Right to Kill

  A mile and a half away, Harv checked the time. 4:20 a.m. “Traffic should be nonexistent,” he said.

  “We’ll cruise past our target once, then turn on our radios and make contact with Cantrell’s team. She knows we’re approaching the dealership; she’s tracking my phone. Harv, you look for cameras along the glass front. LG, you look down the alley to the south. I’ll be looking for people sitting in cars or anything else that looks out of place.”

  “Looks out of place?” LG echoed. “Care to elaborate on that?”

  Her tone made Nathan uneasy, so he said nothing.

  “Nate doesn’t know what will look out of place, but he’ll know it when he sees it.”

  “Chances are, nothing will look out of place,” she said. “We’ll cruise past a well-lighted showroom packed with vehicles few people can afford—present company excluded.”

  “That includes you, LG,” he said.

  Harv stepped in. “Let’s just wait and see what we see. The nav says it’s the next corner. There’s someone behind me about fifty yards back. I’m going to pull over to the curb and act like I’m on my phone. His headlights are gonna nail us. It might be best if you guys duck down. A car with one occupant at this hour is far less suspicious, especially to a cop.”

  Nathan complied, but it was a tight fit. He had to lean sideways toward Harv’s lap. “If you grab my ears, I’ll kill you slowly.”

  “You mean that’s not normal behavior for you two?”

  Nathan didn’t respond, but found himself smiling at the crass comment. He watched the headlight intrusion grow and with it, his unease. Given all the tactical gear in the car, there’d be no explaining it. The interior of his sedan brightened to the bursting point, then faded.

  “There’s another car coming,” Harv said, “but he’s pretty far back. We’re rolling.”

  The showroom looked exactly like LG had predicted. A few windows glowed on the second and third floors, but they weren’t bright. Nathan saw an issue right away; they all did. Santa Monica Exotics had a glass façade along the sidewalk, but six-foot-high accordion-like security bars sat behind the glass. If things got heavy once they were inside, they’d be able to break the windows and exit out to either street, but they’d have to scramble over the bars first.

  All of SME’s classics were inside the building. Just as the aerial photo showed, intersecting alleys separated the dealership from its fellow businesses to the south and east. A sign tagged SME’s eastern neighbor as Matthew’s Heating and Air Conditioning Supply. Some kind of light industrial building sat opposite the south alley.

  Nathan was no engineer, but figured the dealership’s huge interior floor-to-ceiling truss just behind the security bars made up for the loss in shear strength from the glass façade. The place had the feel of a modern airport concourse. He admired the architecture, then withdrew the thought. This obscene display of wealth was the result of Cornejo’s blood money.

  Maybe I’ll burn it down, he thought, but finding the sprinkler system’s shutoff valve could take time, a luxury they likely wouldn’t have. And there was a risk a fire could spread to the neighboring buildings. Maybe a few dozen whacks with lug wrenches were in order.

  He hadn’t seen any video cameras on the interior, but several exterior cameras were mounted above the glass front, including a camera overlooking the entrance to the alley. He felt confident there’d be a camera overlooking the other alley’s entrance as well.

  “What do you think, Harv? If we had to, could we grapple across from that building to the east?”

  “Hard to say without getting a look. We may not have to. Cantrell’s team may have already done the scouting. Let’s hope they found a hole in the surveillance. Even if we can’t be identified, we still have to avoid being seen on camera.”

  LG spoke up. “Can we all agree that if anyone sees three people wearing black clothing, ski masks, and goggles stalking their building, they won’t ignore it?”

  “You have a gift for understatement,” Nathan said. “When was the last time you shimmied across a rope line?”

  “Well, let me think . . . I don’t have one set up in my backyard.”

  Her sarcasm had returned in force.

  “I’m sure it will come back to you.”

  “Nate, she’s got a low-grade concussion. Hanging upside down from a rope isn’t such a good idea.”

  “I can handle it.”

  “Harv’s right; besides, we don’t need to make this decision right now.”

  “I said I can handle it,” she said more forcefully.

