Scion (41 page)

They were. The men charged in with their weapons drawn.

The charger had thrown his full weight behind the door and with nobody behind it, it flew open easily and sent him crashing head long into the lobby. Scott delivered a crushing blow to the back of the man’s head with his elbow as the man flew to the ground. Using the same arm. Scott threw a straight punch in to the next man, timed to perfection. His elbow locking just as impact was made, the man’s jaw and cheek shattered from the force of the impact and his body stopped dead in its tracks.

As Scott’s second man slumped to the floor, Scott looked around. Kirk and Kyle smiled back, two twisted bodies laying at each of their feet. Six armed men and not one had had the time to get a shot off. Not bad, thought Scott, just as the first bullet struck the door frame next to him.

“Shit, how many are there?” he asked in frustration at a bullet being fired

“More than six!” replied Kyle.

Scott grabbed a pistol from one of the men on the floor and dived into the corridor. The shooter was just a few feet from the door and had not expected anyone to come out. The Unit member scrambled to take the shot at the blur of Scott’s body flashing out of the door but it was too late, Scott already had. The bullet struck him in the centre of the forehead and stopped any concerns about getting a shot off.

“Seven!” shouted Scott from the corridor.

“Nutter,” replied Kirk.

“Grab Ashley, we need to go pay Mr DuPont a visit.” shouted Scott, adding to himself as he covered the hallway. “Every time I think these fuckers can’t piss me off anymore, they do just that!”

Chapter 77

As they sped out towards the Grand Chateau that lined the banks of Lake Geneva, Scott received a call from the Prime Minister which instantly changed their plans. News had come through to him that DuPont and Astor had fled back to the US and were, as they spoke, aboard Transcon jets on their way to New York.

Scott told the driver to head back to the airport while he tried to work out how they could get to the US without Transcon finding out. Commercial was out, every passenger entering the US would be under severe scrutiny and the moment they found which plane they were on they’d just shoot it down and Scott had no intention to make it that easy. The UK didn’t have any long haul jets in the Royal flight. They couldn’t trust anyone from the US. It seemed the President only had two people he could trust.

“We could charter a jet?” suggested Ashley.

“I could chip in $100, Kirk?” said Kyle.

“I could stretch to $200 if we get one I can stand in, Scott?” said Kirk laughing.

“I could maybe manage a bit more. $500,” smiled Scott.

“Very funny, I’ll pay for it,” replied Ashley.

“Beautiful and rich, shame you found her first,” whispered Kyle nudging Scott in the ribs.

“Wait a minute, I’ve got the accounts in Geneva, I never even asked what was in them.”

Scott picked up the phone and dialled the Rothschild bank and asked for Herr Krauss.

“Good afternoon Mr Kennedy, how may I help you today?” asked Herr Krauss.

“Can you give me my balances please?”

“Of course, just give me a second.”

Scott heard Herr Krauss tapping away on his keyboard.

“In the personal account 12 million 869 thousand 241 dollars and 98 cents, and in the savings account, 31 million 154 thousand 33 dollars and 2 cents.”

Scott’s arm began to shake, the most he had ever had in any account was about $8,000 and that was because he had been on an assignment where he couldn’t spend anything for 3 months.

“OK and if I need to make a payment from the account,”

“Just phone me and I’ll transfer the funds, we have a card being made for you and it should be ready for you in a few days.”

Scott put the phone down, dazed at his new found fortune. Who needed Transcon?

“Well?”

“The flights on me!” he announced.

After a two hour wait for a jet to be prepared and the best part of $200,000 worse off, Scott, Ashley, Kirk and Kyle boarded the Bombardier Global 5000 for the eight hour flight to New York.

Chapter 78

With nobody looking for her, Jasmin slipped through the heightened security at JFK with ease. Her passport this time suggested she was from Singapore and her cover story was that she was there on a business trip for a few days. Not matching any of the four mug shots in the immigration officials special watch list, she was passed through.

Within an hour, she was standing on the corner opposite one of New York City’s tallest skyscrapers, with TRANSCON emblazoned above its main entrance. The building although not the tallest was more stylish than most and most definitely more secure than any. Uniformed guards milled around the entrance while other less than discreet undercover security mingled with the public on the street. Inside the lobby large airport style scanners had been installed and every person had to go through the security control before access was gained through small tight corridors. If you did manage to get through the outer ring you’d have to run down the small corridors which Jasmin felt certain would have security gates at either end and shooting holes throughout. These corridors would become prison cells in an instant and coffins shortly after.

Frontal assault was most definitely ruled out and following a quick check of fire exits, it seemed that Transcon was going to be a very tough nut to crack.

Next on the list was equipment but with no plan to speak of, that wasn’t going to be easy. However, the usual wouldn’t go amiss and she called one of the numbers given to her by Scott. She detailed what she wanted and confirmed she would accept similar alternatives if need be. It wouldn’t be easy he informed her but give him a few hours and he’d have them ready for her. With no plans but plenty of firepower, they could at least just go for it and die an honourable death she thought. Her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“It’s me. How are you getting on?” asked Scott.

“Shit, it’s a fucking fortress.”

“Thought as much. The other two are going there too. We’re on our way and should be with you in about three hours.”

“Cool, see you then.”

Both had been careful not to mention any names. Hopefully Transcon were still unaware of their imminent arrival.

