Instinctual 2 (20 page)

“Grab all the weaponry you can carry,” he barked to The Gladiator as he turned off the rotor and lights.

He turned to the medics. “Lock the helicopter from the inside and keep it locked until you see either myself or The Gladiator approach. Under no circumstances are you to unlock the doors for anyone else. The glass is bullet-proof so you’ll be as safe as you can possibly be.”

Gary ran around from the front door to the side door, taking a rifle, handgun, and army knife from The Gladiator and stashing as much as he could on his body out of sight. The military rifle was slung over his shoulder. He didn’t know what to expect inside the prison but he’d learned to always expect the worst. It wouldn’t just be a case of going in, taking Jake out, and leaving. Of that he was sure.

Once they were out of the chopper and were sure it was locked with the medics safely inside, Gary nodded forward to The Gladiator to run towards the cover of the jail and to get inside via any entry door they could find. The Gladiator responded, taking off at a full sprint but hadn’t yet made it to the wall of the crumbling structure when shots rang out.

The bullet landed about a foot from him on the stony ground. Lucky whoever was shooting was a poor shot. Then again, it was harder to hit a moving target. Gary hadn’t made it to the side of the prison yet and heard another crack and then a stinging sensation in his left arm. He didn’t stop to see what it was but kept running, letting off a round from the semi-automatic handgun in the direction the previous shots had sounded. He couldn’t see shit with the new moon and cloud cover. It was the perfect night for an ambush. He flew into the stone wall next to The Gladiator, flattening his body and trying to scour the darkness for any sign of the enemy. Fuck! They could be anywhere within the confines of the three-story structure and not necessarily firing from outside.

“Sir, you’ve been shot.”

Gary looked down to the burning on his arm and realized he’d been nicked with a bullet. Blood oozed out and stained the sleeve of his jacket, which had ripped with the force of the passing bullet. It appeared to be just a surface wound so he wasn’t too worried. “Just a scratch. Come on, we need to get inside. We’re sitting ducks out here.” He motioned for The Gladiator to move along the wall to the first available door. “I don’t think we’ll find any on this side. We need to get into the courtyard. These guys mean business, so fire at will.”

“Game on, sir!”

They both turned and crept back the way they had come, keeping their bodies pressed tightly into the stone wall until they came to the end of one wing where the horseshoe shape ended and the building became square before tapering into a long rectangle, meeting up with the other side in the same way.

Gary held his handgun up, ready to fire, The Gladiator having chosen his long range military rifle. He was an expert marksman and could hit an acorn in a high tree from five hundred feet away if he had to. One shot. No mistakes.

The earlier gunfire that had peeled out now left the night silent as they looked for the closest entrance. They didn’t know where the enemy was and were at a disadvantage, having lost the element of surprise.

The Gladiator had called Rob quickly on their descent and given him an update about their location. He’d informed him that they were pretty confident they’d found their target. He’d quickly rattled off the coordinates and told Rob to be on guard in case they needed backup. Rob had the military base in Rome’s secure number and was to call it only at Gary’s request, should they need extra firepower and men as a last resort. They weren’t sure how many enemies were holed up inside but they had to be prepared. Gary kept his phone on vibrate only, so if Rob called he’d be able to feel it.

There was an entrance halfway across so they made their way towards it, silently. The prison was huge so they were going to have their work cut out for them in regards to finding Jake. He could be anywhere, on any floor, but they weren’t leaving without him.

The Gladiator reached the door first and opened it slowly, stopping momentarily when it squeaked loudly. The hinges were so old and rusted out that it was impossible to enter without a sound.

Inside the door it was dark and musty. The room was large with nothing adorning it except ancient, red paint that clung to the rotting walls and cracked, dirty black and white checked tiles on the floor. It must have been staff quarters back in the day. Stealthily they crept across the tiles towards a door that would lead them into the cell blocks.

Gary was operating on what little instinct he had. It was in times like this that he could really have used Rob and his gut feelings but they hadn’t had time to wait for him to make his way from La Spezia to a meeting point where he could have been picked up.

The Gladiator looked as cold as ice with no emotion showing on his face at all. No sign of fear. Gary, on the other hand, had broken out in a sweat. It could have been from the bullet that had grazed his skin or it could have been from fear. He wasn’t sure which. He tried not to think of maybe not making it out alive and seeing his family again. He couldn’t. He had to stay focused and detach himself. It had been many years since he’d been on the front line and he couldn’t say he missed it. He’d been in some scary locations back in the day but this one was unsettling. The long, endless hall seemed to taunt them as they proceeded to creep forward, Gary on one side of the hallway checking the cells and The Gladiator on the other.

It was a tedious process working their way through the center of the jail and curving with the shape of the building. Gary accepted the fact that it was going to take all night to search every cell and room, a task he was not looking forward to but one that was necessary.

It felt strange to follow such a tight bend around which straightened out to another long hallway in front of them. All of the cells had been empty so far, the insides dreary and prehistoric.

As they started down the straight and narrow again, The Gladiator stopped short, causing Gary to pause mid-step and then spin around to see if they were being followed. He could only see a short way to where the corridor curved and then disappeared. Looking at the Gladiator, he could see the soldier’s head cocked to one side as if listening to something. Gary closed the distance to stand next to him and asked, “What is it?”

“I hear something.”

“Something?”

“A sound. Like beeping. It’s coming from down there.” He pointed in front of them, so they slowly inched forward, and as they got closer, Gary’s hearing kicked in and he could hear it, too. It was definitely beeping and it was getting louder.

