~Chapter 18~

~June 29th, 2019- Josh Taske’s House in Eugene, Oregon
Josh and Nathan had just unloaded something covered in a tarp off of a hot-looking jacked-up black pickup parked in the driveway when Wraith arrived. It was getting close to evening and the Informer looked tired and worn out from his race back to Oregon.
Wraith parked Josh’s Ninja 3 next to the pickup and dismounted the bike. He nodded in greeting to the large black man who was talking to Josh and Nathan by the tailgate.
Wraith eyed the tarp as he approached the three other men.
“Anubis, it’s been a while.”
Wraith and the man who most knew simply as “Anubis” shook hands.
The Underworld mechanic and arms-dealer was at least seven-foot, with massive arms and uncharacteristic gray-blue eyes. He was a genius with all things mechanical, and had done work for Josh and his associates on multiple occasions.
“Wraith, Josh was just filling me in on what’s been going on.”
Wraith nodded, “Doesn’t look good, does it?”
Anubis gestured to the tarp-covered object, “I don’t know, this puppy might even things out a bit, but damned if I know.”
Wraith threw a questioning look in Josh’s direction, “What is it?”
Anubis grinned, “Mind if I tell him?”
Josh shook his head, the look in his eye equal parts mischievous and dangerous.
Anubis turned back to Wraith, “What you got there is an M-240B vehicle-mounted machine gun. 7.62mm rounds, belt-fed and gas-operated. Standard ammo is 100-round bandolier, but I’ve got a friend in Arkansas who came up with these 250-round bandoliers, which is what I’ve given you.”
The mechanic gestured to the large metal crate that still sat in the back of his truck.
“I brought you 50 bandoliers, so you got about 12,500 shots with that thing.”
Wraith raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Josh.
Josh shrugged, “When I had Anubis fortify the Blazer I had him reposition the skylight and put mounting brackets on the roof in case I ever needed to use something like this.”
Wraith nodded his head thoughtfully, “And what do we need it for?”
Josh reached into his pocket and pulled out a check.
“I’ll tell you later. Anubis, I think $3,000 was the agreed price?”
Anubis shrugged, “I got the modified bandoliers for a discount price, so it should be about $2,300.”
Josh handed the mechanic the check, “Well, then you can pay us back later. Nathan is going to need some work done on his bike again, so you can help out with that when the time comes.”
Anubis shoved the check into his back pocket and shook hands with the three men.
“Sounds like a deal, I’ll see you fella’s when you get back from wherever you are going.”
They said goodbye and the big black man got into his truck and left. As he was pulling out of the driveway Nathan looked over at Josh.
“You know, you didn’t have to do that. I’m sure you got some of your own projects you could have given him to work on.”
Josh nodded and started to go back inside the house.
“Yeah, I probably do.”
Nathan shrugged and hit the button to close the garage door before following Josh and Wraith inside.

Nathan entered the living room and picked up a half-finished beer from the coffee table. He plopped down on the couch across from the TV and picked up the remote.
Scarlet and Emma sat in the dining room, Scarlet cleaning a pistol and Emma engaged with the New York Times crossword puzzle from the day before.
Wraith grabbed a Coke from the fridge and went to stand next to Josh at the bar. He looked over Josh’s shoulder at the notepad the other man was scribbling on.
“Plans?”
Josh nodded absently, “Yeah, just a few things to remember for our briefing tomorrow.”
Wraith nodded, “We leave tomorrow?”
“Yeah, we will leave sometime after 2. We should arrive in Fresno around one in the morning.”
Nathan looked up from channel-surfing, “What we gonna do after that?”
Josh put his pen down and started for the stairs.
“I need to talk to a few people in the State Police Department, and we need to do some scouting before we take the place.”
Sniper walked in and Josh glanced at him before looking back around at the other members of his little makeshift task-force.
“I suggest you all get some rest, tomorrow will be a long day.”

Josh entered his bedroom and closed the door and locked it before turning to look at the figure on the bed.
“Took you long enough.”
Lexy lay on the bed, dressed in a white silk slip that was so sheer it was almost see-through. Her light-brown hair lay about her head and spread out across the pillow. Her chest rose and fell steadily and her brilliant aqua-blue eyes where hooded and seductive. Her voice was soft and husky.
