Assassin (Assassin Series Book 1) Read online

  He gave a wry smile. “Let’s do it!” he put a hand tenderly on her arm. “No heroics, okay? As long as we can hold them till back-up arrives, we should be all right.”

  She smiled back at him with genuine concern in her eyes. “Let’s go!” they slid out of the car in the hurling rain and kept close to the side of the building. They approached the Carrier and the SUV’s, carrying their totes over their shoulders, weapons drawn and at the ready.

  As they got closer, the door of the lead SUV opened and Jennings got out and walked back to speak to Jamal and his men, parked behind the lead vehicle. Jamal lowered the window, just as Sarah moved out from cover and shouted over the noise of the rain and machinery. “This is the FBI, hands in the air, you’re all under arrest!”

  Jennings ran for cover and suddenly, without warning, a hail of automatic gunfire erupted from Jamal’s SUV. Jake and Sarah immediately jumped back for cover as a volley of bullets ricocheted off the concrete next to them.

  “So much for no heroics!” Jake growled. “Well, I guess that’s the answer we expected!” Jake popped up, aimed a burst of fire and watched as the front and rear tires on the right side of the SUVs blew out. “That’ll keep them hanging around!” he grabbed Sarah’s arm. “C’mon, let’s get out of here, keep your head down.” they scurried back for more cover as bullets continued to spatter around them.

  Out at the Carrier, the foreman had seen the gun battle going on and he wanted no part of it. He radioed up to his man in the control cab on top of the carrier. “Take cover, this ain’t our battle!” he screamed. The operator needed no encouragement, switched off the engine, left the keys in and hastily descended the ladder, barely touching the rungs on the way down. He ran over and joined the foreman and they quickly made their way to the cover of their building. They were followed by the 18 wheeler driver, who had also seen enough to know that he wanted no part of this.

  Jake and Sarah were already exchanging fire with the CIA as well as Jamal and his men. Peterson was now in disbelief that things could be going so wrong so quickly. He screamed across at Davidson and Jennings. “Where the hell did they come from? How many are there, for heaven’s sakes?” he was clearly in a state of panic.

  Jennings quickly grabbed Peterson with both hands and pulled him close. Jennings was in his face. “We’ll take care of them,” he yelled. “You just concentrate on getting that damned container to the vessel. The captain’s been well paid and he’s ready to pull anchor as soon as the cargo is loaded. We’ll do the rest.”

  Peterson was in shock. “You gotta be kiddin me? The only time I saw the controls of that monolith was when the manufacturer gave us a demo when we bought one for a US overseas staging base, But that was a couple of years ago!”

  Jennings was unimpressed. “Hey, now you’ve got twenty million fucking reasons to remember what to do! Now, get to it, we’ll give you covering fire!” he pushed Peterson away. “Now go! Go!”

  The CIA laid down cover fire as Peterson rushed over to the Carrier with his head down in the driving rain and started to climb up the steep ladder to the control cab. Below him, the container connections were already in place around the container, which was ready to be lifted and moved.

  Jake was watching and he turned to Sarah. “Give me covering fire and keep moving.”

  Sarah looked at him inquisitively. “What are you goin’ to do?”

  He pointed upwards. “Stop that SOB from moving the container. On three start firing?”

  She nodded and as Jake reached ‘three’, he bolted towards the Carrier as Sarah simultaneously squeezed the trigger on her automatic weapon, spraying a hail of bullets towards the CIA operatives as well as Jamal and his men, causing them to scatter in all directions for cover.

  Suddenly, it hit Sarah that she was on her own. If anything happened to Jake, how could she possibly stop these psychotic criminals? She looked back towards the gate, but there were still no signs of any back-up.

  Jake was already climbing the ladder towards the cab as Davidson spotted him and screamed to Jennings. “Over there!” he pointed to Jake as he continued climbing.

  Jamal and his men also looked where he was pointing and started firing at Jake as he scrambled up the ladder. The fact that he was partially screened from the Arab’s line of fire, caused the bullets to ricochet off the rail as he quickly continued his climb in the wind and the rain.

