Serve in the Shadows Recruitment, page 10
Not wanting to give away anything, he just pushed the transmit button and grunted, hoping that would buy some time while he and Grant figured things out.
A circular driveway leads up to a large grand entrance with an ornate front door and, several flower beds on either side. A separate driveway went around to the rear of the building, presumably for the workers and deliveries, and that was the direction Derek chose.
Rangers were trained to switch to an alternate frequency channel on the radio should they believe it was compromised. However, the Saudi guards had no such procedures, so they kept chattering away barking sharp orders over the airwaves.
Sliding to the rear servant’s entrance, Derek crouched down with his back against the wall and waited. It didn’t take long for him to hear the rush of approaching boot steps from inside.
Taking a deep breath, Derek brought up the Sig Sauer as the door opened, then all hell broke loose.
Chapter 24
Emmanuel had just finished unpacking his small suitcase when he heard the interior alarm begin to sound. Picking up a radio handset, he barked, “Report!”
“One intruder over the north wall, no response from Patrol One.”
“Send a second patrol out, then start lockdown procedures!”
“Roger. Starting lockdown once they leave!”
With the general starting his operation, having an intruder could be no coincidence. Flipping open a tablet, Emmanuel called up the camera feeds for the property.
The front gate was still closed, and the front door showed nothing happening. Finger flipping quickly through the camera views, he stopped at the rear entrance. One man crouched down behind the door, and he could see him holding a gun at the ready.
As Emmanuel brought the radio up to start lockdown immediately when he realized it was too late, for the second patrol team burst out the door to deal with the intruder.
Throughout the residence, Emmanuel heard shots being fired as he watched the three guards fall from rounds to the back of their heads. They all failed to check behind the door when they opened it and rushed outside to their deaths.
The figure passed through the servant’s door and closed it firmly behind him. The edge of the tablet lit up with flashing red, as the lockdown had been initiated. The intruder was now locked inside the mansion with them for at least an hour until it is lifted.
He knew that nine security guards went to watch the general while he was at the casino, and with six down, there were only five others left to deal with this. They would have sent a code for the other guards to take the general to safety at an alternate location. The general would not be returning here.
Shrugging to loosen up his shoulders, Emmanuel opened the top drawer of his bedroom dresser and pulled out a Browning Hi-Power 9mm Mark III and placed an extra magazine in his pocket.
Lifting up the radio, he pressed the toggle button. “The second patrol is down. The intruder is inside. Begin interior sweep protocol.”
Clipping the handset onto his belt, Emmanuel waited a few seconds, and then all the power shut down in the mansion. Pulling on some night vision goggles, he opened the door and moved quietly down the hallway. With a big smile on his face, he thought, time to go hunting.
*****
The first set of swinging double doors on the right led into the kitchen. With this late hour, no staff was in attendance. Derek didn’t want any civilians hurt in this matter, but the guards were another story, as they knew the risk.
The kitchen looked like it could easily have fed a hundred people and have a staff of twenty-five. Grabbing a jug of vegetable oil from the open pantry shelf, Derek opened it up and poured it all over the tiled floors from one end to the other.
Soon as he finished all the lights and power went out, plunging the kitchen into darkness. Throwing the container off to the side, Derek made his way by touch to the corner of the room behind the bank of ovens and pulled out his night scope.
Bringing it up to his eye, Derek looked around. Illuminated in bright green light through the scope, the kitchen was now clearly visible.
“Derek, one guard coming up the hallway to the kitchen,” Grant still whispered, even though no one else could hear him.
Raising his hand in brief acknowledgment, Derek crouched down hiding behind the last stove.
With barely a whisper, the kitchen door slowly swung inward. As to how he could not smell the vegetable oil coating the floor, Derek had no idea, but as the guard walked in further to the kitchen his feet went out from under him, and he fell straight down. With the oil on the tiled floor, it turned out to be worse than the slickest ice.
As he scrambled to gain his footing, Derek stood up and shot him twice in the chest.
“They all know where you are now. Time to go.” Grant vanished from sight.
Derek quickly slid over to the body and removed the night vision headset and placed it over his head. He needed both hands free, and while the ocular scope was good for some situations, this was not one of them.
The far end of the kitchen had a matching set of swinging double doors that led to a large dining room, and a quick look through the window of the door showed it empty. Silently moving through the doors, Derek started his room clearing drills, first checking his nearest corner while moving along the wall. Room clearing was best done with a partner, to cover the angles, but he had to make due.
Two doors led from the dining room. One presumably went into the main hallway, and the other Derek was not sure of. Pausing in front of each door, Derek cocked his head to the side and listened intently.
Nothing.
Without the electrical hum of lights or appliances running in the background, the only noises he could hear was the pounding of his heart and breathing.
Quite possibly, the first guard had to flush him out, and others were waiting somewhere in ambush. It is what he would have done in this situation especially when they had home field advantage.
