Chapter 17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 1:55 a.m. Trevor, Snake and Paco were hidden in elevated positions behind Carter’s cabin. Smoke could be smelled from the burning fireplace. An amber glow filtered through the curtains in the windows.

“Is there any way to tell how many men are in there?” Paco whispered.

“Not unless you can see through walls,” Trevor said. “We have to eliminate the guards walking outside the building quietly and improvise from there.”

 “I count two guards in the front of the house and one toward the rear,” Snake said. “Like Paco said, they are not expecting an approach from the rear. If we can take one of the guards alive, and do so quietly, we can force him to give us information on who is inside.”

“It might be risky trying to take one alive,” Snake said. “If he yells out and gives away our position, Honor is as good as dead.”

“I have an idea,” Paco said.

“Let’s hear it,” Snake replied.

“It’s almost 2:00 a.m.” Paco said. “We have to assume the recon team is at or headed to Beachcrest. If Honor is still in the cabin, they will be moving her very soon. We can eliminate all three guards quietly and wait for them to emerge with her. We take them down then.”

Trevor shook his head, “That won’t work. Each of the guards is carrying a walkie-talkie to communicate. When they move Honor, they are going to call for an all-clear to the guards outside. If they don’t answer, they will know something is wrong.”

“And then Honor will be dead,” Snake said, nodding in agreement. “There’s no obvious solution. Bootstrap. It’s your lady. It’s your call.”

“There’s only one choice?” he said.

“Shock and awe?” replied Snake.

Trevor nodded, “We synchronize our watches and each take one man. We approach from behind and use knives only. Use your left hand to cover their mouth and right hand to slit their throats. It has to be quick. Ten seconds after all the guards are down, we break in, guns blazin’.”

“It sounds like suicide to me,” Paco said.

“It could very well be. You don’t have to be here,” Trevor said.

Paco looked down to the ground and sighed, “No, I want to be here. I’m in.”

“Can you take your man down?”

“Yes,” he nodded.

“Good,” Trevor said. “I appreciate this, Paco, I really do, but I don’t know you. You’ve handled yourself well, but when we break in you be careful with that gun. I don’t want Honor hit by friendly fire.”

“You don’t have to worry,” he said. “I won’t take a bad shot.”

“Good. Let’s set our watches.”

Six minutes later the three men converged on the guards. Both Snake and Trevor eliminated their guard with only muffled sounds. Paco eliminated his guard as well, though a shot was fired into the air before the last guard fell.

“Shit!” Trevor said as the sound of the bullet echoed in the distance. “We’re exposed. We go in… now!”

Seconds after the shot Trevor heard men inside speaking nervously in Arabic.

Snake stood to the right of the door as Trevor kicked it in. The door swung open. Gunfire could be heard coming from inside the cabin. Trevor ducked away just in time. Bullets continued to whistle through the doorway.

Snake and Trevor heard more screaming in Arabic coming from inside the cabin. Snake picked up a clay planter and tossed through the window to the right of the door. The sounds of broken glass and the clay pot hitting the floor could be heard.

Shots from inside began to divert to the window. With cat-like quickness Trevor dove through the doorway and onto the floor, rolling once. He stood and fired off two shots, pop, pop. Both bullets landed in the center of a Syrian man’s chest. He slumped to the floor.

He then heard Honor’s voice for the first time. She was screaming. He also heard a man screaming in Arabic. The voice came from the bedroom to the right of Trevor’s position. One Syrian man was undoubtedly holding Honor at gunpoint behind the closed bedroom door.

Snake and Paco appeared in the doorway.

“Get in here!” Trevor yelled.

“Drop your weapon, Mr. SEAL man!” a male voice from the bedroom screamed. “Drop your weapon or your woman dies.”

“It’s over,” Trevor called out loudly to be heard through the closed door. “Let Honor go. You let her go and we walk away. You live.”

“That’s not going to happen, Mr. SEAL man,” came the reply.

“Then you will die!” Trevor replied.

“And so will your woman,” he called back. “I am prepared to die. Are you prepared to allow this for your woman?”

Trevor motioned for Snake and Paco to enter the cabin. He touched Snake’s shoulder and whispered in his ear, “Keep them talking. I’m slipping around back.”

Snake nodded and turned to the door, “Let’s not do anything crazy,” he called out. “Let’s talk about this. What is your name?”

Trevor slipped quietly out the door.

“My name is Asu,” he replied. “What is there to talk about? Drop your weapons or she dies.”

“Why do you want to die?” Snake yelled. “If you come out, I can get you political asylum and witness protection.”

“I don’t want asylum,” he protested. “I have already called Orfali. All the men are on their way back. You have no choice. You must drop your weapon or you die and the woman dies.”

“I’ve seen how you people operate,” Snake fired back. “We would die anyway. Get ready Mr. Asu. We’re coming in.”

Asu fired several rounds through the closed door.

