The guy nods eagerly. “Hey, is… is this anything to do with what’s going on outside?”
Wallis flicks his eyes to me before answering. “The less you know, the better,” he says, all very officially. “Just keep your doors locked and stay put ’til you’re told the area is safe.”
The workers look at each other excitedly. I push past everyone and head through the back at the side of the service counter. It’s a small kitchen, with another door leading to a larger storage area. In here is a makeshift office space in the right corner, consisting of a small desk with a chair behind it, and three in front; a modest-sized shelving unit containing boxes of, what I assume, is coffee and snacks; and on the left wall, a double door with an EXIT sign above it.
I head for the doors, drawing my gun and holding it two-handed in front of me, ready for anything. Pausing, I lean against the left door and listen for a moment, then push it open, peering slowly around it. Seeing nothing, I step outside, quickly snapping my gun level, checking all the angles. Behind me, Wallis and Raynor do the same, slotting in step with me to form a triangle. Clark comes out last, staying a few steps back and covering the rear.
The area outside is small and enclosed. Facing the doors, is a wall belonging to another store. The right is a dead end too, leaving us with no option but left. This brings us to a miniature courtyard, of sorts. Against the left wall and the wall behind us to the right, are large dumpsters, surrounded by trash bags. Ahead of us is a narrow passageway that opens out on John Portman Boulevard, just to the left of the ComForce building. Off to the right is another alley leading farther into the courtyard. I head for it with the others covering. I look up and all around but see no movement.
So far, so quiet.
I press myself against the wall and peer around the corner. This alley leads along the back of the stores on Baker Street, but opens up to the left about three hundred yards in front of me. I signal for everyone to stay where they are, and I push on, keeping low, and pausing just before the left wall disappears. I scan the area and see a small patch of grass with a large tree in the center — easily fifteen feet high. All around it are old wooden benches, and beyond them is the back entrance to the ComForce building.
Much like the front, there’s a security desk just inside the double doors on the right, and a pad for scanning a swipe card next to some glass gates, that I assume open automatically when you produce your card.
The glass is tinted, and I can’t see farther inside very well. However, looking round, I see two men patrolling the perimeter — one on the other side of the tree with his back to me, and one walking away from me to the right, along the width of the building. The second guy’s holding a submachine gun close to his right hip; the strap slung over his left shoulder.
I glance over my shoulder and motion for everyone to join me. They move quickly, forming a line next to me.
“Well?” whispers Wallis.
“Two guys guarding the rear entrance,” I say. “Can’t see inside clearly.”
“Silent takedown?”
I shake my head. “Too far away and too far apart.”
I sigh. There’s no way inside without taking these two out. And there’s no way of doing that without shooting them, which will make an awful lot of noise, and attract a lot of unwanted attention.
I peek around the wall again. The guy by the tree hasn’t moved, but the other one with the submachine gun is walking back across the building toward us.
He’ll have to go first. I’ll have a second, maybe two, after dropping him for the guy by the tree to react and turn round.
Plenty of time.
I look back down the line, catching everyone’s eye in turn.
“You know that element of surprise I’ve been so desperate to keep?” I ask.
They all nod.
“Well… fuck that.”
I turn and move out, raising my gun and firing twice. The first bullet hits the guy with the submachine gun in his chest, high up just below his throat. As he falls backward from the impact, I snap left and fire again, catching the second guy in the side of his head as he steps out from behind the tree. His face disappears in a crimson flash, and his body slumps to the floor.
Screams from the street beyond fill the air, and I look up at the building, expecting to see signs of commotion sixteen floors above me. There’s no movement anywhere, so I walk quickly over to the first guy, tucking the borrowed Glock 22 back in my waistband. I pick up his weapon, a Heckler and Koch MP7, feeling the weight and checking the mag.
Time to end this.
37
I take position next to the door, with Wallis across from me. Raynor and Clark spread out, covering from a slight distance. I look across and nod, and Wallis responds the same. I push the door open hard and dash in, sliding to a stop on one knee and sweeping the area quickly for signs of life. Wallis appears next to me, with the others coming in moments later.
The area isn’t as spacious as the main reception area out front. There’s a small station on the right side, currently unoccupied, with elevators in the far wall opposite us. On either side of them are double doors — the right side leads to a stairwell, according to the sign next to it; no idea about the left, but my guess would be it’ll eventually bring you to the front of the building. In the center of the space is a mid-sized circular decoration made of marble, with some indoor plants in it at the base of a large palm tree.
I jump over the glass gates by the swipe pads and walk toward the elevators, gun ready. As I draw level with the plants, the door on the left bursts open, and three men rush through, screaming and firing carelessly in my general direction. I spin away to my left, ducking behind the tree. I look as everyone scatters; Wallis and Clark dive right, behind the desk, while Raynor crouches by the glass swing gates.
Looking back, the three men are fanning out, firing at us relentlessly. I squeeze off a quick burst of blind fire off to the right, creating a momentary pause in their onslaught as they move for cover. In that split second reprieve, I stand and take aim, firing at the man on my far left and dropping him with a controlled burst to the chest.
To my right, I hear multiple shots from Wallis, who’s resting on the desk and taking aim at the remaining two gunmen. He kills one with a well-placed bullet to the head, and wounds the other by catching his shoulder. As he stumbles from the gunshot, I let off another burst and hit him in the right side, pushing him away and into the door. He hits it hard and slides lifelessly to the floor.
“Everyone alright?” I shout over in the deafening silence that follows any gun battle.
“We’re good,” replies Wallis as he walks out from behind the desk with Clark close behind.
Raynor steps over the glass gates and joins us. “So much for the quiet approach,” he says.
I shrug. “I’ve never been one for stealth,” I say. “Now, we need to get to the sixteenth floor. Elevators aren’t an option.”
“Agreed,” says Wallis, nodding.
“We’ll split up — me and Raynor will go left; Wallis, you and Clark take those stairs on the right. Keep quiet, don’t fire unless absolutely necessary, and we’ll converge on the sixteenth.”
“Won’t those doors lead us to the front of the building?” asks Raynor.
I nod. “I assume so, yeah. We just need to keep our heads down, and be quick at taking anyone out. I know there’s a door to some stairs in the left corner as you look from the front doors. My guess is we’ll come out at the opposite end of a corridor to these two.”