The Somali Deception Episode I (A Cameron Kincaid Serial) (10 page)

If the uncertainty bothered any
of them, none of them blinked.
 
Cameron, Pepe, and Alastair had been on missions less certain, missions
deemed impossible, missions deemed suicide.
 
Cameron did not know the history of his
new ex-Mossad and Afrikaan comrades yet he knew brothers-in-arms.
 
Certainly every soldier regardless of
status prefers black and white.
 
The
reality is that every mission is colored with hues of grey.
 
Besides there was never a time this
mission was going to be a no-go.
 
Pepe’s sister was being held hostage.
 
Regardless of the financial incentive
sent down by Stratos.
 
Three
Legionnaires were destined to make this trip from the moment the Kalinihta was
boarded.

Cameron checked if the knives he
had strapped on were secure.
 
He
unsheathed the knife on his ankle and began to sharpen the blade against a
small accompanied
stone.

“Look at you,” said Pepe.

Cameron lifted his gaze to Pepe,
“What?”

“What was that show you were
taping?
 
Steel Chef?”

“Uh, ya, something like that,”
said Cameron.

“Ha, ha, if they could see you
now.”

“You would probably win more
with that steel,” said Alastair, his eyes now open.
 
Pepe began to boisterously laugh.

“You could really,” said Pepe,
having a hard time getting the words out, “put an ‘edge’ on that show.”

Alastair and Eazy now joined in
the laughter.

“Might help you ‘cut out’ the
competition,” said Alastair, causing the three to laugh even harder.

“Oh, you’re funny,” said
Cameron.
 
“The both of you,
clowns.”
 
Cameron pointed the end of
the blade at Eazy, “What are you laughing for?
 
You even know what they’re talking
about?
”

“I don’t need to,” said
Eazy.
 
“Everyone appreciates the
Dragon Chef’s ‘sharp wit’.”

This caused all three to bellow.

Cameron raised his brow and
shrugged, “Open the door so I can jump out of this bird.”

Over their headsets they heard
Isaac’s voice, “You’ll have your wish soon Dragon.
 
Three minutes to drop.
 
Prep the zodiacs.”

The laughter stopped.
 
“Clear,” each said into their headsets.

The four men secured their kits
and prepped for the door.

Eazy dropped to his knees and
pulled two large duffels to the center of the cabin.
 
“We will need one of these in each of
the zodiacs.”

“Explosives?” asked Pepe.

“More than just that.
 
The contents will get you across the two
mine fields if the three of you have to get up to the compound,” said Eazy.

Dakarai entered the cabin from
the cockpit to open the hatch.

“On target, H2 check in,” said
Isaac.

“H2 at your 11,” said Ari.

“H2 affirmed,” said Isaac.
 
“Open Hatch.”

Dakarai opened the hatch, “Hatch
open,” said Dakarai.
 
“Get ready for
bump one.”
 
Dakarai released the
first zodiac and the helo lifted slightly.

Ari’s voice came on the headsets,
“Zodiac one in the water.”

“Get ready for bump two,” said
Dakarai.
 
He released the second
zodiac and the helo lifted and tilted before straightening out.
 
“She’s caught.”

Ari’s voice came on the radio
again, “Zodiac two is dangling.”

Dakarai pulled a ten-inch blade
from his belt and slipped the edge into his cuff, “Back in two H1.”

“Affirmative,” said Isaac.
 
“Don’t damage the boat, we only brought
two.”

Dakarai slipped over the side.

The team did not need to wait
long.
 
In less than a minute, the
helo lifted slightly.

“H1, Zodiac two is in the
water,” said Ari.

Dakarai put an arm up onto the
hatch and then Eazy and Pepe pulled him in.

Dakarai composed himself quickly
and swung around into position, “You should be able to stay dry.
 
The water is glass, the boats are
below.”

“Great.
 
Let’s drop the ropes,” said Pepe.

As soon as the ropes were
uncoiled, Pepe and Eazy stepped into their positions to fast rope.

“Team ready H1,” said Dakarai.

“Then team clear,” said Isaac.

Eazy and Pepe slid down the
ropes into a zodiac below.
 
As soon
as they were clear of the ropes, they secured the zodiacs together while on the
helo Alastair and Cameron clipped the first duffel onto the ropes.

“Package ready,” said Dakarai.

“Ready for
package,” said Eazy.

Cameron and Alastair let the
duffel drop.
 
Eazy and Pepe secured,
and then moved the duffel to the second zodiac.

“Package ready.”

“Ready for package.”

The second duffel dropped from
the helo onto the zodiac followed by Alastair and then Cameron.

“Team clear” said Dakarai.

“Team is in the water,” said
Ari.

“See you soon boys,” said Isaac.

The two helicopters moved off
and within minutes the zodiacs were separated and motoring toward shore.

* * *
* *

Abbo’s Compound

The equatorial sky densely
glittered above while below the two zodiacs glided across the mirrored surface
of the early morning ocean.
 
The
water so still and silent that the two-man crews had pulled the rotors up and
were now bent over the sides rowing in rapid uniform pace.
 
Before the small inflatable crafts the
profile of the Kalinihta glowed white bow to stern, hugged between the two
hilly shadows of the break walls that extended out into the water beside her.
 
On shore, the compound was dark, with no
lights in the windows or the exterior, darkest before the dawn.

Careful to not nudge the hull
too harshly the team gently drew the zodiacs to the stern of the
Kalinihta.
 
