Chapter 7:

They waited in silence for the night to fall. Ditching their cars at the hotel, Squires arranged for two black, unmarked vans in their place. The mood was tense as they piled in. Mal drove the first car and Squires drove the second. They pulled up three doors down and one street back, behind an old furniture shop just out of sight. Their roles rehearsed they didn't speak. Mal put the car in park and exited the vehicle. Rose stood beside him out in the night air. "Keep safe old man." She trembled then kissed him and left to take her position in the driver's seat, praying for a good result.

"Here." Boyd handed Leslie the rifle. Then each of his men grabbed their weapons and started assuming their positions. Leslie smiled at them, then went to take up her position.

"Leslie wait."
"Mal I…"
"If this doesn't go right I just want you to know. I'm couldn't be more happier knowing that Jake found you. You make him a better man. Thank you."
"Mal.. Just bring him back alive."
"No fear of that. He's going to be grounded for life for putting us all through this."
"Hmm." She smiled as she watched Mal jog to catch up to Squires.

"You owe me big time for this one Jake Doyle. You mark my words." She whispered as she walked into the night.

"It's a real shame boy" Becker began,

"Hmm." Jake smiled as he spat the blood from his mouth. "Why? Did you lose your favourite marble or something?"
"You know, I'm going to miss these little chats of ours."
"Yeah me too. Maybe you could drop by if your ever in town, share a pint."Jake replied as cocky as ever. Then "Hmph." He groaned as another blow connected with his already broken ribs. "Ok ok you can buy the pint."

"We're going to be leaving soon and I'm afraid there's just no room for you anymore."
"That is a shame, just leave me here. I promise not to throw any wild parties while you're gone."
"Oh there will be lots of parties where you're going." Becker smiled, "And all the pretty ladies you could want."
"Sounds nice." He grinned, cocking his eyebrows. He felt like every bone in his body was broken, his jaw was killing him, the blood was well and truly dried to his hair from all the blows to the head he had received and his vision was not exactly clear with one eye almost completely swollen over and the other blood shot. He was sure he had lost two teeth and that the infection in his leg was turning bad. Jake started to wonder how many days he had left in him.

"Any last requests Jake my boy before I put an end to our little tat er tat today?"
"No. I'm good."

"Well… so long."

Wolf counted at least 8 persons out front of the warehouse, all heavily armed. He snuck up carefully behind a truck parked halfway between them and the side window. Jimmy followed close behind. With two shotguns and a bag of ammo he looked so awkward as he ran towards cover. Wolf could only shake his head in disbelieve at how uncoordinated he was and amaze at how he hadn't gotten himself killed before now. The moon was high, so there weren't many shadows to hide in. Wolf waited for the right moment, then signalling that the coast was clear, he grabbed Jimmy's jacket and headed for the side window. Wolf ducked down as soon as he got there, frozen like another piece of tin on the side of the wall.

"Damn it Jimmy." He cursed, punching him warningly with a slap to the chest as Jimmy broke his stride to late and crashed into the side of the warehouse.

"Ouch!"

"Shhh!" Wolf placed a hand over Jimmy's mouth to quiet him, then when Jimmy had calmed down, he peeked inside to see the layout of the land. Inside he could see nothing out of the ordinary. Shelves full of boxes, packed and ready to ship. Work tables for sorting and various work stations and trollies. The shelves obscured most of his vision, but he could make out at least three more men inside, pacing back and forth. Just off to his left, he could see another room, indicated by the locked door. One man seemed to be guarding the room. It was a fair bet Jake was in there somewhere. Squatting back down under the window, he signalled to Jimmy that he had seen three men to the right and two to the left. Cocking his gun, he waited for Boyd's signal as he completed his ritual prayer that everyone made it out of this one alive.

Four men left the warehouse in a hurry and got into a black jeep. Taking off like a shot, they left a cloud of dust and the sound of their engine revving reverberating down the street. Using the distraction to their advantage, Boyd sent the signal. A simple fist in the air told them to get ready, and the lowering of the fist told them to make their move. Boyd broke in through the rear door, crouching down low, he peered carefully around every corner. As the first guard approached him, he snuck up behind him and placed his hand over the guards mouth, suffocating him until he fell unconscious. Laying him down quietly, he took the guards gun and crept forward. Looking across, he saw Wolf expertly land on his feet as he hoped in through the open window, followed by Jimmy, who got caught up in his gun strap and fell on the ground face first. Wolf picked him up and put him on his feet, then tracked the second guard who was approaching from the right.

"Sorry Boss." Jimmy apologised.

"Just take it easy." Two down, the other three still had no idea they were being compromised.

Leslie found the prime position on the porch of the warehouse behind Carlos's hideout. With the silencer on, it would be impossible to locate her position, and it was one of the few areas in shadow. She had a clear view of Wolf, Jimmy and Boyd. Occasionally she could see the men at the front when they moved past the edge of the warehouse and she used the sight on her rifle to zoom in as far as she could. It had been 5 mins since Boyd, Wolf and Jimmy made their ways inside and it was a relief that it was still silent inside. She told herself it was a good sign, that they were still undiscovered. Looking across the way, she saw Rose, biting her lip and tapping the steering wheel as she waited anxiously for them to return.

"Quit playing around." Carlos's second in charge called out from where he was checking his inventory, "The plane leaves in an hour."
"You hear that Jake my boy." Becker teased him, "It's time to say goodbye."
"That's a real shame."
"I'm not sure how it was for you, but for me these last few weeks have been priceless. Of course it doesn't add up to the time you cost me rotting away in that cell, but it will have to do."
"Yeah. It's been a real blast." Jake laughed awkwardly, as Becker raised a gun and took the safety off.

'BANG!' Leslie felt her heart stop as it jumped out of her skin. She had to force her hand to stop shaking as she zoomed in to find out what was happening. The shot had echoed through the walls and now the half a dozen men who had been holding up out front were now making their way inside. Leslie took aim and hit one in the leg, it slowed him down but he was out of site before she could take him down. Two more went to go through the back, but a shot to the shoulder and to the right chest minimised their numbers to four.

"Don't you leave me now Jake Doyle!" She warned as she searched the perimeter but by now they were all inside. It was up to them now, she would have to stay put to help cover their escape.