The night was overcast hiding any light the moon might give. Unseen, an equally dark figure slipped through the night air. Sweeping back and forth making no sound, a small black glider moved slowly towards the ground. Beneath it the ocean crashed into Columbia’s shoreline. Overlooking the water was a large fortified mansion with distinctive Spanish architecture.
Austin Nichols glanced down at the dark instrument panel. To him it was as bright as daylight; on his head, he wore a pair of third generation night vision goggles. Swinging the glider around he brought it closer and closer to the mansion below.
“Don’t bury us into the side of the place will you?” a voice spoke from behind him.
Olivia Jordan peered out the side of the window as the ground grew closer. Their mission was to infiltrate the mansion and bring back sensitive information that had been hacked from the Pentagon’s mainframe computers. For them it was a routine mission. They were some of the National Security Agencies top agents. They had also been working together for nearly eight years. At first they had gotten off on the wrong foot, she wasn’t the type of person that worked well with others, especially other gung ho agents. Nevertheless, it didn’t take long for their friendship to grow, now, she would do anything for him…even kill. She never understood his personal life, he kept it quite secretive and she never pried. Yet, there were times when she wondered why he never married. He was a handsome man with sandy brown hair, he was a little short but stocky and built rugged. There had been very few men in the past that ever wanted to tangle with him and when they did, they always lost.
The glider bumped into the ground bouncing a few times before coming to rest. Austin opened the canopy and climbed out. Olivia followed; by the time she had climbed out, he had extracted their gear from a storage compartment in the rear of the fuselage. Slipping his combat harness over his shoulders and securing it, he glanced down at his watch.
“We’re behind schedule by 10 minutes,” he said softly.
“I think you were enjoying the flying too much,” she said slipping her harness on.
“Had to catch those thermals right, the temperature change along the coast is so dramatic a night we could have easily been splattered into the side of those cliffs.”
“Excuses”
“Hey, next time you fly,” he scowled.
“Better than you,” she pushed.
“You think you can do everything better than I can don’t you?” he turned to her.
“You bet,” she smiled.
“Oh yeah? Well let’s see you do this?” he said walking around to the front of the glider. Moments later he picked the front end of the plane off the ground.
“You know I can’t do that,” she said.
“So, you do admit there are things you can’t do?” he said dropping the plane.
“Sure, but all you’ve proven is that men are only good for two things…picking up heavy objects and killing things,” she laughed.
“You’re impossible you know that?” he grinned.
“That is a woman thing,” she added.
“Yeah, but who would call you a woman?” he said slamming her.
He knew the truth though; she was a very beautiful woman. She had flaxen hair that cascaded down her shoulders. High cheekbones that gave her a very distinguished look, and eyes that could melt the coldest of hearts. She also had a body that men would throw themselves down on broken glass for. Her only problem, she was so good at being an NSA agent she forgot to be a woman. She lacked the ability to fit in as a woman, and as far as relationships went, she had very few.
She was also too damn violent.
He suddenly realized she had become silent; he had inadvertently struck a raw cord with her. Turning she looked out to where the ocean was, she could see it clearly threw the goggles but it looked so fake, colorless. She knew he had been joking with her, but he was right, she didn’t know how to be a woman. She had made futile attempts in the past, and in some cases succeeded but something always happened to throw a monkey wrench into it all. She could fly anything, shoot and strip nearly any weapon, go hand-to-hand combat with any man, disarm nuclear weapons, but she couldn’t hold a relationship. As women went, she was past her prime. She was in her early forties, not many men would want a relationship with a woman who didn’t want children. She also knew she was being too cynical of herself. There were men out there who looked for a woman just like her. She tried to picture herself a homemaker, one three-year-old making a mess and another in a highchair slinging food around the kitchen. Then suddenly the telephone rings, the oven begins spewing smoke from the dinner she was planning, and the dog decides to relieve itself on the kitchen floor by the door.
The thought scared the hell out of her.
“Hey, come on before we miss our extraction, I’d really hate to be stuck here in the morning,” Austin said tapping her on the shoulder.
Turning he tossed her weapon to her. It was an H&K MP5 fully automatic 9mm weapon with a silencer. It was a reliable weapon and one of her favorites, next to a Gurka knife. Pulling back the slide, she chambered the first round.
