Page 87 of Savage Obsession

“Fair enough. How many do you see?”

“Fifteen, boss.”

And, the burning question, “Can you take them all out at once?”

Aleksy hesitates, then, “Probably. Yes, we have the drop on them, and they’re making no real attempt to remain out of sight. Obviously not expecting an attack. We can’t do it without alerting the farmstead, though.”

“Okay. Take your positions but take no action until I say so.” We need our assault on the cabin itself to be ready to go at the exact same moment all hell is let loose in the forest.

We left Henio behind at the warehouse. I get him on the phone. “So, what did the heat detectors tell us?”

“Seventeen individuals, located in a semicircle around the farmhouse. I texted you a map.”

I consult the plan quickly and conclude that he’s right. Aleksy has two unaccounted for. I forward the map to him with the instruction to locate the final two, but my previous order stands.

I get Kris on the phone. He’s in the following SUV. “Hey, boss. I’ve decided to deploy choppers for the attack.”

“Okay. How many do we have available?”

“I can commandeer three. Enough to carry twenty-four men.” Allowing for the three or four guards probably inside the cabin, that makes our numbers vastly superior. With the element of surprise also on our side, the odds are better than good.

“Why choppers?”

“Because San Antonio’s men are between us and the cabin. Aleksey can take them down, but whichever direction we approach from on land, it would take us too long to then leapfrog over their position to reach the farmhouse before he has time to either kill or move Julia.”

Kris is happy to defer to me. “You’re the military strategist here, Baz. Execute the assault as you see fit.”

I issue the order to mobilise the helicopters we have on standby at various locations in Puerto de la Cruz, with instructions to rendezvous with us at the Helipuerto De La Guancha, no more than a few minutes by air from our target.

I do love it when a plan comes together.

“Do you have them all covered?”

“Affirmative, boss.” Aleksey located the elusive pair of San Antonio guards tucked under a rocky outcrop and sent two of his men to cover them. The rest have been in his crosshairs for the past couple of hours.

“Any activity?”

“No, boss.”

“Okay. Stand by for my order.”

I give the signal, and all three of our choppers, each laden with men and bristling with lethal hardware, take to the air in unison. “Aleksey, we’re airborne and en route. Be ready to go in two minutes from now, on my order.” I’ve opted to take a less direct route and approach from the sea rather than risk alerting the men in the woods. By the time they realise anything is wrong, Aleksey will be treating them to a hail of bullets.

There’s silence in the helicopter. Nothing to be said. Every man knows his job. Beside me, Kris is grim-faced. The plan is to open fire from the air at the same instant the gunfire erupts from the forest. San Antonio and his men will most likely emerge from the cabin, guns blazing, and we’ll cut them down from above. In the unlikely event that they stay inside, we’ll surround the place and concentrate our firepower on the un-boarded window end, while four of our men enter via the back, using a chainsaw to breach the planked walls.

“All set?” I murmur, when the roof of the cabin comes into view. Faint wisps of smoke curl from the chimney.

I’m answered by a series of sharp nods.

I check my watch, get Aleksey on speakerphone, and count down from ten. “Now!” I snarl.

Right on time, the first crack of gunfire booms from the trees, followed by a near-deafening roar as Aleksey’s men do their job.

Men aboard each chopper fling the doors open on either side. Three soldiers hang out, guns trained on the squat building below.

“Open fire,” I yell and fire off the first of the salvos myself.

As expected, two men dart from the doorway, spraying bullets at targets they can’t even see. It takes them a moment to realise the attack is coming from above them, and they drop into a crouch and return fire.

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