Joseph
The men that surrounded me were smart. Experts actually. They had all made battle plans like this before. If they worked for the government they would all be highly ranked generals. They moved around maps and made phone calls and added new weapons to the lists. We were going to battle, and the fight would win the war.
"We go in to the south! Romano and his guys left to the the west toward coast. If they thought that we would be coming they would be guarding their eastern boarders because that's what's closest to us. So we come in through the south and catch them by surprise." I added my input, rapidly getting bored of their banter.
"The south? It would take much longer to get into position there. We would have to leave hours sooner than we had planned and we still don't have all of our supplies." One the super smart guys objected.
"The element of surprise is the only thing that we have going for us Cole." I argued. "Going through all their men to get their faster would be the stupidest thing we could possibly do. If we come from the south the chances that we pull this off are significantly higher and you all know it." I leaned back in my chair. The room was quiet for a moment while they contemplated my theory.
"Alright I agree." Slowly one by one they all gave their consent to the new plan.
"Great." I clapped my hands together and stood from behind my desk. "Matthew I need you to call and get our shipment here faster. Within the hour. Do whatever you have to do. We leave in 2 hours. Get everyone ready." I said, concluding the 2 hour long meeting.
The guys quickly shuffled out of the room one by one, each having a task to complete.
In the silence of my office I could hear the clock tick. 8:00. Today was Thursday. Today i was going to get her back, and nothing was going to stop me. For the next 3 hours he would make sure that everything was 100 percent crystal clear in the select few men's minds he had chosen to accompany him in the deadly mission they would be undertaking that night. Not a second would be wasted.
****
I sat stony faced while my guys around me fought to keep from throwing up all over the small plane we were stuffed in. The aircraft rocked and jolted around violently, throwing its passengers around like a roller coaster. Lucky for me I don't get motion sickness, however most of the rest of the guys weren't so lucky.
"We'll touch down in about 45 minutes boys. It might be a bit of a rocky landing. We're going down in a field, which is a lot different than a nice paved airstrip." The pilot jerked the plane about as he bounced around laughing. I glared in my head at Matthias for hiring such a dim-witt for such an important job. 'I'll get the best' he said. 'No one can fly like him' he said. The best my ass.
Those were of the longest 40 minutes I'd ever been through. I sat twiddling my thumbs unable to busy myself with anything. As for the final 5 minutes, I take back when I said I didn't get motion sick because when the plane landed and came to a complete stop I was there along with every other guy throwing up everything I'd eaten in the last 8 hours. We helped our tech center set up all their computers in the plane, and checked to make sure all of our earpieces worked.
Once that was over and taken care of we began our journey. It was just over 6 miles to the compound where Romano lived, but more importantly where Jessica was. We started off in a run, but as 2 o'clock drew closer and closer we slowed our run to a jog. The guys back at the plane guided us through our ears talking us through which way to go. Each of our black shirts were soaked with sweat. The sweltering heat of Southern California was hitting us hard. But we drove on stopping every so often for a short water break.
It took just about an hour before we could see the mansion through the trees. The urge to keep moving forwards bounced around in my head, but the sun was still high in the sky and Romano wouldn't be going out to the coast for his shipment until dusk at least.
"Alright men. Hunker down until dusk. We can't move any further until then." I told everyone in a stern but soft voice careful to not let anyone else hear us there.
Time ticked by in basically still silence. I knew that if anyone heard or saw us all of this would have been for nothing, my men on the other hand knew that if we got caught because of any of them I'd probably kill them myself. The only other one here that I felt was emotionally invested in this project here was Ruben. I could read on his face back home that he was not going to let anything stop him from being here and getting Jessica back. I didn't know whether I should be jealous or glad.
I began to wake up the crew when I started to be able to see the sunset colors playing in the clouds above us. It was almost time now. As it got darker lights started to come on and pour over the lawn of the mansion. No space was left in the shadows. This wouldn't be easy, and it definitely wouldn't me like in video games where we get more than one chance. We have one go. If we fail everything is over.
