AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Assuming she’s in there,” Alex countered.
Cal nodded somberly. When running a mission, nothing ever went right. They were always adapting to the unknown. “Correct.” Cal didn’t want to go there. If he allowed his emotions out of his kill box, he wouldn’t be able to focus. And without focus, this mission was DOA, dead on arrival. He had his team, three people he trusted with his life. He wasn’t going to let them down.
Lauren said, “There was a LOT of activity in that meadow several days ago. And we did confirm that Alexandrov was there.”
“Yes,” Cal said, “and we saw a helluva lot of his soldiers. They were geared up and going into that jungle and hunting someone.”
“Could be an animal tripped a sensor,” Jack said, leaning back in his chair at the long, rectangular table. “That’s a routine event.”
“Probably happened,” Cal agreed.
“And if it was,” Jack said, “then they were in serious response mode.”
“Which means we can expect maximum resistance if they find us on the property or in the villa,” Cal told them. It would turn into an ugly, close-quarters firefight. That’s not what they wanted. Their goal was to extract Sky, ideally done with secrecy and silence. No one would know she was gone until the next morning.
“Because of the satellite fly over on that day,” Lauren said, “we counted ten white and presumed Russian soldiers. Dr. Zapata saw two men manning the security room. That makes twelve.”
“Alexandrov is not going to have light security,” Cal said. “From the photos, we saw Russian weapons on these men.”
“They are all ex-Spetsnaz,” Alex warned them. “I recognize the way they move, the type of weapons they carry, and the gear they wear.”
Cal nodded to the medic. “We’re going up against first line defense operators. This isn’t going to be easy.”
“Your mission plan has you guys entering that river upstream a mile north of the villa,” Lauren said.
Cal switched to the Power Point presentation and threw it up on the screen. “Here,” he said. “We’ll be dropped three miles upriver from the villa by a Night Stalker helicopter that has been given permission to come into Costa Rican territory by their government. We’ll fast rope down to the bank of that river. We’ll trot two miles. The three of us will then enter the river here, a mile from the villa. From hydrology reports, this river is slow moving, low current, and varies from three to twenty feet deep. We’re going in with our gear, wearing rubber boots, keeping our combat boots in our waterproof rucks to keep them dry. We’ll shadow the bank, remaining in the water. Reedbeds grow along both banks, running four to six feet in height. They will give us plenty of cover. We’ll make our way towards the target and egress here.” Cal threw up the blueprint of the villa. “We’ll switch out our rubber boots for our combat boots and make our way into the villa at this infil point.”
“Does anyone know if Alexandrov owns watch dogs?” Alex asked.
“So far,” Lauren said, “the satellite flyovers have not detected a dog.” She grimaced. “I hope like hell he doesn’t have any, because they can raise alarm and wake up everyone at that villa. Not good for us.”
“It’s something we’re going to have to deal with if it occurs,” Cal said. “Also, we don’t know if he has warning apparatuses between the villa and that river. There’s ten-foot-tall cyclone fencing with concertina wire along the top of it at the ends of the villa. My bigger question is: are they going to have motion sensors WITHIN that area?”
Jack said, “Doubtful because of the heavy fence and concertina. It’s probably one of the few areas that does not have motion sensors.” He shrugged. “You’ll find out pretty quickly when you egress from the river. If an alarm goes off? You’ll know they are in place. If nothing happens, it gives your team the opportunity to get to the sliding glass doors and enter the villa without being detected.”
“Infrared satellite has given us spotty intel,” Lauren said. “There are so many trees right around the villa that it’s not getting a clear picture of infrared body heat signatures inside each room.” She added, “In all of the photos that we do have, there have been no animals detected, just blurred human shapes.”
Cal kept the villa blueprint up on the screen. “There are two wings to this place. Down the south wing, there are three rooms. Human body heat detected in all three. They APPEAR to be female, but we can’t confirm. Down the north wing, this is where we believe Sky is kept.”
“I wonder if the door is locked from the outside?” Jack asked.
“There’s been no guard standing outside it according to the infrared sat photos,” Cal said. “We need to assume it’s locked from the outside.”
“Yeah,” Lauren growled, “can’t have Sky running around freely in that villa, can we?”
“There’s wrought iron bars on all room windows,” Cal noted. “There’s no escape that way. Once I find her, she’ll have to come down the hall, past the disabled security room, and egress out this door to the main parking area.”
“And of course,” Lauren said, “you will have called me on the radio, and I’ll drive up that asphalt road and pick all of you up.”
“Right,” Cal said. “You’re our driver. You’ll have an SUV and will hide on the side of that road one mile away from the villa. We’re going to assume Alexandrov has sensors out one mile in every direction.”
“What if Sky is not ambulatory?” Jack demanded.
Cal’s mouth quirked. “I’ll carry her out. Whatever it takes.”
Lauren looked across the table at Alex. “You have your combat medical pack ready to go? Sky may need immediate medical aid.”
Alex nodded. “I am ready for anything.”