Josh came to stand at the side of the bed and reached down to run his fingers through her hair. He bent over and kissed her gently on the lips.
“I had to take care of a few things.”
He straightened and, walking over to his side of the bed, pulled his shirt over his head. He sat down on the side of the bed and began pulling off his shoes and socks.
Lexy moved up behind him and, propping herself up on one elbow, ran her fingers gently down his back.
“Was that Anubis’ truck parked in the driveway?”
“Yeah, he dropped something off for our upcoming mission.”
Lexy knelt on the bed and, putting her arms around her husband, lay her chin on his shoulder.
“Josh… can we win?”
The one-time assassin and mercenary put his hand gently on his wife’s arm, running the tips of his fingers along the muscle of her forearm.
His voice was soft, “I don’t know, Love, I don’t know.”
He turned around on the bed and pushed Lexy onto her back. He bent over her again and kissed her.
“Let’s not worry about it though. This time is for us, so let’s make the most of it.”
Lexy ran her fingers across the scar of a bullet-wound on Josh’s right shoulder.
“Yes, lets.”


~June 30th, 2019- James’ Villa Just Off Ortega Highway, CA
James Hughes stood in the center of a large room surrounded by computers. To his left Cipher sat in a rolling leather office chair, typing furiously on a laptop.
“Are we almost ready?”
Cipher spun around in his chair and, pushing his yellow-tinted glasses up on his nose, nodded emphatically.
“I can have it ready this afternoon if you want.”
James thought a moment, “No… Let’s wait a few days, shall we?”
Cipher looked questioning at James, “Boss?”
James threw back his head and laughed out loud.
“In just a few days it will be the Fourth of July!!! Won’t it be such an ironic statement if the United States loses its ability to be independent on what is historically its Independence Day?”
Cipher nodded, “I guess…”
James clapped the hacker on the shoulder before heading for the door of the Command Center.
“No guessing about it, my dear Cipher. We shall save the fireworks for the proper time.”

~June 30th, 2019- Josh Taske’s House in Eugene, Oregon
Nathan and Scarlet already had their duffel bags by the front door when Sniper got up around 6:15. He dropped his own duffel and the long carry-case that housed his rifle next to Nathan’s canvas standard-issue Marine duffel.
Breakfast consisted of cold cereal, coffee, and in Nathan’s case, a Bud Lite.
After breakfast Josh and Lexy took a few moments to get their own things packed and added them to the pile by the door.
Nathan also added another large, heavy duffel.
Sniper nodded to Nathan’s duffel, “What’s in there?”
Nathan unzipped the duffel, revealing three of the Mossberg shotguns, a mini Uzi, a few of Nathan’s favorite Colt .45’s, and ammo for all of them.
The mercenary grinned wickedly, “Just some backup.”
Sniper smiled to himself, he had worked with Nathan Wolv many times, and he remembered the merc’s fondness for shotguns and .45’s. Although, on second thought, Nathan liked just about everything that created fire and smoke and caused destruction.
Emma came down the stairs just then and approached the two of them.
“Josh says to come up to the Den.”
Nathan and Sniper exchanged glances.
Nathan followed Emma back up the stairs, “Time for a final briefing.”
Sniper trudged up the stairs after Nathan, “Yeah… it’s almost over.”
Nathan glanced behind him, “It aint over ‘till its over, bub.”

Josh was dressed in black skin-tight under-armor and jeans, and black combat boots. A P.22 pistol next to a Marine-issue combat knife was clipped to the back of his belt. He would trade his current attire for black-and-gray cameo pants and his trademark gun belt with its twin Japanese Sais and twin .357 Desert Eagle semi-automatic pistols.
Lexy sat dressed in a white T-shirt, blue-jeans, and combat boots just to Josh’s right. Her arms where crossed casually across her chest and her eyes lingered on her husband whenever her glance passed his way.
Wraith sat to Lexy’s right, dressed all in black with a Smith and Weston .45 in a hip-holster. His piercing eyes where fixed on a paper-sized tablet computer, taking in massive amount of information in seconds.
