Changing trains only delayed Ryker and Angel getting to Istanbul by a few hours. They still arrived before noon on a cold, crisp but sunny day. And they arrived without further incident.
They’d dumped all their previous belongings, including phones, laptops, even clothes on the stop off, and arrived in Istanbul with full new outfits from an early opening outlet store. They also had weapons now too. A handgun each, taken from the attackers on the train, although they had limited bullets and no time to source more.
‘I’m surprised we didn’t have a welcome party at the station,’ Angel said as they walked away into the city.
Ryker didn’t say anything in return, his mind too busy trying to figure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
‘I mean, even if it wasn’t another hit squad sent after us,’ Angel continued, ‘someone must have found those bodies by now? So where was the police cordon? The swarms of officers trying to figure out what happened on that train?’
Good questions.
‘Ryker, are you even—’
‘I’m listening, but I really don’t know.’
She stopped walking and huffed. ‘Yeah? So what’s your plan now? Just rock up to this place and attack?’
‘Yes.’
‘You and me versus whatever, whoever we find there.’
‘Exactly. What else are you suggesting?’
‘Time and patience, perhaps.’
‘We have neither, though, do we?’
She laughed at that. He hadn’t meant to be funny.
‘I’m serious,’ Ryker said. ‘We already know someone was tracking us. It’s only a matter of time before another crew comes after us, or the police catch up with us. And we have no idea how long Karaman and Podence are even staying here before moving on.’
‘Maybe they have already. Especially if they know we’re coming.’
‘Maybe. Or maybe the two of them are so damn self-assured that they’re waiting for us.’
‘Oh, great. So now you’re suggesting we’re walking directly into a trap?’
Ryker shrugged. ‘What’s your alternative? Sit and wait for… what?’
She didn’t answer this time.
‘We hit now, we hit hard.’
‘Go hard or go home, as they say.’
‘Damn right.’
* * *
As dusk approached, they were on the choppy waters of the Bosphorus, Ryker steering the rented bow rider steadily toward their destination. The rental company wanted the boat back before dark. Ryker was about to disappoint them. They’d at least get to keep his hefty cash deposit.
During the intervening time in the city, they’d further equipped themselves as best they could for what lay ahead. Ryker ignored the gnawing doubts at the back of his mind about whether they were ready.
They had to be. No other way to do this.
The low winter sun headed down on their west side, the European side of the water, while the waterfront properties across on the Asian side basked in the orange glow of the last of the day’s rays. The water they were on sat as the boundary of two continents, the city that surrounded it a strange mix of history and culture from both places. Although from his current viewpoint, there was really no difference between east and west, and both sides had luxury waterfront properties crammed along the shore.
‘There it is,’ Ryker said, slowing the boat further. He indicated the white colonial-style building built almost directly on the water, with only a small, enclosed grass garden in between. In the Yenikoy district of Istanbul, they were a few miles removed now from the main hub of the city, but the properties here remained tightly packed. Big and very expensive villas on small plots, all clamoring for a piece of the waterfront.
‘And you don’t know who owns this place?’ Angel said.
‘No.’
‘But it’s not the Arhans?’
‘I don’t know for sure if it is or it isn’t,’ Ryker said. ‘But I do know their main residence, the one I showed you a few minutes ago, is on the Asian side.’
And now behind them. They’d stopped outside there for a few minutes but had seen no signs of life.
‘But originally you’d planned on going to that one,’ Angel said, sounding more doubtful all the time.
‘Yeah,’ Ryker said. ‘Because that’s why we were heading here at all. The Arhans were a lead. But Winter’s given us this place.’
‘You really do trust him, don’t you?’
Ryker didn’t answer.
‘And how accurate do you think his information was? The Arhans’ place is, what? A mile down the water? And it’s on the Asian side. Part of me can’t help but think that Karaman would have taken the first opportunity he could to get off European soil.’
A fair point.
‘As far as we know, the Arhans aren’t part of this,’ Ryker said.
‘Do you even know anything about them?’
‘Not much. But I know there’s no mention of them in any of the SIS files I’ve scoured. At least, nothing except for basic profiles because of their closeness to Karaman. They aren’t our targets.’
‘Yet,’ Angel said.
‘Yet. At least not until we find or see something that changes our minds.’
