RED HAZE: A Werewolf Story for the 21st Century (27 page)

Gradually, carefully, Piper hauled himself up the wall, his hands reaching the flat of the brickwork as he pulled himself up. He paused, looking warily at the mass of razor wire in front of him. To his left and right, at the corners of the huge building now dominating his view, two figures stood distantly in the dim light. The security guards! Swiftly, Piper reversed the grapple and slid down the opposite side. He dropped flat to the ground, leaving the thin black rope in place. It would be required upon his return. Silently, his night vision assisted gaze still focused intently on the guards ahead of him he un-strapped the ALICE backpack, opened it and retrieved the wire cutters and suppressed USP. Breathing slowly, Piper spoke to his control centre, “confirming entry to perimeter grounds, now awaiting instructions.”

“Affirmative Red Haze! Take a look around carefully, remember, while you’re wearing your NV set, what you see, we see.”

“Copy Control.” Little by little, Piper moved his head from left to right, the unnatural green glow from the night vision goggles illuminating the area perfectly, both for himself and CEATA’s Command team.

“Okay,” Nick’s voice returned through the Com-link, “as you can see, the first set of razor wire is approximately four metres in front of you. By my reckoning the guards are due to patrol the rear of the building any minute now, so stay quiet and remember,” Nick’s voice was tense, “patience is a virtue Red Haze.”

“No problem.” The minutes ticked by as CEATA Field Agent 038 lay flat in the dew soaked grass. Then, came movement! “They’re starting to patrol the rear of the building,” Piper whispered.

“Affirmative! From what I’ve already viewed, when the two meet up, they will probably talk for several minutes. Again, we need to be patient.”

And they were patient, the minutes ticking by as Piper lay still, enjoying the thrill of outwitting both the guards and security systems of Von Kurst Electronics.

“Okay!” It was twenty-two minutes later, and Nick’s voice once again crackled down Piper’s ear, “crawl to the razor wire…now.”

“Understood.” With his USP neatly placed in its shoulder holster and the wire cutters in his right hand Piper crawled silently, like a cat stealthily hunting a mouse. “I have reached the razor wire, preparing to cut through.”

“Okay, just take it nice and slowly! You will have approximately eighteen minutes before they start their checks again. Go for it!” Piper took hold of the small but tough high tensile steel cutters in his gloved hand and started to slice through, neatly severing a small section of the razor sharp wire. Six minutes later, he was through!

In the CEATA Communications room, Nick Lucas was embroiled with the view on the screen as tension mounted. “Okay Red Haze, crawl to the next line of razor wire, then, OH SHIT!”

Back on the dew soaked ground, Piper froze. He could hear voices, his heartbeat pounding through his head.

“They’re starting their patrol again, keep low and quiet!”

“Affirmative.” Over the blades of grass Piper watched the figures in the distance. They were like shadows, tiny shadows slowly patrolling along the large rear wall of Building Four. The wolf’s acute hearing detected their voices; the security guards’ speech being fluent German. Another twenty minutes passed by, then once again, Piper slowly, quietly crept forward. “I’m preparing to cut through the second set of razor wire.”

“Affirmative.”

The guards had returned to their positions as Piper severed himself a neat entrance. “That’s it, I’m through.”

Jeanette Descard’s heartbeat was racing, the look on her face one of extreme apprehension. “So far, so good,” she whispered.

“Red Haze to Control.”

 “Go ahead.”

“I’ve been listening to the guards as they speak. They have strong German accents, and…there is something else.”

“Oh, what’s that, Red Haze?” Colonel Mann’s inquisitive voice intervened as Piper replied.

“I’m increasing magnification on my night vision system. Take a look at the armed security guard to my left.” The CEATA team watched their split screen as Piper’s field of view drew closer to the armed guard, the focus now firmly on the shouldered weapon he was carrying. “If I am not mistaken Control, the weapon the guard is carrying looks like a modified version of the SturmGewehr MP44.”

Piper’s colleagues looked bemused as Colonel Mann replied, “yes, I see what you mean, but that’s…impossible!”

