Right To Kill - Right to Kill Part 17
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Right to Kill Part 17

"Yes."

"You're in command."

"I need more than that, LG."

"No summary executions," she said.

"Thank you. And no names. We use our Kilo designators." When they turned on their radios, Nathan imagined a computer screen coming to life with three reds dots plotted on a map.

"This is Kilo One, with Kilos Two and Three. Radio check. How do you copy?"

"Five by five, Kilo One."

Nathan was a little surprised by the digitally altered voice coming through his earpiece. It seemed Cantrell's SAD team was taking no chances. Nothing more would be said until Nathan recited the phrase Cantrell had given him.

"It's an intrepid night," he said.

"Kilo One authenticated. This is Delta Lead. Welcome to the neighborhood."

"Thank you, Delta Lead. Kilo Two, Kilo Three, radio checks, please."

The surveillance team confirmed Harv and LG were loud and clear. Nathan also heard them perfectly. Both LG and Harv issued a thumbs-up.

Delta Lead continued, "All assets are in place and online. We have you east of the target building. Turn right at the next corner, proceed two blocks south, and turn right again. Proceed east on Olympic, roll past the target building, and enter the parking lot for Matthew's Heating and Air Conditioning. Park at the southeast corner of the building. We'll lose sight of you once you turn into the driveway. Initiate contact once you're parked and we'll update you on all activity we've monitored to date."

Nathan copied the transmission. It only took thirty seconds for Harv to park and Nathan to make the radio call.

The surveillance team said that activity had been light since Santa Monica Exotics closed for business at 1800. Nathan was informed the surveillance team hadn't entered the building, but a walking reconnaissance along the glass facade had been conducted. They gave Nathan the basic layout of the showroom floor, including the location of an elevator on the east wall. The sales offices were on the south wall.

No vehicles had entered either alley and aside from some occasional pedestrian traffic along the sidewalk, nothing significant had happened. Then, starting at 2200 and lasting until 2230, five men carrying briefcases had entered SME through the fire exit door in the east alley. Once inside the showroom floor, they turned left and headed toward the elevator. Half an hour after that, a pizza delivery occurred at the same fire exit door. Delta Lead gave them a secure website link to look at the video clips of the five men entering the building. Nathan used his iPad and held it so LG and Harv could see it. Each clip took about ten seconds and showed each man press a sequence of numbers into a keypunch above the door handle and go inside.

Tomas Bustamonte wasn't one of the men entering the building.

"They don't look like muscle," Harv said. "They look like businessmen."

"We concur," the metallic voice said.

"I also didn't see a security keypad inside the corridor."

"Again, we concur. For reference purposes, we'll designate the alleys as east alley and south alley respectively. Olympic Boulevard borders SME to the north and Stewart Street borders SME to the west. We've studied the video extensively and can't determine if any of the men who entered the building wore firearms with 100 percent certainty. We think it's a possibility with the smaller, heavyset man, third to enter the building. There's a slight bulge on the right under his coat that's consistent with a hip holster. Based on the way the pizza boxes were carefully unpacked from their thermal sleeves and the manner in which the boxes were handed off, we believe it was a legitimate pizza delivery. The man accepting the pizzas wasn't one of the men who entered with briefcases. We weren't able to track the first briefcase-carrying man, but we sent an asset to street level and successfully tracked the others. They all turned left and walked along the east wall toward the elevator in the southeast corner. Three of the last four used the elevator. One of them used a keypunch and opened a door next to the elevator and went through. We didn't see the sequence he entered. We believe it's a stairwell, but we don't have confirmation. If the door does access a stairwell, then it's reasonable to assume the elevator also requires a keycard or combination to access the upper floors."

"I agree," Nathan said. "It's probably the same sequence as the fire exit door. Do you have ears inside the building?"

There was a slight pause. "Negative."

The delay in Delta Lead's response spoke volumes. Cantrell had assembled this team on the spur of the moment and they'd probably been diverted from their current assignment to do this mundane job. It was time for a warm thank-you, which Nathan gave them.

"Appreciated, Kilo One. Proceed on foot westbound into the south alley. Follow the wall of Matthew's over to a Dumpster and use it to access the fire exit stairs. Do not deploy the spring-loaded extension-bypass it. Ascend to rooftop, stay low, and traverse to the midpoint of its west-facing parapet. We'll be standing by until you reach that location. Police and first-responder frequencies are being monitored. We'll come up on the net should the need arise. Confirm instructions."

"Confirmed." Nathan didn't need to ask why they were being routed that way. It avoided the security cameras eying both mouths of the alleys.

He put a forefinger to his lips, reminding Harv and LG that their radios were in voice-activation mode. If any of them spoke, Cantrell's SAD team would pick it up.

He noticed the wall-mounted security light on the corner of Matthew's was broken, as was the public streetlight a few yards away. So much for no boots on the ground, Nathan thought. Unsurprisingly, no broken glass littered the ground.

