I know Josh is watching via satellite, and I’m silently begging him to give me something to go on — some clue as to what my next move should be, but he’s staying quiet. Probably worried his voice would be heard in the silence.
I run through my options but soon arrive at the annoying conclusion that there’s really only one way out of this… If this guy doesn’t move away, he’s going to have to die.
I move my hand slowly away from my mouth and down to my leg. With infinite care, I draw the knife from its sheath, which I've strapped to the front of my right thigh. I slowly and carefully grip the handle. I can’t risk drawing it right away in case the blade makes a noise, but I want to get ready to use it if I need to.
Come on… move, goddammit!
I’m willing him to walk away, but he remains in front of me, trying to focus and see into the dark shadows ahead of him. He takes another pace toward me, pointing his gun out in front of him.
Each second that passes feels like an hour. I need to make a decision and fast. I can’t afford to blow this, not after coming so far. But the bottom line is if this guy finds me, it’ll be very hard to deal with it without alerting everyone else. And if I lose the element of surprise, I’m as good as dead. Unless I run for it…
Let’s be honest — that’s never going to happen. I would literally rather die.
Ah, fuck it.
In one swift and silently brutal movement, I draw my knife and lunge toward the guy, pushing up with my legs and thrusting the blade forward. It carves into him effortlessly, catching him in the fleshy part of his throat, just below his jaw and above his Adam’s apple. I aim it perfectly, immediately severing his vocal chords, meaning he can’t make any noise as he dies. He falls forward, and I catch him, guiding him silently to the floor with my left hand.
That’s one issue resolved, but now I’m left with a whole new one. The other guy’s going to notice his friend’s missing in the next thirty seconds.
“Josh,” I say, urgently. “Where’s the second guard?”
“Yeah, I can’t help but notice that the heat signature near you is disappearing…” he replies, sarcastically.
“I had no choice. Where’s the other one?”
“He’s still walking away from you on the far side. He’ll be turning round any second. Just be careful the other patrol at the far side of the house doesn’t see him drop.”
“I’ll wait for him to head back toward me, don’t worry.”
I remain where I am, making sure the same darkness hiding me is completely cloaking the dead guard. The next twenty seconds feel like a lifetime, but eventually Josh comes back on the line.
“Right, the second guy’s approaching you now. You should see him coming from the left any second. You can’t let him get too close. Otherwise he’ll notice his partner’s missing.”
“I’m on it.”
I move forward slightly, crouching on the edge of the alcove, just inside the shadows. After a couple of seconds, I have a clear view of the other guy, walking casually but alert across the lawn. I grab the knife by the blade and line it up, ready to unleash it at my target. I’m a good aim, but I’m trying to hit either his throat or the top of his chest with a knife from about eighty feet away. It’s not going to be easy, but I don’t want to use my guns. Even though they’re fitted with their silencers, there’s still a risk of noise or commotion. Plus, I’m going to need every bullet I have for what comes later.
I take a few deep breaths to slow my heart rate down, ignoring the pain. Josh sounds in my ear once more.
“Adrian, whatever you’re going to do, you have to do it now.”
“I’ve got this,” I whisper back, concentrating.
Just another couple of paces toward me, and…
I whip the knife across the lawn, following through with my arm so it gains maximum velocity as it travels with deadly intent toward the remaining sentry. It takes a little over a second to hit him.
Bullseye!
It hits him at the bottom of the throat, penetrating his skin with ease and completely burying itself inside. He instinctively clutches at the knife, his face contorted in shock and pain. But it’s too late for him — he’s dead before he hits the floor.
I breathe out a sigh of relief.
“Good shot,” says Josh.
“Thanks,” I reply. “How long do I have?”
“It’ll be a few minutes before he’s noticed I would think. I’ve not seen any previous interaction between the two patrols.”
“Good.” I stand and quickly check the rest of my equipment’s still in place. “Right, give me a minute.”
I edge forward out of the shadows of my alcove and glance left and right. I can’t see any movement, but I leave it a few moments just to be sure, then I sprint over to the dead body.
I crouch low next to him and retrieve my knife. I wipe the blood off the blade on the grass and re-sheath it.
“Josh, how’s it looking?” I ask.
“Still clear, for now. I wouldn’t hang around though,” he replies.
“Don’t intend to.”
The dead guy’s lying on his right side, partially facing the ground. Still crouching, I grab a hold of his right arm and sling it over my shoulder. I put my hands around his waist and gradually get a grip underneath him. Taking some quick, deep breaths, I steel myself and, in one last monumental effort that hurts every inch of my body, I stand and heave him over my shoulder in something akin to a fireman’s lift. I take a quick glance around again and set off back to the alcove. I try to run, but under the weight, it’s more of a slow jog.
“Hurry up, Adrian,” urges Josh. “The patrol on the far side is coming up fast and will see if you if they look your way.”
“Going as… fast… as I can,” I huff, struggling under the weight.
It takes me twice as long to cover the same distance going back, but I manage to retreat into the shadows undetected. I drop the body next to his partner and push them back against the wall, making sure they’re fully hidden.
I take a moment to catch my breath. I step out onto the lawn and look back at the alcove, checking the bodies aren’t visible — which they’re not.
“Right, now get me on the goddamn roof,” I say.
Josh chuckles. “This is going to be the fun part,” he says.
“I very much doubt that…”
“To your left, as you approach the end of the south wall, there’s another small alcove in between a large bay window and the corner of the house. As you face the alcove, there’s a drainage pipe on the right hand side that leads up almost all the way to the roof.”
“Okay, the keys words I picked up there were ‘window’ and ‘almost’—care to elaborate?”
“Sure,” he says, laughing a little too much for my liking.
It’s these kinds of situations where Josh and I really come alive. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job — as much as someone can love killing people for a living. But this: the thrill of the assault, the adrenaline, the danger, the close quarters battle — it’s what I miss from the old days on the unit most of all.
Before the dark times…
Josh is no different. He was a good soldier and I would entrust him with my life, but he’s always been better at being the eyes, ears, and brains for everyone else. He’s a strategist and he excels at the logistics and the planning. He always wanted to be the one directing everyone else to victory from behind a desk of hi-tech toys. I’ll never forget the way he phrased our relationship to me once. He said: “Adrian, you’ve always wanted to be The Man. I’ve always wanted to be the man that The Man relies on.”
No truer words have ever been spoken.
He continues, with undisguised enthusiasm. “By ‘window’, I mean a massive bay window that I’m hoping will have the curtains closed, otherwise you’ll be on full view of whoever’s in that room. And by ‘almost’, I mean that the drainpipe stops about six feet below the main roof, where the first floor of the house sticks out, and the roof angles for drainage. You’re going to have to balance on that, jump, then climb up the rest of the way.”