Chapter 37 Marina Del Rey

Magnum

The helicopter rocked in the gusty wind as Remy touched down on the rooftop of the Knight Security building. It settled in like it belonged there and hadn't just been called in half an hour ago for an emergency.

He kept the engine powered up and the rotors spinning while we hot-loaded the team. After we synced our comms to cut through the background noise, I asked him, "Any place you can land in the Marina Del Rey marina?"

His gaze followed Kane, Steel, and Talon boarding the helo with their gear. He did a double take as he realized what I'd asked. " In the marina? Not unless you got a yacht with a helideck available."

"As close to the marina parking lot as possible." I showed him Celeste's latest GPS position on an aerial photo.

He pointed out a building near the northernmost basin of the marina. "This hotel has a helipad, but I don't have permission to land."

I nodded. That worked for me. "You'll drop us off and bug out before anyone even notices you."

He laughed as he watched the team prepare to lift off. "You're fucking crazy."

I was not in a laughing mood. Every second was precious. "He has our wives. We'll land wherever the fuck we need to."

He twisted to look up at me. "You got married and didn't invite me? "

Again. Not in the mood.

"No problem. I can land there." He turned back toward his controls to avoid my glare.

Fontaine showed up kitted out in full battle gear. Hated to admit it, but he looked sharp. I locked eyes with him. "You board this bird, you're a Tier One operator. Not a fed."

He nodded curtly. He knew we'd be skirting the law, and the Delta Force part of him would be fine with that. The FBI agent would not be allowed on this mission.

We had four members of the Alpha Team assembled; Vander, Steel, Talon, and me. Kane and Fontaine took Shadow and Locke's normal positions, bringing us to six operators in the helo with two open seats for Celeste and Wren if we needed them.

Vander was the last to board. "Helix is heading toward the marina. London and Jade en route by car to back us up."

I nodded, but the backup didn't matter. We needed to get there first.

We belted in and lifted off within forty minutes of the time Wren and Celeste were taken from the bakery. During the flight up the coast, we studied aerial photos and maps of the marina. Shadow had identified two yacht slips possibly linked to Kenny Zhao's organization. We did not have any intel on boats docked there.

"Landing in about five minutes," Remy called out. He did a great job getting us to the site quickly, and we'd owe him one for this.

We prepped our gear, and my stomach dropped as we descended. We'd done similar missions many times before, but this was personal, and I had to constantly force myself away from the rage brewing in my gut to the task at hand. Get to Wren before it was too late.

As the parking lot came into view, Vander identified six white vans parked in a cluster.

"There," Vander said, pointing. "The outermost one on the north side."

We landed hard, and I was the first out the door. The team followed, weapons ready. The hotel had an external stairwell that we took quickly and silently. Even in full daylight with clear skies, no one noticed us. At the ground level, we ran in a line toward the vans, hiding behind vehicles as we advanced.

My heart stopped as a single shot rang out from the vicinity of the first van, the one Vander had said contained Celeste and Wren.

I made eye contact with Vander, my muscles so tense I thought they might pop. That could've been the bullet that shot his wife or mine.

We approached low and fast. The other four operators split off to flank the other vehicles. The back door of the van was open.

A second shot rang out from behind the van.

Holy shit. I started to run toward the door, but Vander stopped me with his hand. He whistled out a signal, high with short reps.

A single, long whistle answered him.

Celeste.

His chest heaved with relief. He nodded and waved two fingers forward for us to advance .

As we rounded the door, we found Tommy on his back on the pavement, dead, bleeding out from his head and his stomach. Beyond him, Celeste stood holding the weapon. Wren was by her side looking shell shocked but unharmed. Thank God she was okay.

Her eyes popped wide when she saw me. "Mag!"

I had to step over Tommy's body to reach her and pull her into my arms.

She gripped me fiercely and her whole body trembled.

"I got you," I said, my voice hoarse. "You're safe."

"I was so scared."

"Nearly lost my mind."

Fontaine appeared and inspected the body. Tommy was clearly dead and no longer a threat. "The rest of the vans are clear. We need to check the docks," he said to me.

"Helix will be here soon," I told Wren. "Celeste will stay with you until he arrives."

"I want to go with you," Wren said, brushing the hair from her face.

Of course she did.

"I'm in too," Celeste added.

I didn't have time to argue with Vander's wife. "Fine, but your priority is guarding Wren while we track down the missing girls."

She nodded, not liking that she'd have to miss out on any action, but at least she'd get to go.

We left the body behind and ran out to the first slip we thought might've been linked to Kenny. A boat was moored there, but the vessel was unoccupied.

The whole team ran to the second slip. No boat .

An older Asian man stood on the dock alone, his face hanging low and despondent. I recognized him as the butler I'd seen at the magic show.

"That's one of his men."

We approached him, and he raised his hands as he cowered on the dock. "Don't shoot."

"Where are they?" I asked him as Vander checked him for weapons.

His eyes were distant and glossy. "They left."

"How long ago?" Fontaine asked.

"Just a few minutes."

"What's the name of the boat?" I asked.

He looked at me first and pressed his lips together then his gaze shifted to Wren.

"Please," she begged.

"You cooperate now, it'll be better for you in the long run," Fontaine added.

He nodded, defeated. "The Illusion," he said with his gaze on Wren.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"I knew your family. Your grandfather, your parents, they were good people."

He looked down, and I patted him on the back. "You did the right thing." I turned to Vander. "Do we have a boat available here?"

