Chapter 3

Ashley hunkered down to wait for the arrival of the gang and spent the time going over the less pleasurable memories of her time in the armed forces and the final event that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Terrorists had kidnapped a bus load of tourists and were making all kinds of impossible demands as a condition of their release. Although they had been itching for some action, her squad had been told to stand down. They had been stuck in a nearby camp and forced to wait while the army big brass and politicians tried to negotiate with the terrorists. But it wasn’t working. Throughout that night occasional screams and shots could be heard. It meant that the terrorists were showing everybody they meant business by murdering one of the captives.

Finally Ashley decided she couldn’t take it anymore. Despite strict orders to stand down and let the negotiators handle the situation, she decided to take matters into her own hands. They could dither, kiss ass and pass the buck back and forth for weeks in order to avoid responsibility for making a decision. She believed there was only one way to solve the impasse for once and for all, so she strolled through the camp and without attracting too much attention, conferred with several of the most trusted members of her squad.

Three of them agreed with her plan and quietly snuck out of camp with her. A mile hike through the night and they came across the terrorist’s first security perimeter. As expected, it was ridiculously flimsy with the getaway vehicles casually parked in a grove of trees. The guards were total amateurs who were dozing off. As per their plan, two of the squad bypassed the sleeping guards and headed to the barn where the terrorists were holding the hostages. Ashley and one man waited for the other pair to signal their arrival at the barn. Twenty minutes later Ashley’s mic clicked.

“Found them. We’ve made it to the back of the barn undetected and got a bird’s eye view of everything. The hostages are all out of the bus and lined up against its walls. It looks as if there’s about a dozen terrorists in attendance, but only two are actually keeping an eye on the hostages. The rest are sleeping or drinking and playing cards in the front section of the building.”

Ashley listened carefully as John Kovilenko explained the situation, then she replied.” Just as we suspected. The terrorists think the only people they have to deal with are those stupid negotiators. It’s made them totally lax, so we go ahead as planned. As soon as you hear the fireworks rush in and get the hostages out, we’ll look after the terrorists.”

“Gotcha,” answered Kovilenko. Ashley turned to her partner, a short, heavily bearded man sitting beside her.

“Everything’s a go so let’s light them up.”

Billy Carver nodded. “I got the two on the left, the other two are yours.”

It was child’s play for seasoned pros. Ashley raised her rifle equipped with a silencer and took care of her responsibility while Billy did the same. The pair then rushed into the camp, doused the vehicles with gasoline and planted explosives set to go off in 10 minutes. That job done, they hurried towards the barn, shot one unfortunate terrorist who picked the wrong time to take a leak outside. Then they waited in the thick bushes at the front of the barn.

The party started with a loud bang and lots of fireworks. When the explosives went off the ground shook like it was being torn apart, and the sky lit up like it was a New Year’s Eve celebration. There was instant pandemonium. Shots could be heard from the rear of the barn as Kovilinko and his partner breached its rear doors, shot the two lax guards and sprayed any of the kidnappers who dared to raise their head with automatic rifle fire. To no surprise there was very little fight in the terrorists. Despite their bluster they had no stomach for a real gun battle. The pair began ushering the hostages out the rear door while the terrorists took the easy way out. They began racing out the front door only to be met by a hail of deadly fire from Ashley and Billy. It was all over in a matter of minutes with all the hostages freed unharmed and most of the terrorists dead or wounded.