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“Pleasure. Name’s Pyke.”
“Sit, dumbass,” I said, gesturing to the table in the middle of the room, the surface covered in satellite shots of the Italian villa where Jurgen and Vic were located.
Pyke grinned, giving me the finger as he eased into the seat. He was doing alright for a guy who’d taken a round through the leg, went through surgery and a blood transfusion then flew halfway across the world in twenty-four hours’ time. All the same, he was still hurt, and I was staying keenly aware of that.
“Well,” I said, putting my hands on my hips as I spoke. “The fact that we’ve got five here now adds a new dimension to the operation. But the fact of the matter is that you’re hurt, Pyke. I trust you to do the job here,” I pointed to my heart, “but here,” I pointed to my leg, “is another story. Your mobility’s crap right now. Truth be told, I’m trying to figure out what to do with you.”
“I got a suggestion,” he said. “Let me provide cover. You know damn well that out of the four of us I’m the best shot.”
Kid and Hud right away voiced their disapproval of his words at the same time.
“Alright, alright,” I said, raising my palms. “No dick-measuring competitions—we’ve got too much going on for that shit. But Pyke’s right—the man knows his way around a rifle. Most importantly, it’s a job he can do without risking his leg, or the team.”
I nodded to Hank. “You’re on demo again. But I’ve got a different plan in mind for you.”
Hank leaned forward. “Please tell me I get to blow something up this time.”
I grinned. “You will. This mission goes off the way I want, we’ll all be having a lot of fun. Not to mention, a little revenge.”
* * *
The operation was setfor that night. We were kitted out in black from head to toe as we moved down the cliffs that lead to the seaside villa. Pyke was at reduced mobility, so it took us a bit of time to get into position. Once we were there, I looked down at the massive, sprawling estate, the sea glittering under the moonlight beyond.
“Nice place for a picnic,” Pyke said as he got his sniper rifle ready. “Or a nice place to blow off some heads.”
We stayed put for a few minutes while Pyke set up his sniper’s nest. As he did, I pulled out my binoculars and took a look down at the estate.
“We’ve got…seven guards outside, one can only guess how many in.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Hud said. “Because none of them are going to be standing when we’re done with them.”
It was imperative that we took out every last one of the guards. The last thing we wanted was for one of them to run off for backup.
“How about that EMP, Hank?” I asked.
“Got it ready,” he replied. “Once that goes off, you’ll have a good five minutes before the backup generator kicks in. Use it wisely.”
“Excellent. And the other gift?”
He grinned. “Just need to put it into place. You’llknowwhen that little baby goes off.”
“Then get down there and put them into place. Kid, Hud—let’s get into position.” I turned to Pyke. “Good luck.”
“Thanks. I would say the same to you, but you’re not going to need luck when you’ve got a guardian angel like me looking over your shoulder.” He winked, then got himself in a prone position.
There was nothing else to do but move. We made our way down toward the villa, Hank breaking off from us as he made his way to the main power source of the estate. The boys and I traveled down the rest of the way, coming to a stop near the service entrance of the perimeter.
It took some time, but we watched as the power shut off to the villa.
“There’s the EMP,” Hud said.
“Now, where’s the other one?” Kid asked.
He didn’t need to wait long for a response. Off in the distance, at the main gate, a massive explosion ripped through the air. The orange blossom erupted in the darkness, sending contrails of debris into the sky.
I grinned. “And that does it for our element of surprise. Move!”
Together, we scaled the fence and dropped over to the other side. From our vantage point, we watched as the guards rushed over toward the explosion, investigating the noise.
