Monster (40 page)

“If they’re in a commercial building they share with a bank or an electronics firm for instance. We could cause more damage than an actual terrorist attack to their video optics. I brought it in case they’re the only ones using the building. I can make it so they won’t have motion detectors or alarms and they won’t know it. In reality, this weapon will take out stuff we may be unaware of at the time. Any plans if we have to waste all these guys?”

“I’m more worried about whether Dillon does have her children with these people,” McDaniels took out his cell-phone and speed dialed Reskova’s number.

“Reskova.”

“Hi Red, I thought of something else. Do you still have Dillon?”

“Yes, Jen and Tom are also with me in the interrogation room. What do you need?”

“Ask her where her kids are in reality.”

“Shit, I should have thought about that before… oh, never mind. Wait one.”

McDaniels listened as Reskova interrupted something Barrington was asking.

“Where are your two children?” Reskova asked brusquely.

McDaniels heard nothing for a moment and then Dino growled. McDaniels smiled to himself as he heard Dillon’s voice tell Reskova the children were at her Mother’s house in North Carolina for the holidays.

“You get that, Cold?”

“Yep. So you have Dino working as the truth detector, huh?”

“He’s getting real good at it, too. All I have to do is look at him now and he goes over to her with his teeth out.”

“How does he know you’re bluffing?”

“Who’s bluffing?”

“Okay, I get that now. See you soon.”

“You better,” Reskova whispered before ending the call.

“The Boss has the dog doing interrogations now?”

McDaniels nodded. “From the sound of it, Dino seems to like it too. You and Red were right about it being the money. Dillon’s kids are at her Mom’s house for the holidays in North Carolina.”

“She spoke to the enemy like a coconspirator. How did the woman think to convince us her kids were being held?” Rasheed asked in confusion.

“She just hoped to slip away in the confusion at some point later on. I think she thought to do a disappearing act. Dillon probably has some off shore account she’s been stashing her traitor money in.”

“Jesus,” Donaldson exclaimed in disgust. “It ain’t bad enough we have a global war going on with Western Civilization at stake. Now, in addition to Muslim Terrorists, we have to deal with traitors right under our noses.”

“Do not despair, my young friend,” Rasheed said sympathetically.

“Kay’s right, Pete. We can’t cut these mole’s heads off unless they stick them out of their holes.”

“This mole cost me some very good men.”

“I guess we’ll have to see if we can’t even things up a little. We’ll need some prisoners if at all possible. Maybe…”

The cell-phone Chet had given to Rasheed rang in the cup holder Rasheed had set it in between he and McDaniels. McDaniels answered it and listened silently for a few moments before acknowledging the information. He said goodbye and ended the call.

“Good news, it’s a small office building owned by one of the subsidiaries of the Syrian import company we know and love.”

“The friggin’ Russians are working with the Syrians now?” Donaldson asked.

“I think just their mafia wing here in the states with the Chechen Muslims mixed in - another triumph for our immigration department.”

Rasheed sighed. “It is just like home - enemies on all sides and open borders to provide routes for terrorist re-enforcement.”

“Ah, Kay, that’s so cute. You don’t have to put a smiley on this for us.”

“What is this smiley?” Rasheed asked as Pete chuckled.

“Never mind. How close are we?”

“Ten minutes,” Rasheed answered.

“I have a plan,” McDaniels announced.

 “Oh boy. You mean like the one which made me the Father of a son and my son an orphan in one short hour?”

“Sort of. How’d that work for you, Kay?”

“I cannot complain, Mr. Mountain,” Rasheed admitted. “Proceed.”

“We do a drive by, pausing for Pete to zap the warning bells and whistles. I exit your SUV and quickly get inside to recon the situation.”

“They could have fifty men in there, Colonel,” Donaldson protested, leaning forward in his seat. “At least…”

“Do not excite yourself, young Pete,” Rasheed interrupted. “The Cold Mountain will do what he said no matter what you say. Let us question him as to our part in it before we get there.”

