Forced to Kill

be over in the next ten minutes. He ignored the throbbing above his ear and pulled the duffel up to his position, then took a few seconds to scan the immediate rooftops. No one was present.

Staying as close to the parapet as possible to avoid making the roof creak, he traversed over to a position directly above the front door. If any pedestrians or vehicles approached, he’d be able to lie flat and use the parapet for cover. Several buildings distant, a tomcat wailed into the night. Another issued a challenge in return. A sliver moon gave the roof’s galvanized vents a dull, silvery glow. Mixed with the noxious odor of roofing tar, he caught the scent of cigarettes from the men in the alley he’d seen earlier.

“I’m in place above the front door,” he whispered. “I’m going to bypass the camera. If the video feed is being constantly monitored, they’ll come out to check the interruption. Harv, we’ll use that opportunity to gain entry. I’ll drop down from the roof using the rope while you rush in from the south. Grangeland, if that happens you stay put and watch for runners. Deadly force only if warranted. These may not be Montez’s men.”

“Copy,” Harv said.

“Grangeland?”

“Copy.”

Nathan took a deep breath, aware that the interior TV monitor would be snowy or blank during the brief interruption. Holding a tiny LED flashlight in his mouth, he worked quickly but carefully. No one came out to investigate the loss of signal. So far, so good. It took just under three minutes to make two plug-and-play connections in the existing coaxial line and get the battery and inverter set up for use. He plugged the cable from the camera into the first DVD’s input feed and the opposite end of the cable into the output feed. The DVD recorder was now connected between the camera and the monitor inside the warehouse.

Nathan inserted a disk, hit the record button, and looked at his watch.

“Video splice complete, recording normal scene.”

“Copy.”

“I’m going to give it seven minutes.”

Harv clicked the radio.

If anyone happened to look at the interior monitor, they’d see what they normally saw, an empty alley. The next phase of his plan involved recording Grangeland standing at the door for approximately three to four minutes. He hoped that would be long enough. If anyone were inside, they ought to be able to answer within that time frame. What if no one answered at all? What then? Did they ram the door? They didn’t have the resources for a prolonged stakeout and even if they did, how long would they have to wait? Hours? Days? Weeks? Not an option. Nichole Dalton and her daughters could be in there. If no one answered, they’d break in, glean what they could, and bug out.

“I’m almost ready. I’m going to feed the normal scene through the line.” Nathan pressed the play button. Anyone on the inside would now see the seven minutes of empty alley he’d just recorded. He plugged the camera’s end of the cable into the second DVD recorder and inserted the second disk. “Grangeland, advance.”

“On my way.”

She called it pretty close. Thirty-three seconds later, Harv reported her arrival at his location.

Nathan heard Grangeland say, “No peeking.” She must’ve purposefully keyed her mike for that comment.

Harv said, “The thought never crossed my mind.”

“Okay, okay, you guys. Grangeland?”

“One minute.”

It was a long minute.

Nathan watched her approach the front door. She looked striking, even in the outer reaches of the security spotlight. She’d swapped her pants, sweatshirt, and ballistic vest for her altered gym outfit. The legs were cut just below her butt and she’d cut the top just below her breasts. It didn’t look like she had anything on under the skintight outfit.

Damn! He hoped the men inside wouldn’t notice her missing high heels. He knew they’d never see the tiny wire leading up to her ear. The camera mounted above the door wasn’t HD. Her image on the interior television screen would be average-to-poor clarity-definitely not doing her justice. As long as she didn’t turn around, they wouldn’t see the radio.

“Harv, stand by. Grangeland’s almost in place. Grangeland, I’m hitting record… now. You’re on.” He peered over the parapet as Grangeland did her thing. She rocked back and forth, swiveling her hips and running her hands across her chest. She leaned forward and blew a kiss toward the door.

“Grangeland, for cryin’ out loud. They’re going to blow their-” He stopped himself. He just couldn’t say it.

She eased off a little. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m going to keep recording for another two minutes or so. You’re doing fine.” He couldn’t watch the rest-couldn’t afford this mental distraction right now.

A few minutes later he said, “Okay, Grangeland, we’re good.” He ejected the disk so it would start from the beginning when reinserted. He unplugged the feed from the first DVD and plugged it into the second DVD. Next, he disconnected the live camera feed, inserted the Grangeland disk into the second DVD, and pressed play. If anyone looked at the camera’s monitor, they’d see Grangeland’s prerecorded action, not the real action outside the door. Since there was no peephole, they wouldn’t be able to differentiate the real scene from the prerecorded scene.

“Harv, we’re on. Grangeland, suit back up.”

She sprinted to the corner of the warehouse.

He secured the grappling hook to the parapet and descended the rope. Once on the ground, he coiled the rope and threw it over the top. If anyone drove by, he didn’t want them seeing it.

Ninety seconds later, Grangeland and Harv were at the front door ready to go.

A thumping music beat emanated from inside-probably rap.

He looked at Harv and they pulled suppressed Sigs from their belly packs. Nathan wasn’t worried about the 9 -millimeter subsonic rounds being powerful enough. They’d used them many times and never had a problem. Body armor protected against center-mass shots, but he didn’t expect his adversaries would be wearing any, especially inside the warehouse. Besides, he and Harv were quite capable of making head shots if needed.

“Lasers on. Harv, you take the right. Grangeland, you’ve got the left. I’ll take the middle of the room. We need prisoners. Grangeland, your weapon isn’t suppressed, so hold your fire unless absolutely necessary.”

He pressed the doorbell button.

It produced a muffled ring like an oversized egg timer.

On the left side of the door, he flattened himself against the wall.

Harv tucked in tight behind him.

The location of the doorknob and the exterior jamb indicated the door would swing inward, toward the right. If anyone cracked the door, he and Harv were on the concealed side. The door would have to be opened at least twelve inches for anyone to peer out and look in their direction. By then it would be too late.

The Spanish accent from the tiny speaker next to the door sounded metallic and slightly amused. “What you want?”

“I got stood up down the street. Let’s party.”

“Go away.”

“Come on, man, it’s cold out here. I need the money. Hundred bucks for all night.”

A pause. “What do we get?”

“Everything.”

“All of us?”

“How many?”

“Four.”

“Make it two hundred and you got a deal.”

Another pause. They were probably discussing it.

A few seconds later, he heard the dead bolt click.

Then a scraping, metallic sound of something else sliding.

The door swung inward.