Note: Hey, I finally got to the heist! Long chapter is long. ;) Enjoy!
Chapter Nine
"Alright," Frost nodded "let's do this."
"Oorah." Bryant crowed quietly.
"Ugh, Jarheads." Frost muttered in mock disgust.
"Bite me, Ranger Rick."
"Bring it, Spook."
"Spook? Now there's the pot calling the kettle…"
"Black?" Frost provided indignantly.
"Really? The race card?" Bryant chuckled. "That's how you want to play this game?"
"Whatever it takes my Aryan friend."
"Are you two done?" Neal asked seriously.
"Sorry," Frost apologized "between recovering from injury and what basically boils down to a desk job it's been a good three years since I've been out in the field like this."
"About that," Neal glanced over at the house through the last ten yards of woods "I really do appreciate the back up, but I need you two to stay at the tree line. Okay?"
"It's your mission, Boss." Frost nodded. "Whatever you need from us, we're here. Even if it's just for another set of eyes."
"Well, one and a half sets at least." Bryant added.
"My point is," Frost turned to a more serious tone "we do everything on your call tonight, Neal, you're the expert here."
"Thank you. Home invasion are very tricky, particularly when there are children in the house"
"Unfortunately, since Bashiri works from home and with summer vacation just starting there simply isn't going be a good time any time soon where no one is home, another reason this particular Ivory List item caught our attention as being high risk for civilian causalities."
"Speaking of which, no guns allowed in the house." Neal said firmly. "Bryant, I know I can't expect you to go on an assignment unarmed anymore than I can expect it of Peter, but we're the 'bad guys' tonight and I absolutely will not allow any use of force against the Bashiri family no matter what happens, even if he fires at me first."
"Understood." Bryant nodded.
"Bashiri doesn't have a registered weapon, and I doubt he's the kind to have an illegal weapon for home protection." Frost assured. "He does have a dog though, Bryant has a tranquilizer…"
"No." Neal declined the offer. "I can handle the dog, in fact I need him."
"What?"
"Trust me. I'll be back in twenty minutes."
"Come back to the South side of the woods, you are really hard to spot once you're in the woods so you need to come back here. If things go really sideways then meet back at the car, but since this is our first time out together try not to let anything go sideways, okay?"
Neal nodded and after tightening the strap that held the cylindrical case to his back he stalked off through the last ten yards to the edge of the woods. Once he got there he paused having arranged with Frost to do a com check once he got some distance between them. Frost's voice was a lot quieter and clearer over the small ear piece than the ones used by the FBI. Just like Frost Neal was wearing a thin band around his neck under his high collared shirt that held a tiny microphone against his throat that only transmitted vibrations from speech. This not only allowed him to speak clearly to Frost in just a whisper but it also canceled out any distracting ambient noise and made it so he didn't have to speak into a wrist mounted microphone leaving his hands free. Neal made a note to ask Peter about getting the better com set up for their next field assignment.
With the communication working in both directions Neal stepped out into the exposed expanse of well maintained lawn. The approach to the house was not difficult in the nearly perfectly dark night. It was just past ten, but knowledge of the Bashiri household routine from the file Neal knew that they went to bed early. By moving in on the house in a relatively early hour rather than waiting till after midnight Neal was more likely to catch the adults of the house hold in a level of sleep where they would be somewhat difficult to wake but still oriented to their surroundings if they did, rather than risking waking them during one of the numerous REM peaks later in the night where if they were woken they would be frightened and disoriented.
Being snapped out of a dream state put people on high alert and they would be more likely to investigate a noise. If Neal made a mistake and woke someone earlier in their sleep patterned they wouldn't wake with the same heart pounding adrenaline high that came with being yanked out of a dream and there was a better chance that they would just ignore whatever woke them and roll over to go back to sleep. An out of place noise was a lot easier to dismiss when you didn't have adrenaline telling you that it was a threat as opposed to just the wind or the house settling. All in all if Neal was going to deal with a woken home owner he preferred to have one that was just curious about the source of a noise rather than one actively expecting danger.
