Read Online Black Flag: A Taskforce Story by Brad Taylor - Free Book Online
Authors: Brad Taylor
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letting them sleep through the slaughter before getting their own destiny.
I almost shot him out of pure disgust. “Why is it necessary to kill everyone? Why not just take what you want and leave them locked up?”
He looked at the man Knuckles had shot and said, “We didn’t want anyone to know what we’d taken. We were covering it up with another crime. Getting the authorities focused on something else.”
“What are you taking?”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, afraid. I tapped him with the barrel and said, “What was the target?”
“Microprocessors for U.S. ballistic missile development. Controlled export items and something that the U.S. would want back, unless they were looking at something else.”
“Where are they?”
He hesitated, and I slapped the back of his head. “Where?”
He slid over a backpack. I tossed it to Knuckles and said, “How were you going to cover it up?”
He said nothing and I slapped him again. He raised his hands to protect his face and said, “You. We were going to make it look like an attempted drug smuggling gone bad. There’s a container of marijuana on the hull, and other evidence. They’d spend so much time trying to sort out the murders that the chip theft would be lost. The company certainly wouldn’t bring it up, since they weren’t supposed to be shipping the microprocessors on a boat in the first place.”
He was talking in a conversational tone, and I detected a hint of pride in his plan, pissing me off. I raised the barrel to his eyes and he rolled on the floor with his arms over his head, screaming, “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!”
I said, “You got one chance to live. You help us get the drop on your crew, and I’ll spare you. You don’t, and I’ll kill you by dragging your worthless ass behind the boat.”
Chapter 13
I gave Jennifer the job of watching Dylan, putting him between her and me. Knuckles took point, and we ascended to the officer’s mess. We reached the door and Knuckles paused. There was no sound coming from inside. He looked at me and I nodded. He reached up to the door, turned the knob, and entered. He went left, looking for targets. I buttonhooked right and saw a slaughterhouse.
The captain, three officers, and a steward were lined up on the floor facedown, a neat hole in the back of each man’s head. We were too late.
I turned back to the door and saw Dylan. Jennifer had knocked him to the deck, then began pulling security to our rear. I stalked up to him and kicked him hard in the genitals. He screamed and I jerked him to his knees.
“Shut the fuck up.”
He tried to cup his balls and I said, “You slow me down and you’re dead.”
Jennifer poked him with her barrel and Knuckles took point again, this time jogging up to the top deck and the bridge. It took up the entire level, the topmost part of the ship, and had two doors on either end. The one in front of us was closed. The one on the far side was open. Knuckles slid down the wall, stopping short of entering. We heard shouting going on in two different languages. Then, in broken English, the command for everyone to line up.
This is it.
I grabbed Dylan and said, “You get inside there and stop them. You go deep inside the room, away from this door. When they’re focused on you, I want you to shout the number. Tell me what we’re up against.”
He said, “They’ll kill me. I can’t—”
I grabbed his collar and whipped him around, using the centrifugal force to fling him into the room. I heard shouting in Romanian, then Dylan screaming that Dragos had sent him. He began to babble, but I could hear him going deeper, away from us. Someone shouted a command I couldn’t understand, and Dylan screamed, “Costin, don’t. Please! There are men right outside that door. The academics! They’re going to kill us!”
Across the hatch, with my weapon at the ready, I smiled at Knuckles, knowing Costin wouldn’t believe whatever Dylan sprayed out of his
I almost shot him out of pure disgust. “Why is it necessary to kill everyone? Why not just take what you want and leave them locked up?”
He looked at the man Knuckles had shot and said, “We didn’t want anyone to know what we’d taken. We were covering it up with another crime. Getting the authorities focused on something else.”
“What are you taking?”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, afraid. I tapped him with the barrel and said, “What was the target?”
“Microprocessors for U.S. ballistic missile development. Controlled export items and something that the U.S. would want back, unless they were looking at something else.”
“Where are they?”
He hesitated, and I slapped the back of his head. “Where?”
He slid over a backpack. I tossed it to Knuckles and said, “How were you going to cover it up?”
He said nothing and I slapped him again. He raised his hands to protect his face and said, “You. We were going to make it look like an attempted drug smuggling gone bad. There’s a container of marijuana on the hull, and other evidence. They’d spend so much time trying to sort out the murders that the chip theft would be lost. The company certainly wouldn’t bring it up, since they weren’t supposed to be shipping the microprocessors on a boat in the first place.”
He was talking in a conversational tone, and I detected a hint of pride in his plan, pissing me off. I raised the barrel to his eyes and he rolled on the floor with his arms over his head, screaming, “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!”
I said, “You got one chance to live. You help us get the drop on your crew, and I’ll spare you. You don’t, and I’ll kill you by dragging your worthless ass behind the boat.”
Chapter 13
I gave Jennifer the job of watching Dylan, putting him between her and me. Knuckles took point, and we ascended to the officer’s mess. We reached the door and Knuckles paused. There was no sound coming from inside. He looked at me and I nodded. He reached up to the door, turned the knob, and entered. He went left, looking for targets. I buttonhooked right and saw a slaughterhouse.
The captain, three officers, and a steward were lined up on the floor facedown, a neat hole in the back of each man’s head. We were too late.
I turned back to the door and saw Dylan. Jennifer had knocked him to the deck, then began pulling security to our rear. I stalked up to him and kicked him hard in the genitals. He screamed and I jerked him to his knees.
“Shut the fuck up.”
He tried to cup his balls and I said, “You slow me down and you’re dead.”
Jennifer poked him with her barrel and Knuckles took point again, this time jogging up to the top deck and the bridge. It took up the entire level, the topmost part of the ship, and had two doors on either end. The one in front of us was closed. The one on the far side was open. Knuckles slid down the wall, stopping short of entering. We heard shouting going on in two different languages. Then, in broken English, the command for everyone to line up.
This is it.
I grabbed Dylan and said, “You get inside there and stop them. You go deep inside the room, away from this door. When they’re focused on you, I want you to shout the number. Tell me what we’re up against.”
He said, “They’ll kill me. I can’t—”
I grabbed his collar and whipped him around, using the centrifugal force to fling him into the room. I heard shouting in Romanian, then Dylan screaming that Dragos had sent him. He began to babble, but I could hear him going deeper, away from us. Someone shouted a command I couldn’t understand, and Dylan screamed, “Costin, don’t. Please! There are men right outside that door. The academics! They’re going to kill us!”
Across the hatch, with my weapon at the ready, I smiled at Knuckles, knowing Costin wouldn’t believe whatever Dylan sprayed out of his
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