The Finish Line. Cliff Ryder
scanned the limousine for bugs, bombs and anything else out of the ordinary, and only when he had been satisfied had he let the two women get in and made the signal for them to be on their way. Once on the relatively quiet city streets, his alertness hadn’t wavered for an instant, as he constantly surveyed the areas they passed through, watching for the slightest anomaly or anything that seemed out of place.
Without looking up from her PDA, Kate decided to test him. “How did marking Mr. Weatherby’s car go?”
“The car was marked within ten minutes of your giving me the signal, and an operative is watching his every move as we speak. If there is no overt activity on his part that is out of the ordinary in the next twenty-four hours, standard operating procedure will reduce surveillance to intermittent unless otherwise ordered.” His eyes flicked to hers for a second before resuming his sweep. “I would have searched his car more thoroughly, but I had to make sure to keep you in sight before you left the party.”
Samantha nodded in approval. “You weren’t kidding when you said he was good.”
“Better than good.” Kate met his gaze and flashed a brief smile.
Jake didn’t stop his study of their surroundings as he spoke. “Don’t get the chance to do a lot of fieldwork, other than making sure Kate can do her job without interference, so it’s a nice change of pace to stretch my legs and get my hands dirty, so to speak. Besides, while I can’t speak for her, six months of accompanying either Kate or Mindy on shopping trips or runs to the grocery store can make a person long for something a bit more—exciting—to break the routine.”
“Spoken like a true man of action.” Samantha leaned forward. “I’ve perused your dossier, Mr. Marrs—it’s quite impressive. If there’s time while you’re here—and with Kate’s permission, of course—I wouldn’t mind utilizing your extensive training with some of my field agents. I’d imagine you would have a lot to teach them, particularly in the area of executive protection.”
Jake rubbed his chin. “Well, the Room 59 training is pretty extensive, but I might be able give them a few specialized pointers. Let me know if you had any specific areas in mind, and once we’re settled into the op base—and if I’m not needed elsewhere—I’ll see what I can do.”
The chirp of a satellite phone interrupted the conversation, and Samantha reached for hers and flipped it open. “Excuse me. Hello?”
She listened for a moment. “Yes…yes, I had been informed of the situation as of two hours ago…. Actually, our agency director from the States is sitting next to me at the moment…. Yes, I think that would be best…. Let me conference my phone to her computer, and you can brief us all directly. If I may?” Samantha nodded at Kate’s slim laptop.
“Of course, I’ve already activated the Bluetooth program, so you shouldn’t have any problem,” Kate said.
Samantha plugged in, and moments later, she, Kate and Jacob all heard the ambient noises and breathing from the caller. Samantha cleared her throat. “Go ahead, M-One.”
The man on the other end wasted no time. “Thank you, Directors. Initial surveillance on target for Operation Firewall commenced at 1620 hours, using the data gained by our operative who had infiltrated the group. Subjects were observed and logged for the next six hours and ten minutes, noting numbers, unusual activity, et cetera. The file of surveillance activity is being uploaded to our network for review as I speak. At 2030 hours, Team Two members noticed a pair of unfamiliar men entering the back of the house, and soon afterward, gunfire was seen in the location through thermal imaging. After attempting to alert the operative inside, both teams converged on the location and engaged the hostiles to attempt to draw them away from terminating the subjects. Although my team performed their objective with exemplary ability, killing two of the hostiles, all but one of the subjects were killed before the teams were able to get to them. Remaining hostiles were sighted on the roof, and the teams were ordered to pursue if possible. One member, at considerable risk to himself, tried to stop the hostiles, and learned that they were still searching for the surviving subject, who had apparently escaped the house through unknown means. After recovering one of the hostile’s bodies, we pursued the survivors through the city, but lost them at Kennington Park. However, they were on foot when they escaped. We have also recovered a surveillance device that the hostiles used, and are analyzing it for data. That file has also been uploaded for analysis.”
“What was your impression of the hostile force?” Kate asked.
“A professional group, they assaulted the location from two areas to maximize surprise, and were able to do it practically under our very noses. Their operation was quick, well-timed and ruthless. We did not have any advance notice, even from our inside operative, so whatever surveillance they had done on the location had been prior to our watch. They were definitely ex-military, and they were well armed with state-of-the-art submachine guns, flash-bang grenades and optical technology that almost rivaled our own. We’ll provide a full report once we’ve had the chance to examine the body before forensics.”
“Why did you decide to pursue the unknown hostiles when they left the target area?” Samantha’s tone wasn’t accusatory, just inquiring.
“The presence of the hostiles, along with their tactics and armament, suggested that they were either a unit from another intelligence agency or a private group hired to eliminate the subjects for a yet-unknown reason. I made the decision to attempt to follow and apprehend to learn what their true motives were, and if possible, whom they worked for if they were a government unit, or who hired them if they were private operators.”
“So one subject is still alive and somewhere in the city, correct?” Kate asked.
“To the best of our knowledge, that is correct. However, we cannot confirm that information at this time.”
Kate had already brought up a London street map on her laptop. “Perhaps when we reach the site, we’ll be able to discern what might have happened. Based on your observations, why do you think the other team was there?” she asked.
“While it may have been a simple sweep and termination, M-Two overheard two of the hostiles talking, and believes that they need to recover something from the surviving subject. What that is, however, we do not know at this time. What are your orders?”
Kate exchanged glances with Samantha. “We’ll need to alert all operatives in the city and surrounding area to be on the lookout for this subject, as soon as we figure out exactly who it is. Matching the bodies with the live count should give us a face, if not a name,” Kate said.
The beautiful Brit nodded. “If we’re going to be going up against another strike team, it may be wise to keep the Midnight Team on active status for the time being. Since they’ve already come up against these people, they would know what to expect and be better prepared to stop them if they’re encountered again,” Samantha said.
Kate noticed Jake’s raised eyebrow at this idea, but didn’t address it. “M-One.”
“Ma’am?”
“Take your team to the nearest safehouse and prepare your report. Once there, contact Primary, and a forensic team will meet you there and go over what you’ve collected.”
“Affirmative. M-Team out.” The spec-ops leader cut the connection.
Samantha took her phone back. “And excellent timing, since we’ve just arrived.”
Kate glanced out the window to see a London street a few blocks from the Thames that ordinarily would have looked like any other lane, except for the profusion of police cars and other unmarked cars she figured were from MI-5, the government department pledged to protect the United Kingdom from external threats. A few onlookers still milled around, but there didn’t seem to be much of a crowd now, which was just the way Kate liked it. A few diehard media vans were parked down the street, and she made a note to keep an eye on them in case they decided to come too close.
Samantha had the limousine drop them off about two blocks away, and Kate drew up alongside the other woman