The Huntsman (14 page)

Fighting
a rising panic, he retraced his steps toward the entrance then raced for the
stairway, oblivious to having left the doors unlocked. He burst into the office
and froze, paralyzed in place. His dead partner lay on the floor. Bent over
him, a nightmare-spawned creature rose up holding a torn arm. He opened his
mouth to scream but no sound emerged. Before his vocal cords loosened, the
thing opened its beak and a clear liquid streamed across the four-foot
distance. It slapped across his face and congealed. His breathing instinct
triggered a violent reflex. Hands flew to his face in an effort to tear off the
suffocating mask. They stuck. He fell to the floor writhing for oxygen. His
chest heaved in spasms. Slowly they weakened then stopped altogether. Kreetor
returned to the first corpse and tore off the other arm.

Among
the parking lot teams, confusion reigned. They’d heard a commotion and shots
from the second floor redoubt. Team1 no longer responded to their radio calls.
They’d not planned for three teams being down without any obvious threat.
Should they reposition? Where? The building had neutralized two teams. The jungle
had taken another. Should they stay or abandon the job? They hadn’t been paid
but dead men spent no money. They huddled around their respective radios.

“Any
ideas?”

“I
vote we get the hell out of here.”

“What
about Amrah. He may be alive.”

“If
he was alive, he’d be out here or on the radio.”

“Maybe
he’s just hurt.”

“If
he’s hurt he’ll slow us down. I vote we get the hell out of here.”

“We
can’t just run out on him. One of us has to go inside.”

“I’ll
go.”

“Okay.
Don’t waste time. In and out. If he can move bring him. If he’s hurt bad, he’s
on his own.”

Fifteen
minutes elapsed. No sound emerged from the building. Nothing moved. No one
looked out from the second floor window. Icicles ran up and down their spines.
The three looked at one another.

“We
can’t wait any longer.”

“Let’s
get the hell out of here.”

“Stay
in line. Let’s do it by the numbers. Don’t bunch up. You go first, then you.
I’ll bring up the rear.”

“What
if the cars aren’t out front?”

“Then
we keep going. We’ll stop and hijack the first one we see.”

The
second took off five seconds after the first. On a five count the third rose up
and continued into the night sky, the talon in his throat preventing any sound.
The first rounded the facility’s front and raced for the visitor’s parking lot,
relieved to see their cars still there. His teammate’s body thudding to the
ground stopped him cold. Already strained nerves had him firing in all
directions at ghosts and shadows.

The
second, swept up in the hysteria, fired at anything he imagined a threat. He stopped
to reload just as something descended from the sky atop his partner. Unholy
screams accompanied the sound of tearing flesh and crunching bones. They
stopped abruptly and silence dropped like a stone. The second turned and ran
with no conscious thought as to direction or destination. A numbing fear drove
him. His feet continued running even after they left the ground an instant
before his neck snapped.

*
* *

Janesh’s
chest rose and fell timed to long, deep breaths. For two hours he’d remained
semi-conscious, tuned to the surrounding jungle’s rhythms. Better than
patience, a state well-suited to waiting. Behind him Duncan and Ronan sat
quiet, still, alert.

They
sat in an open jeep, part of an eight-vehicle caravan that had driven the sixty
miles north from Singapore into Malaysia. Parked on the shoulder of an
ill-paved back road that wormed through a tangled forest, only two other
vehicles had occupants. Everyone else had hiked four miles inland to surveil
Nicholas Koh’s research facility.

If
Janesh succeeded in his latest clash, it would be in no small part to Chatur’s
powerful background role. He’d made all the arrangements for twelve hard-eyed
mercenaries to arrive in Singapore along with the proper paperwork identifying
them as security consultants. Former members of India’s most decorated unit,
the famed Kumaon Regiment, they were veterans of the vicious fighting along the
India/Pakistan border and justly feared even by the most fanatical Muslim
insurgents.

Janesh
emerged from his meditative state to turn and stare into the thick darkness. Eyes
glanced at the clock—1:06am. Like ghostly wraiths two figures appeared out of
the gloom. Both nodded in admiration he’d detected their approach.

