Jaffa, Israel
20:13
Callahan paced around the room, his hands behind his back. He turned to Zachary. ”How did he get past the security cameras?"
Zachary licked his lips. “You were running an MVS 3.8."
“Speak English,” Perreira said.
“It was a massive mainframe that could operate a smallish city’s infrastructure on its own,” Callahan said, staring blankly at the wall.
“So what?” Perreira asked.
Zachary glared at Perreira then continued. “Bruce helped me hack into the mainframe by mounting a special tape with my software on it. Afterward, I was able to manipulate your security system.”
“What did you find?” Callahan asked, a slight panic in his voice.
“Everything checked out. Your organization, code named “The Dalerians,” had been allocating funds assigned to you by the UK government. You were supposed to set up safe houses in Europe for their undercover agents and military.”
“We did,” Callahan said.
Zachary glared at Callahan.
Callahan nodded, fidgeting with his cufflinks. “I’m not revising my ‘bullshit story,’ as you called it, until I find out exactly what you know.”
Zachary sighed then licked his lips. “As I said, everything seemed kosher. After monitoring payments authorized by you, I picked up an allocation of funds that were supposed to be transferred to the British embassy in France.”
Callahan fidgeted with the seam of his pants. “So what?”
“I traced the account to whom the payment was made. It led back to Platinum Private.”
“Captain Cohen. There is nothing suspect about the transactions I authorized,” Callahan said, his face turning red. “The government pays private vendors all the time.”
Zachary shook his head, smiling. “You screwed up with the payment to Platinum Private. They have no affiliation with any government entity.”
“Enlighten me on how you came to that conclusion,” Callahan said, plonking down on the edge of the table.
“You were running a racketeering ring, paying millions of pounds per month to private beneficiaries, all of whom linked back to Platinum Private.”
“And you found all this by checking the bank records?” Callahan asked with a smirk. “Impossible.”
Zachary rolled his head on his shoulders and closed his eyes. “You were using a normal typewriter to type faxes you would send to your operatives with their instructions. Fortunately, you had a CCTV camera behind your back. I could read everything you typed.”
“And what do you know about the Cubans?” Perreira asked.
“Platinum Private is a shipment company, handling the transfer of goods between countries. Callahan supplied Cuba with western contraband. There is a trade embargo between the West and Cuba.” Zach looked up defiantly.
“Go on,” Callahan said.
“You were shipping tons of shit to Cuba. Playboys, LP records, ketchup. The latest shipment was two thousand VHS recorders, five hundred air-conditioning units, and fifty Chevy SUVs.” Zach turned to face Callahan. “You purchased the items by stealing some cash from the British government and then selling the products at inflated markups.”
Callahan chuckled nervously, a bead of sweat trickling down his cheek. He dabbed at it with a blue handkerchief. “The Cubans do enjoy the Western luxuries, even if they don't say so.”
Perreira chuckled.
“All of the ‘sundries’ payments totaled more than three million pounds per month. You were handling millions of pounds worth of currency per day, receiving cash for information and haphazardly allocating some to yourself.”
“Who else knows about this?” Perreira asked, standing up.
Zachary shrugged. “Everybody."
“Shit,” Callahan said, mopping his brow.
Perreira held up a hand and cocked his head, listening intently.
“What’s wrong?” Callahan asked.
“You hear that, man?” Perreira asked.
“What?”
“I heard a gunshot,” Perreira said.
“So? Probably Weinstein doing his job,” Callahan said.
Perreira shook his head and strode to the door, peeking outside. “No, there are three marines, but I heard one shot. I told Weinstein to kill all the soldiers. They knew too much about our operations.”
Perreira and Cohen glanced at each other with sudden comprehension. Callahan strode towards Zach, grabbing him by his chest. “Where is your beeper thing?”
Zach shrugged, smiling. “GLD.”
Callahan pushed Zachary back in his chair then turned around, scanning the room. “I’m getting the hell out of here.”
”No, I'll kill the bastardo.” Perreira opened the drawer and fumbled for his pistol. He grabbed a Beretta then tossed the table over on its side and ducked behind it.
The door stood ajar and Bruce peered around the corner. Zach sat there squirming, tied to a chair. He cast Bruce a wide-eyed glance and gestured with his chin to somewhere inside the room. Bruce nodded then peeked inside. Towards the far end of the room, a metal table had been upended. Sun-bleached curtains stirred in front of an open window.
