Echo Six: Black Ops 6 - Battle for Beirut (23 page)

"Are you okay, Boss? I noticed the arm looks bad again."

"Never mind the arm. I'm leaving Reynolds with the BTR and Virgil on the gun. Roy can man the secondary armament; they'll cover our exit. I'll detail two other men to poke around this room with their assault rifles. The rest of us will fan out and search the palace. We need to locate Nava, find this bastard fast, kill him, and get out of here."

The Italian gave him a searching gaze. "Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot, that it do singe yourself."

Roy was emerging through the hatch, and he gave Rovere a skeptical glance.

"What the hell does that mean?"

Talley grimaced. "It means nothing. Roy, hold them off the five minutes, and we'll be back. Ten maximum."

"And if you're not back in ten minutes?"

"Then we're not coming back."

Guy was already waiting to head out into the palace, and Talley nodded for him to go ahead and start the search on the second floor. The former SAS man ran off with three other troopers, and Talley split the remainder into two fireteams, the other led by Rovere.

"We'll take the rear of the first floor, and you take the front. Remember, al Saif will have troops crawling out of the woodwork. The only way we'll get out of this alive is to kill them before they can hit us, so shoot anything that moves." He shouted up to Virgil in the turret, "And if you see any missile shooters, kill them twice. Let's go."

He raced through the door, which led into a long corridor in the center of the vast palace. Jesse Whitefeather brought up the rear. There was no time to admire the rich furnishings and ornate artworks. All they could do was blast a path through al Saif's men, who were everywhere and determined to stop them. It seemed that around every corner there'd be one or two men waiting to gun them down, and inside every room a man with a pistol or an assault rifle.

The passageway came to a T-junction. Rovere took his fireteam to the right and Talley to the left. They came face-to-face with two Arabs charging toward them with guns leveled, spitting bullets. He felt a round punch into his armored vest, even as the man behind him opened fire and cut down the enemy with a savage burst. They ran on. He shouldered open the first door, and a man looked up startled. He went for the handgun holstered at his side, but Talley clipped him with a single round from the MP7. They were in a firefight that could last longer than the ammunition they carried, and it was time to conserve what they had.

His men waited for him out in the corridor, guarding the approaches. He joined them and kept on running. A single Arab rounded the corner twenty meters ahead. He was clutching a missile launcher, obviously heading for the front of the palace to take a shot at the BTR. Talley hit him with four bullets, and his blood painted the launcher red as he tumbled to the floor. Another man came into sight and skidded to a stop. He carried the spare missile. Another trooper knocked him down with a three-shot burst.

They reached the end of the corridor and turned into a shorter passageway that led to the rear of the palace. Two men were entering through an outside door, and they hit them with bursts of concentrated fire. He heard Guy in his earpiece.

"Echo One, this is Two. We've cleared all the hostiles we could find. Negative sighting of Nava, repeat negative."

"Copy that. When you reach the first floor, stay in place so you can cover the staircase and the hallway. There's sure to be some of them hiding up there, waiting to come down to join in the fight."

"Roger that. We'll be there."

He ran on to the next doorway and threw it open. A flight of stone stairs descended into the basement. It looked promising. He turned to the man behind him.

"I'm going down. Cover me."

As he raced down the staircase, the Indian was right behind him.

"You were supposed to cover me," he shouted as they ran.

"Someone has to watch your back. You know why."

What am I, a fucking invalid? Do they think I can't handle this?

He half turned to order him back but thought better of it. Ever since they'd burst out of the BTR, he'd been worried about his right arm, still numb and shaking. He had to use his MP7 left-handed, which was fine, until he needed more accuracy. When that happened, the sniper may keep him alive. And there was something else to think about.

This isn't the time for ego. Her life is at stake, and if I die, there's no guarantee that Guy won't order the team to get out of here. It would be the right decision. Except...

They reached the foot of the staircase, and in front of them he could see a heavy door. There was nothing else, only the lobby that was about four meters square and that door.

Is this where al Saif keeps his women?

So far, there'd been no sighting of the Saudi billionaire.

Is he in here?

He measured the distance to the door and rushed at it. He hit it with his right shoulder. It was already numb and useless, so there was little he could do that would make it worse. But the door just shook and remained closed.

The Indian went forward, turned the handle, and the door opened. He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't say it, Jesse."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Whitefeather pushed into the room, and Talley followed. What struck first was that this was the torture chamber of a sexual sadist. A bed with straps and ropes fixed to each corner. There was also a kind of examination table, with more straps to fasten down an unwilling captive. As well as a rack of whips, a case of surgical instruments, and even an electric device, like the boost starter for vehicles with a flat battery. It was best not to try and figure how that worked. But the room was empty.

He knew she'd been there when he saw the golden glint of something on the floor. It was jewelry, an earring. The last time he'd seen one like that, it was fastened to Nava's ear. And there was also the faint, lingering fragrance of her in the room. He'd know it anywhere, even sensed it in his sleep, and his dreams, and lately in his nightmares. But she wasn't there.

They raced out of the room and back up the staircase.

"We have to check through the palace," he shouted to them, "She's here somewhere. Move it!"

He realized he was shaking with fury as he charged along the corridor. That awful room he'd used to imprison Nava fed the white heat of rage. His right arm was shaking even more. Now it was almost uncontrollable. Then his earpiece clicked, and everything changed.

"This is Goldstein, do you read?"

"Loud and clear. What's the situation out on the airfield, Shimon? Are you under attack?"

