Chapter 21

Time passed as a blink in our creator's eye. In the time that passed, Lilly scored higher than anyone ever had on her exams. Lilly got used to being around Nick, nude. But, she still had problems when he was. She had a problem with Nick's directive to shower with the rest of the team. John cleaned out the security force and installed some of the teams to fill the void. The team started hanging out together all of the time. Ryan kept hitting on Lilly to no avail. Nick started sending out the team on reconnaissance missions. Petra started worrying all of the time.

Devlin had Chow get a large cache of heroin into the city. Max was used to keep the Professor in line. He beat the Professor's daughter to a bloody pulp right in front of him. No one knew Max was such a sadist, except maybe Devlin. He had Max dispose of the Professor and his daughter when the Professor finished his work. The five experts arrived that Devlin had asked for. Allen was only allowed into the city once a month to have his so-called fun. And One started looking for another occupation.

Four burst into Devlin's office.

Devlin said, "What is it, Four?"

"I have come to a dead end, sir, on my research of Mr. Hammer."

"Tell me what you do know."

"He is the son of a farmer. He has several brothers and sisters."

Devlin interrupted, "Can we use them?"

"I think not, sir. They all seem to have disappeared many years ago. The father, mother, and youngest son died in a car accident about the same time they all disappeared."

"I wonder who Mr. Hammer pissed off then."

Four looked quizzically at his boss, "Sir?"

"Never mind, Four, continue."

"He joined the army before he was twenty. In his fifth year, he was recommended to the Special Forces by his sergeant major. Mr. Hammer was highly decorated during his time in the Special Forces. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart and several other awards."

"Did you find out where and what he did during those years?"

"Yes and no, sir. I could only find out where he was sent."

Devlin motioned Four to continue.

"Sir, he did missions in Korea, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Afghanistan, Libya, Lebanon, Iran, then the Philippines which coincides with the death and disappearances of his family. He did one more mission in Guatemala. Then he retired. The Central Intelligence Agency tried to recruit him several times. He refused and went to work for the Metropolitan Police Department. They fired him a few years ago. I could not find out why."

Devlin laughed, "I know why, because I told them to. Now that decision has come back to bite me in the ass."

Four confused, said, "Sir, I do not understand."

"Never mind, Four. What has he done since then?"

"I do not know sir. His past for the last several years is blank."

"Good work, Four. Leave every thing you have here. I will go through it later."

Four nodded his head and set the folder on Devlin's desk.

"I need you to go and assist One and have Three bring Mr. Montez to me."

"Yes sir."

Four left the office. A few minutes later, Three entered the office with Mr. Montez.

Devlin said, "Mr. Montez, do we have a deal?"

"I think we can work well together Mr. Lanchea. I need to get back to my home as quickly as I can."

Devlin smiled, "Very well sir. I will have it arranged to get you home this evening. Three will accompany you until you arrive home. I would like our first order to arrive in two weeks. I will also arrange all of the details for the shipment. Three will give you a briefcase when you land at home."

"I like the way you do business, Mr. Lanchea."

"Excellent. Now that our business is concluded would you join me in a drink?"

"I would like tequila."

Devlin nodded at Three. Three went to the bar and fixed the two drinks. Montez had heard whispers of the things going on around Lanchea's house.

"Mr. Lanchea, your troubles won't affect our business will it?"

Devlin chuckled, "No, Mr. Montez, I have taken steps to insure a long and prosperous venture."

Montez, satisfied, sat back and enjoyed his drink.

Several hundred miles from the city, a helicopter hovered over a mountaintop. Five black figures repelled out of the helicopter. Max Newton watched the five touch the ground. Only one man scared him as much as these five did. The five all have special skills and were so named. The leader's name was Spider. He was a thin, Caucasian man. He could scale walls and was deadly with Korean Kamas. Kamas are small scythe-like weapons. Next was Shotgun. He was a large African man. When Shotgun was not using his sawed-off double-barreled shotgun, he liked to use his hands to rip people's heads off. The third was a muscular female. Her name was Razor. She favored razor blades and a Chinese bayonet. She loved doing sadistic things to other females. Weed was a Jamaican who favored a nasty-looking staff with a monkey's skull on it. He enjoyed smoking marijuana and bashing people's skulls in. Spike was the last, but not the least. He used two sharpened railroad spikes. He believed the bigger the hole, the faster they bleed. Max had found out where his wife and daughters were. Devlin allowed Max to use the five to get them back. Now, all he could do was sit back and wait.

An hour later, Max's com-link buzzed.

Max answered, "Max."

The voice on the other end said, "Spider, you can come in, there is a clearing in front of the house."

"Are they all dead?"

"No, we have one of the protectors, the adult female and two little ones alive."

"Good, we will be there in a moment."

He signaled the pilot to proceed. The helicopter landed in front of the house. Max hopped out and ran to the house. He was greeted at the front door by Spike. At his feet lay one of his old security force members. He patted Spike on the back, and entered the house. In the front room, he saw Haygood on the floor with Weed and Shotgun holding him down. Razor came out of the hallway, carrying Melissa.