  Inside the control cab, Peterson was nervously flicking switches, relieved that the operator had left the key in the ignition system. The engines kicked in with a growl as Peterson was then desperately trying to remember how to get the huge monolith moving with the steering mechanism now that the huge Carrier with the container securely hooked in below was ready to move.

  Jake reached the top of the steps and rushed to grab the handle on the door to the control cabin, but his gun slipped from his wet hand and fell down the ladder, bouncing off several rungs on the way down. Peterson had spotted him and kicked the door outwards like a battering ram, almost sending Jake over the handrail, but he somehow managed to retain his grip, climbed back and crashed into the control cab.

  He jumped on Peterson to try and switch off the unit, but as he struggled with Peterson, they fell against the forward motion lever as the Carrier suddenly started to move along, like a five story building out of control. It lurched wildly and headed straight for Jamal’s SUV. He saw it coming and screamed at his men in Arabic. “Look out!” they all scrambled clear as the Carrier crushed the SUV with ease. The Arabs looked on in disbelief.

  Davidson was absolutely livid. “What the hell is that clown Peterson doing?” he screamed.

  Across the pier, Sarah was still trying to pin down the CIA as well as Jamal and his villains with cover fire, while up above Jake was still struggling with Peterson.

  CHAPTER 31

  Outside the Tunnel, traffic was still not moving and Davies was clearly agitated. He was on the phone to the FBI office. “What’s the news from the docks?” he asked.

  A voice replied. “Gunfire reported. It appears that the party has started without you, sir.”

  Davies was incensed. “Goddamned weather. Keep me posted?”

  The voice replied. “Yes, sir.”

  Davies punched the back of the seat in front of him in frustration. His phone rang and he answered it. It was his boss, Director Steve Mobley, who had heard what was happening. “Hello, Peter,” he began. “What’s going on in Baltimore?”

  Davies composed himself before replying. “How much do you already know, Steve?”

  Mobley sounded agitated. “My intel has some black-ops assholes from the agency raising all kinds of hell down in the docks with some Arab dissidents, and it involves illegal arms and technology. We’re talking about our nation’s security, for Christ’s sakes! What are our assets?”

  Davies hesitated before replying. “I’m afraid we only have one operative.”

  “And where in the hell are you?” Mobley snarled.

  “On our way with back-up,” Davies replied. “Problem is that there’s a heavy storm rolling through and we’re stuck in traffic, can’t get the choppers in the air.”

  Mobley was being his usual aggressive self. “And that’s it?”

  “Well, there is one other person helping.” Davies replied.

  “Who’s that?”

  “A CIA operative!”

  Mobley was in shock. “You’re fuckin’ joking, right?”

  “I wish I were, Steve.” Davies replied.

  “Keep me posted?” Mobley snarled, he was obviously not pleased.

  “Will do.” Davies put the phone down and heaved a sigh of relief. Now that his superior was in the loop, it was no longer his sole responsibility if this all went pear-shaped.

  CHAPTER 32

  Inside Building 29, the foreman and his crew were sitting around a table. The foreman was already on the phone to the Port Authority. “You’re damn right it’s mayhem down here. We got a gun battle goin’ on, some dudes comm
andeered a straddle carrier, we need the police and more security, send the goddamned army in if you like!”

  His crew were listening to the conversation, when suddenly, the runaway Carrier with the container slung under it like a battering ram, came bursting through the walls of the building, collapsing the roof, knocking over flimsy office walls and shelves, causing the foreman and his staff to jump in terror.

  The scene quickly changed to total mayhem as the Carrier was now running amok, flattening everything in its path, with Jake and Peterson still fighting on the top of the platform. The foreman screamed at his men. “Sweet Jesus! Run for it, guys!” They all ran like demons towards the other end of the building, away from the runaway Carrier. The walls were collapsing behind them as they ran past.

