The first deception, p.18
The First Deception, page 18
part #1 of Jack Noble Prequel Series
“What was that?” Bear stopped and threw his arm out in front of Noble.
Jack cocked his head and listened.
“You hear it?” Bear said.
“You must have some kinda super hearing, ‘cause I don’t hear anything.”
“It’s a woman.” Bear took a step forward, turned to his right, then left. He aimed a finger upward at the center building, the building they were investigating. “Up there.”
Noble followed his gaze to a cracked window on the top floor. He honed in best he could. Maybe he did hear something. It was high pitched, not constant, rising and falling instead. Could it be a woman? Maybe. He couldn’t tell. There was a way to find out.
They pushed forward, sticking close to the facade. Noble brushed up against the building and felt a warm, wet substance coat his arm. It stunk like sewage but showed no immediate signs of irritating his skin.
A gap of two feet separated the buildings from each other. The small walkway led to the main road, with what appeared to be a tall gate or fence blocking entrance from the sidewalk. The narrow passage was even darker than the alley. If there were someone hiding there, they couldn’t be seen. And neither could any doors or windows on the sides of the buildings. It was a good place to get trapped with less of a chance of survival than where they stood.
Bear pointed to a rear door and hurried toward it. Noble stayed behind, covering him. He looked up and down the facade across the alley. Six stories of rugged concrete, empty spaces where windows should be, rebar poking out in some spots. Abandoned mid-construction. Why? What was the history here?
A quick whistle drew his attention back to his partner. Bear stood in front of the doorway, his fist wrapped around the handle. He held his other arm up, counted down from five to one, leaving his middle finger standing out against his grey shirt. Noble lifted his pistol and drew aim at the expanding swath of dull light emanating from the opening as Bear pulled the door toward him. His heart pounded in time with each of the ten steps he took to the landing. The stairs leading up shifted under his weight. How secure were they? He decided a quick escape would require avoiding them completely, hopping the five feet to the asphalt, or whatever made up the alley floor.
Noble stuck his pistol into the opening and eased around. For a few tense seconds he was exposed. The area was small and confined, leading to a metal stairwell. Black paint chips clung to the handrail. He started up with Bear in tow. They moved slowly and deliberately in an effort to make as little noise as possible. If the building was what they thought, and O’Neil was there, there would be lookouts.
Bear tugged at the back of Noble’s shirt, stopping him two steps before the next landing. The overhead light hung from a string. It swung a few centimeters left and right. The big man pointed up at it while Noble watched his shadow move back and forth. Someone had been through and had disrupted the light. Had they gone up for reinforcements when the door opened?
Noble mouthed, “Wait?” to Bear.
Bear’s nostrils widened as he pulled in a deep breath and held it. He shook his head, then jutted upward with his chin.
Noble wiped the sweat off his palm and re-gripped his pistol. He was starting to feel as though they weren’t armed well enough for the job. The plan had been to return after finding the right location. Things hadn’t worked out that way, though. Should they go back and get the rifles and submachine guns? It was too late for that. They’d already entered, and the tenants were possibly aware.
He stepped up on the landing and whipped around to face the next set of stairs with his pistol aimed at an angle. No one was there, but he could see the top of the door beyond the next landing, and it stood a few inches open.
Bear stopped next to him, noticed the same thing. He whispered, “They playing a game with us?”
“Bad hinges, maybe? Airflow, perhaps?”
They’d climbed three floors and this was the first door they’d come across. The building was only four or five stories. The main area might’ve been set up like a warehouse, high ceilings, lots of crap stacked on shelves, or some other setup. Didn’t matter, though. They’d start here and work their way down if necessary.
“Should we call for backup?” Bear asked.
“Not sure that’s an option, big man. Let’s check it out. We’re here already, right?”
Bear took the lead and climbed to the next landing. Near the top step, he backed up to the wall and inched his way toward the door. His eyes swept right to left and back.
Noble had faith in his partner to get it right. What other choice was there?
“See anything?”
“It’s open,” Bear whispered in between heavy breaths. “But a couple doors on the wall, too.”
Noble moved past Bear and took in the room head on. It was large and square with doors on the right, as Bear had said. There was a rectangular table in the middle with boxes stacked three high on the far end. Closer to them there were rows of bags laid out. He took cover behind the door and fished the suppressor out of his pocket and threaded it onto the barrel of his H&K. It wouldn’t eliminate the sound of his gun firing, but it’d reduce it enough to not alert others if they weren’t in the room.
“Going?” Bear said.
“Cover me.” Noble whipped around the edge and entered the room with his pistol at the ready. Loud enough for Bear to hear, he said, “Clear.” He heard Bear fall into position behind him as he headed for the table. He dropped to a knee and checked the underside for cameras, sensors, or explosives. All bets were off at this point. If they got a tip Noble and Bear were coming, they could’ve rigged the place to blow after leading them there.
“Anything?” Bear said.
“Nah.”
“What’s on the table?”
Jack hopped up and grabbed one of the clear bags. It was filled with an off-color powder. He pulled off the tie and let the bag unwind, then took a sniff.