Having studied the house plans that Frost had provided him with early Neal knew he needed to get to the third story of the house where Bashiri kept his home office where the painting he was targeting was hung on the wall. He also knew to approach the Southeast corner where the areas for the motion sensing lights intersected the least. For the last twenty feet to the house Neal got down on his belly and crawled towards the house since they had set up the motion sensors to not be triggered by any wildlife shorter in height than a coyote.
Frost had warned Neal about the house security system and that there were both opening and glass break alarms on all of the first story doors and windows. Frost had offered to have Bryant cut the house power, but Neal had assured him that wouldn't be necessary and if anything would just alert Bashiri that something was wrong. The silence that a power failure caused when it turned off the air conditioning and fans in the home could wake someone just as effectively as a noise.
Having looked over the surveillance photos Neal had discovered that there was one unlikely door that didn't have alarm trigger on it. Once he was within three feet of the house Neal could stand up again without worrying about the motion sensing lights as long as he stayed slightly ducked down and he made his way to the patio and the glass sliding doors. The patio held a large swimming pool close to the house that sparkled in the limited moonlight. On the far glass door was a special insert, the top half of which was a glass panel, but the bottom section was a thick hard acrylic flap that was held firmly in place by four steel bolts that slid into the sides of the tough plastic. The family dog wore a special collar that unlocked the clear lower panel when he stepped up to it.
Kneeling down next to the electronic dog door Neal fished a small silver whistle that he'd brought along. The high frequency whistle just made a hissing sound as far as Neal was concerned, but to a dog it was well within audible range. The whistle wasn't designed to cause pain, it was just a training whistle that would hopefully catch the dog's attention without alerting any of the humans. Neal blew the whistle four time in short succession and waited a moment. It wasn't long before a large chocolate lab came trotting into the front room to investigate the new sound.
Spotting Neal outside the glass the dog raced over towards the door with his tail wagging high. This was not a trick Neal would have tried with a German Shepherd or anything similar, however knowing the easy going and trusting nature of the Labrador Neal had been certain that he would get this reception. The Lab didn't even bark as he pushed his nose against the large dog door and pushed it open as his collar unlocked the bolts. Neal had counted on the wealthy family having well trained dog that would have been discouraged from barking since wildlife would often visit the wood surrounded lot and the owners wouldn't have wanted to hear about it every time a deer or a fox decided to step on the patio. The friendly Lab joined Neal out on the patio and Neal offered him a small piece of freeze dried beef liver that he had in a plastic pouch in one of his cargo pockets. The slightly over weight dog wolfed down the treat without a moments hesitation.
"Hey, Buddy." Neal greeted softly as he pet the dog. "I need you to do me a favor."
Having a found a new friend in Neal the Lab wagged enthusiastically. As much as people tended to think their dog would defend the home against a stranger Neal found that nine times out of ten that wasn't true, dogs had been bred and raised to be friendly to humans for thousands of years and for the most part it was easy to buy their loyalty with the right food. Neal lured the dog to put his nose back down by the dog door with another treat. Once the door opened Neal held it open and tossed the liver snack into the house which the dog chased after. Taking off the painting case Neal pushed it through the door. Neal followed and although it was a tight fit with his shoulders that required a little bit of contortion afterward he was easily able to get his narrow hips through and was quickly inside the house.
The Lab came over and sat down in front of Neal in hopes that his good behavior would earn him another treat. Handing over another square of beef liver to solidify their relationship Neal then held one in his closed hand to encourage the dog to follow him. With his nose stuck to Neal's closed fist the Lab was more than happy to accompany him through the house. Neal walk carefully through the lower level of the house using the clanking sound of the dog's collar tags and his nails clicking against the tile to hide his own footsteps. The sound of the dog wandering the house at night wouldn't be out of place and easily ignored by the people sleeping in the house since they were used to hearing it.