  Up in the control cabin, Jake and Peterson were still exchanging blows and being bounced from side to side inside the crazy monster. At ground level, the Carrier hit a fuel tank that started to gush gasoline. The sparking wires from the damaged walls and offices were floating dangerously close to the volatile fluid as the Carrier continued its perilous ride back out onto the dock.

  * * *

  Sarah was wide-eyed as she watched the events unfolding in front of her. From her vantage point, she still had the rogue CIA agents as well as Jamal and his men pinned down behind the lead SUV. Suddenly, the huge Carrier re-appeared and came lurching towards them.

  Davidson saw it coming and screamed at his men. “Watch out!” They scrambled away, just in time, as the Carrier effortlessly crushed the remaining SUV. Davidson peered through the rain and darkness towards the top of the Loader. “Damned maniacs!” he snarled.

  Suddenly, without warning, a huge explosion rocked Building 29, that had been occupied just seconds earlier, as the gasoline reached the sparking power lines and ignited in a blinding flash. The foreman and the dock crew paused briefly in their retreat, to see a wall of flame billowing towards them. They continued running and had just reached the corner of the flattened structure, which was now an inferno of burning gasoline and dry tinder from the shattered building, when the surging wall of flames shot harmlessly past them.

  The foreman looked back in disbelief at the devastation. “What the hell are those maniacs up to?” The entire building looked like a war zone, the Carrier was still out of control, Building 29 was burning intensely and nobody was there to end this devastation or to help them!

  In another area on the dock, Davidson, Jennings and Benny had re-grouped with Jamal and his men.

  Davidson was livid. “Can’t that asshole Peterson do anything right?”

  Up on the top deck of the carrier, as if responding to Davidson’s comments, Jake dodged another blow from Peterson and he hit his opponent with a combination of punches to the face that sent him crashing through the windshield of the control cabin. Peterson was hanging over the edge, covered in blood.

  Jake came over and looked at him with disdain. “I told you that if I found out you were involved in Nancy’s death, I’d kill you!”

  Peterson snarled at him “Fuck you!”

  Jake suddenly lifted his leg and slammed his boot into Peterson’s head, causing him to release his grip and plunge to the concrete, fifty feet below, killing him instantly. As if his death was not horrific enough, the lumbering Loader rolled over his head, leaving no option for an open casket funeral!

  Jake looked down below unemotionally. “And that’s for Nancy and Nicole!”

  On the dock below, Jennings looked on in horror at what was happening. “Damn you, Jake Harrigan!” he snarled.

  Jake frantically fumbled with switches until the Carrier finally came to a halt just before it reached the edge of the dock. He scrambled out of the door of the control cabin and slid down the rail to the ground below. He retrieved his gun which had lodged in the step at the bottom of the carrier and he rushed across the dock to help Sarah, who was reloading her weapon. She smiled when she saw him. “Welcome back.”

  “Peterson’s dead.”

  She nodded. “I saw it. One down, the rest to go!”

  He took a welcomed breath. “Yeah, but now they’re really pissed. The Carrier’s immobilized, so let’s split up. Make it difficult till back-up arrives.” he grabbed his automatic rifle from his tote and reloaded his Glock. Sarah reloaded her weapon.

  She looked at him bravely. “Right, you go left, I’ll take the right. See you in hell!” He grinned as they both scrambled from cover, firing as they went, hitting two of Jamal’s mercenaries, who dropped where they stood. They headed in separate directions, running between the rows of stacked containers. A hail of bullets followed each of them.

  Davidson saw what was happening and he was now thinking of a completely new survival strategy as he started barking instructions. “Jamal and Anwar, you get the girl, we’ll take care of Harrigan!”

  Jamal nodded and both he and Anwar and their two remaining henchmen went after Sarah.

  Before Davidson, Jennings and Benny moved off, Davidson grabbed them both by the collar. “Change of plans, gentlemen!” he screamed. The two men looked at him in shock as he quickly explained. “The original plan is fucked. Only Peterson has been spotted by the authorities and he’s dead, so he’s the fall guy!”

  Jennings looked at him is shock. “So, what’s the plan?”

