Enemy lines alexander ki.., p.1
Enemy Lines (Alexander King Book 5), page 1
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Also By Bradley Wright
Alexander King
THE SECRET WEAPON
COLD WAR
MOST WANTED
POWER MOVE
ENEMY LINES
SMOKE SCREEN
Alexander King Prequels
WHISKEY & ROSES
VANQUISH
KING’S RANSOM
KING’S REIGN
SCOURGE
Lawson Raines
WHEN THE MAN COMES AROUND
SHOOTING STAR
Saint Nick
SAINT NICK
SAINT NICK 2
Copyright © 2022 by Bradley Wright
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www.bradleywrightauthor.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead,
or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
ENEMY LINES/ Bradley Wright. -- 1st ed.
ISBN -
For all the men and women who have ever served the United States of America
Thank you for dedicating your life to ensuring civilians like me always have the freedom to chase our dreams in whatever way we see fit. We are forever in your debt.
“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something sometime in your life.”
Winston Churchill
1
“What the hell are we still doing here?” Kyle said as the van drove away from the US Embassy.
The sun was setting in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, but it wasn’t dark enough to hide the trash that littered nearly every inch of the streets. Or the chaos swirling all around their van in the form of people zooming on scooters without regard, children running without looking, and people reaching out to sell you anything and everything you probably don’t need. The city was a disaster.
Speaking of disasters, the destruction from the devastating earthquake of 2010 could be seen on every single block they passed. Buildings that once stood tall and beautiful, rich with history in a beautiful country, were now shells of their former selves, reminders of how everything had fallen apart. It was a sad state of affairs that Alexander King and his team weren’t exactly prepared for.
Alexander King looked over at his friend Kyle on the bench seat beside him, then past him to Sam, then back to the third row where Omari Broussard, Patrick O’Connor, and Shawn Roberts were sitting. Finally he looked to the front passenger seat where Juice sat because he was too big to fit anywhere else. King understood why Kyle was questioning their reasons for staying in Haiti, even after Haitian President Samuel Desir refused the security protection they were sent there to give him, but Kyle had been bitching about the assignment from the very beginning. And King was growing tired of it.
“Everybody else want to leave too?” King said.
He waited for their reactions. Everyone else either shook their head or said no.
“Looks unanimous to me, Kyle. So we have enough here to keep a good team if you’re ready to go.”
Kyle looked over at him and furrowed his brow. “Come on, X. Don’t be like that.”
“Like what, Kyle? You think any of us want to be here? I was in bed with Natalie when I got the call. But it was a call from the president of the United States of America. And when he asks, I’m sorry, but I don’t question it.”
Kyle turned toward him. “I get all that, X. I understand it’s different when the president asks—”
“Do you?”
“I do. Don’t be a dick. But now things have changed. We just spent two hours trying to convince the Haitian president that his life was in danger—that our president wants us with him—and he outright refused. So I say get your ass back to Natalie where you’re wanted. That’s all I’m getting at.”
“Yeah, and what I’m getting at is you can go if you want. I’m sticking until the president says he doesn’t need us anymore. And if you call me a dick one more time, I’ll embarrass you in front of all your new friends.”
Kyle scoffed and bowed up. King matched his posture.
“Boys!” Sam shouted as she needled an elbow in between them and forced Kyle back. “For God’s sake, lower the testosterone. Kyle, stop bitching or go home. Xander, give Kyle a break.” Then she changed her voice from stern to a whiny taunt. “He misses his little Dbie back home. He’s just a lovesick little puppy.”
King and Kyle both leaned over in surprise to get a look at the smile on Sam’s face. The rest of the van erupted in jeers and laughter, and Kyle couldn’t help but smile at Sam’s attempt to give him a little hell. It popped the tension bubble, and Kyle turned and patted King on the chest.
“Sorry,” Kyle said. “I get it. I just don’t like the feeling I get being here.”
“Same,” King said. “But bound by honor and duty, one must grit thine teeth and answer the call.”
“So what now?” O’Connor said from the back. Patrick had been a huge help to Sam when they were stuck in Russia last year. He had been on a different assignment when King and Sam had originally asked him to join the team, but when Sam called and asked him to join the president’s crew in Haiti, he jumped at the chance.
Sam shifted in her seat to face O’Connor. “Just because President Desir refused our help doesn’t mean we can’t still help protect him. He’s just made it more difficult. We’ll have to wait until President Gibbons can speak with him and hopefully convince him he needs us.”
“Why exactly is Desir in so much danger?” Shawn Roberts asked. His situation was just like O’Connor’s, busy when the team formed, but honored to come along with King when the president asked him to come to Haiti. “I mean, I read the headlines, but what’s really the deal?”
The driver laid on the horn as a scooter clipped the front of the van.
“Long story short,” Sam said, “Desir was elected as a moderate. After taking office, he began leaning much more toward the people and what they needed, then left the party who’d got him elected. Without the president, they thought they could swing to growing the power of the government, which obviously would have benefited them. So much so that he began bids to end lobbying, implementing term limits, and even cutting budgets for elected officials and giving the excess back to the people.”
