Chapter 21
Harbinger and Jinx slammed through the doors, catching the room by surprise. The guards, however, were good and dropped into covered positions that had to be predetermined. Harbinger was able to down two of the four on the right side before return fire started. He trusted Jinx to take care of his people. Harbinger lifted and pulled the trigger on one of Abrasha’s bodyguards, dropping him. He rolled back and moved, lifting just in time to see Abrasha shoot Pierre. The remaining bodyguard pulled Abrasha toward the back doors. Harbinger ran toward the back of the room, firing as he moved. Jinx was right with him.
The sprinting attack caused bullets to miss, and Harbinger hit both of his guards; although he couldn’t confirm they were kill shots. They both barreled out the door after Abrasha. They hit the deck as suppression fire hit the door. The guard gave Abrasha time to get out. Fuck.
Harbinger glanced at Jinx. They had minimal cover. He signed, “Rolling out, you take him.”
Jinx narrowed his eyes but nodded. Harbinger counted down and rolled out, his gun trained down the hall. There was no firing. He was on his feet, following Jinx down the hall. They skidded to a stop at the exit. The guard lay half in, half out the door, dead. “I’ll wait for the all clear here.” Jinx pulled the man into the building as Harbinger hustled back to the room where the computer techs were still hiding under their desks. One of the guards who’d been injured opened fire. Harbinger dove to the floor, rolled, and fired. The man went down, and that time, he wouldn’t get up.
Harbinger moved from guard to guard, making sure they weren’t going to be an issue. As he moved past the computer techs, he growled. “If you move from where you are, you’re dead.”
He could hear the gunfight continuing outside. The distinct sound of two marksman rifles told him the high ground was the right place to be. He kept his back to both doors and made his way to Pierre.
The man had a chest wound but barely any blood on his shirt. Harbinger ripped open the man’s shirt. The swell of the abdomen was an indication of internal bleeding and a lot of it. Pierre grabbed his arm and tried to talk. Harbinger leaned down.
“Abrasha shot me.”
“I know. I’m sorry I wasn’t the one to kill you, you fucking bastard.”
Pierre coughed. “She gets nothing.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. She gets me.” Harbinger stood and glared at the dying man.
“Pierre is dying,” he said into the comms because they were suddenly silent.
“Abrasha is gone.” Ranger sighed. “I have two injured, but not serious. The body count for the others is unknown.”
“Everyone get out. CCS, block all cameras for the exit. French police are en route.”
“Computer techs?”
“Leave them,” Archangel said. “CCS, fry their equipment.”
“Including the supercomputer?” Jewell asked.
“Spike it,” Archangel confirmed.
“Roger,” Con said. “Cameras are all out. I didn’t have time to pick and choose. Exit now.”
Jinx ran back into the room, and they jogged out together, back the way they’d come. As they exited the fenced area, Jinx whistled for the dogs, and they followed them through the alleyways to the car. Jinx opened the back door, and the dogs hopped in and sat down.
Harbinger glanced back at the animals. “Spike isn’t going to like them in his space.”
Jinx chuckled. “I agree, but I couldn’t leave them there. They’re not being cared for properly.”
And that summed up Jinx. He was a hell of an assassin, and Harbinger would take him as a wingman any day, but he liked animals better than he did people. Hell, Harbinger leaned back against the headrest and figured animals were more trustworthy than most people. The guy had a point.
He sighed. He was glad he hadn’t killed Pierre. Living with the knowledge he’d killed his soon-to-be wife’s father would be a heavy weight to bear. But he wasn’t lying to the bastard. He did want to be the one to do it. Conflicting emotions and thoughts, to be sure. Maybe someday they’d resolve, but he wouldn’t waste a second worrying about the man or his death.
On the trip back to his apartment, which was now home base to the teams and Jinx, they listened to the techies as they worked. The barrage of French police cars that passed them was impressive.
Jinx pulled over at an all-night market and went inside. “Food for them and us.”
