Rainbow Six: Bloodlines

"EL LEÓN" - Chapter 6

FEBRUARY 24, 2018
CEUTA, SPAIN
Outside Senator Costa's Villa
(near La Playa de Ribera)

     Midnight was minutes away. Dokkaebi, Ela, and Zofia waited in a black SUV, watching their surroundings through tinted windows. Senator Roberto Casillas Costa's villa watched the world from on high.

     The public beach down the hill was nearly deserted as the nighttime waves caressed the coast. A couple was strolling hand-in-hand along the beach, whispering sweet promises as they gazed out at the stars above the ocean. Two young men were kicking a fútbol back and forth, seeing how long they could keep it in the air.

     Occasionally a random passerby would stop near the waves, or police officers on bicycle patrol, but La Playa de Ribera was quiet.

     Dokkaebi had successfully hacked the cell phone of one the guards from afar. Through text messages, she was able to determine that a shift change occurred at 01:00 in the morning. The team had quickly agreed on hitting the villa at midnight; the guards on duty would be nearing the md of a long shift.

     Tired, anxious hostiles meant better odds.

     Ela shifted in her seat. "Pereira, Hwa - how you doing?" she asked over the radio.

     "No trouble yet," came Vigil. "Approaching perimeter wall. Requesting radio silence."

     "Roger that. Stay safe."

     "Will do. Hwa, out."

     Zofia leaned back against her seat. "Wish we were in there with them."

     "We should be, but Caveira gave her orders." Ela smirked at her sister. "You said we have to obey orders, remember?"

     "Indeed." Zofia sighed and turned her attention to the woman in the rearview mirror. "What are you up to, Grace?"

     Dokkaebi's eyes didn't leave her screen. "Trying to ping some signatures. Will give us an idea of how many phones are in the villa, which will give Caveira and Vigil a rough number of possible hostiles." She paused. "Having trouble getting where I need to be."

     Ela nodded. She leaned forward on the wheel. "Good shit. Hopefully it works out."

     "Hopefully," Grace echoed. "As much as I like hacking shit, I want to get in there."

     "I hear ya. Hopefully it doesn't come to that tonight, but it might."

*               *               *

     Vigil led the way. Caveira trailed a good distance behind him, always keeping Hwa in sight. The villa was sure to have surveillance cameras, so Taina had agreed to let the man take point.

     He moved quietly through thick foliage and trees that glowed with the bright sheen of full moon's light. He parted leaves slowly with the barrel of his machine pistol.

     There were only two guards stationed at the small side gate, compared to entire teams watching the front and rear entrances to the villa grounds.

     "Heads up," he murmured. "Eyes on two tangos. One camera. Could be more hostiles beyond the gate. Looks like our best option is to insert nearby."

     "Copy." Caveira slowed her approach, adjusting the night vision goggles she wore. She could see Vigil up ahead, safely concealed in the brush. The glow of lights from the villa stubbornly fought the dark of night. "Remember, no fatalities."

     Vigil grinned beneath his mask. He found the notion of Pereira reminding him to avoid lethal force quite amusing. "I'll try to slip by them. Cover me."