‘Everyone’s a good guy until they put a gun in your face.’
‘Something like that.’
Ryker took his hand from the throttle and the engine quietened down. He picked up his binoculars and studied the moving shapes for a few seconds. He turned to Angel and passed her the binoculars.
‘Take a look.’
She did, spending a little more time than Ryker had.
‘I don’t see Podence or Karaman,’ she said, sounding disappointed.
‘No. But what do you see?’
‘Four men so far. Two on the outside. Two moving about inside. In the downstairs.’
Where lights had just come on with darkness approaching.
‘Just four guys? Doing… guy things?’
She sighed again. ‘OK. I’ll be specific. The two inside I’m not so sure about from this distance with these shitty binoculars. Dark clothing but I really can’t tell much more than that. The ones on the outside… Black suits, white shirts. They’re security guards.’
‘Security guards tend to guard something.’
‘We’re looking at a row of waterfront properties that each cost north of ten million euros, or hundreds of millions of lira to the locals. Plenty to guard around here. But…’
‘But what?’
She pulled the binoculars down. ‘Most likely they know we’re coming.’
‘Maybe they do. Maybe they don’t. But given everything else we know—’
‘It looks like we probably found what we came here for.’
Ryker smiled. ‘Yeah. It does.’ He pulled on the throttle and the boat chugged forward, heading away. ‘So let’s get ourselves prepared. We hit at nightfall.’
* * *
They split up for their approach to the property. Ryker stayed on the boat. Angel would go in from the roadside. Ryker turned the engine on the bow rider off when he was a hundred yards from the property and the craft slowly drifted further toward the houses. As focused as he was now, thoughts rumbled deep at the back of his mind about the last time he’d been on a boat. On the much warmer waters of the Persian Gulf, en route with Brock Van Der Vehn to capture Karaman from his mammoth yacht.
So much shit since that night.
But unlike that night, Ryker wasn’t getting into the water here. Thankfully. He’d go straight up onto the private dock.
He took hold of the oar and slowly directed the boat, making a beeline for the neighboring property.
‘Where are you?’ Ryker said quietly.
‘By the wall,’ Angel said, her voice coming through the tiny bud in Ryker’s ear. ‘Waiting for a couple of cars to pass then I’ll be up and over.’
‘I’ll be onshore in a couple of minutes,’ Ryker responded, his eyes busy on the villa in front of him, and the two men patrolling the outside. Much harder to see them now in the dark, no lights on in the garden. Much harder for them to see him too.
He came up alongside the neighbor’s jetty and used his hands to guide the boat slowly, almost silently, along the wood. The jetty came to an end, but he had enough momentum to send him onward to the next one, the boat hopefully less notable from this sideward angle of approach.
The bow gently nudged up against the next jetty. Neither of the guards were visible to him from this spot because of the elevated position of the garden from the water, and their stationing close to the back edge of the house.
Ryker jumped from the boat, staying crouched. He quickly tied the boat, an escape if he needed it. Then he scuttled along the wood, staying low and hopefully out of sight.
‘I’m inside the front garden,’ Angel said. ‘Another two guys out here. They haven’t seen me.’
‘Try and keep it that way,’ Ryker said.
He reached a set of three stairs that led up to the grass and paused there.
‘Let me know when you’re ready to go in,’ he said.
He could hear her breaths but she didn’t respond straight away and Ryker risked a peek, momentarily stretching up.
He spotted the two guys, casually guarding still.
‘OK. I’m by a side door,’ Angel said. ‘Ready to breach.’
‘You’ll know when to go.’
Ryker jumped up. The nearest guard – the taller of the two – spotted him right away but other than looking over and stiffening he didn’t otherwise react.
Ryker started talking. Loudly. Quickly. He spoke in Russian, a language they perhaps wouldn’t understand. He waved his arms about, saying how he was lost, needed help. Boat had run out of gas.
The other guard had taken notice and closed the distance to his friend as he spoke into a radio attached to the lapel of his jacket.
The taller one held a hand out to halt Ryker, shouting in Turkish. Telling him to stop moving. Private property. Trespassing. And so on.
Ryker took no notice. He kept moving forward, arms aloft to show he wasn’t a threat.
