The Killing Code (21 page)

“Not a chance!” Alan said vehemently.
“I’m not moving until I know that she’s safe! We can wait here just as easily as anywhere else but if we go now, I won’t know if she’s OK until we get there.”

“OK, we wait.
” Jake conceded.

Chapter
12

Thomas Walker wound his unmarked police car through the city streets as quickly as he could without drawing undue attention. He had turned the flashing grill lights on but left the vehicle’s siren off to maintain a degree of stealth. Fifteen minutes earlier, he had called Captain Fouts of the city’s S.W.A.T. team and briefed him on the situation. He then told Fouts to avoid official channels and only involve two other very specific men. The S.W.A.T. captain knew immediately what Walker needed and with a sharp, “You got it!” he hung up and immediately called Sniper Specialist Albrecht and Breach Specialist Sergeant Kerr from his team.

As
a captain in Columbus’ elite S.W.A.T. team, Fouts technically outranked Tom Walker but the homicide lieutenant was one of his former instructors at U.S. Army Ranger School and they had a long and close association throughout their service. His respect for and trust in his mentor were absolute and as far as he was concerned, whatever Walker wanted, Walker got – proper channels be damned. The two other men were in the same position and Walker had given them all glowing recommendations to join the city’s elite assault team when they finished their military tours some years previously. At the time, a major bank robbery had left two former S.W.A.T. team members dead and another permanently incapacitated so the Chief of Police was more than happy to quickly recruit such well trained and seasoned replacements.

Albrecht
had been a sniper in the Rangers so his position in the team was obvious. Kerr was particularly skilled at close quarters combat so he became one of the lead breach team. Fouts himself had a reputation as an expert assault strategist with the Rangers and his capabilities facilitated his rapid rise to Captain in what was considered by many to be the top S.W.A.T. team in the country.

Each man, despite his official position, was fiercely loyal to Tom Walker and knew full well that he would never
abuse their trust or enlist their services for a clandestine operation unless it was absolutely necessary. Fouts filled them in on the details as they drove to rendezvous with Walker in pursuit of the assailants who had kidnapped the civilian, Holly Stuart. They knew no further details other than the fact that the mission was a hostage rescue, it was off the books, and it was for Lieutenant Tom Walker - they required nothing further. Captain Fouts was in charge as usual so this was just another operation – except there would never be any paperwork submitted. Any possible witnesses would be advised that whatever they saw was simply a training exercise.

Wal
ker had set up a conference call with the S.W.A.T. team members and gave them continuous directions as he followed the GPS tracking signal tuned to the SIM card in Holly’s cellular phone from about a mile behind her. It was only moments before Fouts in his car, and Albrecht and Kerr together in their SUV, caught up to Walker and all three vehicles followed the signal from a safe distance. The assailants’ vehicle soon merged onto Highway 71 heading north toward Cleveland but turned off the highway onto a small private road just past the top of Alum Creek Lake. The team stopped at the entrance to the small gravel road, got out of their cars, and Fouts immediately pulled up a detailed map and satellite images of the road on his laptop. The other men stood in silence as Fouts took in details of the road and the private properties dotted along its length. The signal from Holly’s phone became stationary on a property not far from the creek and Fouts nodded in silence then they concealed Walker’s car and all four men got into the SUV with Kerr at the wheel and the headlights turned off. The moon was bright but the night was still dark enough to offer good cover while allowing Kerr to safely guide the vehicle down the densely forested dirt road.

T
hey proceeded slowly as Fouts zoomed in on a satellite image of the target property and began formulating a loose plan. He would need to see topography and obstacles with his own eyes before he could firm up the strategy and tactics but his razor sharp focus and years of experience quickly drew an outline of an assault and rescue plan. He gave a signal and Kerr turned off the engine to glide for thirty yards before he steered the SUV under the cover of some bushes about five hundred yards before the target property to avoid detection.