Moving with speed and stealth across the open field that led to the mansion they noticed patrols moving away from the mansion. Keeping her attention focused, she remembered the information she memorized before the mission. Carlos Montonia was one of Columbia’s biggest drug lords. He was a ruthless killer and it was reported he even pulled the trigger on his own brother. The DEA was getting too close, disrupting too many of his shipments coming into the States. Less than a week ago, the Pentagon computer guru’s found that their mainframe had been hacked into. Computer codes for the nations nuclear arsenal had been stolen. The theft was alarming; nobody had ever dug so deep into a system as Carlos had. He had been sloppy though, leaving a trail right back to him. Then again, he might have intended it that way. He was using the codes as a bargaining chip to get the DEA off his back. It was a good ploy; except for he never anticipated the power of the NSA becoming involved. Then again, he had probably heard of the NSA, but it was virtually a nonexistent entity.
Now he had to contend with her.
Reaching the wire fence surrounding the mansion Austin reached inside his shoulder bag and produced four small black boxes. Slipping off his night vision he reached out with one box holding it as close to the fence without touching it. He felt the magnetic attraction and let go, the box attached itself to the fence with a slight spark. Olivia peered around looking to see if anyone saw the spark. When she was sure, she nodded to Austin who placed the other three boxes in a square pattern. When he was done, he reached into his bag and produced a small remote control device. A small plastic cover on one side protected a switch; opening it, he pressed the button.
“Sure hope this works, if it doesn’t you’re going to see first hand what an electric chair does to someone,” Austin grinned pulling a set of wire cutters from his bag.
Gently touching them to the wire he began to rapidly cut between the black boxes. The boxes created a window diverting the electricity from a small area.
Pushing the wire, back Austin motioned with his hand allowing Olivia to be the first one inside. He quickly followed pulling the wire mesh back in place as best he could. The mansion was lit up like a huge Roman candle. On each corner huge flood lights beamed down on the dark grassy earth below. At the main entrance and along the back of the mansion were stood a tall tower; inside guards swept searchlights back and forth. Olivia stared at the whole scene as they dashed across the side lawn. With all the millions, if not billions Carlos had he still lived like a prisoner. The whole mansion was a luxurious prison, nothing more.
Reaching a tool shed next to the mansion they both paused making sure no one had seen them.
“Ready?” she said glancing at him.
“Let’s get this over, I hate wearing face paint,” Austin growled.
“You spray your clothes to keep the dogs off us?” she asked.
“Shit! I knew there was something I forgot,” he cursed.
“We better make this fast, in and out. I’m actually surprised the dogs haven’t smelled you yet,” she said.
“I ate a few cloves of garlic last night with dinner,” he grinned.
  “That’s what I smelled in the plane. I thought for a moment you hadn’t washed your clothes.”
“Funny, come on,” he said pushing out around her making a dash for the main house.
No sooner had he made the dash then a dog began barking very close to them. Olivia hesitated then peered out from the side of the shed. Austin was running as fast as he could but he couldn’t outrun the searchlights.
More dogs barked even closer.
“Shit” she cursed then made a dash back to the fence.
Austin nearly reached the side of the mansion when one of the searchlights beamed down on him. Seconds later it went out as he fired his weapon. It made a distinctive and very soft “whump, whump, whump,” as each bullet left the barrel. Guards began to yell in Spanish and more dogs began to bark. Then, a siren went off. More guards began to pour from another house behind the mansion. Moving with alarming speed he dashed around the side of the mansion beyond the reach of the other searchlight. Rounding the corner, he collided with a guard who was surprised as much as he was. The man never had a chance though, Austin was quick to grab him around the throat and drive him to the ground, seconds later the man’s neck snapped. Continuing on he reached a back porch where three more guards stood their weapons ready. They chattered nervously between themselves, they also didn’t see Austin sliding up along side of the wall.
Whump, whump, whump.
