| |
THE LAST TRAINING SORTIES went uneventfully. They debriefed with their instructors, thanked them for their help, and then packed up their gear. They took two armored SUVs with Spectre, Cowboy, Woody, and Sierra in the lead vehicle. Sparky, Dusty, Sledge, and Taylor followed close behind in the second SUV.
It was just after sunset when they cleared the base and started on their way to Minsk. Because of the time of night, they opted to take the most direct route to the airport. Their route would take just under two hours and avoid population centers where they were most at risk of being ambushed.
Sierra drove while Spectre took shotgun. His suppressed Daniel Defense MK18 rifle chambered in 5.56 NATO was within easy reach next to his right leg. He was dressed in tactical clothes along with Sierra and Cowboy as part of the security detail. Woody was in a suit he had been given, posing as a United Nations dignitary.
“So, you’re sure I can’t have a gun?” Woody asked, breaking the silence as they sped down the desolate highway.
“What?” Spectre asked.
“Everyone here has a gun. What about me?”
“We’ve been over this,” Sierra replied impatiently. “You are a dignitary. Dignitaries don’t carry weapons.”
“I’m just saying. Alexei seemed a little sketchy when we left,” Woody said.
Spectre turned around in his seat to face Woody. “Sketchy how?”
“He just seemed really interested when we were packing up,” Woody said. “And when I went to find him to thank him for the training, he was gone.”
“And you’re just telling us this now?!”
“I thought I was just being paranoid because I was...and still am...hungry!”
“Bloody hell, mate,” Cowboy interjected. “You have to tell us about things like that.”
“It might have been nothing,” Woody argued.
“We’re in a foreign country dealing with the Russians. There’s no such thing as nothing,” Sierra piled on.
“I thought the Russians were our friends now,” Woody said.
“Friends today, enemies tomorrow,” Spectre said. “You know better than that.”
“So, about that gun...”
“Still a no,” Spectre said as he turned back around.
Sierra looked at Spectre and said, “You may want to alert the others.”
“Already on it,” Spectre said as he started to key up his secure radio.
“Alpha One to Bravo,” he said.
“Bravo One,” came the reply from Sledge.
“Keep your eyes open,” Spectre said. “One of the pilots took an interest in us as we were leaving and then disappeared. We’re going to pick up the pace.”
“Copy that,” Sledge replied.
Sierra accelerated the SUV down the empty highway. They were the only ones on the road, but Spectre nervously kept a lookout.
“Aren’t Russian intelligence agents helping us, though?” Woody asked. “Who would be after us?”
“The Russian government is fractured,” Sierra said. “Although we are receiving help from the FSB, the Bratva still has influence in many places. There are too many factions at play right now.”
“Did you tell Alexei anything about our mission?” Spectre asked.
“No, because I don’t even know what we’re doing...still,” Woody said.
“And now you know why,” Spectre said.
“Very funny,” Woody replied.
They cut the drive to Minsk down to an hour and a half, arriving just outside the city well ahead of schedule. They bypassed the city and headed straight for the airport on the eastern side of the city.
“I called Jenny,” Spectre said as he stuffed his phone back in his pocket. They were nearing the China-Belarus Industrial Park just outside the airport. “The jet is ready to go early. She amended the flight plan.”
“What about the steaks?” Woody asked anxiously.
“You can heat them up once we’re airborne.”
“Reheated steaks, I-”
Before Woody could finish, there was a flash of light from their left. Sierra swerved, narrowly missing a dump truck coming from the industrial park attempting to T-bone them.
“Jesus!” Sierra yelped as she wrestled the wheel to maintain control.
There was a loud crash behind them. Spectre looked back to see that the second SUV hadn’t been as lucky, hitting the right front of the dump truck and bouncing off it. The back end spun around and it rolled several times before coming to rest in a nearby ditch.
Seeing the crash unfold in her rearview mirror, Sierra slammed on the brakes and made a U-turn. The dump truck came to a stop just short of the ditch and two men with rifles got out.
“Shit!” Spectre said as he saw the armed men and readied his weapon.
Spectre saw a second pair of headlights speeding toward them from the industrial park. As it neared, he saw that it was a panel van. It appeared to be heading straight for the crashed SUV.
