CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
Payne heard the blast while driving to the submarine. From his position on Island 2, he had no idea what had exploded until Jones called it in.
“Sorry about the noise,” Jones said as he dashed back into the trees. “But I just took out mission control with a rocket launcher.”
For the briefest of moments, Payne had been concerned that Volkov had brought out the heavy artillery to breech Suomenlinna. He was relieved to find out that it was his friend doing the damage. “You bastard! I wanted to use the RPG.”
“I have to admit: it felt like old times.”
“Speaking of time, shouldn’t you be headed to the King’s Gate?”
“Damn!” Jones said as he kept on running. He needed to be in position for Volkov’s arrival. “Can’t a brother have a moment to relish his victory? I just took out five Russians, four drones, and one boat in a single shot! I’d like to see you top that.”
“Yeah, well, I’m getting ready to attack a submarine on a golf cart!”
Jones grinned. “Good luck with that.”
“I’ll be fine. I have Jarkko to help.”
Jarkko groaned. “Jarkko no help. Jarkko stay in cart.”
Payne laughed at his out-of-shape friend. “No worries. You won’t like what I have in mind anyway.”
◊ ◊ ◊
Measuring 134 feet in length and 26 feet in height, the Finnish sub Vesikko sat on concrete blocks at the bottom of a hill on the edge of the water. Out of service since 1946, the submarine was about to see its first action in decades.
Shortly after the explosion near Vallisaari, the Russian boat reached the rocky shore, just north of the isthmus between Island 1 and 2. Using the submarine as a shield, the six henchmen crouched behind the vessel as they figured out their next move. No longer able to rely on the drones above, they had to decide how to proceed on their own. Unfortunately, these goons were better at following orders than making decisions.
Temporarily hidden by the Vesikko, a gunman named Alexei leaned back and admired the sub’s color scheme. The bottom half of the vessel was coated red, while the top half was painted black and white. To gauge how thick the metal was, he knocked on the outer hull. He grinned like a child when it made a hollow clanging sound.
Alexei whispered in Russian to the goon on his left. “Does the sub still work?”
The goon glared back. “How the fuck should I know?”
Alexei shook his head in disappointment. “Damn, Vasily. There’s no need to be rude.”
Vasily snapped at him. “Unless you know how to pilot a Finnish sub, I don’t see how your question could possibly be relevant.”
Alexei sighed. “If the sub still works, perhaps it is filled with fuel. If the fuel is shot, perhaps the sub explodes. I don’t know about you, but I think that is relevant.”
Vasily grunted. “You make a good point. Hey, Dmitry!”
Dmitry glanced at him. “Shhh!”
Vasily shook his head. “Alexei has an important question.”
Alexei spoke up. “If submarine fuel is shot, will it explode?”
Dmitry stared at Alexei. “Why? Is it leaking fuel?”
“I don’t believe so. I meant the fuel inside the submarine.”
Dmitry groaned at the stupidity of his team. Now he knew why his cousin had wanted to leave Volkov’s empire to become a plumber. “The submarine is sitting on concrete blocks on dry land. There is no fuel inside the submarine. It is a museum ship. Not a vessel of war. For the time being, we are perfectly safe. Now shut the hell up before you give us away!”
◊ ◊ ◊
Unfortunately for Vladimir and the rest of his crew, Payne already knew their position. And thanks to his advance research on the sub, he knew exactly how to exploit the situation.
Payne entered the water right around the corner from the Vesikko, where the thick trees hugged the shore. From there, he eased into waist-deep water and sank into a crouch while keeping his head and weapon above the waterline as he slowly crept toward the sub.
Although his rifle would probably function while wet, he preferred to keep it dry since he wasn’t certain about its upkeep. He knew dry-gun lubricants and modern gun paints typically repelled water, but he had always been meticulous with his weapons prior to waterborne operations and wasn’t willing to risk his life on someone else’s maintenance.
In his former career, he had conducted hundreds of missions against all kind of enemy vehicles: boats, planes, tanks, helicopters, jeeps, Humvees, horses, camels, and even a train. But in all of his years of service, this was the first time he would ever fire at a submarine. If he’d had a military bucket list, this would have been on it—despite the weird circumstance.
Normally gunmen hid inside a vehicle instead of behind it.
And submarines were most effective when underwater.
But he wasn’t going to point out their mistakes until it was too late.
“Now,” Payne whispered into his comm.
◊ ◊ ◊
Hidden in the trees on top of the hill that overlooked the submarine, Jarkko heard the command in his ear and grinned. Despite his nausea, he summoned all of his strength and courage to lean forward and hit the horn in the golf cart.
Then he did it again. And again. And again.
Honk! Honk! Honnnnnnk! Honnnnnnkkkk!
◊ ◊ ◊
In the valley below, the Russians heard the honking and peered around the edge of the submarine to see if anyone was coming down the path toward them.
Vasily looked at Alexei. “Is that a car horn?”
Alexei shook his head. “It is too tinny for a car. It might be a goose.”
“A goose? There is no way that was a goose!”
“Maybe not, but it wasn’t a car, either!”
Frustrated by the incompetence of his coworkers, Dmitry glanced back to tell them to shut up, but before he could, he saw a shadow emerge from the water.
◊ ◊ ◊
Payne stood from his crouch and pulled the trigger on his assault rifle. He didn’t feel agony or joy when he mowed down the Russians against the back of the submarine. He realized that these goons had been sent to kill him and his friends, and he was merely beating them to the punch.
Afterward, he didn’t cry or gloat.
He merely called in the success of his mission.
Then he headed back to shore to help with Volkov.
◊ ◊ ◊
Because of the thick trees near the submarine, Archer didn’t have a clear view of Payne’s assault. With nothing better to do, he scanned Island 3 in search of the traitor.
Upon leaving his post unattended, Harrison had crossed the bridge and headed to the rendezvous spot where the second Russian boat was supposed to make landfall. From there, he would have joined up with Volkov’s goons before leading them back to Island 2 for an unexpected rear assault against Kaiser and his men.
But somehow that plan had gone to shit.
For some reason, the boat had docked near the submarine, across the channel from where he had been waiting. Reluctant to swim through the cold water of Artillery Bay, Harrison had decided his best bet was to get back across the bridge to meet up with the men from the second boat. Otherwise, he sensed that Volkov wouldn’t honor their deal and pay him the money that he desperately needed.
As he approached the northern edge of the bridge, Harrison carefully checked his surroundings to make sure that Kaiser hadn’t filled his post with another man. He peered across the channel to his south and searched the trees to make sure no one was hiding. Confident that he was alone, he started his journey across the span.
Harrison was halfway across when Archer pulled his trigger.
A moment later, the traitor’s head had an extra hole.