Sheba's Gambit Read online

  Sheba raised her hand, her index and pinkie fingers pointing forward and her two middle fingers held against her palm by her thumb. But she didn’t point her fingers at Assid, she pointed at Braden and Helen. “These are righteous. If you try to kill them, I will curse you. You will never succeed on your quest.” She said, her voice a deep monotone.

  The man standing next to her snorted. “Why are they righteous if they are not Muslim?”

  Sheba pointed at Braden. “He is a man child. This blond man child is favored of Allah. She,” Sheba pointed at Helen, “Is sacred because she cannot see. She is favored with the second sight.” She raised her hand. “Those who protect the favored become favored.”

  Assid looked worried.

  On the roof, Jason looked at Dean. “What is she doing” He asked softly.

  Tony grinned. “That woman uses every trick. She trying to protect Braden and Helen. I just hope she doesn’t go overboard.”

  Jason slid silently back away from the door. “Dean, is there any way we can change the color of the dots that represent our men? If we could, we’d have a distinct advantage. We could take out Assid’s men before they knew we aren’t part of their outfit.”

  Sarah said in Tony’s ear piece. “I can change the color of the dots.”

  Tony said, “Make ours red. They’ll stand out that way.”

  They could hear keys being tapped, then the yellow dots turned red

  Dean crawled back to the chimney and set his back against it. “Jake, Harry, can you read me?”

  “Loud and clear. What’s with the dots?”

  “Our people are red. Everyone else is yellow. Do you have any yellows close to you?”

  “Yes. I’m betting that there are at least fifty from what we can see. We’re inside the fence. They used those folding ladders that curve up and over walls. Thoughtfully, they left them for us to use.”

  “Good. I want you to start taking out the nearest unfriendlies, both groups of hostiles. Use knives. Until we reduce the odds, we’ve got to be careful and quiet.”

  “Got it. I’ll pass the word. Reduce the odds. Careful and quiet.”

  Dean looked at Tony. “Can you get into the house?”

  “There’re balconies on most of the floors. I’ll have to disconnect the alarms.”

  “Do it.” Dean said as he looked toward. “Any dogs?”

  Jason said, “No, dogs.”

  Assid looked at Breckenridge as he pointed his pistol. “I want you to transfer five million dollars into my Swiss Bank Account. You offered me one million if I made an alliance with you. Five million won’t cover what you owe my village but it will help with my plans.” He smirked. “You see, you aren’t the only one with an agenda.”

  Breckenridge snorted. “Your agenda is junk. You blame me for the death of your villagers, but you killed them with your stupidity.”

  Whoa, now that wasn’t very bright. The man is holding an AK-47 on you and you tell him he’s stupid. Sheba thought

  Assid raised his rifle and shot William through the heart. “Now that you know I mean business,” Assid said.

  Everyone in the room gasped. Breckenridge looked at him. “You mean business, do you? Why--”

  Assid said, “I won’t shoot any of the favored ones, just in case, she can do what she says she will do, but your man Slater isn’t favored. The next bullet won’t go through the heart. It will go through his knee. I can take out a lot of joints before a man dies of loss of blood.”

  Helen gasped. Ignoring Mosud, Braden slid off his chair and walked over to stand by Helen, taking her hand.

  Breckenridge said, “I’ll be da--”

  Before he could say anything else, Sheba interrupted him. “Mr. Breckenridge, is your goal worth five million dollars?”

  Breckenridge looked over at her. She put her hand on the map of Turkey. “It is something to consider.” She added.

  He looked from Sheba to Assid. “If I give you the money, how do I know that you will take your men and leave?”

  “You will have to trust me.”

  Sheba looked at her watch and pointed her index and pinkie fingers. “Mr. Assid, I suggest you go, before my curse goes into effect.”

  He looked at her hand. Mosud said, “Do not listen to her. Make him give us the five million, then we will leave.”

  Breckenridge walked to the computer that one of Assid’s men has set up on the desk. His bank website had been pulled up. He motioned for the man to move. Sitting down, he looked at the website closely, then at the icons along the ribbon at the bottom of the screen, then he reached in the center desk drawer and pulled out his own laptop. “I would prefer to use my own laptop. Your man can use your laptop to make sure the payment is made.”

