Rogue Asset (Book 3 of the Wade Hanna Series) (20 page)

“Steel 1 to Base. Copy that.”

Wade took a closer look at the friendly weapons through his scope. They were French-made automatic submachine guns probably Franchi LF-5’s with 40 round magazines. Most of Wade’s Special Forces friends called them “Frenchies.” They were well liked among Special Forces and considered very reliable at close ranges.

Both groups of adversaries were now well hidden behind steel racks or high pallets stacked with steel parts. The firefight had come to one of those natural pauses, neither side having an advantage over the other. Men on both sides were now concentrating on reloading and attending to their wounds.

During the pause, the two dark crouched figures in black hooded combat jumpsuits quietly advanced their position down the aisle. As they moved closer to the group, Wade saw one of Mabuto’s wounded men turned to his side to change positions suddenly seeing the approaching figures. He stretched back to get his weapon lying near him.

Wade’s cross hairs were in position ready to fire on Mabuto’s man to cover the friendlies. The two figures in the aisle had reacted to Mabuto man’s movement before he reached his weapon. They fired two small bursts. The man’s body flinched as the round hit their target leaving him lifeless in his pool of blood.

The friendlies continued moving slowly toward the front of the room now splitting up to find pallets that offered protection from both groups in front of them.

Wade’s last order was to cover the friendlies. They were now protected from direct fire. Unless one or both groups made a move toward the friendlies, he wasn’t sure what his next move was supposed to be. He scanned each position using his scope to prioritize each target. His scope soon rested on Sikes. He studied his target. All this time Sikes had been giving orders. His men were largely ignoring him as they attended their safety needs.

From his gestures it appeared Sikes wanted to vacate the building. The door was still 50-feet behind him, and he had to cross that distance of unprotected ground to reach the door.

Wade noticed Sikes’ communication with Zev, who held a position four pallets away. Two cases of cash remained in their original positions with several bullets showing the danger that would befall anyone approaching them.

Sikes and Zev communicated using hand signals and gestures rather than yelling across the floor where the other side could hear. It appeared Sikes had a plan, and he wanted Zev and another man to cover his departure with the money. From the signals back and forth Wade observed Zev wasn’t totally buying into Sikes plan.

Highly animated gestures accompanied Sikes’ plan. Sikes’ gestures looked like he was playing leapfrog with his fist jumping from one spot over to the next. Zev gave only tacit acknowledgment to the plan after each jump, rolling his eyes as if saying,
that’s not going to work
.

Wade felt the next move in this drama would probably be Sikes if he could get the cooperation he needed from Zev. If not in this predicament, Zev would probably have been executed for not following Sikes’ orders. But this situation was different. Sikes became more convincing in his gestures since he realized pulling rank was not getting the desired result from Zev.

Wade didn’t let Sikes out of his sight, believing if Sikes got out of the building he might be difficult to apprehend. He remembered Leo’s words that Sikes had to be kept alive no matter what. The stage in front of Wade took on a cold, eerie feeling. Everyone else remained silent in a holding position except for the groans of at least three men on either side coming near their expiration from bleeding wounds.

Wade was becoming proficient in reading Sikes’ animated gestures. He was now showing anger giving Zev an ultimatum. Wade needed guidance from base. His sixth sense was telling him a bad situation was getting worse, and there would soon be more dead bodies.

“Steel 1 to Base. Are you still there?”

“Base to Steel 1. Copy. Everything through the mics has gone silent. What’s happening?”

“Steel 1 to Base. The two friendlies separated and are now stationery behind pallets near the front of the room. It appears the friendlies are each covering one group. I think Sikes is ready to make an exit to the north door. I have glass on him and can take him out if he moves.”

“Base to Steel 1. Negative on taking out Sikes. I repeat you are not to take out Sikes. Do you copy?”

“Steel 1 to Base. I copy on termination. If he moves, I have options of hitting him, so he doesn’t evacuate. Over.”

“Base to Steel 1. Affirmative on lower extremity hit but only if you are certain with your shot. No misses are accepted.”

“Steel 1 to Base. I copy. I don’t miss.”

Wade quickly moved his sights to other Sikes men. The men in the firefight still seemed unaware of the friendly figures. He checked each of the friendly figures. They had reloaded and were comfortable, remaining out of the mainstream fire.

