Counter-Strike (A Mitch Kearns Combat Tracker Novel Book 2) (16 page)

Chapter 42

Mitch was about to get back in the jeep
when he saw a man dressed in a police uniform running in the distance towards a
warehouse followed a minute later by Von, who was in an all-out sprint.

Above the continued din of the explosion,
Mitch yelled across the hood to Marco. “Get back to Dev and Bob and the others
—
get
them out of here back to Kuala Lumpur. Dev’s got a jet there and she and the
rest of you don’t need to be connected to any of this.”

“Where the hell are you going?”

Mitch tucked his pistol in his holster.
“One final thing to take care of.” He trotted off in the direction of the two
men, wondering how long he had before emergency services and law-enforcement
were streaming onto the airfield to battle the fire. Mitch’s head was still
throbbing from the blast and each step was like a jackhammer pounding into his
skull.

He’d seen who he thought was Redstrom bolt
into a parts warehouse. He heard the sound of gunfire coming from inside,
followed by numerous workers flooding out from the exits. As Mitch reached the
building, he changed direction and headed for the rear, hoping to gain an
element of surprise by coming in from the opposite side to where the two men had
entered.

He crept around the corner, his pistol in
hand, and was met by a metal pipe crashing down on his head. Reflexively, he
tried to block the fierce blow from Kyle but only managed a partial deflection.
The pipe crashed through his defense, making contact with the ulna and then grazing
off his forehead. Mitch lost his grip on the pistol and was driven sideways by
the force. He blocked the next strike, feeling his injured arm buckling from
the pressure. Mitch slammed his right fist into the man’s solar plexus,
knocking the wind out of him temporarily but his head was reeling and his
vision blurry. Redstrom raised the pipe again and Mitch rushed him in a tackle,
slamming him into the cement walls of the building. Mitch heard the pipe clang on
the ground and he unleashed a volley of punches to Kyle’s ribs. The man blocked
a few and struck Mitch with a vicious uppercut below the belt then grabbed him
in a headlock, shoving his upper body down. He should’ve anticipated the move
given their positioning but his head was too rattled from the multiple blows
coupled with the concussion blast from the explosion. Kyle began clenching down
and Mitch felt his windpipe constrict. He knew in another second, he would
either be choked into unconsciousness or have his neck snapped. He’d used the
move enough himself and now was enraged that he was falling victim to something
he could’ve avoided. He heard Redstrom grunting as the man’s forearm grip
increased around his throat. The sunlight that had been pounding down on Mitch
was now fading from his vision as he struggled to breathe. He felt for the
handle of his fixed blade tucked by his left hip. He used a crossdraw and
removed it then drove it in an upward thrust between Kyle’s legs into the
perineum, burying the hilt and twisting until he felt warm blood rushing over
his hands. The chokehold was broken and Mitch shoved the man back. Kyle
staggered in place, his legs buckling and his lips quivering. Mitch lunged
forward, delivering a rapid series of thrusts into his throat and ribcage. Kyle
dropped straight down, seeming to collapse into his boots as if his skeletal
system had been suddenly liquefied.

Mitch was still gagging and rubbing his
sore trachea. He backpedaled, trying to gulp in fresh air. He felt the sun
beating down on him like a sledgehammer and moved towards the shade near the
door. It opened and Von stepped out, holding his bloodied shoulder. He had
taken a bullet below the clavicle and was trying not to pass out, his
slide-locked pistol dangling from his fingers. Von leaned against the
doorframe, relaxing his posture while staring down at Redstrom lying in a pool
of blood and viscera.

Mitch moved up and helped Von to the
ground. “Well, aren’t we a pretty sight.”

Von pressed his hand against his wound,
trying to stem the bleeding. “I’m the pretty one
—
you’re just kind of,
well, looking pretty frazzled.”

Mitch glared at him, his face softening
and his breathing turning into a faint chuckle. “I could still take you, kid.”

