“I have movement near the—” Von Zwick’s voice was suppressed by an explosion.
Boom!
“What the hell?” shouted Cam.
The entire house shook as decades of dust and debris fell on top of them from the rafters. The sound of breaking glass and solid wood being ripped to shreds filled the air.
“Sound off!” shouted Gunner.
“Good!” Bear roared back.
“Same here!” shouted Cam.
Gunner worked his way along the hallway toward the spiral staircase. He shouted for the professor.
“Professor! Von Zwick!”
Nothing.
“Dammit,” Gunner muttered to himself. A whiff of fresh air found its way to the few beads of perspiration on his forehead. The cool air stood in stark contrast to the damp, stale environs in which von Zwick lived.
Gunner retreated from the stairwell. “We’ve got a—!” The last word Gunner intended to shout was breach. However, nobody, including himself, heard it. Another blast had shaken the house and the three operatives to their cores.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Home of Professor von Zwick
Northern Germany near the Baltic Sea
Gunner crawled to the spiral staircase and looked over the edge into the living area below. The computer monitors were dark, and only the slight illumination coming from LED lights on the back of von Zwick’s electronics revealed the devastation. Shards of glass and shredded pieces of wood lay about the floor. A cloud of dust was slowly beginning to dissipate from the blast. The front door was barely hanging on one hinge. Then he saw something else.
Through the haze of dust and debris that hovered in the room, the telltale sign of infrared laser sights danced around. Muted whispers could be heard through the cracking of glass that continued to fall from the bulletproof windows. They were no match for a rocket-propelled grenade or even one thrown by one of the attackers.
Gunner had to be careful. More grenades would end this battle quickly. He had to lure them in. Bear and Cam joined his side.
Cam addressed him first. “Von Zwick?”
Gunner shook his head in the darkness. “No response. We’re about to have company. I saw laser sights.”
“They’ll be back to their NVGs,” added Bear.
“Our only option is to lure them in,” said Gunner as he laid out the plan. “Cam, cover the south portals. Allow them to enter, but hit them when they retreat.”
“Let ’em in?” she asked.
“Yeah. We don’t need them deploying any more grenades.”
Cam moved in a low crouch to the south gun portal being used by Gunner. It was still propped open, but she didn’t look outside. It was pitch dark on that end of the house.
Gunner turned to Bear. “We’re going down. Take up a position where you can get a clear shot at them as they come through. Use your shotgun. Spray to maim. I’ll clean up the mess.”
“Roger that.”
“But, Bear, I’m expecting three of them. Wait until the third arrives and then take him out. I’m gonna let the first couple move deeper into the house.”
“I’m with ya, Gunner.”
Gunner shouldered his shotgun and drew his sidearm. He reached into his cargo pants and retrieved a silencer, quickly screwing it onto the muzzle.
“Remember, you get number three. Cam will pick off any of them who escape. I’ll take the lead two.”
“Move,” encouraged Bear with a smile that Gunner couldn’t see in that moment, but one he’d acknowledged many times before.
“Moving.”
Gunner slowly descended the spiral staircase, with his sidearm trained on the front door. When the laser lights became steadier, he presumed their attackers were getting closer, and they were able to home in on the opening to the building. He furrowed his brow as he wondered if they’d abandoned their night-vision advantage for fear of the lights blinding them again. It was possible, but it would even the playing field, which favored the Gray Fox team.
Gunner’s feet hit the ground floor, and he resisted the urge to call out to von Zwick. With only the steady green light emitted from the LED lighting coming from the back of the computers, he could see where the blast had struck the wall, leaving a gaping, debris-filled hole. It was possible von Zwick was buried under the rubble.
He heard whispered voices and the sounds of boots crunching on the gravel at the front door. Gunner slid backward into the shadows and tucked himself behind a one-foot-square support post that stretched from the concrete floor through the upper level to the roof. Even turning his body sideways, he was still exposed. His success would depend upon surprise and the accuracy of his shots.
The front door creaked on its broken hinges. The noise was so loud that the assassins presumed they were heard. The lead man demanded the professor reveal himself.
“Von Zwick! Wo sind sie?”
A solitary figure filled the void left by the blast at the front door. The ambient moonlight was temporarily obliterated. He stepped into the room, his laser sights darting back and forth in search of a target. If he had night vision, Gunner would’ve been easily discovered.
Gunner held his breath as a second figure appeared in the opening. This figure was much larger and clumsy. He bumped his head on the heavy door as he ducked through the opening. He remained silent, but the thud gave away what happened.
The two men separated slightly and kept moving forward. They were professionals, walking heel to toe in an effort to avoid making crunching sounds on the debris covering the floor. Attracted by the LED lights, the first man made his way to where the computers were still humming. The second man moved deeper into the room, directly for Gunner.
As the seconds ticked away, Gunner had to make a decision.
A third figure stepped through the doorway. Gunner steadied his weapon on his closest attacker. He waited for Bear to open fire, which he did.
Boom!
The blast of the Remington 870 shotgun was deafening.
After breaking cover, Gunner didn’t hesitate. He fired three quick rounds at the man whose silhouette obscured the moonlight coming through the front door. He
