Emily cut through the boys’ conversation and got down to business. “I don’t mean to break up this little bromance you two have going on, but could we take a look at the plan?”
Fitz scratched his head. Something about his expression didn’t fill his two guests with a ton of reassurance. “Yeah. That’s something we need to discuss. We’re going to have to move up our timetable.”
Sean stole a glance at Emily. “What do you mean, move it up? We’re still going after dark, right?”
Fitz squinted and lifted his shoulders. “Not exactly.”
“Not exactly?” Emily crossed her arms.
“Yeah, I’m with Em… Agent Starks on this one. Our best play is to go in after dark. If we don’t, that kinda throws out the element of surprise.”
“True,” Fitz nodded. “But there’s another possibility. You could go in through the front gate.” He held up his hand before the other two could protest. “Hear me out. You take one of our Jeeps that just so happens to look just like most of Toli’s. Put some scarves around your faces, and drive up.”
He walked around to a screen that displayed the rebels’ compound and pointed at a section where the roofs of two towers were located. “There will be a couple of guards here. You’ll have to take them out and then crash the gates. Inside, you’ll need to move fast.”
Sean cut him off before he could finish. “No offense, Fitz, but that isn’t going to work. Once we’re inside, this whole thing is one big kill box.” Sean ran his finger along the outline of the big courtyard. “The guards in these towers won’t have to be good to take us out. We’ll be dead before we can even get out of the Jeep.”
“Why are we having to move up the operation, Fitz?” Emily asked the question that had been bugging her for the last few minutes.
“Because,” he replied with a sigh, “we have word there’s been a bunch activity around Toli’s compound. Several transport trucks going in and out all morning. We think he’s moving the weapons. And if we don’t act fast, we could lose them.”
“Track them,” Sean said. “If we can keep an eye on the compound, we can keep an eye on where those trucks are headed.”
Fitz shook his head. “They’re going in different directions. We can’t watch them all. It’s like a shell game.”
Emily took a step closer to the big screen and leaned in. “Sean, you said that if we stormed the gate we would be dead before we could get out of the vehicle.”
“Yeah. Ever heard the expression ‘shooting fish in a barrel?’ Well, that’s the closest thing to it.”
“Right, but what you said about getting out of the Jeep gives me an idea.” She looked over at a pile of linens and mosquito nets in the corner. “You using those for anything, Fitz?”
Their host glanced over at the stuff in the corner and then back at Emily. “No. It’s extra. What do you have in mind?”
8
The SEALs heard footsteps coming down the stairs beyond the metal door. Toli’s men served them rations every day at the same time for lunch — if you could call them rations. Bowls of lukewarm dirty water and a few scraps of stale bread were hardly enough to survive on.
The fact that he was feeding them at all showed the four Americans that the warlord wanted to keep them alive, if for no other reason than to torture them, or perhaps to get information. His men had asked relatively few questions, so Fletch ruled out the latter.
“Get ready,” he hissed in the darkness.
The four clustered together in the center of the room. Fletch lay on his back while the other three propped themselves on their sides. The door’s little window slid open. Two dead eyes peered through, making sure the prisoners were in view. A second later it slid shut.
Before the first lock bolt started sliding, Fletch was on his feet and rushing over to the corner of the door. The second lock clicked inside the door as he readied himself. Garza positioned himself on the opposite side. Tevin and Mueller waited on the floor, their muscles tensed and ready to spring.
The door inched open, creaking on its hinges. The first muzzle appeared — same as it had the last several days — at waist level, ready to take aim at the prisoners. As soon as the gap between the door and the frame opened wide enough, Fletch made his move.
He reached out and wrapped his hand around the weapon’s barrel. He yanked it toward him, pulling the guard through the door in the process. As he pulled, he twisted his body to the right in case the guard fired, but the younger man’s grip on the Kalashnikov was loose, and in an instant the American spun the assault rifle around and took aim, pointing it straight at the guard’s chest.
The second guard stepped in immediately. He pointed his weapon at Fletch, but before he could take a shot, Alberto tackled him from behind and drove him to the floor at the feet of the other two.
He wrestled the gun from the guard and thumped him on the back of the head with the stock. The blow knocked the second guard out, leaving him lying on the floor, limp. Once he was unconscious, Alberto knocked out Fletch’s prisoner with a blow to the base of the man’s skull.
Tevin and Mueller stood up and stepped toward the door. A third person was standing on the threshold. It was a boy who couldn’t have been more than ten, maybe eleven. He was holding a tray of food, staring with wide eyes into the unfolding scene before him.
Alberto looked over at Fletch for instructions. The leader moved over to the boy and crouched down. “What’s your name?”
The boy appeared uncertain if he should answer. “Charles.”
Fletch put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Okay, Charles. We need your help. Can you stay here and guard the door? We’re going to go upstairs for a few minutes, and when we come back we’ll take you back to your family. You want to see your family?”
The boy nodded, his eyes still vacant.
“Okay,” Fletch patted him on the back. “Leave that food on the floor, and stand guard here. We’ll be back in a bit.”
Charles set the tray down just inside the basement and then took up a position at the bottom of the stairs.
With the door locked, the four Americans hurried up the stairs and found themselves in a short hallway. There were two doors, one on either side before the passage turned left. They could hear a television in one of the rooms. It sounded like they were watching a soccer game.
Fletch took point to the left, Alberto to the right. They stepped through open doors simultaneously. Fletch found a soldier sitting in the little room with his elbows on his knees, watching the game. As soon as the man turned his head to see the American, Fletch smacked him in the face with the stock. The guard toppled out of his chair and onto the floor with a thud.
Mueller stepped around Fletch and picked up an assault rifle that was leaning against the wall. He checked the magazine and made sure a round was in the pipe. Satisfied, he gave a curt nod to Fletch, who led the way back out into the hall.
Alberto was already there — crouched on one knee with his weapon aimed down the corridor in case anyone else appeared. Tevin was behind him holding a sidearm he’d found in the room. It was a cheap 9mm, but it would do. And he’d found an extra magazine, which would definitely come in handy.
Tevin looked at Fletch. “You sure we should leave that kid there? How do we know he isn’t going to unlock the door and let those two out?”
“We don’t. But I’m not going to put him in the basement either. Just gotta hope he does what we asked.”
“You really going back for him?”
Fletch nodded. “Yeah, if there are more kids like him here, we need to get them out. First things first, though.”
He pushed down the hall and stopped at the corner. There was a closed door. From the sounds coming from just beyond, it led outside. The night they’d been captured had been a blur. In the darkness, Fletch had tried to memorize where Toli’s men had taken them, but it had been difficult. Once they were in the light, he would figure out their next move. He’d have to do it fast. As soon as that door opened, they’d be sitting ducks.