“We’ve got company!” Spectre yelled.
Sierra stopped short of the crash scene as the two men from the dump truck opened fire at them. The bullets peppered the bullet-resistant glass, causing it to splinter.
“Woody, get down and stay in the vehicle!” Spectre barked.
“What? Give me a gun!”
“Just do it, mate,” Cowboy said as he pushed Woody down to the floor by his shoulders.
As the bullets ricocheted off the armored panels, Spectre and Sierra opened their doors and returned fire. They both managed to drop the attackers with well-placed shots.
Cowboy exited behind Spectre and the trio moved toward the panel van in a V formation with Sierra in the lead. The panel van stopped between them and the crash, as its occupants exited and tried to get to the second SUV.
Spectre saw the driver door of the SUV open and Sledge attempting to crawl out. He watched as Sledge saw the men approaching him and drew his handgun. One of the attackers opened fire. Sledge returned fire before pulling the door shut.
The driver of the panel van exited in an attempt to engage Spectre and company but was immediately dispatched by Sierra who didn’t miss a step as they continued toward the crash. As they reached the edge of the panel van, one of the attackers saw them and opened fire.
They took cover behind the panel van and then returned fire. The three attackers were out in the open and apparently not well trained. They were easily dispatched as Sierra and company continued toward their teammates.
When they reached the overturned SUV, Sierra set up a watch position as Cowboy and Spectre went to work attempting to extract their teammates. They opened the driver door first, finding Sledge bleeding and barely conscious. His handgun was held loosely in his hand and he appeared to have been shot through and through between his vest and collarbone.
As Cowboy started first aid, Spectre reached in and unlocked the rear door. He saw Taylor unconscious in the front passenger seat and Dusty in the backseat attempting to release Sparky from his seatbelt as he hung precariously upside down in his seat.
Spectre opened the rear door. “Sparky!”
“He’s unconscious, but the belt is stuck. I didn’t want to cut it without a way to lower him,” Dusty said.
“You okay?” Spectre asked, seeing blood on Dusty’s face and neck.
“I’m fine. Just a few scratches. Help me get him down,” Dusty said.
In the front seat, Cowboy did his best on Sledge’s wound, using the Quik-Clot from his Individual First Aid Kit to slow the bleeding. He helped Sledge out of the driver’s seat and onto the side of the road where Sierra was standing and then raced to the other side where Taylor was still unconscious against the roof of the vehicle.
Taylor hadn’t been wearing his seatbelt. Cowboy checked for a pulse and noticed that he was still breathing. He pulled Taylor out into the ditch and then went to the rear passenger door to help Spectre and Dusty with Sparky.
They cut him free from his seatbelt and lowered him gently, careful to support his neck as they brought him down. He was breathing and had a pulse but had a gash on his forehead from where he had apparently hit his head during the crash.
As they carried him out of the vehicle, Sparky suddenly came to. Disoriented, he tried to get up but Spectre calmed him. “It’s okay, buddy, we’re going to get you out of here.”
“What happened?” Sparky asked groggily.
“You were in an accident,” Spectre said as he tried to keep Sparky from moving too much.
“What about the others?” Sparky asked.
“We need to get moving,” Spectre said. “That van is still running. Let’s load Sparky, Sledge, and Taylor and get to the plane. We can divert to Germany en route.”
Dusty nodded and ran toward the panel van. He got in and turned it around, backing it up to allow them to load the casualties in the back. Cowboy ran to their remaining SUV.
“Is everyone okay?” Woody asked nervously as Cowboy got in and threw it in gear.
“Just stay down, mate,” Cowboy barked.
They loaded the casualties into the van. Sierra stayed with them to continue first aid while Spectre joined Cowboy in the SUV. They sped to the airport where Jenny was waiting with the Gulfstream.
“Jesus, what happened?” she asked as they opened the panel van.
“We were ambushed,” Spectre said as he went to help unload the injured.
“I’ll have to change the flight plan,” Jenny said.
“No, don’t,” Spectre said. “Let’s get airborne. We can divert once we assess everyone airborne.”
“You got it, boss. I’ll get ready for an immediate departure,” Jenny said as she returned to the aircraft.