The men got out and
while Fouts examined the property through his military grade image stabilized night vision binoculars, Albrecht and the others opened the vehicle’s tailgate to retrieve their equipment. Walker and Kerr pulled out standard S.W.A.T. issue Armalite M4 assault rifles and donned bullet proof vests, while Albrecht drew out the long aluminum case which held his personal Remington XM2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle, Advanced Armament Corp. sound suppressor, and Leupold Mark 4 6.5–20×50mm ER/T M5 Front Focal variable power
telescopic sight
.
He set his equipment, checked his scope and double checked the entire system then stood waiting in silence.

Fouts joined them at the rear of the vehicle, set his laptop on the floor and grabbed an M4 and vest before laying out his plan.
The battle proven Rangers clearly knew their roles in the operation, which was a minor variation of a standard Ranger assault pattern. Walker looked into each man’s eyes then spoke, “The hostage is a VIP; let’s keep this tight and surgical boys. Fouts has the lead.”

The others
nodded knowingly and Albrecht disappeared into the bushes with barely a rustle while the others waited for him to take up his position just over two hundred and fifty yards from the small disused timber dwelling near the middle of the two acre property. A brief squelch came into their high tech communication earpieces to signify that the sniper was in place then Walker, Fouts and Kerr began to make their way through the forested grounds toward the property’s thirty yard driveway.

There were plenty of trees and bushes for cover and within
ten minutes, the assault team had made its way to the edge of the property and took up positions fanning out fifteen yards apart from each other. Fouts again pulled out his binoculars to examine the situation. A few seconds later, he smiled knowingly and gave the others a series of hand signals. The assailants may have been former military but obviously were not elite forces, judging by their lack of discipline and focus. This was not an interrogation but prisoner security and yet, instead of securing the hostage then leaving her alone in the dwelling to take up defensible positions outside, one man remained inside with Holly, only one guarded the exterior, and the third sat idly in their big SUV with his feet on the dashboard. It was obvious that the assailants were blissfully unaware they’d been followed and were comfortable and lazy in their mission.

Fouts stayed at his outer viewing position to direct the operation while Walker and Kerr moved stealthily toward the cabin
. Walker broke off and started toward the kidnappers’ vehicle while Kerr continued toward the dwelling then both men sank to the ground and waited. Fouts issued a brief command to Albrecht and received a squelch in reply. The sniper skillfully maneuvered to a vantage point where he could see the victim through one of the cabin’s windows then sent a second squelch to confirm his position. Fouts whispered into his microphone, “Albrecht has the lead.” and the other two men squelched their devices in acknowledgement.

The full moon offered plenty of light for his high tech scope and
Albrecht watched the interior guard carefully as he gauged the outer guard’s pace of movement, ignoring the third assailant in the car. He watched in disgust as the interior guard began to grope the defenseless hostage’s breasts but pushed his anger down to prioritize and keep the operation crisp. If he took the lecherous bastard out first, the sound of the window pane bursting would alert the outer guard and he could theoretically manage to hit the hostage with machine gun fire before he could be eliminated. He set his point of aim where the outer guard would come into his crosshairs in a few steps and waited patiently. The man’s head entered the far right of Albrecht’s scope and continued toward the center until the sniper’s finger squeezed his trigger almost imperceptibly, causing a muffled, high pitched buzz to pierce the air. Walker and Kerr watched as the exterior guard’s head partially exploded and both men immediately moved toward their targets. Kerr raced past the dead man to the thin wooden front door of the cabin and kicked it so violently that it flew off its hinges, crashing onto the floor. Simultaneous with the crash of the door, Walker’s M4 rang out and the lazy guard in the SUV met his maker.