Turning back to Sikes it appeared he had reached some agreement with Zev on a plan. Sikes was into small moves behind his pallet. He pulled his feet and legs up under his chest and shifted his weight to stand. Zev mirrored Sikes’ moves. Soon both men were standing but remaining plastered to the wood and wire mesh enclosing the metal parts of the pallet.

One of Mabuto’s men, shot in the leg, began firing at Sikes when he heard movement from behind Sikes’ pallet. Sikes didn’t react to the fire, and it soon ceased. Wade wondered if Sikes anticipated a move would bring a three-way firefight.

The friendlies were so close he could hardly see them not becoming involved. He had to be extremely precise with his shots. The scene below was now a three-way Mexican standoff and all, but only a couple of men realized the friendlies were even part of the battle.

Both Sikes’ and Mabuto’s men had to concentrate on each other. New fire from the friendlies would come as a surprise. It was uncertain to Wade how the friendly fire would be met. Right now, he had to concentrate on Sikes, Zev, and their new proposed maneuver.

Wade noticed Sikes’ impatience. More hand signals passed between Sikes and Zev. Sikes moved to one end of his pallet wedging himself between his pallet and a row of steel I-beams. He was mouthing orders without sound to avoid attracting the attention of Mabuto’s men. Zev seemed to be in agreement and repositioned himself to the opposite end of his pallet.

Sikes’ head was now turned, rapidly surveying possible escape routes to the nearest door behind him. He yelled something to Zev in a loud whisper, as Zev remained pinned down behind a pallet of iron parts 20-feet from Sikes.

“Steel 1 to Base, I think Sikes is looking to make a run for it. I have a clear shot. Over.”

“Base to Steel 1. Negative on a kill shot. You can stop him with a shot but do not kill him. Do you copy? Over?”

“Steel 1 to Base. Roger. I’ll wait to confirm he is departing first. Over.”

Sikes rolled to the next pallet closer to the door exposing himself just two seconds. Zev was behind and to the right of Sikes two pallets over. Sikes was giving Zev instructions. Wade thought he might be asking for cover for his departure. Sikes got on his feet tightly hugging the last pallet between himself and the door. He seemed to be looking through the glass in the door to the vehicles beyond. At this part Wade thought Sikes’ plan was just to escape leaving the money cases behind. He was probably thinking of bringing more men into the fight to gain control. The moneybags would come later. Wade tracked two possible routes Sikes could take to the door. The swing of his rifle from his position would make his shot possible regardless of which route Sikes took.

Zev was now motioning gestures to his other men. It seemed Zev and his men’s role would be covered while Sikes traveled the 50-feet of death space.

Zev repositioned two of his men’s forward positions. He was giving them hand signals about where Mabuto’s men were.

Kalim had lost a lot of blood. Still lying under the table and partially protected by a rack of steel I-beams, he wasn’t giving orders. He and his men seemed satisfied protecting their current position and the money.

Wade thought Sikes had calculated the odds of leaving his men and the money and returning with reinforcements. He could always hold up the ship from leaving until he was paid.

Even though he faced the run of his life to get to the door, Wade could see the confidence building in Sikes’ expression. He was back in control, and his men gradually saw their position as improved.

Wade concluded that just before Sikes bolted for the door is when he would take his shot. His rifle had a silencer, but he felt the overall sound and movement would bring another firefight. He hoped with his shot Sikes would be down and out of the fire when it started, unable to make it to the door. At least that was the plan.

Sikes nodded to Zev, who immediately rolled over one pallet closer to Sikes. His roll didn’t bring fire from Matubo’s men. Wade readjusted his scope to fine-tune the minor adjustment between Sikes and Zev’s new positions. The lull in the firefight seemed to be working in favor of Sikes’ plan. Kalim and his men didn’t seem to sense Sikes or Zev were getting ready to make a covered move.

Sikes nodded to Zev again who made another roll and was now sharing positions behind Sikes’ pallet. The men were freely talking now. Sikes had curtailed his hidden anger toward Zev for another time. They both seem to be on the same page working together.

The two men still had one more pallet move to be closest to the door.

