Chapter 26 – The Village

Harry led the way out the building to the area at the back called the arena. Wright was emerging from the back of the instructor's block instructing his team to fan out and secure the area. The five FBI men moved out. Wong was approaching the helicopter, a tall plume of smoke still rising into the air from the missing tail section. On his knees under the nose section of the wounded machine was the pilot. He was curled up in a ball and his eyes were closed.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot, please don't don't shoot me. I'm just a pilot. Please don't don't shoot me."

They all looked at one another.

"Er … Sir?" Jo began. The pilot jumped and tentatively opened an eye on hearing a woman's voice. The other flew open at the sight of her bullet-proof vest and the Glock firmly gripped in his hands. He looked around at the others in horror flinching when he saw Harry in his BDU's. His hands shot up.

"I'm the pilot. Just the pilot. I swear," he stammered looking like a human version of a jellyfish. "Please … please don't shoot me."

Jo smiled at him. "You can put your hands down now.

The pilot looked around and realized that he was completely alone. His clients had disappeared. The other men they were meeting had gone and no one was firing. He lowered his hands. His eyes looked once more at the people standing around him and the vests marked FBI.

"I'm … I'm guessing they weren't … Italian agricultural engineers?"

This caused a few raised eyebrows but no one responded as suddenly Jo raised her weapon circling the helicopter. Don followed suit wondering what was up. Then he saw it. A trail of blood drops.

The pilot's eyes went wide. Wong grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away while the others positioned themselves around the helicopter. Jo nodded to Don indicating the blood on the handle of the rear door. Don nodded to Wright and they positioned themselves facing the door. Jo stepped to the right and grabbed the handle. She pulled it open.

Cowering on the floor, his upper leg covered in blood lay the buyer snarled back at them. Wright smiled at him. "Welcome to the United States." He waved Ben and Jerry over. "Search him."

Don and Jo stepped back as the two FBI agents took charge. Suddenly two distant shots rang out followed by a burst of gunfire from the trees. Everyone turned. It was followed by more gunfire.

"Mac!"

Don took off his long legs pounding the ground heading towards the trees. Harry and Jo took off after him followed by Kate and Steve.

.

Mac's first thought after ascertaining that he still had all his body parts was his rifle. He groaned as he rolled over and pushed himself to his knees. Every, bone, joint, muscle and tendon seemed to hurt. He was definitely getting too old for this! He spotted the rifle lying a few feet away and then he froze as a little beyond it were a pair of boots. Mac raised his head. The guy with the grenade now had his hands wrapped around his gun with his finger on the trigger, a Heckler & Koch SA80 standard issue rifle for the British army. It looked like it had seen some use. Mac wondered idly where he had managed to get his hands on it.

There was few seconds stand-off, the man in front of him gloating that Mac was on his knees, Mac calculating his options given his rifle was out of reach and his Glock wouldn't even clear his holster before the bullets reached him. A movement to the north caused both of them to turn. A figure appeared with a handgun raised to shoulder height. A double tap to the chest and the man with SA80 went down, his own finger tightening on the trigger unleashing a volley of bullets into the air. Mac dove for his own rifle and brought it up to bear on the newcomer. Mac fired before the newcomer could get a fix. Suddenly Mac remembered his original pursuer. He span round to see the man emerging from the trees. He fired again and ran for cover passing the fallen man who had unwittingly saved his life. Carver.

Mac clambered through an opening on the side of the prefabricated building, ensured that it was empty and hunkered down. It was only made of painted plywood so wouldn't stop any bullets but it would give him time to think. He was breathing heavily as he squatted down against the rough wooden panels inside the structure. And he took a few moments to pull himself together.

Think!

He had taken down three of the buyer's men which left the buyer himself and one more who Mac assumed was backing up the guy with the grenade. He couldn't be too far away. Mac thought it was safe to assume that the pilot was an innocent victim. When he had taken out the helicopter he had seen the pilot throw himself out and crawl under the machine shaking like a leaf, hardly the actions of a hardened terrorist. Carver was down not three yards away so clearly Mason hadn't sent him and Bryce back to the main complex. They had probably been hiding in the woods watching the trade. Additional backup. So that meant that there was Mason, Ryan, Victor, Bryce, the buyer and one more. Six against one. He wasn't sure he liked those odds.

His earpiece crackled. "You still with us buddy? Over."

Mac had never been so glad to hear his friend.

"Still here. Over"

"Where's here? Over."

Mac thought for a moment, crawled to the other side of the structure and peered through a gap in the slats. For a minute it reminded him of being back in Iraq. Suddenly a great weariness came over him. He took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall and tried to block out the unwelcome images.

"Mac?"

