Authors: Sara York
Zander moved silently over the field as he approached the house where Yildiz was staying. Their cover was low with little brush to hide them. They did find a spot to set up and watch for the evening that was safe. He was behind a tree that was wider at the base, Tucker had set up behind a low rise, and Ryan had the best spot behind a grouping of trees.
They communicated using hand signals. When the sun dipped below the horizon, he and Tucker moved to be near Ryan. He caught Ryan’s gaze and nodded. They were going to go in and do the mission soon. Excitement filled him as he prepared. He’d seen Yildiz moving around the yard and that’s all that mattered. There were two other people on the ranch, but taking the risk was worth it if it meant the bastard funding terrorism died.
“The lights are still on. We’ll wait a few hours, maybe three, then I’ll go in,” Zander said.
“With the two guys in there with Yildiz, you'll need one of us in there, too,” Tucker added.
“Ryan, you okay staying out here?” Zander asked.
Ryan nodded. “Yeah, I’ll watch. We need to prepare our equipment.”
“Sure. We have time now.” Zander pulled out their communication headsets then popped in the batteries. He turned each one on, making sure their volume wasn’t too loud. After listening for a minute, he found a channel that was clear and handed Ryan and Tucker their headsets. “If you see or hear anything, tell us, otherwise we’ll be going in silent.”
“Sure,” Ryan said.
“Tucker, I have the syringe. We don’t have two, so this has to work. I’ll go in, find Yildiz, and neutralize the threat. You come in and stay near the door. I’ll tell you if I’m having problems. I don’t want this to be a clusterfuck. We have a limited amount of resources here in Turkey. This has to go over well. If we don’t get Yildiz this time, we may not have a chance later to take him out. I don’t want any marks on his body, nor do I want to cast any suspicion on anyone.”
“Sounds good,” Tucker said as he unsheathed a knife then slid it into the leather again, glad it was on his belt.
The ship captain had given them knives but no guns. They had rope, tape, binoculars, and their syringe, but no explosives. They were going in lean with the danger high, but he knew they could get rid of this guy.
“If you get shot at, what will you do?” Ryan asked.
Zander shrugged. “Hope they stop shooting.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good plan.” Ryan handed Zander another knife then started unwinding the rope.
“It’s the only plan we have. On this short of notice, it was impossible to get guns. It may seem like a mixed up mission, but I’ve been through worse.” Zander kept his attention on the current mission, not wanting to be distracted by anything that had happened in the past.
Forty-five minutes had passed by the time they had their equipment ready. He grabbed two MRE’s before settling against the trunk of a tree where he could rest before the craziness started. After finishing the food, he checked on the house, seeing one of the lights flick off. It was almost go time. After he killed Yildiz, they would need to make sure there wasn’t anyone who could follow them as they made their getaway. Hopefully, they would be able to steal a car and use it to get to Istanbul.
“I’m ready,” Zander said after a few more minutes.
Tucker stood and stretched. “I think I’m ready to go in, too.”
“Are your ears on?” Ryan asked.
Zander flipped on his communication device. “Are now.”
His heart thumped wildly as he made his way to the house, hoping he wasn’t spotted. The olive trees offered little cover as he closed in on the building. Each step was purposeful but filled with anxiety as he raced towards his mark, knowing that when he made his exit, at least one person would be dead, and he prayed it wasn’t him.
Zander used a pick to open the lock then stepped into the house. He checked to ensure the door didn’t lock so Tucker could come in behind him. Of course, Tucker could end up entering the building through a different door but this one would be open for him.
The house was dark, with small windows that provided little light. He heard a noise down a hall and stilled. Tucker hadn’t said anything about being inside. Zander ducked his head and spoke softly, barely making any noise. “Someone is still awake.”
There was a little noise that could have been Tucker acknowledging his statement, he wasn’t sure. Both Tucker and Ryan were good men, and he trusted them to figure out what to do next. They’d gone over their plans before leaving the ship and once again when they were on land. They knew how to act on a mission, and he could trust the men to stay safe.
After four minutes, when he hadn’t heard another noise, he moved down the hall, opening the first door, finding the room empty. The house was older, and the floor loose and creaky. More than once, he had to pause, waiting to see if his progress had alerted anyone to his presence.
The third door he opened had a sleeping form, but the man was too big to be Yildiz. Zander closed the door, knowing that if he made any noise killing this guy, he might alert Yildiz and give him time to get away. This mission was getting more difficult by the minute.
The door to the next room was open, the room empty. Zander silently made his way down the hall to the final door, his heart racing as he placed his hand on the knob. This had to be Yildiz.
With the door open, he could see two men lying on the bed, one young, the other Yildiz. He wasn’t prepared for Yildiz to be in bed with a younger man. This mission had just gotten much more complicated. Letting Yildiz go wasn’t an option. If this man got away, he would double his efforts to support the terrorists, and a botched attack on Yildiz might make it worse for the U.S.A.