Crouching very low, Derek eased open the second door and peered into an informal eating area as he kept moving. A series of rooms and small hallways revealed nothing, except for expensive furniture and decorations. Suddenly, he found himself in a library with bookcases lining the walls and a large ornate wooden double door leading into the main hallway.
Whispering not to scare him, Grant said, “Derek, their security command center is downstairs, and the entrance is off the main hall.”
Turning around Derek nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”
Derek was reaching for the handle to have a look into the hall when Grant called out, “Derek, there are two guards waiting on the other side of the door!”
With his hand poised above the handle, Derek stopped moving.
“Show me where they are,” he whispered.
Grant pointed to either side of the door frame, at two separate locations on the wall.
Stepping back, Derek took a firing stance and quickly shot off two rounds, at each location through the wall. With the ringing noise of the shots still echoing in his ears, Derek could hear the sound of bodies hitting the floor.
Kneeling down, Derek quickly switched magazines, opening the door as he moved out.
Chapter 25
Emmanuel knelt down and felt for the pulse of man in the kitchen, not expecting to find one. A quick look around the kitchen showed the intruder had time to prepare and apparently took the guard by surprise.
Tracks through the oil on the floor led off to the dining room. He would be easy enough to track down and be at a disadvantage with oil on his shoes.
Four shots rang out throughout the mansion. Two bursts of two, with a slight pause in between. They came from the front area of the mansion. Emmanuel stood and quickly went back into the hall off the kitchen and made his way to the main hall off the front entrance.
At the end of the hall that lead to the main foyer, he paused and looked around the corner. Two bodies lay on the floor by the doorway to the library. Matching set of bullet holes through the wall were above each body. A quick look in the other direction showed nothing.
The intruder could have gone anywhere in the mansion, up or downstairs. Moving over to the bodies, Emmanuel could see they were still bleeding from the shots. It has been less than a minute since they died, but he could see no trace of the person who shot them.
With his night vision headset on, he could see four holes in the walls on either side of the door frame to the library. His eyes widened in disbelief.
Knowing the intruder was determined and skillful did not deter him in the slightest. After a life of hunting predators, Emmanuel wasn’t worried about this setback. Not wanting to take the night vision goggles off, he knelt down a few feet from the bodies and swept his hand back and forth across the floor. It didn’t take long for him to pick up a slight oil residue from the intruder’s shoes.
Smiling to himself, Emmanuel moved silently in pursuit.
*****
“The way is clear. I don’t see anything.” Grant’s voice came down the wide staircase and around the corner while Derek followed.
The basement was located in a large rectangular room, with high ceilings and several doors leading off. A few of the doors lay open; and one appeared to be a pantry and another was a wine cellar. At the far end lay a solid door with “Seguridad” written on a sign above the door. Security.
To the left of the door, a four-by-four window showed a view of a high-tech security office with over a dozen video screens and read-out displays at a command console. To the right of the doorway, a biometric hand scanner glowed in a pale blue and green color. The security office seemed to be running on its own backup power.
“Derek, there are two guards inside!”
The two guards peeked around the corner and looked up straight at Derek through the glass with eyes wide. Raising one hand to his ear, he started talking quickly while pointing right at Derek.
Bringing up his gun, Derek fired off three rounds straight at the guards. The shots caused the guards to duck down immediately in fear; however, the glass did not break, and a few small spiderweb cracks radiated outwards from the impact areas.
Standing up, the guards realized they were still alive and smiled at one another. The taller guard flipped Derek the middle finger while continuing to talk on his radio.
The smaller guard reached down and looked at his partner. The taller guard nodded.
“Derek …” Grant started and trailed off.
Realizing what was about to happen, Derek crouched down, closed his eyes, and stripped off the night vision headset.
The area flooded with bright lights as the power came back online.
A small moan came from behind Derek, and without thought, he rolled to the side in time, as a round ricocheted off the ground right where he had crouched.
Looking back, he saw a very large black man standing on the last step pointing a gun randomly, while ripping off his night vision headset. The night vision goggles were not meant for any light at all, and when the room lights went suddenly back on, the intensity was blinding and very painful.
Eyes squinting while trying to adjust to the bright lights, Derek lay down on his back, feet pointing toward his target at the stairs, and fired off a two-round burst at the large man.
The first round went over his head and into the wall. The second one clipped his shoulder, spinning him around and back into the wall as if he were punched.
Arm extended, the large man still managed to fire off a round and it passed over Derek and into the wall behind him. Had Derek been standing, he would have been shot dead center of his chest.
With his eyes squinting, he took aim again and quickly returned fire while the man on the stairs quickly turned around and ran upward. Derek’s shot went into the steps, narrowly missing.
Regaining his feet, Derek looked around giving the guards a warning gesture with his gun. Waiting a few seconds for his eyes to properly adjust, he moved up the stairs in pursuit.
