Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Harris

As the day approached, the anticipation of the team was almost palpable. After spending long days and nights tracking this division of the Noah Group’s every move, the sense of urgency rose. The group was planning something, but they couldn’t determine what that was. There’d been arms deals going down, along with various drug dealers coming and going regularly. I guess that’s how they’re financing the operation.

It almost felt like the group was recruiting, and new faces started popping up in the background. That was never a good sign. So far, three new individuals had been appearing in the bar over the last week, and Spencer had been busy trying to identify them. If the Group felt comfortable expanding their forces, it was time to take them down before they went any further.

To that end, Gator had arrived on site. Their demolition and bomb specialist would be responsible for setting charges in the bar to destroy the Noah Group property but not the surrounding buildings. Harris had no idea how Gator would accomplish that, but he wasn’t an explosives specialist like Gator. If he said there was a way, then there was a way.

The team hoped that once they got a look inside, they could determine exactly what the group had planned before blowing it to bits. Brick had been in contact with his associates in the Navy, the same ones who took charge of the criminals from the cult, and they had plenty of room in their cells for the new arrivals. They just had to capture the fuckers.

What was more difficult to believe was that Soloman received another delivery of tequila. Harris couldn’t understand how the dude still had a functioning liver. His decision-making processes had to be skewed due to the effects of near-constant drinking. The guy was on his last legs. Perhaps that’s why the group had an elevated sense of urgency.

One bonus: Conor and Apollo got a good read on the guy living with Soloman when he came out to carry the delivery inside. It was true he was a test subject and working for the enemy, but the two had a familial relationship. Conor thought it was father and son but wasn’t entirely sure, and Hendrix hadn’t been on site to confirm it.

As for the unknown man’s ability, Apollo stated that it had something to do with energy, but that was as much as he could get from a distance. With any luck, they’d have another crack at the guy. One thing that always stood out and seemed odd was the man always wore a shirt or jacket with a high collar buttoned to the top, even in the hot New Orleans weather.

Perhaps this energy mutation messed with the guy’s ability to maintain a normal body temperature. Either way, he had much to answer for being Soloman’s lackey against people like himself who had been victimized. Then a thought occurred to him. Maybe the guy wasn’t a victim but a volunteer and wanted to be supercharged with freaky abilities? Maybe that was it.

“ What’s got you thinking so hard?” Woodley asked as he entered their bedroom.

His man had only been wearing a towel since he came from the shower. Tanned skin covered hard muscles as water beads dripped from his wet hair and down his pecs. Hell, do we have time for a quickie before the final meeting to prepare to take the bar?

“ Don’t get any ideas. I saw Brick heading for the kitchen. There isn’t time,” Woodley warned with a grin.

“ Damn. Put some clothes on then, or I can’t be held accountable for my actions.”

“ Smart-ass. So what's got you thinking?” Woodley asked as he reached for his boxer briefs.

“ I was wondering about that guy with Soloman.”

“ Maybe Soloman’s son?”

“ Yeah. Do you think it’s possible he chose to have his DNA sliced and diced? They’ve proven themselves to have the ability to mess with DNA and shit no matter the age of the test subject.”

“ I guess it’s possible, but it’s a very dangerous proposition because there’s no guarantee of how it will turn out. I remember being told Ellen’s mother had part of a twin growing out of her back, and she couldn’t stop growing taller.”

“ True. It could totally fuck up your body and brain. I guess we just won’t know until we question the guy.”

“ If we get to question him. He may not surrender peacefully.”

Harris knew that was a possibility. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

Woodley walked over, now fully dressed, and wrapped his arms around Harris.

“ The sooner we get this over, the sooner we can go home to Fire Lake. That’s what keeps me going day after day.” He shrugged. “I guess being in love does that to a man.”

Harris’s heart rate sped up as his mouth went dry. He’d been waiting and hoping for this moment ever since telling Woodley the truth about how he felt.

He dove in for a kiss full of promise and passion, hoping Woodley understood how much this meant to him. When they parted, the heated look on Woodley’s face confirmed he’d gotten his point across.

They stood in silence, simply holding each other. There wasn’t a need for more words. They’d said all the important stuff. For this one moment, life was perfect, and he had everything he could ever want right here in his arms.

“ You guys are way too adorable,” Jennifer said, and when he turned, Harris found his sister leaning on the door frame with a huge smile on her face. “Told you.”

“ Told me what?” Harris asked.

He liked the fact that Woodley was in no hurry to let him go even though they were no longer alone.

“ That you were going to end up together,” she said.

“ I’m not so sure you did. I remember something about men being dense and FUBAR.”

“ I have no idea what you’re talking about. Now unravel yourselves because Brick is waiting in the dining room to start the meeting.”

“ We’re on our way,” Harris said.

As Jennifer walked away, he pulled Woodley closer. “We’ll pick this up later.”

“ The sooner, the better,” Woodley said.

