CHAPTER 66
Special K
Declan’s new toy doesn’t make much sound when he revs it up and it lifts into the air. To my ear, it sounds more like a flock of starlings than a combat chopper loaded for bear.
Mavis, he called her.
Finn was wrong. This is no Barbie Dreamhouse accessory. Mavis is a stealth killing machine, and I can’t imagine a better mode of transportation for tonight’s mission.
We fly into the night, the four of us strapped to the outside of this nearly invisible helo while Declan’s at the controls.
To balance the weight, Cal and I are on one side while Evander and Finn are on the other. I have no idea what weight Mavis is rated for, but it better be a lot.
We’re armed to the teeth in tactical night gear, helmet and armor systems, assault rifles and side arm holsters, night-vision goggles and lights, breaching gear, and enough explosives to blast a hole the size of the Grand Canyon.
We fly almost due north under cover of darkness, earthbound lights flying directly beneath us. Declan maintains a flight path low to the ground. The night air is cold and thin, and it keeps my brain alert.
I’m ready.
No matter what comes my way.
We get to Lake Tahoe in less than thirty minutes. We go radio silent as we fly over the houses along the Glenbrook shore. Many of the homes in this gated community are empty and dark. Declan cuts the chopper lights as we near the compound.
And then we’re here.
I watch as every light in Nikolai Koslov’s compound goes dark, which means that Finn has pushed a button on the command key attached to his wrist. Not a single pinprick of light appears through a window, and not one streetlight or walkway light glows against the darkness.
I know all cellphones and walkies are already being jammed, too. Finn and Declan promised they’d make it happen, and their word is law.
Cal and I slip our night vision goggles into place. Evander and Finn are doing the same. We ready our long-barrel HK 416 assault rifles with suppressors and prepare to apply as needed.
It’s showtime.
Declan maintains a steady hover over a retaining wall that divides Koslov’s compound from a neighboring property.
All four of us drop our static lines and slide down from the silent helo, rappelling down along the wall until our feet touch the ground.
A gaggle of Russians run out on the lawn, weapons aimed in the darkness, trying to figure out why there’s suddenly no lights and what could possibly be the cause of the sudden pick up in wind.
It's the MacLaines. You poor fuckers have no idea what fate awaits you.
I shoot first, immediately zapping one man, then a second. My brothers and I pick off one combatant at a time, until all of them are on the ground.
But I count only seven.
Which means at least eight more are taking cover somewhere outside, with who knows how many more in the interior.
We move without a sound, the four of us circling the property counter-clockwise. I signal to my brothers, pointing out two men on a balcony and another smoking by the bushes.
I take out the smoker while Evander and Finn take out the two on the balcony. Cal is busy setting the explosives in their pre-determined locations around the perimeter of the home.
That’s when we’re found out.