Yildiz had to go.
Zander moved into the room and slowly made it around to the side of the bed where Yildiz slept. He had the syringe ready, his thumb on the plunger. Going up against two men would be difficult. He could pull back, but if either man woke, Yildiz would get away. Zander drew in a slow breath, making little noise as he stared down at both men. It was now or never.
With his arm raised, Zander watched Yildiz, wishing the guy knew he was about to die. Just as Zander lowered the syringe, Yildiz opened his eyes. It didn’t slow Zander’s movements as he delivered the toxic levels of insulin, but their presence was now known.
Yildiz grunted then opened his mouth to say something, but little came out. However, it was enough for the man beside Yildiz to wake. For Yildiz, it was too late. The insulin was in his system, overloading his organs.
Zander jumped over the old man, tackling the younger guy to the mattress before he had a chance to move. Zander hoped he had the strength to fight off the attack from this guy before the other man sleeping in the house woke.
Yildiz was beside them, tugging at Zander’s arm. “Need help,” Zander said as he fought off Yildiz while he held down the other guy.
“Coming,” Tucker yelled.
Yildiz’s breathing grew erratic, and Zander believed the old man was experiencing the first effects of the huge amount of insulin that was now rushing through his body. Then Yildiz gasped, and the guy Zander was grappling with changed his focus, giving Zander the opening he needed to do real damage. The sound of his fist slamming into the guy’s cheek reverberated around the room, and Zander felt the first sparkle of satisfaction weaving through his veins.
He heard Tucker in his earpiece. “I’m in the house, neutralizing a guy in the hall.”
“Bedroom at the end of the hall,” Zander said.
The guy Zander was fighting scrambled out from underneath him, reaching for something on the floor. Zander jumped, hitting the guy about mid-back. The following oomph was rewarding as the guy crumpled to the ground. Zander pulled back his fist and let it fly, smacking the guy in the back of the head. The young guy flipped Zander, and he crashed into a table, shielding his face from the falling lamp that toppled down on him.
The door flew open, and Tucker stepped in. He watched in horror as the guy he’d been fighting lifted a gun and aimed it directly at Tucker. Zander swung his leg, knocking against the man, causing his shot to go wide. Tucker jumped back, and Zander saw another man in the hallway hit Tucker. There were more people here than he’d originally thought, and it was their job to battle them all.
Zander rose to his feet and hit the young guy squarely in his stomach, dropping him to his knees. They both scrambled for the gun. He heard Tucker breathing hard over the headset and then he heard Ryan.
“I’m coming in,” Ryan said.
“No,” Tucker said.
“But—” Ryan’s voice was low.
Tucker cut Ryan off, his words halting as he fought. “I’ve almost got this guy beat… I’m forcing him to the door… I’ll get him outside on the side Zander came in on then you can help.”
Zander deflected punches, getting in a few good shots of his own. The guy got away from him and jumped over the bed, then flipped on a lamp. Zander glanced down and saw that Yildiz’s eyes were open, his body still. It was obvious that Yildiz was dead, and the guy Zander had been fighting knew it too.
Zander tried to move to the other side of the bed but his focus on Yildiz had given the other guy an opening. Zander was jumped, his earpiece ripped away. He could no longer hear Tucker or Ryan. Yildiz’s young man went crazy, his attack fierce. Zander fought hard, trying to inflict damage, and he thought it was going well when the guy dropped to his knees. He felt he had the upper hand until he went in for the kill, misjudged the guy’s strength, and was shoved to the left. He rolled and tried to stand, but it gave the other guy enough time to pull a rifle from under the bed. Zander’s life passed in front of his eyes as the man stared at him from behind the gun. The barrel lined up perfectly, pointing directly at Zander’s head. Anger flashed across his enemy’s face. There was no doubt in Zander’s mind—this was the end.
Tucker fought hard, shoving and pushing, but losing ground before he got the guy to the door, finally getting him outside. Ryan grabbed the man and held him in a chokehold. Tucker gave one final shot with his fist, knocking the man out.
“We need to go back in to help—”
Tucker’s words were cut off as an explosion rocked the building. He was blown to the ground with Ryan landing below him as a ball of flames engulfed the house. Ryan rolled and grabbed Tucker’s arm, dragging him away from the inferno. “Zander,” he screamed over the crackling and snapping of the flames eating away at the wood.
“Fuck, it’s too hot, we can’t go in,” Ryan’s voice broke as he yelled.
Tucker turned to look at Ryan, spying the tears in his eyes. “Fuck, this is bad.”
As he made his way around the house, he saw a truck on the road driving away. They were only a few hundred yards away but because of the fire and the dark sky, he couldn’t see the interior of the truck. Was that the guy Zander had been fighting with? Had he gotten away, and if so, where was Zander?
“Zander, can you hear me?” Tucker yelled.
