JET - Sanctuary (25 page)

The interior was black as pitch except for a small office near the front, where the faint melody of a radio song echoed from the metal ceiling. Drago snapped the flashlight on and shined the beam on the neatly stacked pallets in the center of the floor. He moved farther into the space. In one corner of the warehouse, the light reflected off stainless steel chain link that stretched to the ceiling – a security cage and the probable location of his objective.

The lock proved impossible to pick, but the chain link was no match for the bolt-cutters he’d brought. He snipped an access way through the fencing and stepped through, unconcerned with keeping his profile low – the workers would know soon enough what had been stolen, so there was no point in subterfuge.

Drago scanned the crates until he found several with “Tovex” stamped on them. All of the crates were stenciled with high explosive warnings, but he knew exactly what he was after. He removed the backpack and then pried one of the crates open and extracted several bundles, which he slipped inside the bag before continuing down the racks. Another crate held blasting caps, still another various ammonium nitrate-based explosives. When the backpack was bulging, he moved to a gray steel cabinet and opened it. There, on the second shelf from the top, were row after row of radio-transmitter-controlled detonators – a common item in metals mining, as were the explosives.

His backpack now stuffed to the brim, he returned to the gap in the cage and stepped through it, eager to be on his way. Drago’s primitive research earlier that evening had proven illuminating. A half hour spent at an Internet café had enabled him to locate the military outpost on a satellite map, and he had a good feel for the topography now: a single gated dirt road led to its three buildings from the highway, a relatively sheer mountain facing skirted the far side, and a taller peak loomed over it to the south. If he was going to try to get into the compound, it would be from the adjacent summit – the cliff looked far too steep for him to tackle without an overwhelming reason, and the road would no doubt be fortified.

Once he’d seen the layout, he knew his instinct to use explosives had been correct. He was good – the best, he thought immodestly – but even so he wasn’t about to take on a group of heavily armed combat soldiers with a frontal attack. No, what he had in mind was something different, and a strategy had taken form as he’d studied the photo. He’d use nature against the outpost, and if he did it right, there would be very little left of it by the time he was through.

When he returned to his car and drove out of the industrial park, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket.

“Yes?” he answered.

“Have you seen the news?” the agent asked.

“Uh, no, I’ve been busy. Why?”

“The local news just covered your story.”

“What?”

“Yes. The official version is that terrorists were captured in a mine near San Felipe and are being held at the outpost you asked about.”

“Terrorists?”

“Probably a catch-all term to give them the authority to arrest whoever they like.” The agent hesitated. “Is that going to create a problem?”

Drago considered the question carefully. “I hope not. But it does make me wonder why they’d say anything about it at all.”

“I got the sense that it was journalistic digging. Apparently the army presence is all that the locals have been talking about today. I’m guessing there were too many questions, and somebody felt compelled to issue a statement. Either that or a good old-fashioned leak.”

“Any more chatter from your source?”

“More of the same. Two prisoners. That’s it.”

“I don’t like surprises, and this is a big one. Now it’s on the radar. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was a setup. Why would they broadcast their operation otherwise?”

“A setup? For what? Nobody knows you’re after him.”

“I don’t know. It just feels wrong. Too weird.”

“Look, you caught a break. Enjoy it. Although how you’re going to get at him now beats me.”

“That makes two of us.”

When Drago hung up, his mind was working at warp speed. It had been a reasonable bet that his target was one of the two prisoners, but to have it on the news…something shifted in his guts, a stir of anxiety. There were forces at work he wasn’t aware of, and that’s how you got crushed if you weren’t careful. That his target was at the outpost, or at least had been, was a safe bet. Whether he still was couldn’t be verified until Drago saw it with his own eyes.

Of course, to do that meant taking on the Chilean military.

Then again, he’d had tougher assignments.

He patted the backpack on the seat beside him and smiled to himself. He had enough explosives to blow the outpost to Mars, and had managed to acquire a gun – an unexpected bonus. Naturally, he’d have preferred to have a couple of machine guns and a tank, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. And for half a million bucks, he could make what he had work.

