Alex was observing the street scene from behind the shadows of the wooden shutters on the first floor as Nish approached. ‘Everything set?’
‘Plan Houdini is ready to execute Mister Green.’
‘Very good,’ Alex replied. A few minutes passed then Alex turned round to Nish. ‘You going to stand in the corner and sulk for the rest of the op?’
‘I don’t know. If I’ve already lit a firework it’s generally considered prudent to retire to a safe distance before it goes off.’
‘Spare me nonsensical talking in rhymes Nish and get over here, I haven’t got the patience for your ego and pride today.’ Nish somewhat reluctantly joined Alex at the window. Alex eventually let loose a wry smile. ‘You are such a little bitch Harry.’
‘Bastard.’
‘Yes, apparently I was if the records are to be believed...’
‘You going to tell me what Houdini is?’
‘Not what, who. Magician. Escaped from a box.’
‘Yes, I do understand the reference, I was more referring to how its nomenclature relates to our current operation.’
‘We need to let Danilov go so I know who sold us out. But we need to keep the element of tactical surprise against the Chechens for the deal. I would assume this little show down there is timed to keep us busy while they make the exchange, so we need to bring forward the schedule to our benefit, and let Danilov believe we perished for long enough to launch the counter at the old factory.’
‘So what’s your plan?’
‘We have two motion activated and programmed sweep Gatling’s on the upper floor. We’ll engage for one-eight-zero seconds, and then the Gatling’s will cover our retreat through the sewer under the building. The Chechens will be forced to knock out our heavy artillery with R.P.G’s. When they hit, the demolition charges we have on the building will fire to look like they hit our main magazine, it’ll fold the building down on top of us, covering our exfil. There’s a little follow-on treat to hamper their search for evidence of our demise that will buy us the forty-five minutes we need to assault the factory. We recover the weapons, the funds from the broker, and we’re done.’
‘Nice plan.’
‘I’m glad you like it.’
‘What time does it start?’
‘They ready?’
‘They’re always ready.’
Alex looked out the window. ‘Pick one.’
Nish looked out and pointed at each of them with his finger. ‘Eeny meeny, miny, mo, catch a filthy Chechen by his toe, if he squeals then stab him at once, filthy Chechen was probably a nonce. Him.’
‘Good choice,’ Alex took aim out of the window with his Designated Marksman’s Rifle. He settled the scope on the fighter posted outside the building Nish had selected before moving his sights over to an old woman remonstrating with a police officer by the opposite side of the street then pulled the trigger. The round exited from his suppressor with a crack before exploding through the woman’s knee sending a shower of blood, bone, and cartilage onto the pavement. She immediately collapsed onto the ground screaming.
‘Really Alex, she’s someone’s Nanna.’
‘I know. I just saved her life.’
‘By shooting her in the leg? She’ll likely die from the shock.’
‘I’ll send flowers.’ Alex shrugged. ‘Watch.’
“Christ, you’re a cold bastard...’
‘Coming from you I’ll take that as a compliment.’
‘It wasn’t meant as one...’ Nish returned his attention to the scene developing outside. Alex’s seemingly brutal actions started to become clear to Nish as the street descended into chaos as even the Chechens started to leave their stations to investigate the screaming from the old woman. The police in the street all ran to try and clear the rapidly gathering crowd around the woman. A few moments later an ambulance arrived with sirens blaring into the street. The paramedics loaded the old woman onto a stretcher and bundled her into the back of the ambulance as the police tried to contain the crowd of rubberneckers now filling the junction. ‘You are still the master of distraction. But an old dear Alex, still a bit strong...’
‘That was just the entree.’ Alex took his radio and pressed the transmit button. ‘Wait until the ambulance is clear, then serve the main course.’
‘Confirm order.’
‘Massacre the lot of them. Nobody left standing. One-eighty seconds free fire then fall-back.’
Nish looked out the window at the unsuspecting crowd. ‘You can’t be serious...’
‘I saved your old lady didn’t I? What more do you want...’ He stared at Nish coldly without a trace of remorse. ‘Don’t give me that accusing look Nish. You want someone to blame, blame Danilov. This wasn’t a scheduled engagement. The blood is on his hands.’
Nish drew a deep breath. He knew there was no point in arguing with Alex, and it would be hypocritical in any case, it was his tutelage that had given Alex such a ruthless efficiency in the persecution of his operations. It was a little late in the day for moralising. He made ready his carbine. Non-participation would be less than advisable given his recent return and need to rebuild the trust that once existed. As the ambulance turned the corner, all the windows of Alex’s lair erupted with automatic fire, a hail storm of red tracer rounds arced down into the gathered crowd of civilians and the Chechens trying to return to their posts. There was no screaming, no running, and no panic — there was no time for the event to register before the sheer weight of fire consumed its victims. Finally the guns fell silent with no targets remaining.