Nathan took a quick glance down the south alley toward SME. All quiet. Trash was scarce, but some painted-over graffiti marred the walls. They saw the Dumpster right away. Nathan knew it had recently been moved. Twenty feet away, he saw the stain on the asphalt outlining where it used to be. It now sat directly underneath the fire exit stairs. LG went first and Nathan studied her movements. Like a gymnast, she hoisted herself onto the platform and grunted in pain. Her ribs had to hurt like hell. The metal framework offered a barely audible creak as she climbed. Harv went next.

When he reached the roof, Harv and LG were crouched, waiting. Although there weren't any buildings in the immediate area taller than this one, he felt naked up here.

"We have you, Kilo team. Locate the coiled rope at the west parapet and lower yourselves down directly below that spot. Avoid dislodging the wad of gum to your left as you descend."

"Camera?" Nathan asked.

"Affirmative. Once in the east alley, cross over to the fire exit door of SME. Enter push-button code of one-three-six-four-seven-nine. We'll come up on the net if anything changes out here. Maintain open frequency and return verbal copies if possible, single clicks if not. We won't respond to your traffic unless you specify 'Delta Lead.' Good hunting, Kilo One."

Nathan thanked them again.

Harv pointed to the coiled rope and grappling hook. It seemed the surveillance team had tossed it up here sometime earlier this evening, presumably when they planted the gum camera on the wall.

Crouching, they hustled over to the west parapet where Harv inspected the rope's connection to the hook. Since they wouldn't need rappelling gear for such a short distance, the rope was knotted every eighteen inches or so.

Less than a minute later, all three of them stood on the ground in the east alley.

He mouthed the words You okay? to LG and got a nod.

Nathan pulled a thin ski mask over his face and put on his goggles. Harv and LG followed suit.

Nathan turned, issued a thumbs-up to the camera, and received a click from Delta Lead.

He pulled his suppressed Sig, reached for the keypunch, and entered the code.

CHAPTER 15.

The lock clicked and Nathan cracked the door enough to peer inside.

A dark, empty hall greeted him. Twenty feet distant, a bright line of light emanated from under a closed door-Nathan knew it came from the showroom.

He scanned the corridor for cameras and saw none. Not taking his eyes from the closed door ahead, he gave Harv a hand signal to check six high.

He sensed Harv lean into the corridor to take a look. "No camera," Harv whispered.

Nathan stepped to the side, allowing Harv and LG to enter.

"Go ahead and close the door," he said in a low voice. "We're going to hold position for two minutes. If we tripped an alarm, we might be bugging out in a big hurry. Kilo team, observe radio silence. Delta Lead exempted. We're in listening mode."

Time slowed to a crawl as their eyes adjusted to the dark. They heard nothing, then the sound of wastewater moving through a pipe. The gurgling behind the wall reached a peak, then went silent. Everyone knew what had just happened.

He looked at his watch and let the final fifteen seconds wind down. The lack of activity suggested no one knew they were here. The flushing toilet seemed to confirm it. Who would use a bathroom if an alarm had been triggered?

"Besides the door leading to the showroom, we've got two doors to check on the left. Kilo Three, you're on my six. Lineup formation." Normally he'd ask Harv to cover him, but he wanted LG involved.

LG stepped forward, put a hand on Nathan's back, and gave him a nudge-the signal she was ready to go. Moving down the corridor like a single unit, they stopped at the first door. Nathan put everyone on hold again and listened for sound.

Nothing.

The lack of visible hinges indicated the door would swing away from him. He turned the knob and slowly pushed. A pitch-black room loomed. The smell of cleaning chemicals wafted. Not wanting to deploy his NV scope yet, he grabbed a small penlight from his waist pack and confirmed this was a janitor's closet, a big one. Everything needed to clean the building and detail the cars was neatly arranged in here.

The next door was a bathroom. Nathan had hoped it would be a stairwell. No such luck. That meant they had to enter the showroom, and it looked like a supernova loomed behind the door. "Kilo Two, check for seams along the walls. Let's make sure there aren't any hidden doors."

Harv reported finding no seams.

"Kilo Two, you're on the exit door. I'm going to take a look in the showroom. Kilo Three, you're still with me."

The door was unlocked and Nathan cracked it less than an inch. Squinting, he surveyed the room. A large open space full of classic cars loomed. It looked to be about seventy-five feet deep and a hundred and fifty feet long. Identical to the floor-to-ceiling truss along the glass front, a second truss bisected the showroom along its short axis, but stopped short of the exterior walls to allow the cars to move across the room. The trusses were painted bright red. Again, he marveled at the engineering but hated what this place represented.

Most of the cars were European from the mid- to late-twentieth century-lots of color and chrome. They were arranged in three rows along the long axis of the showroom. Just as Delta Lead had indicated, sales offices lined the south wall. He couldn't see the elevator, but he did see two cameras overlooking the center of the showroom. They hung above the glass facade on the opposite side of the room. The closest row of vehicles sat ten feet away. He gave a brief description of what he saw to Harv and LG.