  “And I said we don’t have to decide this right now.”

  “Who put you in charge? Last I looked, I outranked you.”

  “Same old LG.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means you haven’t changed.”

  “And you have?”

  “For the worse, I’m afraid.”

  “Ah, guys, if I can jump in,” Harv said. “I really think we should stay focused.”

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to finish our argument first,” she said.

  Nathan took a deep breath. There’d been a time in his life when he would’ve lashed out, but calmness won the moment. LG’s husband had been murdered and that earned her some latitude. Some, but within limits. He fully expected Harv to intervene and that’s exactly what happened.

  “Linda, with all due respect, you can’t command this mission. You’re too close to it. If we were still active, you’d be sidelined. I’m not saying you can’t handle command calls, but it’s more complex than that. Split-second decisions may have to be made and those decisions have to be completely objective.”

  She didn’t say anything.

  “We haven’t worked with you in many years and we’re about to go on a combat mission full of unknown variables. Cantrell got a positive nod from DNI Benson to include you because of our involvement. She trusts us and Benson trusts her. You know how the intelligence community works. It’s no small thing she did. She’s on the hook if we screw this up. We’re not trying to pick on you, but you need to understand that none of us would be here if it weren’t for Nathan.”

  “Sorry, McBride. I guess I’m a little on edge.”

  “Forget it. We’re in this together.”

  Harv turned onto a side street and pulled to the curb. “Let’s change clothes and do a final equipment check before we power our radios.”

  Nathan always felt butterflies just prior to a mission. He’d long ago learned not to fight the feeling. It reminded him that the slightest mistake could prove fatal.

  Because they didn’t want to look like special forces on the drive up, they’d worn civilian attire. Each of them now changed into their black tactical clothing, donned their ballistic vests, waist packs, and night-vision visors. Once they were safely inside the building, they’d put on their ski masks and tinted goggles. Each of their waist packs held a thermal imager, a suppressed pistol with a grip-activated laser sight, extra ammo, duct tape, and various other items they might need.

  Nathan broke the silence. “Are you good, LG?”

  “I was just venting.”

  “Hey, it’s allowed.”

  “To answer your question, I haven’t flipped my switch yet, but I will when the time comes.”

  “Fair enough.” Nathan knew exactly what she meant because he and Harv used the same mental technique. Even though LG said she was okay, Nathan needed confirmation. “How’s your concussion?”

  “I’m feeling some mild symptoms, mostly in the form of a headache. My vision’s good and I’m not feeling any unsteadiness from the Special K. If I felt the slightest bit impaired, I’d tell you guys.”

  If she’d said anything less, Nathan would’ve left her in the car. There was no way she could’ve sustained the kind of head trauma she had and have zero symptoms.

  “Did I pass your test?”

  “Knowing it was a test prejudices the result, but, yeah, you passed.”
r />   “And if I hadn’t?”

  “You’d sit this out.”

  “That would be . . . unsatisfying.”

  “Better to be unsatisfied than dead.”

  “Amen to that,” Harv said.

  “Well, now that we have the small talk out of the way, can we get in there and kick some asses?”

  Nathan smiled and looked at Harv. “I think that could be arranged. Let’s hope Cantrell’s team found a hole in the video surveillance. We’ll know within the next thirty seconds when we make contact.” The tingling in his stomach intensified. “You feeling it, LG?”

  “Oh, yeah. Despite my earlier indiscretion, it’s good to be working with you guys again.”

  “Likewise.”

  “Rules of engagement?” she asked.

  “Deadly force only if warranted, but no one hesitates. We shoot first and ask questions later. No friendlies are expected inside. If Tomas and Ursula are in there, we take them alive, but not at all costs. One more thing. No summary executions.”

  “That’s directed at me,” she said.

  “Yes.”

  “You’re in command.”

  “I need more than that, LG.”

  “No summary executions,” she said.

  “Thank you. And no names. We use our Kilo designators.” When they turned on their radios, Nathan imagined a computer screen coming to life with three reds dots plotted on a map.

