Solemn Duty (1997) (33 page)

She screamed, "Eli, watch out! Men at the door!"

One of the men stepped away from the wall and she saw a flash. Something zipped by her ear. She crouched, stepped back and yelled at the good-looking man. "Lay on the floor and don't move!"

Behind her, Ashley could hear Sandy sobbing. "Oh God, this isn't happening. This isn't happening."

Hearing Ashley's scream, Eli had pulled his pistol and chambered a round. He stood against the wall next to the door and heard a spitting sound. Backing up, he fired into the wall where he thought he heard the sound and grabbed the doorknob. He took in a breath, pulled back the door and fired to his right at a moving figure. Spinning, he was shocked to see a man's face only inches from his pistol barrel. The man's eyes widened and he brought his hand up, holding a gun. Eli fired.

The back of the man's head exploded and showered the side of the wall and hallway with blood and brain matter. Spinning back to his left, Eli saw the other man was down, rolling on the floor and firing his pistol wildly, as if blinded. Eli raised his pistol, but a bullet slammed into the room's doorjamb and was followed by a thunderous cracking sound that echoed down the hallway. He ducked back inside the room knowing the bullet and gunshot had not come from the wounded man.

Two steps back inside the canteen, Ashley heard the booming report, too, and glanced to her right, where she'd heard the shot. She winced at seeing a small man running toward her with a pistol pointed at her face. She ducked just as she heard another report, and felt the air of the bullet pass by her ear and slam into the Coke machine behind her. Dropping to a knee, she began to fire, but it was too late, the man was already on her. Suddenly she felt as if she'd been hit in the head with a ball bat; everything became blurry and she was falling.

A fire alarm at the end of the hall began clanging as Jean Paul quickly rose up from the floor and pulled his pistol. He hurried into the canteen and joined Kheck Ly, who was peering around the door with his pistol ready. The woman lying at Ly's feet was rolling her head back and forth. Blood oozed from a wound in her forehead where Ly had slugged her with his 9mm Sig Sauer.

Jean Paul glanced at the other woman, sitting against the wall holding her hands against her ears, screaming hysterically. A shot rang out and Ly ducked back. He looked at Jean Paul and yelled to be heard over the clanging and screaming of the woman. "Roan and Tralay are dead! We must leave now before we're trapped."

Jean Paul's jaw muscles rippled in frustration and anger, but he knew he had to think of the others. He nodded, motioned to the bleeding woman at Ly's feet and yelled, "Use her as a shield. I'll take the other one!"

In Anderson's room, Eli was on his stomach. He quickly peeked down the hallway and ducked back. Behind him he could hear the colonel on the phone yelling, ". . . shots fired and at least one dead that I can see! Goddamnit, hurry!"

Eli readied his pistol and peeked again, but jerked back as bullets tore into the floor and ricocheted down the hall. He peeked again and, seeing movement, was about to pull the trigger, but jerked back and lowered his weapon. "Shitshit, shit! They've got the women! Colonel, tell them to seal all the post exits and that the shooters have two women as hostages!"

Eli stood, peeked around the corner of the doorjamb, then broke into a dead run down the hall, toward where he'd seen the fire door close.

Baileys Crossroads The two guards at the front desk rose when the executive elevator opened and five men stepped out, led by Peter Wong.

Peter smiled and motioned to the other men all carrying large athletic bags. "These gentlemen are with me. We'll be working on the twelfth floor, installing new equipment."

The shorter guard took a seat behind a computer. "Names, please?"

Hu Nim brought his hand from behind his back, holding the silenced .22, and shot the guard in the face. Nim turned slightly and shot the other guard in the chest, stepped forward and shot him again in the head just as he fell. Raising his pistol and aiming at Peter's forehead, he asked calmly, "Where is the security room?"

Peter lifted his shaking hand and pointed at a room only ten paces away. Bun Sani dropped his bag, pulled the silenced Mac 10 from beneath his jacket, and walked toward the door.

He kicked it in and fired from the hip as he entered. The two startled men seated behind a panel of six TV security screens only had time to turn and face their killer before being riddled.