  Assid nodded. The man moved his laptop out of Breckenridge’s way.

  Breckenridge pulled up the website of his bank, then quickly typed in a numerical sequence. After a few moments, another screen came up that was different from Assid’s screen.

  So they were going to double cross me, Breckenridge thought. But he said nothing. He typed in a different numeric sequence and his account information came up on the screen. He clicked on transfer, then typed in the amount of five million dollars. He turned the computer so Assid could type in his account number. Once Assid had finished checking the number, Breckenridge hit the transfer button. He tapped a couple of keys, then looked over at Assid’s man.

  “Has the transfer happened?” He asked.

  Assid moved over to stand next to his man. “Why is it taking so long?” Assid demanded.

  Breckenridge shrugged. “I suspect it is because it is such a large amount, but it could be our location as well.”

  Finally Assid sighed. “It is done.” He motioned for his man to shut the laptop.

  Breckenridge looked at Assid, “You should know that if I die in the next five days, the transfer will be cancelled.”

  “You cheated.” Assid yelled.

  “No,” Breckenridge said calmly. “My bank made that rule, I had nothing to do with it.”

  “Mosud, grab the girl,” Assid yelled. He fired his machine pistol forcing everyone to fall to the floor.

  Mosud grabbed Sheba, throwing her over his shoulder. Assid fired again, this time at Slater who managed to roll behind a large sofa. Assid ran from the room, followed by Mosud carrying a struggling Sheba.

  Dean looked over at Tony. “Get Braden to safety. He is our number one priority. I’m going after Sheba.”

  Both men nodded as Dean swung himself over the edge of the roof. Jason and Tony dropped down on either side of the door. Dean pulled his machine rifle into the ready position, while Tony pulled a small pistol from his waistband. When Dean saw Tony nod, he stepped into the doorway, his finger on the trigger. “Hold it,” he ordered. “Braden, I need you to step away from that woman.”

  Tears were streaming down his face. “They took my aunt.”

  “We know,” Dean said. “My team went after her. You need to do as I say so we can save her.”

  Braden nodded forlornly. “You won’t hurt Helen, will you?”

  “No. I won’t hurt anyone if you step away from her.”

  When he had complied, Dean said, “Now the rest of you move to that corner. Don’t try anything stupid. I won’t have to put a bullet in anyone.”

  While Dean was talking, Tony entered the room behind him. Keeping out of range of the others in the room, he grabbed Braden who started to struggle until Dean said, “It’s okay. He’s on our side.”

  Before Dean could get off a shot, Breckenridge was out the door. Dean fired a couple of shots at Slater as Tony ran from the room.

  As soon as Tony had stepped out the door, Dean fired off a round into the ceiling, then he backed out the door. He fired another shot hitting Slater’s gun. It went spinning into a corner of the room. “Stay down,” he ordered “or the next shot won’t miss.”

  Dean could hear the sound of a helicopter landing on the lawn. As soon as it landed, Dean
signaled retreat. As he turned, he put a round into the lights.

  Before he was halfway across the stable yard, two of his men took position, covering his retreat. As he ran, he radioed Harry. “Breckenridge got away. Do you have Sheba?”

  “No,” Harry shouted over the roar of the helicopter’s spinning blades. Assid got away. I’ve got wounded, but we’ll be at the helo in thirty seconds.”

  Dean looked at the red dots on his monitor. He could see a group of five men moving down the hill. As they burst from the trees, bullets began to rain around them. Dean began shooting at the rifle flashes. Two other men, bending low, ran to help get the wounded to safety. The Marines kept up a covering fire until all the men were safely in the helicopter.

  As Harry dove into through the open door, he said, “Did we get Braden and Sheba?”

  “I’m here.” Braden was sitting next to Tony, already strapped in.

  Several men slammed the door shut as the helicopter began moving, the pilot trying to avoid being hit by the bullets that were flying past it.

