Shadow Tyrants

TWENTY-THREE

Juan knelt beside MacD, who lay behind a bush, his eye glued to the scope of his crossbow. Eddie and Linc were to their right with their hands on a nylon rope. Raven and Lyla crouched to the left, concealed by the foliage as well. All of them were out of sight of the door to the island facility’s shed. Smoke curled up at the far end of the path that led to the beach. Linc and Eddie had set the fire to get the exiting guards, once they saw it, moving faster.

Lyla raised the radio to speak again, but Juan waved her to stop when he saw the personnel door flung open. A phalanx of five guards ran out, weapons at the ready. The lead guard noticed the smoke immediately and yelled for the others to follow him, which they did at a sprint.

The spring-loaded door slowly began to close as they pounded down the path.

A barbed titanium bolt was nocked in MacD’s crossbow. The end of the bolt was lashed to the rope.

The door would shut in seconds, but Juan waited until the guards exited the clearing and were out of earshot.

He whispered, “Now.”

MacD fired, and the bolt shot through the clearing and embedded itself in the edge of the door with a sharp thump. The guards were running so hard that they didn’t hear it.

While MacD reloaded with the new bolt that Juan handed him, Eddie and Linc rapidly reeled in the rope until it was taut, holding the door ajar just before it latched.

With a practiced hand, MacD cocked the crossbow again and laid down the new bolt.

He aimed at the camera above the door and fired.

The bolt flew true and smashed into the camera housing. It shattered upon impact.

“Let’s go,” Juan said.

They raced across the clearing, and Juan yanked the door open while Eddie and Linc covered him. He went inside with his P90 submachine gun to his shoulder, sweeping the area for any hostiles.

To his right a red shipping container sat on a trailer hitched to a huge modern tractor with six-foot-tall rear tires. The entire assembly had been backed into the shed. The tractor was far bigger and more powerful than would be needed to pull the trailer, but it moved containers quickly back and forth to the pier to transfer them as quickly as possible from the Triton Star. A second container was on the other side of the first one. There was plenty of room at the back of the shed for unloading.

To his left was the rumbling generator and a large tank with drums of fuel stacked next to it. The stench of diesel fumes was strong.

In front of Juan was the stairwell access and a large service elevator perpendicular to the stairwell with its doors closed. So far, no one was investigating the now obscured external camera. Lyla was sure there were no other cameras inside the facility except the ones in the hallways of each level and in the computer workroom.

He waved the others inside.

“MacD,” Juan said, “you stay here and cover our six in case the guards outside come back. Eddie, take Raven, Linc, and Lyla down the stairs and block the doors. I’ll take care of the elevator.”

While MacD remained at the outer door and the others went down the stairs, Juan took a small pry bar from his vest and forced the elevator doors apart. He looked down and saw that the cab was one level below him.

He took a small container from his pocket and opened it, revealing gray putty that was a small amount of C-4 plastic explosive. He braced himself on the support girders and reached across to the hoisting cable, pressing the putty around it. He stuck a small remote detonator in it and climbed back out.

He went down the stairs and found Eddie and the others already on the second level. Eddie was using a syringe to coat the lock and the door seam with a fast-acting all-purpose epoxy that would bond it shut so tightly nothing short of a hydraulic ram would open it. Only the syringes of acetone they carried as part of their standard shore operations kit would dissolve the glue. The first level had already been sealed the same way. Now none of the guards would be able to sneak up behind them.

When he was done, they went down to the third level, where the prisoners’ quarters were located. Juan stopped before opening the door.

“Once we go through, they’ll see us, so we won’t have much time,” he said.

“There’s a door to a second stairwell at the north end of the hall,” Lyla said. “It doesn’t go all the way to the surface, but it goes up to the control room level.”

The warden would try to send reinforcements that way. Juan only had to look at Eddie, who nodded that he would seal the north stairway as well.

“How many guards stationed on this level?” Juan asked Lyla, who looked both nervous and excited.

“Usually, just one. He’ll have the keys to all the cells. They keep it low-tech down here to save energy for the computers and communications systems.”

“Once we’re in, they’ll know the facility is compromised, so we’ll have to move fast. Everyone ready?”

They all nodded. Raven had her hand on Lyla’s shoulder. While Eddie handled the other door, Linc would take down the guard inside.

Juan took the detonator transmitter from his pocket. He gave everyone one last look and pressed the button.