At the rear of the cabin, Trevor quickly tested the window of the bedroom. Locked. The shade was drawn but he could see the shadows of two figures together. The man was holding Honor in front of him as a human shield. He heard more gunshots.

In an act of sheer desperation, Trevor Saunders backed up three paces and ran toward the window, hurling his large body through the glass. He landed with a thud. Broken glass left a large gash across his forehead as he came through the window. He also received cuts on his forearms and right shoulder. Shards of glass cut into his elbows and his knees when he landed. The force of the impact dislodged the gun from his right hand. It slid four feet away from him.

It was then he saw Honor and Asu for the first time. Honor was standing in front of him; her hands were bound behind her back; a bandana was tied around her mouth. Her eyes were wild with fear. The gag muffled but did not suppress her screams. Asu’s left arm was positioned around her neck. The loud, abrupt entrance startled the Syrian and he momentarily froze or Trevor would have been already dead.

Trevor glanced at his weapon. Asu screamed at him, “Freeze Mr. SEAL man.” He trained his weapon on the center of Trevor’s chest. He smiled.

The sound of the bedroom door exploded as it was kicked open. Asu spun quickly and fired, hitting Snake. The former SEAL grabbed his stomach and slumped to the floor. Trevor used the distraction to dive for his weapon. Asu recovered, spun again toward Trevor and shot at the SEAL, missing his head by inches. Trevor grabbed his weapon and rolled on his back, but Asu twisted and positioned Honor’s body directly in between he and the SEAL. Trevor could not get a shot off for fear of hitting Honor.

Another gunshot was heard. Trevor winced expecting a bullet to his midsection. It was not Trevor who had been shot, however.

The bullet went through the left side of Asu’s head, just above the ear. It made a large exit wound on the right side of the Syrian’s head, spraying blood, skull fragments and pieces of the man’s brain onto the wall.

Asu was dead before his body hit the floor. Trevor looked up and saw that it had been Paco who had pulled the trigger. He had followed Snake into the room and took the shot when the Syrian spun back toward Trevor.

“Thank you. Please, tend to Snake,” Trevor yelled at Paco. He jumped to his feet and ran to Honor. He quickly unbound her hands and removed the gag around her neck. She fell into his arms, sobbing, pulling the gag from her mouth. Trevor embraced her and began kissing her face and lips.

For a moment time stood still as the two lovers stared into each other’s eyes.

“I knew you’d come,” she cried out.

“I thought I lost you,” he replied. “I was so worried.”

“They’re coming back,” she said. “The man who was just killed, he called them. They said they were 20 minutes out. That was five minutes ago.”

“That gives us fifteen minutes to put some distance between us and this cabin,” he said. “How many are there?”

“Twelve men by my count,” she said, “including Orfali himself.”

“Damn, we have to get out of here,” Trevor said. “We just took out five of them. That leaves seven more.”

“Snake is hurt bad, man,” Paco said.

“Snake!” Trevor called out. He ran to the fallen former SEAL. Snake had threatened to come through the door to distract Asu, knowing Trevor was by the window in the rear. One of Asu’s wild shots had hit Snake.

“I’m gut shot,” he cried out. He was bleeding profusely. Paco had given him a towel to press against the wound. It was soaked in blood.

“Paco, call 911,” Trevor said. “Have them get a helicopter out here.”

“The medical chopper comes from Olympia,” he said. “It will take 30 to 45 minutes at a minimum.”

“That still beats an ambulance,” Trevor said.

“Yes, but there’s another problem,” Paco said. “There’s only one place within a mile of here that is open enough for a helicopter to land. That place is the opposite direction of our vehicle. It’s over a mile away and up the hill. The only way Snake lives will be if we get him up the hill and meet the chopper when it lands.”

“I’m not gonna make it, Boot,” Snake cried weakly. “Get to the truck. Save Honor. Get to your truck. Get out of here.”

“You know I can’t do that,” Trevor replied. “No one gets left behind.”

“That’s right, man,” Paco agreed. “So, what do you think? Should I go get the truck, bring it here and drive to the clearing?”

“You’d be back tracking,” Trevor said. “Plus, this is heavily forested. Could we even get a truck through it?”

He thought for a moment.

“You’re right,” Paco said. “I don’t think so.”

“Damn.”

“Make the call, FBI and CIA,” Trevor said. “Call the local police too. It’s time to bring in the cavalry. And we’re gonna need all the help we can get.”

“They’ll never make it in time,” Paco said.

“Just do it,” Trevor barked.

“I’m on it, man,” Paco said. “But they’re coming by vehicle from Yelm. The force is small. They will need time to collect men and get here.”

“How long?” Trevor asked.

“An hour, maybe more. This whole thing will be done long before then, regardless what happens.”

“Make the call anyway,” Trevor said. “We need to get Snake to that clearing. We’re sticking together. Let’s go.”

He pulled Snake to his feet. The wounded man put one arm around Paco and the other around Trevor.

“This way,” Paco said when they reached the outdoors.