Pepe eased a small
mirror around the corner of the swim platform.
 
He flashed a hand gesture to Cameron and
Alastair to signal the deck was clear.
 
The crews used their hands to slide the crafts along the hull and then
when the first zodiac was in position Pepe rolled from the inflatable up onto
the platform, keeping out of view of the aft deck and salon steps above.
 
Pepe extended his mirror then pointed
two fingers at his eyes.
 
This meant
the salon was dark and that they would need the night vision gear.
 
Eazy quietly handed the three men each a
headset that comprised the monocular lens and a battery pack.
 
Alastair and Cameron fit their gear into
place, Pepe passed preferring to trust the darkness.

In three quick movements,
Cameron allowed himself to be boosted by Alastair up onto the deck and into a
gun ready point position.
 
To his
left the Jacuzzi sat flat, reflecting iridescent green to his night glass, on
his right the chaise lounges were unspoiled.
 
Cameron scanned the dark void of the aft
salon through the open glass doors.
 
The ceiling mirror and heavy metal trim brought a lot of light into his
scope.
 
He took three hunched steps
forward ready to dodge if needed.
 
The luxury of the fine wood paneled lounge was in no less a state than
earlier in the week.
 
Original
artwork still adorned the walls and the fabrics of the cushions, though green
tinted by the night glass, were untainted.
 
The neat and unwrinkled placement of the pillows on the furniture did
not appear to be in any
way
abnormal.
 
The Kalinihta was in stasis, immune to
the circumstance of her crew.

Alastair sidled Cameron’s left
and then Pepe his right.

The three men shared a glance
and a nod and then went onto their planned routes.
 
They had reviewed blueprints of the
Kalinihta at the bunker.
 
There were
two decks above, the sky deck and top deck, and below were the cabins and
engine room.
 
Alastair was to work
his way skyward, Cameron to the bow, and Pepe was going to the compartments
below where most likely the hostages, and his sister, were being held.
 
A standard sweep the three had performed
countless times before.
 
Eazy was to
stay with the zodiacs unless requested.

The three strode forward in
unison, a rhythmic machine, Alastair and Cameron with MP-5s ready and Pepe
wielding a blade.
 
At the back of
the salon, a decorative spiral staircase shot up to the sky deck while to the
side a second stairwell slipped to the stateroom and guest cabins below.
 
At the point of the stairwells, Pepe and
Alastair split off to their own appropriate preplanned routes.
 
Cameron pressed forward toward the bow
of the yacht.

Cameron entered the dining salon
next.
 
The large dining table and
small side bar were in order as was the rest of the lounge, preserved as the
aft salon had been.
 
Even the
compliment of liquor lining the corner-mirrored shelves above the bar was
untouched.
 
Then again, the men who
took the yacht thought of themselves not as pirates rather as an Islamic
coastguard, and as such were Muslims bound to a Sharia law prohibiting
alcohol.
 
The team’s overall
boarding plan took advantage that these captors were devout.
 
In moments, dawn would begin and the
morning call to prayer would come.
 
As worshipers of Islam the devout believe God’s most
favored
prayer of the day is the Fajr dawn prayer.
 
Muslims believe all others sleep while the devout pray.
 
The plan hinged on infiltrating the
yacht, and then if necessary the compound, just before the prayer, and then
evacuating while surrounding reinforcements were still praying.

A large mural of a silver olive
tree covered the wall at the back of the dining salon.
 
Cameron knew from the blueprints that a television
was behind a retractable panel and that behind that was the galley.
 
On either side of the wall was a door,
the one to the left would lead up to the pilot house, the one to the right
would lead down to the crew’s mess.
 
Cameron placed his back near the edge of the left side entryway then
eased the door open.
 
The hallway
was dimly lit from the forward pilothouse.
 
He disengaged his night glass so as not to be blinded by a flood of
light.
 
From a pocket, Cameron
pulled a thin scope and then began to ease the glass to the corner to catch the
reflection.
 
When he noticed how
reflective the dim light was on the gold trim of the hallway sconce he
stopped.
 
The scope could betray him
yet the fixture could be his ally.
 
Cameron slipped the scope back into his sleeve pocket and then nuzzled
close to the corner to use the sconce fixture as a mirror.
 
Within the golden shine was a pocket of
clarity, a slight window of reflection onto the helm.
 
In the image, Cameron saw a man hunched
forward.

Cameron pivoted the edge of the
door and swung into the galley with a sense of immediacy.

The galley was empty.

Cameron took in a breath and
then burst around the corner of the hallway onto the four-step stairwell
leading up to the pilothouse.
 
The
MP-5 leading, he steadily marched up the short steps, and when in contact
squeezed the trigger twice.
 
The
only sound heard were the rapid clack of the bolt and the clink of the two
metal casings hitting the floor, rapidly followed by two more.
 
The second man in the pilothouse, the
man that had not been in Cameron’s view, did not even have time to turn to see
what had caused the sound of the first two clinks.
 
Cameron had not had to think.
 
The decision to shoot the second man was
neither rational nor irrational, not a decision at all, not instinct, merely a
simple motor response, even after all the years away from active duty, viva
Legionne.

Cameron placed a finger to his
headset, “Helm clear.”

“Top clear,” said Alastair.
 
Cameron crossed the pilothouse to ensure
the other entrance was clear then entered the sky deck.
 
Alastair was already crossing the
lounge.