Jay slipped off the rigid hull inflatable into the waist-deep water. Gia, CJ, and Madman followed him as he waded ashore. He flipped down his night vision goggles and scanned the island. The door to the kitchen was two hundred feet away. A wall surrounded the back of the abandoned mansion, leaving a small service gate as the only barrier to entry.
Jay and his team sprinted towards the gate and slid up against the granite wall. First, CJ cut the rusty chain securing the gate. Then Jay pulled the gate open wide enough for them to slip through.
In between the wall and the back door was a field of overgrown grass. They worked their way through the waist-high weeds looking for potential booby traps. When they reached the house, CJ stopped to check the backdoor. It was locked. He sprinted to the corner of the main house and looked around the corner. When Jay and the rest of the team caught up to him, CJ said, “There’s a black tarp covering the opening where the tree fell into the mansion.”
“CJ, lift the corner of the tarp to let us in,” Jay said. “Madman, follow CJ. Be careful. They could be waiting for us.”
After a few tense moments, Madman reported in, “Chief, the first room is clear. It looks like a library.”
Jay and Gia followed Madman through the smashed window into a wood-paneled room with empty mahogany bookshelves lining three walls. Jay walked across the room, opened the door, and peered around the corner into a vast, empty corridor. There were three doors on the opposite side of the hallway. The main house was straight ahead.
Jay and Gia turned the corner and moved along the hall’s right side while CJ and Madman sprinted across, taking up positions on the opposite side.
The team checked each door, clearing any open rooms.
When they reached the end of the hallway, they entered the large, three-story parlor. It looked exactly like the room Brendan showed him from the microbot video. To his left was a wide staircase leading down from the second floor. To his right was a massive fireplace. Interesting, Jay thought, no cots or personal gear. Was the assault team still here?
A loud crack answered his question.
The bullet blew wood splinters flew from the wall inches above Jay’s head. He dropped to the floor, and used his night scope to scan the room for the shooter. Even though the rules of engagement were now satisfied, Jay didn’t fire back. He didn’t know where the shot came from.
“CJ, can you see the shooter through your scope?” Jay asked.
“Negative, Chief.”
“I want to get into the kitchen on the right. There are two swinging doors on each side of the fireplace. CJ, see if you can move up behind one of those large columns. When we’re ready to move, Madman lay down a quick burst of cover fire towards the staircase. Gia will stay with me.”
“Roger.”
“Three, two, one… now.”
Jay and Gia sprinted towards the fireplace as CJ took up his position behind the closest column.
The kitchen door opened, and a kidnapper stepped out. Jay froze. The man saw Jay and lifted his rifle. Then a shot rang out. The man crumpled to the floor. Jay turned to see Gia lowering her rifle. He gave her a thumbs up.
A blast of automatic fire erupted from the staircase. Jay dropped to the floor, using the body of the dead kidnapper as cover. CJ and Maman returned fire as Jay and Gia crawled through the swinging door into the kitchen. Then the gunfire stopped.
“Jay, we got the guy on the staircase,” Madman said. “All clear out here.”
“Good job,” Jay said. “Join me in the kitchen.”
Jay pushed the first swinging door open. He swung his rifle back and forth, but the kitchen was empty. The backside of the stone fireplace sat to his left. The cast-iron ovens still in place. There was an enormous food preparation island in the middle of the kitchen, while empty food pantries and china cabinets adorned the walls.
Jay was about to leave when CJ tapped him on his shoulder. He put his index finger to his ear.
At first, he didn’t hear anything. Then faint sobbing. Like someone with a gag over their mouth. The sound was nearby.
CJ pointed to Jay’s right. Oh right, Jay thought, the walk-in refrigerator. Every mansion kitchen had one. Kyle and Charlotte might be in there. But one of the kidnappers could be in there too. Jay had to take the chance and check it out.
Jay motioned to CJ to move up to the large stainless-steel door. Jay crouched low, and Madman slid in behind him, standing up. Gia stayed back, covering the entrance.
Jay nodded, and CJ pulled the door open. Jay swiveled around the corner. Madman followed. On the floor at the back of the refrigerator were Kyle and Charlotte. They sat back-to-back with their knees up against their bodies.
Jay laid his rifle on the floor and approached the pair. They were tied together. Kyle stared at him with a look of horror. He shook his head. Charlotte had the same terrified look on her face.
He pulled a flashlight from his utility belt and looked closer, studying the plastic ties holding their arms. A small red and white wire ran down from the plastic ties. Jay followed the wire. It ran through a small hole in the floor.
“Hi guys,” Jay said. “Don’t move.”
“CJ, take Gia and find a door to the basement. Go down and look for a bomb.”
“A what?” CJ said. “Not another bomb.”
“I’m afraid so,” Jay said. “Madman, clear the rest of the mansion. We’re missing two of the kidnappers.”