The bullets were accurate, all three guards collapsed to the floor. Austin bounded up the stairs and cautiously opened the door. The inside was lit up brightly, grabbing the night vision he slipped it off his head discarding it. Beyond the door lay the kitchen; it was well laid out a huge stainless steel table sat in the middle with pots hanging from an iron hanger above. His eyes darted from side to side half expecting someone to slide out from a doorway filling the room with bullets. Glancing behind him, he half expected Olivia to be at his heels, instead he was alone, and she had drawn back when the sirens went off. He probably should have also, but unlike her, he never gave up on a mission once he started it. She was there, and he knew she would back him up when needed. Moving quickly around the large table, he kept the machine gun pointed ahead of him. There were two doors leading into the kitchen, one was off to the side the other lead to what appeared to be dining room beyond. He knew from the dining room, he would most likely find a staircase leading to the second and third floors. He needed to find Carlos’s office, which would be where he kept the stolen information. Moving quickly to the doorway, he peered out into the next room the gun following his eyes.
Suddenly, he felt something hit him hard over the back of his head. His vision instantly became blurred and dark spots swarmed in front of his eyes. Moments later, he collapsed to the floor the gun falling from his hands. The last thing he heard and saw was the beefy form of a woman screaming something in Spanish…a cast iron fry pan held tightly in her hand.
Olivia watched the guards rushing about; she was still inside the fence. She didn’t like leaving Austin there, he never should have continued when the sirens went off. He knew better, he was just stubborn and pigheaded. As she watched the chaos, the siren suddenly died down. She hadn’t heard any gunfire from the guards so they hadn’t found him yet, but why would they give up so easily? Moving quickly, back to the tool shed she peered around the corner, then looked up to the second floor of the mansion. There were balconies surrounding the whole house.
Out of the corner of the night vision, she saw something move. A guard walking with a dog moved steadily towards her. Pressing herself up against the side of the shed, she watched them come closer. She had to take them out, if she didn’t they might find her on the next pass. She could use a knife, but with the dog, there one bark would send the whole lot of them down on her. Reaching along her side she drew out a small .22 caliber silenced pistol. With the night vision, she could see them both clearly.
The dog was the first; it didn’t utter a sound as it collapsed. Before the guard realized what happened she put a bullet between his eyes. Holstering the pistol, she dashed to the side of the mansion. Reaching inside her shoulder bag, she produced a collapsible grappling hook and line. Swinging it, a few times she let it go, it sailed up to the second balcony hooking onto the edge of the railing. With an ease most men would find difficult, she climbed the rope hand over hand reaching the balcony quickly. Sliding over the railing, she swept the gun around. She crouched in front of a large set of sliding glass doors. The light was off behind them and the curtains were drawn. Moving quickly to them, she took the collapsible stock of the gun and as quietly as possible smashed a section of the glass. Reaching in she unhooked the latch and dove into the room. Rolling from side to side, she bounded to her feet and swept the room ready to fire. On the bed, the covers drew up tight around her lay a woman. The fear on her face was apparent she was terrified.
“Scream and you die,” she whispered in Spanish.
The woman just nodded, Olivia knew she was one of Carlos’s whores. She also knew that as soon as her back turned she would scream.
Whump!
The whore wheezed and collapsed backwards dead as Olivia shot a round off from her silenced gun, she then moved quickly to the door. Opening it slightly, she slipped off the night vision. The hallway was brightly lit beyond. Cautiously she peered around the corner making sure there was nobody coming from the other end of the hallway. Slipping out she walked as quietly as possible along the marbled floor. Ahead the hallway opened up to an upper balcony then to a massive twisting set of stairs leading down to the first floor. As she drew closer, she could hear someone yelling in broken English. Crouching down, she peered between the slats in the railing. Below, Carlos stood pacing the floor. Austin was hung up by his wrists, his feet barely touching the floor. A few other men stood around, most of them she assumed were guards. Even from where she sat, she could see that Austin had been beaten. His left cheek was swollen and blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
“So, who has sent you to kill me? You are Australian, that much I can figure out myself. Nevertheless, why were you sent here? Who sent you?” Carlos’s voice rose.
Austin stared at the man, then grinned. Olivia knew what he was doing; Austin had many types of grins, one that showed actual joy. He even had one that showed displeasure, this one Carlos had the privilege of seeing, which was anger and defiance.
Carlos got the picture quickly.
One of the guards took the butt of his rifle and slammed it into Austin’s back. His arms strained as his body recoiled from the blow. His expression changed to pain, but he didn’t utter a sound.
Bringing her gun up she pointed it down at the guards; her finger began to pull on the trigger when she stopped. Withdrawing the gun, she quickly moved away from the railing. She then began to check each room along the upper floor until she found what she was looking for, Carlos’s office.