“Your
skills are not just legendary,
Mahān
Śikārī.” Janesh gave a slight bow of his head.

“Observing you and your men has only enhanced them, Lieutenant.
What can you tell me?”

“We are not sure. The facility’s lights are on and there are cars
in the visitor’s lot. We sent in a drone through an open window overlooking the
parking lot. Except for some overturned furnishings and a lot of blood we saw
nothing. The place is abandoned. No one is there.”

Janesh rose from his seat to pace by the jeep, head bowed,
thoughts racing. “That doesn’t make sense. I know this man. He would not
deliberately leave himself exposed and vulnerable.” He stopped and eyed the
Lieutenant.  “With all due respect, is there any chance you missed detecting
them?” The Lieutenant returned a steady gaze gave his head a slow shake.

“No. The facility is abandoned.” Again Janesh bowed his head. His
breath gave a sharp intake.

“The blood in the office. Was it pooled? Fairly circular?”

“Yes. Two of them. Almost undisturbed.”

“Did you send the drone into the laboratory area proper?”

“No. Its range is not unlimited.”

“Listen to me carefully, Lieutenant. Unless I’m mistaken, Koh’s
men are there. They’re all dead. Under no circumstances are you or your men to
enter the facility or come anywhere near the equipment within.” Janesh paused.
The infantryman waited. “There’s no time to explain, Lieutenant. Alert your
men. The danger may come from a creature.” Puzzlement narrowed the mercenary’s
eyes. His head made a slow nod.

“Are
you going ahead with the exchange?”

“I
have no choice. The woman is the priority. She should be the only female among
us. Her red hair is distinctive. Your men should paint everyone else. Use good
judgment, Lieutenant. Once I have the woman, take out any targets you wish. All
of them would be fine. How will you position your team?”

“Seven
will form a firing line just inside the forest. Anyone in the parking lot will
be targeted. I and the other four will remain on this road a quarter-mile from
the lot. We’re the backup. If it falls apart, run back along the road. I’ll pick
you up.”

Janesh
nodded and extended a hand to the two soldiers. “It’s been an honor. Good luck,
gentlemen.”

“The
honor is ours,
Mahān Śikārī.
Parakramo
Vijayate.” Janesh bowed his head, humbled by the Kumaon Regiment’s motto,
“Valor Triumphs”.

“Parakramo
Vijayate.”

Janesh
leaned into the jeep to bend down and rub heads with Duncan and Ronan. “Protect
me, Lord Vishnu”, he muttered, “that I may protect my friends. But if not take
me not them.”

He
leaned past the dogs, unsheathed his spear from its covering, and laid his
hunting knife alongside. Buckling in, Janesh retrieved a .45 automatic from
under the seat. Safety off, round chambered, he laid it on the passenger seat.
The dashboard clock read 1:24am.

Janesh
rounded the last curve into the well-illuminated facility’s glare. A large,
landscaped expanse sat between the unmanned gate and the parking lot where
another vehicle sat with its headlights on. Twenty-feet away, he braked, turned
off the lights, but left the engine idling. Koh’s voice called across the
distance. “Step forward McKenzie. Leave the dogs in the car or I won’t come
out.”

Janesh
stepped toward a halfway point. The dogs, receptive to the tension, remained
alert. Koh emerged from the car to stand ten feet away.

“Did
you kill my men, McKenzie?

“Much
as I’d like to kill anyone associated with you, I had nothing to do with it.”

“Do
you take me for a fool? You and your team are the only ones here.”

“Enough,
Koh. I already told you I had nothing to do with it.”

“How’d
you kill my physicists?” Nicholas noted his genuine puzzlement.

“What
physi…”

Brain-gears
interlocked. Apparently he and the CIA had not been the only ones victimized.
“Listen to me, Koh. There’s another player in this game. If you want answers, I
need to first see the girl. I want to see her alive and well. All of her.”

