45. Breach
Breach
They met us at the airport not long after we arrived in the early morning.
The attaché shared some intel with us that had come their way; his team never managed to find the plane, but fortunately for us, our guy was spotted entering the city.
A local informant followed him down to a building near the coast overlooking the racetrack.
Isolated from the major tourist walkways and a short distance from French territory under his control.
Apparently, the Bateleur clan had set up shop in BeauSoleil and turned it into one of its largest weapons distribution points.
We were moved in blacked-out vans, disguised as civilian delivery vehicles.
The city outside looked like a sea of colors; all mashed together through the heavily tinted windows.
I had a slight tremor in my left hand all the way there.
Jitters, but not like the ones you get when you drink too much coffee; I was a greyhound at the gate, just waiting for the go-ahead.
My adrenaline was pumping, and the cold steel barrel brushing against my thigh only made things worse.
They had told us that these men were dangerous.
Highly armed, and many of them former military; he told us about Amir and his lieutenants.
His origin and how he came to power. Once inside, we would be outnumbered, in unfamiliar territory, and with little backup.
The attaché even recommended that we hold off.
Wait for a better time, or maybe do not chase them at all.
At least not right now, in the middle of one of the biggest events of the year.
But he relented when Belle got on his case.
They had given us three trucks and promised to seal off the streets far behind the building.
To hold off any reinforcements that may come our way and buy us some time.
That was the one thing we were running out of.
“I got a hit,” Belle said. She turned the phone over and showed me the screen. “Do you see the spike? There’s a large transfer of data passing through data centers in the area. Jumping from Frankfurt to Paris and down to here in Monaco.”
“What does that mean?” I said. Our cars pulled into the lot of the building where Amir and his men were hiding out. The lot was empty save for a few cars near the back fence. There was no one around and the only way in, a back door, was sealed shut with a security camera pointed right at it.
“It means someone or something is downloading terabytes of data a millisecond,” Belle replied.
“It’s connected to the internet,” Spider said, switching the safety off.
“We have to move,” Belle replied. She put her phone away and tugged on a sling, bringing forward her custom, silenced MP5.
“The team monitoring the activity will try its best to restrain it. Prevent it from infecting other computers and spreading. But it’s gotten worse since we landed.
We have to get our hands on that device. ”
“Slice the tires of the cars parked there in case we miss them and they come back this way,” Spider ordered.
The team exited their cars and quickly took up positions, covering the windows and the nearby roof.
Thor sprinted quickly to the cars and disabled them.
I was surprised how well-trained and coordinated they were as they moved towards the door.
Cash went for the nearest camera and shot it with his silenced rifle.
Saint hit another from further away with his bolt-action rifle; he was to be the lookout for the team.
“Godspeed,” Saint said through the radio and went off towards an adjacent building.
“Will he be alright alone?” I said and followed Belle as we moved through the parking area towards the team.
“He’s a former Navy SEAL. A trained sniper. He’ll be alright,” Spider replied. Widow kneeled down by the door handle, opened her backpack, and started rummaging through it.
“If you say so. How are we getting in? A lock-pick?” I said. Spider smiled as Widow pulled out a large white block, about the size of a brick, and stuck it to the door.
“It’s a lock-pick alright,” Widow quipped, and hightailed it to the end of the building and just around its corner. “Take cover!” She yelled as she went. The rest of us followed her with vigor.
“What about the element of surprise?”
“Surprise!” Widow growled and pressed the red button on a small receiver.
Suddenly, a thundering blow echoed throughout the area, sending pieces of the door flying across the parking lot.
The very building shook, and several windows cracked just above us like splintered ice on a lake.
Spider didn’t hesitate. He was a raging bull; his eyes locked on the deep red of the Apollo Drive.
“Now!” Spider yelled, sprinting straight into the dust cloud. His team followed closely behind. And then Belle went. I was the only one to hesitate for a moment until Saint chimed in.
“What are you waiting for? An invitation?” Saint said, his red dot sitting on my chest. He had been watching the whole time while perched on the rooftop of the adjacent building.
“Saint? Right!” I said and raced after Belle through the dust cloud and into the building.
It was loud inside. The fire alarm was blaring, lights were flashing, but the team was quiet as a mouse.
They were a floor or so above me, working their way up through the emergency stairwell, when they came to a stop on the eleventh floor.
Cash turned and quickly came back down to us.
“The stairs are blocked. There’s a security fence on the twelfth floor and behind it plenty of rubbish. There’s no way of reaching the penthouse through here,” Cash said. “We need to go back down and find another way to the suite level.”
“Then we’ll take the elevators,” Belle replied and moved past him. “We can use the emergency shaft if they don’t work.”
“That’ll work,” Spider said.
“Stand back,” Thor said, raising a custom-made tactical shotgun to the door’s hinges.
I climbed several steps to get closer to the action.
Spider was standing in cover by the door handle.
He would be the first one inside. Thor pressed the trigger softly, eviscerating the first hinge and quickly made short work of the other two.
“Now!” Spider said as he kicked the door in.
The team swiftly entered the meticulously decorated hallway, with sand-colored marble adorning the floors and the fixtures.
Statues, made of brilliant white alabaster, accented the columns every couple of feet.
Exquisitely crafted, they looked like pieces of artwork better suited for a museum.
The emergency lights illuminated their faces as we passed on our way to the elevators.
All was quiet save for the fire bell ringing in a cadence.
As we approached the end of the hall, Jerry clumsily emerged first from behind Spider, who stopped at the wall’s edge, and straight into enemy fire.