  Davidson had thought it through carefully. “We still kill Harrigan and the woman and after that we also kill the Arabs, make it look like they were all the bad guys and we were the good guys!”

  Jennings gave a malevolent smile. “Works for me!”

  Davidson urged them on. “Okay let’s go!”

  CHAPTER 33

  Outside the Fort McHenry Tunnel, the traffic was finally moving as the FBI convoy emerged from the far end and were now picking up speed. Inside his SUV, Davies was already on the phone to his office. “Talk to me?” he demanded.

  A voice came on the line. “Further reports from the port indicate heavy gunfire and an explosion that lit things up like the fourth of July.”

  Davies patted the driver on the shoulder. “Get a move on!” he spoke again to the office. “Patch me through to the Senator.”

  “Yes, sir.” was the reply.

  Johnson was immediately on the line. “Yes, Peter, what’s going on?”

  Davies filled him in. “We’re on the move, Senator and all reports from the container port indicate gunfire and a huge explosion!”

  Johnson was in shock. “My God! Sounds like those two are putting up a helluva fight!”

  “Just what I was thinking,” Davies replied. “Oh, by the way, I’ve spoken with Director Mobley and he’s been brought up to speed.”

  Johnson replied. “Okay, thanks for the update, we’ll see you at the port.”

  CHAPTER 34

  On the pier, the rain was still falling heavily. Sarah moved along stealthily, gun in hand, listening carefully for the tell-tale sounds of her pursuers, which was next to impossible over the sounds of the wind and pouring rain. She approached a gap in the containers and saw the moving shadow of Anwar and his remaining cohort.

  They were getting closer. She looked around for better cover and decided to climb to the top of a nearby container. She slung her weapon over her shoulder and quickly made her way to the top, waiting silently. Her heart rate was pounding, but she was alert and in control.

  Below, Anwar and his accomplice moved silently forward, guns at the ready. Anwar signalled to his man to move towards the gap in the containers. The Arab moved to the corner and swiftly swung into the lane that Sarah had just vacated moments before. He looked up in shock and she killed him instantly with a single head shot.

  Her first kill was now scarily under her belt. In that instant, all she could think of was what she had just done. Any misgivings Jake might have had about her ability to succeed, were now put to rest. She had shot and killed a foreign national who was not officially at war with the USA, even though he was prepared to kill her! Did this make her a hypocrite?

  In t
he next lane of containers, Jamal and his man heard the sound of the shot and hurried in the direction of the sound. Jamal turned the corner and saw Anwar. He signalled to him to go one way round the containers and he and his man would go in the other direction. Anwar nodded that he understood as he moved forward.

  On the other side of the pier, Jake was scrambling around the corner of a container and CIA gunfire was spattering after him. He cringed as a bullet seared into and through the top part of his pectoral muscle. “Damn!” he hissed as the pain from the damage, along with his existing injury, was excruciating He sank to the ground and as he looked up in pain, he was in sudden shock to see Benny standing there with the drop on him. The albino had the same cruel look on his face that was there when he had killed Nancy.

  He sneered at the apparently beaten Jake, who was down on one knee, head down, holding his hand to his injured shoulder. Jake was still holding his Glock limply to his side in the hand of his injured arm.

  “Prepare to die like that bitch wife of yours and her nosey friend! They never made a sound!” Benny hissed.

  Jake was thinking fast. He sank closer to the ground, feigning death. Suddenly, with the hand held limply at his side, he made a super-human effort in spite of the excruciating pain, as he fired his weapon at Benny. His aim was perfect as three rounds entered Benny’s chest. He dropped to the ground, with a glazed look in his eyes. Jake managed to struggle to his feet and he looked down at the albino mercilessly.

  He snarled through clenched teeth. “Oldest trick in the book and you fell for it, asshole!”

  Blood was already oozing from Benny’s lips as he snarled. “Fuck you!”

  Jake continued. “This is for Nancy and Nicole and this time you won’t make a sound!” he shot a single round into his head and Benny’s body twitched one last time.