When it goes Sour
-1-
Cho stretched out and tried to get comfortable. A stone was digging into his rib cage, so he brushed it away from his body by body movement, rather than reaching for it. That way he didn't have to alter the bi-pod alignment on the heavy M14 that he was cradling in his shoulder. Jane's head in the scope was crystal clear. "Can you copy me, Jane. Give me a radio check."
Staring at Jane through the scope, it seemed like he was right there. "I copy Cho. One, two three. Good copy?"
Cho smiled. The man was a master ventriloquist. His lips did not move at all. Now, all they had to do was wait and hope it played out without going sour. If it went sour, no telling how many people would die. It was Cho's job to insure that none of the team were in the body count and to help keep the little girl alive, too. "Got you five by five, Jane. Now, the key to shoot is 'pull back, dude,' Roger that?"
Jane smiled, but his lips did not move. "That's a big 10-4 good buddy. 'pull back, dude,' and you 'make his day'." Without losing his sight picture, Cho slightly shook his head, wondering if Jane was ever serious.
The tarp covering Cho was actually helping to keep him cool by providing shade. This could not take too long. Set up the ransom exchange, get the girl back alive, and then try to take down the perps. That's how it was supposed to play. "Wonder how that's going to work," he mused.
oOo
Lisbon put the phone down, face ashen. "We've got another kidnapping, Team. The ransom demand is already in. The family can afford what is being asked, and the Mayor want's to go with that scenario. The last time, we had a dead child and nothing to show for it. We don't want that again.
The team looked at each other, nodding soberly. "We know they will kill," Rigsby said. "Now the question is will they deliver, and if they do, how do we take them down."
"They weren't smart, just vicious!" Jane said. "They killed for nothing. They got no money, and now, they have every law official beating the bushes for them. That does not show me a lot of planning or forethought. We will simply have to out think them. If they are as stupid as they seem, that should be easy."
"That's easy to say, but we have to roll or we'll not get there by the instruction deadline. They said they'd call back in an hour. Let's get to the roof. A chopper will provide transport." Lisbon set words to action and headed for the elevator and pushed the up button. The rest where right behind her, even Rigsby, who took an additional two seconds to grab a doughnut.
"What?" he said, when all eyes turned towards his laggard approach. "I was hungry."
Cho watched with concealed amusement as Van Pelt's exasperated "Wayne" exploded from her. Only months of practice kept his face impassive as Wayne hurriedly stuffed the last of the doughnut into his mouth, cheeks bulging, and tried to look guiltless.
oOo
Cho, from his vantage point, could see a white, beat up van approaching. "Heads up. Bogey approaching," he said into his voice activated microphone. "On the north road, white van." Van Pelt and Wayne were concealed at another vantage point, so Lisbon and Jane were the two visible, both of them wearing only pants and t-shirts., making it obvious that they were unarmed. Cho zoomed the scope in on the van's windshield and saw two men in the front seat. The interior was too dark to distinguish more, but he now knew that the shot, if needed, would be as easy as he though it would be.
The van stopped about twenty five paces from Jane, Lisbon and the SUV. A man opened the door and stepped out, holding something oblong and shiny in his hand. "I have a laptop computer, here," he said. "I'm going to bring it half way to you and leave it. When I return to my van, you'll come, pick it up and go back to your position. I'll then tell you what's next."
Cho grunted an almost silent grunt of satisfaction. He could hear everything through Jane's mic. It would help his readiness to know what was being said. He didn't feel comfortable totally relying on Jane to give the kill signal. If he felt the need, he'd make his own decision. Even in the service as a sniper, the final decision was always his. That's the way he worked. The final decision would always be his.
The second man got out of the van and Cho could see that he was armed with an automatic rifle. Cho grimaced. "You're my boy," he mused as the carefully adjusted the range and zoom on his scope.
oOo
The house was even more lavish than any of them had expected, but the Mayor, sending a helicopter to transport them there, should have been a clue. This house reeked of money and power. Even Jane seemed slightly taken aback, though Lisbon was the only one who recognized the signs in him. To most, he looked like the same old cocky Jane, but Teresa noticed the slight alteration in his carriage and his stride had shortened, not his normal, confident lanky gait. "So this is what it takes," she mused, pleased at her additional insight into the interior Jane.
The phone rang, causing an instant flurry of activity. As according to plan, Jane answered the phone, quickly made peace with the caller, managed to quickly establish himself as the official spokesman for the family and the state and proceeded, in a business like fashion, to arrange the exchange. He made notes as they talked, even though everything was being recorded. They would compare the two, making sure there was no confusion.
"Understood," Jane said. "You do your part and we'll do ours." He hung up the phone and shook his head. "This cannot be this simple," he observed. "They were almost too easy. We have 3 hours to get the money and meet them right here," he said, pointing to the map on the table. "We are told to drive and to follow these guidelines," he said, indicating the notes he'd made. I can't get a read on them. They used a voice scrambler, so there's no way I could tell anything from voice stress, intonation or accent. I'm really afraid I underestimated them before."
oOo