“I’m moving.”
Gia led CJ down the stairs. The basement was unfinished. Piles of empty wood pallets lay spread around the floor. Empty steel shelves lined the walls. In the middle of the cellar stood three rusty steel barrels. On top of the barrels sat a bundle of dynamite. A small wire hung down from the ceiling.
Gia approached the barrels. Attached to the top piece of dynamite sat a small, yellow sticky note. Handwritten were the words, “Hi Chief… BOOM!”
“Jay, we have a problem,” Gia said on the radio.
“Can you tell if the bomb is on a timer or a detonator?”
“Let me take a closer look. I don’t see a timer.”
“It must be a direct trigger tied to the kids. I need to take a closer look at how the wire is attached.”
“Guys,” Jay said to Kyle and Charlotte. “Please be careful. I need you to scoot your bums forward just an inch or two.”
Kyle and Charlotte both nodded. First, Charlotte pressed her back against Kyle’s and slid her butt forward a few inches. Then Kyle did the same.
Jay laid on his stomach and shined his flashlight in. He could see the wire wrapped around both plastic ties. There wasn’t much slack so that any upward movement would trigger the bomb. Jay needed to clamp it off so the wire didn’t move.
“CJ, do you have a C4 breaching charge in your backpack?”
“Yes, Chief.”
“I need you to roll a small amount into a ball and bring it over to me. About three inches in diameter.”
“What are you going to….”
“Don’t ask any questions. After you hand me the C4, you need to go to the beach and get ready to evacuate. This order applies to everyone.”
“No way, Chief,” CJ said. “We’re not leaving you behind.”
“I’m not asking. I’ll bring Charlotte and Kyle out with me.”
CJ brought the ball of C4 to Jay, then went out the back door. Gia knelt beside Jay and placed her hand on his shoulder. She whispered into his ear, “You’re the bravest man I’ve ever known. Please stay alive.” She left the refrigerator, and Madman followed.
Jay took a deep breath and slid the ball of soft explosives between Kyle and Charlotte’s bodies. He felt the wire with the tips of his fingers. Stretching as far as he could, his arm began to go numb.
Jay pressed the ball of explosives up against the wire and pinched the wire into the malleable ball. He kept pinching until he worked the wire halfway in.
Now was the time of reckoning. If his plan worked, they would escape. If not, he wouldn’t live long enough to find out.
Jay pulled his fingers off the wire.
Nothing happened.
He slid his hand out from between Kyle and Charlotte. Sweat poured down his face. He took a second to wipe his forehead with his sleeve, then removed his desert dagger from his pant leg.
Jay reached back between Kyle and Charlotte and felt for their wire ties. He had to hold the sharp knife between his fingers then slice through the ties. The knife slipped, cutting Jay’s middle finger. He flinched in pain. He tried again, this time cutting through Charlotte’s tie. He kept his arm in and cut Kyle loose.
The ties fell to the floor, but the wire stayed in place. Jay pulled his arm out and put the dagger away. He stood up and put on his backpack. Then he helped Charlotte and Kyle up, removing the tape from their mouths.
“Thank God you’re here,” Kyle said as he hugged Jay tight.
Charlotte joined in the hug and said, “How did you know where to find us?”
“Your father received a call from the kidnappers,” Jay said. “He called me. Then Brendan showed me the video from the microbots.
“Brendan and Carla are okay?” Charlotte said. “How did they get home? The thunderstorm hit right after we were kidnapped. The thunder shook the mansion.”
“They were lucky, considering their boat ran out of gas. A Coast Guard chopper found them drifting out to sea. We need to get out of here. Wait for me by the back door while I clean things up.”
After they left, Jay reached into his backpack and pulled out a detonator and timer. He pushed the ignitor into the C4 ball and attached it to the timer. He set the timer for three minutes, then ran to the door.
“Okay, let’s get out of here,” Jay said.
Jay grabbed Charlotte and Kyle by the arm and pulled them out the door. As they ran towards the back gate at full speed, automatic gunfire erupted from the mansion. Bullets tore up grass all around them.
“Hurry,” Charlotte screamed. Then a single bullet pounded Jay in the back, slamming him and the kids to the ground. Luckily, the bullet struck his body armor, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Jay gasped for air while steel rained down around them.
The gunfire stopped. Jay pulled his M4 off his shoulder, rolled onto his back, spun around to face the mansion, and opened fire—spraying bullets towards the second floor of the estate.
Tracers coming from the beach streamed over his head toward the second-floor balcony. The red needles of fire tearing the siding off the old mansion.
“I thought I ordered you guys to evacuate the island? Jay screamed into his headset. You disobeyed a direct order. Ceasefire!”
“Let’s go,” Jay said, pulling Kyle and Charlotte to their feet. They sprinted through the gate and dropped to the ground behind the wall.
