Oslo, Norway
Eric raced down the street in the Hummer as his mind frantically tried to come up with a plan. He never liked going into situations without knowing what he was up against, and, in this case, a wet-job team at the embassy could be there waiting for him. Although he'd eliminated his targets from an extreme distance, it was always good to have a backup with him. There was only one person who would be his backup, but she was away on a mission right now. She was the best he'd worked with, and there was no one like her. Reaching into his pocket inside his leather jacket and pulling out his burner, he entered a ten-digit encrypted number for Holiday and clicked his earpiece in his ear.
"Eric, Gunner just called me. The wet job is already there," Holiday asked.
"I'm there; I'm going to need backup going into the embassy, not knowing if the wet-job team has backup or not."
"Who do you want for the backup?" Holiday inquired.
"Jennings, she's the best," Eric told him.
"She's on operational assignment right now, Eric, but I'll see if I get her for your backup, Holiday assured him.
Arriving at the United States Embassy, he immediately parked and stepped out as he surveyed the area, taking in the Land Rover he saw parked outside. His eyes darted over to the broken glass of shards. He'd remembered what his sniper instructor had told him when going into a battle, not knowing what the odds were. "Attack when he is unprepared and appears when you're not expected." That advice had always served him well. He rubbed the 50-caliber casing on his chain around his neck as he thought of his first kill shot.
While he waited to hear back from Holiday, he withdrew his Desert Eagle from his hip holster. Given the circumstances, he knew all too well how the wet-job team operated. He was certain Emlin was somewhere in the distance, on top of an apartment building or hotel, waiting for the right moment to pull the trigger, because he would have done it if it had been him. He was beginning to formulate his plan for how he was going to get Gunner out of the embassy and eliminate the shooters inside when his earpiece chirped in his ear. It was a Holiday.
"Eric, Jennings will be there shortly; she is just flying in from Moscow."
"Good, because I have a feeling that the wet-job team isn't going to take any chances here, Eric stated.
"Eric, we need Gunner alive. Do you? What do you do best?" Holiday remarked.
"We'll get Gunner out alive from the embassy and make sure that wet-job team is scrubbed for good," Eric stated as he clicked his earpiece, ending the conversation.
He made his way over to the Land Rover and spotted the opened Hardigg Storm cases in the back. There was no question on his mind that Headshot wanted Gunner dead, which meant that these wet-job teams were given a kill order. For his plan to work, they had to move fast and methodically, and that's what they did the best. He went over the details in his mind, making sure that he didn't miss anything that would be crucial to getting out.
Slipping his semi-automatic 50-caliber pistol back into his hip holster, Maizie voiced through his earpiece. "Eric, I'm just heading out through the airport entrance and making over to my Ford Mustang GT."
He clicked his earpiece as he voiced through her earpiece. "How did everything go in Moscow?"
Maizie voiced him through his earpiece"Everything went as planned, although I was ambushed by two assassins outside the Russian embassy."
"The Russians must have tailed you there from the airport to the embassy," Eric told her through her earpiece.
"So what do we know about this wet-job team?" Maiize asked through his earpiece.
"They were dispatched by Headshot, an assassin organization run and owned by Colt Huntley," he told her through her earpiece.
"Gunner must have something vital intel that they want him to give us. If they dispatched a wet-job team to eliminate him," Maize remarked through his earpiece.
"He was an asset for Headshot, which means he might know about the organization and its operations," Eric stated through her earpiece.
Mazie slid into her Ford Mustang GT, closing the door behind her, as she said. "What's our plan of attack going into the embassy?" She spoke through Eric's earpiece.
"Appear when you're not expected," Eric replied.
She sped out of the airport parking lot, racing down the street through the congested traffic at this hour. A few minutes later, she arrived at the United States embassy. She parked her Mustang beside the Hummer and stepped out, closing the door behind her. She strode over to Eric and said, "What are our options?"
"The best option for us would be to cut power and go fast and methodically," he told her.
"That would work. How many shooters does this wet-job team have?" She inquired.
"I would say about seven shooters, but if I know Gunner, he probably killed one of them trying to hold them until we got here," Eric remarked.
They made their way over to her Mustang as she opened the back door and reached in, grabbing two pairs of night vision goggles they were going to need after they had cut the power. She tossed one as he snatched it in his hand. After that, she grabbed her M4, slung it over her shoulder, snatched some spare ammunition, and closed the door behind her.
They made their way over to the front entrance, immediately spotting the power box as they slid their night vision goggles over their eyes. She carefully and slowly opened the door on the power box, studying the wires so she knew which ones to cut. She nodded at him as she reached into her pocket and removed a pair of plastic gloves. She slipped them on and pulled out her blade as she slit the wire to the video surveillance cameras and the power inside.
All of a sudden, it went dark as the power went off. They crept slowly and discreetly up the dark corridor. Eric whipped out his Desert Eagle from his hip holster and led the barrel with his finger on the trigger. Mazie gripped her M4 in her grip. They made their way up the winding staircase, heading down the corridor. From his peripherals, he spotted one of the assassins and cocked the hammer on his pistol as he fired a bullet into him.
The lead assassin pivoted as he froze, seeing a barrel aimed at him. He dropped his MP5 as he lunged at the man with a pistol, not realizing that it was Eric the Red. Eric sidestepped, predicting the assassin's movements, and lowered his pistol, placing it back into his hip holster. He balled his fist as he delivered a kidney strike and punch to the assassin's kidney, which sent him flying to the ground. The assassin slowly got to his feet, but he was still in pain and feeling it. Reaching for his blade on his stealth, he withdrew it as he lashed out at Eric.
She fired rapid shots at the lead assassin, dropping him to the ground. Gunfire erupted around them as the remaining opened fire at them. They sprinted to take cover behind one of the corners of the corridor. She aimed her barrel of M4 and opened fire at one of the assassins as he fell to the ground. Eric snatched his pistol and pulled the trigger, sending a round into the assassins while she fired more shots at the crew.
After that, they made their way into the interrogation. Eric slipped his pistol back into his hip holster, as he said. "Gunner, it's Red. Holiday told me you would be here. The wet-job crew is dead now. We'll take you to one of our safe houses."
Gunner rose from behind the chair, dropping the gun on the ground, and said, "Who's the other lady with you? I have never seen her with you before."
Maize entered the interrogation room and lowered her M4 as she walked over to Eric and told Gunner. "You can trust me. I worked for Holiday and with Red before."
"What about Medusa? She's still out and won't stop until I'm dead," Gunner inquired.
"Who's Medusa?" she asked.
"She's Headshot's most efficient assassin," Eric stated, and then he pressed on. "Don't worry, Gunner, we'll make sure that you're protected. I assure you that I will go after her and put a bullet into her for good."
They strode out of the interrogation room, heading down the corridor, made their way down the winding staircase, and emerged out through the front entrance. After that, they strolled over to the Hummer and her Mustang. Eric surveyed the area while his ears listened for anything out of the ordinary.
"Eric, how do you want to do this now, if Medusa is out there?" She asked.
Eric thought for a moment before he spoke again. He rubbed his chin, raised his eyebrow, and said it with an enigmatic smile. "Maize, you take Gunner to our safe house; this way, it throws her off. I will go after her and put a bullet into her."