“Sorry, Colonel,” Donaldson said sheepishly. “Go ahead.”

“If you don’t get any word from me within a half hour, park the SUV and come in full bore. If I get into trouble before the half hour is up, I’ll break silence and call you two in. If not, I’ll give you two minutes to get inside and then I’ll let you know where to go.”

McDaniels glanced down at his watch. “I’ve got three thirty-two. Let’s make it three-thirty.”

Donaldson and Rasheed reset their watches to match McDaniels’ mark. They rode the rest of the way in silence, until Rasheed cautioned they were very close in proximity to their target. Donaldson removed the light weapon from his bag, and assembled the remote power pack. Rasheed turned off the SUV’s headlights. He drove slowly around the final block, making sure of the correct address. Rasheed stopped in front of a boxy commercial building with well lighted glass entryway.

“Avert your eyes, boys,” Donaldson warned, as he exited the van and took aim at the front entrance.

The Special Ops man gave the entranceway a thirty second blast which turned the front of the building into a green daylight. He swept the blast beam over the intended target. When Donaldson finished the building was in total darkness. McDaniels tapped him on the shoulder as he streaked across the street to the entrance. Donaldson hopped back into the van with Rasheed.

“Does the Colonel know how to get… ah… forget it,” Donaldson said, as the front entrance door opened.

As Rasheed drove away he answered Donaldson’s unasked question. “Yes, the Cold Mountain knows how to get into anything, including a multitude of trouble. Your light weapon is very impressive. It is not the first time I have been glad I am on your side.”

“We won’t know until later how much damage I caused. The Tech’s all claim to know the parameters of what this can do but I have my doubts. They don’t give you these for your eyes if the damn thing was harmless.”

Donaldson waved the specially shielded goggles he had used when discharging the light weapon. “For all I know, we’re probably all impotent now.”

Rasheed swiveled in surprise towards Donaldson but turned his attention away as the young Special Ops agent smiled back.

“Not funny. I think you Americans make too many jokes at very inappropriate times.”

“Sorry, Kay.”

“Another lie.”

Rasheed circled the block slowly. He parked fifty yards back from the building on his second time around. Both men watched the building tensely in silence. Nearly twenty minutes passed by before they heard McDaniels’ voice in their ears.

“Hi guys, piece of cake. Guess what? They have an emergency conference going right now on the third floor. They didn’t bother with any guards since they had such a great alarm system,” McDaniels whispered. “The first two floors are open showrooms with all kinds of crap displayed. The third floor has a number of open offices. Their meeting room is to your right as you exit the stairwell.”

“How many, Colonel?” Donaldson asked.

“I don’t know. There are no windows and the door is closed. In the couple of minutes I was listening, I heard at least five different voices. I doubt they’re standing around with weapons at the ready. I’m calling you from the stairwell. Come on up. Don’t take the elevator.”

“Great, another comedian,” Rasheed muttered. Where will you be, Cold?”

“I’m going over to listen in. Bring something along so we can tape these guys.”

“I still have a recorder in the back. Tom told me it will pick up anything down to a dropped needle.”

“Good, hurry it up,” McDaniels said, inching out of the stairwell and into the darkened hall.

Rasheed and Donaldson spotted McDaniels listening intently at the door to one of the rooms. All the other office doors were partially open. McDaniels signaled them to come up next to him without turning. Both Rasheed and Donaldson carried MAC10’s, while McDaniels carried a Ruger 9mm.

“There has to be nearly a dozen men in there,” McDaniels whispered as Rasheed set up the recorder he had brought. “I’ve heard Arabic and Russian. Half are in a panic about not hearing from Dillon. Only one guy knows Dillon, and the rest have been trying to get him to tell them who he has on the inside, but he won’t budge. He probably doesn’t trust his compatriots in there to keep their mouths shut.”

“If you’ll keep silent, Mr. Mountain,” Rasheed whispered back, “maybe we can get some of this recorded.”

