Before Batton got there, Recker called Lawson, wanting her to know what was going on. He didn’t think it would be good to spring it on her after it was all over. There wasn’t much she was going to be able to do in that short amount of time, but at least she would know.
“I’m not going to be able to get you any support,” Lawson said. “There’s not enough time.”
“I know. Wasn’t expecting any. Just wanted to let you know.”
“You’re sure this is the best play right now?”
“It’s the only play,” Recker replied. “If Cloutier is leaving the country tomorrow, who knows how long it will take to get a beat on him?”
“But we can be watching all the borders.”
“That’s a gamble. There’s no guarantee we can pick him up. It’s a cinch he’s not gonna broadcast he’s leaving. This way, we know we’ve got him.”
“He might have you too,” Lawson said. “Has it occurred to you that this might be a trap?”
“With Batton?”
“Are you sure you can trust him?”
“Absolutely. There’s no doubt.”
“Well, are you sure Cloutier isn’t assuming we’re setting him up and is setting us up first?”
“You mean he agreed to this only because he knows we’re behind it and it’s a chance to get rid of us?”
“Exactly.”
“Maybe. I can’t rule it out. But at the same time, it’s still a chance to take him out. And I think we gotta take it.”
“Well, you’re the one out there. I just hope I don’t get a death notice on you.”
“I wouldn’t be too fond of that either,” Recker said.
“Like I said, you’re taking the risks. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
Recker laughed. “That makes two of us.”
“I’m gonna send a team to that farmhouse anyway, just in case you are able to grab him. Let me know as soon as it’s over, then I can tell the team to go in and take him to the safe house or I can call them off.”
“I will. Just make sure they don’t get there too soon.”
“They’re a couple hours away. You’d most likely have to wait an hour or so before they got there, anyway.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
As soon as he got off the phone, Haley walked back in, bag in hand. It looked much fuller than when he left. Recker didn’t have a chance to ask about it since Batton arrived at the hotel right on time a minute later. He let Recker know he was downstairs, waiting in the lobby. Recker grabbed their bag of weapons, while Haley grabbed their bag of fake money, and headed to the door. Jones watched them leave, hoping they would return safely.
“Don’t force anything if it isn’t there,” Jones said.
Recker gave him a wry smile. “Would I ever do that?”
Jones rolled his eyes and didn’t bother to reply. Recker and Haley went downstairs, immediately finding Batton who was sitting in a chair waiting for them. He stood up to greet his friends.
“What’s in the bags?”
“Guns,” Recker answered. “And money.”
“Oh, you actually came up with it?”
“Came up with something. What’s actually in there, anyway?”
“A few books, magazines, newspapers, and whatever else I could shove in there to fill it up,” Haley replied.
“Oh.” Recker looked at the bag, noticing it looked full. “Looks like the real deal from the outside.”
They walked outside to Batton’s car. Before getting in, Recker looked around, not seeing any of Batton’s men, not that he would know them on sight, but he knew the type he was looking for. And they weren’t there.
“You bringing anyone else?” Recker asked.
“I already have them on the way there,” Batton replied. “They are staying back a little way. I don’t want Cloutier to see them on the way in and get nervous.” Recker nodded, agreeing. “So, what is the plan for us when we get there?”
“You take the money,” Recker said. “Me and Chris will act as bodyguards.”
“What if they want to separate us?”
“We won’t let them. We all go together, or we don’t go at all.”
“Sounds good.”
“It won’t be long before the shooting starts so we just have to hope we can get rid of whoever’s in front of us quickly so we can get out of the line of fire.”
“What about Cloutier? Trying to capture him?”
“I think we’re past that at this point,” Recker answered. “I expect things to get hot and heavy very quickly. I don’t think it’s feasible. It’s gonna take a lot of doing just for us to stay alive let alone worrying about trying to take him alive. I’d even go so far to say, if possible, to put a bullet in him first. That way if it gets too hot, we can get out of there and still say we got the job done.”
“I like that.”
“You sure you wanna go in there? You got family and all. We can go in without you.”
Batton smiled, appreciating the offer. “Thank you. But like you said, we all go together, or we don’t go at all.”
