75

Jalal was learning the hard way that backing a trailer into a boat ramp wasn’t as easy as backing a car into a garage. Every time he turned the wheel, the damn trailer went the opposite direction. To make matters worse, the boat ramp wasn’t a wide, flat expanse, but a narrow ramp dropping down into the water between two concrete walls, barely wider than the trailer.

He bashed the end into the left side, tearing off the brake light. Tanan said, “Stop, stop! You’re going to jam it into the concrete and we won’t be able to get the watercraft off at all.”

Jalal cursed, pulling forward yet again. Hampering him further was the fact that there were no lights at the ramp, specifically because it was closed from dusk to dawn. He was beginning to think they should have spent more time driving the trailer around than they had the Jet Skis. Even lining up the watercraft with the gas pump had been a chore.

He stopped yet again, saying, “Both of you get out and guide me in. This is getting ridiculous. We’ve wasted an hour and a half. At this rate, we’ll attack in daylight.”

The two exited, wading into the water on either side of the trailer. Jalal pulled forward again, then began slowly backing up. Tanan pointed him to go to the right, and he thought he did, but the reverse view from the mirror, coupled with the trailer doing exactly what he didn’t want, caused him to overcorrect. Tannan began waving his arms to the right, trying to push him aside with body language. Jalal spun the wheel and the trailer jackknifed, forcing Wasim to dive out of the way.

Jalal scraped the trailer on the concrete, snapping the ribs that protected the sides of the watercraft and jamming the frame into the wall. He cursed and put the truck into drive, only to find that it wouldn’t move.

He rolled down the window, saying, “Wasim, something is holding it. See what it is.”

Wasim waded through the water, then climbed onto the trailer. He used a flashlight to peer into the murky depths. Jalal saw the light shut off and said, “Well?”

“I think you bent the axle. The wheel is twisted out of line.”

Jalal looked to the heavens, wondering what else could go wrong. He thought a moment, then said, “We’ll take them off here. I’ll unhook the trailer and leave it after you’re gone.”

Tanan said, “They’re still a foot above the water.”

“I know. We’ll have to muscle them off.” He went to the first watercraft and began pushing to the rear, saying, “Come on. The longer we stay here, the greater the risk of being discovered.”

After twenty minutes, the first Sea-Doo was floating in the water. Tanan held the front anchor point, saying, “We can’t let it float free. If it runs into the wall with the nose, it’s liable to go off.”

“Hold it still. Wassim and I can get the other one. Once it’s off, you two leave immediately. Remember, no wake until you hit the ship channel. Take it nice and slow up the river. I don’t want anyone alerted. This launch has been disaster enough.”

—

The commander of the HRT team was a special agent who introduced himself as Brock. Knuckles took one look at him and smiled, shaking his hand. I said, “You guys know each other?”

“Yeah. Brock’s the guy I worked with in Paris, when I took that shrapnel in my ass.”

I knew then that Brock had lost some men. Four HRT guys had been shredded in a diabolical trap laid by some Irish terrorists. Knuckles had barely escaped with his life.

I shook his hand and said, “Knuckles told me about you. Sorry for the guys you lost.”

He said, “Yeah. Me too, me too. Sometimes you bite the bear; sometimes the bear bites you. I’d like to be the one doing the biting tonight. I’ve been told not to ask who you are or why you’re here, so I won’t. What do you have?”

I said, “Carly, you got that survey of the ship channel?”

Earlier, I’d put her CIA analytical skills to use, telling her to find the most likely targets in the area.

She said, “Yes,” and came over with a laptop. To Brock I said, “What we have is a cell of terrorists who have created manned torpedoes using shaped charges in the noses of Sea-Doo watercraft. They were in this house, and I’m sure we missed them by minutes. They’re moving to the hunt, and we have little time to stop them.”

Carly pulled up the screen and said, “From here the Lafayette River hits the channel to the north after about three kilometers. At that point, the targets open up both left and right. To the left are a multitude of shipping concerns, to include tanker and chemical docks, but the most likely target would be the Half Moone Cruise terminal. There are two ships in dock right now from Carnival and Norwegian. To the right, and much closer, is the international Norfolk port terminal for container ships and the piers for the Norfolk naval base.”

I nodded, then said to Brock, “You guys have antimateriel sniper systems?”

“You mean fifty-cals? Yeah, we got a couple.”

“Anyone here that shoots them for a living? You have a sniper team?”

“One.” He turned and said, “Marcus, get in here.”

A tall, swarthy man came into the den, saying, “What’s up?”

I said, “What antimateriel sniper systems do you have?”

“A Barrett M107 and an Accuracy International AX50.”

