Chapter 38—Kooper
“What’s that?” Havoc asks as he comes closer, as do Viper and Venom.
Bulldog speaks for the group. “They’ve got a tracker on the roommate, Natalie. They know she’s there, and we’ve got nothing else to go on till then to assume Ruby isn’t.”
“Might be a good idea to start tracking the whole damn lot,” a voice says from the left, and we all turn to see three others emerge out of what I thought was a bunk area.
“Mickey? What the fuck are you doing here?” Bass grabs him hard and gives him a hug. They got close when we were in Russia for his woman. Now he’s in Michigan, taking on an officer’s position, last I heard from Domino.
“Domino sends his regrets and says me, Lucky, and Rooster”—he points to himself and the other two—“were the best he could do to replace him.”
“Glad to have you,” Casper says with a nod. They’ve worked together before, when he was getting his woman too. The guy gets around, it seems.
Damn, just how many times is the cavalry going in to help get a brother’s woman? Maybe Mickey’s right. Maybe the whole lot needs embedded trackers. Would save us time and solve a few issues before they become them.
“Okay, now that the bromance is done, let’s get to it. Our intel says they have a shift change coming in.” Gina moves to the table and looks over the maps, pulling up a building schematic.
“Shift change?” This from Walker.
“Yeah. Every few weeks, another group comes in.”
“Comes in from where? What’s the details on this place? Who are we raiding?” Viper—or is it Venom—speaks up. They need their vests back on and not the Kevlar. Hard as hell to tell who’s who.
“These men are locals for hire. They go where the money is. Some days they’re freedom fighters. The next, drug lord cartel men. If the money’s good enough, they do what’s needed. But they all have a common problem.”
“Let me guess—death to Americans,” Bulldog grumbles.
“Actually, they’ve just got a thing against borders. They see one, they want to knock it down. They’re as free as gypsies in their mind and hate to be confined.”
“They would suck at prison,” Havoc comments, earning a few grunts in agreement.
“Where do you think most of them came from?” Gina asks as if she’s genuinely curious before she explains more. “They either snuck out or were let out by the government. Who knows? But they don’t like people getting in their way.”
“Good thing Hoss is good at being a wall, aren’t you, big fella?” One of the twins slaps him on the back.
“Fuck off, Viper.” He pushes him back, and the guy falls to the floor. At least I know which one is which now. That, and Viper has a deep red strip down the side of his Kevlar.
“And if they don’t like it, that’s why we’ve got Havoc. He’s really good at taking them down.” The other twin, Venom, grins at Havoc as if nothing just happened to his brother. Guess this shit happens often.
“Damn, Domino is going to be pissed he missed this,” Mickey says with a wide grin and a shake of his head.
Casper puts both hands on the table and looks everything over before pulling out an aerial view of the place where Nat’s being held.
“I want four teams. Three snipers with spotters up at the tree line. Here, here, and here.” He points to three spots that have the best vantage points. “King is with me. Bulldog on the second, and if you’re willing to part with one of yours, Mickey, he can be Bulldog’s spotter.”
“Take Lucky. He’s pretty good on a gun if you want to switch.”
Bulldog nods, and the two eye each other in understanding.
“You want the third?” Casper looks at Gina, who nods. “We don’t start shooting till the welcome team gets there.”
“Welcome team?” This from Lucky.
“Yeah—nothing says ‘welcome to the party’ like explosives.”
“Ah, the nice way to let yourself in.” Viper grins.
“Exactly. Get set up and then double back.” Casper looks like Havoc, Viper, and Venom as he speaks.
Our group already discussed on the plane that we were going to let the professionals handle this part.
While we all know how to throw a grenade, those with OHH train on stealth.
Getting in and out. By having them set the charges, we have a better shot of sticking to a timetable.
“When we blow it, I want you to double back and help the ground team. If we plan this right, we can get them all looking left while…”
“While I go right,” I say. Finally, we’re getting to the part that I want. The part that gets me in and looking for my girl.
Casper nods. “I want a four-man team to go through these tunnels. We don’t know if they’re blocked or not, but it’s a start. We suspect two people are in there. We get in and get them out. Kooper and Walker already volunteered for this. Any others?”
Rooster looks at Hoss. “Might be easier to break down the walls with you on the inside.”
Hoss, who seems to be a man of few words, similar to Mad Max, nods. “Even better if I had some cover.”
Rooster knocks his knuckles against Hoss’s and grins. “Deal.”
“What if we find more?” King asks. He’s been quiet. He wants to be here, but he’s still fucked up about what happened with him and Abigail. And their kid. We all told him to hang back, to deal with his own shit. His response was “They’re dead. Shit’s dealt with.”
If I were one to suggest therapy, it would be to him. But I’m not, and I’ve got my own issues to work through, so I kept my yap shut and didn’t blink when he got on his bike and drove beside me to the airfield.
“Do what you have to. But the priority, gentlemen—” Casper looks at everyone, landing on me last. “—is Ruby. The rest is bonus. That clear?”
Nods all around.
“What about the roommate?” Walker asks, looking at the two who aren’t part of our group.
We all do. But Gina keeps her face clear, no emotion at all, and just blinks. No response. And after we wait half a minute for them to demand we get Natalie out or something, Casper continues.
“Do what you can, but you know what I want.”
The boys nod again.
“Hoss?” Casper turns it back over to the big guy. Pun intended.
“Right.” He takes a step forward and points to a few spots on the map that are circled in red.
