McDonald Array - Divide and Conquer

Sean raised his hand and instructed Luis to stay where he was. He didn’t want Luis stumbling and alerting the world to the fact they were there, particularly as they were sitting ducks, unarmed. Sean raced across and lay prone under the window of the empty property. Plastic sheeting covered where the glass panes would finally finish the exterior of the property. It offered some cover in itself, as the sheeting was opaque but unfortunately that also meant Sean couldn’t see in. With three large windows and one main patio door to the rear of the property, Sean tucked himself under the windows of what he assumed was the kitchen and next to the patio doors belonging to either a living room or dining room overlooking the garden. He listened carefully but heard little more than the ruffle of the plastic as it undulated in the warm breeze.

Sean signaled for Luis to make the dash. As he waited for Luis, he crawled closer towards the patio door. The sheeting covering the patio door had been sliced along the wooden support. Of course, it could have happened anytime since the sheeting was installed but knowing the back of the Katie’s house was being watched, there was every chance it meant somebody was inside. He motioned for Luis to wait where he was, as still and silently as possible. Sean crept forward and listened, nothing. He edge forward and managed to look into the room, the sheet blew just enough in the wind to allow him a brief view into the room. A solid wall stared back, the room did not go right through and as such offered no view to the front. Even if there were somebody inside, it was likely they would be in the room beyond which would offer a view of Katie’s house.

Whatever the case, it was no place for a rookie. Sean signaled back for Luis to wait before slipping through the slit in the sheeting and disappearing inside. Sean remained on his belly as he entered the room. The bare floorboards were not going to hide even the softest of footwear. He pulled himself silently across the floor listening for any movement. As he reached the doorless doorway to the hall, he pulled himself up and braced himself against the wall, just in case anybody was in the hallway ahead. Nothing.

Taking the tiniest of steps he worked himself around the doorway and into the hall, the main door stood about twenty feet ahead. It was the only door that had been put in place. Another doorless doorway lay six feet ahead along the wall, it must be the living room thought Sean. If anybody were going to be anywhere, it would be in there or one of the rooms above. Sean shimmied along the wall as slowly as he could, ensuring not a sound alerted any potential hostile. As he reached the doorway, the room came into view. It was empty, at least the 80 % that was visible to him without entering the room fully.

He had two options, enter slowly and expose himself fully or roll into the room and take whoever may be there by surprise. With benefits to both, he chose the silent approach, figuring if you were watching the house, you’d choose the highpoint. He entered silently and was rewarded, the room was empty.

Sean crouched and worked his way along the wall to the main window that overlooked Katie’s house. As the sheeting blew in by the wind, he managed to dislodge a small portion which afforded the briefest of views of the street outside, it was empty. With the likelihood of any watchers focusing on Katie’s house, he peeled the sheeting back a little further. If there were anybody out there, they were very well hidden. Sean noted nothing untoward. The tiniest creak from the floorboard above him had him cursing his nosiness. Fortunately no further noises were made. They weren’t reacting to him moving the sheeting but one thing was certain. Somebody was upstairs.

Sean eased himself back to the hallway and checked for any kind of weapon he could lay his hands on, nothing. Unfortunately, whatever workmen had worked in the house were the tidiest he had ever known. Surprise was going to have to remain his best option. Surmounting a set of unfinished bare wood stairs was going to be pretty much impossible. Another solution was required. Sean crept back out to where Luis lay tight against the wall as instructed and surveyed the back of the house. The upper windows were just out of reach, even with Luis giving him a leg up. However, a length of board which must have been used as a ramp for running wheelbarrows into the house was perfect. He laid it against the wall and with Luis’ help was just able to reach the windowsill of the first floor window. A quick check suggested the window to his right would offer a better entry, as the hallway lay directly in front of the current room. A quick move to the right had Sean slowly peeling the plastic sheeting back and slipping into the room. It took him every ounce of his strength to maneuver himself in without so much as a pin drop to alert the watchers.

For the first time, Sean could actually hear the watchers. Although he was unable to make out what they were saying, he could hear a very low murmur as they talked to one another which obviously meant there was more than one. Why were things never simple he thought to himself.

With no time like the present and pretty much no other option, Sean crept across to the doorway and worked his way along the hallway until he was just out of sight of the watchers. As their murmuring never ceased, he assumed they were unaware of his presence. He readied himself and scratched his foot gently against the wall. The murmuring didn’t stop, so he tried again a little harder. The murmuring stopped and footsteps began to move across the floor. Just one set, as Sean had hoped. As the watcher approached the doorway, his focus was on the staircase ahead of him not on the doorway to his left. Sean wasted no time and grabbed the watcher by the throat and pulled him in close and marched him into the room, catching the watcher’s hand as he desperately grasped for his pistol which Sean extracted and was pointing at the watcher’s colleague before he had a chance to realize what was happening.

As Sean’s hand crushed the first watcher’s windpipe, the second stood like a rabbit caught in headlights about to receive a bullet through his temple. It was just as he had envisioned, right up until the muzzle of the third watcher’s gun pressed against the back of Sean’s head. There had been another watcher in the bedroom opposite.

Sean relaxed the grip on the first watcher’s throat but not so as to let him go. It was probably the only thing stopping number three shooting, the likelihood of the bullet killing both Sean and Number One were pretty much a given.

“Sean Fox?” asked Number Three, his accent was perfect East Coast American.

Sean nodded, perhaps they were on his side after all.

The muzzle was not removed. Round 2 to the watchers, they knew they had their man.

The sound of a digital code being dialed was the next thing Sean heard. He heard a gruff voice bark something on the other end before Number Three replied.

“Da!” and pulled the trigger.

Arriving late at night, the CIA team had opted to bed down at the Naval Air Station where they had landed as a result of their last minute rerouting. None were overly impressed with their subsequent 5 a.m. start following the call from Jane, V’s assistant. However, with a former Seal in their team, a ride was quickly arranged for the team on one of the Coastguard’s Dauphin choppers. What was going to be a two-hour drive cross-country became a 50-minute hop. By 6.30 a.m., they were landing at Laredo and 'borrowing’ an unsecured airfield truck, they were on site less than fifteen minutes later. Not knowing what lay ahead, they had ditched the truck in favor of a silent approach from a couple of streets away. As they made their way through a number of gardens, their night vision goggles began to pick up a number of heat sources near the target property. Not knowing whether they were friend or foe, the Team Leader indicated towards the property diagonally opposite the house and it was in fact the CIA team that had slit the sheeting on the Patio door. As they worked their way through the house, they had regrouped in the upstairs bedroom and as sunlight began to break, they were about to report in to V.