A man with a black ponytail stood up from behind the table and a silver Beretta barked as he fired at Bruce.
Bruce jerked his body back behind the wall as concrete fragments shattered from the doorway. Zachary’s body stiffened and his eyes widened in fear. Zack tried to scream, but then a bullet exploded into his chest. He stared down to where the bullet had ripped into him, and then his body jolted as two more bullets slammed into his gut and shoulder.
Bruce barged into the room, trying to distract the assailant by firing in the direction of the table, struggling to pull the trigger with his middle finger. He kept his eyes on Zachary, who had slumped forward, his chest moving slowly up and down.
Bruce grabbed the arm of the chair and lugged Zachary out of the room as shots ricocheted against the wall behind them. He stumbled as a searing pain cut into his calf. He limped out of the room, dragging Zachary in the chair behind him, returning fire. The trigger clicked as he emptied Weinstein’s clip.
Bruce caught his breath as he lifted Zach’s head, feeling for a pulse. He was still alive, but blood was oozing from his wounds. He checked the magazine in his gun and steadied himself, sucking in three sharp breaths and skipping back into the room.
Ponytail-man stood up from behind the table, taking aim at Bruce. Bruce kneeled, firing a volley of shots. Ponytail-man roared as a slug exploded into his hand. He dropped the gun and clutched his bleeding hand, trying to stem the flow of blood.
Bruce fired again, but the gun just clicked, empty. He tossed it in the corner and unsheathed his knife. He stood ready, balancing on one leg.
Ponytail-man rushed forward with a snarl. Bruce threw a short right, but the man blocked it and head-butted him in the face. Bruce’s vision went blurry.
Win at all costs.
He dropped to his knees, supporting himself with one hand. The man reacted as Bruce had expected, launching a kick at his head. He caught Ponytail-man’s leg under his arm and stood up. The man bounced around on one leg, trying to keep his balance.
With his free hand, Bruce stabbed the man’s leg, hacking, trying to sever the femoral artery. He slashed and pulled back a couple of times, ripping through the guy’s pants and exposing sinew and flesh.
The guy bucked and rolled, but Bruce held tight, stabbing continuously. He could see huge gashes, bone and tendons sticking out. Bruce pushed forward and swept the man’s free leg from under him, ramming him into the floor. He mounted his chest and thrust the knife with both hands towards the man’s face. The man caught Bruce’s arms, blood dripping from the wound onto his chin and chest.
The man was strong, but Bruce leaned into the blade with his upper body, the tip of the blade inching ever closer to the man’s nose. Both men strained, shaking with the effort. Bruce knew he was winning this fight. The blade inched closer to the man's red, swollen face. He wanted to finish this quick; Zach needed a doctor.
Perreira blinked. His entire being was focused on a shiny blade with an ivory handle that loomed large in his vision. The letters “B.B.” were engraved lengthwise on the blade. It had a serrated upper edge, used for scaling fish or sawing off branches. Or his leg. He snarled as the blade gouged his cheek.
Then the effort stopped. Gunshots rang out and Bryden rolled off of him. A second later Callahan’s face filled his blurry vision. Callahan grabbed him by the belt and flung Perreira’s arm over his shoulder, pointing the gun at Bryden.
Perreira tried to walk, but his leg was useless. Callahan had to drag him towards the window, glancing over his shoulder all the time. Then Callahan rested against the windowsill, gave Perreira a shove, and pushed him over the ledge. He managed to break his fall with his healthy leg and rolled to minimize the impact. Callahan jumped out and dragged him into the idling Mercedes.
Callahan slammed the car into gear, and Perreira lurched back as they screeched away. Bryden leaned out of the window, glaring at them. They powered around the corner and Perreira flopped onto the backseat, spent. “Why didn’t you shoot him?” Perreira asked, breathing heavily.
“I was out of ammo. We have a room full of bombs but not one single nine millimetre clip!”
Perreira groaned, clutching his injured hand into his armpit. “I swear by my father’s grave, Bryden is going to suffer for what he has done to me.”
Callahan glanced at the rearview mirror. “Don’t forget about Cohen. He started this all. He cost us our livelihood.”
Perreira closed his eyes, nodded. “Sí, sí. They will all die. I will wipe them off the face of the earth!”