With his new accomplice Neal made his way up the stairs and past the second story bedrooms without disturbing anyone. Once on the third floor Neal gave the dog the treat that he had been working so hard to get at. Bashiri kept his office door locked with an exterior door type lock that had both a key and a keyless entrypad, but it didn't take Neal more than a few minutes with the pick set to open it. Neal looked down at the Lab who instantly sat down and wagged.
"Stay." Neal ordered the dog quietly.
Breaking into an open mouth pant the dog seemed content to wait. Neal stepped into the large home office and closed the door behind himself before locking it. It was clear that Bashiri spent a lot of time in the office and it was set up with a large leather couch and small kitchenette so that he could spend long hours at 'work' without being disturbed or disturbing the rest of the house hold. Above the couch hung the four by three foot oil painting by Afshin Pirhashemi. The painting was a breathtaking black and white up close portrait of a Middle Eastern woman whose large eyes stared directly at the viewer and almost seemed to be challenging them. Frost had been unable to get any intelligence on if the painting was wired into the security system, but it was assumed that it was. Carefully looking under the painting without lifting it too far away from the wall Neal caught site of the wires that connected it to the house alarm. Neal was about to start on the wires when he suddenly heard the dog as he took off down the stairs.
'Neal,' Frost's voice hissed in Neal's ear 'movement downstairs.'
Neal instinctively froze in place while he waited for an update on the situation. The modern design house had a great deal of large glass windows that gave Frost and Bryant a good look inside.
'It's Alan, it looks like he's getting a glass of water, probable for one of his kids. Hold position…okay, he's taking it up to the second floor, he should just go back to bed.'
Neal found himself holding his breath against a racing heart as he waited. Looking around the office he searched for options if he had to hide. Unfortunately there really weren't any good places in the open design office to conceal himself. There was a sliding glass door that lead out onto a balcony with a metal railing, but the drapes were just sheer white and his shadow would stand out on them if he tried to hide out there.
'Shit.' Frost cursed in his ear. 'Neal, that damn dog is really excited, I think it's got Bashiri suspicious.'
As Frost gave him the update Neal could hear the dog running up and down the stairs between the second and third floor as he tried to lead his owner to meet his new friend.
'Neal, you need to hide.'
"I can't hide from a dog, he can smell me." Neal whispered. "He's going to come right to me."
'Then we're coming in for you, just jump Bashiri when he steps through the door, get the drop on him and we'll be there in a…'
"I don't 'jump' people, besides Bashiri has a good fifty pounds on me and he's got kids to protect. He'll be half way through beating me to death before you get here."
'We have to do something, Neal he's looking up the stairs, we need to make a move now!"
"Unfortunately, I have an idea."
'What? Neal, what are you doing?'
Neal didn't have time to explain anything to Frost he could hear Bashiri asking his dog what was wrong as he mounted the stairs. Taking out the dark folding knife that had come in his cargo pocket Neal winced as he stabbed the razor sharp blade into the edge of the painting and quickly cut it free of its frame. He hated to cut it out of its frame rather than remove it properly, but he was in a hurry. Rolling it up Neal slipped it into the case and slug it back over his shoulders as he hurried over to open the sliding glass door that lead to the balcony. Taking a brief look out over the edge Neal backed up into the room about fifteen feet and took a deep breath, he could hear Bashiri punching his code into the door to open it and knew it was now or never.
'What the hell are you doing?' Frost demanded.
"Making my move."
Bashiri cautiously turned the door knob, he was probably thinking to himself that he was crazy for suspecting that anything was wrong but at the same time couldn't just go back to bed without checking. Neal couldn't be certain how Bashiri would react to finding an intruder, but he really didn't want to find out. Determined not to be caught Neal broke into a sprint and raced towards the metal railing.
'Neal, no!' Frost cried.
Far too late to stop now Neal used his substantial forward momentum to help him haul himself up on the rail. Planting both feet on the square metal Neal pushed off away from the house with as much strength as his adrenaline fueled muscles allowed for as he jumped from the impressive height. Neal had used this extreme escape route several times in various situations, but this was the first time he hadn't carefully mapped out the landing first. Praying the water was going to be deep enough Neal did his best to land on his back with his arms out to cushion the fall.
