Soft Target (Major Crimes Unit Book 2) (24 page)

Then she found a target.

Emerging from a defunct
bathroom was a man in a baseball cap.  He held a pistol in each hand and was
pointing them both at Sarah.  Mattock and Howard leapt from cover and fired
just in time to send the man running.

Sarah wasted no time going
after the assailant.  The man in the balaclava raced down the stairs, leaping
the steps three at a time, but Sarah threw herself down four at a time.  The
man was fast, but something had possessed Sarah that almost made her take
flight.  Blood pulsed in her temples and her whole body shuddered as her boots
furiously pounded the ground.

Howard and Mattock gave chase
behind Sarah, but they had no chance of keeping up.  Ahead, the balaclava man sped
across the first floor.  Sarah was gaining on him, but was forced to fall back
when he let off a couple of shots.  Sarah ducked inside one of the gutted shop
fronts and fired back three times.

The balaclava man grunted

Sarah
’
s last round had hit home, catching the target in his leg.  He
clutched at his thigh and cursed, but before Sarah could line up another shot,
he straightened out and let rip with both guns.  Howard and Mattock were forced
to retreat back up the stairs.  Sarah leapt inside the empty shop and waited.

Blam Blam Clink!

One of balaclava man
’
s guns went dry and he threw it to the
floor.  He still had ammunition in his other weapon, but instead of emptying it
at Sarah, he limped off in a hurry. 

Sarah slipped out of the store
front and followed the man down the final flight of stairs.  In his
desperation, he was still able to keep up a decent pace.  She chased the man
out of the building and into the yard.  There was panicked screaming coming
from the nearby train platform.  The handful of people waiting there had heard
the gunshots.

“
Don
’
t fucking move,
”
Sarah shouted.  She
’
d
caught up enough to take balaclava man
’
s head off if she
wanted to.

The man stopped, put his hands
in the air, and faced Sarah.  He still held his gun, but it was pointed at the
sky.  She kept her SIG ready as she spoke. 
“
Get down on your knees.
”

The man chuckled. 
“
On a first date, lass?
”

Sarah growled. 
“
Do it!
”

The man got down on his knees,
hands still raised in the air.

“
Drop
the gun.
”

“
But
then what would I have to shoot you with?
”

Sarah glared.

“
Alright,
alright, I hear yer.
”
 
He
dropped his gun and Sarah kicked it away.

She stood in front of the man,
wondering why he gave her such a strange feeling.  Almost like they
’
d met before.  Perhaps it was the accent. 
“
Who are you?
”
she
demanded.

The man shrugged. 
“
See for yerself.
”

Sarah grabbed the top of the
man
’
s balaclava and ripped it
away.  The face that looked back at her was a ghost. 
“
Hamish?
”
she
spluttered.

“
Aye,
”
Hamish said, saluting. 
“
Good to see yer again, Captain.  It
’
s been a wee while.
”

Sarah was so shocked to see
Hamish that she was completely taken by surprise when he leapt up and clocked
her in the jaw.  Her vision was spinning as he snatched her SIG and made a run
for the alley.

S
arah fell as Hamish
escaped into the alley.  There she remained, not because of the blow to her
jaw, but because of the paralyzing shock.  That couldn
’
t really have been Hamish.  Sarah had watched him die; she
’
d
let
him die.

Howard and Mattock sprinted
into the yard and helped Sarah to her feet. Howard grabbed her by the
shoulders. 
“
Sarah, are you
okay?
”

Sarah stared blankly and tried
to speak, but couldn
’
t. 
Mattock slapped her. 
“
Wake
up!  The wanker
’
s getting away!
”

“
He
headed into the alley,
”
said
Sarah, suddenly snapping back into focus.

They took off into the alley,
and were just in time to watch Hamish jump into the side of a black van with a
rear spoiler.  Sarah could see a woman inside wearing a burkha.  She was
kneeling behind something mounted inside the van.

“
Get
down!
”
Sarah dove back into the alley, dragging Howard and
Mattock down with her.

The woman in the burkha fired
a mounted PK machine gun at them, releasing a torrent of bullets so quickly
that the noise became an incessant drone.

