Contract to Kill (38 page)

Halfway to her cover, the slope got steeper, and finding solid footholds became a problem.

She shut out the unnerving sound of vehicles speeding along the road and kept driving her legs, reminding herself she was in peak shape. She could run several miles without breaking a sweat. This was—

Nathan’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Grangeland, status?”

“I’m halfway there, but it’s kind of steep. My feet keep slipping.”

“Can you see the vehicles?”

“Not yet, but it’s going to be close.”

“Will you have eyes on the pit from the boulders?”

“I don’t know. Probably not. I’m too far around the mountain to the east.”

“ETA to your cover?”

She wanted to say, “Sooner if you’d let me concentrate,” but instead said, “Fifteen seconds.”

“Harv?”

“Lyons is still lined up on Lookout.”

“Let me know if the guy uses his radio. The South Korean vehicles are almost in visual range.”

“Copy. You called it, Nate. He’s on the radio. I can hear the crunch of tires and see headlight intrusion. Lyons is hearing and seeing the same thing I am. We have to assume she’s in radio contact with Mason and Hahn.”

“Grangeland?”

“Ten more feet . . . ” She nearly fell, but regained her balance. Huffing a little, she said, “Shit, I made it.” She brought her field glasses up, took a deep breath, and tried to hold still. “Their headlights are dark, and they’re slowing for the access road.”

“Definitely Mason and Hahn,”
Nathan said.
“What are they driving?”

“A dark SUV and a sedan. The SUV’s in front. I lost sight of the South Korean SUVs. They should be arriving at your location any second.”

“Grangeland, your job is to keep eyes on Mason and Hahn. We have to know where they are at all times. If one or both of them get out, let us know right away.”

“I will.”

“If they spot you, lay down a barrage of fire and keep shooting until you score a hit. The NV scope will automatically dim to your muzzle flashes. Shoot every second or so, then reload quickly. Each magazine gives you about twenty to thirty seconds of suppression-fire time.”

“Copy.”

“Be relentless and pour it on them. No mercy. Harv will drop Lyons and hustle down to the rim to support us.”

“Got it . . . wait, something’s happening. The SUV turned onto the access road, but the sedan kept going. Okay, it stopped. Now the sedan’s in reverse behind the SUV. It looks like it’s going to back up the road.”

“They’re setting up a getaway car. They might park the vehicles at the bottleneck to block the road. The driver of the sedan will either transfer into the SUV or take off on foot to high ground. Harv, you copy that?”

“Affirm.”

Grangeland listened while Nathan and Harv continued.

“Harv, if someone gets out, I don’t see them going up on Grangeland’s side of the canyon. Mason or Hahn will go northwest up the mountain, then turn left toward the rim. That will have him arriving at section seven or eight up there. Are you visually secure from that direction?”

“Yes, I’ll be ready.”

“Grangeland, confirm you can’t see the eastern side of the rim from your current position or your original SP.”

“Confirmed.”

“Harv, if things get heavy, drop Lyons first. You don’t want her using that grenade launcher on you. The first of us with eyes on Mason and Hahn outside their vehicles, check in right away. We need to know if they’re armed like Lyons.”

Grangeland copied Nathan.

“Harv, are you still on the move toward the rim?”

“Yeah, but it’s slow going. I’m still a good fifty yards out.”

“We may have to initiate the shooting. I don’t want you bracketed up there. Grangeland, where are Mason’s vehicles?”

“They’re halfway to the gate.”

“Stand by to open fire. Have five or six mags in your belly pack ready to go.”

“I’m all set.”

Then Nathan said,
“The South Koreans just arrived in the pit. They’re getting out.”

From his vantage point inside the conveyor, Nathan watched eight Asian men climb out of two SUVs. All four from the lead vehicle assumed a defensive perimeter around the second SUV. Including Alisio, there were now twenty heavily armed men in the quarry. Darla Lyons occupied the west rim with an M4 carbine and a grenade launcher at her disposal.

Nathan was quick with a pistol, but he didn’t possess Harv’s skills. At this distance of a football field to where the men were standing outside their vehicles, Nathan could use his bolt-action rifle against them, but because of their numbers, it was far from ideal. The semiauto M1A would’ve been better. All factors considered, Grangeland needed that weapon. She wouldn’t be nearly as fast as Harv or him cycling a bolt-action weapon. She also didn’t have the one-shot-one-kill expertise, but he had no doubt she could take down multiple targets once the shooting started.

As tempting as it was to give the order, Harv couldn’t drop Lyons yet. It would alert everyone to Harv’s presence because his rifle wasn’t suppressed. The report would echo through the pit like a thunderclap, and everyone would immediately scramble for cover. Patience was the hardest part of an op like this. Being the first to shoot wasn’t always to a sniper’s advantage.

Two of the South Koreans walked over and shook hands with Alisio. Nathan heard them speaking English, but couldn’t make out more than a few words. Alisio made more introductions, followed by more handshakes.

“Everyone listen up. Including Alisio’s lookout on the rim, we’re facing twenty gunmen. Twelve are Alisio’s; eight are ROK. Grangeland, status?”

“Mason and Hahn are still coming, but they’re going slowly. They haven’t reached the barbed wire gate yet.”

“Maintain eyes on them with your field glasses. Be ready to switch to the M1A on my mark. Are you working your way back to your original SP above the bottleneck in the access road?”

“Yes.”

Harv said,
“Alisio’s lookout on the rim just used his radio and put it away. He’s not acting very watchful. He’s
. . .
taking a leak. Oh, man.”

“What?” Nathan asked.

“Lyons just killed him. She shot the guy in the head while he was relieving himself.”

“I didn’t hear the shot down here.”