  “This is Kilo One, with Kilos Two and Three. Radio check. How do you copy?”

  “Five by five, Kilo One.”

  Nathan was a little surprised by the digitally altered voice coming through his earpiece. It seemed Cantrell’s SAD team was taking no chances. Nothing more would be said until Nathan recited the phrase Cantrell had given him.

  “It’s an intrepid night,” he said.

  “Kilo One authenticated. This is Delta Lead. Welcome to the neighborhood.”

  “Thank you, Delta Lead. Kilo Two, Kilo Three, radio checks, please.”

  The surveillance team confirmed Harv and LG were loud and clear. Nathan also heard them perfectly. Both LG and Harv issued a thumbs-up.

  Delta Lead continued, “All assets are in place and online. We have you east of the target building. Turn right at the next corner, proceed two blocks south, and turn right again. Proceed east on Olympic, roll past the target building, and enter the parking lot for Matthew’s Heating and Air Conditioning. Park at the southeast corner of the building. We’ll lose sight of you once you turn into the driveway. Initiate contact once you’re parked and we’ll update you on all activity we’ve monitored to date.”

  Nathan copied the transmission. It only took thirty seconds for Harv to park and Nathan to make the radio call.

  The surveillance team said that activity had been light since Santa Monica Exotics closed for business at 1800. Nathan was informed the surveillance team hadn’t entered the building, but a walking reconnaissance along the glass façade had been conducted. They gave Nathan the basic layout of the showroom floor, including the location of an elevator on the east wall. The sales offices were on the south wall.

  No vehicles had entered either alley and aside from some occasional pedestrian traffic along the sidewalk, nothing significant had happened. Then, starting at 2200 and lasting until 2230, five men carrying briefcases had entered SME through the fire exit door in the east alley. Once inside the showroom floor, they turned left and headed toward the elevator. Half an hour after that, a pizza delivery occurred at the same fire exit door. Delta Lead gave them a secure website link to look at the video clips of the five men entering the building. Nathan used his iPad and held it so LG and Harv could see it. Each clip took about ten seconds and showed each man press a sequence of numbers into a keypunch above the door handle and go inside.

  Tomas Bustamonte wasn’t one of the men entering the building.

  “They don’t look like muscle,” Harv said. “They look like businessmen.”

  “We concur,” the metallic voice said.

  “I also didn’t see a security keypad inside the corridor.”

  “Again, we concur. For reference purposes, we’ll designate the alleys as east alley and south alley respectively. Olympic Boulevard borders SME to the north and Stewart Street borders SME to the west. We’ve studied the video extensively and can’t determine if any of the men who entered the building wore firearms with 100 percent certainty. We think it’s a possibility with the smaller, heavyset man, third to enter the building. There’s a slight bulge on the right under his coat that’s consistent with a hip holster. Based on the way the pizza boxes were carefully unpacked from their thermal sleeves and the manner in which the boxes were handed off, we believe it was a legitimate pizza delivery. The man accepting the pizzas wasn’t one of the men who entered with briefcases. We weren’t able to track the first briefcase-carrying man, but we sent an asset to street level and successfully tracked the others. They all turned left and walked along the east wall toward the elevator in the southeast corner. Three of the last four used the elevator. One of them used a keypunch and opened a door next to the elevator and went through. We didn’t see the sequence he entered. We believe it’s a stairwell, but we don’t have confirmation. If the door does access a stairwell, then it’s reasonable to assume the elevator also requires a keycard or combination to access the upper floors.”

  “I agree,” Nathan said. “It’s probably the same sequence as the fire exit door. Do you have ears inside the building?”

  There was a slight pause. “Negative.”

  The delay in Delta Lead’s response spoke volumes. Cantrell had assembled this team on the spur of the moment and they’d probably been diverted from their current assignment to do this mundane job. It was time for a warm thank-you, which Nathan gave them.