An idea came to him.

"Kilo team, if we stay low, I think we can avoid the cameras on the far side of the room, but I need to see what's on the wall above this door. If there are motion sensors, they were probably turned off for the guys with the briefcases. They might've been reactivated. The cameras are likely in continuous operation, shooting stills every few seconds until activated into video mode."

Harv said, "Look for a security keypad next to the door."

"I will. Delta Lead, do you still have eyes on the showroom floor?"

"Affirm. We'll take a look for a keypad. Stand by, we're repositioning our street asset to a different vantage point."

Nathan opened the door ultra-slowly until he could fit his hand through. He pulled a mirror from his waist pack and used it to scan the wall above his head and on either side of the door. As far as he could see, there were no cameras, motion detectors, or a keypad. It made sense, especially if illegal activity were taking place. Cameras and criminals didn't mix well.

"I'm taking a better look." He opened the door wider and peered in the direction the men with the briefcases had gone. He knew the elevator was down there, but he couldn't see it. The walls were adorned with huge photographs of classic cars, just like the models in the showroom. Each car had a generous amount of space surrounding it to allow customers ample room to circle their potential wares.

Nathan pulled back into the exit corridor. "What are the odds that someone's monitoring live feeds on a bank of TVs? Either in this building or somewhere else?"

"I'd say slim to none," Harv offered. "This isn't a Vegas casino. If this is a criminal enterprise, as our friend suspects, those men with briefcases won't want to be recorded. I seriously doubt they're here to conduct legitimate business, unless they're doing it in a different time zone."

"Kilo team, our street asset is back online. We located two keypunches. One is next to the elevator, the other's next to the door near the elevator, presumably to unlock access to a stairwell. Other than those, we aren't detecting any other security keypads."

"Copy, Delta Lead. I'm going to walk over to the elevators and see what happens."

"We'll be monitoring your progress. We have eyes on the elevator's lights. It's currently on the third floor; if it moves we'll let you know."

Nathan turned toward Harv and Linda. "I might be coming back in a big hurry so be ready to engage." He sensed LG liked that idea. "If this place erupts with blaring alarms, we'll have to assume the Santa Monica Police Department will be dispatched. No doubt, the security company relays triggered alarms to the police. Here goes . . ."

Feeling like a party crasher, he stepped into the showroom floor, took a few steps to his left, and stopped. If motion sensors were present and active, they should've picked him up and triggered the alarm system. It didn't make sense for a place like this to employ silent alarms.

So far, so good. Willing himself to be invisible, he began a normal walk toward the southeast corner. As a Marine scout sniper and CIA special-operations-group officer, Nathan had survived by being stealthy. This felt like anti-stealth.

Since no additional lights came on, or any security sirens blared, he began to believe the system was in standby mode. Again, it made sense. Nathan doubted those briefcases held- "Kilo One, you've got company. The elevator's on the way down."

The icy calmness of the metallic voice sent a shiver across Nathan's chest.

Decision time. Fight or flee?

"Kilos Two and Three, hold position and stand by."

He diverted to his right and ducked behind a classic Bentley, his mind working overtime. How many people did an average elevator hold? Ten? Fifteen? In a building this size, he doubted there would be that many. It probably held five to seven. Would they burst out with guns drawn? And why use the elevator? Why not the stairs? The elevator gave their approach away. Something felt wrong. Could the elevator simply be returning to the ground floor after a pre-programmed delay? If so, its doors wouldn't open. The elevator would simply go into standby mode.

The truth was almost upon him.

He watched the lighted numbers change from three to two. He didn't think it would stop there and it didn't.

Number two went dark and number one came to life.

He'd have to hold fire until he was certain Tomas or Ursula weren't present, but if multiple gun-toting thugs spilled into the showroom, he'd start shooting.

"Kilo team, five seconds."

Despite the tension, a smile touched his lips. Screw Cornejo and his billions.

This place belonged to a first-class turd. Nathan didn't care about the Venezuelan election, the price of crude oil, or entitlement spending.

All he cared about was right here and right now.

He left his laser dark and increased pressure on the trigger.

The elevator issued a pleasant chime and its single door slid open.

A man exited and turned right. Nathan recognized him as the third man the surveillance team had recorded entering the fire exit door: Bravo Three. He was empty-handed.

It was clear this guy had no clue Nathan was in the room. The man walked straight toward the exit corridor where LG and Harv were holed up. Was he leaving?

Decision time again.

For several tactical reasons, Nathan chose to let Harv and LG deal with this.

"Bravo Three's heading for your location. Close the door quietly and back up a few feet. He's empty-handed. No visible weapons. Copy?"

"Affirm," came Harv's whisper in his earpiece. "We're ready."

"We need intel."

"Understood."