‘Two minutes. They’re improving,’ Alex said with a satisfied nod as he stared at the wanton destruction he’d unleashed. A sea of bodies strewn across the entire of the street where they fell, small fires from tracer rounds here and there and a large cloud of barrel smoke hanging in the cold air. An eerie silence descended on the scene that lasted for more than thirty seconds, inside Alex’s building near silence apart from subtle clicking as magazines were changed. The odd scream for help quickly silenced by a high velocity marksman’s bullet. Then, after the sheer magnitude of the bloodletting that had taken place registered on their remaining enemy in the opposing fortress, the response came in the form of a single soldier.
He ran out the building, ‘Allahu Akbar!’ he yelled as he ran across the street clutching a bag of C4 and a live grenade. He made it half way across before one of Alex’s snipers picked him off. The grenade thumped in a bright orange flash before the C4 set off a much bigger explosion, shattering the wooden shutters in front of Alex and Nish and blowing them off their feet in the compression wave. Alex lay on his back briefly, ears still ringing.
Nish was up first onto his knees. He looked at Alex as he wiped the small trickle of blood from his nose. ‘Now I understand...’
‘They’re Chechens Nish, you know there is never any other way,’ Alex responded coughing the dust out of his lungs. What Alex had known, and Nish perhaps not at that time, was the tactics they had faced on recent operations, and the adoption by the Chechens of the Islamic fundamentalist fondness for suicide bombers. Alex knew everyone in the street was dead in any case, by his hand or theirs; all he could do was turn their sacrifice to his advantage to allow his survival. Right on mark the entire of the Chechen building’s battery opened up in a salvo of fire, fifty cal’ rounds started taking massive chunks out of the front wall of the building as tracer whizzed through the open windows shattering the rotting wood and plasterwork around them. ‘Time to leave Nish.’
‘I won’t argue.’
Alex’s digital watch bleeped as the third minute elapsed. On schedule, the automated rotary Gatling’s on the upper floor opened up, shredding the opposing building with a relentless rain of rounds, briefly silencing the Chechens as they were pinned to cover. Using the break, Alex and Nish got to their feet. Escorted by his vanguard, they quickly made their way through the back staircase and down to the basement followed by the rest of his force. One by one they quickly slid down the rusting ladder into the dry old sewer shaft running to the back of the building. Nish remained at the exit to count everyone out. When he was satisfied all men were accounted for, he walked over to the charge and pulled the dead man’s pin to arm the explosives. As he removed it a cat’s cradle of laser trips ignited round the building. Nish made his way down the sewer pulling the metal cover back down over him to seal it. At the bottom, he hustled to catch up with the main group led by Alex. He reached the exit to the tunnel after thirty seconds where Alex was waiting by the exit. In the dried-out concrete storm overflow river below, a line of armoured grey Overfinch tuned V8 Land Rover Defenders lay in wait. Alex and Nish walked down to where one of Alex’s men waited with the drone uplink terminal. Alex spun it round to watch the scene. The Gatling’s fell silent as they spent the last of their ammo, the Chechens wasted no time, and as Alex had predicted, answered the threat with a pair of R.P.G’s onto each position.
‘Blow it.’
Nish flipped the safety off the detonation trigger, punched in the four-digit confirmation code and pressed the red button. The two distraction charges next to the Gatling’s fired first, taking out a small powder magazine in a bright light, a few seconds delay then one by one the shaped charges on the support columns blew, finally, Alex’s simulated full magazine explosion went in the centre of the building. With the structure fatally weakened the floors collapsed like a house of cards, folding the entire four-storey structure into a pile of concrete and stone debris over the basement exit. There was an almighty cheer from the Chechens, a few seconds later they began to casually emerge from their building, mistaken in their belief they had won the fight. From the drone, Alex watched as Danilov exited the building, he gave instructions to the Chechen militia head then got into the back of his BMW and drove away at speed.
‘Track Danilov,’ Alex ordered his drone operator. ‘Finish them off.’
Nish took the secondary detonator, entered the code and fired it. In the street, one by one, in alternating sequences starting at both ends, the shops exploded outwards. The Chechens stopped in their tracks, caught without cover in the open street, and stared at the wall of explosions walking towards them. That was Alex’s gift as an artisan of death; he liked his victims to have time to contemplate their end before he delivered it to them. The charges were set to create the maximum theatre, and the maximum terror, so anyone who was graced with enough luck to survive would account for his capability to seemingly summon death from any direction he chose.
The Chechens were enveloped in the final explosions. All that remained was rubble and dead bodies as a pall of grey smoke lay over a scene of utter devastation. ‘They’re done,’ confirmed Nish, a nod of approval. ‘Houdini.’
‘The factory. Now we need to get paid.’ Alex headed for the lead transport and got in, Nish mounted in the second. The entire convoy took off at speed, breaking through a set of rusted gates and onto the main highway towards Baku’s industrial district.