45. Hand Grenades
Hand Grenades
Fly
Things I’ve never done, but can now check off of my bucket list…that I didn’t know should be on my bucket list.
Flew in a private jet without a flight plan…check.
Flew under the radar…the thought of that makes me a little queasy…check.
Landing in a plane at night without the lights on…gulp…check.
Spent four hours making a plan of attack with Vex...check.
Watch a crazy man plan a brilliant attack…check.
Not die…I really wish I could check that one off.
The vans we acquired for this op from a rental agency that thinks it rented out to a church group for the day were waiting for us two blocks from the airport and are now parked a block from where we’re standing.
Everett took care of all the cameras and the ‘paperwork’. That kid could be a menace.
“Everyone remember their jobs?” Vex asks over the group mic.
A roll call of yeses streams through.
“Switch over to the main channel and remain radio silent unless something goes wrong.” Vex flips his channel. “Team Blue, in position and ready to go.”
“Red, ready,” Maddox says.
“Silver, ready,” Max checks in.
“Green, good to go.” Taylor sounds way too cheerful.
“Black, ready,” Jacko says.
Most of Chaos is spread between Jacko and Maddox’s team. They just have way more experience than we do running ops like this. All of us can hit the target we aim at, but an op this complex we gladly left to the professionals.
“Lights going out at all facilities in five…four…three…two…dark”
The entire block goes dark.
Vex turns to me and whispers, “You ready?”
To die? Um, no. “Sure.”
“If something goes wrong, stay behind me. And if it goes sideways, chuck a few of these.” He holds out two hand grenades likes they’re party favors. “Do you know how to use them?”
A two-year-old knows how to use them. Pull the pin and throw it far, far, far away from you, then duck and pray. “Yeah.”
“Let’s hope we don’t need to use them.”
Wait. “All of this wasn’t so that you could kill me?” I follow the surprisingly quiet man, considering just how many weapons he’s carrying through the alleyway.
He glances my way, briefly confused. “Why would I do that? If I wanted you dead, I’d just kill you.”
“Because it would upset your wife?”
Vex laughs silently. “There wouldn’t be a body or witnesses if I killed you. She’d never know.”
“Oh.”
“This was so I could keep an eye on you. And you seem smart and quick, neither of which is a bad skill to have if things go sideways.”
He wanted to protect me?
Does this sort of make us friends? Like I’m stupid enough to ask that. “Understood.”
“My wife thinks I need to make more friends.”
Good to know my instincts were spot on.
“You don’t seem stupid. Though I still need to play poker with you to confirm that fact.”
“Um. No.”
Vex stops and stares at me. “You think you’re that good?”
“I know I am. There’s only one person who has ever beaten me.”
His grin gets eerily large. “I’m married to that woman’s daughter.”
Wait. “How did you know it was a woman?”
“I’m not stupid. Now let’s kill some dead men.”
***
“Blue, facility clear.”
Those words ring out in my brain. I wasn’t built to walk through a dark space in night-vision glasses, shooting men where they stand. Though that filth hardly counts as men. There isn’t enough bleach in the world to unsee what I just saw.
Vex didn’t blink. He didn’t hesitate.
Drop a body. Move on. It was like he became a killing machine.
The cages that are now on the ground are going to haunt my dreams. The children we took out of them…Will live.
Remember that. They have a chance at a semi-normal life because of what we just did.
“It doesn’t seem right burning all of this to the ground.” I stare at the video equipment and stages set up on this floor. “We should be turning it over to the cops?”
“The ones who clued in Carves?” Maddox answers from miles away, where he’s doing the same thing.
My head knows that. “But how are they going to get justice?”
“Justice is a dream that is fought for by men who stand up for what is right every day. What do you think this is that you’re doing now?
You’re giving them their bit of justice without the pomp and ceremony the government needs.
” Taylor’s words feel significant. “Every bit of information you are compiling now gets us closer to finding the head of this beast and destroying him. Don’t let the hard moments stop you from seeing what all of this was about. ”
I turn my mic off and get to work.
***
Some guy named Axe carries two suitcases onto the private jet as we help load up the women and children.
Some are so fragile, I’m not sure how they’re going to make it. The others…their dead eyes haven’t seen the reality of the change in their circumstances yet.
One woman, though, is starting to scare me. She hasn’t taken her eyes off my gun since I lifted her out of her cage. She hasn’t cried. She hasn’t thanked us. She hasn’t said a single word…but her eyes watch my gun…
Vex walks up next to me and stops. “Watch out for that one. She’s going to try to kill herself.”
What? “How do you know that?”
He shrugs. “I’ve seen women like her before. Some make it. Others…they’re too far gone. Don’t let her get her hands on your gun.”
What does too far gone mean? I’m about to find out. “Hi. We need you to move onto the plane. Can you walk, or do you need me to carry you?”
Her eyes stay focused on my gun. “Could you please shoot me?”
My heart sinks. “You’re safe. No one is ever going to hurt you again. We’re going to take you someplace safe where you can get help.”
“If I’m free, please shoot me? Or hand me your gun so I can do it myself.”
“No, you don’t understand. You’re free. No one is going to hurt you.”
“KILL ME. KILL ME. Please kill me.” Her shouts are barely loud enough to travel several feet.
But they burn through my soul. What do I do? How do I help her to see she’s safe? It’s over.
Vex walks up and squats down until he’s eye level with her.
“No. No one’s going to kill you. What you went through was worse than anything anyone in this world could imagine.
And the next few months are going to be hard.
I won’t tell you any different. But you’re not allowed to die.
Not until you’re sure there’s no hope for a normal life.
So what you’re going to do is get on that plane.
Go to a doctor. See a million therapists.
And then after that, in a year from today, if you still want to die, I’ll take you somewhere beautiful and kill you in beauty, not filth. ”
“One year?”
“One year.” He nods. “You have my word. Now, do you need my friend to carry you up those stairs, or are you able to walk?”
“They burnt my feet.”
“My friend will carry you. You can trust him.”
“One year…you promise?”
Vex nods. “I promise you that in one year you will see me. And I will ask you one question: do you want to live? Your choice alone will determine your future.”
“My choice. In a year, it’ll be my choice?”
“Yes.” He sighs and stands up. “You can carry her onto the plane now.”
I don’t even know if I can walk now. My body is shaking so hard.
***
More medical staff than I’ve ever seen in one place pours out of the Willow Street medical center the second our caravan pulls up.
They start whisking women away. An older blonde woman in scrubs comes to the side of the car where I’m sitting next to the woman I carried onto the plane. I didn’t trust her with anyone else. She’s still watching. Still waiting for an opportunity to kill herself.
All it would take is one moment of distraction for her to pull my weapon and end her own life. I didn’t do all this for her to die.
“Any information I need to know?” The blonde nurse is all business.
“They burnt her feet. And she needs a three-day watch.” Well, more than three days, but hopefully the nurse or doctor, whatever she is, understands.
“Got it.” The doctor nods. “Any attempts?”
“She’s attempting right now. If I blink, she’ll do it.”
The doctor puts her hand on my arm. “You can breathe now. We’ll take care of her from here on out.”
Tears slide down my face. “I don’t know how to anymore.”
“You walk out of here and hug someone you love. You look up at the sky and know you did your best. Then you take a breath. And another one, until they come easier. If by Monday, you don’t feel like you can breathe, you come talk to me.” She slides a card out of her pocket and holds it out.
I take the card, flipping it in my fingers, hoping that I never actually have to look at the name on it.