OUTCAST Ops: African Firestorm

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Standing in the linen closet, Danielle and Dante watched the eight men walk out of the elevators and into the hallway. One of them, a big man with a thick mustache, directed the others. He indicated for one to stay in the lobby-hallway and then pointed the rest toward the team's rooms.

Danielle’s eyes were glued to the laptop screen "Six to Prime: One Tango's in the hall, near the elevators. The others are moving toward yours and Three's location. Hallway is still clear of civilians, over."

"Copy Six," Tanner came back. "Get ready to hit them in five….four ….three … "

"I'll take the rear guard,” Dante said, one hand on the door handle, the other gripping his suppressed pistol.

Danielle nodded, both of her hands gripped around the butt of her SOCOM.

"…two…. one!"

Dante opened the door and Danielle went through, her pistol up and aimed into the vending alcove. Dante was right behind her, his own pistol also at the ready. Danielle stepped aside, letting Dante take the lead as he moved to the edge of the alcove. He stepped out, his pistol already acquiring the first target, the rear guard.

The man's jaw dropped as the sight of Dante and he dropped his briefcase. He frantically reached for the automatic stuck in his belt. Dante fired twice, both shots striking the man in the chest and throwing him back against the wall.

Dante acquired new targets, lining up on the back of one of the attackers at the rear of the group. He felt more than saw Danielle step out beside him and open fire.

The four shots sounded like small firecrackers, but the two men at the rear of the pack of killers both stumbled forward when the shots struck them in the back, sending them into the two in front of them. Those two were pushed off balance by the sudden impact of dead weight. Before they could shove their dying comrades away, Dante and Danielle fired again.

The second double tap struck home and those two men fell.

The remaining three shooters quickly spun to face the threat behind them, weapons rising to fill the hallway full of lead. They never saw the hotel room doors open behind them, never saw Tanner and Naomi step out and fire their own silenced pistols into their backs from a distance of ten feet.

Wahid Tamrez and his two men never saw the bullets that killed them.

As the last killer fell, the OUTCAST team was already moving. Danielle ducked back into the linen closet to retrieve her laptop. Dante moved forward, sweeping the elevator lobby, then moving to assist Tanner and Naomi, who swept in to kick away weapons and search the dead would-be assassins.

Several doors along the hall opened as guests poked their heads out, wanting to find out what was going on. Dante shouted, "Get back into your rooms and stay there!"

The resulting doors closing sounded almost like gunshots.

Dante searched the briefcase of the first man he had killed. He spun it around to show Tanner the contents — drug paraphernalia, a bundle of money, and a block of something that had to be drugs, either heroin or cocaine.

"Leave it," Tanner advised. Dante nodded and closed the case.

"Four to Prime," Stephen said on the radio. "Southwest stairwell clear, two tangos down."

"Copy, Four," Tanner said. "Execute Fuzzy Dragon in twenty. We're on our way out."

The stairwell door opened and Liam stepped out. Tanner told him, "Help Six!"

Liam nimbly hopped over the bodies and ran toward the linen closet. He found Danielle coming out of the room carrying their duffel bags. Liam holstered his pistol and grabbed some of the bags from her. He dropped three of them in the hall and carried the other three over to Tanner and the others. By now, five of the bodies had been searched, and the rest were currently being checked. Liam handed a duffel bag each to Tanner, Dante and Naomi, who added the assorted wallets, cell phones and other pocket litter to the bags.

Tanner motioned to the stairwell Liam had just used. "We'll take this one. You and Six join Four."

Liam nodded and ran back to where he had left the bags. Danielle tossed him a towel. He used it to take the pistols he'd taken from the killers in the stairwell out of his pockets and wipe them down before tossing them into the hallway. Picking up all three bags, he and Danielle ran for the other end of the hall and the stairs. They were three quarters of the way there when the piercing shriek of a fire alarm started, prompting them to race down the stairs.

By the time they reached the fourth floor, there were people in the stairwell. Liam saw Stephen waiting for them. He handed the former CIA agent two of the bags and quickly buttoned his coat. At the second floor, there was a steady stream of guests chattering and wondering what was going on.

The three OUTCASTs went with the flow, doing nothing to attract attention. Liam glanced over the rail and saw the bodies of the two men Stephen had killed, but the people were more concerned with escaping the building than seeing what was at the bottom.

They reached the ground floor, the concrete block giving way to glass and a large EXIT sign over the doors. The three OUTCAST operatives spilled out into the parking lot along with the flood of hotel guests and employees.

They continued walking toward the Pajero Sport 4x4. Stephen unlocked the car and after throwing everything into back, he tossed the keys to Liam.

"You're driving. I have a phone call to make."

"Two to Prime," Liam said into his throat microphone as he climbed into the driver's seat. "We're clear of the building."

"Copy, Two," Tanner said. "We're reaching the vehicle now."

"Meet you at the Fort," Liam said, referring to the Castle of Good Hope, which was a short distance away.

"Copy. See you in a few."

Liam started the Pajero and left the parking lot. As he turned onto Hans Strijdom Avenue, he heard Stephen say into his phone.

"Nigel? We need your help."