‘It still scares me that there are people who can do this.’
‘Yeah, but aren’t you glad me and my crew are on your side? Fly, my pretties, fly!’ Grin shouted excitedly as updates on the electronic assault on Orlov’s business empire scrolled in.
60
Saginaw Bay, Michigan
Dawson pored over the collection of maps and satellite photos that were strewn across the chart table of the Sharon S. Notations made in water-based marker indicated the positions of his men near the remote hunting cabin.
Angel had reported ‘feet dry’ twenty minutes earlier, transitioning from the water phase of the mission to land. Their stealthy approach from the bay up the Rifle River had apparently gone undetected by the Tangos.
Once they’d reached the shore, the SEALs had disconnected their masks from the Draeger rebreathers. A rotary valve closed off the dual hoses, preventing any contamination of the rebreather’s CO 2 scrubber. Angel approached the cabin in water that varied from knee to waist deep. From their last report, Angel was in position along the levee east of the cabin.
Dawson’s satellite phone, which lay near the corner of the chart table, emitted a soft, pulsating sound.
‘Dawson,’ he answered.
‘Admiral, it’s Grin. Nolan is on-line.’
‘Good. Everything going okay?’
‘Yeah, the connection is clean, and we’ve got access to all the goodies. Does it look like they’re going to release Kelsey and Elli?’
‘No,’ Dawson replied with near absolute certainty.
Grin said nothing for a moment, finding himself at a loss for words. ‘Good luck, Admiral.’
‘Thanks,’ Dawson replied sympathetically before ending the call.
Dawson gazed down at the charts. The cabin was situated near the shore of the bay on an elevated patch of ground surrounded by an earthen levee. Water from the river flooded the surrounding area, creating lightly wooded wetlands ideal for hunting migrating ducks and geese.
God, the two-man sniper team, had worked their way on foot to the cabin from the adjacent Ogemaw State Forest. A knoll, approximately two thousand yards from the cabin across a wide expanse of cattails and marsh grass, provided the snipers with an unobstructed view of the northern and western sides of the rustic, one-story building.
‘Heaven to God,’ Dawson called out.
‘This is God. I read you, Heaven.’
‘Say status of Halos.’
‘Halos are unchanged. Repeat, Halos are unchanged.’
From God’s vantage point on the knoll, the snipers had a clear view of Kelsey and Elli. Both women were in the northwestern corner bedroom, and should any move be made against them, God was in a position to put an immediate stop to it. The ‘unchanged’ status of the hostages meant that no move had been made to harm or release the women. Enough time had passed, in Dawson’s opinion, to determine that the hostages were not going to be released.
‘Say status of Tangos, God.’
‘Count is five – three plus two,’ the sniper answered, identifying a total of five men; three inside with the hostages, and two outside on patrol.
‘I read you, God,’ Dawson replied. ‘Heaven to Angel.’
‘Angel here,’ Edwards answered. ‘I read you, Heaven.’
‘Halos are unchanged. Confirmed Tango count is five. Tangos are three and two. You have a green light, Angel.’
‘Green light acknowledged, Heaven. Angel out.’
Dawson looked up from the charts and out the bridge windscreen. Through the thick, moisture-laden air, the shore was a distant green-brown haze. Somewhere in that haze, his men were moving.
61
Pine River, Michigan
A few days ago, I was in the arms of a beautiful woman in Moscow, Dima thought as he spat on the ground near the cabin. Now, I’m in a godforsaken swamp.
Late Saturday night, he and another ex-soldier named Ilya had been flown halfway around the world to Canada, then driven across the Blue Water Bridge into Michigan. Now he was on patrol in a swamp while recovering from the combined effects of jet lag and a hangover.
Dima swatted another of the interminable parade of mosquitoes that had tormented him throughout the past day. As he rubbed the spot on his neck where the ferocious insect had bitten him, he noticed a flash of light from across the open marsh. He studied the small hill where he’d seen the bright flare of reflected sunlight, then there was another flash.
Dima crouched low alongside the levee. He’d seen light flares like that in Afghanistan and Chechnya, and they’d always been man-made.
‘Josef,’ he called into his lip mike.
‘ Da,’ the Georgian answered.
‘It’s Dima. I saw a reflection flash on a nearby hillock, northwest of camp. Request permission to investigate.’
‘Granted. Hold position until I get someone out to replace you on patrol.’
Josef knew that the reflection Dima had seen was probably nothing, but to ignore even the most mundane observation on a mission like this invited disaster.
‘Ilya, take Dima’s post on patrol.’
Ilya got up from the ancient couch, slung a submachine gun over his shoulder, and walked out the cabin’s front door. When he neared the northwestern corner, Dima threw a short wave at him and crawled over the levee.
‘Hey, Gorski,’ Ahsan said quietly, ‘I think someone might have spotted that scope of yours.’
From beneath the lightweight camouflage tarp that concealed his prone body, Gorski pulled his face away from the telescopic sight on his sniper rifle and surveyed the area in front of him. As a two-man unit, he and Ahsan were collectively known as God because they could strike down like a bolt of lightning out of the sky.
‘I see him, about ten o’clock,’ Gorski replied, the long barrel of his custom-built. 50-caliber rifle defining twelve o’clock relative to their position on the knoll.
‘Yep, he called out a replacement, then moved into that patch of woods. I’ll keep an eye on him; just wanted to give you a heads-up.’
‘I appreciate that,’ Gorski replied to his protector.
From the knoll, Gorski lined up a shot through the front window of the room where the two hostages were being kept. He rechecked the settings on his scope, making certain he had the distance and wind adjustments dialed in to his satisfaction.
Gorski’s earpiece crackled. ‘Angel to God, we’re moving.’
‘I read you, Angel,’ Gorski replied.