Upon reflection, Drago against an army battalion seemed like a massively uneven match. He pitied the parents of the soldiers who would die tonight.

It was always roughest on the survivors.

~ ~ ~

Fernanda’s cell phone screeched from the night table, and she fumbled for it in the dark hotel room. She glanced at the bedside clock and sat up as Igor shifted beside her and pulled more covers onto his side of the bed.

“Yes?”

“We got a hit. In Chile. One of our intelligence agency sources confirmed it via a computer match on some police footage from last night. She was involved in a shoot-out at a hotel.”

Fernanda was instantly wide awake. “A shoot-out?”

“Yes. It’s all over the news. A hotel in the middle of nowhere was shot to pieces, and apparently our girl was caught on tape by a hidden camera used to ensure the employees weren’t robbing the till. At least that’s the report.”

“Where is this hotel, and what else can you tell us?”

“San Felipe. Makes sense – it’s on the way from Mendoza to Santiago. So if they drove…”

“They?”

“Yes. Apparently the footage has her, a man, and a child. It’s hard to say for sure, but based on body language, it’s possible the child is hers.”

“Hit Mom? Are you serious?”

“I’m just telling you what I was told. I’m waiting for more information.”

“What’s the fastest way to get to San Felipe from here?”

“I had a feeling you’d ask.”

Chapter 33

Santiago, Chile

Tendrils of fog crept like ghostly fingers between the wooden houses lining the residential street down which Alejandro turned. Jet had been silent for the last half of the trip. The revelation Alejandro had delivered about her daughter’s whereabouts was more alarming than any news she could have gotten besides that she’d been hurt or killed. He’d pulled out all the stops with his military contacts, and one had verified that Colonel Campos from Valparaíso, a known ally of the Verdugos, had conducted an unsanctioned operation around San Felipe, ostensibly related to smuggling and possible terrorism in the port he oversaw, and that the upper command was looking into. The news broadcast had raised the stakes on getting to the bottom of it, Alejandro assured her. The last word was that Campos had taken over a base in the mountains and was holding prisoners there.

“Explain that to me. How can a rogue officer mount an offensive and take captives? Is that how this country is run? Where are the police in all this?” Jet fumed.

“Things aren’t as simple as you might think. There are many factions in the military, constantly shifting allegiances, and this wouldn’t be the first time that troops have been used for less than appropriate purposes. Much like in other countries, if the pretense of terrorism is used, virtually anything can be excused. At least for short bursts.”

“But surely with your clout you can cut this Campos off at the knees? We both know the attack on the mine had nothing to do with smuggling or terrorism and everything to do with your enemies trying to gut you.”

“Once my father is back at the helm, you can rest assured the action will be swift.”

“That’s fine and good, but does nothing for my daughter right now.”

Alejandro pulled into the driveway of a stately home and honked twice, and two men with submachine guns pulled the wrought-iron gate open. He followed the drive along the side of the house until it widened in the rear, where six vehicles were gathered, mostly big SUVs. Lights seeped from beneath the curtained windows of a guesthouse where a small crowd of armed men gathered, smoking and talking. Jet recognized Hector in the group as she stepped from Alejandro’s vehicle and approached him.

“How is he?”

“Not bad, all things considered. I have to admit I’m impressed, young lady. That was a hell of a stunt you pulled. Never seen anything like it.”

“Well, the good news is it worked, and he’s free.”

“Yes, although he’s not out of the woods yet.”

Alejandro joined her. “Can we go in?”

“The doc’s still cutting,” Hector said. “The wound was worse than I originally thought. But your father’s made of stern stuff, Alejandro. He’ll pull through.”

“I want to see him,” Alejandro said.

Hector frowned. “Maybe you should wait out here with the rest of us. Right now the important thing is for the doctor to be able to concentrate. I’m not sure barging in during surgery’s the best idea, no disrespect intended.”