Nick turned to look at the Colonel, “what does this mean sir?” The Canadian looked out of his depth as Charles Mann explained the reason for Piper’s concern.

“The MP44 Assault Rifle was generally regarded as one of the finest infantry weapons of World War Two. It was utilised by elite Waffen SS troops during 1944 to 45.”

Commander Hertschell continued, “their production ceased after the war Nick, however the Russians developed the AK47 from its basic design.” The Commander gazed inquisitively at Colonel Mann, “so where, and how are they being manufactured again?” he asked. 

“More importantly gentlemen,” Jeanette Descard interrupted, “for what reason?”

Charles Mann resumed his satellite transmitted conversation with Piper. “Red Haze, this is just another piece of the puzzle regarding Von Kurst Electronics, but right now we must concentrate on getting you into Building Four as time is of the essence.” He looked at Nick, “I’m passing you back to direct communication with your colleague.” The Colonel nodded his head, and Nick continued.

“Okay Red Haze, you now have to crawl to the right, for a good four hundred metres or so, obviously this will bring you to the right hand side of Building Four, just stay low and watch out for the security guard and if I stay ‘STOP’, then I mean stop.”

“Understood.” Piper crawled slowly and carefully to his right, as always, steadfastly listening for any telltale sounds of movement or voices, keeping careful watch on the location of the nearby guard and the ever-looming surveillance camera.

“Red Haze, as you approach the corner of Building Four you must take great care as this is the area where the dog kennels are located.”

“Understood.”

“Once you have reached the corner, you will see a closed metallic doorway approximately six metres down the right hand side, this is the door you need to get to. I will relay further information as soon as you are in position.”

“Understood.” To Piper, the dew stained grass and soil smelled refreshing as he continued to crawl toward his target. Inquisitively, his nostrils twitched at the pungent odours of the ground as the wolf recognised the outside world, the wild world of night-time and danger. He continued to crawl…slowly, surely, stealthily.

“Stop!” Nick’s voice broke the silence. “Red Haze, you are now at right angles to the main surveillance camera, do not, I repeat, do not go any further or you will be in its field of view.” Piper slowly turned his gaze to the edge of the building. Yes, there was the camera, slowly rotating on its bevelled axis. “Now, this is where things get tricky! You have to move towards the side door once the guard makes his next patrol down the rear of the building, and…you must stay in line with the edge of the camera. Once you’ve reached the door, I will give you the code for the electronic keypad.”

“Understood.”

In the CEATA Communications Room all eyes continued to monitor both the overhead satellite view and Piper’s NV view, the atmosphere being charged with tension as Colonel Mann spoke again to Commander Hertschell. “Once he’s inside, I think we’ll all breathe a little easier.”

The Commander nodded his head as Nick typed dexterously at his keyboard. “I’m going to a thermal view inside the warehouse, just to make sure we’ve got a clear, HEY, SHIT, LOOK AT THIS!” Nick’s voice was now edged with alarm, “Red Haze, we have movement at the front of Building Four. It looks like a large heavy goods vehicle has just pulled up to the main loading bay, do you copy?”

Piper replied, “affirmative. I can hear voices but as yet do not have any visual confirmation.” As Piper ceased his whispered conversation, the guard across from him began his security round. “The guard is patrolling again! I’m ready to move across to the doorway, just give me a few minutes to make sure he is well on his way.”

“Understood,” replied Nick, carefully monitoring the thermal image of the inside of Building Four. “You’re good to go Red Haze, move when you can, but keep out of view of that camera.”

Even in the cold moistness of the night air, Piper began to sweat as he carefully tracked the armed security guard making his patrol. Soon enough, he crawled quickly through the grass to the edge of the concrete walkway, knelt and peered around the corner. The dog kennels were approximately fifty metres from him and already their occupants were becoming restless. Carefully, he pushed flat against the warehouse wall and slowly moved under the surveillance camera, the whirring of its bevelled rotation making him feel uneasy as he quietly reached his target location. “Red Haze to Control, I am at the doorway, request key code urgently, the dogs are becoming restless and could give me away. Do you copy?”