He gave Woodley a quick kiss, slapped him on the ass, and led him toward the door. This was the life he’d been searching for, and he’d kill to keep it.

***

Woodley

They watched the screen as customers and members of the Noah Group left the building where the bar was located. As soon as the last person vacated the building, they’d send up the drone, check for any possible heat signatures left inside, and, if they were clear, breach the building.

“ Still say a BearCat SWAT vehicle would have been more fun,” Shaw groused like a child missing his toy.

The guy was fixated, but he did have a point. It truly would be extremely satisfying to ram an armored vehicle through those assholes.

“ Fun, yes; quiet, no,” Brick said.

“ One of these days, I’m going to drive one of those big bastards,” Shaw chuckled.

“ Your birthday’s coming up,” Spence hinted.

“ Oh yeah, I don’t want gifts. I want five… maybe ten minutes inside a BearCat, a derelict, abandoned building, and free reign.”

“ Noted. Now get your head in the game,” Brick ordered. “Looks like Jaws is locking up.”

Sure enough, Jaws, the bartender with the unforgettable smile, was locking the doors to the bar. He turned and scanned the area before walking to his car and driving away.

“ Tracker is online,” Spencer announced. “Jaws is headed back to his motel.”

Jaws was staying at a pay-by-the-week motel ten minutes from the bar. It was run-down, likely rodent-infested, and it appeared there were no questions asked when the dude brought hookers in at all times of night and day. Word on the street was Jaws paid in dope and liked it rough with no talking.

“ Send in the drone. Let’s ensure no one is left inside,” Brick ordered.

“ On it,” Spencer answered.

Woodley scanned the area. It was almost four in the morning, meaning they’d have less than three hours before the sun started rising. They wanted to be long gone before then, leaving only a burned-out shell behind. At least, that was the plan, and they all knew how quickly the best plans got screwed up in a hurry.

There wasn’t much action to be found on the streets this close to dawn. Most partiers had passed out back in their beds or wherever they ended up that night. The last of the hookers would soon give up on catching another trick for the night and head home while the drug dealers had already packed up for the evening.

In truth, most new-age dealers worked through pagers these days and delivered their dope door to door instead of hanging out on the street corner. It was less time and easier to get off with a slap on the wrist on charges carrying a smaller amount of drugs, and re-upping throughout the night than being caught with felony possession weight. The remaining homeless were centralized in a park down the street, while a few others took a bed for the night at a local shelter.

These were the facts of the streets. It had its own ecosystem, including the hunter-and-prey dynamic. The john and hooker, the addict and dealer, the homeless and criminal preying on the vulnerable. His work as a detective had brought Woodley into the heart of the streets as its own living, breathing entity. He understood how things worked out here even if he didn’t agree with it, and no matter how much he worked to change it, the criminal element on the streets thrived and always would.

“ I’m not finding any heat signatures left in the bar area and the back of the building,” Spencer announced. “The building is clear.”

“ Affirmative. You each have your orders. Thirty-second countdown begins,” Brick said, and Woodley looked at his watch. “Now.”

He kept count on his watch while Harris continued to scan the area. Now was not the time to run into a random drunk. They were positioned at the end of the alley to the bar’s east, closest to the entrance. Shaw and Fletcher were across the street. Gunner was in his usual location, high up on the roof of the building directly north of their location. Shaw, Fletcher, and Gator would be busy setting charges as the rest searched for information. Apollo, Griffin, Damon, and Hendrix would take the front of the bar, while Brick, Stryker, Harris, and he would take the back.

They’d be entering through two exterior doors: one on the side of the building in the alley and another at the very back of the building used for shipping. Spencer was controlling the comms, and Jason manned the getaway vehicles along with Jennifer, who turned out to be an amazing driver who used her telekinesis to move objects out of their way when needed.

Woodley gave Harris one last look before the timer set on his watch kicked over. “Go.”

As silent as ghosts, they made their way down the alley toward the side doors in full gear, ready for any eventuality. Woodley had his lock-picking equipment ready and waited for the final confirmation.

“ All building security systems are now under my control,” Spencer stated. “We’re a go for entry.”

He went ahead and picked the lock, sliding through the partially opened door with Harris at his back. Soon after, Woodley heard Apollo and his men coming in behind them. Not wanting to be bunched together outside the building while he picked the lock, they were scheduled at ten-second intervals.

“ Area is secure,” Gunner said over the comms.

Woodley loved using these bone mics. Voices were clear, and it took the lightest whisper to be heard. As they entered the front bar area, you couldn’t escape the smell of stale alcohol; they immediately peeled off from the other group and headed down the hall to the secret doorway behind the fake wall.

Harris felt around for the latch Joe used to access the back, and the wall slid out of the way as they’d seen in the video. They entered a dark room, but thanks to their night vision goggles, they could see everything as plain as day. There were stacks of boxes and random signage depicting bottles of liquor and women in various stages of undress strewn across the room. Tables and cabinets were covered with paper, bottles, empty glasses, and garbage.

