company that fronts a criminal organization in order to further his own career. Doesn’t look good.”
“And you got us to do your dirty work,” I said.
“The easiest way to get it done,” Huxley said. “Let someone else do it.” He raised the pistol. “Sorry, gentlemen. Time to say goodbye.”
Two shots rang out and Huxley twitched. His mouth opened and moved silently, his eyes wide in surprise. He wobbled for a moment before dropping to the ground.
Vernon Cosgrove stood in the doorway, pistol in hand. He glanced up at Killian and me. “You boys okay?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Thanks.”
“I owed you one, Logan. You saved me and the missus. Your friends are fine. I knew Huxley might pull something like this so I waited. I know how Langley thinks. Soon as I saw he was going to double-cross you I called in a favor or two. Your other friend out back is not dead but I need to get him help,” Vernon continued. “You two need to get out of here now. You have an ex-fil plan?”
“Out the back and to the boat in the canal,” I said.
Vernon checked his watch. “You have a minute before the perimeter closes.”
“Help me with Alec,” Killian said.
* * * *
I sat in a small reception area with a mahogany coffee table littered with old issues of Time and Southern Living. Classical music played overhead. Calming. The walls were painted soothing colors of subdued blues and green hues. The carpeting was plush, the receptionist polite and efficient.
A single oak door with a brass nameplate was in the back of the room adjacent to the receptionist, and it opened to reveal an auburn haired woman, mid forties. She wore slacks and a conservative blouse and she glanced at me. “Mr. Logan?”
“Hi.”
“Come on in,” she said. I walked past her into a spacious office with paneled walls and soft lighting. Her desk was covered in papers and the bookcase behind it took up the whole wall. She motioned me to a couch. “Would you like to lie down?”
“I’ll sit.”
She sat in a comfortable recliner facing me. She was average looking and she looked at me as all of them in the profession have looked at me through the years. It’s as though they’re trying to crawl into your head, which in a way, they are.
“It’s been a while since you’ve been here.”
“I know.”
“How have you been?”
“Okay.”
“Any bad dreams? PTSD symptoms?”
“Just dreams,” I said.
“That’s to be expected sometimes, given your extensive time in combat.”
“It’s not the dreams,” I said.
“Tell me.”
I sighed. “My wife, as you know ...died a couple of years ago....”
THIRTY-SIX
Two days later I got a visitor.
He was in his mid-fifties, salt and pepper hair combed back from a broad forehead. He looked like he could be a politician. Two bodyguards in nice suits flanked him and he stood at the edge of the pier as I was moving my new sofa into place. I walked out onto the foredeck.
He smiled. “Major Logan?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“Yes,” I said. “You are Leon Fisher, Deputy Director for the Central Intelligence Agency.”
“I see you still keep in touch with what’s going on at Langley.”
“Not too much,” I said. “I read the papers.”
“Can I come aboard?”
I gestured him aboard. The two men beside him looked nervous.
“Relax fellows,” I said. “I’m not gonna hurt him.”
He sat down on a deck chair. “I wanted to thank you for your actions of late. You helped clean up a very big mess. It could have been very damaging for us had it leaked out. I was unaware of what was happening and I was very shocked to learn of Mr. Fitzsimmons’ actions. And of course, I feel badly for the operatives. Such a waste.”
“Of course.”
“I have only been DD for a year,” he said. “I understand there is some friction between you and the agency?”
“A lot of people in D.C. wouldn’t mind it if I died tomorrow, not just in Langley.”
“Maybe I can change that.”
“If you’re trying to recruit me, Mr. Fisher, don’t bother. I don’t want it anymore.”
“We could use a man of your experience. Look at the news, Major, there are a lot of ways your skills could be used.”
“I retired, Mr. Fisher. America forced Bill Rochelle to give up his unit with baseless accusations and false conclusions and Langley never backed him up in Congress. They needed a scapegoat and Bill was it. When I resigned they tried to burn me, too. I barely got by with my pension. Not a nice way to say thank you for my service. That unit saved thousands of American lives, Mr. Fisher, and we did what we had to do to get it done. In the end, we were sold out over political egos and power wrangling.” I shook my head. “No thanks.”
He got up and slipped a card on the table. “If you ever change your mind...”
“I won’t.”
He smiled. “Very well. Thanks again for your help. Let me know if I can be of assistance to you.”
He walked down the pier and disappeared into the parking lot. I picked up the card. Lucky was looking at me.
* * * *
“I went to see Doctor Maroney the other day,” I said.
Teri was none the worse for wear from the mission. Huxley’s men had gotten her from the sniper’s nest which was why she didn’t warn us but Vernon’s crew had managed to free her as the men were extricating her to their car.
Teri glanced up from her book. “Who?”
“She’s with the VA. A counselor, you might say.”
Teri stuck her finger in the book to keep her place. “Anything wrong?”
“I just need to get my head on straight about things. About ‘Kira, about you. I just don’t know how I am supposed to feel about it all.”
“Good. I’m glad for you if it helps you,” she said. “How Killian?”
“Better. He’s with Travis, getting him back with his family.”
“I’m glad it worked out for him.”
“Me too.”
She leaned over and put her head on my shoulder. “As for you, anything I can do?”
“Stay around.”
She smiled. “I can do that.”
* * * *
“Nice sofa,” Ross said. “Your other one had a bullet hole in it.”
“It had that homey look but I got tired of people complaining about it,” I said.
The cop sat at my breakfast bar. He pulled a thick folder from under his jacket. “Here.”
“What’s that?”
“Everything we can find on Mason Andrew Killian. Some interesting things in there. You said you wanted any info I could get.”
“I do.”
“Well, there you go. Yours to keep and peruse at your leisure,” Ross said. “Quite a mess over on the island the other day. Some big drug sting they said. Place was crawling with feds and apparently there was a big shoot out.”
“I miss all the fun.”
“Is everything okay with your situation?”
“Fine. All taken care of.”
Ross nodded. “Anything I need to know about?”
I made a gesture of thinking. “Nope. Not that I can think of. It’s all settled and everyone’s happy. You can concentrate on homicides.”
“Travis okay?”
“Back home with his family.”
“The lady assassin ended up getting a plea and sent to Stark. While awaiting transfer she apparently hung herself in her cell.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Ross said. “I guess we’ll never know the whole story.”
“She was working for Niko,” I said. “He ordered it done. Simple.”
“I’d like to have met him.”
“So would I,” I said.
* * * *
Killian stepped on my boat a week after it was all over. He wore his trademark black jeans and Armani jacket and the thousand-dollar boots. He had a black Faith Hill tee-shirt beneath the jacket.
