Chapter Kilo #2
As Crash pulled away, after dropping the two men on the swim platform, the muzzle flashes from the aft of the pilot deck, lit the night and the sounds of gunfire shattered the stillness of the night.
Muzzle flashes from the deck answered the volley from above and were joined by shots from the fishing boat to the port side and aft of the yacht.
Mac made it to the sliding glass door and breached the interior, stepping into the opulent space of furniture upholstered with rich gold tapestries, walls adorned with intricately carved wood panels, and lit by a crystal chandelier.
He knew the standard layout of a yacht and knew the doorway to the right on the far side of the space led to the interior, most likely with staircases going up and down.
After passing through that door, he passed the two staircases that were right where he expected.
Past them, he checked out the galley, which was the first door on the left.
It was empty. Continuing down the short hallway, he entered the master bedroom suite, which was positioned in the bow of the craft.
Both were vacant. He transmitted his location and this info, whispering through comms as he was now in a place that was quiet enough to use them.
He returned to the hallway outside the galley and stopped at the two staircases. He had a decision to make. Go up, which would bring him to the bridge to take control of the craft, or to go down into the bowels of the boat, which would bring him to where Bella Sanguino was most likely being held.
“Right behind you, Mac, entering the interior now,” Razor transmitted.
Mac could still hear intermittent gunfire from outside.
“Three Tangos neutralized,” Coop broadcast. “Lambchop and I are converging on the pilot deck.”
That made Mac’s decision for him. Down it was.
He waited for Garcia to join him. With his pistol leading the way, Mac rushed down the stairs, crouching in the shadows at the bottom.
His gaze and his weapon swept both directions, settling on the longer hallway to his left.
Garcia landed behind him a moment later, still upright, his aim in the opposite direction from Mac’s.
No one was in the passageway either to the left or to the right.
To the right, towards the bow, there was one closed door where the passageway abruptly ended.
It was either a bedroom or a storage compartment.
To the left, running the length of the hull towards the stern, were three doors, the passageway ending at a door that more than likely accessed the engine compartment at the stern.
He doubted the girl was being held in the engine compartment, but there could be a Tango inside.
“Cover my six,” Garcia’s gravelly voice whispered in Mac’s ear. Mac followed him to the door into the bow area, keeping watch on the doors along the passageway. He heard the door open. He glanced back just long enough to see Garcia enter the dark room. “Clear,” Garcia grunted.
Mac crept up to the first of the three doors along the passageway.
He stepped in front of it and pressed his back to the hull, his gaze and weapon down the length of the space.
Once again, he heard Garcia open the door.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Garcia disappear into the room.
He heard movement within the space, which from his vantage point he couldn’t see into. He assumed it would be a cabin.
A few moments later, Garcia stepped back into the passageway, quietly closing the door behind him.
The second doorway, almost directly across from Mac, opened.
A man stepped into the passageway. He gripped a handgun held at his side, which upon seeing Mac, began to raise it.
Mac didn’t hesitate. He squeezed the trigger, the round striking the man center mass.
He fell backward into the cabin. “One Tango neutralized,” he broadcast.
At the same instant Mac fired his weapon, he heard a quiet female scream come from the direction of the third door.
Garcia rushed into the cabin the man had fallen back into to disarm him and be sure he was no longer a threat.
Mac stepped to the third door. He pressed his back to the wall beside it and waited for what seemed an eternity for Garcia to rejoin him.
Through comms, they heard the takedown of the captain of the boat.
Lambchop was now at the controls. Besides the captain, there was one more neutralized Tango, thanks to Mother.
The speed of the boat decreased, and Mac felt the turn the boat was making.
Lambchop was probably bringing it about with the intention of returning to the marina from where it had departed.
Putting some distance between them and the incoming yacht, which had to be twice its size, was a good thing.
Garcia nodded toward the door. “I’ll kick it and veer to the side. You go low,” he whispered.
Garcia counted down on the fingers of his left hand, his right still aiming his weapon straight at the door.
Three, two, one. He raised his right leg and thrust it at the door.
The door exploded inward. At that moment, Mac dropped to a knee in front of the now-open doorway.
Inside, a man held a gun to one girl’s head, his left arm wrapped around her chest. To the left and the right of him, Mac saw three other girls.
Mac squeezed off one round, striking the man in the center of his forehead before the boat hit a wave and lurched right.
Thank God that movement hadn’t struck a second earlier!
Mac was aware of the screams of the girls.
They jerked away from the man, who had collapsed onto the bunk, and they clustered in the corner of the small bunkroom.
“One Tango neutralized,” Garcia transmitted.
“It’s okay, we’re here to rescue you,” Mac said.
“Estamos aquí para rescatarte,” Garcia translated his message to Spanish, unaware that Mac spoke fluent Spanish.
“Bella Sanguino?” Mac asked. All the girls resembled each other, same hair color and length, same complexion and eye color. And they were all about the same age.
None of the girls admitted to being Bella.
“We’re friends of your Uncle Raphael,” Mac said.
“Somos amigos de tu tío Rafael Moreno,” Garcia again translated.
One of the girls made eye contact with Garcia, and the expression on her face was hopeful.
“Bella, estás a salvo,” Garcia said, telling her she was safe.
She went to him and embraced him. The other three girls joined in the group hug.
“We’ve recovered Bella and three more girls,” Mac transmitted as he turned back to the passageway to be sure it was still clear.
Mother had just descended the stairs. He pointed to the last door on the aft wall.
“Engine compartment is the last that needs to be checked. We’ve got Bella and three other girls in here.
” He pointed to the room he stood in the doorway of.
Mother nodded. Then his Sig P226 9mm led the way towards the doorway of the last room that needed to be searched. Mac followed. Mother dropped to a knee in front of the door, gripping his weapon in both hands, ready to fire. “Open it,” he told Mac.
Mac flattened his back to the left of the door and reached his hand over.
He quietly turned the knob and threw the door wide.
Mother rushed into the room, going right to view the area behind the door.
Mac entered behind him, going left. They swept the entire compartment, which was indeed the engine room. No one was there.
The entire boat was secure.
The three men led the girls up to the living room area of the boat, where they had them sit on the plush couch. Mother got them water bottles from the galley. “Tienes hambre?” Mother asked them if they were hungry.
They all shook their heads.
“Hay alguien herido?” Mother then asked them if they were hurt. No one looked injured, just traumatized.
They shook their heads again .
“Te llevaremos con tu tío,” Garcia told Bella and the other girls that they’d take her to her uncle.
Bella told the other girls that her uncle would take care of them all and get the others home. A feeling of satisfaction filled Mac. They’d saved these girls, four fewer girls whose lives would be ruined by Ruiz.
Now they had to get back to the resort, finish interrogating Ruiz, and bring the rest of the network down.