Henry said, “Are you crazy? Didn’t you hear him? There were Asians on that boat. First of all, I make it a rule never to trust an Asian with a machine gun. And sometimes I just don’t trust Asians.”
Natesh cleared his throat and said, “Um, I am from India. India is in Asia.”
Henry said, “Yeah, but I mean like real Asia. Sorry. That’s probably insulting. I don’t mean anything negative… I love naan bread.”
Natesh rolled his eyes.
David shook his head and glared at Henry. He said, “Natesh, seriously, it is extremely suspicious that both of those men were Asian, and Lena is Asian. And they are holding Bill prisoner. And the guy that kidnapped me and sent me here is on that side of the island with no explanation from Lena.”
Natesh said, “Lena’s English is perfect. And last time I checked, there were plenty of Asian-Americans in the US military and government.”
David said, “I know, but come on. Do you want to bet your life that Lena and the Major are legitimate? More than that, what happens if this is really China, like I now think it is? What happens when they execute these plans without any warning? We sat here and we told them what the most effective way to attack America was. Now we have a responsibility to neutralize those plans by getting word out. And Natesh — we can’t do it without you.”
Henry said, “Natesh, we need your help on this. You’re the only one that can access those computers in the Comms room that we trust. No one else has the codes and the capability. And the Major would probably take that gun out and shoot us if we ask him. You need to be with us one hundred percent on this. You are the one part of our plan that we have no substitute for.”
David said, “Natesh, he’s right. Trust me, this isn’t a Red Cell being driven by the CIA. Let’s be real. This is some sort of foreign intelligence op. They’re trying to tease out important and classified information, and create or improve plans to attack the United States. We need to stop this. We can’t stay quiet and watch anymore. It’s gone too far. With the storm moving in, we might have a window to act. They said it themselves. We’re going to be at minimal shore support. That’s what they said. I think that means that Lena and Major Combs and whoever is on the other side of this island are out on a limb for the next twenty-four hours.”
Henry paced the room and looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought. “What do you say, Natesh?”
Natesh sighed. He looked like he was struggling with the right decision. His eyes looked out the window, toward the clouds and the crashing sea. He said, “Alright. You’ve sold me.”
David looked tense. He looked at his watch and said, “Alright, time to let people know what’s really going on. Let’s go round up the troops.”
David watched from Brooke’s window. He could see Henry and Norman shielding themselves from the heavy rains as they ran to the Comms building and knocked on the door.
“Lena, open up! We need help. Brooke’s sick!” Henry said.
The door beeped and then swung open. The Major was there, hand on his sidearm. He looked wary. Lena stood behind him, hands on her hips.
She said, “What is the problem?”
Norman said, “It’s Brooke, come quick! She’s having some sort of seizure or something. We need to get her help. Come on!”
The Major looked back at Lena as if unsure of what to do.
Lena said, “Of course. I’ll be right there, let me get a medical kit. I think Dr. Creighton has some medical training. Major, please go help them out. I’ll be right along.”
The Major nodded and followed the two men. They jogged back towards the barracks and up the staircase to the second floor. Combs was out of breath by the time they got into Brooke’s room. He was huffing and puffing and completely unprepared when he saw five of the larger male members of the Red Cell waiting for him as he entered.
He still hadn’t processed what was going on when they jumped him. Norman removed the M9 while the others wrapped a series of tied-together socks over his mouth. They used a belt to bind his arms and legs. He was on the bed and out of commission in a matter of seconds.
David served as the lookout. He was at the window, trying to get a look yet stay out of sight in case anyone glanced up from the outside. He was waiting for Lena to show up.
One down, one to go. From Brooke’s window David had a clear line of sight to the path that Lena would take from the Comms building to the barracks. Large drops of rain pelted the dark ground.
Norman said, “Is she coming?” Tense eyes.
“Not yet.” David looked at his watch. “What did she say when you guys talked to her?”
“She said she’d be right here. She was going to get a medical kit.”
“Seems like it’s taking too long. You think she’s on to us?”
Two agonizing minutes went by before there was any sign of Lena.
David said, “Hold on. Here she comes. She’s got Dr. Creighton in tow. Alright, get ready.”
Everyone was quiet. A drip of sweat rolled down David’s forehead. His palms were wet. He could feel his heartbeat. It seemed like it took forever for Lena to get to the door. There were seven men waiting for her. Seven on one. Let’s see how good you are, Lena.
Footsteps in the hallway. Norman was at the half-open door. He stuck his head out in the hallway so Lena would see him. In his hand on the inside of the door he held the M9 that he’d commandeered from Major Combs. The hallway was empty. It was never empty. She knew something was up. David was sure of it.
Norman said, “Brooke’s in here. She’s not breathing.”
Brooke was across the hall, with several other team members who had been briefed on the situation. They’d only told ten people. The ten they thought they could trust the most. There was the chance that someone they hadn’t explained everything to would come by and screw it up. But Henry and Natesh had decided that telling everyone posed too many problems. Right now there were still a half-dozen of the consultants eating their lunch, unaware that Lena was about to get jumped.
David heard Dr. Creighton’s voice say, “What happened?”
Norman said, “Come in, we just found her like this…”
Major Combs had been silent until then. But as Lena entered he let out a muffled noise from behind the makeshift gag. Right when Lena crossed the threshold to the door. The timing couldn’t have been worse.
The voices all yelled at the same time and David could barely tell what was happening. He heard Norman yell, “Get her!” and then bodies literally began flying. David had seen martial arts movies. He had even taken a few judo classes when he was a junior at the Naval Academy. But movies and amateurs were nothing compared to witnessing the real thing.
Lena was an artist.
Her movements were quick yet deliberate, powerful yet graceful. There were seven men in the room. Eight if you counted Dr. Creighton, who stood dumbfounded in the flurry of fists and limbs moving around him. Of the seven men who tried to apprehend Lena, three were on the floor almost instantly. One was grabbing his neck, another his groin. The third man, Norman, was knocked unconscious when he cracked skulls with someone else — David couldn’t see who. As he fell to the ground, his gun tumbled across the room, letting loose a round from its chamber. The deafening sound froze everyone in place. That gunshot was followed by a shriek that turned to pain-filled moaning.
Lena’s eyes locked onto the gun that lay on the floor. She darted for it two seconds too late.
That was her one moment of error. Her one mistake in what could have been a devastating defeat to the seven men in the room. The four men who remained standing saw her objective and dove on towards her. By an act of divine grace, the gun had fallen two feet from David, who reached down and scooped it up just before Lena could do the same.