They were close now as the sound rang out, echoing against the quiet. They both knew that noise. They’d heard it numerous times. Gary’s adrenalin surged at the beeping, as both men closed in on the cell with their spy.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Gary reached Jake’s cell, noticing The Gladiator move to stand beside him. Both men looked at each other knowingly. It was a small victory, one which wasn’t won yet.

“Fucking Jesus! Kate was right! Everything she said was true. All of it!” Gary ran his free hand through his hair and over his face, trying to make heads or tails of just how she’d gotten her information. Everything he knew to be true about the world and life had been turned upside down. Communicating with the near dead? How was it possible? There were no other explanations, though. Kate herself had been in a coma while Jake was lying unconscious in the very room they were looking into. He blinked a few times, trying to shake off his confusion. He’d have time for that later once they figured out how they were going to get Jake out.

The Gladiator tried the cell door. “Locked!”

“I didn’t think they’d leave it unlocked. We need to find the keys ASAP and get him to the safety of the chopper before our gunmen find us and start shooting again.”

“Too late for that now, isn’t it?” sang a voice from down the hall.

Both Gary and The Gladiator swung around to see two men had rounded the bend, guns raised.

“Drop your weapons, now!” barked Adriano. “Nice and slow, and then keep your hands where we can see them.”

The Gladiator held his gun in a death grip watching as Gary slowly bent down to lay his weapon on the cold stone floor. Gary looked sideways at The Gladiator and barely nodded but it was enough to let the soldier know that they needed to comply with the request for now and wait for the opportunity to attack. They had other weapons on their bodies, so could afford the loss of a gun each.

The Gladiator bent down and put the rifle next to Gary’s handgun and then stood with his hands in the air.

Stavros spoke. “You! Big guy! Kick the weapons over here. No funny stuff.”

The Gladiator gave them a hateful stare before kicking the guns away as their two enemies approached slowly. Adriano picked both up, slinging the rifle over his shoulder and pocketing the handgun.

“Now move! Down that way!” Stavros pointed back down the hall, past Jake’s cell, with the butt of his gun.

Gary was praying that his wingman had a plan and would be able to share it with him because he had nothing at that point. He’d just have to wait and see how things played out. He willed his mind to calm down. He needed to be alert and ready to act in a split second.

Both men followed the corridor with their hands on their heads until they came to a dead end. Two wooden double doors greeted them, so they stopped to await further instruction.

“Open the doors and go through,” grunted Adriano as he pushed his gun into Gary’s back.

Gary obliged and stepped into a surreal world. He tried to keep his face neutral as he stopped inside the door, his eyes focusing on two men at the other end, sitting on the couch.

The balding older man stood and took a step forward. “Well, well, well! What do we have here, Stavros? Company, I see. So nice of you two men to join our little party. Come! Don’t be shy.”

“We found them inside the prison looking at our patient down the hall.”

“Good work, men. Bring our guests over to get a little more comfortable so we can get to know each other a little more, yes?”

Gary and The Gladiator walked over to the sofa where Carlos sat.

All three men sat side by side with The Gladiator in the middle.

“I am The Lord and this is Adriano, Stavros and Carlos.”

Gary glared at Carlos, finally within punching distance of the man whose head he wanted to deliver to Rob on a silver platter.

“So. What brings the two of you to Santo Stefano Island? I’m guessing it’s not a social visit, no?” The Lord’s voice was sugary sweet.

Gary calmly spoke to try and keep the situation from escalating. “We’re here to negotiate.”

The Lord howled with laughter. “Negotiate? Please, do go on. I’m intrigued.”

Gary didn’t have a clue what he should say next and was making it up as he went along.

“You’re a business man, I can see. I’m sure we can come to a mutual agreement in regards to releasing your patient.”

“Ahhh, so you’re the spy’s accomplices. Well, I must commend you on your ability to infiltrate my family and pull off your mission for such a long period of time. I am impressed. Maybe you should come work for me.” The Lord had a glint in his eye as he goaded Gary.

The Gladiator had his fists tightly squeezed on his lap. Gary could tell by the body language of the big soldier that he wanted to tear someone apart, limb by limb.

“You act like we’re the criminals here. We’re not the ones moving illegal arms into the United States. We’re not the ones selling drugs that end up in the hands of minors. We’re not the ones killing people that don’t comply with ‘our family’s code of ethics.’”

“You make it sound like we hold a gun to the young dope addicts’ faces. People make their own choices in life, whether that be bad or good. We merely supply the demand.”

“Yeah, but you just make it easier to get their hands on the stuff, not to mention weaponry that’s sold on the black market.”

“Again, a choice, my friend. Now, we could sit here all day arguing about what’s right and wrong, but that’s not going to solve the fate of our ally in the cell, is it? You mentioned a mutual agreement? What do you suggest?”

Think fast, Gary. Think fast. He needed to stop his emotions taking over and create a plan with a level head. He could feel The Gladiator’s gaze upon him but didn’t turn around. He refused to steal his stare away from the man calling the shots. “Let us go somewhere a little more private and discuss this like gentlemen.” Gary’s eyes flashed to the dwindling cigar held between the chubby fingers of the boss man. “Maybe share a cigar and work out a solution to our mutual problem.” It was all he had. He hoped to appeal to whatever niceness may still be left in the crime leader, if any. Appease him and get him on his own where the odds would be a little fairer. Take him out and get Jake onto the chopper, even if Gary had to stay behind and fight with The Gladiator.

“Do you think I’m stupid? Why would I leave with you and risk being overpowered? I’ve been in this business a long time. I know how minds like yours work. I’ve had to in order to stay at the top.”