Usually there was a certain serenity that came along with the rush of free fall, however, this time Neal's decent was accompanied by a colorful string of very creative expletives from Frost that were suddenly cut off as he hit the water. The splash down was by no means painless as he was knocked breathless from striking the bottom of the pool. However breaking the surface with a gasp Neal was certain that nothing was broken. Swimming to the far end of the pool Neal scrambled out and bolted for the tree line. Having set off the motion sensing lights Neal just ran in the direction that would quickest get out of the light off to the East rather than the South where Frost and Bryant were waiting. Once in the darkness of the woods Neal shook the water out of his hair and looked back on the house.
"I have to admit, Frost, that was fun." Neal chuckled. "Frost?"
Not getting a response Neal reached up to check his ear piece and found that he had lost it when he hit the water. Not to worried about losing communication Neal looked around the dense forest to get his bearings. Knowing that Bashiri would be calling the cops Neal decided the best idea was to head back towards the car seeing as thing had clearly gone sideways. He wasn't exactly sure where the car was from here but he knew the general direction of the road and figured he could find it from there. Heading towards the road at a light trot he was confident that Frost and Bryant would be on their way back as well. About a hundred yards into the journey Neal heard the snap of someone stepping down hard on a fallen branch behind him. He slowed as he went to look over his shoulder to inspect the source of the sound.
"Fro…"
Neal was cut off as someone tackled him from behind and knocked forward to the ground. Whoever had driven him to the forest floor tried to pry the protective case with the painting off his back, but he'd tightened down the strap in preparation to jump from the balcony. Panicking from the unexpected assault Neal lashed out and managed to land a solid kick that forced his opponent back. Scrambling to his feet Neal went to run only to be tripped when the man grabbed onto his ankle with a vice like grip.
Back on the ground Neal twisted over onto his back to kick at his attacker again. When it came to fight or flight Neal knew he had a much better chance if he ran, but he had to get free first. Jumping back to his feet Neal found himself facing a muscular man dressed fully in black including a black mask. When the man pulled out a knife Neal jerked back and automatically raised up his right arm to protect his eyes at the man slashed at him. Backing into a tree Neal cried out sharply as the blade bit into his skin and left a diagonal laceration down nearly the whole length of his forearm.
Unlike the dark blade that Neal had the knife this man had gleamed brightly in the scant moonlight as he arced the blade once again at Neal's chest in an attempt to cut the case strap free. With his only real option for getting out of the way being down Neal dropped to his knees causing the man to sink the knife into the tree he'd been backed into. Still on his knees Neal was just about to try to go on the offensive when Bryant arrived on the scene with all the fury of a charging lion.
Bryant slammed into the intruder with enough force to knock him both down and breathless. Unlike the man's original somewhat clumsy attack on Neal Bryant ensured that once his prey was down that he was in a position of power over him as he straddled his hips to hold him down and made sure he stayed that way with two quick successive punches to the face. Neal was distracted from the chaotic scene as Frost appeared and clamped his hand down on Neal's bleeding forearm. Using the purchase to haul Neal to his feet Frost dragged him away from the fighting men.
"Bryant…"
"He's got this." Frost assured.
Frost wasn't wrong and although the assailant put up a vicious fight and got in a few shots it was clear that Bryant had control of the situation. The entire violent battle only lasted a few minutes and ended suddenly when Bryant gave up on trying to get his opponent to submit and simply put all of his skill and force into a crushing blow to the man's throat. Neal stared in horror as the man convulsed under Bryant sickeningly before going slack. With the fight over Bryant reached down and pulled off the man's mask and swore.
"Neal? Neal, you with me?" Frost asked concerned.
"Is…is he dead?"
"Don't worry about that." Frost said as he inspected Neal's arm. "This doesn't look too deep, can you move your fingers?"