When they heard the back door click, both Woodley and Harris aimed their guns at the door in case they suddenly had unannounced visitors. Standard protocol, even though they knew the odds were it was Brick and Stryker. As expected, their two teammates came in and shut the door behind them. It was time to have a look around and sift through this mess.

“ Front secure,” Apollo said.

“ Charges being laid and set,” Gator announced.

The four men systematically searched the room in a grid pattern to avoid missing anything. Harris was the first to find something of interest.

“ Got files over here on test subjects,” Harris announced from across the room.

“ Bring them along,” Brick ordered.

“ Roger,” Harris said and stuffed the files in the space between his chest and bulletproof vest. There’d be more time to review them when they were out of the hot zone.

Woodley scanned a mostly empty filing cabinet. It was likely intended to be used for new files as they acquired more test subjects. A sick thought. He found some data on Robin and another subject named Xavier. Instead of announcing it and bringing up a raw topic for the second team, he took the papers and did the same as Harris had done. They could review them later, along with the rest.

“ Well, I’d say they’re ready for a war,” Stryker said. “I found the beginnings of their arsenal.”

Woodley turned to where Stryker was standing. He had opened a crate seemingly buried behind cases of beer and was holding what looked like an AK-47 assault rifle.

“ There’s roughly twenty in here, along with ammunition,” he said. “This second box contains grenades and other ordinance.”

“ Gator, we’ll need you to set explosives on those crates,” Brick stated. “We aren’t leaving anything behind they can salvage. Pull back once we sweep the room and let Gator and his team finish their work.”

“ Roger.”

With any luck, destroying the bar would shake Soloman up, and he’d lead them to any possible secondary locations. If not, they’d gather him up along with their sweep of the others and hand them over to the boss’s contacts in the military. They weren’t taking him down immediately in order to ensure there weren’t more locations they hadn’t discovered yet.

“ Found a stash of receipts,” Damon said. “Under a false bottom in a cupboard behind the bar. I’ll take them.”

“ Good catch. Might lead to persons of interest,” Brick said.

“ Roger.”

“ Other than that, some baggies of white powder and bottles of alcohol, the front of the bar is clear,” Apollo stated.

“ Okay, head out to the rendezvous point. We’ll meet you there when we’re done,” Brick ordered.

“ Roger.”

The fewer people left in the building at one time, the fewer the odds of someone being seen or hurt. Get in, get out. This wasn’t a party.

Gator, Fletcher, and Shaw entered the back room and began setting more charges. The explosives expert was calculating the distance between charges down to the millimeter. There was no mistaking the concentration on his face as Fletcher handed him material from a duffel bag. Shaw weighed every ounce of the yellow substance or TNT to Gator’s specifications. He had explained that trinitrotoluene was very stable and hard to accidentally set off, which was why he preferred to use it as opposed to dynamite, which packed a bigger punch but wasn’t as stable.

Like most laypersons, Woodley had never known there was a difference between TNT and dynamite, assuming they were identical. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

“ We’ve got drugs over here,” Brick stated. “We’ll throw it in the crate with the guns.”

“ Roger.”

They continued to work in silence for several more minutes before Brick decided to call it. “Okay, we’ve cleared the building. All those not setting explosives, head back to the rendezvous point.”

“ Roger.”

Woodley and Harris went back out the secret door, down the hallway, and through the side door. It took them less than a minute to get to the rendezvous point where the SUVs and Apollo’s team were waiting. Jason and Jennifer sat behind the wheel, waiting for word from Brick.

Moments later, Gator, Fletcher, and Shaw joined them shortly after Brick and Stryker arrived. He’d heard Brick made sure he was always the last to leave. Woodley watched as Gator made some final adjustments to a control panel.

“ All lit up, boss. Waiting on the go-ahead,” Gator said.

Brick looked back from the passenger seat.

“ Spencer, alert the fire department to a building fire at this location,” he ordered.

That way, the fire department would be rolling and have a head start to be able to contain any outlying flames that might spark due to the explosion. They wanted to destroy the bar but leave the surrounding structures intact.

“ Damon, would you like to do the honors?” Brick asked.

Apollo, Damon, and Hendrix were sitting in the third row. He looked shocked by the offer but leaned forward.

“ Thank you,” Damon answered with a nod.

Gator held out the box. “All you have to do is flip this switch, and that place will be wiped off the map.” A very satisfying thought.

In the distance, they could hear sirens. The good guys were on their way. It was time to end this chapter of the Noah Group.

Damon took a deep breath. “This is for you, Robin.” And flipped the switch.

The night sky lit up like the Fourth of July. On their monitors, they watched as the building blew up and collapsed in on itself without leaving any substantial damage to its surroundings. No doubt the fire trucks would soon pull up to tackle the blaze.

They’d done it.

“ Good work, team,” Brick said. “Let’s go.”