Wade watched as Zev alerted his men and did the final count down for cover fire and Sikes’ move to the door. Wade could feel the tension in his body and started his practiced breathing countdown and final adjustment to his scope. His hand was steadily moving his finger slowly from the trigger guard to the trigger that required exactly six pounds of pressure.

The two men were so close to each other Wade barely had to move his scope to pick up each one’s breathing. Zev completed signaling his men for the countdown of three.

In almost perfect unison, Zev and his men fired multiple bursts of rounds toward Mabuto’s men catching them by surprise. Sikes waited for Zev’s signal to run. After a two second delay, Mabuto’s men returned fire, and the front of the room lit up like a fireworks display as rounds bounced off concrete and the surrounding steel around them.

Wade still had his earpiece in and heard the sudden response when rafter mics picked up the sound of new fire.

“Base to Steel 1. I hear fire. What’s going on?”

Wade didn’t reply. He yanked out his earpiece to preserve his concentration. It was now time to fire.

Chapter 20

There was a lull in the firefight exchange. Wade felt that if he was going to stop Sikes he had to do it now. Zev reached back to Sikes, looked in both directions, and gave a firm rap to Sikes’ shoulder. A mere second after the shoulder signal and before Sikes completed his first step, Wade fired and hit his target in the upper thigh. Sikes immediately hit the ground moaning in pain. Zev grabbed him by the coat and pulled him back behind the safety of the tall pallet. Both sides remained on the ready but were not in an extended fire exchange of their automatic weapons.

Trying to stop Sikes from moving and the blood flow from the wound becoming worse became a challenge for Zev. Sikes was a difficult patient as he continually pushed Zev’s hand away from applying pressure because the pain. The pain was so great that Sikes ignored the bursts of automatic weapon fire that frequently came spinning past both sides of the pallet they shared. Finally, Zev just handed Sikes his large handkerchief while he returned to the firefight. Sikes tied the handkerchief off around the wound and lay back on the floor.

Zev sensed something different in the firefight. He finally realized that rounds of fire were coming not only from Kalim’s positions but from a third unknown source flanking the pallet to his right. He repositioned himself to the corner of the pallet. He now had to cover two directions to address the newfound line of fire. Zev left Sikes to fend for himself, believing he had better find cover if he was going to survive.

Sikes regained some composure after tying a tourniquet that stopped most of the bleeding. It wasn’t long before Sikes was in Zev’s face once again giving orders. This time he wasn’t pointing at the door or Mabuto’s men but directly at Wade. Sikes’ shaky finger became magnified in Wade’s scope appearing like it was on the end of a large clown hand. His pointing wasn’t getting Zev’s attention that had now turned his worried attention to new movements from Mabuto’s men.

A momentary pause caused Zev to finally to look up at Wade’s position. He must have instantly concluded Wade was part of the new unfriendly fire. Zev reached out and exchanged his short tactical weapon for an automatic sniper’s rifle with a scope. He scanned Wade’s position carefully. Soon the two were looking at each other’s magnified eyeballs as they peered through their respective scopes.

Wade was satisfied that his hide gave Zev less of a precise target than he had on Zev. There was more discussion between Sikes and Zev. It appeared Zev was trying to explain Wade’s position as just one additional adversary in front of them.

Zev tried to make the case he had to move from his shared location with Sikes. The idea of Zev’s moving wasn’t comfortable to Sikes, who continued insisting that Zev fire back at Wade’s position.

At one point, Sikes even tried to take the rifle away from Zev, presumably to fire it himself. Zev quickly overpowered Sikes’ feeble attempt. Short bursts of fire now came from Mabuto’s men who had assumed new positions.

In reply to Mabuto’s fire, the friendlies fired several short bursts at both Mabuto and Sikes’ men causing Zev to move back and forth between the ends of his cramped pallet just to maintain cover. Sikes continued his distractions, insisting Zev fire back on Wade.

With a pause in fire, Zev reluctantly complied and once more placed his cross hairs on Wade’s position. Sikes was behind him encouraging Zev to fire. Wade held tight in his position buried behind several layers of metal parts.

Zev searched for movement or some reflection of light that would give him a pinpoint of focus point rather than a wide black shadow over seventy yards away. Despite Wade’s stillness Zev still focused on something that looked out of place. He fired four shots on Wade hitting metal parts three inches to Wade’s left and right.