McDaniels grinned at Rasheed, shaking his head. Donaldson crouched next to Rasheed, gripping his weapon tightly  wondering if he would ever be able to make jokes in combat situations. Tensing at the sound of a chair moving, Donaldson decided it was unlikely. The phone rang and one of the Russians answered it in English.

“That is the man who spoke to the woman on the phone,” Rasheed whispered.

The Russian Rasheed spoke of ended the call after a short angry acknowledgement. They heard the man speak fiercely in rapid Russian to one of the other men. McDaniels shook his head at Rasheed and Donaldson with a look of disgust.

“The jig is up,” McDaniels said in a hushed voice, getting to his feet. “He has more than Dillon on the inside somewhere. He just received a report from someone else that Dillon was taken and the men in the warehouse are dead.”

McDaniels silently contemplated their next course of action. The voices inside the room were all speaking angrily in Arabic. Rasheed smiled at Donaldson who had no idea what was being said.

“The Arabs and Chechnyans think the Russians sold out their men in the warehouse,” Rasheed whispered to Donaldson.

“Here they come, boys,” McDaniels said, leaning against the doorway on the left side of the entrance. Rasheed and Donaldson bunched up against the right side. “We need the Russian alive, but it may not be possible. I’m going down the center. Kay to the right, Pete to the left.”

Donaldson and Rasheed nodded their understanding as the office door opened. A tall man with graying hair and mustache walked purposely through the doorway. McDaniels smashed him square in the face with a balled up mallet like fist. The man crashed back into the men following him, blood showering out of the man’s ruined face. He dropped his briefcase. McDaniels fired indiscriminately into the shocked crowd, aiming at their feet and legs. Screaming chaos followed as Rasheed and Donaldson rushed into the room on both sides of the small mob of men. Within minutes of McDaniels’ first attack the eleven men who had been in the room were on the floor of the office in growing puddles of blood. Half of them were wounded. The others had been beaten roughly to the floor either by McDaniels or Donaldson. Rasheed held his MAC10 in a covering motion, ready to kill any who made even the slightest movement toward a weapon.

“Who are you!?” One of the men who had not been wounded screamed at the three. “What…”

McDaniels shot him in the ankle. His victim screamed in pain and rolled up into a fetal position hugging his bleeding leg. McDaniels gestured at the other men with contempt.

“Do not speak unless I ask you something. Get into positions with your hands behind your backs. I don’t give a shit how bad you’re wounded. Do it now!”

The men followed McDaniels’ order, the wounded moaning in pain. McDaniels pulled the man he had just shot up into a sitting position. The terrified man quickly released his injured leg and clasped his hands behind his back. McDaniels smiled at him.

“Tell me which of these men answered the telephone before your meeting broke up.”

The light skinned man with sandy colored hair looked around quickly at his companions. McDaniels smacked him across the face, propelling the already wounded man sideways where his head hit the carpeted floor. McDaniels pulled him into a sitting position again. He jammed his Ruger into the groaning man’s groin area.

“Tell me quickly,” McDaniels whispered.

“There… there!” The man pointed at the unconscious victim of McDaniels first blow at the doorway who had not moved since falling to the floor.

McDaniels stood up. Rasheed handed him a bunch of acrylic cable ties. “Sit still while I fasten your hands together. Move… and my compatriots will blow more holes in you.”

Chapter 29

Information Gathering

Moments later, McDaniels bound the group of wounded and stunned men with their hands behind their backs and ankles together. Only then did McDaniels grab the raggedly breathing unconscious Russian up by his suit coat like a small child. He threw him down roughly into a chair. Donaldson disarmed the rest of the men under Rasheed’s watchful eye. Blood still flowed sluggishly out of the man’s broken nose as air was drawn in by gasps and snorts. McDaniels removed a Glock 9mm handgun from the man’s waistband holster but found no other weapons on him. McDaniels confiscated everything in the man’s pockets before taking out his own cell phone and speed dialing Reskova.