Nick replied, his voice slightly shaky, “hold on Red Haze, I’m hacking into the mainframe to close off the first infra-red alarm zone, but remember, you must not move inside the building until I give the okay. Do you understand?” There was no reply, “Red Haze, do you copy?” Again, there was no reply.

“What is he doing?” asked Jeanette Descard.

Ash Piper suddenly froze, his skin crawling as an icy chill slithered its way down his spine. The large wolf in his nightmare, IT’S BEHIND THE DOOR!

“Red Haze, do you copy? What the hell’s happening?” Nick sounded jumpy as Piper continued to stare at the single metal door in front of him. The large wolf he thought, its screaming for revenge…behind the door, waiting, READY TO ATTACK!

“His heartbeat is increasing rapidly.” Jeanette Descard cast a worried glance at Commander Hertschell as a CEATA medic monitored Piper’s vital signs.

“Try him again Nick.” Colonel Mann was anxious. They all were!

Pull yourself together thought Piper, don’t be stupid! But the image in his head, so powerful, so hypnotic! It was calling to him once again…‘join us!’ NO! GET A GRIP!

“Red Haze, do you copy?”

Piper slowly breathed the cold, moist night air through his nostrils, deep into his lungs. Stay calm he thought, stay calm! “Copy Control, no problem.”

“Okay, now…punch this sequence in, zero…” Piper gently began to push the soft keypad as Nick relayed the code whilst shutting down a section of the infra-red alarm system, “…three, three, nine, nine, two…now press the red button for entry.” Piper held his breath…and pressed. There was a metallic clicking sound and the side door to Building Four opened gently. Piper smiled and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “Nick, you’re a bloody genius,” he whispered.

Moving stealthily, Piper opened the door, crept inside and carefully closed it behind him. Immediately upon entry he surveyed his new surroundings, noticing many large crates amidst the warehouse racking, some neatly stacked up to five high. Cautiously he looked around. At the front of the building he could hear voices. “Sounds like they’re unloading cargo,” he whispered.

“We need to have a closer look. I can only see so much from the satellite view,” said Nick. “As we discussed during the mission briefing, I will have to shut each infra-red zone down as you move through it, then restore it so as not to arouse suspicion. This is going to take some time.”

“Understood, but I’m going to normal vision, the lighting is fine in here.”

“No problem.”

Piper raised the NV Headset over his bandana. “Control, guide me around these crates to the best viewpoint. I’m ready when you are.”

“I’m already on it.” Nick tapped again at his keyboard as a magnified image brought Piper’s body to a central viewpoint on the large screen. Around him were faint red horizontal lines. “Oh man, this will be fun! Red Haze, the first three sets of crates directly in front of you will act as initial cover for the route I’m planning. Move along them and follow every instruction I give you to the letter, understood?”

“Understood Control.”

“Move now,” Piper crept forward, “…stop!” 

The voices of men, and sounds of forklift trucks drew ever closer. It was several minutes later and Nick’s guidance had given Piper the edge over the security personnel. Carefully, Piper peered around a large stack of crates. These are all over the place he thought, but just what the hell is in them? Cautiously, his view focused on the large shutter doors, and two forklift trucks offloading more of the same crates from the large heavy goods vehicle. 

“The vehicle is in sight” he whispered, “it’s definitely, I repeat, definitely of Russian origin.”

“Are you certain Red Haze?” Colonel Mann interrupted.

“Affirmative Control! From what I can see the vehicle’s side curtains have St Petersburg written on them in English. I repeat, definitely Russian in origin.”

“Can you view the license plate, over?”

“That’s a negative, certainly not from this angle and it’s too risky to move closer.”

“Hold position Red Haze! Jean-Paul, bring the VKE warehouse traffic roster up on one of the other screens.”

“Yes sir!” Within seconds Charles Mann and Maurice Hertschell were carefully viewing the export-import traffic movements for the VKE warehouse.