Paradise Burns (21 page)

FORTY-FIVE

The first
problem I had was getting into the estate. I could easily get over the walls,
but I had limited visibility of what’s on the other side. I didn’t know if
there were any guys patrolling the perimeter, if there were any attack dogs,
what the positions were of any and all CCTV cameras. Basically, I was
completely blind and therefore justified in assuming any attempt to get inside
at this stage would result in a swift and painful death.

Luckily for me, I had Josh.

Bluetooth earpiece in place, I dialed my
eyes and ears around the world.

‘You ready?’ I asked as he answered.

‘I am,’ he replied. ‘And for the record,
I’m completely against this. I just want that made official in case you die.’

‘Josh, if I die, given I’m relying
solely on you for navigation, then it’d be your fault. And I’ll be coming back
and haunt you.’

‘Fine. Are you in position?’

‘Yeah, I’m over the road, hidden in some
bushes. I’m invisible and ready to go.’

‘Okay, let’s do this.’

In addition to supplying me with a bag
full of goodies, I asked Clark to equip Josh with access to satellite thermal
imaging technology. What this essentially meant, so Josh told me, was that once
the satellite was aimed at Pellaggio’s estate, Josh could see, in real time,
where all the guards and dogs were - both inside and outside, as well as where
the security cameras were and which way they were looking. This is because he
would be viewing all of their heat signatures.

Josh began.

‘Right, I’m picking you up over the road
from the west wall of the estate. That’s good, because that’s where the main
security desk is.’

‘Why’s that a good thing?’ I asked.

‘Because if the main security hub is
there, the rest of the security patrols are on other sides of the estate, which
means once you’re past it and inside, you shouldn’t run into anyone else.’

‘Great. So, how do I get past it?’

‘The guard’s hut and main gate is
approximately forty feet to the left of where you are now. If you look about
thirty feet to your right, you’ll see a group of trees. Work your way level
with those trees, and wait for my signal.’

‘Got it.’

I negotiated my way through the bushes
and undergrowth. There’s a skill to making no noise while walking through
things that crack and rustle. Thankfully, I learnt it a long time ago. It took
a couple of minutes to get into position.

‘Right, I’m here,’ I said. ‘The trees
are directly in front of me.’

‘Good. There’s been no movement, which
means no-one’s heard you moving around over the road yet.’

‘Or they
have
heard me and
they’re pretending, while secretly planning to gun me down the moment I’m over
the wall?’

‘Adrian, do you really think
now
is
the time for your particular brand of pessimism?’

‘Fine, so now what?’

‘Once you’re over the wall, dive to your
right. You should then be covered completely by trees and darkness. It’s a
black spot in their CCTV coverage, but that just means there will likely be one
sentry checking the area every now and then, so we need to keep an eye out for
him.’

‘Got it. Just say when.’

I checked my equipment for the fourth
and probably not final time. I was dressed head to toe in black, with a Kevlar
vest on and tactical night vision goggles on my head. I adjusted the chin strap
again, ensuring it was tight and the goggles were held firmly in place on my
head. I’d moved my Berettas so that I had one holstered on each leg. Both had
their silencers equipped. At my back, in their place, was a belt kit for a
repelling hook - good for two hundred feet. More than enough for what I needed.
Fed over both shoulders were two MP5 submachine guns - both silenced and set to
fire in a three round burst. I also had the knife with me that I took from the
guy at the safe house where I’d found Webster. Figured it might come in handy.
Finally, in the pockets sewn into the legs of my black combat pants, I had some
grenades - two frags and two smoke.

Josh’s voice in my ear interrupted my
last minute checks.

‘Right,’ he said. ‘One guard is
approaching the security gate now. Possibly switching shifts. Hold steady.’

There was silence for another couple of
minutes.

‘Okay, he’s walking away again now. On
my mark, stay low and move fast to the wall. Flatten against it until I give
you the all-clear to scale.’

‘Roger that,’ I said.

Another moment passed before the order
came from Josh.

‘Okay, move!’

Staying low, I sprinted across the road
and stopped when I reached the wall. I pressed my back against it and caught my
breath.

‘I’m in position,’ I said.

‘Okay, up and over the wall on my count
- remember to land and roll right. Three. Two. One. . . Now!’

I clambered up the wall, heaving myself
up onto the top, briefly lying flat as I swung my legs up and over, then
dropped down into a crouch on the other side. As I landed, I rolled to my right
and came to a stop behind the trees, exactly as Josh had said.

It was almost total darkness. I lowered
my goggles into place and switched to night vision. Everything went a pale
green. I quickly scanned the area. I could see the south-west corner of the
house in front of me. To my left, in the distance, was the security hut. To my
right was a long lawn with two sets of table and chairs positioned along it. No
sign of any movement.

I looked up at the house. There were a
couple of lights on in windows on the top floor, which flared up and obscured
my view through the green glow of the night vision goggles.

‘Josh, I’m in.’

FORTY-SIX

‘Okay, this is
the tricky part,’ said Josh.