Well…
Lights burst on in a couple of the downstairs rooms, the upper level of the villa still in darkness. Ryker spotted movement beyond the glass – more guards readying themselves? But no one came out.
‘Time to make a scene,’ Ryker said.
Angel didn’t respond but he heard breaking glass a moment later. The guards heard it too. Both of them reached for their holstered guns, drawing their weapons.
But they weren’t quite quick enough.
Ryker already had his gun out and at the ready. Four quick shots. All hits. Two into the thighs of each guard, causing them to stumble back and to the ground, fighting through surprise and pain as Ryker rushed them. He tossed his gun at the taller guard who still seemed determined to fight back. The guy had to duck to avoid the flying object and Ryker launched his boot under the guard’s chin and even winced himself at the horrific crunch. That man was out of the fight.
Ryker prized the gun free then sank down and turned. The other guard was on his backside, battling through pain. When he saw the gun pointed at him he did the sensible thing and lowered his weapon.
‘Toss it,’ Ryker said, switching to English.
The guard understood just fine and a couple of seconds later tossed the gun away into the garden, toward the water.
‘Hands in the air,’ Ryker said.
The guard did as asked, and Ryker moved over, patting him down to make sure he had no other weapons. He took the radio and launched it into the water.
‘Please, I’ll—’
Ryker didn’t know what, because he smacked him around the head with the gun and the guard slumped down.
‘Angel?’ he said.
‘I’m good,’ she said in a whisper.
She’d caused the initial diversion for the guards inside, but the plan now was for her to hide. Keep the remaining guards guessing and looking in different directions.
‘I’m going in,’ Ryker said.
He moved for a set of patio doors. No signs of anyone beyond on the inside. He pulled up against the wall and peeked beyond the glass of the doors to a luxurious kitchen. Spotless. No one there.
Ryker reached out and tried the handle of the door. Unlocked. He opened the door and stepped inside, keeping low as he dashed as quietly as he could across the dining space and toward the two open doorways. He pressed himself up against the wall between them, managing a glimpse beyond each on his way. One led to a big, open hallway, the other to a plushly decorated lounge.
No one in sight in either.
He stopped, waited, and listened.
The house was quiet. Too quiet.
‘You good?’ he whispered.
No response, although he could just make out her breathing. Most likely she couldn’t respond without giving herself away.
He heard a noise from out in the hallway. Someone moving stealthily. But then he heard a sound coming from the lounge area too.
The next moment rapid-burst gunfire blasted, holes punched into the wall right by Ryker and he flung himself forward, away from the wall, closer to the ground, and scurried for the kitchen island for cover.
He didn’t get there before two metal objects clanked alongside him. Much like back in Suffolk. Ryker rolled along the ground, curled up, pushed his head down…
There was no explosion this time, though. Instead thick, noxious gas poured out of the canisters, rapidly engulfing Ryker who coughed and choked, his eyes burning within seconds even with them squeezed tightly shut.
His gun was kicked from his grip. He took a blow to his back, to the side of his head. He flailed desperately before hands grabbed him, roughly. They yanked him up, dragged him away, his feet bobbing and sliding across the tiled floor as he tried to hold his breath, tried to keep his eyes squeezed closed. He lost his sense of orientation as he battled to stay in control, but the air eventually cleared and he managed to open his eyes and keep them open just as he was tossed forward and he rolled ungainly on the floor.
Even before he’d pulled himself up, taken in his new surroundings, he heard the voice.
‘You can stay right there,’ said a man. A voice he didn’t recognize. Staying on the floor, he looked across the wide-open space of a marble-covered room to see a big, burly suited man standing there, gun in his grip, down by his side. Another guard. Although Ryker sensed perhaps this one was more important than the others. Older. Sterner. In charge.
Two other figures came into view behind him and Ryker blinked a few times, his eyes still stinging like hell, tears blurring his vision and he wasn’t sure at first if he knew the newcomers or not.
But with a bit of effort and focus… He knew them. Podence. Karaman.
Ryker got ready to bounce back to his feet, but halted when he heard the cocking of a gun to his left, just behind him. Another to his right side. He glanced both ways, noting the barrels a few feet from him, both pointed at his head.
‘Yeah,’ the big man in front said, a grin on his face that looked twisted through Ryker’s still clearing vision. ‘Like I said, you can stay right there.’