Part 26 (1/2)
Looking at the weapons we've laid out in the trunk of the car, I pick up a Micro submachine gun and hand it to Gabriel. Then I grab the waistband of his tan cargo pants and slip in an automatic pistol. Opening the side pockets in his pants, I slip in extra cartridges for both guns. Once I clip a sheathed Bayonet knife onto his waistband, I'm satisfied.
Hearing laughter from behind us, I look back to see Jackson and Brent with their heads bent together, watching me and Gabriel. Let them make fun of Gabriel, at least I'll know he's protected. I hope they both get shot in the a.s.s today.
Having already chosen their weapons, Jackson and Brent are just waiting on us. We're parked about a half-mile down the dirt road leading to the isolated, sprawling house that our targets live at. We've been unable to do much surveillance, but Jackson and Brent scoped out the place last night while Gabriel and myself, um, spent a little quality time together. I so refuse to grin like an idiot in love right now. That would lead to questions I don't want answer and more teasing.
These criminals are almost always locked up inside that gated house a little ways outside of Sydney, like they're expecting an attack at any moment. Well, I guess they're right, because today's the day. From what we've been able to find out by bribing a maid who comes in a few days a week to clean, there are no children in the house. Besides our targets, we expect to come across a few hired minions and a couple the targets' girlfriends. The information from Simon on the girlfriends only confirms that they're no innocent victims. They're the count the dirty money, carry weapons of their own type of criminal girlfriends. If they have to be taken out along with the targets, then so be it.
I pull the strap of a light machine gun over my head and let it fall to my back. Handing Gabriel a pair of gloves to slip on that match my own, I lift out of the trunk an airburst grenade launcher. This should make the boys' job down the hill much easier. I hand Gabriel a sniper rifle to carry for anyone spotted escaping from the house. I feel really nervous about taking Gabriel with us. Maybe he isn't completely helpless, but neither is he in the same league as us, or even the targets.
Probably sensing my worry, Jackson calls out, ”Hey don't worry, Annie! Gabriel can probably handle any of the girlfriends we run into!” Brent starts snickering and nudges Jackson like he's the funniest guy ever. So annoying. And Simon thought I was the one who needed babysitting?
Gabriel looks both irritated and uneasy. ”I'm not really comfortable with us killing women.”
I give him a look of disbelief. ”These aren't normal women, Gabriel. They condone what their men do, which includes murder. Sometimes they even join in.” Touching his forearm, I attempt to ease his mind, ”Don't worry, you won't have to deal with what goes on down below. You'll be up on the hill with me.”
He points to the grenade launcher in my hand. ”And you'll be using that up on the hill?”
I heft it from one arm to the other. ”Yep, this and most likely the sniper rifle too.”
He grimaces, but doesn't comment.
All of us are wearing bulletproof vests. I tried to put a combat helmet on Gabriel, but he refused to wear it if no one else was going to wear one. Plus, Jackson and Brent's taunts didn't help my cause.
Jackson is eyeing my grenade launcher enviously. I hold it up in the air towards him. ”Jealous?”
He gives me a dirty look. ”I haven't gotten the chance to use one of those yet.”
”No one outside of the armed forces has, Jacks. This new model is state of the art, secret military technology. I don't know how Porky managed to get his hands on one of these.” I goad him some more by laying my cheek against the barrel of the weapon, wearing a blissful expression.
Brent sighs dramatically. ”Porky works in mysterious ways.” Brent's expression turns thoughtful, but he's smiling as he says, ”I wonder if Diana used any torture techniques on him yet.”
”Diana's hot,” Jackson announces, grinning, ”I'd let her torture me any day.”
I still feel bad about allowing Porky to take off the other day with Diana hiding in the back of his SUV. Maybe we should drive back to Newcastle tomorrow and check on him.
”Let's do this!” Brent shouts out. I totally concur, the sooner this job is over and I have my Gabriel back in the hotel safe and sound, the better.
We part ways, Jackson and Brent going down the beach to get in position to enter the compound and Gabriel and me trekking up to our point on a hill that both overlooks the house and is conveniently adjacent to the ocean.
The sun has just about to set when I tell Gabriel to put on his safety gla.s.ses. I pull my own pair out of my cargo pants and place them over my eyes. At 4:53pm, as planned, I launch the first grenade. It hits the gate, on the side facing the beach. The sunlight's dim, but I see two dark figures enter through the hole I just opened up.
Next, I carefully take aim at the back door of the house. I launch the grenade and the entire doorway is blown away as pieces of the door and house fly through the air. I can no longer see them at this point, but I'm sure Jackson and Brent make it inside. Especially when I hear the gunfire start up. It's a good thing this house is isolated. Jackson and Brent know to keep clear of the prearranged areas of the house that I plan to hit. I'm about ready to launch at one of the side windows when it opens and a woman starts crawling out.