It was plush, with oak furniture, statues and sculptures sat on pedestals all around the room. The man appeared to love art. There were also pictures lining the walls. A small desk lamp burned giving the room a warm ambiance. Olivia slipped inside and silently closed the door behind her. She then moved over to the desk, reaching out to grab a drawer she hesitated, it was most likely wired and would set off an alarm. She doubted also that he would have left the hacked information disks in his desk; they would most likely be in a safe. Turning she looked at the wall behind the desk. A huge picture of a half naked woman hung. At first, she dismissed the possibility; nobody had a wall safe behind a picture anymore. It was the obvious place to look, still though she looked.
Nothing.
Moving to the other pictures in the room she checked behind each, finally on the next to last she found it. The picture swung to the side revealing a large dial combination safe. Looking around the edges, she half expected an infrared alarm, but there was nothing. Reaching into her bag, she produced a round device. It had four claw-like arms; attaching it around the dial of the safe, she reached in her bag and produced another unit. It was around with a digital pad on the front. Taking it, she snapped it into the clawed mounting bracket already attached to the safe, and then turned it on. Instantly it began to function, a center tube extended attaching itself to the dial combination on the safe. It then began to move slowly at first then with increasing speed.
It took nearly 30 seconds to find the combination.
Olivia opened the steel door; there was a stainless steel revolver inside along with a small optical disk. Grabbing it, she slipped both in her bag then went to close the door. Hesitating she went over to the desk.
Austin felt dizzy as the guards continued to beat him. He also worried about Olivia, he half expected her to show up by now…unless of course they already found and killed her. He doubted that, Carlos would have been informed and confronted him with it. She was still alive and free.
“Now are you willing to tell me what I want to know?” Carlos snapped.
“OK…. OK, you win just stop beating me. I’m a mercenary, hired by Santos to bring back one of your whores,” Austin lied.
“Santos? Santos? Santos wants one of my whores?” Carlos nearly laughed.
 “Yeah, guess the woman is special to him or something,” Austin coughed.
“Santos wants one of my whores…which one?” he quickly asked.
“Can’t tell you her name, he never told me, only gave me her picture,” Austin continued the ruse.
“Where is it?”
“Burned it, only know what she looks like,” Austin added.
“What is she to Santos? Why did he not just call me and ask for her?” Carlos ranted.
“Beats me…”
“Maybe…maybe she has been gathering information on me…on my organization. Maybe he plans to take over my territories,” Carlos said softly pacing the room.
“Look, that’s why he hired me. Why don’t you cut me down and I’ll go my own way no questions asked,” Austin said knowing full well that there was no way Carlos would do it.
“No…no, you maybe the messenger but you are still working for Santos. I think sending Santos a message would be better, sending him a message like…a few boxes with your body parts inside?” Carlos looked at Austin and smiled.
“Not my idea of a good time,” Austin added.
Carlos motioned for one of the guards; he then whispered something to him. The guards rushed off up the stairs. Walking up to Austin, he circled around him slowly.
“For your sake I do hope you are telling me the truth. There are many ways to die, some quick and painless, others can make minutes seem like days.”
“Watch too many movies?” Austin retorted.
“You laugh, make jokes but when you’re screaming I will be the one laughing.”
“I can’t wait,” Austin grinned.
Suddenly from the top of the stairs, women appeared and slowly descended. They were all young, maybe in their mid twenties, all were stunningly beautiful. They all wore bathrobes, some silk some terry cloth and some rather sheer. Their beauty impressed Austin; they stared at him for a moment as they reached the lower level then drew their attention to Carlos. Some seemed nervous, scared and they looked from him to each of the guards then back again.
 Olivia heard the guard come up the stairs, his boots clacking on the marble floor. She peered out through a crack in the door and watched him enter the first door that Olivia had determined where Carlos’s whores room. For some reason he was summoning all of them. When the guard reached the room where she had killed the whore the game would be up. Slipping out into the hallway she bounded to the room with the dead whore. Hiding behind the door, she waited. Suddenly the door opened and the light came on. The guard spoke in Spanish for her to get up, that Carlos wanted her downstairs. When she didn’t stir, he approached the bed. Olivia rushed up behind him drawing her Gurka knife as she went. The guards never uttered a sound as she drew the knife across his throat leaving a hideous deep gash. He shook for a moment his face etched with shock, then collapsed dead on the bed with the whore’s body. Olivia dashed again from the room and back to Carlos’s office.