The interior guard was completely unprepared for Kerr’s inter
ruption of his lustful behavior but he had quick reflexes and ripped his knife from its scabbard toward Holly’s neck. The man used Holly as a shield for his chest, knowing his assailant would be trained to aim for the center mass of his torso. Kerr followed the man’s lurching head movement in his sights, and without hesitation or conscience, neatly placed a single round from his M4 into the center of the man’s face, sending his head violently backward. As the kidnapper’s nervous system quickly shut down, his arm and hand tensed, holding the knife rigidly in place and carrying it backward with the momentum of his fall until it sliced neatly into the meat of Holly’s right shoulder and she let out a muffled cry of pain through the duct tape across her mouth. The cut was more than half an inch deep but severed no main arteries and Kerr’s powerful hand was already applying pressure to her wound as Walker came rushing through the door a second later.

Walker called out, “Secure?” and Kerr replied
in the affirmative. Fouts began to make his way toward the cabin but just as it became clear in his view, he felt a heavy thud on the back of his head. His vision flared bright white and his ears rang loudly as he fell forward, his face planting heavily into the leafy ground. He almost lost consciousness but soon rallied to turn and face his attacker. His eyes not yet clear, Fouts couldn’t make out the assailant as he blindly searched for his M4 but it was laying about three feet out of reach. A menacing voice said, “That would be your final move.” and the SWAT captain turned back to see the form of a small man wearing an overcoat and hat becoming clear as his vision returned.

As Kerr m
aintained pressure on Holly’s wound, Walker cut the zip ties holding her hands and feet to a wooden chair then removed the duct tape and asked her if she was OK. Her panicked eyes darted from man to man and Walker realized she had no idea who he was or what just happened.

“I’m Tom Walker -
Alan’s boss from the Columbus Police. Everything will be OK now.” he said soothingly.

Tears streamed down Holly’s face, partly
out of relief and partly from lasting fear and shock. She had studied the effects of traumatic stress at length during her training as a psychologist but her intellect was unable to overcome her natural responses and she shook uncontrollably with emotion.

Satisfied that Holly’s injury was not serious and the
cabin was clear, Walker felt a sense of urgency to allay his star detective’s fear so he pulled his cell phone from his pocket to dial Alan’s number. “Beach; it’s done. Holly’s safe and I’m taking her to a secure location. Stick with Jake and get this done. Understood?”

“Understood.” Beach replied with firm resolve.
“I don’t know how to thank you…I will never forget this Tom.”

Walker’s
thick arms engulfed Holly as he picked her up, cradled like a child, to carry her outside. He could see the lights of the SWAT team’s SUV turning into the drive and as he strode toward them, he called for an all clear from Fouts but there was no reply. The vehicle stopped and Walker continued toward it apprehensively, with Kerr still holding pressure on Holly’s wound. Suddenly the two men froze where they stood. Three big, heavily camouflaged men got out of the SUV and at the same time, a voice came from the darkness to the right flank of the Rangers. “Do you value your comrade’s life?”

They turned to see
Captain Fouts, blindfolded with his hands secured behind him. Beside him stood a small man with beady eyes and a cold, thin lipped grin holding a gun to Fouts’ head. They were flanked by two more camouflaged men with automatic weapons trained on the Rangers.

Walker an
d Kerr immediately assessed the new threat but they could see the situation was futile. Even if they could draw their weapons before the men opened fire, Fouts would certainly die and Holly would most likely be hit in the crossfire. Walker’s years of experience under fire suddenly broke through his anger and he knew what had to be done. He surreptitiously opened his transmitter so Albrecht could hear the conversation.

“
It’s over - drop your weapons and give me the bitch.” the small man continued in a guttural South African accent.

Walker
gave Kerr a defeated look and the two dropped their weapons on the ground. “She’s injured - take me instead.” the big lieutenant said.

“Where would be the fun in that - n
ow, shut up and put her down!”

Holly
sobbed with dread as Walker placed her gently on the ground. He leaned in and whispered, “Hold on Holly; we’ll get you back.”

“
That’s not going to happen you pompous shit! Get in the car bitch!” the small man snarled then turned to the three men from the SUV and ordered, “Get their guns and telephones then take all three of these toy soldiers into the cabin and make it look like they died in the shootout with those useless morons they killed earlier. Meet us back at the rendezvous in an hour.”