He cursed himself for not leaving a couple of men to guard the plane with Goldstein and Nassif. But even as he had that thought, he knew he'd had no choice. There just weren't enough men. To his relief, the Mossad man replied in the negative.

"We're okay. I don't think they've connected your unit with this aircraft, but that's not the problem. A few minutes ago, a big armored Mercedes limo came hurtling out of the rear entrance of the palace compound, and it's headed toward the Gulfstream. It looks like he's bailing out."

He felt a black fury descend over him.

I should have known the cunning Saudi would have a back way out, in case of attack. After all, this is the Middle East, where rich and poor live on the knife-edge of sudden violence.

But even as he had that thought, he threw it off. It was Monday morning quarterback thinking. His job was to keep going forward until the mission was completed. Which meant Nava was safely out of the sadist's hands, and the monster was
dead.

"She'll be with him," he said, almost to himself, but Jesse understood.

"We'll get her back, Boss."

He ignored him and raced back to the BTR. As he ran, he shouted into his mic, “This is Echo One. All units regroup at the BTR. We’re pulling out.”

Guy replied, his voice almost a whisper.

“Boss, there’s a bunch of hostiles heading in to our position. We’re set to take them out, about twenty of them. We can’t just leave them in our rear.”

Talley was desperate. His brain was issuing commands his body refused to obey. And now Guy! All the while, the Arab sadist was taking her further away.

“I don’t give a shit, Sergeant Welland. Pull the men out. That’s an order!”

He realized he was shaking, his pulse racing, as if his body was going into overload. There was a pause. When Guy replied, he was shocked; it was like being doused with ice-cold water.

“No.” He was frozen in astonishment. “Not this time, Commander. You can’t do this on your own, and I’m not letting these men commit suicide.”

Guy's voice was flat and cold.

“Sergeant Welland, I’m ordering…”

“You’re ordering no one. You’re in no fit state, Boss. Step back, for the good of the men. We’ll take care of this threat, and then we’ll go and see what we can do about the target. But we can't leave half the fucking guard force waiting to take potshots at us as we pull out. Clear? Sir!”

He didn’t get a chance to respond. The Saudis creeping toward Guy’s position came up against his fireteam, and once again, the palace echoed to the sound of concentrated gunfire.

He felt sick, almost at the point of collapse. Jesse was staring at him with a strange look.

Pity?

“What?” he snapped.

“Leave it to Guy, Boss. You’re not well, and you’re half out your mind over that girl. You'll likely get her killed if you carry on like this.”

His mind blanked for a few moments, and then something clicked in his brain. He’d been a fool. His shoulders slumped, as he gave in to the inevitable.

“Jesse, you’re right. Lead this team toward Guy’s position. We’ll link up with Rovere and fight back to the APC. Gus is in command. I’ll cover our six.”

The Indian nodded, and Talley keyed his mic. “All units, this is Echo One. Sergeant Guy Welland is taking command. You will follow his orders. I’m okay, and I’m coming out with him, but I can't lead the unit right now. I repeat; I’m okay. Guy, acknowledge, and take over.”

The reply was immediate. “Copy that, I have command of Echo Six. We’ll get out of here, and we’ll get her back, Abe. Let's get out of here."

They went carefully forward and joined up with Guy's fireteam. The BTR was less than fifty meters from their position, but they had no way of knowing how many Saudi guards were in between. Guy nodded to Vince.

"Take a look. Go see what we have in front of us."

"Roger that."

DiMosta crept stealthily forward, and ten seconds later was coming back.

"There's a small force, eight to ten men, assault rifles, no sign of any RPGs. The good news is they're facing away from us. They're preparing for an attack on the APC."

Guy nodded. "Suggestions?"

"If we can get within spitting range, we can hit them from behind. It'll feel like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are charging down on them. We should be able to take them all."

"Sounds good. I'll lead the attack, and remember; if we do this right, we have a ticket out of here in the APC. " He turned to the man at the back, "Boss, you and Jesse watch our six while we hit these gomers. There are more of them kicking around the palace. We don't need any surprises."

"Copy that."

They watched the rear area while Guy led the men quietly forward. They reached the last corner. He peered around at the hostiles and pulled back into cover. Using hand signals, he indicated that the hostiles, a total of ten men, were less than ten meters away. The passage was wide enough for three men, and they lined up shoulder-to-shoulder, waiting for the word.

Ahead of them, they could hear the guttural grunts and sounds of the Saudis talking. They sounded a bit nervous, so they were about to launch an assault. Talley smiled.

Sometimes, things don't go the way you think they will. And Echo Six is about to ruin these poor bastards’ day.

There was only one word of command. "Now!"

Guy led the charge, and they hurtled around the corner head on into the Saudis. Talley stayed in the rear with Whitefeather, waiting. After the first shots fired, he went forward to check on Guy's progress. The Saudis were totally unprepared for what hit them. Whoever trained them didn't know his business. They had no one watching their back, and there were even empty corridors to the left and right they’d left unwatched and unguarded.

Echo Six smashed into them like avenging angels, assault rifles spitting bullets, and not one defender managed to return fire. It was a bloodbath. Some tried to run right and left down the empty corridors, paying the price of turning their backs on an enemy. One Saudi threw himself to the floor and started to crawl forward, as if that offered a way out. Guy fired a single shot, and the man slumped with half his head blown away.

What was uncanny was the lack of noise. Echo Six still had suppressors fitted to their weapons, and because of the absence of return fire, the only sound was the 'thunk' of the shots. And the screams, quickly cut off of the dying Saudis. They checked the bodies to make sure, and Guy turned to Talley.