Zev continued scanning with Sikes behind him talking over his shoulder. Wade refrained from return fire for fear of hitting Sikes. After a five second pause, Zev fired another three rounds in rapid succession this time coming closer to Wade’s actual position.

Rounds landed just inches away and above Wade’s prone position. Sparks flew as the rounds impacted the used metal auto parts. Wade couldn’t figure out if Zev were guessing at his position or if he had left something exposed. Now was not the time to find out.

Wade kept flat against the floor, remaining perfectly still in his prone firing position. All the while his scope fixed on Zev’s head and torso. Momentarily, Zev was distracted by a movement from one of the friendlies in front of him. His brief pause to allow him to readjust his scope to the shorter distance of the shadowy figure to his right gave Wade a slightly larger target. Wade saw his opportunity with Zev’s new position.

Zev fired on the friendly at the same time Wade fired on Zev. The two shots crossed somewhere in the space between them. Wade’s shot found Zev’s chest. In one clean movement, Zev fell back. His body was completely limp lying across Sikes’ legs. It was an instant kill. Sikes immediately pushed Zev’s body away as he grimaced from his pain.

With the hit on Zev, the friendlies advanced behind the rapid automatic fire of their weapons. With Zev dead and Sikes wounded, Sikes’ remaining men made little fight and were soon overtaken by friendly fire. Remaining fragments of Mabuto’s men were low on ammunition and soon overpowered by the friendlies with several shots from Wade giving sniper support.

The friendlies were now clearly in control and approached the center of the building. Bullet ridden bodies on each side of them were either dead or barely moving. Weapons were kicked away from the dead and wounded. Wade breathed a sigh of relief while remaining vigilant, scanning each of the bodies in front of him looking for a possible retaliatory response.

One of the friendlies approached Sikes’ pallet 20 feet from the north door. The other friendly approached Kalim. Neither of the defeated warriors had enough strength to offer resistance. Their weapons were kicked far enough away so as not to provide visual temptation. Both men had lost a lot of blood and were in serious need of medical attention.

Sikes had barely enough energy to respond to a question asked while Kalim just lay back with all the fight gone. The friendly nearest Mabuto’s took pulses and counted dead. The friendly nearest Sikes signaled Wade to come forward and assist.

Wade couldn’t leave his post without reporting to base. “Steel 1 to Base. Sikes shot in the leg but is alive. Zev has been eliminated. Firefight is over. Two friendlies in control of remaining Sikes and Kalim men. Over.”

“Base to Steel 1. Remain to assist friendlies. Then extract from building as rapidly as possible to the same location as your entry drop. My car will pick you up. Your hotel has been compromised. Do not return to your hotel. My driver will provide your transportation. He will also have new ID. Leave all weapons and radio equipment in place. A cleanup crew is on the way. Over.”

“Steel 1 to Base. Will assist friendlies and perform immediate extraction as ordered. Over.”

Wade unplugged his transmitting equipment and wiped his weapon and radio down for fingerprints. He emerged from his small, steel bunker walking down the main aisle towards the darkly clad friendlies in the front of the room, his 9 mm pistol at his side. There was a good feeling that he was still alive until he approached the carnage in front him and started to smell the dead bodies.

As Wade approached, the two friendly figures briefly turned acknowledging his presence. They were dressed in black combat coveralls and wore black watch caps. Their faces were blackened with night camouflage paint to the point of being unrecognizable. Wade’s concentration was focused on Sikes, Kalim, and all the lifeless bodies that lay before him. He heard sirens in the distance and Sikes’ high-pitched yells of pain.

With all the carnage in front of him, he barely noticed one of the figures removing their watch cap. Long brown hair flowed from beneath the woolen cap. The crystal eyes from behind the black face caught Wade’s eye. He stammered in shock not believing what he was seeing.

“Angéle,” he called out.

The sweet voice answered, “Hi, Frank. Nice work. Thanks for the help.”

Wade was still in shock as he tried to keep his cool, “Not a problem.”

The second figure approached Wade removing his watch cap. It was Claude. They shook hands over two dead bodies on the floor them.

In almost equal shock Wade replied, “My God, I can’t believe it.”