Von redirected his grimace into a partial
grin. “I don’t doubt it, Mitch, though I have a little more finesse,” he said,
waving his hand towards the flaming bus across the airfield, the sound of
sirens filling the air as the fire trucks arrived.

“You government types
—
never liking
the solutions to the problems you created yourselves in the first place.”

Von stood up, nodding for them to head
away from the direction of the emergency responders. “You used to work for the
government didn’t you
—
FBI wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, ‘used to’ being the key words
there.”

He stood up and lent Von a shoulder to
lean on as they both moved slowly along the back side of the building.

“Speaking of the government, you got any
suggestions for getting out of this country back to Kuala Lumpur? This place is
going to be bottled up pretty tight after this.”

Von nodded and grinned. “Mitch, I know
about every dirty trick there is for smuggling people in and out of this
country. This is your lucky day.”

Mitch looked at the massive brown-and-blue
bruise forming on his forearm and felt the contusion on his forehead then
glanced back at Redstrom’s body against the backdrop of flames. “I’ll take luck
over skill any time but today we sure as hell had plenty of both.”

Chapter 43

Two days later, Mitch spent the afternoon
with Bob and Margo at their hotel in Tel Aviv. She had arrived the day before
after hearing the good news and Mitch needed to go over Bob’s cover story
regarding what unfolded in Indonesia. He didn’t want Gideon, Marco, or himself
connected with the rescue efforts and they spent several hours rehearsing Bob’s
story of escape. After parting with hugs, Mitch drove across Tel Aviv and showed
up at the Leitner household with two bouquets of fresh flowers. After greeting
Eva, she led him into the rear bedroom where Dev was convalescing from her
wound. She was resting on her side, her hands folded under her cheek as she
slept. Mitch placed the flowers on the nightstand next to her and sat in the
chair. His eyes traced the outline of her lovely face and he leaned forward to
brush a strand of raven hair from her nose. Dev’s eyelids opened and she
inhaled deeply, craning her head up towards the flowers then back towards
Mitch.

“Why, what a kind gesture, sir.”

“I thought of bringing chocolate but
didn’t know if you were a fan.”

“Oh, there’s so much to learn about me
—
I’m
a chocolate addict. You just haven’t seen that side of me yet as I’ve cut down
a lot.”

“Coffee and chocolate
—
you can’t
have too much of either in my opinion.”

“I live on too much caffeine at work.” She
winced as she turned onto her back. “Fuck
—
work. I’ve got some catching
up to do.”

“And plenty of explaining as well, I
reckon.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that too. I’m
supposed to take off the rest of this week
—
doctor’s orders
—
but I
may try to go in tomorrow. I just don’t care what the board says anymore. Somehow
I am going to make my father’s company into a place that he would be proud of
under my direction without losing myself in the process. I have to just hold on
longer until things smooth out with this transition.” She wriggled her body
slightly to adjust her position to better face Mitch. “I also need to be in the
field working on occasion and have to figure out a way to make that happen. I
can’t be deskbound the rest of my days.”

He moved up, leaning over her. “What about
bed-bound?”

She blushed and put her hand on his chest.
“My mother’s in the next room and I’m a good Israeli girl or have you
forgotten. Besides, you...”

He pressed his lips against hers and she
grew quiet. After a few seconds, she moved her head to the side. “Mmm…that’s
almost as good as chocolate,” she said with a laugh then pulled him back. “Let
me check for sure.”

Mitch slid onto the side of the bed and
hugged her while continuing to kiss her tender lips. She winced as he touched
her bandage by accident, causing them both to separate. “You know, when you’re
feeling better, I’ve got a mind to snatch you away from this country and take
you back to the States for a little vacation.”

She chuckled. “Usually, I’m the one
snatching people out of other countries but,” she held a finger up to her
temple as if she was pondering the offer, “in this instance, I might let you.”
As he moved closer to kiss her, she pressed her hand into his chest again.
“But, no hammocks, or leeches, or bugs. We’re staying in a hotel with running
water and a pool.”