"No. Let's take the helo."

"Fuck yeah." A little air to sea action sounded great right now. I set my gaze on Wren. " Now you'll stay with Celeste."

She shook her head. "No. I'm with you."

"Wren, no. You can't go with us. "

Celeste stepped in front of Wren. "I'll watch her. She can go."

This was up to Vander. He looked at Celeste then at me. "Both women in the helo."

Fuck. I knew why he made that call. He didn't want Celeste out of his sight again, and he didn't want to leave Wren unguarded.

"Fine, but she stays belted in. No matter what, you're not leaving the bird."

She grinned and nodded, making my chest fill with a burst of lust and love for her. Lord help me, this woman had me by the balls.

Fontaine had already run back past the body and was climbing up the hotel stairs. We followed with Celeste and Wren running with us. Luckily, my girl was a fast runner.

Remy was waiting on the helipad as we filed in and buckled up. He watched Wren and Celeste join us in plain clothes and didn't say anything.

"New mission." I gripped his shoulder. "We're looking for a boat called the Illusion. Big enough to hold thirty to fifty passengers. They got a head start of fifteen minutes out into the marina. "

He nodded and adjusted some controls on his instrument panel. "And what will you do when you find it?"

"How much rope you got?"

He paused and then grinned. "One rope, four harnesses."

"That'll work."

"Shit."

As we flew out over the marina, I watched Wren sitting stiffly in her seat observing everything happening. Our gazes locked, and she grinned quickly, her eyes flashing with mischief, a glint of satisfaction on the edge of it.

Holy shit. What was that?

I raised my eyebrows and tilted my head. Did you ?

She nodded slightly.

Oh yeah, I could read my girl.

She shot Tommy.

Celeste was holding the gun, but Wren shot Tommy and she was proud of it.

***

Ten minutes past the breakwater, Vander spotted a yacht of sufficient size traveling quickly south along the coast, possibly headed toward Mexico to drop off its passengers. With high-powered stabilizing binoculars, he identified and confirmed it as the Illusion.

A tri-level yacht with no visible passengers, the pilot was probably on the second level. The chopper tilted forward, closing in quickly to give us as much of an element of surprise as was possible with a helicopter. The plan was to fast rope onto the deck—Fontaine first followed by me, Vander, and Steel. Talon and Kane would provide cover from above.

Remy descended and hovered steadily over the yacht. Onshore wind from the southwest. Position was good.

Fontaine gave a thumbs up and jumped. He shimmied down the rope quickly, landed, removed the harness and gave another thumbs up. Textbook technique. Okay, so maybe he was a skilled operator .

Kane and Talon covered me as I jumped behind Fontaine. It had been a long time since I'd fast roped onto a vessel from a helo, but there were some skills you never forgot.

The wind whipped me too far west, and I had to wait until it swung back around to descend. My boots hit the deck hard, and we froze to see if anyone noticed us. Nothing.

Crouching low, Fontaine and I moved stealthily toward the cabin door. The deck was deserted; everyone was below. Still no sign yet that we'd been detected.

He covered me as I eased the door open. We slipped inside and rushed the cockpit. The pilot noticed us then, but it was too late. My arm locked around his neck, pulling him back and up. A brief struggle—a grunt, a kick—then the pilot slumped, unconscious, in my grip. I didn't kill him because we hadn't confirmed yet that we had the correct vessel.

I lowered him to the floor just as Vander and Steel entered. Vander zip-tied his wrists and disarmed him. Steel took control of the helm.

Vander, Fontaine, and I took the stairs to the lower deck, weapons ready. This was all going too well. Trouble was around the corner. I knew enough to guarantee it.

Below deck, the women screamed when they saw us, giving us little time to assess the situation. It looked like five men plus Kenny and about thirty women and girls crammed into a small space.

"FBI. Hands up!" Fontaine called.

Four of them put their hands up. One of them drew a weapon .

I engaged him in the head and the exiting bullet shattered the glass behind him. He fell to the ground with the shards of glass. The women gasped and screamed then a tense silence fell over the cabin.

"Anyone else wanna try something?" I asked the other four guys and Kenny.

No one moved.

"On your knees," Fontaine ordered. "Hands up."

Everyone in the room moved to their knees.

Except Kenny.

He raised a fist and began to snap his fingers.

So I shot his hand.

He dropped and disappeared. His last magic trick.

Fucker.

Vander took my six down to the lower level while Fontaine secured the cabin.

"Where are you, Kenny Z?"

We cleared the room right to left, opening doors.

I found him hiding in a hatch under the deck.

"Can't hide from me, fucker."

Unfortunately, he did not have a weapon and did not pull one on me, so I couldn't kill him.

"Come on out. Hands up." I kept my pistol trained on his forehead.

He raised his arms, one hand coated in blood. Looked like I shot off one of his fingers. Poor guy. That would really hinder his magic skills. He rose slowly, looking pathetic and gripping his wrist. "My hand. Why did you shoot me? I didn't do anything."

"Sure. "

"You lied to me. You said you were Gavin."

"It was all just an illusion."

As we perp walked him up the stairs, he started to argue. "You have no right to board this boat."

I laughed and corralled him in the state room with the other guys.

The women and young girls were terrified, and Fontaine was attempting to assure them they were safe while keeping all Kenny's men under control.

Steel turned the boat around, and we headed back to the marina.

I regretted not getting the chance to kill Kenny, but it would also be fun to watch him rot in jail.

Either way, this mission was complete.