Claude walked over to check Kalim’s wound. It was not too serious. Angéle was agitated as Sikes continued yelling and proceeded over to him.

As she approached Wade cautioned, “There is still a weapon near him.”

“I have my eyes on it.”

She raised her machine gun to a ready position and walked closer to Sikes. Wade moved his gun to the ready position and accompanied her. As Angéle approached Sikes, she reached into her coverall pocket and pulled out a syringe, removed the protective cap and stuck it in Sikes’ arm. Before Sikes could counter, Angéle said, “That will keep you quiet for a while.”

“Is there anything I can do here to help?”

“You can bring over those two suitcases near the door.”

“Sure thing.” Wade brought the suitcases over.

Wade knew there was an issue of the missing diamonds. He asked Angéle, and she was quick to reply, “I wonder if we will ever find those diamonds.”

“That’s why we kept Kalim alive. He will talk. We will have the diamonds by this evening.”

There was a pause. Angéle looked at Wade wondering why he was dressed in ugly worker coveralls.

“Where did you get that outfit you’re wearing? It looks horrible.”

“It’s a long story. Perhaps I’ll explain the next time we go out?”

“I look forward to that.”

She reached over and gave him a quick kiss smearing some black camouflage paint over an already dirty face. Wade brought the money cases over near the door. After, he helped move the wounded bodies into two groups searching each person for hidden weapons while Clyde stood guard. Sikes laid back quietly sleeping off the medication Angéle had given him.

Angéle checked the north driveway just as the large clean-up van pulled in. She turned to Clyde and Wade and said, “Some of our clean-up team has just arrived.”

Wade turned back to Angéle, “You mean the two of you were in this building all night with me?”

Angéle nodded saying, “Clyde’s a nice guy, but I wish it had been you.”

Wade smiled with a blush coming across his face. “I wish it had been me, too.”

She replied, “But not in those clothes.”

Wade replied, “If it had been just us I could have done something about the clothes.”

“That would have been nice.”

Wade cleared his throat, “I have orders to extract immediately.”

She replied, “What are you waiting for?”

“I guess I’d better go.”

Angéle glanced over to ensure the pallet blocked the line of sight to Clyde. She grabbed Wade by the back of the neck and kissed him passionately. Only when she released him did she say, “I don’t know when I will see you again.”

Wade was stunned and awkwardly dropped his hands not sure of what to say. Clyde was now walking over. Wade tried to think of some cute thing to say but was having trouble speaking. He just waved to both of them as he headed for the side exit door and the next part of his assignment. As he opened the side door, he could hear the clean-up team starting to move in cleaning equipment through the north door.

Wade proceeded along the line of tall bushes that was his cover when he entered the building. He felt exposed now that it was the middle of the morning. Bright sunlight replaced shadows he had relied on the previous evening.

The familiar blue sedan glistened in the sun as Wade approached his extraction point. He recognized the smiling face that greeted him as he entered through the passenger door.

“Hello, Jesse, it’s good to see you again.”

“It is a pleasure seeing you again as well, Mr. Hess.”

As they drove pulling away from the curb, Wade asked, “Where are we headed to now, Jesse?”

“I have been instructed to take you to the ferry for a boat ride, Mr. Hess.”

Wade paused with the thought of swimming with the fishes, “And where will that ferry be going, Jesse?”

“The ferry will bring us across the channel to Spain. I will then take you to the train station there, Mr. Hess.”

“That’s interesting.”

“It is my hope you will enjoy the fresh air on the ferry ride, Mr. Hess.”

“I can use some fresh air, Jesse.”

“I have an envelope for you from Mr. Leopold. He recommends that you clean up at the train station and call him before your train leaves. There are many public phone booths at the train station.”

Jesse handed Wade the sealed envelope.

“That’s fine. Let’s see what’s in this envelope.”

Wade opened the sealed envelope and mentally cataloged the items he found. There were two passports all in order with current photos and different names; one from Canada and one from the U.S. Matching documentation with driver licenses, insurance cards, and business cards to go with each passport were enclosed. There was an envelope of cash totaling several thousand dollars. There was a private coach train ticket, one airline ticket from Barcelona to Paris and a one-way ticket from Paris to New York.