"Boss. Jason and mike said that the cars are just starting to leave now. We should start moving in now."
"No we wait till they get back and then go in together." I turned to address everyone. "There will be no leaving anyone behind. It will not happen. Do you hear me?" In matters like this I couldn't be more serious, and they all knew that. I kept on pep talking until we could all hear foot steps coming toward us. I motioned for everyone to squat down under the bushes lining the ground.
"They've left." A panting Jason and mike came crashing through the trees.
I stood up angrily. "Well did you get caught." I crossed my arms over my chest.
"No of course not." They responded and looked around puzzled as to why I would ask them that.
"Well that's surprising. We've been listening to you come closer and closer for the last 5 minutes. You sound like a herd of damned elephants. We have to be better than that."
"Sorry boss." They apologized and moved to stand in the small crowd of man behind me.
"We need to move quick. In and out. We know where we're going. We know how we're getting there. Now we just have to do it." I nodded and let all my words sink in for a moment. "Alright let's move out."
I lead the group through the trees and bushes on the ground as silently as possible. The wet soil under us made it slightly easier but avoiding sticks and dryer leaves was vital.
I took the first step onto the manicured lawn being careful to avoid the pressure sensors that we were warned lined the first foot of the perimeter of the entire yard.
We stood out with our black outfits in the well lit grass. We moved around quickly to the side of the house and slinked along until we got to the door.
"Alright there's two guys on the other side of the door. When you get in you'll have to take them out immediately before they alert anyone else your here." The guys back at the plane told us, obviously hacked into the camera system. I glanced backwards to confirm everyone had heard.
I held up my fingers and counted down from 3. When my last finger dropped into my hand I turned the knob on the door. When it didn't open I rammed my shoulder into it to force it open. I my eyes scanned the room for the men on the other side. The first one caught my eye and I rammed my elbow into the side of his head. He slumped down to the floor no longer conscious. I whipped around but the second threat had already been taken care of.
We kept moving stopping and going when the voices in our ears told us to. We took out the guards along the way as quietly as we could. Cameron was rights though the mansion was severely understaffed. It must have been a big shipment for them to need so many men I thought to myself to longer we were there.
We climbed a flight of stairs and took the second hall we came across. We came to a halt before a door that had a little wooden chair sat next to it. It was the door my Jessica was behind. Cameron had given us specific directions as to how to get there, and they were engraved in my head.
I turned the knob and pushed the door open. The dark room was empty other than a little figure under the covers of the bed. I slowly took steps to the side of her bed. I could see her face front this view. She had bandages, bruises, and small cuts all over the skin that wasn't hidden by the blankets. I brushed my fingers across her cheek trying to find somewhere that wasn't injured.
"Wake up baby it's time to go home." I whispered in her ear. She didn't wake up so I shook her shoulder gently. Her eyelids started to move around and slowly she started blinking and opening her eyes.
"Joseph?" She whispered frowning. After a moment her eyes flew open wide and a gasp escaped from her mouth. "Joseph!" She lifted one of her arms and hugged me with it.
"C'mon lets get you home."I lifted her into my arms and got a view of how much more extended her injuries were than I had thought. She looked like a doll that had been stabbed multiple times, everywhere. "Good lord." I mumbled under my breath.
"Joseph!" My earpiece screamed. "You need to leave now the cars are coming back!"
My men immediately started moving. They flung the door open but the opening was blocked by bodies. My stomach dropped to the floor. I kept my face like ice but my heart was pounding away inside my chest.
Everyone looked at me to know what to do. But my mind was blank. I had no idea what to do now.
"Take out all of your weapons and put them on the floor." One of the guys said. Everyone looked at me before placing their guns on the floor and kicking them to the enemy as instructed.
There we waited until the men blocking our exit parted and Romano stepped forward. "Hello boys! So good to see you again. We've been expecting you."