Vince Flynn - The Third Option

The man gasped for air and said, «I'm undercover.»

«Yeah, right, dumb shit. You're an undercover FBI agent posing as an FBI agent.» Rapp switched the Beretta from his right hand to his left and grabbed the man's good index finger. Rapp didn't even bother to ask a question this time. He just took the finger and snapped it like a twig.

The man screamed,» All right… all right! What do you want to know?»

«Is Anna Rielly in that house?»

«Yes.»

«Where?»

«She's upstairs.»

«Is she all right?»

«Yeah.»

«Don't fucking lie to me. Have you guys laid a hand on her?»

«No, I swear we haven't.»

«Why is she there?»

«I don't know.» Rapp didn't like the answer, so he started for the finger. Before he got to it, he yelled, «We told her we were bringing her there to meet you.»

«Whose idea was that?»

«I don't know; I'm just a foot soldier. They tell me what to do, and I do it.»

Coleman leaned in. «Did the Professor give the order?»

«Yeah, I think so.»

«Is he at the house?»

The man shook his head with a pained face. «He was earlier, but he left.»

«How many people are in there?» Rapp asked.

«Ah… I don't know.»

Rapp grabbed a finger and twisted for five full seconds. He screamed and tried to buck Rapp off, but Rapp was too strong. When the man stopped gasping, Rapp repeated the question. «How many people are with you, both inside and outside the house?»

«Two more.»

«I know that's a lie, and I'm getting really sick of this game.» Rapp looked up at Coleman. «Let's waste him. We don't need him anymore.»

«There's four more.»

«You'd better not be lying to me, or I'll put you out of your misery right now.»

«I swear I'm telling you the truth. Just don't kill me.»

Rapp studied the man for a long moment. He thought he was telling the truth, but one could never be sure with something like this. Looking at Coleman, Rapp said, «Get the boys over here. I have an idea.»

I don't know, Mitch. I think the smart play might be to let the SOG handle it. «They were standing outside the van; their prisoner was inside tied up on the floor with Dumond keeping an eye on him. Dan Stroble and Kevin Hackett were listening to their former SEAL team commander and Rapp talk.

«No.» Rapp shook his head. «They are expecting this guy back any minute. We can't wait.»

«I think you're too close to this, Mitch. Let's get an ETA on the SOG and then decide.»

«Forget it.» Rapp threw his arms up in disgust. «I'll handle it myself.» Rapp started toward the van, both sincere about what he'd said and completely aware of what made Scott Coleman tick.

Coleman reached out and said, «Hey, wait a minute.»

«We don't have a minute, Scott.» Rapp yanked his arm away. «Have you gotten soft? You think a Special Operations group from Langley can do a better job than us? They're good, but there isn't a single one of them that's a better shooter than you guys. I'm going with or without you guys.» Rapp understood the SEAL psyche as well as anyone. He possessed the same attributes. Stubborn, supremely confident, driven to win at almost any cost, and never afraid to take a challenge.

«What's your plan?» asked Coleman.

«I'm going to wire numbnuts with a camera and a mike and send him in first.»

«How do you know he's not going to give you up, once he's inside?»

«I've got a plan for that.» Rapp pointed to Hackett. «You take the guy on the back deck, and the three of us come through the front door. Are you guys in or out?»

Hackett nodded, and Stroble and Coleman followed suit.

«Good. Grab your demolition gear from the back of your truck.»

THE MAN WAS standing next to the van with his pants down around his ankles. Dumond had his suit coat in the van and was rigging it with a microphone and fiber-optic camera. Stroble had a hold of one arm, and Hackett had the other. Rapp stood in front of him and asked, «What's your first name?»

«Dave.»

«All right, Dave, here's the deal. I don't like you. You took my girlfriend, and you and your pals are in my house. Do you think you'd like it if I took someone you loved and then invited myself into your house?» Dave shook his head.

«I didn't think so. My friends here would prefer it if I put a bullet in your head and threw your ass in that Dumpster over there, but I'm not going to do that. At least not yet I'm going to give you one chance to live, but if you fuck up, even just a little bit, you're gone. Are we clear on that?»

«Yes.»

«Good. Here's the deal. We're going to send you back to the house like nothing happened, with one exception. You're going to have a sheet of C4 strapped to your groin, and I'm going to have the detonator. If at any moment I think you're giving us up, I'll blow your balls off and leave you there on the floor to bleed to death. Any questions?»

The man swallowed hard and shook his head.

«Good.» Rapp turned to Coleman. «Put the sheet in his underwear and secure it. Marcus, is the jacket ready?»

«In a second.»

Rapp looked Dave in the eye and said, «You have my word. If you cooperate, I'll let you live.»

It took Coleman a little more than a minute to rig the plastic explosives. Rapp took a second to go over the layout of his house and then told the men in detail how they would proceed. After a quick communications check, they piled into the Crown Victoria and were off. Rapp, Coleman, and Stroble were in the back seat, and Hackett was in the amp;onto The van followed behind at a discreet distance. Coleman and his men all carried suppressed MP-5 submachine guns. Rapp had only his trusted Beretta 92F with three extra fifteen-round clips. On the way to the house, they received status reports from the helicopter. Everything was as expected. One man standing post on the front porch, a second on the back deck, and two more inside, presumably at the kitchen table.

As they turned off the county road and onto the street that would take them to the house, Rapp told the driver to douse the lights and stop. Next, he yanked the plastic cover off the dome light and pulled the bulb. Turning to Stroble, he said, «Once he turns into the driveway, stay low in the back seat. I'll tell you when to move.» Rapp tapped the driver on the shoulder with the tip of his silencer. «If they ask what took so long, tell them they had to make a fresh pot of coffee for you. And then ask them immediately where the girl is.»

Rapp nodded for Coleman to get out of the car. As the door opened, the driver asked, «Are you going in shooting?»

«If they reach for their weapons, they're as good as dead. It's lip to them. Just drop your ass to the floor as soon as it starts, and you'll be fine.» The driver shook his head, and Rapp asked, «What?»

«They'll reach for their weapons.»

«Then they're dead.» With that Rapp, Coleman, and Hackett got out of the car and began jogging down the road. Rapp led the way. The lots in the neighborhood were all similar. They were pretty narrow with one hundred to two hundred feet of shoreline, and they ran around five hundred feet deep. Each lot was separated by a line of trees and bushes for extra privacy. Two houses before his, Rapp turned off the road and cut through his neighbor's yard. Without the moon, it was extremely dark. When they reached the line of trees, Rapp found a small footpath and crossed into the next yard. The men ran in a crouch now. When they reached the next line of trees, they dropped to a knee. Rapp pulled down the lip mike on his headset and asked for one more status report from the chopper. They reported that the situation was unchanged.

Rapp grabbed Hackett around the neck and pulled him close. Pointing toward the water and whispering in his ear, he said, «About twenty feet before the cliff, there's a path that leads from Harry's yard to mine.»