"Centre house on your left. Just past the market stall. Expect six hostiles. Over."

"Stay put. We're on our way. Over."

.

Harry and the others caught up with Don as they emerged from the swathe of trees that separated the village Harry put his hand on Don's shoulder pulling him down behind a row of bushes. Jo and Steve squatted next to them "A little discrete recon required methinks." He turned. "Kate?"

Kate nodded, slung her rifle over her shoulder and pulled an object out of a side pouch. A cross between an old-fashioned cine camera and a shortened telescope, it was a compact thermal imager. She dropped to her stomach and crawled forward. Kate raised the scope to her eye.

Harry leaned forward. "Kate, Mac should be in the centre building on the left. Mac buddy, do me a favour. Wave an arm. Over."

Kate peered through the scope. "Got him." Slowly she scanned the Village. "Four more, one in the second house on the left. One in the third house on the right. Two in the last house on the right." Harry relayed the information to Mac. Suddenly she shifted the scope. " Wait someone's approaching Mac's position from the north-west."

Jo and Don peered over the top of the bushes but they were too far away.

Harry grabbed his rifle and moving to the left in a crab like motion, raised it and peered through the scope. A dark-haired, dark-skinned figure was slowly approaching the building where Mac was hiding. He swore under his breath knowing he couldn't take the shot at that range. "Mac buddy you've got company directly west of your position." He squinted into the scope. The guys rifle was over his shoulder. "Shit! Grenade!"

Grenade? Not again!

Mac shot to his feet and and yanked open the door. He sprinted across the street for the house opposite. He had barely made it to the open doorway that was covered only by a torn, rain-washed piece of cloth when the structure behind him blew apart. Pieces of wood blew in all directions. Mac dove for the doorway as an enormous piece of panelling crashed into the building beside him. He tumbled against the bottom of the stairwell.

Jo gasped as she saw him run. For a moment it looked as though he would be caught in the blast but he disappeared through the doorway opposite.

"Time to move people, Kate, Steve, left flank, Jo, Don you go right." They nodded. "Mac buddy, you good?"

"Yeah!" came a spluttering voice that didn't leave them with a lot of confidence.

"Okay, let's play rats and pigeons. Mac, you're the pigeon. Over." Harry turned to others. "Go! And try to stay out of sight."

Steve and Kate immediately turned away and Harry scooted forward through the bushes. Don shot a look at Jo but she merely shrugged and began to head right so he was left with no choice to follow. What the hell was rats and pigeons?

Harry used the bushes as cover as far as he could but there came a point when he had no choice but to break cover and make a run for it. He headed as fast as he could for the nearest building on the right, a small two storey built out of heavy boards and painted to look like stone. There was a canopy on the front and some more hardboard painted to look like a market stall. It even had produce though now he was close by he could see it was made out of polystyrene and the fruit was plastic. He crawled low behind the stall and squatted at the far side watching the second and third houses intently.

"How are you doing my little feathered friend? Over." he whispered.

"In position. Over"

Harry was happy to hear the amusement in his friend's voice. "Okay A Team, let's flush 'em out." Harry watched as Kate glanced out of the window opposite and rolled her eyes as someone started humming a few bars of the familiar theme tune. He knew Steve must be round the back. He nodded. They both fired on the next structure along. A figure burst out of the second house firing wildly as he dashed towards the third but didn't stop as he headed for the fourth that had been partially obliterated by the grenade. He disappeared behind a pile of rubble. Behind him Kate made her way up the street focussing her attention on the houses on the other side. From her earlier scan she knew someone was hiding there. This was confirmed as a bullet pinged off the walls behind her.

The shooter's position was peppered with bullets forcing them to duck back. Kate edged her way along to join Steve who had cut though the from the back. "He's on the first floor." Kate caught Harry's eye, pointed to her own and them towards the upper floor two building along. Harry nodded.

"Don, Jo. Third building upper floor." He ran for the next building along crossing a side street. Only it wasn't a side street. The houses were merely a set of interconnected shells. Inside the buildings were made from scaffolding and wooden floors. Don made his way round to the far side, Jo mirroring his movements along the nearest. She squeezed her way in through a gap and peered around. The ground was a mixture of dirt and scrubby dried grass. The light filtered in through cracks in the walls. The space was about twenty square feet. Several cut out panels in the shapes of people were stacked against one wall including one of a little girl clutching a doll. Jo did a double-take and shuddered at the creepy image. A shadow passed one of the slits on the other side shutting off the light for a moment. She knew it was Don. Quickly she crossed the room and pulled open a door. She peered in. It was dark. A board creaked above her. She spotted the stairs in the far corner. As quietly as she could she slipped through the doorway and made her way across the room. It had some rudimentary furniture, table, chairs, an old stove with some cooking pots. She squatted at the base of the stairs and looked up. The board creaked again. The guy was out of sight to the left. Then she had an idea. She went over to the stove and pulled a ladle from the pot. She went back to the base of the stairs, positioned her self in the corner and threw the ladle. It landed with a clatter. A face appeared at the top of the stairs. Their eyes met, his registering surprise.