“I didn’t either.
She just fired twice more; I guess to make sure the guy’s dead. She may be switching to the M4 with the grenade launcher. Its weapon sight is bigger than a normal optical. She’ll have NV for sure, maybe thermal too.”

“Hold off dropping her, Harv. It’s a brutal reality, but every gunman she eliminates is one less we have to deal with.”

“I’m ready; just give the word.”

“Mason can’t drive up here like he’s part of the exchange. The players have already arrived. And he can’t sneak up here with his headlights dark or they’ll hear his tires crunching on the gravel. He’ll need a distraction.”

“I’m confirming Lyons just switched to the M4,”
Harv said.

“Harv, once an unsuppressed shot rings out or she uses the launcher, take her down quickly. Grangeland, what are Mason’s vehicles doing? Are they still coming up the road?”

“Yes.”

Harv cut in.
“Lyons just loaded the grenade launcher. The rounds are in her belly pack.”

“I doubt she’ll target Alisio’s vehicles yet. She doesn’t know which one has the money. Are you at the rim?”

“Sixty seconds. It’s slow going. I’m still in Lyons’s cone of vision. If she swings her rifle scope toward me, it might be the last thing I’ll ever see.”

Grangeland cut in.
“Sorry to interrupt, but Mason and Hahn just went through the gate. Both vehicles.”

“Copy. One of the South Koreans opened the back of an SUV. I can’t see it from my angle, but I suspect the duffel bags are in there. Alisio’s checking it out. Stand by . . . we might have trouble. One of his men is looking at the rim through field glasses and talking on a radio. Harv, hold position and get a bead on Lyons. If I have to start shooting down here, drop her right away. I don’t want to end up on the business end of that M203.”

“Copy.”

“The sedan stopped,”
Grangeland said.
“Someone’s getting out. He’s not big enough to be Mason. Gotta be Hahn. He’s getting in the SUV. He left the sedan blocking the road.”

“Can a vehicle get past it?”

“No.”

“Weapons?”

“Hahn’s carrying an M4 with a big sight, but it doesn’t have a launcher. He’s wearing desert camo with a backpack and belly pack.”

“Keep eyes on Mason’s SUV. If they keep going at their present pace, when will they reach the pit?”

“Thirty seconds, maybe a little more.”

“Will you make your SP before they reach the pit?”

“I think so. It’ll be close.”

“Don’t shoot until you have solid cover. Get into a prone position. If you have to, stack some rocks in front of you. Check for ants before you lie down. Copy?”

“Copy.”

Harv cut in.
“Nate, can you hear Mason’s SUV?”

“Not yet. The South Koreans are unloading the duffel bags. They’re also setting up a small folding table and a chair. It’s partially blocked from my line of sight.”

“To examine the diamonds and coins,”
Harv said.

“Alisio’s walking over to his SUV. He grabbed a briefcase; it probably holds the two million in cash. He’s looking at his man, the one who tried to contact his lookout. Everyone give me a short interval of radio silence. I want to hear what he’s saying.”

Nathan spoke fluent Spanish and couldn’t miss what Alisio yelled up to the rim.

“Julio! Where the fuck are you?”
The crime boss cursed again and ordered one of his men to hustle up there and find “Julio’s dumb ass.”

The South Koreans suddenly looked edgy, eyeing the rim, then their vehicles. Alisio assured them everything was okay. He told them his lookout was probably scouting the area up there and couldn’t hear him.

They exchanged a few more words, and one of the South Korean gunmen joined Alisio’s man. Together, they began a jog around the perimeter of the lake toward the switchbacks.

There were now seventeen gunmen left in the pit.

“Harv, two gunmen are heading for the switchbacks. One of them has an MP5; the other’s got an AK. How close is Lyons to the rim? Will she be able to see them once they start up?”

“Yes, she’s several feet from the edge behind a large creosote bush, but she can see the pit and the switchbacks for sure.”

“If she relocates for any reason, use the opportunity to advance. I need you on the rim.”

“Will do. Those guys are going to find Alisio’s dead lookout. They can’t miss him.”

“Mason’s SUV just stopped,”
Grangeland said.
“Hahn got out
. . .
he’s running up the mountain to the north.”

“Grangeland, your responsibility is now Hahn. Keep track of him at all costs. We absolutely need to know where he sets up his SP. Expect him to make a left turn and head for section eight or nine on the rim. If Mason’s SUV stops again, let me know.”

“Okay, I’m back at my original SP.
Shit, my phone just vibrated,”
she said.

“Ignore it and stay on Hahn.”

“Mine too,”
Harv said.

“Leave them in your pockets. Harv, stay on Lyons. Will Hahn be in your line of sight once he makes his move toward the rim?”

“Affirm. He’ll be on fairly open ground.”

“Mason slowed to a crawl. I don’t hear the crunch of his tires,”
Grangeland said.

“Harv?”

“I don’t hear it either.”

“The two men are at the bottom of the switchbacks. They’re starting up in a jog. Alisio put his briefcase on the table. Grangeland, be ready to drop Hahn simultaneously with Harv dropping Lyons. Will you be able to track Hahn’s progress all the way to the rim?”

“Yes.”

Nathan eased forward a little to give himself a better field of view. He couldn’t see the mouth of the road, but everything else was visible. He had to be careful. One of the truss braces of the conveyor went diagonally through his shooting lane.

“Grangeland, keep your field glasses handy and switch to the M1A’s optical. For reference purposes, there are five SUVs in the pit. Alisio’s three are parked near the office, and the two ROK vehicles are closer to the prefab.”

Grangeland and Harv copied.

“Mason stopped, but he’s not getting out,”
Grangeland said.

“How far from the mouth of the pit? Is his SUV blocking the road at that spot?”

“One hundred yards, and yes.”

“Harv, can you see that?”