Before getting to the farmhouse, they stopped down the road at another house, where Batton’s crew was waiting. Recker gave one of the men an earpiece, so they could coordinate when to get there better. Batton identified which of the men would be the leader of the group, and Recker handed him the device, which he promptly put in his ear.
“What’s going to be the signal?” the man asked.
Recker thought about it for a few seconds. “I’ll say, nice little place you got here. When I say that, you come in firing away.”
“Will do.”
“I’d concentrate on that barn first. We’ll take care of whoever’s in front of us.”
Once everyone fully understood the plan, not that there was much to it, Recker and company got back in the car, and started driving towards the farmhouse. It was set back a little off the main road, so it would take a few minutes for help to arrive. They pulled onto the property, driving down a small gravel road to get to the house. Batton was careful to try to park the car as far away from the barn as possible since they figured they might have to use the car as cover.
“Looks quiet so far,” Batton said, not noticing a single soul yet.
“That almost always means trouble,” Recker replied.
“And the worst kind,” Haley said.
Before getting out, Recker and Haley both checked their weapons. Knowing they could be in for a long, heavy fight, they were both packing more than usual. They each were carrying three guns on them. One inside their jackets, one in the back of their pants, and one on their leg.
“Well, let’s get this thing over with,” Recker said.
The three men got out, Batton reaching into the back seat to remove the bag of money. They took a few steps away from the car, then stopped, waiting until they saw someone before moving any further. Then the front door to the house opened, three men coming out and walking toward them.
“It’s not Cloutier,” Recker said.
“Could be he’s still inside, seeing how this goes,” Haley said.
“Maybe. If he is, I wanna get him out here. Or us in there.”
After a minute, the three strangers approached Recker’s team, standing only a few feet away.
“The money?” the man asked, noticing the bag.
“Yes,” Batton answered.
“Let’s take a look.”
“Not so fast,” Recker said. “We wanna see what we’re buying first.”
“And Cloutier,” Batton said. “Where is he? I was under the impression I was making this deal with him.”
“He couldn’t make it. You’ll deal with me.”
“That’s not the deal,” Recker said. “We’ll deal with him or we’ll deal with no one. We don’t know you.”
“I work with him.”
“Then you better tell him to get his ass over here or the deal is off. There’s other places we can spend our three million at.”
The man sighed, not liking their demands. He could see they meant what they said. “Wait here.” The man left, going back to the main house, though he left the other two men there. The man came back out a few minutes later and approached the group again. “Follow me.”
“Where?” Batton asked.
“You wanted to meet Cloutier, didn’t you? He’s inside.”
“How do we know?” Recker said.
“Who are you anyway?”
“I’m the chief security officer for Mr. Batton. He doesn’t go anywhere unless I clear it.”
“Oh, really?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, if you want this deal to go down, Mr. Cloutier is inside. He doesn’t do business out in the open.”
“How do we know he’s really in there?”
The man smiled. “Oh, so that’s it. You think this is some sort of a trap?”
“It occurred to me.”
“Well, I assure you it isn’t. Mr. Cloutier didn’t get to where he is by ripping people off. He likes return customers. He has a stellar reputation. Believe me, you get what you pay for.”
Recker looked at the others and nodded. “Lead the way.”
The men all walked toward the main house, Cloutier’s mouthpiece leading the way, while the other two followed them from behind. Once inside, they were led into the living room, which wasn’t much more than a couple beat up old couches. There was dirt and dust everywhere. They noticed Cloutier sitting on one of the couches, observing his guests as they were brought in.
“Nice little place you got here,” Recker said.
Cloutier smiled. “It serves its purpose.”
“Do you have the goods?” Batton asked.
“It’s in the barn. As soon as I see your money is good, we’ll go over and take a look.”
“Fine.”
“It’s lucky for you that you caught me you know. I’m on my way to Spain tomorrow. Have another deal lined up.”
“It’s too bad you’ll have to miss it,” Recker said.
“What was that?”