Harbinger looked back at the Dobies. They sat perfectly still, staring after the man who’d rescued them.
Fury’s voice came over his comms. “H, we need to do a debrief. What’s your ETA?”
“We had to make a stop. We’ll be there shortly.”
“Status?”
“Secure. But we’ve got three hungry Dobermans in the car, and I don’t want them to eat my cat.”
There was silence on the line. “Jinx,” Fury finally said.
“It was me. Yes,” Jinx replied.
“Can you not go on a mission without picking up a stray?” Fury asked in a particularly sarcastic voice.
“I don’t see where acquiring stray animals is against my terms of employment. If I’m wrong, please advise as to what you’d like me to do with the animals. They’re not at fault.”
Harbinger chuckled as he watched Jinx walk out of the market loaded with bags.
“Just get back to the apartment,” Fury growled, and the line went quiet again.
Once Jinx put the bags in the trunk, they returned to the apartment.
* * *
Harbinger was correct.Spike was not a fan. The dogs were well-trained and didn’t budge when the cat hissed and bowed up. They sat where they were told and watched Spike’s antics. Jinx fed the animals quickly, and he, Ranger, and Jinx went into the comm room.
“We’re online,” Con said and then gave each person’s call sign as the meeting started.
“What happened to Abrasha?” Harbinger asked.
“His people protected him with their lives. The vehicles he arrived in were armored,” Ranger answered.
“Other factions in CCS tracked him to an airstrip. He’s heading to Russia.”
“And the money?” Jinx asked.
“Oh, dude, that is safe.” Con chuckled.
“Your people, Ranger, are they in need of a doctor?”
“Nah, my medic has it. Are we to bring home Delta team, too?”
“Yes, we have two teams heading to Europe in the morning. The plane will refuel and come down to get all of you,” Jacob answered.
“Do we have enough to go after Abrasha?” Harbinger wanted the bastard. If he couldn’t take out Pierre, he wanted a shot at the person who pulled his strings.
“That decision will be made at a later time,” Fury answered, knowing he wasn’t talking about an arrest. No one else in the room, excluding Jinx, would know either.
“It was good work tonight and leading up to this event. We’ll let Con know when the aircraft will land. Bring it home.”
“Copy,” Harbinger said and listened as everyone cleared.
“Gentlemen, I have a healthy bar that will be abandoned. Let’s not leave it for my housekeeper.” Harbinger glanced at Con. “You, too. You did well tonight.”
Con stretched and nodded at his computer. “I have a few things left. I’ll be out shortly.” Jinx and Ranger headed out to take him up on his offer.
Harbinger cocked his head. “What’s up?”
“I haven’t been this close to a big mission before.” Con frowned. “I mean, I showed up after Ice went all assassin on that island, and the explosion was impressive, but I was in a computer room away from everything.” Con rubbed the back of his neck. “Dude, how many people died tonight and today?”
Harbinger crossed his arms over his chest. “None who didn’t absolutely need to die. We didn’t initiate the firefight. These men were professionals. They traded their lives for money and aligned themselves with evil people. What happened tonight wasn’t because you were close to a mission. What happened tonight was because the world contains evil people who do evil things. We’re here to ensure they don’t prey on society or hurt the innocent. What happened here tonight was a fashion of justice that most people never know about.”
Con nodded. “I get that. It’s tough, though. Behind a keyboard thousands of miles away from where the leather meets the ground, it’s different.”
“The wizard behind the curtain type of thing?”
“Yeah, exactly.” Con snorted.
“Most of us don’t have that privilege. If you need to talk to someone, I can recommend a professional.”
“I’m all right, or I will be. It drives home the fact that this isn’t just keystrokes. Lives are at stake.”
Harbinger nodded. “Hard lesson.”
Con sighed, agreeing, “Extremely.”
“Come have a drink. This can wait.”
Con looked at the computer and turned off the screen. “Sounds like a plan.”