They listened to the sound of the footfalls and judging by the sound, the larger man was near the shore. The smaller man was almost directly above them. As the voices continued it was clear that the issue wasn’t going to take care of itself; the men didn’t seem to be leaving any time soon.
Sin signaled Fletcher, Metcalf and King to sink down and swim toward the location of the man closest to shore. She and Garcia would handle the other.
She pointed to Garcia and then pointed up. Through the slats between the boards they could just make out the smuggler’s position.
The sound of the enemies’ feet stopped, letting her team know it was time for their next move. She and Garcia reached up and placed their fingertips on the deck. Pouncing from the water, they each grabbed an ankle of the armed gunman above, pulling him into the water. Garcia quickly dislodged the man’s gun from his hand while dropping back into the ocean. Sin let go of the man’s ankle and covered his mouth while Garcia zip-tied his wrists.
Sin continued to hold the target’s head underwater, until Garcia tugged on her arm signaling her to surface. As soon as she did, he struck the man on the temple with his secondary air supply, knocking him cold. They quickly dragged the man to shore, where they secured his feet and gagged him with duct tape.
Sin’s attention moved to where Fletcher and the others had been. Seconds later, her team surfaced dragging an unconscious body.
“Restrain and gag,” Sin ordered. She checked her watch. They had thirty minutes before Duggen would begin stage two of the mission. She wanted to make sure any ambushes were neutralized before his team breached the property.
Once on shore, they removed their dry bags and wet suits. From the dry bags, they took out weapons and radios. Using code, she let Jack and Gonzales know they had safely made landfall.
It had been arranged beforehand who would go where, so with a cursory look between them, they each ran in different directions. Garcia, the sniper, along with King were headed for the highest ground—the roof of the main building. Fletcher and Metcalf were headed for the construction entrance to help clear a path for the taskforce.
Sin had other plans.
42
Garcia and King made it to the administration building, broke in through the back door, and climbed the five flights of stairs in no time. They opened the roof access and made their way to preordained positions. Staying low, they opened their dry bag and removed the pieces of their M40A5 sniper rifles. In a matter of seconds, the rifles were assembled including suppressors at the end of the twenty-four-inch barrels. They assumed the prone position, facing their target and placed their headsets on to open a line of communication.
Garcia peered through the night vision sight on his rifle and whispered into his headset.
“We have you in sight, Fletch. There are two bogies fifty feet ahead at your ten o’clock. Duggen, you have a welcoming party of nine hostiles thirty feet inside the gate and another four hiding next to the wall separating our location from the elementary school.”
“Ten-four,” Duggen replied.
Sin listened to the updates. “You’re in charge, Bill, How would you like us to proceed?”
“Garcia and King, you’re my eyes. What’s the best play?” Duggen answered.
“We’ll take out the two that are in front of Fletcher and Metcalf. That will allow them to maneuver toward the construction gate unobstructed.”
“We don’t have a good angle on the four men by the wall,” Metcalf said.
“We’ll handle them and let you deal with the bogies by the gate,” Garcia answered.
“Copy and affirmed,” Duggen said. “Unless you see another way, drop them where they stand.”
“There isn’t much of an alternative,” King said. “If we shoot to wound, there will be a whole lot of screaming.”
“Everyone will hear the shots either way,” Sin radioed.
“As soon as you get the all clear from me, attack fast and hard,” Garcia told Duggen. “We’ll take out anyone stupid enough to join the fight. The school house is all yours.”
“Affirmative.”
“Forty seconds, Fletch,” Garcia radioed.
Garcia relaxed his body, and slowed his heart rate as he peered through his sight. He increased pressure on the trigger until it was just at the point of firing.
Focused, Garcia made one more transmission to Fletcher. “Count it down from ten.”
At zero, Garcia exhaled and squeezed the trigger. He heard King’s gun fire at the same time. He saw their men fall in the periphery of his sight as he readjusted his position. He and King then took aim at the men by the wall. The four men didn’t have time to react before they were dropped to the ground.
Fletcher’s trust in Garcia was so strong that he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the two men in front of him would be exterminated as he made his move. He sprang from his hiding place with Metcalf covering his back as he counted down to zero. He stayed low and hugged the perimeter of the dirt road as he made his way toward the gate.
He moved fast, not worried about making noise. Metcalf would take care of anyone approaching.
As soon as the enemy was in sight, he hit the dirt leveling his Sig Sauer P266 .40 mm semiautomatic pistol at the greenish images and aimed at the men closest to him. Screams could be heard back by the wall causing his targets to scatter. With Metcalf’s help and Duggen’s men charging through the gate, all nine were soon accounted for.
Gunfire erupted from the windows of the main building as Fletcher and Metcalf restrained the wounded targets and Duggen’s team picked their way toward the school.
“We can use a little help here,” Duggen yelled, ducking behind a tree as bullets continued to fly.
Garcia fired at anyone he could see, pinning the