Koh
snapped his fingers. From the rear seat a giant emerged. One meaty hand gripped
Miranda by the throat. The other pointed a gun to her head. “Miranda, are you
alright?” Eyes wide, throat throttled, she could only nod. Janesh’s breathing
slowed to not let his rage boil over. “Look at your thug, Koh. He’s painted.”
Nicholas glanced over. Three laser dots held steady on his forehead. “I assure
you. There are two on your head. Don’t try anything funny.”

Nicholas
thought fast. He hadn’t expected to find the entire team assassinated. By now,
McKenzie should have been dead before he even stepped out the vehicle. The girl
remained his only leverage. “Get back in the car.” He turned to Janesh. “Who’s
the other player?”

“I
don’t have an ID. Before you grabbed the equipment, everyone on our side who
came in contact with it wound up dead, hanging by their faces with their arms
torn off and pasted to their backs. Isn’t that how you found your physicists?
And if I’m not mistaken, your hit squad is inside the facility in the same
condition. If you’ve been anywhere near the equipment, your life is in danger
too.”

Nicholas
remained unconvinced. Who else but the killer would know the bizarre method of
death? He thought back to the body bags dragged from the CIA warehouse.
McKenzie must have killed them too. Why? Somehow he must have learned the
nature of the device and schemed for its control. He intended the unorthodox
kills to divert suspicion. He really needed to kill this dangerous man.

“Well,
right now you and I are the only players. I’m not going to just hand the woman
over. One second later, I’d be riddled with bullets. Here’s how we’re going to
play it. You will follow me on the road back to my estate. Once we’re out of
your shooters’ range, you can have the girl in exchange for your word you won’t
interfere ever again with my plans.”

Janesh
felt sure somewhere on that road an ambush waited. He pulled out his mobile,
put on the loudspeaker, and dialed. “Lieutenant, I want you and your men to
hold your fire under any and all circumstances. Acknowledge.”

“Hold
fire under all circumstances. Acknowledged.”

“Release
the girl here, Koh. You have my word we’ll drive away and never interfere with
your plans.” Nicholas didn’t like the plan. It left McKenzie alive.

“No.
That could be a prearranged signal. We drive out of here or there’s no deal.”

A
long machine gun burst fired from the jungle. Then another. Nicholas ducked
down. An automatic emerged from under his jacket. “What the hell are you up to,
McKenzie?” Janesh pressed his mobile.

“What’s
going on, Lieutenant?”

“We’re
under attack in the woods. I think two of my men are down.”

An
unholy shriek echoed across the parking lot. Both men looked up. Janesh
recognized the enormous winged brute soaring in the night sky. It flapped once,
twice, then disappeared. Nicholas’ head tracked back and forth, trying to
reacquire the image and affirm his sanity. “What the hell was that?”

“That
was the third player.”

Five
men in obvious pursuit, weapons tracking the sky, broke from the forest. The
Lieutenant’s group raced up from the back road and through the rear gate.
Nicholas panicked, convinced they’d concocted an elaborate ruse to trap and
kill him. He fired two shots at Janesh then raced to his car. Janesh felt the
bullets whiz past his ear. He dashed for the jeep. Duncan and Ronan strained
not to break discipline. As Nicholas’ car squealed in reverse, Janesh grabbed
his weapon and calmed his nerves. He fired once, twice. A front tire exploded.

Nicholas
managed to turn the car toward the road he’d entered from. The destabilized
auto brushed against the front gate before continuing on three wheels back
toward the estate. Janesh jumped in the jeep, smashed the clutch down, and
punched straight into third. With the accelerator floored, the car at first
lagged then roared in pursuit. At the red line he banged into Nicholas’ rear.
He banged it again and then again.

Nicholas
slammed the brakes. Grinding metal locked the cars together. Undercarriages
screeched along the road. Nicholas’ vehicle broke off, the shattered rim caused
it to swerve out of control and flip twice before landing upright. Janesh
crashed into its front and set it spinning. The jeep came to a halt twenty feet
away, engine stopped, radiator hissing and spitting.