Seized (Hostage Rescue Team Series, #7) (22 page)

“There’s talk of some Russian helos coming to extract the tangos once they’re within range. Our Navy is ready to intercept if they cross the International Boundary. Right now the status of the remaining passengers and crew is unknown, so time is of the essence.” DeLuca signaled for Tuck and the ST6 team leader to take the floor. “Okay, let’s hear what you’ve got.”

Using the ship’s schematics on a screen mounted on the wall behind them, Tuck and the SEAL laid out their best options which they’d all brainstormed during the flight up here. They all knew the layout of the ship by now, knew what each deck contained along with all the entrances and exits.

“We insert via helo drop and move in close with Zodiacs to avoid detection,” Tuck said to the room. “At this point we still don’t know exactly what the ‘failsafe’ on board is or where it’s located, but our best guess is in or near the engine room. If they detonate it, they’re going to want to do as much damage to the hull as possible in an attempt to sink the ship.”

Sawyer and the others listened intently while the two team leaders reviewed the primary plan and then the first two contingency plans. Team members tossed several suggestions back and forth, but the final decision lay with Tuck and the SEAL leader.

“We’ll board here near the starboard bow,” the SEAL, a stocky dark-haired guy said as he pointed to the area on screen, “and HRT will board at the port stern. We take the bridge while HRT secures the engine room and tries to locate the failsafe. Once those objectives are taken care of, we sweep the ship and take out any remaining tangos. Coast Guard and Navy will move in to assist after the ship is secured and help offload passengers and crew. Sniper teams will assist from the air and from the Coast Guard vessel.” He looked up at them. “Any questions?”

Everyone shook their head. Ethan shifted in his seat beside him. Sawyer began bouncing his foot up and down, impatient to get going, his entire body tense and his mind racing.
Come on. Let’s go.
He was more than fucking ready to do this, and knew the rest of the guys were as well.

“Let’s move,” Tuck said. “Wheels up in ten minutes.”

Thank God.

Sawyer surged to his feet and headed to the door, his mind already in full operational mode. No matter what it took, they were going to take that ship back. He just prayed it would be in time to save Carmela and her mom.

––––––––

C
armela’s head jerked up when she began to doze off. She winced at the sharp pain in her head and shifted uncomfortably on the floor. That Wira guy’s second-in-command stood nearby, keeping an eye on her and all the others in his section of the theater. He was sweating too, the facemask long gone, the armpits of his uniform soaked through.

She had no idea how long they’d been in here but it must have been hours since Wira had pistol whipped her and stalked out of the theater. Two guards were keeping watch while people were using a bucket in the corner of the room as a toilet. A humiliating experience, but better than sitting in your own mess.

She rolled her neck in a futile attempt to alleviate the pressure and took a surreptitious look around. It was dark except for over by the makeshift bathroom in the corner where they had a dim light on.

A few feet to her left, her mother appeared to be asleep finally. A blessing, since it looked like they were going to be stuck in here for the foreseeable future. Wira had said he might use her later, and even though Carmela wasn’t sure what he’d meant by that, she sure as hell didn’t want to find out.

Sawyer had gotten her message hours ago. He would have reported it immediately, and their situation would be working up some chain of command somewhere.

How long until they made a rescue attempt? She was sure protocol normally dictated trying to contact the hostage takers first, attempt to talk them down or at least negotiate, but maybe not in this situation. Which would be a total waste of time and there was no telling what Wira would do if things escalated.

Although why bother holding them prisoner at all if he just planned to kill them all later? That made no sense, so he must be holding them for ransom or as collateral.

Maybe he thought he could use her connection with Sawyer later somehow. There was a possibility Sawyer’s team might be either involved in or responding directly to this crisis though, and it would be a cold day in hell before she endangered Sawyer and the others by giving away any other information. Like him and her brother belonging to the HRT.

Her butt and back were hurting almost as much as her head. She stretched her legs out to ease the tension in her muscles and her shoe hit something on the carpet. Hard pieces of something that sounded a lot like glass when she investigated with her foot.

