“There’s a few tough ones inside, digging in, a handful maybe. The basement is clear, however, and they need our help.”
“Kharrazi?”
Matt shook his head.
Nick dusted himself off and saw Rutherford, Tolliver, Downing, Steele and Silk gather around them. Smoke billowed from the two upstairs windows, illuminated by the moonlight. A half-dozen Marines were blending in with the forest, their machine guns impatiently waiting for any sign of enemy activity. There was a clear path to the basement doors, which yawned open like a bible on a priest’s lectern. Nick caught the eye of one of the Marines and gestured for cover. The Marine nodded.
Nick led the way to the edge of the tree line. When he pulled the 9mm from his holster, his ribcage felt like he’d just taken an injection from a long hypodermic needle. He doubled over for a moment causing Steele to ask him if he should stay put. Nick thought about how close he was to Kharrazi’s headquarters, how much information they would eventually garner from this raid. With his hands on his knees he looked across the open pathway to the basement doors just thirty feet away. He knew it was the portal to his destiny. There was still time to stop the missiles. They could still find Kharrazi. He came up to force a quick breath and said, “Let’s go.”
Chapter 37
Nick and Matt ran down the cement stairs to the cellar, followed by the rest of the team. Silk was a few steps behind them, his revolver by his side. Gunfire on the opposite side of the cabin caused them all to duck as they hit the basement floor.
The room was musty from lack of circulation. Nick, on all fours, looked up to see McKenna standing in a darkened corner with Kelly chiseling something on the wall. They were the only two in the room besides Nick’s crew. A solitary wooden desk and fabric sofa were the only pieces of furniture in the unfinished basement. When Nick saw the stacks of newsmagazines behind the desk, he knew it was Kharrazi’s lair. The chair behind the desk was pushed in. It didn’t appear that Kharrazi was in any rush to leave.
McKenna pointed to the adjacent room with his machine gun. “Their communications room,” he said. “Probably the nerve center of the entire operation.”
Nick peered into the next room where Marines patrolled the area. He could see TV screens and sophisticated radio equipment layered on top of each other. Shelves were stacked with spools of wire and canisters of what Nick assumed were explosives.
Nick nodded at McKenna, who watched Kelly creating sparks against the cement wall.
“What are you doing?” Nick asked.
“You said the detonator would be down here. We’ve gone through most of the basement. My guess is that baby’s inside this wall safe.”
Nick rushed over and grabbed the chisel from Kelly’s hand. Kelly looked to McKenna for instructions.
“What are you doing, Bracco?” McKenna asked.
Nick stared at Kelly, looking straight through him and thinking like a chess player, four moves ahead. There was a long silence and just when McKenna was about to speak, Nick said, “There’s no time for this.”
“If you’re suggesting we use explosives,” Kelly said, “I think there’s a good chance that will set off the detonator.”
“I know,” Nick said.
McKenna looked at his watch and bristled, “Listen, Agent Bracco, we have exactly thirty-five minutes to get inside this safe and try to diffuse this thing. You’re wasting valuable time.”
Nick made eye contact with Silk and nodded. Everyone watched as Silk smiled and rolled up his sleeves. “I thought you’d never ask,” Silk said.
Kelly backed away as Silk cracked his knuckles and wiggled his fingers like a concert pianist about to begin his sonata. He leaned close to the safe door and let out a mock laugh, “Shit, a Haussman 8000. It’s older than my grandfather. I used to wind these suckers open when I was just a—” he stopped when he realized everyone was staring at him. He looked at Nick. “Should be less than two minutes.”
McKenna said, “What the—”
Nick put his finger to his lips and everyone watched quietly as Silk gleefully twisted the knob back and forth with practiced skill. After a minute, there was a click and Silk broke into an all out smile. He pulled down on the handle and opened the safe door.
McKenna shook his head in disgust. “Not exactly by the book.”
When the door of the safe swung open, Nick’s mouth went dry. In the tunnel-like opening, a red digital timer beamed its fatal number. The time read 33:18 and diligently worked its way toward zero. The timer was attached to a band of multicolored wires that wound its way to a small metal box, then to something that looked like a miniature car battery.
“Shit,” McKenna murmured.
Kelly bent over and spread open his black bag. Everyone gave him room as he pulled out a high-beam flashlight to illuminate the interior of the safe.
Nick motioned to Carl Rutherford to take a look. Rutherford was the team’s bomb expert and was the only one in the room who knew more about bombs than Nick. Kelly sensed his presence and moved slightly, allowing Rutherford to inspect the device with him. Everyone in the room jumped when Rutherford clicked open the metal box. It squeaked as it swung up and Kelly and Rutherford seemed to generate a mutual concern over the discovery inside.
“I don’t see the transmitter,” Kelly said. “How is this thing sending its signal across the continent?”
Rutherford beamed the flashlight into the back of the safe. He pointed to a clear plastic line that seemed to disappear through a narrow opening in the back corner. “I’m guessing it’s a wireless system.”
Nick felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He looked down and saw that it was Walt Jackson. He looked at his watch and realized that the President was due for his press conference in less than two minutes.
“I’ve got the President on conference call with us, Nick. What have you got?”
Nick searched for the proper words. He knew Merrick would be making a colossal mistake if he gave in to Kharrazi’s demands. Nick also knew that in the next thirty minutes, he was the only person on the planet who could prevent that from happening.
“Mr. President, Sir,” Nick said.
His crew stood up straight and circled around him. He felt the weight of their stares. Matt stood next to Steele, holding her hand. All of them seemed anxious to hear Nick’s exchange.
“I don’t like the sound of that greeting, Nick,” President Merrick spoke with tension thick in his voice.
Nick saw a Marine enter Kharrazi’s private quarters from the communications room and brief McKenna on the status of the cabin. Nick pulled his ear from the phone to overhear the Marine tell McKenna the cabin was completely secure. All KSF soldiers were either dead or captured. No Kharrazi.
“Nick,” Walt said. “Are you there? We’re holding up this press conference for your report. The President feels the only option is the withdrawal of troops from Turkey.”
Kelly and Rutherford seemed to be in complete agreement on the assessment of the detonator. They turned to Nick and waited for him to get off the phone.
“Hold on,” Nick said, and covered the tiny mouthpiece with his thumb. He looked at Rutherford, who was shaking his head.
“We’re screwed,” Rutherford said, in exactly the language Nick expected from him. “It’s a Rashid special.” He turned and pointed to the metal box between the battery and the timer. “There’s a surge monitor. If we disconnect any of the wires from the battery that support the detonator—” Rutherford flipped open his fingers in an explosive manner. “Auto destruct. The missiles fire immediately.”
“Then Kharrazi had no way of ever stopping the detonation, even if the President acquiesced?” Nick said.
Rutherford shrugged and reached into the safe to show Nick something. Nick heard Walt’s voice booming from the earpiece of his phone, “Nick! Answer me!”