  As Harry began administering first aid, Braden said, “Where’s my Aunt Sheba.”

  Tony looked at Dean who sat next to him. “We couldn’t get her away from Assid.”

  When Braden’s face crumpled, Dean said, “Don’t worry. We are still tracking her. If Breckenridge doesn’t get her back, we’ll be coming back to get her.”

  Braden lifted his tear filled eyes to Dean’s face. “He’s a scary man.”

  Chapter 25

  As soon as the Marine Recon team had jumped from the helicopter, Marshall pushed the door open and slid from the gunner’s box. He slung an M-16 over his shoulder. During the flight he’d loaded his utility belt with grenades, an extra throwing knife, and additional clips for the M-16.

  When Assid and his men began running across the field, he quietly left the cover of the helicopter, jogging toward them until they entered the trees, then moving purposefully, he followed them to the ladders that crossed the fence.

  Suddenly, he felt a presence to his right. He froze for a second. The man, one of Assid’s army lunged toward him, a large knife gleaming in the starlight.

  Marshall took a step back. As the man thrust the knife at him, he dodged, slamming his huge fist into the man’s stomach. The man groaned but clutching the knife he lunged at Marshall, who dodged. The man went flying head first into a tree, his neck at an odd angle.

  Marshall quickly grabbed the long, dark brown robe that he was wearing. Pulling it over his head, he wound the turban covering the thick bandage.

  He slid the man’s curved knife into his utility belt, and shouldered his AK-47. Then he hurried up and over the ladder, trailing Assid toward their camp. Once he caught up with them, he hung back so they wouldn’t see him. Assid’s men wore beards while he was clean shaven.

  He wove through the trees, walking as he had seen Middle East fighters walk. Gradually, he could hear voices speaking a dialect that he could understand. Crouching behind a thick, thorny bush, he listened to Assid and Mosud argue. “Kill the woman,” Mosud said. “If she is djinni, then she could put a curse on us and our mission will fail. If she isn’t djinni, then she is woman.” He put his knife to her throat.

  “I’m no good to you dead,” Sheba said. “He will pay a ransom for me.”

  Mosud said, “If he will pay ransom, then she is important to him. We should kill her to hurt him more.

  Marshall began to work his way around the group toward Mosud and Sheba.

  Assid looked at him. “Put your knife away, Mosud. We must think on this. The woman can’t harm us if she can’t use her hands. It would be well to get more money from Breckenridge.” He smiled evilly. “Breckenridge has it. Who says that we need to keep her alive once we have the money.”

  --------

  Slater jumped to his feet, grabbing a pistol from his waistband. He ran toward the door just in time to see the helicopter lift off the ground. He didn’t even bother to shoot at it, it was already too far away.

  He lifted his radio to his lips. “What is happening?”

  “Sir, this is Abbot. Both Tibbetts and Roberts are dead. We have found 35 of Assid’s men with their throats slit. Four of our men are in the same condition.

  Breckenridge looked at Slater. “The men who took Braden?”

  Slater nodded.

  “So did Assid keep Sheba or did those men get her?” Breckenridge asked.

  “Or did she escape?” He raised the radio to his lips. “Abbott, search the grounds for a young woman. Assid took her but she may have escaped him.”

  “We’ve searched the grounds already looking for our men. We did find where they went over the fence. They used special ladders that bent in the middle.”

  “Search from there. She must be found.” Slater could hear Abbot barking orders to his men. He turned to Breckenridge. “I’m going to help look. I’ve scouted the area around here thoroughly. I may know where Assid landed his people.”

  Breckenridge nodded. “We’ve got to know if he has her, because if he does he’ll kill her.”

  “Or ransom her.” Slater said. “He wants money.

  Breckenridge said, “He has five million dollars of my money. I don’t think he needs anymore of it. Go bring her back.” He paused as Slater looked toward his sister who was sitting on the floor, her head in her hands, and her hands on her knees.

  “I will take care of Helen. Slater, if you should happen to remove Assid once you get Sheba back, there will be a bonus in it for you or for the man or men who takes him out.”

