Chapter 3 #2
“No. Let’s get in and grab him.” Something about the whole situation didn’t add up. “Give me a look at the rest of the house.”
Joker panned around and Dobby noted doors on every side, but the guards didn’t move along the cliff-facing side when they patrolled. “That door.”
Hawk nodded. “It’ll give us more time. We can leave via the front on the way out if we need to.”
“You can search for more stairs inside while we get the target,” Dobby told him.
Hopefully they’d find some so they didn’t have to go right past the occupied room with Vance who might not be stealthy.
“Only two sets of guards, each with a dog,” Joker added.
“There’s a four-wheel drive out front,” Axle said. “I’ll commandeer it.”
Good. Finally a plan that would work.
He fished some jerky out of his pack and tucked it into a pocket in case the dogs noticed them and weren’t well trained.
They jogged along the edge of the village and up the road to the house, using the darkness to their advantage. The buildings on this side of the village hadn’t been damaged by the earthquake. The area they moved through was silent, everyone having long since fled for the mountains.
“We’ve got thirty minutes tops,” Radar murmured when they arrived outside the mansion.
Axle dug around in his pack. “Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll have the car ready to go.”
Wheels would be a game changer right now.
“Looks like security are at the front,” Radar said. “Nothing around the back, Joker?”
Dobby peered around the car. Two sets of guards, each with a Belgian Malinois. The dogs looked half-starved. Agus probably thought hungry dogs made better guard dogs. Idiot.
“No.”
That was a massive oversight. Agus didn’t know much about good security.
“Joker, stay with Axle,” he murmured. “Be our eyes on the ocean and the guards.” He gestured to the others to move out.
Dobby ran across the ground, sticking close to the jungle as they reached the corner of the house. The guards had met in the middle and were conversing.
Good.
His heart pounded in a steady beat as they moved down the wall and along the back of the house.
He tried the door handle and found it unlocked. Finally, something easy. He gestured, and they went through the door, taking up defensive positions.
No alarms.
They crept towards the stairs. Some discussion was happening in the room to the right, but Dobby didn’t understand it.
At the top of the carpeted stairs he gestured for Hawk to search for another staircase and he and Radar took the next set of stairs to the third storey.
Dobby counted doors until he got to the one where Vance should be. He tried the handle. Locked.
Radar stood guard while Dobby quickly picked the lock. While it was tempting to smash it open, he’d been commanded to keep it stealthy if he could. Leave no evidence they’d been there, lest they start an international incident.
The lock snicked open and he got to his feet, gesturing to Radar that he was ready.
“Servant stairs to the south,” Hawk murmured through the ear comms. “Side exit. Second floor is clear.”
Radar nodded to show he’d heard.
Dobby used his fingers to count down and then opened the door, charging into the room, straight to Vance. The man whirled, eyes widened, mouth opened to shout when Dobby clapped a hand over it. “We’re getting you out of here, do you understand?” he whispered.
Vance nodded.
“Say nothing and stay between us. You speak, and you’ll give away our position, do you understand?”
Another nod.
Dobby took his hand away. Radar stood guard by the door and Dobby pushed Vance towards him. “Move.”
He kept a hand on Vance’s shoulder to steady and steer him as he wouldn’t have as good sight without night vision goggles.
They jogged down the stairs to the second floor where they met Hawk.
“Guards are heading inside,” Joker reported. “Via front door and south side.”
Shit. Both doors they’d identified. “Check the ocean,” Dobby whispered as they moved out of the stairwell and waited.
Below them were the sounds of men walking past. Hopefully going to report to Agus.
“Water’s receding,” Joker reported.
Shit. Would the cliff be high enough to miss the brunt of the tsunami? If so, it might be safer to wait here and escape after the first wave hit.
But Agus might fetch Vance to watch the spectacle.
He gestured for them to continue down the stairs. It was doubtful the guards would hear them, but the dogs might.
Radar and Hawk faced opposite directions at the bottom of the stairs and Dobby pushed Vance towards Hawk and the side door. Hawk opened the door as the tsunami warning sirens wailed.
Dobby hoped Mila had left the village.
Vance swore, stumbling to the side, and bumped into something that crashed to the ground.
Voices raised down the corridor.
Shit. Dobby pushed Vance out of the door and Hawk grabbed him. “This way.”
Dobby covered the corridor as Radar sprinted out the door and then closed the door and ran after his team.
“Wave’s coming,” Joker reported.
They were out of time.