“So, which one of my women were you sent to get?” Carlos said walking slowly behind them.
Austin looked at each; he knew that if he pointed one out Carlos would most likely kill her right where she stood. He took a different approach.
“I don’t see her.”
Carlos was quick to shoot a look at him, and then back to the whores.
“I am missing Alicia, go find her,” he barked at another guard.
Suddenly there came a loud crash, then another from upstairs. Everyone froze as more racket arose from the upper floor. Three guards dashed up the stairs their guns poised to fire at the first thing that moved. Carlos quickly turned his attention to Austin grabbing him sharply by the jaw.
“Who else came with you?” he snarled.
Again, Austin gave him that defiant grin. This time Carlos began beating him.
Seconds later one of the guards called down to him from the upper balcony. Carlos turned bounding up the stairs. When he reached his office, he stood there in shock.
The office was totally destroyed. Every statue was shattered, every painting full of bullet holes. He then noticed the open safe, moving quickly to it, he peered inside. Sitting on the shelf was a small piece of paper. Snatching it he unfolded it, written in Spanish were two words.
You’re next
Crumbling the piece of paper, he began shouting, cursing and ranting. Grabbing a broken piece of statue from the floor he stared at it for a moment then slammed it on the floor shattering it further.
From beneath the staircase, Olivia emerged. Austin was first to see her. When the whores turned and looked at her Olivia pointed the gun at them and motioned them to be silent. She then told them in Spanish that one sound and she would kill them all. Pulling her Gurka knife Austin noticed the blood staining the blade. Moments later he was free.
“What took you so long?” he said rubbing his wrists.
“We do have a mission you know,” she said.
“So the mission came before me, huh?” he said forcing himself to his feet.
“Job comes first,” she said tossing him the automatic weapon.
Grabbing her bandolier full of clips, he slung them over his own head. Olivia noticed that his hands shook; she also knew that he was forcing himself to move and function. Most likely he had a few broken ribs, when a rib got broke it was sometimes hard to breath let alone walk or run, yet Austin did both.
“What’d you do to him?” he asked her.
“Just took away something I know he valued.”
“You find the goods?” he asked.
“Yep, you OK to get out of here?” she asked.
“We better hope our ride out of here is still waiting. We’re nearly an hour overdue,” he said watching the front porch. “What are we going to do about them?” he motioned to the whores.
“Olivia stared at them, if she had her way she would have cut them all down where they stood. Instead, she told them to leave the mansion quickly or they would be shot. Austin watched them run in all directions, he sighed they were so beautiful.
“Come on, put your tongue back in your mouth,” she said moving to the front door. “We need to get away from here in a hurry.”
When they reached the porch gunfire erupted, again the siren began to wail. The spotlights bounced and quickly swung from side to side the operators looking for anything out of the ordinary. Olivia drew her .22 pistol and fired a silenced round at each of the lights knocking them both out. Dashing across the yard two guards began yelling running towards them; Austin quickly cut them both down. There was gunfire in all directions, though nothing came close to them. Guards in panic, fired in all directions hoping to hit whoever was attacking the mansion. When they reached the fence, Olivia knelt down keeping her pistol sweeping back and forth. Austin shouldered his weapon and reached inside her small backpack producing another small satchel. Grabbing a small pull ring on the side, he tossed it at the foot of the fence. Both of them quickly dove to the ground, moments later a massive explosion shattered the fence leaving a gaping hole to freedom. The explosion didn’t go unnoticed; the guards now had a direction to center their attention.
“Get through there,” she said pushing him.
“Come on, get rid of the excess gear,” he said tugging at her pack.
Olivia slipped out of her harness keeping only the Gurka knife and her pistol. Dashing to the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean they both looked down. Waves pounded against the cragged rocks nearly 600 feet below. Rocks jutted along the edge poking out with ominous intent as the water receded.
“I think we can make that pool between all those rocks,” she said.
“You’ve got to be kidding? What if there are rocks just below the surface?” he said staring at the dark water below.
“Then it will only hurt when you hit,” she said.