  Slater looked at him. “I thought you did something when you transferred the money so that they wouldn’t be able to keep it.”

  Breckenridge looked scornful. “Assid is a fool. I can pull that money back any time I want to, but I can’t do it until I get Sheba back.”

  Breckenridge followed Slater to the door. Slater had already been swallowed up in the darkness.

  Slater hurried through the dark toward the hill where Assid’s men had hid in the trees. Weaving between the pines, he moved forward, his feet silent on the needles that covered the forest floor. He came to a clearing. A number of his men joined him.

  One of the men dropped from a tall pine tree. “I climbed to the top as you ordered me. I could see what looks like smoke that way, about a mile up the slope from the fence.”

  Slater nodded. “Good work, Christoph. Remind me to tell Mr. Breckenridge that you are no longer on probation.”

  “Thank you, sir. They came through the clearing, then followed that path to the fence. They left the ladders. I’m not sure if they figured that we wouldn’t find them or if they plan on coming back, but they are still there.”

  “Good,” Slater said. “We’ll use them.” He looked at his men. “They may have guards around their camp. There will be a bonus for every dead Arab. You can put your initials on their hands.”

  The men smiled. Breckenridge paid well, but his bonuses were always huge. They began climbing the hill, a few taking the path, but most of them moving silently through the trees.

  As Slater got closer to the camp, he could see a fire through the trees. Men were silhouetted in its glow. He watched as his men moved in.

  As he moved closer to Sheba, Marshall could see that Mosud was tense, strung tight, his eyes constantly moving, constantly scanning the darkness. Mosud never looked at the fire because the fire would destroy his night sight.

  Then Mosud grabbed Sheba, clutching her to his chest, his knife at her throat. “Assid, we have company.”

  Assid looked around. “Come out or the woman dies,” he announced.

  Slater motioned for his men to step into the clearing. As he looked at Mosud, he noticed a very big man standing behind Mosud. He frowned. I know that face, he thought. As he met the man’s eyes, he realized that it was the man he had hit with the wrench.

  “Slater,” Mosud yelled. “I know you’re out there. Come join your men before the woman dies.”

  Slater walke
d into the clearing.

  Assid strode past Mosud, past the fire until he faced Slater. “I am disappointed in you.” He said. “I spit on your incompetence.” He spit in Slater’s face.

  Slater wiped the saliva from his cheek, but said nothing. He looked past Mosud into Marshall’s eyes. “Get ready,” they said.

  Marshall let the AK-47 drop silently to the ground, as he slid his eight inch knife from its scabbard.

  Assid, angry at his lack of response, hit Slater in the gut with his right fist and on the jaw with his left. Slater grunted but didn’t flinch.

  As soon as Assid’s right fist moved, Marshall stepped forward. Reaching around Mosud, he grabbed his knife hand forcing it away from Sheba’s throat. “Sheba, drop now.” He commanded. Mosud uttered a scream of frustration as Sheba ducked away from him. He whipped around and lunged forward, his knife going for Marshall’s stomach. Marshall stepped back and turned so the knife went past him. His knife slid between Mosud’s ribs and he dropped lifeless to the ground.

  When Marshall moved, Slater’s hand shot out, grabbing Assid by the throat. Assid reached up trying to break his grip. He kicked and struggled.

  One of Assid’s men lunged at Slater, pushing him off balance. As soon as Slater’s grip weakened, Assid stepped to the left, said something to his men in Farsi and disappeared. Another man grabbed for Sheba, but Marshall’s boot caught him on the point of his chin and flipped him in a full somersault. He dropped to the ground and didn’t move.

  Marshall swung Sheba away from the fighting, as another man came hurtling out of the fray. Before they could disappear into the darkness, Slater said, “Don’t try it.”

  Marshall looked up. Slater had an AK-47 pointed at him, his finger on the trigger.

  Marshall stood Sheba on her feet, raising his hands. One of Slater’s men took the M-16 from his shoulder and the knife from his hand.

  “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you,” Slater said.

  Chapter 26

  “It looks like you could use some help. I’ve trained dozens of men.”