“Are you guys okay?” Gia asked Charlotte and Kyle as she inspected them for injuries.
“My wrists are bleeding,” Charlotte said. “From the plastic ties, I mean. They didn’t hurt me.
“Let me see,” Gia said. “I’ll wrap it in gauze and take you to the hospital when we’re back in Falmouth.”
“Now run to the inflatable,” Jay said. “When you get in, lay flat on the deck.”
Charlotte and Kyle raced across the beach and dove into the closest inflatable. Jay and his team piled in behind them. Madman fired up the outboard motor and gunned the engine away from the island.
Within seconds, Jay felt the explosion. A deep rumbling through the ocean floor. Then the sound wave and finally a bright red flash. He turned to watch the mansion disappear into a black, roiling mushroom cloud.
Jay secured the inflatable to Marty’s dock in Quissett Harbor. His team followed and piled into the Suburban for the two-minute ride back to their office in Woods Hole.
McCoy was waiting with a full cooler of cold beer and three large pizzas. The assault team devoured the food as they briefed him on the mission.
“How did they know we were coming?” Jay asked. “The note on the bomb said, “Chief… Boom.”
“Kyle told me the man who kidnapped him had a funny-sounding British accent and strange gray eyes.”
“The island was a perfect base for launching that attack on the Bishop,” CJ said. “It’s only a few miles away. Do you think he had anything to do with the Papal bombings?”
“It’s hard to say,” McCoy said. “There’s no evidence to tie him to Boston or New York. He could be a paid assassin.”
“But why kidnap the kids?” Gia asked. “They didn’t do anything. And why send Charlotte’s father the ransom demand? If he was an assassin, why didn’t he kill them?”
“And why didn’t he kill me at Olivia’s apartment?” Jay said. “He had the chance to kill both of us, but he left. It seems more personal. Like he’s taunting me, or he has something to prove.”
There was a knock on the door. Jay looked at his watch. It was four-thirty in the morning. Not exactly business hours. He grabbed his sidearm and went downstairs to answer the door. He opened it and looked into the chest of a huge man standing on the steps. Jay looked up to see a young bald man who could have been a superstar pro wrestler.
“Are you Jay Mendes?” he said in a low, guttural voice. “Someone wants to talk to you.”
The man turned and walked down the stairs to a black stretch limo sitting in the parking lot. He opened the back door, and a short, overweight man dressed in a ratty t-shirt and ripped jeans stepped out.
“Jay Mendes?” the man said. “I’m Charles Cranmore. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Do you mind joining me in my car for a few minutes?”
“Sure, I guess,” Jay said.
“Give me your gun first,” the bodyguard said. Jay handed the man his gun and slid into the back of the limo. The guard closed the door behind him.
Cranmore handed Jay a plain white envelope then extended his hand. Jay accepted the envelope and returned the handshake.
“What you did for me tonight was incredible,” Cranmore said. “I never thought I’d see Charlotte alive. She told me what that creep did to her and how you disarmed the bomb. Impressive, I must say.”
“Thank you, sir,” Jay said. “Your daughter was courageous. She must have been terrified.”
“She was. Charlotte already suffers from anxiety. She’s had it all her life. It’s an awful disease and prevents her from doing many things you and I take for granted. We’ve taken her to specialists around the world. I don’t know why she went with those kids to that island in the first place, but she’ll never go back.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m moving her back home to Portland, where I can keep a closer eye on her. Put her back into a private all-girls school. I’m done with all this Catholic mumbo jumbo. Her mother insisted. It was her idea to move to Cape Cod. What a mistake this has been. Now she gets caught up with a bad crowd and almost killed.”
Jay was furious. “Her friends weren’t the problem, Mr. Cranmore. They risked their lives to help her. The boy Kyle, who was kidnapped with Charlotte, he’s a genius. Her friend, Carla’s dad, is one of my best friends. And the other boy Brendan is the son of the Falmouth deputy police chief. Not exactly a bad crowd. So don’t blame Charlotte’s friends for what happened. And as far as that Catholic mumbo jumbo, I was raised Catholic and proud to call the Bishop of Fall River my friend. People like the man who kidnapped Charlotte are evil, and they want to destroy the church. While I appreciate your compliments, I don’t need your money.” Jay handed the envelope back to a stunned Cranmore and left the limo.
Two hours later, Jay was back on Michelle Goddard’s Trifan jet. She stared at him with a look of amazement as he told her about his encounter with Cranmore.
“Are you bloody crazy?” Michelle said. “You turned down two million dollars? You are insane. You could have used the money to expand your business.”
“Thanks, but I don’t need it. The Catholic church is hiring us to protect all of the Bishops and Cardinals in the U.S. and Europe. Marty’s hiring agents like crazy. All I care about is getting back to see my sister.”
“She’s one tough cookie,” Michelle said. “She’s already up and walking.”