He walked over to her, "You fucking bitch."

He slapped her twice and backhanded her, breaking her nose.

Max said to Razor, "Take her to the bedroom and make her scream."

Razor was happy to oblige. Max turned his attention to Haygood.

"Hello, Haygood. How have you been?"

Haygood swore up a storm trying to get free.

Haygood screamed, "I am going to kill you, Max!"

Max laughed devilishly, "Haygood you are going to do no such thing. Why don't you and I make a little phone call?"

Max picked up Haygood's cell phone from a table. He dialed the number to the facility. An operator answered.

Max walked over to Haygood and whispered, "Ask for Nick Hammer and tell them it is an emergency. If you don't, I will kill my girls right in front of you."

Haygood was not sure whether Max was capable of such an act. However, he did not want to find out and he nodded. Max placed the phone next to Haygood.

"This is Haygood Johnson. I need to speak to Nick Hammer immediately."

The operator said, "Sir, he is on another line. Can you hold a moment?"

Haygood said, "No I need you to cut in; it is a dire emergency."

The Operator said, "Yes sir."

A few seconds later, Nick's voice came over the phone.

Haygood got out, "Nick..."

Max took the phone away from Haygood.

Max said, "Hi old buddy, old Pal."

"Max!"

"You win the prize, Nick."

Melissa started screaming from the bedroom. Nick heard the screams.

"Max, I will kill you."

Max laughed, "You are going to have to find me first, old buddy. I will let you hear a little more."

A death-curdling scream came out of the bedroom. Several more screams were heard and then silence.

Max got back on the phone, "I guess I am now a widower."

He threw his desk over and screamed into the phone, "I am coming for you Max!"

Max played with Nick some more, "I ain't finished old buddy."

Max nodded to Spider. Spider walked over to Haygood. Spider pulled out his Kamas and placed them on opposite sides of Haygood's neck. Haygood started shouting profanities at Max. Then he yelled at Nick. Max turned the phone towards Haygood.

Haygood screamed, "Nick kill these bastards and make them suffer!"

Max nodded to Spider. Spider in one deft motion, removed Haygood's head.

Max got back on the phone, "See ya buddy."

Max hung up.

"Okay, let's go. Weed and Razor, grab the girls."

They all climbed into the helicopter and fly off. Nick went ballistic. He destroyed the office. When he calmed down a little, he sat in the middle of the floor and cried. Cal found Nick an hour later. He busted the door to get in to him.

Cal ran over to his friend.

"Nick what happened?"

Nick sat in the floor sobbing.

"Nick, talk to me. What happened?"

Nick looked up at Cal. Cal noticed his eyes were glazed over. Nick was in shock. Cal took a step back and slapped Nick on the side of the face. Nick came unglued and attacked Cal. Cal waited for Nick to start to stand up. He stepped in and short-punched Nick in the temple, knocking him out. Cal got on the radio and had the team meet him in Nick's office. The team arrived. They saw the disaster in the office, and Nick lying on the floor.

Raven said, "What the hell happened?"

Cal said, "I don't know. I had to knock him out, so he wouldn't kill me. Help me get him to the team room and tied up before he wakes up."

They all agreed that would be the best plan and hurriedly help Cal. They drug him into the team room. They tied him to a metal chair. Cal sent Ryan after a bucket of water.

Ryan returned with the water and said, "Now what?"

Cal said, "Give me the bucket and the rest of you clear out."

The team left the room. Cal waited for them to clear out of the room. He took the bucket of water and poured it over Nick's head. Nick woke up and started struggling with the ropes that were binding him.

Cal walked in front of Nick and gently said, "Nick, it is Cal." Nick calmed down and looked at his friend.

"Nick, are you okay?"

Nick, still enraged, slowly, and in a deep, steady voice, said, "Get these fucking ropes off of me. I am going to rip your fucking head off."

"That really inspires me to let you loose."

Nick, still in his deep voice, said "We do not have time for this."

"Tell me what is going on and I might release you."

"Max Newton found them. We need to get up there now."

Cal jumps up and pulled out his bowie knife. Cal yelled for the team to get in there. Cal cut the ropes off of Nick. The team ran into the room. Nick rubbed his arms. Cal stood next Nick. Nick still, feeling vengeful, hammered Cal in the chest with both fists. Cal flew into the lockers. He put some extra large dents in them.

Cal picked himself up off the floor and said, "Do you feel better now?"

"Not yet, I still owe you for tying me up. Get everyone geared up. Ryan, call John. Tell him to have the helicopter and the jump plane ready to go. We are leaving in twenty minutes. Lilly, you and Christina get everyone's parachutes. Check them and take them to the roof."

Nick headed to his bedroom to get dressed. The team started wondering and talking about what was going on.

Cal said, "That is enough. We don't have time for you to jabber. Get a move on."

The team reassembled on the roof. The helicopter landed and the team climbed in hurriedly. The helicopter landed at a secret airport. When they arrived, Nick informed them they would have a thirty minute wait. He gathered the team together. Now that he had all of his facilities back, he explained what is going on.