Nim lowered his pistol and again spoke calmly to Peter.

"Are there any more guards anywhere in the building?'

Peter stammered. "A-A roving guard makes the rounds of the twelfth and thirtieth floors. Y-You should be able to see him on the security monitors."

Sani nodded as he looked at the screens. "He is on the twelfth, walking clown the hallway."

Nim raised his pistol again, pointing it between Peter's eyes.

"We don't need you anymore, Mr. Wong." He fired. Peter's head snapped back and he fell to the floor like a rag doll. Nim looked at his three men and spoke as he walked toward the elevator. "Sani, you will take out the guard then join us on the thirtieth and help us set the charges. We'll have your bag."

Inside the elevator he pushed the twelfth and fourteenth buttons and looked again at his men. "Remember, the night shift workers are on the fourteenth floor. No one should be on the thirtieth, but be ready when placing the charges to eliminate anyone you see. Bring, all your firing wires back to me at the elevator lobby. You'll have exactly seven minutes once the doors open. Mainframe computers are first priority. I will blow my whistle at six minutes and thirty seconds. Anyone not at the elevators at seven minutes will be on his own. Once I push the detonator, we will have only six minutes to clear the building.

Rendezvous at the rally point in the executive parking lot. Any questions?'

Hearing none, he raised his wrist and looked at his watch. "I have 10:55 hours and ten seconds."

Fort Belvoir, Virginia Out of breath, Eli threw open the bottom floor fire exit door and crouched in a shooter's stance, spinning left then right, looking for a target. Seeing no threat or movement but hearing tires squeal, he stood erect as a new dark Ford van sped out of the parking lot and headed north toward the main road leading off post "Shitshit shit!" he said aloud, and bent over to take in a breath. Above the clanging fire bells he could hear the sound of sirens.

Finally he took in enough air to straighten up again. Holstering his pistol, he walked toward the parking lot and took out his cell phone. He began pushing keys and put the small phone to his ear just as the FBI Emergency Operations Center operator answered. "This is Agent Eli Tanner, my location is Fort Belvoir Army Hospital. Four male assailants just made an attempt to kill Colonel Robert Anderson, patient at said hospital. Attempt failed. One assailant dead, one wounded. However, one MP sergeant is dead and one Army captain nurse is badly wounded. Agent Ashley Sutton and Colonel Anderson's wife taken hostage. I say again Special Agent Sutton and Colonel Anderson's wife taken hostage. Two, possibly more, assailants escaped heading north off post in black or dark blue new Ford van toward Highway One. Request immediate support. MPs are presently en route, but need local support and helicopter support ASAP. Assailants are Cambodian, I say again, Cambodian. They are dark-haired, brown or lightly brown-skinned males. They are armed and extremely dangerous. My cell phone number is 326-1560. My location is currently in parking lot north of hospital. Request notification of deputy director immediately and inform him of situation.

MPs arriving at scene and I have to get off now to tell them direction assailants fled, out."

A light green MP car skidded to a halt beside Eli, who had his arm up and was holding his ID. He approached the car and tried to speak calmly. "I'm Agent Tanner, FBI. Two armed assailants just fled north in . . ."

Woodbridge, Virginia On a ridge seventy yards from the house, Kaing Nay watched the approaching station wagon through his night vision scope attached to an M-16 rifle fitted with a sound suppressor. He brought a small Motorola to his mouth. "Soy, visitors approaching in car. They have their lights off. Car just stopped . . . four men getting out . . . wait, a fifth man just got out. All are carrying what look like Mac 10s. They are approximately fifty yards from house. Two men are leaving the others and are walking up the road. Begin the party. Over."

Inside the house, Soy Poc smiled as he pressed the sidebar on his Motorola. "Party beginning. Out." He walked two steps, pushed a cassette unit's Play button, and immediately the voices of the team filled the spacious living room from four corner speakers. Turning, he walked to the back door, where his scoped rifle was leaning against the wall. He picked it up, shut the door, and stepped into darkness.

A minute later he lay behind a mound of dirt where he had prepositioned the electrical detonator. Taking out his Motorola, he whispered, "I am in position. What is the situation, over?"