Chapter 26
Swearing at the incompetent guards for turning on the lights too soon, Emmanuel ran up the steps and took off for the second level. His long legs took the steps four at a time. The throbbing in his left shoulder confirmed he had been hit, but it did not seem too bad. Just a graze.
Pulling up his handset, he yelled into it, “Which one of you fucking morons turned the lights back on!”
No reply.
The second floor of the mansion, had a wrap-around hallway, with an intricate railing system, and from there, one could oversee the foyer and the staircase.
Emmanuel quickly moved to the opposite side of the landing and lay down watching. No one would be able to climb up the stairs without fully exposing themselves to his field of fire. Keeping his gun at the ready, he settled into the ambush.
Slowing his breathing down, Emmanuel ignored the throbbing pain in his shoulder and listened. He could hear the footsteps as the intruder made his way up from the basement, and then the sounds stopped when he reached the top of the steps.
Nothing.
Emmanuel raised his head up after a full minute to get a glimpse of the staircase, while barely showing one eye through the railing. He could see no sign of any movement.
The sound of three rounds firing filled the foyer and echoed down the hallways.
The first few rounds felt like they almost went through the floor directly under him. The fucker had started firing into the ceiling right at me!
Rolling several times to the side, Emmanuel came to rest at the base of a wall.
No idea how he could have seen me. It just wasn’t possible.
Reaching up, while keeping an eye on the staircase, Emmanuel felt for the door handle of one of the Royal Suites and quietly opened it a few feet. He quickly moved inside and just as silently closed the door. He would be safe here for a moment.
Bowing his head forward, he tried to regain control while leaning back on the closed door.
I am usually the hunter …
Pain exploded in his shoulder as the first round went through the door and passed right through him. The second round went through his opposite shoulder immediately after the first.
Dropping his gun and screaming in pain, Emmanuel fell forward as the door opened.
Unable to use his arms, he rolled over to see the intruder in a black jacket and cargo pants walking toward him. Before the butt end of the gun smashed into his temple, he noticed that the man had taken off his boots and just wore his socks.
Son of a ….
*****
Getting the large man onto his shoulders in the fireman carry proved to be a little difficult, but once he had rested on his shoulders, it went easy. If he could carry his second in command, Sergeant Duncan, then he wouldn’t have any issues with this guy.
Making his way back down the staircase to the foyer, Derek dumped the unconscious man onto the floor beside the stairs to the lower level and put on his boots back on.
“The other guards are still holed up in their office.” Derek looked up when Grant appeared on the first landing down the stairs, “What are you going to do with him?”
Finishing up and hoisting him back onto his shoulders, Derek said, “He is my master key.”
The two guards behind the cracked safety glass stared in horror as Derek walked down the stairs and dumped the man in front of the door.
“Okay guys,” Derek started. “No need to die tonight. I need information, and I want the door opened now.”
The two guards looked at each other and they shook their heads, negative.
With a sigh, Derek drew his gun and reached down for the unconscious man’s arm. Bringing up the large hand, he placed it on the palm reader.
The LED light switched from red to green, as the door clicked and unlocked.
The taller guard started to draw his gun as Derek fired a round into his chest, knocking him backward into the other.
“You are the last man standing. You decide how this will go.”
The shorter guard had caught his partner under the arms and held him up briefly. When he let go to raise his hands in the air, the guard fell to the floor dead.
“I wish to live,” he said in English, with a heavy accent.
“Smart move. All weapons out in the hallway, and your partner as well.”
He quickly obeyed, and soon a small pile of weapons lay beside the dead guard outside the security office.
“Tie up the big guy as well. Make sure you do a good job.”
Derek kept his gun trained on him throughout. The guard pulled out a set of handcuffs and turning the large man over, secured his wrists behind his back.
“Okay, this is the part where you give me answers. If you do not know the answer, you are to find it out as fast as you can. If you lie to me, you will join your friends on the ground. Clear?”
Nodding, the last guard stood there, almost in shock.
“The prince that flew in tonight from Yemen would have had several packages with him.” Bringing his gun up, Derek pointed it right at his face. “Where are they?”
“They were picked up earlier. They are already gone.”
“Where to?”
“I don’t know!”
Derek stepped closer to the guard’s face with the Sig Sauer.
His eyes flicked back and forth from the barrel of the gun to Derek’s eyes.
“I really don’t know!” The guard began to sweat and blink rapidly, showing signs of a full panic mode. “But he knows!” The guard had pointed to the large black man handcuffed and bleeding, while unconscious on the floor.
Chapter 27
23:30
Ballet Nacional
Madrid
Reverse backup lights illuminated the loading dock as a white cube van backed up. Georges watched as two men got out and opened the back doors without saying a word. Together, they removed six small wooden crates and placed them on the loading dock. Then they got back into the van and quickly drove off.
Loading them onto a pull cart, Georges brought them inside to the front stage area.