Neal couldn't open his hand, but he guessed it was from the muscles cramps that he got when stressed rather than the injury which didn't even hurt at the moment. Neal pulled his arm away from Frost and held the bleeding gash closed himself as he continued to stare at the man Bryant had just murdered. Bryant got up off his victim and calmly walked over to join the others.
"You okay, Neal?" Bryant asked.
Neal just nodded vacantly.
"You're not going to believe this, Frost." Bryant smiled brightly. "It's Mathews."
"Carl Mathews?" Frost replied surprised. "Excellent. There's one thorn out of our side."
"How long has he been on the top of our 'to do' list?" Bryant chuckled.
"Way too long. Of all the guys to show up tonight I'm glad it was him. Good work." Frost congratulated. "Neal…"
Frost had turned to address Neal only to find that he had backed away from the pair a few feet. Still holding his bleeding arm with his index and pinkie finger curled against his palm Neal grit his teeth against twisting phantom pain in his shoulder combined with the real pain from the cut that was just starting to register as his adrenaline came down. Frost took a step closer causing Neal to jerk back.
"Neal…"
"You used me as bait?" Neal accused darkly.
"What? No, this was just…a lucky accident."
"You expect me to believe that?" Neal growled.
"You said it yourself that working the Ivory List was a good way to get killed because of this exact situation." Frost pointed out.
"I did not sign up to part of any assassinations."
"Assassination?" Frost repeated indignantly.
"I didn't come here tonight so that you could check someone off your 'to do' list!"
"You think we planned for you to throw yourself off a third story balcony and then run off in the wrong direction to get ambushed? None of this would have happened if you'd stuck to the plan."
"You didn't have to kill him!"
"Bryant just save your life," Frost snapped getting angry "I think a little fucking gratitude is in order!"
Frost and Neal stared each other down for a moment while Bryant looked nervously between the pair like a child watching his parents fight. Frost looked he was about to say something, but not interested in hearing what it was Neal struggled with the art case to get it off his shoulder.
"Here," Neal tossed the case to Frost "take it. Assuming you even care about it in the first place."
Neal turned away and stared walked towards the road. His initial plan was to call Peter for a ride home, but as he moved in his sopping wet clothes he realized that the phone had probably been ruined during his swim. Not caring that he may have to walk to Baltimore Neal kept going.
"Neal, get back here." Frost ordered. "You can't just wander off."
"I'll find my own way back to DC. Just stay away from me! I'm not doing this again, I don't care what the repercussions are!"
Frost ground his teeth in frustration at Neal's behavior as he stalked off away from them. He glanced over at Bryant and saw that his partner was a little more sympathetic towards Neal's reaction to the violent and unexpected death. Frost knew that Bryant was right, Neal really wasn't over reacting. Neal didn't have any real training in combat and even less real world experience with it, he was even known in the criminal circle as being anti-violence. Frost recalled spiraling into a bit of an existential crisis in the days follow his first kill. Bryant kept looking at him, raising an expectant eyebrow.
"I know, I know." Frost huffed before Bryant said anything. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize to me, apologize to him."
"No, this situation is FUBAR." Frost shook his head sadly. "We need to dose him."
"Are you sure?" Bryant asked with a wince.
"Just do it."
Bryant took a breath to protest but Frost stopped him with a glare. Giving in Bryant reached into one of his large cargo pockets and brought out a narrow barreled gun that was so small that it was a little awkward in his hand. Taking close aim he fired the weapon which just made a soft hissing noise. Neal jerked as he felt something sharp sting his shoulder. Reaching over with a bloody hand he yanked the small dart out. Terrified Neal tried to run but he didn't make in more than ten feet before crashing to the forest floor.
Frost limped up to where Neal was laying in the leaf litter breathing heavily as he tried to fight the drugs. Bryant joined him and knelt down to turn Neal over on his back and check his pulse. Feeling his consciousness slipping away Neal struggled to keep his eyes open as they rolled back to white. Quickly losing the battle Neal passed out. Looking down at Neal Frost sighed heavily.
"…Burke is going to kill me."