Brad Thor - The Athena Project

That gave the Athena Team an even greater sense of urgency. They needed to hit Heger tonight, while it was still dark and before he realized that Pavel Skovajsa had been taken prisoner.

Based on the information Skovajsa gave them, the team put together an operations plan detailing their plan of attack. To say they were going to be winging it was an understatement. The way these things normally worked was that they first gathered extensive information about the neighborhood, the building they’d be taking down, the strength of forces at the objective, and so on. It was all about compiling the most complete profile possible and then rehearsing till they could do the entire operation in their sleep. That was not going to happen tonight, though.

The plan was something Casey liked to refer to as CBS-cute but stupid. Vlcek made sure they had all the gear they needed. He even provided them with a lower-profile car with Czech plates so that they didn’t have to drive the same vehicle they had been using in Zbiroh.

They changed into their evening wear once again and headed outside to the car. As much as Vlcek wanted to go with them, someone had to stay behind and keep an eye on Skovajsa. The last thing they needed was him getting loose and warning his boss that the team was coming.

Kladno was about twenty-five kilometers north-northwest of Prague and known for its drugs, its gangs, and its rave parties. When the four very attractive women rolled through in their beat-up VW Passat, anyone who saw them would figure they were on their way to a party or to score illicit substances. No one would figure they were there for a fight.

Using Google Earth, Julie Ericsson had mapped out their entry route as well as multiple exits. Without driving by Heger’s safe house, she took a quick spin of the surrounding area just to familiarize herself with it. Rhodes was sitting next to her with a fake rave flyer they had put together on Vlcek’s computer. Cooper and Casey sat in the back seat.

Once she was confident she had a good enough feel for the area, Ericsson said, “Let’s go find ourselves a party.”

They drove two blocks and then turned onto Heger’s street. His safe house was a defunct steel forge that sat among a string of decrepit factories and warehouses along both sides of the street.

The women had to give Heger credit. Most thugs would have had two slabs of beef standing around outside in leather jackets looking imposing. Not him. There was no visible security presence whatsoever. Had they not been given the address, they would have driven right by it.

Ericsson pulled over to the curb and the women all got out. This time, they really were dressed to kill. In addition to the short dresses they had been wearing when they’d left the hotel in Zbiroh, they now had their backpacks with them-a fashion staple for many female rave goers-and a perfect place to conceal their weapons. They had also ditched their high heels and were wearing the boots they’d worn while exploring the Kammler complex. As they had overdone their makeup to top things off, no one would doubt that they were on their way to an underground rave party.

Looking at Cooper, Casey said, “I want everyone to remember to smile. Okay?”

“Why do you always look at me when you say that?”

Rhodes jabbed Alex in the ribs and replied, “Because the I ’m a tough bitch don’t bother me face just isn’t in this season.”

“You really think that’s the way I look?”

Ericsson put her arm around her. “You’re just so damn serious all the time, Coop. You need to lighten up.”

Alex looked around. “You realize where we are and what we’re about to do, right?”

Casey wanted to get the team moving. “It’s called acting. Sometimes you’ve got to fake it until you make it. Are we all ready?”

The women nodded, and this time it was Casey who took the lead. Navigating a narrow gangway that led to the entrance of the old forge building, she kept her eyes peeled for security cameras. The team made sure to look as if they were having a good time. They laughed and weaved a little, as if they’d been drinking.

At a heavy iron door, the women adjusted themselves and took a deep breath. The key to success in any operation of this kind was speed, surprise, and overwhelming violence of action.

When she was sure her team was ready, Casey pounded three times on the door and stepped back. Seconds later, a slot opened and a man’s eyes looked out. Casey smiled and tilted her head to the side, her hair spilling over her shoulder.

The man didn’t say anything, but he didn’t retreat inside and close the slot either. Casey raised her eyebrows suggestively and lifted a bottle of slivovitz, a strong Czech liquor made from plums. The man behind the door said something in Czech.

“We’re here for the party,” said Casey.

“Fuck off,” the man said in halting English, before slamming the viewport closed.

“Get a load of the mouth on that guy,” said Rhodes.

Casey walked back up to the door, pounded again, and stood back. Several moments went by.

“These guys have got to be spooked,” said Ericsson. “Four hot chicks and a bottle of booze, but nobody’s opening the door?”

Casey took the rave flyer from Rhodes and pounded on the door again. She didn’t stop pounding till the slot opened and they could see the man’s eyes again. She held up the flyer. “We’re here for the party,” she repeated.

“No party here,” the man replied before slamming the slot closed.

“Everyone get ready,” Casey said quietly. She then wound up and began pounding on the door with a vengeance.

After a minute and a half of her thundering assault, locks could be heard from inside rapidly being thrown back. Cute, but stupid. It worked every time. It also helped that Heger and his men were trying to lie low and didn’t need a bunch of drunk women outside their safe house making a racket.

When the door opened, the very large man on the other side was not happy.

Stepping onto the threshold he spat, “I say you to fuck off. Now fuck off. ”

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Casey slammed the bottle against the side of his head. The man stumbled backward as she delivered two punches, one to his windpipe and one to his solar plexus, driving him the rest of the way inside.

Two men inside the building immediately raced for their weapons. Their sawed-off shotguns would have been devastating had Alex Cooper and Julie Ericsson not shot them both first.

The team was no longer simply carrying “company guns,” as Vlcek called the CZ pistols given to them earlier. Cooper and Ericsson were carrying extremely quiet,.22 caliber suppressed SIG Mosquito pistols, while Casey and Rhodes had suppressed Uzi 9 mms.

Rhodes pulled out a roll of duct tape and bound and gagged the man who had opened the door. He had one hell of a gash across his forehead, but he was alive, which was more than could be said for his two partners. She left him hog-tied, facedown on the ground, and then got back up and joined her teammates.

According to Skovajsa, Heger would be holed up in an office converted into a makeshift apartment near the rear of the building.

The walls of the entrance area where the two thugs lay dead and the other bleeding were covered with posters depicting scantily clad women hoisting mugs of Czech beer. There was a tattered couch, a couple of crummy folding chairs, and a cheap coffee table. Directly across was a very large and no doubt very expensive flatscreen television.