”Wait!” Gabriel shouts and yanks the weapon forcefully out of my hands.
”Dammit, Gabriel! Give it back!” I yell at him.
”I won't let you kill that woman, Annabelle.” He starts backing away from me.
What the h.e.l.l? I wasn't going to if she was only trying to get to safety. I was going to wait until she cleared out of the way. Taking a step towards Gabriel, I'm about to tell him just that when he turns around, pulls back his arm and hurls my $25,000 favorite new toy into the Pacific Ocean.
”G.o.ddammit, Gabriel! Do you realize what you've just done? Jackson and Brent are counting on me to take out certain parts of that house.” I can hear the sound of shots continuously firing down below. p.i.s.sed, I point a finger at him. ”Stay here or go back to the car!”
Ditching the sniper rifle, I pull on the strap to move my light machine gun to my front. Pulling out the pistol in my boots, I move it to the front waistband of my pants and start sliding down the steep hill.
I hear Gabriel call out, ”Where are you going, Anna?” Still p.i.s.sed, I ignore him.
When I get down the hill, someone has opened the main entrance to the gate and I'm almost on top of the guy before I see him. Bringing up my light machine gun, I stop and put a few rounds into him. I see no one else around, so I cautiously edge towards the front door. Once there, keeping my back to the wall, I quickly reach out to the front doork.n.o.b to fling it open. Thankfully, it's unlocked. Not that I wouldn't have just shot the door open if it wasn't. But it's nice when things work out my way.
I pull the pistol out of my pants and wait for the first unlucky motherf.u.c.ker to walk through that door. As I see a balding head pop through, I start to extend out my arm to line up the shot with the guy's s.h.i.+ny noggin. Before I can get off a shot, another one rings out and the guy slumps to the ground in the doorway.
I whip my head around so fast that my ponytail brushes my face and see Gabriel with a smoking pistol in his hand. He still has it raised and his face is pale with shock. I take a few steps forward and grab a hold of his arm, pulling him against the wall with me. ”Don't just stand in an open doorway waiting to be shot!”
”I shot him,” he croaks out, looking pale. ”In the chest.”
Trying to lighten his mood, I smile mischievously at him. ”Yeah, I know. Thanks for saving me the trouble.”
”He was a bad man?” he asks and I can feel his entire body shaking against mine.
”Yep, one of the worst. One of the main targets actually. Good job, Gabriel.” I reach down and squeeze his free hand in a gesture meant to offer comfort.
He looks at me seriously. ”I'm sorry about throwing your grenade launcher into the ocean.”
I peck him on the cheek. ”I forgive you. But I won't protect you from the teasing you're gonna hear from Jackson and Brent.”
He makes a sour face and I detect a little color returning to his cheeks. ”I guess I deserve it.” d.a.m.n right he does, I'm going to have nightmares about losing that weapon.
The shots inside start to quiet down, more and more time pa.s.ses in-between firing. When a whole minute goes by, I pull out my cell phone and call Brent's number. He should have his phone on vibrate. He picks up, ”Annabelle? What happened to the rest of your launches?”
I glance at Gabriel. ”I sort of lost the grenade launcher. Gabriel and I are at the front of the house.”
”We're sweeping the house now. Why don't you clear the front rooms?” Then his voice starts to sound irritated, ”Why don't you send Gabriel back to the car, he'll just get himself hurt.”
”He took out one of the targets,” I say pointedly into the phone.
”Whatever. Don't shoot me on your way back here,” he retorts and hangs up.
I tell Gabriel to follow closely behind me, despite his protests of wanting to lead the way, and we slowly make our way into the entryway of the house. This house may be big, but thank G.o.d it sprawls out in only one story. I wouldn't want to deal with people shooting down a staircase at me.
Gabriel and I easily clear the front rooms, being that there's no one there. I feel like I might be showing off a little in front of him, teaching him how to do it, making sure he keeps his back to the wall and his gun to the room. Once we're halfway through the house, we come across the body of a dead woman. Gabriel looks like he's about to throw up.
”She's no different than the men,” I remind him. He just swallows convulsively and lightly nods his head.
”Found him!” A male voice shouts out nearby. I rush into the next room with Gabriel at my heels. Just in time to see Jackson place a boot on a guy's chest and a bullet between his eyes. Over his shoulder, I see movement and red hair. Without thinking twice, I lift my pistol and put two rounds into the chest of a woman about to shoot my brother in the back.