  “Appreciated, Kilo One. Proceed on foot westbound into the south alley. Follow the wall of Matthew’s over to a Dumpster and use it to access the fire exit stairs. Do not deploy the spring-loaded extension—bypass it. Ascend to rooftop, stay low, and traverse to the midpoint of its west-facing parapet. We’ll be standing by until you reach that location. Police and first-responder frequencies are being monitored. We’ll come up on the net should the need arise. Confirm instructions.”

  “Confirmed.” Nathan didn’t need to ask why they were being routed that way. It avoided the security cameras eying both mouths of the alleys.

  He put a forefinger to his lips, reminding Harv and LG that their radios were in voice-activation mode. If any of them spoke, Cantrell’s SAD team would pick it up.

  He noticed the wall-mounted security light on the corner of Matthew’s was broken, as was the public streetlight a few yards away. So much for no boots on the ground, Nathan thought. Unsurprisingly, no broken glass littered the ground.

  Nathan took a quick glance down the south alley toward SME. All quiet. Trash was scarce, but some painted-over graffiti marred the walls. They saw the Dumpster right away. Nathan knew it had recently been moved. Twenty feet away, he saw the stain on the asphalt outlining where it used to be. It now sat directly underneath the fire exit stairs. LG went first and Nathan studied her movements. Like a gymnast, she hoisted herself onto the platform and grunted in pain. Her ribs had to hurt like hell. The metal framework offered a barely audible creak as she climbed. Harv went next.

  When he reached the roof, Harv and LG were crouched, waiting. Although there weren’t any buildings in the immediate area taller than this one, he felt naked up here.

  “We have you, Kilo team. Locate the coiled rope at the west parapet and lower yourselves down directly below that spot. Avoid dislodging the wad of gum to your left as you descend.”

  “Camera?” Nathan asked.

  “Affirmative. Once in the east alley, cross over to the fire exit door of SME. Enter push-button code of one-three-six-four-seven-nine. We’ll come up on the net if anything changes out here. Maintain open frequency and return verbal copies if possible, single clicks if not. We won’t respond to your t
raffic unless you specify ‘Delta Lead.’ Good hunting, Kilo One.”

  Nathan thanked them again.

  Harv pointed to the coiled rope and grappling hook. It seemed the surveillance team had tossed it up here sometime earlier this evening, presumably when they planted the gum camera on the wall.

  Crouching, they hustled over to the west parapet where Harv inspected the rope’s connection to the hook. Since they wouldn’t need rappelling gear for such a short distance, the rope was knotted every eighteen inches or so.

  Less than a minute later, all three of them stood on the ground in the east alley.

  He mouthed the words You okay? to LG and got a nod.

  Nathan pulled a thin ski mask over his face and put on his goggles. Harv and LG followed suit.

  Nathan turned, issued a thumbs-up to the camera, and received a click from Delta Lead.

  He pulled his suppressed Sig, reached for the keypunch, and entered the code.

  CHAPTER 15

  The lock clicked and Nathan cracked the door enough to peer inside.

  A dark, empty hall greeted him. Twenty feet distant, a bright line of light emanated from under a closed door—Nathan knew it came from the showroom.

  He scanned the corridor for cameras and saw none. Not taking his eyes from the closed door ahead, he gave Harv a hand signal to check six high.

  He sensed Harv lean into the corridor to take a look. “No camera,” Harv whispered.

  Nathan stepped to the side, allowing Harv and LG to enter.

  “Go ahead and close the door,” he said in a low voice. “We’re going to hold position for two minutes. If we tripped an alarm, we might be bugging out in a big hurry. Kilo team, observe radio silence. Delta Lead exempted. We’re in listening mode.”

  Time slowed to a crawl as their eyes adjusted to the dark. They heard nothing, then the sound of wastewater moving through a pipe. The gurgling behind the wall reached a peak, then went silent. Everyone knew what had just happened.

  He looked at his watch and let the final fifteen seconds wind down. The lack of activity suggested no one knew they were here. The flushing toilet seemed to confirm it. Who would use a bathroom if an alarm had been triggered?