No one responded. He ran around the house, looking for a way to enter but flames filled every doorway and every window. The roof was fully engulfed, the blaze impressive in its all-consuming need to destroy. “Zander!” It was a last ditch effort to find his friend. His eyes stung and anger filled him. Zander wasn’t answering.
“We need to get out of here,” Ryan said.
“But, Zander…” Tucker turned to Ryan then back to the fire.
“If he’s in that, he didn’t survive.” As if to prove Ryan’s point, another explosion rocked the little house, causing the roof to collapse. There was no way anyone inside the house had survived. “The truck, we should go after it.”
“Do you think?” Tucker asked.
“I have no idea if Zander is in that truck or not, but it’s our only hope of finding out what happened to our friend.” Ryan took off, running around the house, skirting the outside of the property as they searched for any vehicle they could use.
“See anything?” Tucker yelled as he ran behind Ryan.
There wasn’t another vehicle near the house and Zander wasn’t lying on the ground next to the structure. Tucker turned around, his heart squeezing when he looked at the gutted house. Zander had died a horrible death and now his body was being burned beyond recognition. Anger blasted through him and he screamed.
Ryan placed his hand on Tucker’s shoulder. “Over there, I see a barn. Let’s head out there and see what we can find.”
Tucker ripped his arm away from Ryan. “How the fuck can you be so calm?”
“I’m not. I just know I can’t help Zander by standing here. If he was in that house, he’s gone. I don’t hear anyone yelling for help. We circled around and didn’t see anyone. Whoever is still in that building is dead. If he’s in that truck that took off, then there’s a chance he’s alive. That’s the only thing I can think of.”
“Fuck!”
Tucker took off across the field to the barn. Ryan was right. Anyone left in the house was dead. Their only hope was the truck driving away. Pain throbbed through his head, making him dizzy. Zander wouldn’t have quit just because one of them had died. He would have pressed on and so would Tucker. He stiffened his spine and hardened his heart, forgetting the pain as he kept working, searching for the fucker who had driven off from the farm. He had to figure out what the hell had happened. It wasn’t fair that Zander was gone, and he sure as hell wouldn’t let the bastard in that truck live.
They discovered an old work truck on the other side of the barn, and Tucker jumped in behind the steering wheel, searching for the keys. He found them on the floorboard just as Ryan closed the passenger side door. He started the truck and it lurched as he slid the gear from neutral to first. As he drove past what had been the house, he made a promise to Zander to find the bastards and ruin them. He wouldn’t stop until they were all dead.
It didn’t take long to exit the property and find the road, because it was the only path leading away from the farm. They drove for a good ten minutes, seeing no one on the way. Eventually they finally came to a paved road that cut across the lane they were on. He didn’t know if he should turn left or right. There weren’t any vehicles visible, no taillights giving away the direction they should head. He popped the truck into neutral and set the parking break before stepping out. Ryan and he investigated the path they were on, discovering too many tire tracks to know which ones had come from the truck they’d seen.
“What do you think?” Ryan asked.
“This sucks. How are we supposed to know which way to go?”
“No lights, no other cars—it’s a dead end.” Ryan stood with his shoulders slumped in defeat.
Tucker turned back to the truck, deciding to go to the right to see if they came across anything. They drove for about two hours without seeing any trucks or other vehicles.
“This is hopeless.” Tucker bit his lip, wishing he’d stayed in the room and fought with Zander or that he’d asked Ryan to come into the house and help, but then they might all be dead.
“What do you want to do?” Ryan asked.
“I don’t know. Let’s head back to the ranch and the town near where Yildiz’s olive orchard was. We’ll see if anyone knows anything.”
Tucker turned the truck around and drove back the way they’d come. His mind thundered with the pain of loss, making him feel jittery. They passed one car on the road, but otherwise the whole area seemed deserted. When they got back to the cutoff for Yildiz’s house, they saw what looked to be a police car driving towards the farm. They were screwed.
They continued driving until they saw the lights of a town in the distance. He pulled to the side of the road and cut the lights. “We’re fucked. I don’t know where that truck took off to. It could be anywhere.”
“We’ve got nothing to go on, no help from our home base, and Zander is gone. Let’s stick around for a bit. We can go back to the farm house and see if we can find a trace of Zander.”
Tucker put the truck in gear and whipped around, heading back to the farm. They pulled onto the road they’d seen the cop head down and drove almost all the way to the farm before pulling off the path. Tucker and Ryan made their way to the top of a rise and watched the activity below. There were no ambulances. No one was being pulled from the burned-out building. No matter how much he didn’t want to admit it, Zander had died in that fire. Their friend was gone and there wasn’t anything they could do about it. They would stick around and see if they could find the truck, and whoever was in it, but he knew holding out hope was a long shot. One thing was for certain, he sure as hell wouldn’t go back to Wild Bluff without searching for answers to give to Marshal.