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R app and Coleman took the stairs. Coleman was down them like a shot. Because of his stiff knee and thigh bruise Rapp fell slightly behind. Coleman waited for him on the street and they walked side by side, quickly, but not so fast as to raise unwanted suspicion. They passed one police officer on the way and paid him no attention. Rapp began gesturing with his hands and speaking to Coleman in French. They were both in jeans. Rapp was wearing his black Polartec jacket, and Coleman was wearing a dark brown bush jacket with oversized pockets. It was one long block and one short block. They arrived at the front door of the building in just under three minutes.
“Taser the big guy,” Coleman said as they walked up the steps.
“Yep. I want him alive.”
“And the other two?”
“Depends on what they do. You worry about the big guy. I’ll handle the other two. Milt,” Rapp said into the tiny microphone on his collar, “tell Sarah to give us a quick look. We’re headed into the building right now.”
Coleman nodded as Rapp began speaking in French again. They passed through the large heavy brass doors and continued across the lobby, straight to the elevators. They managed to catch one by themselves and on the way up, they listened to Sarah as she left the bathroom and walked past Abel’s office. “The door is closed, and I think they’re in there.”
“Wait for us, by the elevators,” Rapp said.
Five seconds later the door opened and Rapp and Coleman charged out. They met Sarah halfway down the hall and huddled.
“We go in fast. I’m first, Scott, you’re second, and Sarah, I want you to stay by the door. You’re silenced, right?”
“Yes.”
“Stay low. I don’t want any errant shots passing through a wall and hitting one of us. If we find someone in the outer office and they don’t do anything stupid, Scott and I will go right past them and it’s up to you to secure them. If the guy doesn’t do exactly as you say, shoot him.” Rapp looked into her eyes to see if this would be a problem. “Are you okay with that?”
She nodded, but then said, “Why don’t we get a fiber optic up here and have a peek under the door?”
Rapp shook his head.
“She’s right, Mitch,” Coleman said. “It’ll take five minutes tops.”
“I don’t want to waste five minutes, and we don’t need to make this complicated. We move fast and this whole thing is over in five seconds not five minutes. Shoot anyone except the girl and the big guy.”
“Fine.”
Rapp started down the hall and turned right at the end. Rapp was picturing the layout in his head. There would be a small reception area and then either a door straight ahead, or on the right or left that would lead to Abel’s office. When he was five paces away from the door his left hand slid around and underneath his jacket. His fingers found the hilt of the 9mm Glock and drew it from his waistband. With the silencer attached it was a long draw. Rapp stopped just short of the door and looked over his shoulder to make sure Coleman and Sarah were with him. He held up his right hand and then leaned forward and placed it on the doorknob.
Everything stopped for that instant. Rapp closed his eyes, dropped into a slight crouch, took one more deep breath, and then twisted the knob while leaning into the door with his left shoulder. He did it in one smooth motion with his gun extended. He found himself standing in an outer office that was approximately ten feet wide by fifteen feet long. It had a desk on the right, a couch on the left, and a door straight ahead. Rapp could hear hushed, male voices from the other room. He crept slowly across the room and then he heard something said in Arabic. He slowed for a second and leaned one way and then the other to see if he could tell where they were. He told himself this was no time to stop. They wouldn’t have their guns drawn and if they did, they would be at their side.
Rapp charged into the room, checking his left quickly and then sweeping to his right. The three of them were standing behind a large desk. A section of the bookcase was pulled out and behind it was a gray steel wall safe. None of them bothered to turn around so Rapp said, “Hey, guys.”
They all flinched in surprise, including the girl. Rapp’s eyes checked the hands of each man in less than a second. He saw one gun, the man on the far right, and that was where Rapp directed his aim. He was just about to say “Don’t even think about it” when the man moved. The gun was resting flat against his thigh. Rapp was looking him in the eye, but he saw the movement. The gun started to come up. It never got above his waist. Rapp squeezed the trigger and drilled the man right between the eyes. His head snapped back against the bookcase and he crumpled to the ground.
Coleman was already in the room, his Taser up and ready. He took aim at the man on the far right and pulled the trigger. A pair of fishhooks shot out from the end of the weapon and attached themselves to the man’s chest. Twenty thousand volts of electricity shot through the man’s body and he did the herky-jerky for a second and then collapsed to his knees, his face twisted in pain. Through the connecting wires Coleman hit him with another charge, and the man fell facedown on the rug, unable to move.
Both Rapp and Coleman took aim at the taller man while Sarah closed the door to the hallway.
“Don’t do anything stupid.” Even as Rapp said it he knew they had a problem. The woman was standing too close to the man. Rapp could have shot him easily, but he wanted him alive. The man stepped quickly to the side and put the woman between them. He grabbed her by the throat with his right hand and the hair with his left.
“Drop your weapons.”
“Or what?” Rapp said.
“I’ll crush her throat.”
Rapp watched as the man increased pressure and the woman’s eyes began to bug out of her head. Rapp assessed his options. The guy had himself almost completely concealed behind the woman. His eyes danced around the periphery of the silhouette and he found his spot. Rapp dropped his muzzle three inches and squeezed the trigger.
The 9mm round hit him in the right elbow and shattered the socket. The response was instantaneous and gratifying. His right hand fell limply to his side, and his left hand released the woman’s hair. The man’s brain was on override, and his left hand came across his chest to aid his semi-attached right forearm. At the same time the woman doubled over on the desk gasping for air. That was when the fishhooks sunk into his chest and he was hit with the burning electrical charge.
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