“What is that?” Bear said.
“Heroin, I think,” Noble said.
Before Bear could make another remark, the furthest door opened and a man stepped out, his face buried in a paperback. He took two steps into the room and lifted his gaze. His brows knitted while he tried to figure out why there were two Americans in the room with him.
“Don’t move,” Noble said.
Either the guy didn’t understand English, or he didn’t care enough to stay put. He retreated a few steps. The book fell to the floor with a smack. The guy reached behind his back and pulled out a MAC-10. He planted a foot on the paperback, and as he whipped the gun around, his leg slipped forward, causing his knee to buckle and his finger to squeeze down on the trigger. A hail of bullets tore through the ceiling. Chunks of plaster and asbestos rained down on the table.
Noble fired two shots. Both hit dead center. The man flinched backward, fell to his right onto his chest. His gun fell to the floor. His legs and arms twitched for a few seconds. Bear rushed over and grabbed the MAC-10 and searched the guy’s pockets, coming up empty aside from a pack of cigarettes.
Shouts echoed behind the open door. Footsteps clanged up metal stairs. Sounded like they were coming from both directions.
Bear hustled around Noble and flipped the table over. Heroin wrapped in bags spilled out onto the floor and rolled across the room. The boxes toppled over, ripped open, revealing several more packages within.
“Get back here, Jack.”
They angled the table so they had a cover from both ends of the room. It sounded as though they were in for a shootout. Question was, how bad were the odds stacked against them?
Chapter Thirty-Five
“I got that door.” Bear took aim at the opening where the dead man had come from.
The shouting had stopped. The clanging of boots against metal stairs had subsided. Were they formulating a plan? Waiting for more men? Noble strained to hear anything other than Bear’s and his breathing, fast and ragged. They’d been in a few situations, but nothing so perilous as this. The chance that they wouldn’t make it through the situation was real. At the very least, a serious injury could befall one of them.
“I don’t like sitting here waiting,” Noble said.
Bear jutted his chin to the door they had come through. “We know what’s back there. We can retreat to the alley. But if they’re waiting back there, penning us in, we’re done. Up here, we have a natural chokepoint. Gives us a chance.”
“How much of one?”
Bear’s gaze slid off Noble. He said nothing.
For thirty seconds the men knelt behind the table. An occasional creak or bang interrupted the silence. The heavy air was overtaken with a foul smell. Gas? Were they leaking it into the building?
Noble turned to Bear, ready to whisper something about it. But Bear had something else in mind. He pointed to the opening they had entered the room through. The black tip of a rifle barrel cut into the dull white background. Both men aimed at the doorway, about chest high, ready to fire. The barrel poked into the room. It aimed toward the wall of doors at first, continued to turn toward them. Noble was about to fire at it, hoping for a ricochet into the man wielding the weapon.
They fired first. Ten wild shots slammed into the floor, wall, ceiling, and the table Noble and Bear used for cover. The bullets had no problem punching holes through.
Silence followed. Bear tapped Noble on the shoulder, pointed at the wall next to the doorway. He slid over there without making a sound. Noble glanced at the other entrance point. They couldn’t remain too focused in this case. Someone could be coming up the other way.
“You don’t have to die,” someone outside the room said. “Step to the middle, hands up, and you’ll be free to leave.”
Noble grabbed the nearest baggie of drugs and launched it through the opening.
“There are many of us here, and one or two of you. You will not live.”
Noble looked at Bear, who shook his head. They wouldn’t live if they gave themselves up, either. The men exchanged a nod. It was going down now. Jack moved to the back of the room, made his way to the opposite side and started toward the front until he had sight of part of a torso. He drew aim on the guy and unleashed a muffled shot. It hit the man on his shoulder. The guy’s rifle dipped toward the floor as he screamed in pain. His body lurched out of sight, perhaps pulled back by someone.
This is when the other men would make a mistake.
Grey-gloved fingers grabbed the door jamb and propelled the next man into the opening. He fired blindly, over Noble’s head. Jack made sure he paid for it with three shots starting at the man’s chest and ending in the center of his throat.
Three distinct voices rose and fell. They were coordinating their next attack.
Bear pointed at the far door. Noble fell back but hesitated going through. He wanted the men to see him as he did so.
The first man to appear did not wait to shoot. That also meant he did a horrible job of aiming. The rounds he fired tore through wall and left behind a cloud of dust.
Noble returned fire, hitting the man in the leg, before backing through the opening and taking cover behind the wall. Stairs descended just past the doorway. Noble took them backwards far enough to glance below at a dimly lit garage with six yellow hydraulic lifts, three of which were in use. There was no movement down there. He returned his attention to the room he had left moments ago.
Two men stood outside the doorway. They didn’t appear to notice Noble in the shadows. He held his fire, waiting to see what they would do. Once they crossed the threshold, they became better targets with less chance to escape.
The first man made it through and traveled five steps before glancing over his shoulder. Bear unloaded on the guy, and at least a half-dozen rounds from the MAC-10 cut him down.