Vance turned towards the ocean, obviously debating whether it was safer inside, but Radar grabbed him and dragged him towards the car. “Move!”
“Axle, how’s the car coming?” Dobby called.
“Almost there.”
He heard a shout from inside the house and footsteps pounding towards him.
“We’ve got trouble.” He readied a flash grenade and ran after his teammates.
The door opened behind him and he threw the grenade towards it, closing his eyes. “Flash grenade.” The others would protect their eyes.
Radar, Hawk and Vance sprinted through the garden. The flash came and went along with a bunch of confused cries.
Gunshots rang out and dirt spat up around him.
He fired back as he turned the corner and raced to the car.
Joker grabbed Vance as they made it to the car. “Get in.”
Radar and Hawk took positions on either side of the vehicle as Joker got into the passenger side.
Dobby checked the house and spotted lights moving towards the front door. He pushed harder. “Get in,” he called.
Dogs barked from inside and the front door flung wide.
Radar jumped into the backseat, but Hawk took position at the rear, ready to cover Dobby.
It would be a squeeze to get them all inside.
The engine roared to life.
Good work, Axle.
As the dogs raced out of the house, Dobby fished the jerky from his vest. He whistled, getting their attention, and threw it towards them.
The dogs slowed, sniffing.
Hawk leapt on the rear bumper of the four-wheel drive and opened fire as guards burst out of the house.
Dobby added cover fire, splitting their attention before he reached the car and jumped in.
“Go!” Hawk yelled.
Axle gunned it as Radar lay down cover fire out of the car window. Hawk clung to the roof rack as they sped down the hill.
When they were clear, Joker grabbed the drone controller. “Wave’s coming in fast.”
Hopefully the buildings would slow it down.
Axle slowed as he went around the corner of the village, the jungle to their right, buildings to their left.
Dobby checked on Hawk. He seemed stable on the back of the car and they didn’t have time to stop to let him in.
“Where to?” Axle asked.
“The road up to the mountain.” They weren’t making it back to the boat. All he could hope was the boat survived and would be stuck somewhere in the trees when they searched for it.
As they raced down the road, Dobby saw the wave coming through the buildings, pushing debris in front of it. “Faster!”
“I go much faster and I’ll lose Hawk off the back,” Axle yelled.
Dobby glanced at the rear of the car. This model had two doors that swung out to access the rear. Maybe they could get one open and Hawk could climb in.
Dobby shifted. “Bend down,” he told Vance, shoving his back forward to show what he meant.
“Watch it.” Vance tried to resist and Dobby snarled, “I need to get in the back.”
He didn’t wait for a reply, just climbed over the seat, kicking Vance in the back as he did so.
“Hawk, move to the side,” Dobby called.
Hawk moved and Dobby shoved the lever down, opening one side of the door. The gap was too small for the broad-shouldered man to squeeze through but before Dobby could speak, Hawk was already shifting to the other side so he could open it.
The second door opened with a thud and swung shut again, but Hawk shifted his body to block it. He reached one hand inside and Dobby grabbed it, bracing his legs on the sides of the car. “I’ve got you.”
“Corner!” Axle yelled.
“Hold on!” he yelled to Hawk.
The car rounded the corner. The wave was on the far side of the square where he’d spoken to Mila.
Who was running towards them, the moped nowhere in sight. Fuck. What the hell was she doing there? “Mila!”
Before he processed that, Hawk’s foot slipped from the back of the car. “Ah!” His other arm flailed for purchase.
Dobby’s arm jolted as Hawk’s full weight bore down on him. Radar lunged from the back seat to help, but he was too late.
Hawk’s hand slipped from Dobby’s grasp and he fell, hitting the ground hard and rolling.
“Stop!” he yelled.
“There’s no time,” Axle shouted.
Hawk struggled to his feet and turned towards Mila and the wave.
Dobby watched in horror as the wall of water picked up Mila and then Hawk, and swallowed them both.
***
Mila glanced around the square. Everyone was gone, and she took a moment to check whether she could salvage anything from her little room, but she couldn’t lift the rubble in front of the door.
As she headed for her moped, she heard a moan. “Tolong.”
She spun, searching the night for the woman. “Di mana?” she called.
A high-pitched, ear-splitting, wailing siren made Mila jump. Definitely time to get out of here. She hesitated and strained to hear over the noise.
“Di sini.”
She followed the cry and found Ibu Minar underneath a section of wall next to Mila’s room. The old woman was disoriented and had perhaps been knocked unconscious.