‘I’ve not seen the easy part yet! So
far, all of this has been tricky, Josh,’ I replied.

‘True. But this next part in particular
will suck more than the rest.’

‘I can barely contain myself.’

‘From here, you need to head to your
right. You should be able to see in front of you on the left a wine cellar
entrance. You got it?’

I looked over and could make out an
alcove, maybe a third of the way along the side of the house. In the middle of
the alcove was the entrance – two doors that would’ve opened outwards on an
angle leading under the house and to the cellar. On either side were decent
sized gaps that were completed covered in darkness.

‘Yeah, I see it.’

‘You should have enough cover at the
side of that, but to get there you’re going to have to run across open ground.
You’ll be completely exposed for close to fifteen seconds.’

‘Awesome.’

‘I’m tracking the patrols now. I see a
total of six guys working the perimeter in teams of two, with a lone guy based in
the security station. You’re clear to your left, as you’re out of sight from
the station, but to your right you’ve got two guys patrolling. It’s going to be
tight, but you should make it. Once there, you’ll be in total darkness again,
so they shouldn’t see you.’

I lifted my goggles up and looked at the
world as it was. It was the middle of the night, and there was no moon visible
tonight. I could barely see two feet in front of me, it was that dark. I
figured anyone else’s visibility would be roughly the same. I pulled my goggles
back on and turned the world green once again.

It’s hard getting your head around the
fact that it’s still dark when you’re wearing these goggles. Because you can see
so clearly, you assume everyone else can too and that you’ll be visible. But it’s
so dark to everyone else, you have such a tremendous advantage.

‘Okay,’ said Josh again. ‘When I say,
you run like hell, okay?’

‘I’ll do my best.’

Just up ahead, I caught a glimpse of one
of the guards. They were walking toward me down the left hand side. He was
carrying an assault rifle, which he was holding loose and letting it hang in
front of him from the shoulder strap. I guess that meant the other guy was
walking away from me down the right.

Realizing what I had to do, the gravity
of the situation began to sink in. As soon as the guy nearest to me turned his
back, Josh was going to tell me to run. By the time I reached my cover, he’ll
be out of earshot, but the guy patrolling the right hand side will be coming toward
me and I’ll be horribly close to his line of sight. Even in the dark, if he’s
facing me and I’m moving, he’ll see enough that he’ll be suspicious and come in
for a closer look. That would mean a very high risk of being discovered, and
then it would be game over.

Shit.

‘Okay, be ready,’ said Josh.

I stood slowly, ready to run.

‘Okay, go now!’

I shot off like a sprinter out of the
starting blocks. I had to cover almost three hundred feet in less than fifteen
seconds. As I ran, my weapons bounced around, adding additional resistance. I
could feel myself slowing as a result.

Five seconds.

‘Adrian, the guy on the left should be
out of earshot now, but the guy coming toward you on the right will have line
of sight any second - push the pace.’

I gritted my teeth and pressed on. I was
pretty fast, for my age, and I was in good shape normally. But my cracked ribs
made breathing heavy a very painful experience. Subconsciously, I knew I wasn’t
running as fast as I was capable of.

Ten seconds.

‘Adrian, he’s almost in position - you
need to be gone NOW!’

I came upon the cellar doors going full
speed. I did a baseball slide into the corner and slammed into the wall. I
looked behind me and I could see the other guy almost level with me, across the
lawn. I was gasping for breath. My lungs burning, each breath sending a
white-hot stab of pain shooting into my ribs. I lifted up my goggles. The guy
disappeared in the darkness.

‘Don’t move,’ said Josh in my ear. ‘We’re
not clear yet.’

I did everything I could to slow my
breathing down. The seconds ticked by. There was nothing out of the ordinary as
yet. But the big test would be when the guy on the left came back this way.

‘Okay, he’s heading back toward you on
the left now. Don’t move, don’t breath, don’t do anything.’

I couldn’t if I wanted to.

My breathing was returning to normal,
slowly but surely. The guy on the left was approaching. I curled up into a
ball, tucked away in the corner next to the cellar doors. I was in a small alcove,
and the shadows coupled with the night meant I was in total darkness. I couldn’t
see my own hand in front of my face. I slipped my goggles back on. The guy
walked in front of me. He couldn’t have been more than ten feet away from me.

I held my breath, causing a pain to pulsate
through my chest like a fire spreading through a forest. My eyes watered,
blurring my vision through the goggles.

The guy had almost past me, but I couldn’t
hold it in any longer. I grimaced at the burning sensation as I let out a
breath. I immediately clasped my hand over my mouth, but it was no good. The
damage had been done.

The guy stopped, then took a couple of
paces backward and stared into the small abyss where I was crouched.

Josh’s voice sounded in my ear.

‘Oh, shit.’

FORTY-SEVEN

The guy was
stood ten feet in front of me, squinting into the darkness I was hiding in. I
was convinced he’d be able to hear my heart beating inside my chest. He was
staring right at me, although he didn’t know it. He took another step closer,
his hand tightening around the barrel and stock of the machine gun he was
holding.

