Chapter 17

Cade woke up the next morning, showered, dressed, and packed. Then he wiped the tranquilizer gun and returned it under the seat cushion. He also wiped all the areas he touched and then carried his bags to the marina restaurant. Cade called the jet pilot, Robert, and told him his business was done. They agreed to meet at the jet in an hour. Cade ate breakfast and then drove to the airport. On the way, he called the preprogrammed number on the burner phone. He said this is Ares number 3490, and “It’s done.” Then Cade threw the phone into the ocean.

Upon arrival at the airport, Cade put on his coated ballcap and sunglasses. Then he returned his rental Jeep and met Robert at the plane. They took off and landed at Rapid City Regional Airport at 1 p.m. Cade thanked Robert for the ride and went to his Tahoe. Raiden removed his Cade Wiliam disguise and put on his Will Carlson disguise. Then he stopped at McDonald’s drive-thru, got lunch, and returned to his apartment.

Raiden ate lunch and thought about the operation. He was sure the guards on the yacht would make up a story to avoid blame for Mohamad Badawi’s death. It wouldn’t be healthy for them to admit failure in guarding the yacht and Mohamad Badawi. Raiden was sure that if the authorities investigated, they would determine that Mohamad slipped on the deck, hit his head, and fell overboard. When he finished lunch, Raiden washed his dirty clothes and checked the internet to see if there was any news of Mohamad’s death.

He couldn’t find any news of his death, and then Dana called. She asked him to meet her at the airport tomorrow at 7:30 a.m., and he agreed. Then, he took his disguises and photography equipment to the hidden room in the garage. Raiden put the photography duffle bag on the shelf and opened his makeup purchases. Clearly, he needed more storage for his makeup and disguises, so he drove to Lowe’s. He bought an upper and lower rolling mechanics toolbox.

Returning to his apartment, Raiden took the toolboxes to the garage’s hidden room. He spends the hour reorganizing and transferring his makeup and disguises to the toolboxes. When he was done, Raiden called Pizza Hut and ordered a pizza for takeout. He went to Pizza Hut, picked up his order, returned to his apartment, and ate dinner. When he finished, Raiden went to bed and fell asleep.

The next morning, Raiden went to the garage gym and did his martial arts workout. Then, he practiced his Stealth Walk and Strikes. Returning to his apartment, he showered and felt energized and refreshed. Then he went to Denny’s for breakfast and arrived at the airport private terminal at 7:25 a.m. Raiden went into the terminal, and a Gulfstream jet was parked outside. When he approached, the door opened, and Dana welcomed him inside.

They sat at a small conference table, and Dana asked Raiden about the op. He told her how he used the dinghy from the cabin cruiser to reach the yacht. After securing the dinghy, he shot the two guards with a tranquilizer dart and set them on a couch. Raiden told Dana he had found terrorist Mohamad Badawi asleep in the stateroom, and he punched him in the head so he would wake up. Then, Carried Mohamad onto the deck, hit his head on the ship’s railing, and threw him overboard.

Before leaving the yacht, he removed the tranquilizer darts from the guards, then rowed about twenty yards, started the dinghy motor, and returned to the cabin cruiser. Dana sat there with her mouth open for a minute, then asked how he had planned the mission. Raiden said the dinghy was the only way to board the yacht unnoticed. There was scuba gear, but that would leave wet footprints and water on the deck. Besides, he wasn’t certified to use the gear.

Raiden said the tranquilizer gun quietly disabled the guards, and when they woke up, they would lie to protect their lives. Then, with Mohamad hitting his head on the railing, leaving blood, authorities would think he slipped, hit his head, and fell overboard. Dana shook her head and said unbelievable, and he did an excellent job. They stood, shook hands goodbye, and Raiden returned to his Tahoe and drove home.

He arrived around 10:30 a.m. and went to his room. Raiden checked his server at the apartment and read the news on the internet. There was still no news of Mohamad Badawi’s death, so he figured no one had notified the local authorities. Then, he checked Ria and Tia’s internet usage and was surprised they attempted to access restricted sites 37 times. Raiden shut off the computer and went to the kitchen for lunch, and everyone welcomed him home.

After lunch, Marta asked for Raiden’s help in the lab. They did an inventory, and Martha called the order to the supply house. Then, they ran experiments for the rest of the afternoon. After finishing the experiments, they cleaned up the lab, returned to the house, and went to their rooms. Raiden showered, put on his, and went to dinner.

Dana arrived at SAC headquarters early Thursday morning. She’d been called into a meeting with Director Gil Bowman about the Grand Cayman Operation. When she arrived at the conference room, the director and the other section chiefs were there. Director Bowman welcomed Dana and requested a briefing on the Grand Cayman Op. Dana told the group that Ares successfully eliminated Mohamad Badawi without any additional casualties.

Then, she went into detail about how Ares planned and executed the operation. They quizzed Dana about why Mohamad’s head was hit on the yacht’s railing before being thrown overboard. She explained Ares’s theory about Mohamad slipping on deck, hitting his head, and falling overboard. It would look like an accident if the authorities investigated. Director Bowman asked about shooting the guard with tranquilizer darts and if it wasn’t a risk.

Dana told the group that Ares felt the guards would make up a story to deflect responsibility for their failure to protect Mohamad and the yacht. She said we were dealing with terrorists, gentlemen. Ares knew the guards would be killed if they didn’t make up a story about Mohamad falling overboard without their knowledge. Director Bowman said Ares made and executed an excellent plan, and the group agreed. When the meeting broke up, Director Bowman pulled Dana aside.

He asked Dana when Ares would be available for an overseas op. Dana said, as you know, he’s using college to cover his absence from home. With some planning, we could use a college field trip for international studies. But that could raise suspicions, and adding a day to his absence would be better. If the op took under four days with travel, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Dana asked why, and Director Bowman said they lost an asset in England this week. An SVR agent named Viktor Abdovlov killed him, and he needs to be eliminated. But it has to look like an accident, or it will set off a killing spree between agencies. Dana said if we have good intel on Viktor’s movements, Ares could do it quickly and return within the four-day window. Director Bowman told Dana to set it up asap and supply Ares with everything he needed, and their conversation ended.

After breakfast, Raiden went to the lab with Martha. She wanted to go to the secret pond, so they got eight plastic gallon bottles and went to the stables. They saddled the horses and rode through the woods along the hillside. When they got to the boulders, Roxie maneuvered up the hillside, through them, to the secret pond. Raiden let the horses get a drink and tethered them. Then, they went around the pond and hiked down the hillside to the waterfalls.