"Max Newton has found Melissa and the girls. I don't know what is going on. I got a phone call from Haygood."

Christina, in shock, asked, "Is he dead?"

"I am not sure. All he got out was my name and Max started talking. I can't soften this for you, Christina. He is probably dead."

Christina had lost loved ones before. She kept her emotions to herself.

Nick continued, "We will parachute in. Christina and Lilly will jump last."

Nick pulled out a map.

"Your landing zone will be three kilometers south from the house. The rest of us will parachute two to three kilometers north. Ryan, when we land, don't wait on us. I want you to get in this ranger tower. It is approximately one kilometer east of the house. Cal, you and Raven will head to the west. I will come in from the north. Keep in constant radio contact. If it is not one of us, kill it. Check your weapons and be ready to move when the bird gets here."

The team sat in silence, checking their equipment.

Nick got on the radio, "Control this is Grim-6."

Jennifer answered, "Go ahead Grim-6."

Nick replied, "We are waiting on Angel-3 at Alpha. Our departure should be twenty mikes. Do you copy?"

Paul replied, "Roger Grim-6. Take care. Send status upon touch down at Bravo."

Nick answered, "Will co."

Nick turned off his radio. He walked over to Cal.

Nick whispered, "When we get back, it will be time."

Cal, sharpening his bowie knife, replied, "Time to quit playing with these fools. We are going to have to remove Chow first. Without him as muscle, Lanchea will be easy."

Nick still whispering, said, "Don't be fooled by his smile. He won't be that easy. But, you're right we need to take one of the pegs out of the wheel. However, I want to hurt Lanchea first. The son; I want him taken out."

"How? They only see him come out of the house once a month now."

"We'll just have to wait till he comes out. He's a rapist we are going to have to bait him. Raven and Christina aren't his type. We will have to use Lilly. I already figured out where his hunting ground is."

"Where?"

"Davis University and the clubs over on Broadway, there have been ten missing females in the area for the last year."

"What is your plan?"

"We will put Raven, Ryan and Lilly out as a squad. Ryan can cover the area from the top of the October building. I have a friend at the college. He will set Raven up in one of the residence halls. She can do all of the surveillance from there. He also will provide us a room for the trap. Ryan can take care of anyone with Lanchea. Lilly and Raven will have to take care of Lanchea."

"When were you going to tell me? It seems you have been working on this for a while."

"Tonight, then I received a phone call."

"Sorry, brother."

"That's okay. I am tired of playing games with Devlin. It is costing us too much."

"What are the rest of us going to do?"

"That is the easy part. When they take out the younger Lanchea, Christina, you and I are going to take out Chow."

"How many other teams are going to help us?"

"None of them."

"What? Are you nuts?"

"No, I made the decision tonight. Christina needs a little vindication and so do I. Are you in?"

Cal thought about it, and said, "You don't have to ask. What do Paul and John think?"

Nick just smiled at Cal.

"You haven't told them; great."

"I told them only about young Lanchea."

"I hope Paul doesn't find out. He will kill you if he finds out you are going to leave his daughter out there on her own."

"I am not going to worry about it. She has more skill than any of us. She needs to be put in the line of fire. Besides, Ryan and Raven will be there."

Cal laughed, "If anything goes wrong, bubba, I won't help you."

"I know, we will both probably be dead anyway."

A plane taxied in front of the hanger.

Nick yelled, "That's us. Let's move out."

The team scurried to the plane. They took off from the air base. Two hours into the flight, the pilot informed Nick and the plane's Chief that they were close to the first landing zone. Nick got the first of his team on their feet.

He kneeled next to Christina and Lilly.

"After we jump, you two get back there to the Chief. He will tell you when to jump. As soon as you touch down, get on the radio and let me know."

Both ladies nodded their heads.

"Be careful. I will see you in an hour."

Nick saluted and headed to the jump door.

A green light went on and the Chief yelled, "Go!"

Ryan and Raven jumped. Cal got up to the door and stopped. Nick cussed to himself and went to the other side of the plane. He turned and faced Cal.

Nick yelled, "Hey Cal!"

Cal turned towards Nick. Nick took off in a flying leap. He caught Cal in a football tackle and both of them flew right out of the jump door. Cal started cussing Nick out on the radio. Nick kicked free of Cal.

Nick said into his radio, "If you would quit being such a baby about jumping, I wouldn't have to do things like that to you."

Cal, still pissed, said, "We are even, you big fucker."

Nick, being facetious, said, "Watch what you say on the radio, other people are listening."

As soon as the main part of the team jumped, Lilly and Christina moved to the jump door.

Lilly said in her radio to Christina, "I don't think I can do this."

Christina said, "There is nothing to it. I have an idea to help you."

"What is it?"

"Nick gave me an idea."

"You aren't going to tackle me out of this airplane."

Christina laughed, "No silly, you turn around and hug me. The Chief will signal and I will push us out of the airplane. This way you don't have to jump on your own."

The Chief sighed. For these people to be the best the Organization had, they were sure scared of jumping. His light went on and Christina pushed Lilly and herself out of the plane. Lilly held on really tight. They went into a freefall for a few seconds.