Chapter 57
Knuckles sat in the passenger seat in his vehicle, staring at his phone and willing it to ring. It had taken longer to find
a spot to park his vehicle than it had to find the hotel. One quick Google search and they were in business, with the hotel
less than two miles away. The hard part had been locating a place to stage the vehicle which could plausibly be used for exfil
with detainees.
The priority was the Ghost, but if anybody else was rolled up, they were coming too. The Taskforce could sort out any claims
of kidnapping or breaking international law later—after they were all hogtied in the back of the Rock Star Bird and flying
over the Atlantic.
They’d done a drive-by of the hotel, which was just a slice of a building attached to other establishments to the left and
right. It rose eight stories, but was small, with maybe six rooms max on a floor and resembling a boutique hotel in SoHo,
New York City.
In a perfect world, Knuckles had hoped to use the hotel parking garage, figuring it would have direct access without having
to traipse through the lobby, but Hotel Fierro had no garage. If you brought a car, you were on your own in finding a place
to park.
They’d circled the block, finding a parking garage about five hundred meters from the hotel. Not ideal, but with three men
they could maintain security with one man at the vehicle, another in the hotel, and a third shuttling detainees.
Brett and Veep appeared in the garage, jogging over and sliding into the back seat.
Veep began digging through a backpack and Brett handed him a key card, saying, “Got two rooms, no issues, so you can come back with us without looking weird, but they now have my passport information if this goes sideways.”
While Knuckles had been looking for a staging base, Brett had gotten online and reserved the rooms, solely to get access to
their room security locks. Veep took the key card and began using the Flipper Max to duplicate it. In thirty seconds, the
light went green and he said, “Got a master. We just need the rooms.”
Knuckles said, “Still waiting. One of you get eyes on the front door, make sure the Ghost doesn’t walk right out of it while
we’re waiting.”
Veep exited the vehicle, tapping his ear and saying, “Check, check.”
Brett said, “We got you five-by.”
As they watched him walking out to the street, Knuckles asked, “What are we looking at?”
“It’s narrow. Thin. Both the lobby and the room floors are tight. The good news is there aren’t but five rooms on a floor.
Getting from any room to the elevator will be quick. The bad news is there are only two ways out of the place: the front door
or through a garden in the back. There aren’t any side exits to slip out of. If we use the front, we have to walk right by
the lobby desk. If we use the back, it’s going to look fishy. It’s not something a guest would do.”
“We’ll make that call when we’re done. If it’s only the Ghost, we go out the garden and never look back. If it’s more we’ll
have to make a judgment call.”
Knuckles felt his phone vibrate. He picked it up and said, “Tell me you got something.”
Pike said, “Fifth floor, rooms 501, 503, and 504. All under the same name, so it’s shooter’s choice of which one you want
to bang first. You set?”
“Yea. Still trying to figure an exfil plan. Might take us some time, bringing one out every two hours or so. Can you support?”
“Of course. You execute and we’ll be by for pickup.”
“Roger that. We’re on the move.”
Before he could hang up, Pike said, “Hey, tell Brett to search them fully this time. I don’t want a bunch of dead bodies up there.”
Knuckles grimaced, knowing that the dig was really meant for him. He said, “Won’t happen. I’ll call when we’re secure.”
Brett said, “What’d he say?”
“He said for you to not fuck up the search.”
Brett said, “Hey, that wasn’t my fault! You broke his neck.”
Knuckles smiled and opened the door, saying, “It’s showtime. Fifth floor. Tell Veep we’ll pick him up on the way in.”
They exited the garage, meeting Veep on the street. Knuckles filled them in on the room locations as they walked, using the
time to give them their slots in the assault. They reached the front door and Knuckles said, “Ready?”
Veep and Brett both nodded. He opened the door, entering the lobby and seeing a small atrium with a single sofa in front of
the reception desk, a man and a woman on it drinking coffee. The clerk behind the counter looked up and Brett said, “Found
him. Thanks for the restaurant recommendations.”
The man smiled and said, “No problem,” and they were past him, reaching the elevator. Brett pressed the button, the team forced
to awkwardly wait in the narrow confines of the lobby. Knuckles had been in such a situation many times, but he still felt
the thrill of being a wolf wandering among the sheep, the flock unaware of his true intentions.
When it finally arrived, they entered, Knuckles finding it as narrow as the lobby, like everything in this hotel had been
sliced in half. Brett hit the fifth-floor button, the elevator inexorably rising.
It stopped, the doors sliding open with a finality of purpose, and Knuckles felt his pulse begin to rise. Veep held up the
Flipper Max and Knuckles nodded. Veep and Brett exited, with Knuckles in the rear.
The hallway was thin and short, with the doors to all five rooms within eyesight, two on each side and one at the end.
Veep moved to 501, then knelt down. Knuckles and Brett withdrew their pistols, holding them tight against their chests, barrel out.
Knuckles rubbed Brett’s shoulder and he repeated the maneuver with Veep.
Veep felt the contact, raised the Flipper Max to the pad, the lock clicked open, and he turned the handle, flinging the door in and leaning out of the way, Brett and Knuckles flooding into the room looking for threats.
It took only a matter of seconds to find the room empty, void of both life and even luggage, the bed made and the room clean.
Knuckles said, “Next room.”
They repeated the procedure on 503, finding another dry hole. He said, “Last room.”
They stacked on 504, Veep hit the key lock, and they flowed in a final time. The room was empty of humans, but unlike the
others, this one had signs that people had been there. A computer on a desk, a suitcase with clothes spilling out and toiletries
in the sink.
Knuckles said, “Veep, pack all this shit up in the suitcase. Brett, you take 501 and I’ll take 503. Conduct SSE and see if
there’s anything left behind. Search it like a crime scene.”