I looked at Knuckles. “Which one do you want?”

“The Barrett. It’s not as accurate, but it’s semiauto.”

Brock said, “What are you talking about?”

I said, “Send your sniper team to the cruise terminal.” I pointed at the map, saying, “The entrance to the Elizabeth River is a chokepoint. Get ’em up high, and tell them to kill any Jet Ski–type watercraft on the river.”

He said, “I . . . I can’t order a kill mission without knowing the target.”

I said, “The target is a Jet Ski with a bomb strapped to the front.” I turned to the sniper and said, “You hit the front of the vehicle. If it’s our target, it will explode. If not, you’ve just killed a Jet Ski.”

He looked at Brock, and Brock nodded. “Go ahead. Use the power of your badge, and get up there.”

The man raced out of the room, shouting another agent’s name.

I said, “Knuckles, you get to Norfolk.”

Brock waved a hand, saying, “Wait a minute. I can get another man to shoot.”

“You said you only had one team.”

“Only one sniper team, but we’re all trained. I’ll send another team to Norfolk.”

I said, “No way. Knuckles is the best shot I know. He’s going.”

Brock became indignant, saying, “Hold on here. This is an FBI operation. I can’t let some . . . military cell operate on US soil. I don’t even know who you guys are.”

I turned to him quickly, snatching him up by the collar and leaning him back. I said, ever so slowly, “He’s a SEAL-trained sniper that’s taken lives behind the scope. I don’t have time for the dick measuring. He’s going.”

Brock nodded rapidly, and I knew the mantle of command had just been passed to me. I said, “Give me a man to send with him.”

Jennifer came running up with another computer, saying, “We’ve received the boat ramp information.”

I said, “What’re we looking at?”

“The closest one is the Haven Creek Boat Ramp. It’s literally a mile away. The next is in the opposite direction, across the bridge on the other side of the Lafayette River. There are two more on the peninsula, but they’re both private marinas. I don’t think they’ll use them.”

“Okay, Brock, you take the one across the river. Give me two men, and I’ll take the one close by. We passed a Toyota Tundra truck, gray, hauling Jet Skis on the way in, and I think that was them. They’re probably already in the water, but if they’re not, take them out.”

He said, “I’m running out of men. I can’t send someone with Knuckles and cover all the bases.”

“I need your authority to get Knuckles onto the Norfolk naval base and give him a spotter for his shots.”

“If you want an assault element, I can’t spare someone. Either you lose the men you want, or he does.”

I considered, then said, “You still have someone on the airfield?”

“Yeah, yeah. I have the pilots, but they’re all HRT special agents as well.”

“Get them to the piers. Tell them to tell whoever’s in charge of security that an FBI sniper team is on the way.”

I looked at Jennifer and said, “You’re going with Knuckles. You’ve done enough long-range work that you know what he needs.”

She nodded, then turned to Knuckles, saying, “You work just like Pike? Same calls?”

“Yeah. That’ll do nicely.”

Carly watched the exchange, slightly amazed, finally understanding where Jennifer stood.

A man came running in toting a weapon that looked like an assault rifle that was on steroids, with an enormous scope and a muzzle brake that you could cook a steak on. The Barrett fired the same caliber as a heavy machine gun, could reach out to two thousand yards, and was designed to take out vehicles, bunkers, and other hard targets. The Barrett was not as accurate as other sniper systems designed to kill humans, but it would get the job done.

Knuckles said, “You have tracer rounds for that thing?”

“We have marking rounds, but they aren’t match grade. They aren’t nearly as accurate.”

“I’m going to be shooting into the black of the ocean. I need them for my spotter. Load me up with two mags.”

The man raced out of the room and Knuckles said, “Jenn, let’s go hunting.”

They left the room at a trot, and I said, “Where are my men? We’re losing precious time.”

Brock called the remainder of his team into the room and began giving orders, telling them the mission and the suspected vehicle. He finished with, “Dingler, Jesus, you’re with Pike here. Take his orders as you would with me.”

Dingler and Jesus didn’t look too happy, but they came over to me, waiting on a command. I said, “Tell me Dingler is a callsign.”

He scowled, and I said, “Sorry. Load up in the Hyundai rental that you found when you got here.”

Carly said, “What do you want me to do?”

I pointed at the weapon Knuckles had left behind and said, “Can you shoot that AKM?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m weapons trained from the farm.” She saw my expression and held up a hand, saying, “Knuckles has already told me how disgusted you guys are with my people saying that, but at the very least, I can get a sight picture and make this weapon fire.”

She removed the magazine, jacked the round out, did a functions check, then reloaded, putting the weapon on safe. I nodded and said, “You’re coming with me.”