Keeping an eye on where the second-in-command stood, she inched her way over until she was able to reach behind her and feel around with her hands. There. Her fingers touched something smooth and cool and thin, the edges sharp. Glass. Maybe from a champagne flute like the one she’d sipped out of in here during the comedy show just hours before.

She waited until the guard shifted his stance and looked away before scooting carefully toward her mother. Carmela slid a leg out and nudged her mom, who woke with a start and straightened. There was just enough light for Carmela to see the outline of her face. Making sure the guard was still looking elsewhere, she leaned to the side and whispered as loudly as she dared. “Sit back to back with me.”

Her mom didn’t say anything but after a moment began to shift around until their backs were together. Carmela made sure they were angled to hide their hands behind the row of people in front of them, then reached back for her mom’s hands and pressed the sliver of glass into them.

At first her mom seemed not to understand but when Carmela felt around to position the sliver and began discreetly moving her wrists up and down in a sawing motion, her mom got the picture. She held it firmly in place while Carmela added more pressure and kept slicing at the plastic zip tie cutting into her wrists. Her mother blew out a breath. “
No me panikees
,” she whispered to herself. Don’t panic.

Carmela flinched when the pointed end stabbed into the tender flesh on the inside of one wrist but didn’t stop. There wasn’t much space between her bound hands to slide the glass between. Suffering a few cuts and slices was a small price to pay if it meant having her hands free though. If the time came that she needed to defend herself again, at least she’d have a chance.

Provided she could slice through this damn hard plastic.

Sweat gathered between her breasts and beneath her arms as she worked. It was hard to make any headway with such tiny movements and the position of her hands and fingers made it awkward. She didn’t give up though.

Pausing whenever the guard looked their way, she resumed as soon as it was safe. The muscles in her shoulders, arms and hands ached but she didn’t stop, determined to free herself. Then, just when she was beginning to think this whole effort was futile, the ties suddenly gave way. Her wrists popped apart, and a sense of relief swept over her.

Taking the glass from her mother, she reached behind her and began cutting at the ties holding her mother’s wrists together. At one point her mom sucked in a sharp breath, telling Carmela she’d accidentally sliced her, but thankfully didn’t cry out or give them away.

This time it was quicker and she got the ties cut in just a few minutes. Her mind was working furiously now. She needed to hide that her hands were free while keeping this momentum going.

Moving inch by inch she crept a few feet over to the young father and his little girl. Keeping her back to him she reached around and took hold of his wrists.

When he felt the glass he stiffened, his head jerking around to look at the guard, but then he held them out for her and tried to pull his wrists apart to give her more room to work. Once he was free she pressed the glass into his fingers and then he moved to the person beside him.

Carmela breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back against the wall, her hands now in a much more comfortable position. If enough people could free their hands, they might just have a shot at being able to make an escape attempt if the opportunity presented itself.

Because she wasn’t going down without a fight.

****

“T
hree minutes,” the crew chief announced over the comms.

Sawyer and the others all had their dive gear on. He’d already checked his regulator and adjusted his mask but he did it again, just to be safe, out of habit.

The pulse of the Pavehawk’s rotors thudded in his ears as he waited for the next signal. He and the rest of the assault team lined the sides of the darkened helo, every man locked and loaded. Two more birds flew in formation with them, one carrying the SEALs and the other the sniper teams.

The crew chief held up a single finger. “One minute.”

Everyone took off their headsets and stood up. The bird began to descend. They formed a single-file line down the center of the fuselage, Tuck in the lead, with Bauer in the rear and Sawyer right in front of him.

The pilots slowed the helo and put it into a hover. Out the side door of the aircraft, Sawyer could see the water moving fifteen feet below them.

At the crew chief’s signal, they released the Zodiac from its harness and dropped it into the water. Over to their right, the SEALs did the same. A second later, Tuck jumped in after it, feet first.