“
Bleeding
‘
ell,
”
Mattock growled. 
“
Who
’
s firing a goddamn bulletchucker at us?
”

Sarah peered around the corner
and tried to make out who the woman was, but the burkha hid her identity
completely.  When the woman spotted Sarah, she pivoted the machine gun at her. 
The brickwork next to Sarah
’
s
head exploded.

“
Unidentified
woman.  Belt-loaded PK,
”
Sarah
yelled over the din.

Mattock spat. 
“
Sod it.  She could have a thousand rounds before she runs out.
”

“
We
’
re pinned down,
”
said Howard.

Sarah knew that a PK was a
heavy piece of machinery from the soviet era.  Pivoting it from one side to
another was a slow, arduous affair.  If she could draw the woman
’
s aim, she might be able to afford an
opportunity for Mattock and Howard to return fire.

“
I
’
m going to break cover,
”
she said. 
“
Soon as I start running, you
’
ll have a couple seconds to take her out.
”

Howard grabbed her arm. 
“
Don
’
t be a nutter.  You
’
ll
be cut to ribbons.
”

“
Not
if you do your job.
”
 
She
shrugged free of his grasp and sprinted out of the alleyway.  There was no
cover, no place to go.  The machine gun fire hit the ground behind her like a
rainfall of lead.  If Howard and Mattock weren
’
t quick enough, it would catch up to her and tear her to pieces.

The two men leapt out of the
alleyway behind her and let rip.  Sarah kept on sprinting, trying to keep ahead
of the stream of death.

The machine gun stopped
firing. 

Sarah spun around and watched
the woman in the burkha dive down inside the van for cover.  Then she saw
Hamish sliding the panel door shut behind them both.
 
They were going to
make a break for it.

The van backed up quickly, its
tyres skidding on the pavement.  The unknown driver shifted into gear and swung
the vehicle around.  Sarah had no weapon, but she couldn
’
t help herself
—
she ran after the van.

Howard and Mattock fired until
their clips went dry. 

There was no way to stop the
van, it was going to get away.  Sarah gave her legs everything she had,
sprinting for the vehicle as it circled towards her.  It was getting close
enough to flatten her, but she kept on running.

As the van got closer, Sarah
spotted the driver inside.  She stood her ground, rooted to the pavement.  Her
jaw clenched, eyes narrowed.

Hesbani.

Hesbani glared back at her,
picking up speed.  His face held a mixture of anger and surprised.  He was
obviously stunned to see her, but not displeased.

As the van sped towards her,
Sarah continued to stand her ground.  She raised her right hand and extended
her middle finger.

Just in time, she leapt aside
and landed on her stomach, forced to watch as the van took off past her and
escaped.  She would destroy Hesbani if it was the last thing she did.

Hesbani had probably thought
he hadn
’
t been identified by
the authorities; he
’
d been
using Al-Sharir
’
s name, after all. 
He would realise now that he was known and wanted.  There would be no more
clandestine plotting, no more hiding in the shadows, and no more self-indulgent
videos.  His face would be in the hands of every law enforcement agency in the
UK.  This would only make him desperate and more dangerous.

Sarah leapt to her feet. 
Howard and Mattock were reloading their weapons behind her. 

“
You
okay?
”
Mattock asked her, running up alongside her.

“
I
’
m fine.  We need to get back in that
building and rip it apart for evidence.  Hesbani
’
s on the run now.  We only have a small window of time before he
disappears.
”

The sound of police sirens
filled the air. 
“
You and
Howard get back inside the station house,
”
Mattock said. 
“
I
’
ll clear things with the Old Bill as best I
can.  They ain
’
t gunna like
this.
”

Sarah patted Mattock on the
shoulder and left with Howard, heading back into the alleyway. 

Outside the station house,
there was a strange sound, like air escaping from a tyre.

Howard stopped and looked
around. 
“
What
is
that?
”

Sarah shook her head. 
“
I don
—”

The third floor of the station
house exploded.  The wooden boards flew from the windows as flames burst
through the openings.  Bricks and stones rained down on Sarah and Howard.  A
fist-sized piece of debris striking her shoulder, but she gritted her teeth and
ignored it.  Everything they needed was going up in flames. 

Howard hit the deck and took
cover.   Sarah marched towards the burning building.  Howard shouted at her to
get back, but she couldn
’
t be stopped.  Burning rubble continued to rain down on her, but all
she could think about was the fact that every clue to finding Hesbani was
inside the station house, on the third floor.