Scarlet was seated to Josh’s left. She was clad in black jeans, with a red tank-top closely hugging her torso. A large .38 caliber revolver was holstered at her side and in front of her on the table rested a miniature crossbow. A quiver-full of bolts was strapped to her thigh.
Emma walked in, dressed in a green Tee and jeans, unarmed and feeling rather out of place among the mercenaries and assassins in the room.
Nathan was dressed in his typical dirty white T-shirt and dirty blue-jeans. The majority of his weapons were concealed on his person in the form of knives of all sizes and shapes. But a Colt .45 with ivory inlaid handles and stainless-steel barrel was at home in a worn leather holster clipped to his western-style belt.
Sniper was dressed similarly to Wraith, with the exception of his forest-cameo pants. Sniper, like Emma, was unarmed. But the sharpshooter seemed far more at home than the one-time secretary did.
Nathan took his place next to Scarlet and promptly put his booted feet on the table and popped the top of a Miller.
Sniper took the seat next to Nathan, and Emma sat close to his side, between the marksman and Wraith.
Nathan took a sip from his beer and scratched at the few-day old beard along his jawline.
“Sooo… What’s the plan?”
Josh nodded to Wraith, who pushed a button on his tablet, summoning a stunning 3D image of James’ Villa to the holograph projector.
The Villa was huge; three large, circular, red-domed structures stationed around an even larger central one. The domes where connected by covered bridges with half-walled sides.
All four of the structures where built on tall stone pillars in the middle of a gigantic crevasse. There was a single bridge connecting the Villa to the side of the crevasse where there was a small parking structure.
Wraith gestured to the holo-image, “This is James’ Villa. It is his home and base of operations. It is built inside of a crack in the earth that, while never officially measured, is guessed to be at least a thousand yards deep. The Villa consists of a parking structure that also houses a security station, one primary structure and three secondary structures.
The primary structure has a library, a kitchen, an entertainment area, and a raised platform with a large dining room table.
The western structure is guest quarters. There are six rooms where James allows some of his most valued and treasured customers and employees stay.
Up on the north-east corner of the guest quarters is a bridge that heads out, away from the complex where it meets a circular security station, then goes on to connect to the northernmost structure.
The northern structure is James’ personal quarters. Although it is uncertain the exact layout, we know he has a private art gallery, an office, and a master-suite.
The easternmost structure is where our main concern lies. This is James’ command center. This is where he will most likely be most of his days, and where all the computers and equipment he needs to carry out his Plan will be. At the entrance to the command center is another security checkpoint, and branching off from it is a helicopter landing-pad.
Along the bluff overlooking the crevasse is a parking structure where we know there will be at least one armored vehicle and possibly a few other trucks with mounted weaponry. There is also a security check-point just as you drive in and a gate over the entrance to the garage.”
As Wraith spoke, Nathan stared at the holo-images and held his beer to his forehead.
Scarlet and Josh listened intently, while Lexy kept looking back between Josh and Wraith.
Sniper took notes on a small yellow legal pad, and Emma stared with Nathan at the holo-images, the sheer impossibility of what was being explained obvious on her face.
Wraith glanced around, “Any questions?”
Lexy raised a hand, “How are we going to get passed the front gate and the security checkpoint and everything?”
Josh answered for Wraith, “We will use the Trail Blazer for that. The Blazer’s armor should protect it from any small-arms fire and most of the bigger guns they will have.”
Lexy nodded, her face uncertain still.
Nathan cocked his head to one side, staring still at the layout displayed on the holo-projector.
“We know how many guards this guy is gonna have?”
Wraith shook his head, “anywhere between twenty-five and forty altogether. But he changes the number of guards on duty and where they are positioned in the Villa almost daily. Any other questions?”
When there was no answer, Wraith nodded to Josh and Josh rose, picking up a wooden pointer leaning against the computer desk behind him. Using the pointer to illustrate his instructions, the ex-Marine laid out his plan to take the Villa.
“Okay, here is how things are going to go down. We will use the Blazer to smash the gate. Our intel says it’s just one of those reinforced wooden gates like they use on toll-bridges and such. Strong enough to smash in the front of an average car, but not enough to even scratch the Blazer.
