The Ajax Protocol

CHAPTER 41

Elizabeth and Stephanie moved off the porch of Emile's house into the shadows of the trees. Emile waited with them, his razor-sharp machete hanging down by his side. They listened to the sounds of the firefight down the trail. The shooting stopped and everything became quiet. The normal sounds of the jungle at night began to return, a mix of things rustling in the undergrowth, the flutter of moths and whine of insects, the occasional cry of a bird.

"I don't hear them," Stephanie said.

"That doesn't mean anything," Elizabeth said. "They're not going to come up the trail whistling Dixie."

"I hate this," Stephanie said. "This is what they do all the time, isn't it?"

"Pretty much. I don't know how Selena does it. I know I couldn't."

"I heard something," Stephanie said. "It came from that way."

She pointed at the path that led down to Emile's small boat on the west side of the island.

"Nick cleared that," Elizabeth said. "There's nobody in that direction."

Even so, Elizabeth pulled back the hammers on her shotgun. The double-click of the hammers sounded loud in the humid night.

"Careful," Emile said. "The triggers are very sensitive."

"Oh, hell," Stephanie said under her breath.

Five men dressed in black and wearing berets and body armor emerged into the clearing in front of the house. They fanned out. Two came toward the porch.

Elizabeth put her mouth next to Stephanie's ear. "The others don't know they're here." Her voice was hardly a whisper. "They'll come up here and walk into an ambush."

Stephanie looked around. "Where's Emile?" She said.

The old man was gone, vanished somewhere in the growth.

"We have to try and stop them," Elizabeth said.

"How?"

"Wait till you can't miss. I'll shoot at the ones closest to the house. Make it count."

Stephanie lifted the rifle to her shoulder and took aim. The movement caught the eye of one of the men. He shouted. His gun came up.

Elizabeth fired. The 12 gauge kicked back hard into her shoulder. A swarm of buckshot caught the first man in the chest and throat and lifted him off his feet. The tiny report of Stephanie's .22 registered somewhere in the back of Elizabeth's mind. A second man went down. Elizabeth fired the other barrel at the third man. His head vanished in a reddish cloud of blood and bone. The body stumbled and fell. Elizabeth had the shotgun open and was fumbling with shells, trying to reload.

The fourth man swung his weapon toward her. She froze, the shells motionless in her hand. Her mind stopped.

Emile appeared behind him. His machete swept across in a gleaming arc that took the man's head from his shoulders. Blood fountained high into the air. The last mercenary fired. Emile jerked and stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. As the old man's killer turned toward Elizabeth and Stephanie, a volley of shots from the trail sent him reeling sideways. He collapsed into the undergrowth.

Nick and the others ran into the clearing.

"Jesus," Ronnie said, staring at the slaughter. Two of the bodies were headless. The ground in front of the house was wet with blood.

"Selena, you stay here," Nick said. "We need to clear that trail."

The three men disappeared down the path.

Stephanie stood holding the 22, grim faced. Elizabeth looked at the headless corpse of the man she had killed. The shotgun was still broken open in her left hand. She bent over and vomited.

Selena went over to Emile. His eyes were wide open, the front of his chest covered with blood. She knelt by him. He'd been her friend. She had always felt safe with him and now, because of her, he was dead. She had brought death with her to the island. Her eyes filled with tears. She brushed them away.

She was 14 years old, away from the island in Emile's small boat, the first time she'd gone out fishing with him. The sun was half risen, the first light of day gleaming in a golden white path along the blue Caribbean waters. Emile was showing her how to bait her hook.

"Like this, you see? The hook is very sharp. Be careful with your fingers."

"Will we see a shark?" she asked.

Emile nodded in a serious way. "It is possible. If we see a shark, we will stay inside the boat and we will be fine."

"I would like to see a shark," Selena said.

They had stayed out all morning and come back with several fish for dinner. They had not seen any sharks.

"Emile," she whispered, "I'm sorry."

She reached out and closed his eyes. She got up and went to Elizabeth and took the shotgun from her hands. "Are you all right, Director?"

Elizabeth throat was dry. She wiped her lips and swallowed. "Yes. I'm fine."

"They must've landed after Nick checked out that side."

Elizabeth's milk white skin was even whiter than usual.

"You'd better sit down," Selena said. "You look pale."

"I'm all right," Elizabeth said.

"You're sure?"

"It was his head," she said. "I wasn't ready for what it looked like when I pulled the trigger and his head disappeared. I'll never forget that."