I knew Josh was watching this and I was
silently begging him to give me something to go on - some clue as to my best
next move, but he was quiet. Probably worried his voice would be heard in the
silence.

I ran through my options, coming to the
annoying conclusion that there was really only one way out of this. If this guy
didn’t move away, he was going to have to die.

I moved my hand away from my mouth and
down to my pant leg. The knife was sheathed, strapped onto the front of my
right thigh. I slowly and carefully gripped the handle. I couldn’t risk drawing
it now in case the blade made a noise, but I had to be ready to use it if
needed.

I was willing him to walk away, but he
remained in front of me, trying to focus and see into the dark shadows ahead of
him. He took another pace forward, pointing his gun out in front of him.

I had to make a decision. I couldn’t
afford to blow this now, I’d already come too far. The bottom line is, if this
guy finds me, it’ll be very hard to deal with it without alerting everyone
else. Without the element of surprise, I’d be in a lot of trouble.

Ah, fuck it.

In one swift and silently brutal
movement, I lunged forward and drew my knife. I pushed up with my legs and
jabbed forward with the blade. It carved into him effortlessly, catching him in
the fleshy part of his throat, just below his jaw and above his Adam’s apple.
It was perfectly placed, as it immediately severed the vocal chords, meaning he
couldn’t make any noise as he died. He fell forward and I guided him silently
to the floor with my left hand.

That was one issue resolved, but left me
with a whole new one. The other guy is going to notice his friend is missing
inside the next thirty seconds.

‘Josh,’ I said. ‘Where’s the second
guard?’

‘Yeah, I can’t help but notice the heat
signature disappearing near you.’

‘I had no choice. Where’s the other one?’

‘He’s still walking away from you on the
far side. He’ll be turning round any second. If you’re going to take him out,
you need to do it before he reaches the end of the lawn. Otherwise the patrol
along the east wall are gonna see him.’

‘I’ll wait for him to turn and head back
toward me, don’t worry.’

I remained where I was, making sure the
dead guard was cloaked in the same darkness I was. The next twenty seconds felt
like hours, but eventually Josh came back on the line.

‘Right, the second guy’s approaching
now. You should see him on the left any second. You can’t let him get too
close, otherwise he’ll notice his partner’s missing.’

‘I’m on it.’

I moved forward slightly, crouching on
the edge of the alcove, just inside the shadows. I had a clear view of the guy
a few seconds later. I grabbed the knife by the blade and lined up, ready to unleash
it at my target. I was a good aim, but I was trying to hit either his throat or
the top of his chest with a knife from about eighty feet away. It wasn’t going
to be easy, but I didn’t want to use my guns. Even though they were silenced, I
was going to need every bullet I had for later.

I took some deep breaths to slow my
heart rate down. Josh sounded in my ear again.

‘Adrian, whatever you’re going to do,
you have to do it now.’

‘I got this,’ I whispered back.

Just another couple of paces toward me,
and...

I took aim and whipped the knife across
the lawn, following through with my arm so it gained maximum velocity as it
traveled with deadly intent toward my target. In just over one second, the
knife hit its target, penetrating the skin at the bottom of the throat and
completely burying itself inside. He instinctively clutched at the knife, his
face contorted in shock and pain, but it was too late for him. He was dead
before he hit the floor.

I breathed out in relief.

‘Good shot,’ said Josh.

‘Thanks,’ I replied. ‘How long do I
have?’

‘It’ll be a few minutes before he’s
noticed I would think. I’ve not seen any previous interaction with the two
patrols.’

‘Good.’

I stood up and checked the rest of my
equipment was still in place before I spoke again.

‘Right, give me a minute.’

I edged forward again from the shadows
of my alcove and glanced left and right. Happy there was no-one immediately
visible, I sprinted over to the dead body.

I crouched low next to it and retrieved
my knife. I wiped the blood off the blade using the grass, then sheathed it
once again.

‘Josh, how’s it looking?’ I asked.

‘Still clear, for now. I wouldn’t hang
around though,’ he replied.

‘Don’t intend to.’

The dead guy was lying on his right
side, partially facing the ground. I grabbed a hold of his right arm and, still
crouched, slung it over my shoulder. I then put my hands around his waist and
gradually got a grip underneath him. Then, in one final effort, which hurt
every inch of my body, I stood and heaved him onto my shoulder in something
akin to a fireman’s lift. Taking a quick glance around again, I set off back to
the alcove. I tried to run, but under the weight, it was more of a slow jog.

‘Hurry up, Adrian,’ said Josh. ‘The
patrol on the far side is coming up fast and will see if you if they look your
way.’

‘Going as fast as I can,’ I huffed,
struggling under the weight.

I covered the distance back in twice the
time I did before, but managed to retreat back into the shadows undetected. I
dropped the body next to his partner and pushed them back to ensure they were
fully hidden.

I took a moment to catch my breath
before speaking again.

‘Right, now get me on the goddamn roof.’