“We’ve got vehicles stashed here and here.
Find one and get on it. Wheels are up at 0400.
If you aren’t back at the rendezvous, find another way home.
You need a lift, darling?” He looks across the table at Gina as he says the last bit.
Maybe he likes her. Maybe he’s just trying to be a nice guy.
Or maybe he’s trying to figure out just what the fuck is going on with her and her friend, Big Mike.
“Thanks, sugar, but I’m all set.” She winks at him, and then she and Big Mike walk away from our group. Far enough that we can talk without them hearing. Just like I’m sure they’re doing.
“We good with them?” Mickey asks, voice low.
Casper looks around, and Jumper shrugs, feeling what we all are. Casper is the one to speak. “Not sure. Best to keep an eye out. That’s why I want a spotter. Not only to help with targets, but to watch our backs.”
“Got it. Let’s get busy,” Hoss says.
“Seriously? ‘Let’s get busy’? What kind of morale boost is that?” Viper quips as he and his brother move away.
“What would you prefer he say? ‘Let’s get howling’?” Venom asks.
“Oh, I like that. What about ‘let’s get barking’?”
“Doesn’t work. We’re Hounds, not dogs. And specific to the Reaper,” Walker says as he goes to the wall of weapons and looks them over.
Viper glances at Venom and shrugs. “Maybe we should say ‘let’s get to killing’?”
“Too morbid,” Venom comments offhandedly.
“Says the guy strapping three grenades to his belt.”
“Better than the rope. Seriously, what’re you going to need the rope for?”
“Don’t know. But if I don’t have it and we need it, won’t you feel like a fool?”
“Already do when I see your ugly ass every day.”
“Oh, Mom is so going to hear about this.”
“They always like this?” I ask no one in particular, as most of us are just watching the antics play out as they suit up.
“Worse,” Switch says before turning back to his computer.
“Think they can pull it off?” Rooster asks as we make our way through debris to get into position. We have the farthest to go. Comms are on, but we’re keeping the talking to a minimum between the teams.
Mostly to keep Gina and Big Mike out of our heads. So far, they’re playing ball. But who knows if they’ll be switch hitters when things start happening.
“The twins might be annoying, but they get shit right,” Hoss grumbles, then pauses. I do, too, watching him take a second to think before he continues to walk. “Well, when it comes to this. They suck at pulling a chick.”
Rooster chuckles, and I grunt. “Reminds me of Lucky,” he says.
“Figured with the name, he got laid all the time,” Walker says.
“It’s become more of a staple that he won’t. He gets punched more times than not, and by women lately. He only got the name because his dad was named Lucky. Guy grew up being Lucky Jr. till his pops died, and then the Jr. died too.”
The chatter between us slows as we head into the tunnels as planned. We’ve got a rough idea of when shit is going to start popping off, but we don’t know how long it’ll take to find them. And our “get out of Colombia” card is already stamped. Our timetable is limited.
We keep to a tight formation as we go in, noting any issues with infrared to make sure we don’t trip on anything.
Switch has already hacked their system and found zero feeds of the tunnels.
Either the reception sucks down here, they don’t know about the tunnels, or they’re blocked off and not a threat to them. Which is a problem for us.
“Hold position,” Switch says through the comms. “I see lights coming in from the courtyard.”
We hold. The courtyard is at the back of the facility, where we plan to enter.
After a few moments, I signal for us to continue. It’s dark as hell, but I see the light Switch mentioned. Which means we’re about to get to the courtyard and not continue to go underground. I guess “tunnel” doesn’t mean the same thing here as it does back home.
Rooster attaches a mirror to the end of his AR-15, then slowly puts it on the ground and moves it around the corner for him to see.
“Two smoking out back. About fifteen feet to the left,” he whispers.
Walker holsters his gun and unsheathes his knife. Hoss moves his shoulder holster so his gun is now on his back as he puts his fingers in brass knuckles.
Rooster pulls back from the opening as they take point.
I check my watch, hold my hand up to show five, and then count down. With one left, I signal for them to go. A second later, explosions start going off.
I pop out just in time to see Walker come up behind one of them who’s looking at the house. He slides his knife across the man’s jugular while holding his mouth to muffle his scream. Hoss crouches a bit, and as soon as the other guy turns back to his friend, he hits him. Hard.
I don’t question if the guy is alive or not. You don’t get that kind of head turn if you’re alive. One-punch kill? Guy really is a hoss.
We go in a two-by-two formation and enter the building. As soon as we see stairs heading down, we take them.
Switch had already scanned the entire building, at least what he could see.
There isn’t any indication of anyone aboveground who seems to be of the hostage nature.
Sure, he only had heat signatures, but his system is damn good.
He and Flint worked together enough that we got to see full-body imagery, and there was no one in any position other than walking freely around in groups of three or four.
If they had Ruby up here, she wouldn’t be calm. She would be a terror. I know my girl. She might freak for a second, get in her head, but if she saw freedom, she’d fight for it.
We can hear our boys fighting off any who run out to see what the issue is, falling like ants in the trap we set. But the lower we go, the less noise we hear.
We hit the bottom of the stairs and scan the hallway. Footsteps have us doubling back to get cover as four men run by, their walkie-talkies screaming in Spanish.
I look at Walker, who knows the language better than me.
“Calling for help.”
I nod, and we keep going.
They’re going to need help. Lots of it. Because the second I find my Peaches, I’m burning this place to the ground.