The second man had one foot in the room. He froze for a second before swinging around the doorway with his submachine gun in Bear’s direction. The big man didn’t have time to recover, so he dove to the floor, rolling on his shoulder and lunging for the table, not that it’d stop the onslaught of fire.
It all happened so fast, and by the time Noble had the guy lined up in his sights, the man had emptied his magazine and reached around his back for another.
Noble fired twice, hitting the guy in both shoulders. He wanted him alive if possible. The guy stumbled backward into the wall. Noble climbed the stairs. A door whipped open on the ground floor below him. He glanced down. Sunlight flooded the concrete floor.
Two men escaped through the front of the building. Noble cursed and turned back toward the wounded man. He was no longer there, though.
“Bear,” Jack shouted.
The big man stood up and kicked the table out of his way.
“Come on,” Noble said, already across the room and heading for the other stairwell. A trail of blood about shoulder-height created a diagonal line along the wall. “He’s down there somewhere.”
Bear caught up. The two hit the landing and rounded it for the next set of stairs. Gunfire erupted the moment Jack cleared the railing. Bear grabbed hold of Noble’s shirt and pulled him back as the rounds punched holes in the concrete.
Noble sucked in two deep breaths, held up his hand, counted down from three. The two men exploded around the corner, ready to unload on the guy. He was gone. A puddle of blood remained. The sound of his staggered footsteps echoed through the chamber.
“We need to get him before he gets outside.”
The door at the bottom grated open, slammed into the wall with a loud bang. Two shots rang out, someone hit the ground. The stairwell grew quiet after the echoes dissipated.
Noble gestured toward the next landing and they climbed down, taking extra care to minimize the sound of their footsteps. He leaned forward, saw a shadow stretched out below them. He also saw the feet of whoever lay on the ground.
The shadow disappeared as the door slammed shut again. A hooded figure appeared. Who was down there, hovering over the dead man?
Chapter Thirty-Six
“Noble? Bear?”
The woman ascended the stairs toward them.
“Farah?” Noble replied as he made his way down two steps at a time.
They met on the next landing. She pulled the hood off her head and tucked wayward strands of dark hair behind her ears.
“The hell happened here?” she said.
“Ambushed,” Bear said. “Had to shoot our way out of it.”
“This isn’t the place,” Noble said. “There’s drugs, but no torture chamber I can tell.”
“Yeah, no shit it’s the wrong place,” Farah said. “Did anyone see you and escape?”
Bear shook his head. “We got ‘em all.”
“No, we didn’t.” Noble wiped the sweat from his face, looked at it glistening on his palm. “Two guys in the garage got out. They saw me.”
“That means they’re going to wherever Samara and Khoury are now,” she said. “And I’d assume O’Neil, too.”
“You’ve got the pulse of this city,” Noble said to her. “You know the people here, the good and bad players. Where do we need to go?”
“I don’t know.” Farah retreated back a step. “It is not my job to know. I got you the intelligence you needed. That’s it. I’m done.”
“Then what are you doing here?” Bear asked.
She looked away and said nothing.
“You were following us.” Noble inched his pistol up. “Why?”
She said nothing. Noble made it obvious with the pistol. She stared down the barrel with no fear in her eyes. “I was told to.”
“By who? Cribbs?”
“Who?” She shook her head. “I don’t know names. I was asked to keep tabs on you two to make sure this all goes down without a problem.”
“That’s not your job though, is it?” Noble threw her words back in her face.
She took a deep breath and surrendered. “We’ve got one shot at this. I can guarantee the men you saw in the garage are on their way to tell Samara that the Americans are here. He will not hesitate to extract whatever last bit of information he can from O’Neil, and then he’ll kill her.”
“So take us to the most likely location.” Bear’s impatience shone through in his tone.
She turned for the door without a word.
Noble braced himself for what might be waiting for them outside. The small alley offered little protection. They were already low on ammunition. A shootout behind the building might leave them empty. Farah pulled the door open. Daylight flooded in, but did little to brighten the space. He followed her outside. If anyone was out there, she didn’t fear them, which would mean the woman they knew little about was working against them the entire time.
He surveyed the stretch from one end to the other. It looked and sounded the same as when they had entered. There was no concern over what had happened inside. Maybe the locals were used to it and just didn’t care. Better to ignore it and stay alive than put yourself in the middle. Everything was corrupt here. Call the cops, and they’d let the bad guys know where you lived.
“I’m down at that end.” She pointed the direction they had come from.
“We need to go by the house first,” Noble said.
“Why?”
“We’re not equipped for this. I got a damn nine-mil with six rounds left. If what happened in there is any indication, we’re in for a shootout.”
“It’s going to add ten minutes,” she said. “Do we have that kind of time?”
“We don’t,” Bear said. He ran back inside.
Noble and Farah waited in the shadows for the big man to return. A long sixty seconds passed before his lumbering steps echoed through the open doorway. He emerged carrying two submachine guns, and three pistols.
“This should do us.” He handed Noble two pistols and a KGP-9 submachine gun, keeping the MAC-10 and a pistol for himself.
“What about me?” Farah said.