“We can probably make it around the perimeter of the fence and down along the route we planned earlier,” he said looking along the edge of the cliff.
“No time,” she said as a bullet zinged hitting the ground next to her leg.
“Halt!” a voice yelled. “One move and I will kill you both!” a Spanish voice called out.
Olivia turned to see Carlos standing there an automatic weapon in his hand. Five other guards surrounded him, there was nowhere for them to go. He had them backed into a corner.
“Drop your weapons!” he called out in broken English.
Slowly, Austin lowered his weapon until it hit the ground. Olivia was hesitant but finally tossed the gun down at Carlos’s feet.
“Who are you people? It is obvious that you are Americans…CIA?” he waved the gun at them.
“IRS…”Austin snapped back.
“Do not joke with me, I have little patience with Americans. I am not stupid, you have entered my home to retrieve the disks…where are they?” he said again waving the gun ominously at them.
“We give them to you and we’re dead,” Olivia snapped.
“You don’t and you’re dead anyway,” Carlos grinned.
“You won’t riddle us with bullets, you might hit the disks,” she said.
“You Americans are so…predictable. What makes you think I will not just put a bullet in each of your heads? Now give me what you took!”
“Screw yourself,” Olivia growled. “If we’re dead anyway…” she began to say, then abruptly swiveled around with such force she impacted with Austin launching him over the side of the cliff. His scream was audible then abruptly faded.
“You would kill your own?” Carlos looked at her with surprise. “Whom do you work for?”
“If I told you then I would have to kill you,” she smiled invitingly.
“I do not think you are in a position to kill anything. We however, are in the position to make your death either quick and painless or agonizing,” he said again waving the gun.
“You seem so sure of yourself,” she smiled.
Carlos was about to say something when Olivia launched herself at him. Her speed was breathtaking; the guards opened fire their automatic guns churning out dozens of bullets. However, before Carlos could pull his own trigger her body impacted with his driving him to the ground. Ripping the weapon from him, she opened up on the guards taking them by surprise. Their bodies crumpled to the ground blood spraying in all directions. She then turned her attention quickly back to Carlos.
“So, you want to make my death agonizing do you?” she snarled pointing the gun to his head.
“You will die for this American bitch!” he grumbled.
“Oh, so I’m going to die am I?” she snapped. “If I’m going to die…then why don’t we die together?”
Before Carlos could utter a word, Olivia hauled him to his feet and pushed him towards the cliff edge. Fear formed quickly on his face as he peered over the side at the surging ocean below.
“You…you are insane!” he stuttered.
“You just figuring that out?” she said moving closer to him.
“Who are you?” he said holding his hands up.
“Death”
Just then, a stray bullet grazed her arm knocking her off balance. Carlos rushed forward to take advantage of the situation grabbing her .22 caliber pistol from the ground. Olivia allowed her body to roll as Carlos brought the pistol up to fire. She let her momentum carry her, before Carlos could fire, she struck him driving them both back off the cliff.
Their bodies flailed in midair as they plunged to the raging ocean below. Olivia spun then shot her legs out striking Carlos in the chest and hurling him back. His scream was piercing, his body hit the jagged rocks crumpling and killing him instantly. Olivia hit the water at an angle and everything quickly went black.
When she awoke, she began gagging and coughing. Her lungs hurt, her body was sore. Opening her eyes she saw Austin sitting next to her. Behind her, a Navy commander stood his hands on his waist.
“Take it easy, you swallowed one hell of a lot of seawater,” a pharmacist mate said standing next to Austin.
“Where…how…” she stuttered.
“We’re aboard a Navy submarine, seems they waited for us after all,” Austin smiled. “Thought I lost you, you hit the water so hard. I saw Carlos hit the rocks, man that had to hurt,” he said shaking his head.
“Bastard deserved it,” she coughed again.
“How did you know I wouldn’t hit them also?” he asked.
“ I didn’t,” she said sitting up, then realized she was too sore.
“Thanks, glad to know I rank so high in your book,” Austin scowled.
“Bumbles bounce,” she said.
“What?” he looked at her oddly.
“Bumbles bounce, didn’t you ever see Rudolf the red nose reindeer?”
“You’re one odd lady Olivia…one odd lady,” he said shaking his head.
Olivia just grinned at him, and then closed her eyes letting sleep claim her again.