Yesterday Anubis dropped off an M240B vehicle-mounted machinegun. Before we storm the gate we are going to mount it in front of the skylight.
When we storm the gate, Lexy you are driving. You are going to angle the Blazer so one side is facing the bridge leading to the Villa itself. We will use that as cover, it should give us a little maneuvering room.
Emma, Scarlet, you are going to use MP5K’s and aide Nathan with cover fire from the Blazer’s windows. Don’t worry, I have plating that we are going to put up so you can shoot and have minimal risk of getting hit.”
Josh looked at the three women, “Any questions so far?”
Emma raised her hand timidly, “Um… I never learned how to use the MP5K or whatever you called it.”
Josh raised an eyebrow and glanced at Nathan.
Nathan shrugged and took a drink before answering.
“She couldn’t handle the MP5K, I ran her through the P90 instead. Easier to reload and fire and the sight is a bit more beginner-friendly.”
Josh nodded, “Good choice. Emma, make sure you and Nathan get you the P90 and plenty of ammo for it. The rest of us I want using MP5K’s as our primary assault weapon. For a sidearm you have a choice of either a .45 or a .22.”
Scarlet sighed in mock disappointment and laid her .38 on the Den’s table.
Emma looked confused, “Don’t you all have like your favorite guns or whatever?”
Wraith glanced over at her, “We do. But on big ops like this it’s better if everyone uses a uniform weapon so we can share ammo if we have to.”
Nathan nodded, “Yeah, and if someone dies then we can just take their spare clips and don’t have to haul around a second big-ass gun to use them.”
Scarlet grimaced and Sniper snorted.
Josh glared at Nathan and continued with the mission briefing.
“Moving on. So while Nathan, Emma, Lexy, and Scarlet provide the initial cover, me, Wraith, and Max will get out on the other side.
Max will go back and find cover behind one of the parked cars in the garage and do what he does best.”
A smile quirked the corner of Sniper’s mouth.
“Me and Wraith will go around either side of the Blazer and take care of whatever Sniper, Nathan, and the women haven’t taken care of.
From there, we will split into two teams. Team 1 will be headed up by me and will consist of Scarlet and Sniper.
Team 2 will be led by Wraith. The rest of Team 2 is Lexy, Emma, and Nathan.
Plan is simple, we enter the Villa as a group and clear the living room area. Afterwards Team 1 will move up to the dining room and then down through the library. We will take the bridge and clear the guest quarters, then move along the bridge and take the master suite. Then we will move back through the central area and move to the command center.
Team 2, you will move from finishing up in the living room area, through the dining room, and through the kitchen. Be thorough, don’t leave anyone alive. After you finish in the central area, I want you to try and take the command center’s bridge. There is a security checkpoint at the end of the bridge, see if you can take it. If you can get into the command center, great, but if the odds are against you then I want you to wait for me and my team.
After we take the command center and clear the Villa, Anubis has supplied us with a number of explosive charges that are combination of C-4, dynamite, nitroglycerin, and some construction-grade demolitions explosives. We are going to set the charges all around the Villa at critical points in the structure’s foundation. Wraith will give you all a map with these locations marked on them. We are going to detonate the charges and raze James’ Villa to the ground.”
Josh looked around at his little team again, meeting each person’s eyes with his own steady gaze.
“Any questions?”
No one answered and Nathan shook his scraggly black head.
Josh sighed, turning his gaze back to the holo-image of the Villa.
“I don’t know if we can win this. I don’t know if we can all get through this alive, or even if we can get most of us out alive. We are 7 against more than 30, possibly 50 trained soldiers. I would offer anyone here who wants the chance to step out and possibly preserve their lives, but I know that all of you are as committed to this mission as I am. We aren’t just fighting for our own self-preservation here, we are fighting to protect the wellbeing and lifestyles of the American people. This is bigger than us, bigger than you, bigger than me. And this is worth dying for.”
Nathan’s eyes were hard, determined. He raised his beer to Josh and nodded his head.
Sniper grinned, “We’re coming, and Hell’s coming with us.”
Nathan grinned, “Damn right I’m coming with ya!”
The team rose and Josh put his arm around Lexy’s shoulder.
“Get your things ready, we leave in 3 hours.”