One by one they jumped into the dark waves. Sawyer waited until Ethan had surfaced before jumping out. The free fall lasted only a moment, then the water closed over his head. Even with his special dive suit, he felt the chill of the icy water.

He broke the surface and swam a few strokes toward the Zodiac, then stopped to watch Bauer enter the water behind him. Once he surfaced, Sawyer headed for the rubber-hulled boat. He grabbed the side rope and pulled, gritting his teeth as the tendons in his right shoulder seared in protest.

One of the guys reached down to grab him and help drag him over the gunwale. Bauer climbed in a few moments later and Tuck started up the outboard engine.

They motored for fifteen minutes before lowering the throttle to minimize noise. A minute later, the ship finally came into view on the horizon. Sawyer stared at it through his NVGs, his heart beating faster. Carm was on there. She had to be okay. He couldn’t even think about the alternative.

Tuck slowed them even further. Sawyer glanced to the left and saw the SEALs just behind them. The lowered throttle reduced the chance of someone hearing them coming but it also slowed them too much. At Tuck’s signal they all grabbed oars from inside the boat to paddle the rest of the way in, using all the stealth they could.

The muscles in his shoulder burned but he blocked out the discomfort. This was the most critical part of the op, getting to the ship unseen. They needed to maintain the element of surprise not only to be able to board the vessel without suffering casualties, but also to prevent the hostage takers from blowing up whatever bomb they had aboard.

Everyone was silent, taking care to dip his oar into the water at the same moment, each stroke coordinated to maximize propulsion. Together they fought to keep along the port side of the ship, staying close to the hull, and aimed for the stern. He breathed a little easier when they reached their target and pulled up alongside their entry point.

All of them had experience with maritime operations and boarding vessels, but Bauer was in his fucking element out here. He went first, using grappling hooks to get their boarding ladder in place on the ship, then held it steady while Tuck and Blackwell secured a line from their boat to it.

As usual Tuck led the way, climbing the ladder and slipping over the edge. Once he signaled that the coast was clear, Evers started up. Then Blackwell, Schroder. Then it was Sawyer’s turn.

His damn shoulder protested every rung of the ladder but he got up it quick and held it steady for Bauer, who climbed it as easily as an elementary school kid climbs the monkey bars on a playground.

They took up defensive positions while they assessed the situation and Tuck murmured to the SEAL leader that their team was in position. Using hand signals, Tuck directed them forward. Their goal was the engine room, below the water line.

Sawyer followed close behind Ethan, Bauer guarding their six. Every step they took increased the danger. It was a huge ship. They didn’t know how many terrorists they were facing, or where they even were. Everywhere they walked had to be checked carefully to ensure there were no booby traps or other surprises.

Their boots were nearly silent on the wooden surface of the outer deck as they approached the first doorway. Sawyer hung back with the others, providing overwatch while Tuck and Evers used a hand-held mirror wand to check inside the doorway. Thankfully the hallway was clear.

They moved as fast as they were able, to the first staircase and began the descent, watching the stairwell above and below as they went. One floor. Two. Three.

Finally they reached the deck where the engine room was located. Tuck paused to use the mirror again and this time signaled that he had a visual on two tangos, probably near the entrance. Tuck ducked back around the corner and spoke over the comms, his voice barely audible over the hum of the engines coming from down the hall.

“Two tangos, armed with automatic rifles and wearing NVGs.” He handed the mirror back to Evers and readied his weapon, raising it to his shoulder. “On my mark. Three.”

Sawyer’s heart thudded hard, every muscle tensed and ready. Once they secured the engine room and found the “failsafe” mentioned in the manifesto, they could disarm it and clear the rest of the ship so they could start rescuing the hostages.

“Two.”

“I got movement behind us,” Bauer suddenly announced, cutting off Tuck’s countdown.

They all turned to face the unknown threat approaching, hugging the wall to give them maximum cover. Everyone waited in position, unmoving.

Bauer waited a few more seconds, then waved them forward. They followed him in formation and when they turned the corner Bauer stopped beside a door that was slightly ajar.