Sarah made a decision.  She
sprinted towards the building and burst through its front door.  Clouds of
smoke billowed at her, reminding her of the infirmary and Bradley
’
s body, but she covered her mouth with the
sleeve of her workman
’
s jacket
and made a beeline for the staircase.

Every step she took became
more difficult, but she wouldn
’
t
let it stop her.  She reached the next set of steps and felt heat from above. 
Fires raged everywhere, roaring as they consumed the rotten wood and
super-heated the stonework.  The right side of Sarah
’
s face started to sweat; the left side was incapable.

Howard
’
s voice echoed from below, pleading for her to get out, but she
couldn
’
t go back until she knew
there was nothing salvageable. 

Sarah forced herself up the
steps, battling the heat and smoke.  She thought she might collapse a few
times, but she willed herself to continue onwards.

The entire third floor was
aflame.  Embers fell from the ceiling timbers and filled the air like
firebugs.  Sarah
’
s flinched as
a burning splinter sizzled on her neck.  The desks and corkboards were up
ahead.  Most of them were consumed by flames, but one of the desks was only
smouldering.  She raced towards it.

Something hit Sarah on her
back, knocking her onto her belly.  She wheezed as a chunk of masonry pinned
her to the floor, and choked as she tried to grab a breath, clawing at the
floor wildly.  Her arms and legs felt tingly and it took a concerted effort to
move them.

Sarah managed to roll out from
underneath the masonry, but was unable to get to her feet.  She felt like she
was swimming, and any attempt to get up only made her sink lower, so she
crawled instead of walking, dragging herself towards the smouldering desk,
desperately trying to get there before it ignited. 

She made it to the desk, and
standing up was her next challenge.  The flames were already licking at the
legs of the table, so she couldn
’
t use them for support.  Her head flopped loosely on her shoulders
and her hands clawed the air impotently, but her eyes were alert and she
managed to spot something lying beneath the table.  There was a sheet of paper
on the floor, blown free of the corkboard by the explosion.  She snatched at it
and shoved the paper into her trouser pocket, grinning deliriously at her
victory. 

But that was all she had.  She
was done.

Sarah lay like a rock, unable
to move as the flames closed in around her, consuming all in their path.  She
tried to cry out but all she could manage was a weak cough.

“
Sarah!
”

She couldn
’
t see Howard, but his voice was coming from
the stairs.

“
Sarah,
hold on.
”

Sarah waited, listening to the
crackling of the flames.  Then she felt herself hoisted upwards and dragged
backwards through the smoke.  She thought she might die, and if she did, she
just hoped that the piece of paper in her pocket was useful.

AFGHANISTAN,
2008

As soon as Camp Bastion
’
s patrol found Sarah, they rushed her back
to base.  There, a pair of Army surgeons rehydrated her and stitched up the
festering wound in her thigh, but they couldn
’
t do anything about her facial wounds.  When she came around, they
told her she
’
d been out for
almost twenty-four hours.  When she asked about her baby, they told her there
was no baby, and nor would there ever be.  She had miscarried during surgery
and her uterus was shot.  She hadn
’
t cried upon hearing that, even though she felt more wretched than
at any other point in her life.

At 0600 hours, Major Burke had
come by to see her.  He told her that he was sorry about the loss of her child,
and if she
’
d told him she was
pregnant he never would
’
ve sent her out.  Sarah said it was okay and that it had been her
decision not to tell him. 

Then Major Burke had got down
to business. 
“
Sergeant Miller?
”

“
Dead.
”

“
Private
Owen?
”

“
Dead.
”

“
Privates
Murs, Styles, and McElderry?
”

“
Dead,
dead, dead.
”

“
Corporal
Hamish Barnes?
”

Sarah swallowed a lump in her
throat.  She couldn
’
t look her
CO in the eye when she spoke again. 
“
Dead.
”

Burke sighed. 
“
Christ, what a clusterfuck.  We
’
ve blanketed the area in troops but the
village has been completely abandoned.  Seems like the Taliban had a
stranglehold on the place and we didn
’
t even know it.  We
’
ll
find these men, don
’
t you
worry, Captain.
”