Alejandro began pacing. Jet moved to his side. “Another few minutes won’t make a difference.”

“Assuming it’s only a few minutes.”

Jet nodded. “I can understand your impatience. And not to change the subject, but I’ve done everything I said I would – I got your father out of prison, led the cops on a chase so he could get clear, destroyed the helicopter so you had deniability – all of which involved me risking my life over and over. And now I need you to focus on my problem. There’s nothing we can do for your father right now, but there’s a lot you can do for me.”

Alejandro stopped walking and took in her determined expression. “You’re right. I’ve been so wrapped up in getting my father out…”

Jet cut him off. “He’s out. And it sounds like everything that can be done is being done.”

Alejandro nodded. “Let’s go into the main house. I’m sure the doctor won’t mind us having a seat while he works.” He turned to Hector. “You should probably come along.”

They climbed the stairs to the back door and found themselves in the kitchen. Hector led them into the dining room, and then they sat at the circular table. Alejandro flipped open a tablet, tapped the screen several times, and then handed it to Jet. On it was a satellite image of the mountains northwest of San Felipe.

“The area I’ve zoomed in on is the base. You can see that there’s only one road leading to it.”

Jet studied the image and enlarged it, poring over the surrounding landscape with a seasoned eye. Alejandro and Hector watched her in silence, not wanting to break her concentration. When she looked up, her expression was pinched and her stare hard.

“That hillside looks extremely steep. Almost impassable. You can see from the altitude readings – it’s almost two hundred meters of sheer drop,” she said.

Alejandro nodded. “I know. I already looked at it.”

She continued studying the image for several moments. “Which is why that’s where they’d least expect an approach. Anyone in their right mind would come up the road or drop in by parachute or helicopter. I suppose it’s silly to ask whether you have access to paratroopers?”

Hector shook his head once. “There are limits to even what we can do.”

“That’s what I figured. And they’d hear a helicopter from a long way away. Assuming the airspace in the entire region isn’t locked down about now, which I’d expect after our escapade.”

“So there’s no way in. That’s why I’m counseling waiting for progress through official channels.”

Jet eyed him grimly. “You didn’t take that approach when it was your father in prison, though, did you? Official channels didn’t do much for him, did they?”

Alejandro didn’t have a rejoinder to that. Hector took a cigarette out of his crumpled package but returned it to the pack when he caught Jet’s glare.

“Gentlemen, my daughter and my boyfriend are in that camp. We have no idea what’s being done to them, but my little girl is two and a half years old, and I’m not going to let her spend one more minute in the hands of your enemies than I have to. Which means, with all due respect, that waiting for something to shake loose on your end isn’t an option. We need to go in hard, be smart about it, and rescue them. Tonight. Or I should say, this morning. While they least expect it.”

Alejandro and Hector exchanged a glance.

“We obviously can’t just go in shooting,” Alejandro said. “We need a plan that’s feasible. Otherwise it’s suicide.”

Jet nodded. “Of course. But if you haven’t noticed by now, I’ve got some experience at this. Give me a little time to think.” She frowned at Hector. “Go have your cigarette. Just leave me alone for a while.”

Hector stood. Alejandro pushed back his chair and accompanied the older man to the rear door and exchanged a few words before he returned. Jet ignored him as she fiddled with the image, rotating it, zooming in and out. Alejandro disappeared into the living room and reappeared a few moments later with a bottle of expensive Scotch and two glasses.

“Drink?” he offered.

“No. I want to be sharp.” She gave him a flat look. “You could learn from that.”

Color flushed his face, but he didn’t say anything. He went back to the other room and reappeared with a bottle of Coke. “Is this better?”

“The caffeine and sugar might help,” she conceded as he poured some into the two glasses and went in search of some ice.

She was sitting back, staring at the tablet, when he returned with an ice tray. “What?” he asked.

“You’re not going to like it. We’re going to have to go up the side of the cliff there,” she said, tapping the image.

“Are you insane?” He tempered his remark. “I mean, you really believe that can be done?”