"Drop it!" she ordered. The man sneered and lifted the gun. She fired twice. He staggered backwards and collapsed.

"Jo!" Don's voice echoed from somewhere upstairs.

"I'm good." Don appeared at the top of the stairs and kicked the weapon away from the man's hand. He bent down to check the man's pulse. He shook his head and quickly made his way down to join her. They made for the door behind them and bumped into Harry. An old truck was parked in the street. He was leaning against it.

"That was Bryce," Don mouthed.

Harry nodded. "Someone's over the road, in the ruins of the house Mac blew up."

The comm's crackled. "That wasn't me!"

Harry grinned. "That's what you you always say! Mac you got a line on him?"

"Negative."

"Okay Kate, Steve, see if you can flush him out."

Kate and Steve and ran from their positions to take up new ones at the south and west of the building. The air was heavy with the smell of charred wood. Kate covered. Steve moved in. A figure popped up and unleashed a clip full of bullets forcing Steve to dive to the ground. However, the attack was short-lived as he too was forced to stop as a rapid burst of fire hit his position. The firing stopped.

Silence.

Steve lifted his head. Someone was groaning. Kate looked over at him wanting to know if he was okay. Somewhat surprised, he nodded. Slowly they crept forward. On the other side, Don and Jo did the same but their focus was on the rest of the street. There were still three others out there. Harry covered them.

Steve picked himself up and skirted his way round the edge of the dilapidated building. Another moan emanated from behind a pile of smouldering wood. Cautiously Steve picked his way past a pile of rubble. By straining his neck he could just see a leg sticking out. Someone was sitting on the ground. He aimed his gun. Across the street he caught Don's eye. He nodded at him indicating he should circle round.

Jo saw the look. "Go, I'll cover you."

Jo looked behind her. Harry nodded too. He was surveying the rooftops. Quickly Don skirted around her and made his way to the next building along. He couldn't see him but he knew Mac was close by. Steve signalled to him by pointing down at a pile of rubble. Don looked around and flew across the street to the next building up. He half-expected to be followed by a line of bullets but the street was eerily silent. He couldn't help feeling that he was being watched. He was glad as he reached the cover of the last building on the left. He flattened his back against the rough board and hoped that no one was the other side ready to shoot him in the back. He nodded to Jo who checked with Harry and then ran to join him. However she hadn't taken two steps before a dark shape detached itself from the other side of the structure where Don was positioned.

A guttural shout reached her ears. Jo had no time even to raise her gun. Instinctively she knew it was too late. The terrorist already had her in his sights. Her heart skipped a beat as she waited for the bullet that she knew would end her life but it never came. Two shots rang out. The man staggered, seemed to lift his gun again but a third shot echoed down the street and he collapsed and tumbled face down.

Jo looked at Don in surprise but his gun was pointing the other way. The shots couldn't have come from Harry either as she was stood right in his line of sight. Then she looked up. A figure on the rooftop opposite stood up. A figure in BDU's.

Don sighed with relief and grinned at her. "Rats and pigeons, I get it. Mac's a pigeon!" Jo gave a half-hearted chuckle as some of the tension began to leave her. Mac stood silhouetted on top of the building opposite. His eyes lingered on Jo's for one second and then with a tiny smile he lifted his weapon to his shoulder and nodded towards the pile of rubble. He had her back. She ran to join Don who squeezed her arm affectionately. "You okay?"

Jo smiled not sure whether she was or not. "You do realize, of course Don, that that makes us the rats."

The smile disappeared from his face. "Ugh! I hate rats!" Opposite Kate stood to join Steve, all four knowing that Harry and Mac had the north of The Village covered from their respective positions. Slowly they all moved in. Someone was breathing heavily clearly in pain. Don kicked aside a large piece of wood. The man tried to lift his gun arm but couldn't because of a large bullet hole in his right shoulder. His left hand was slick with blood where he was trying to staunch the flow of blood. "Drop it!"

The man grimaced and threw down his weapon in disgust. Jo grinned. "Well, well, well. Cyrus Mason! There are two FBI agents who were hoping they might find you here."

Don nodded. "Looks like one was Wright and the other was Wong." Only Steve appreciated the joke. Cyrus Mason glowered and threw his head back in resignation.

A/N. Sorry that was rather a long chapter. Thanks to all who have stuck with this story. Conclusion tomorrow.