Page 45 of Operation: Silent Angel
“I’ve had experience in this,” Mac said. “Don’t worry. I’ll only shoot the bad guys in the confined space.”
“All I can say is that the girl better be on this boat. If Ruiz is yanking our chains, I’ll fucking shred him,” Garcia said.
On the Cigar Boat, Lambchop said a prayer for a successful mission as they closed in on the Delphi Princess. “Father God, let us find Bella safe and unharmed on this boat. Let us rescue her with no casualties so that we may all return home to our loved ones. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”
“Amen,” both Mother and Crash echoed.
Mother typed out a quick text to Cooper.
Lambchop has said the prayer. We’re ready to engage, ETA two minutes.
Cooper text messaged back.
Roger that. We’re also set to intercept the target in two minutes. We’ve killed our running lights, but I’m sure that yacht has radar.
They’ll hear us coming in, and we’ll make a good show to draw their attention.
It went as planned. The Cigar Boat came in fast and loud, whipped around and made another pass in front of the Delphi Princess drawing everyone’s attention to it as the little fishing boat snuck up behind the yacht and dropped the three men, Cooper, Garcia, and Mac. The craft pulled away seconds later, leaving a vacant swim platform. One of the DEA agents was at the controls, the other with a rifle pointed at the yacht ready to lay down cover fire when needed.
Lambchop pulled a third sea donut in front of the yacht to keep their attention, knowing his teammates had been delivered to the swim platform as he’d seen the fishing vessel pull away from the yacht. He then turned the controls over to Crash, and he moved into position beside Mother to board the yacht as Crash piloted the craft to the stern of the yacht.
That was when the gunfire erupted on the yacht.
On the stern, the three men had easily boarded, unnoticed by anyone on the yacht. Their luck didn’t hold for long. They fanned out, Coop making his way along the port side, Razor creeping in the shadows along the starboard side, and Mac approaching the aft sliding glass door to the interior of the yacht straight up the middle. He crept up to the table and chairs set that was just past the small hot tub nearest the swim platform. But as he approached the door, a figure appeared on the level above. Mac made eye contact with the man.
Mac was faster. His shot was dead on, and it alerted two other men who were nearby. They ran to the railing and had clear shots below at the three men who had boarded.
As Crash pulled away, after dropping the two men on the swim platform, the muzzle flashes from the aft of the pilot deck, lit the night and the sounds of gunfire shattered the stillness of the night. Muzzle flashes from the deck answered the volley from above and were joined by shots from the fishing boat to the port side and aft of the yacht.
Mac made it to the sliding glass door and breached the interior, stepping into the opulent space of furniture upholstered with rich gold tapestries, walls adorned with intricately carved wood panels, and lit by a crystal chandelier. He knew the standard layout of a yacht and knew the doorway to the right on the far side of the space led to the interior, most likely with staircases going up and down.
After passing through that door, he passed the two staircases that were right where he expected. Past them, he checked out the galley, which was the first door on the left. It was empty.Continuing down the short hallway, he entered the master bedroom suite, which was positioned in the bow of the craft. Both were vacant. He transmitted his location and this info, whispering through comms as he was now in a place that was quiet enough to use them.
He returned to the hallway outside the galley and stopped at the two staircases. He had a decision to make. Go up, which would bring him to the bridge to take control of the craft, or to go down into the bowels of the boat, which would bring him to where Bella Sanguino was most likely being held.
“Right behind you, Mac, entering the interior now,” Razor transmitted.
Mac could still hear intermittent gunfire from outside.
“Three Tangos neutralized,” Coop broadcast. “Lambchop and I are converging on the pilot deck.”
That made Mac’s decision for him. Down it was. He waited for Garcia to join him. With his pistol leading the way, Mac rushed down the stairs, crouching in the shadows at the bottom. His gaze and his weapon swept both directions, settling on the longer hallway to his left. Garcia landed behind him a moment later, still upright, his aim in the opposite direction from Mac’s.
No one was in the passageway either to the left or to the right. To the right, towards the bow, there was one closed door where the passageway abruptly ended. It was either a bedroom or a storage compartment. To the left, running the length of the hull towardsthe stern, were three doors, the passageway ending at a door that more than likely accessed the engine compartment at the stern. He doubted the girl was being held in the engine compartment, but there could be a Tango inside.
“Cover my six,” Garcia’s gravelly voice whispered in Mac’s ear. Mac followed him to the door into the bow area, keeping watch on the doors along the passageway. He heard the door open. He glanced back just long enough to see Garcia enter the dark room. “Clear,” Garcia grunted.
Mac crept up to the first of the three doors along the passageway. He stepped in front of it and pressed his back to the hull, his gaze and weapon down the length of the space. Once again, he heard Garcia open the door. From the corner of his eye, he saw Garcia disappear into the room. He heard movement within the space, which from his vantage point he couldn’t see into. He assumed it would be a cabin.
A few moments later, Garcia stepped back into the passageway, quietly closing the door behind him. The second doorway, almost directly across from Mac, opened. A man stepped into the passageway. He gripped a handgun held at his side, which upon seeing Mac, began to raise it. Mac didn’t hesitate. He squeezed the trigger, the round striking the man center mass. He fell backward into the cabin. “One Tango neutralized,” he broadcast.
At the same instant Mac fired his weapon, he heard a quiet female scream come from the direction of the third door. Garcia rushed into the cabin the man had fallen back into to disarm him and be sure he was no longer a threat. Mac stepped to the thirddoor. He pressed his back to the wall beside it and waited for what seemed an eternity for Garcia to rejoin him.
Through comms, they heard the takedown of the captain of the boat. Lambchop was now at the controls. Besides the captain, there was one more neutralized Tango, thanks to Mother. The speed of the boat decreased, and Mac felt the turn the boat was making. Lambchop was probably bringing it about with the intention of returning to the marina from where it had departed.
Putting some distance between them and the incoming yacht, which had to be twice its size, was a good thing.
Garcia nodded toward the door. “I’ll kick it and veer to the side. You go low,” he whispered.