Kaing spoke into his radio. "Two men coming your way toward back of house. The other three are approaching front.

One has stopped. The other two are heading for front entrance.

You should see your two now."

"I have them both in my scope. One is raising a handheld radio. They are both moving toward back door. Give me an up when yours enter."

"Roger, one of mine has radio to his ear. They are by the door. One is backing up . . . he just kicked in the door. Both are in!"

Soy's two men disappeared inside the rear door. He lowered his head then depressed the detonator. For a millisecond, a brilliant flash of light turned the mound into instant daylight, which was followed by a horrific blast. Soy covered his head as pieces of brick, burning wood, and shingles plummeted to the ground around him like huge hailstones.

On the ridge, Kaing saw the house disappear in the explosion and saw the remaining man standing on the driveway blown twenty feet back onto the road. His mangled body was smoking. Standing and bringing his radio up, Kaing spoke in a normal tone of voice. "Soy, the party is over. All are finished.

Meet me at vehicle. Over."

Baileys Crossroads Hu Nim watched the last of his men climb into the van, then nodded to Kenny Chun. "Drive slowly and obey all traffic rules." Kenny was about to shift to Drive when a flash of light blinded him. An instant later a crack of thunder rolled over the huge parking lot.

As Hu Nim looked out his window, debris began to fall onto the pavement and the landscaped gardens at the base of the building. The sound of crashing glass was louder than the explosion as he rolled his window down and looked up at the structure. As expected, not a single pane of smoked glass remained and smoke poured out of the thirtieth floor's skeletal remains, completely hiding the upper floors that he knew would be an inferno.

Nim leaned back and rolled up the window. "They should have known better."

Kenny smiled as he drove to the parking lot exit.

Mount Vernon Sobbing, Sandy Anderson brushed strands of brunette hair from her eyes and touched the woman beside her. "Ashley, wake up. Please wake up. Please don't die, don't die."

Ashley heard her mother calling above the strange ringing in her head. Her eyes moved behind her closed eyelids. Her mother was dead, she told herself. Ohhh, God, my head hurts so bad. Why can't I open my eyes? Who's talking to me? It hurts, oh God, it hurts.

Sandy leaned forward, seeing Ashley's blood-caked eyelids moving. "Ashley? Ashley, you have to wake up. Please, you have to wake up."

Ashley suddenly remembered the man in the hallway, a flash, another man coming toward her and swinging his gun hand and . . . her eyes opened and immediately a wave of pain made her grimace. She let the tremor pass and blinked despite the caked dried blood that irritated her eyes. Finally, the blurry figure leaning over her came into focus and she could hear Sandy's pleading voice plainly.

"Thank you, God. Ashley, we're on a boat of some kind.

There are four men with guns. Oh, God, what are we going to do?"

Suddenly a man loomed over Sandy and she cowered "Don't hurt us, please don't hurt us."

The man leaned over and Ashley recognized him immediately. Jean Paul handed Sandy a first aid kit. "Mrs. Anderson, please attend to the agent's head wound. We will not harm you. Soon we will be at our base and you both can rest comfortably."

He leaned down farther and inspected the gash on Ashley's forehead, then gently brushed back her hair. "Agent Sutton, I will butterfly your wound once we arrive. Please lie still and make no trouble for us. My colleagues are grieving over the loss of two of our family. . . . I suggest you give them no reason to quiet you."

Ashley spoke thickly. "Wh-Who are you?"

"Yes, of course, I am indeed sorry, Agent Sutton and Mrs.

Anderson. I am Jean Paul Devoe. I inspected your purses and, of course, was very pleasantly surprised to find that I had you, Mrs. Anderson. Many years ago I considered your husband a friend. Please be assured no harm will come to either of you. But do nothing foolish or I will be forced to keep you in conditions that will be very uncomfortable. Mrs. Anderson, open the first aid kit and apply a bandage to her head and apply only light pressure. Mr. Sovan will be watching you both."

A small man materialized from the darkness of the cabin into the light of a single small reading light affixed to the wall.