Batton knew what was about to happen and dropped his bag and reached for his gun. Recker and Haley had already withdrawn theirs. Within a few seconds, all three of Cloutier’s men were dead. Cloutier himself reached for a weapon, but Recker pointed his gun at him and fired, hitting Cloutier in the shoulder. Though Recker could have killed him, he figured it was better to keep him alive for his CIA friends.
“Chris, windows,” Recker said, pointing to them, assuming they might get rushed from whatever other men Cloutier had stationed outside.
“My boys should be here in a minute,” Batton said.
Recker tapped his ear. “Yeah, they said they were on their way when they heard my signal. You stay here and cover him. I’m gonna check the rest of the house.”
“Got it.”
Recker quickly checked the kitchen and the rest of the first floor. It was clean. He went over to the stairs and saw someone charging down, shooting wildly into the air with his rifle. Recker squatted down to duck the incoming fire, then fired a couple shots of his own. Once the man was hit, he stumbled down the rest of the steps, ending up dead by the time his body stopped rolling on the floor. As Recker started checking the upstairs, he could hear Haley start firing. As soon as Recker cleared the second floor, he rushed back down to the main level.
“You’ll never get out of here,” Cloutier said.
“Yeah, we’ll just see about that,” Recker replied.
Recker went over to Haley’s position and joined him in firing upon Cloutier’s men, who were advancing toward the house. There looked to be about ten of them. Then, three more cars barreled onto the property, Batton’s men, who started shooting through their opened windows. A massive firefight ensued, as Cloutier’s men tried to make it back into the barn. Recker and Haley made their way outside onto the porch, just observing the battle. A few minutes later, an explosion in the barn rattled the area, most of the barn going up in flames.
The explosion was so loud and powerful that everyone was knocked off their feet. Once Recker and Haley got back up, they looked at what was left of the barn, which wasn’t much. A few pieces of wood remained, but most of it was blown away or on fire.
“I’m guessing they did have some stuff in there,” Recker said.
“Whatever it was, I would say it was some explosive stuff,” Haley said with a laugh.
Recker looked at him after his corny joke but couldn’t help but crack a laugh too. They headed back inside, where Batton was still holding a gun on Cloutier.
“Looks like you’re finished,” Recker said.
“What do you guys want?” Cloutier asked, holding his shoulder as it bled. “Money, power? Whatever it is, I can get it for you.”
“The only thing we want is you.”
“Why? Who are you working for?”
“The CIA would like to talk to you?”
“The CIA? No, no, we can make a deal, please!”
“Afraid not, pal. You’re coming with us.”
Recker went over to him and grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him up to his feet. They all walked outside. As Recker and Haley put their prisoner in the car, Batton went over to his men to make sure there were no casualties.
“What are we gonna do with him?” Haley asked. “We can’t stay here, not now. Not with this battle and explosion.”
“I know. We’ll have to make other plans and meet them somewhere else,” Recker replied.
Once Batton checked on his men, he came back over to the car. “They’re all good.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“What do you need from me now?”
“Nothing,” Recker answered. “If I were you, I’d hitch a ride back with them. We gotta take Cloutier to a meeting spot. You can pick your car back up at the hotel if you want.”
“Sounds good.”
Batton shook hands with Recker and Haley before getting in the car with his men. They quickly split. Recker and Haley got back in the car and started driving. They called Lawson on their road to nowhere.
“Well, it’s nice to know you’re not dead at least,” Lawson said.
“Not only am I not dead, everyone else isn’t either,” Recker said.
“Cloutier?”
“Injured. But he’ll live. Just a shoulder wound.”
“That’s so good to hear.”
“Just one problem.”
“What is it?”
“We’re on the move,” Recker replied. “There was a small explosion on site. Couldn’t stay.”
“A small explosion?”
“Yeah, well, Cloutier must have brought some explosive stuff with him that he stashed in the barn. In the ensuing fight, a bullet must have struck it and the thing blew up.”
“OK. Just keep driving and I’ll figure out a spot to make the exchange. Just give me a few minutes.”
Recker smiled. “Hey, we got him. I think I can spare a few more minutes.”
“We got him,” Lawson happily said.
“We got him.”