Scott opened up one of the complimentary laptops and began to search. He had an idea how to land with minimum fuss but it wasn’t going to be easy. After a few minutes, he made a phone call to one of the President’s men who told him what he needed to do. Scott, under the watchful eyes of his co-passengers, went to speak to the captain to see how much it would take to buy his agreement. Scott was fairly certain he’d be able to cover it with his accounts.

It took more than he thought. Pilots weren’t easy to bribe, particularly when they believed what they were doing would potentially destroy their careers. To assure him that was not the case, the President would probably give him a medal. That cost Scott double the amount, trying to use the President just made the pilot think it was even dodgier than he had initially thought. Rather than lose his licence, visions of imprisonment for drug running or worse flashed through his mind. However, for $500,000, the pilot was happy to do and risk whatever. All upfront and therefore after a call to Geneva and confirmation that the transfer was complete, the transponder was switched off and they took up position just above a nearby Jumbo Jet on course for JFK, close enough to hide their image from radar and just far enough not to alert passengers of their presence.

As they neared their final approach, the smaller jet began to slow and fall under the mass of the huge airliner. Just before they came into sight of JFK’s tower and comfortably below its radar, they banked sharply to the East and lined up for their landing at New York’s first municipal airport, Floyd Bennett Field, officially opened on the 23rd May 1931. Although closed for many years, thanks to recent airshows the runway was still maintained and with a runway length of just under 5000 ft, the Bombardier Global 5000 landed with plenty to spare and once refuelled would have just enough room to get airborne again.

Ashley, Scott, Kirk and Kyle stepped out of the aircraft and onto the tarmac and into the US. By the time the nearest police officer arrived on the scene, they were long gone. Leaving the pilot to bullshit his way out of trouble, a fuel truck had been arranged before they landed and fortunately the police officer didn’t consider a fuel truck at an abandoned airport as out of the ordinary. The pilot explained how an engine leak had forced him down and how if he flew any further, he could have blown up over a populated area. Fortunately they bought it and left the pilot to tinkering with a spanner in the engine. As the cop left, the fuel truck finished and moved away. The pilot put the cover back on the engine and two minutes later was powering down the runway as the immigration officers came tearing down the runway after him. They were too late, his wheels were up and his next stop was Geneva. He had made it and $500,000 to boot.

Chapter 79

Jasmin gave the details of where to meet her. Fortunately, it wasn’t far away. A small workshop in Brooklyn. On arrival, Jasmin whisked them through the door and into the large workshop area dominated by a black Chevrolet Suburban which had recently been delivered with all the weapons and equipment they had requested.

Scott didn’t waste any time.

“OK, what have we got?”

Jasmin laid out a number of photos she had surreptitiously snapped of the building and highlighted the security she had seen.

“Shit, it’s not going to be easy. Any sign of DuPont or Astor?”

“No, but there’s a helicopter pad on the roof, it’s highly unlikely they’d come by road,” replied Jasmin.

“We could just fly a chopper onto the roof and come in that way,” suggested Ashley.

“Nah, if they’re that secure down here you have to assume they’ve got stingers up there. They had them in London,” replied Scott. “Can we make it from the ground?” he asked.

“We may as well have flown the plane straight into the building. We’d definitely die but at least with the plane we’d have a chance of taking them with us.”

“So we have to come from the top, without knowing what’s up there.”

Kyle and Kirk smiled. “Excellent! Helicopter tour.”

“Yep,” replied Scott.

Two hours later, the group were enjoying the highlights of the New York skyline although with high powered binoculars their focus was on one particular building. The security was just as they had feared. Tight. A small bunker sat on top of the huge structure next to the helipad and from the activity, it appeared there were at least ten men stationed there with heavy weaponry up to and including stingers. It was the tallest building in the area. No building overlooked it, other than the Empire State building and that was over a mile away. Even then, the bunker would offer excellent cover to any sniper good enough to shoot over that distance.

Back at the workshop, morale began to drop.

“There must be a way to get to them. The fuckers can’t get away with what they’ve done,” said Jasmin angrily.

“How about a Transcon helicopter? We’d maybe get in on that,” suggested Kyle.

Scott considered the suggestion, it was one of the best so far but it was still too risky. Even in their own livery, if it wasn’t expected, they’d probably shoot it down.

“Jesus, that’s it. Guys get your kit ready, we’re going tonight.”

Scott picked up the phone and made a call. Afterall, he had said anything he could do to help. He then called John Butler-Jones with the instruction.

“Get the papers ready, tomorrow we go to court. I’m going to get my father’s company back.”

Chapter 80

Ernst took the call and passed it through to Freeman immediately before he left for the evening. He needed some space,. The three Transcon bosses were acting like scared little children and were doing his head in with their constant need for reassurance that they were safe.

Freeman took the call and immediately hushed his colleagues who were chattering in the background as he tried to hear the caller.

“Mr President, of course we’d be delighted to see you. I didn’t know you were in town.” After a few seconds of listening, he added “Yes of course that’ll be fine, I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Who was that?” asked Peter Astor.

“Sam Mitchum, he’s in town and was devastated to hear what happened to Charles and wants to come over and pay his respects.”

“Has he ever visited before?” asked a suspicious DuPont.

“A few years ago, fairly similar, dropped by when he was in town. We are his biggest contributor.”

DuPont relaxed.

***

As the President replaced the receiver, he called through to his secretary, one of the few people he felt he could still trust.

“Janie, if anyone calls asking where I am, I’m in New York, OK? Anybody, oh except for Gerald or Agent Jennings.”