He moved her hand aside, taking it into
his while kissing her softly. “And room service. I don’t plan on letting you
out of my sight much.”

Chapter 44

Four days later, Von found himself sitting
in Natalie Quint’s office at Langley. His typed report was sitting on her
spacious desk as she flipped through each page, pausing every few pages to give
him a scrutinizing glance. He alternated between trying to read her expressions
and looking out of the large windows to his right, relishing the sight of the
seagulls flying freely.

“There’s some pretty damming evidence here
against Crenna
—
a man with an illustrious thirty-year career. Not that
I’m disagreeing with what you wrote. The man was running his own Wild West show
for a long time it seems.” She looked up from the paper while leaning back in
her leather chair. “Who else has seen this report?”

“Just yourself.”

“Von, some of this report will need to be
redacted to protect national security.”

“Which parts exactly?”

“The part about our bioweapons research
for one and Crenna’s involvement in the cover-up of his nefarious doings. This
agency doesn’t need a scandal flooding the news headlines. We’ve uncovered
Anton Tokarev’s connection to Redstrom as his potential funding source but it’s
all tenuous so it looks like he’s the one who gets off scot-free. ” She tapped
her silver pen furiously on the desk.

“But Crenna was the sole reason all of
this unfolded in the first place
with Redstrom and the virus
—
a
virus that could have decimated an entire region and possibly spread throughout
the rest of the world.”

“Ah, Von, people outside of these walls
don’t need to know what ingredients go into making up our modern reality. There
are too many disturbing details. It’s our job
—
yours and mine and the
other agents’
—
to make sure these things never pose a threat so our
fellow Americans can get a good night’s sleep.”

Von was silent, looking at her then down
at the report while balling his fist in his palm.

She stood up and walked around her desk,
her black high heels, which resembled gondolas, clacking on the tiled floor.
Quint moved in front of him and sat on the edge of her desk. “You know, Von, I
think the agency has underestimated your abilities and prowess. Someone like
you shouldn’t be consigned strictly to field ops.”  She stood and walked around
him then returned to her seat. “I’m going to reassign you to a senior case
officer position in Europe
—
a change of station may do you some good.
That is, unless you want to keep beating up your body in the tropics.”

“That’s…uhm…” Von paused then looked up at
her. “That’s very considerate of you, ma’am.”

She folded her arms across her chest.
“There’s just one matter I need clarification on.”

“By all means.”

“So, this hit squad that Crenna sent to
the lab
—
their attack provide you and Schueller with enough of a
distraction to escape and get out on the helicopter which you then flew to
Jakarta?”

“That’s right. Redstrom must have had the
entire lab rigged to blow. We barely made it out of there alive.”

“I see.” She slid her reading glasses back
on and flipped through the last few pages of his report again.

“And there weren’t any data files
retrieved from the lab in the jungle
—
from Crenna when he died
—
no
other witnesses who could be a security risk?”

Von squeezed his fist again and slid back
in his chair. “No. As noted, we had to make a hasty exfil under fire. There was
little time to stop and gather intel or items from the base.”

Quint removed her glasses, dangling them
around in her fingers. “You do realize that if anyone was privy to what
happened in Sweden and Indonesia they could expose the agency. There’d be no
safe haven for a person like that no matter how far they ran.”

 “Yes, ma’am, they would need to be hunted
down without question.”

The silence sliced through Von’s psyche
and he moved forward, resting his hands on his knees. Quint turned her chin up
slightly, her eyes scanning the ceiling then shooting back down at Von. “Tell
you what, why don’t you take the week off and rest up. We can discuss the
details of your new position next Tuesday before you relocate.”

He nodded and stood up, twirling his
fingers to release the cramps. “I will do that, thank you.” She reached out and
shook his hand, gripping it for a long moment with a considerable squeeze.
Quint walked with him to the door, opening it, the immense logo of the CIA on
the wall in the waiting room shining before him. “And Von, mull over some of
the things we talked about.”

“I certainly will.”