“Basically Desir’s party got him elected, and he began doing the opposite of what they wanted,” King said. “He began helping the country instead of the politicians.”
“Which is why President Gibbons wants him protected,” Sam added. “Because he’s one of the good ones.”
“Well,” Kyle said, “now I feel like a real asshole.”
“As you should,” King said, this time with a smile.
“For real, though,” Omari said, “what are we going to do now? While we wait?”
“You’ve got party set up!” the driver shouted. He was one of President Desir’s men. “I am to drive you to fun time at presidential apartment. It’s not in such nice part of town, which is why he does not stay there much, but you will find it the best accommodations in Haiti.”
Juice looked back at King. “I’m all for a party, but really?”
“We’re the president’s guests,” Sam said. “We can oblige.”
She gave Juice a wink, then shook her head to the rest of the team when the driver was distracted by yet another motorist. There wasn’t going to be a party. Not like the driver had suggested anyway.
Though the Haitian president may have changed their plans for them, they still planned on doing what President Gibbons sent them to do.
It was going to be a much harder task than any of them ever imagined.
2
King slid open the curtain one last time to have a look over the darkened city. It was just before midnight. He would never say the lights of Port-au-Prince were vibrant, but what illumination there was, was enough to shine on the colorful shacks clinging to the side of the steep Morne l’Hôpital mountain. In the daylight, from afar, they looked like a rainbow. Up close, however, they were anything but beautiful. King had heard someone refer to the slums of Jalousie by its nickname, Misery in Colors.
The life the people led there couldn’t be more different than King’s. And he knew that though parts of America were terribly poor, Americans had no idea what real poverty was like. No sewage. No running water. Floods of plastic and trash rushing the streets any time it rained. Sam had told him that since the earthquake it had become substantially worse. Because Jalousie was one of the areas least affected by the earthquake, people had moved in droves to the already overcrowded cinderblock homes. More than eighty thousand people living in a desperate situation. King was especially curious because Sam had procured a fallout cottage for them there in case shit hit the fan. And with one last look up at the mountain, he sure as hell hoped they wouldn’t need it.
All se emed quiet on the street below the oversized apartment where King and his team were staying. He stepped away from the window as Agent Shawn Roberts turned the corner.
“What do you got?” King said.
“Two at the front, and one at the back. And I’m pretty sure there’s a van down the street keeping an eye on us too.”
“I was afraid of that,” King said. He looked over at Sam. “Any ideas?”
“We’re not hostages. We can come and go as we please.”
O’Connor stood from the couch and set down his beer. He looked like a grizzly standing up on its hind legs. King could see why he’d been nicknamed The Bear. “Why would the president of Haiti—who is supposedly in danger—want to keep tabs on us, the team sent here to offer protection?”
“We don’t know who these men work for,” King said. “Not really. I think it’s safe to say the men guarding the doors are probably working for President Desir. But if Roberts is right, and there is a van down the street keeping an eye out, they could be the ones who want Desir dead.”
“Either way,” Sam said, “our job is the same. If they want to watch us drive out of here in a van of our own, as we head over to see what’s going on in the president’s neighborhood, they are more than welcome to do so.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve been watched,” Kyle added.
“Mount up,” King said. “We’ve got papers for carrying our weapons, so there’s no reason to leave any of them behind.”
“Like we talked about earlier,” Sam said. “Juice, you hang back with Roberts and O’Connor while you wait for your men to make it here. Charlie and Luc, right?”
“Right,” Juice said.
“Stay ready,” King said. “Shit is crazy here right now. Let’s make sure we are on our toes.”
“Roger that,” Juice said.
“Kyle and Omari,” Sam said, “you’re with Xander and me. Our van is out back. And even though we are technically allowed to carry these weapons, let’s not give anyone a reason to ask questions.”
“Stay low-key,” Omari said. “Got it.”
“We taking the bourbon?” Kyle said.
Sam gave him the old laser beam stare.
“What? The president got it for us. I don’t want to be rude.”
King smiled at Sam as he placed his M4’s strap around his neck. “He’s got a point.”
“And besides,” Kyle said, “if we leave it here with Juice and The Bear, there’ll be nothing left.”
“These nicknames are getting to be too much,” Sam said as she walked toward the stairs. “You guys do whatever the hell you want with the bourbon. I’m tired of playing your mum.”
Kyle and King shared a laugh, but they both passed on taking the bourbon. The four of them walked down the stairs and across the hall to the back door. When Kyle opened it, a rush of damp, hot air overtook him. Even late in the day, Haiti’s humid heat didn’t let up. As they walked out the door, the man posted at the back door cleared his throat. King stopped and looked back at the rail-thin man with midnight-black skin. He had a semiautomatic weapon strapped around his neck.
“Where are you going?” the man said in a French accent. “It’s not safe during the day here, much less after dark. Plus you are supposed to stay here.”
King flashed his M4. “Just doing our jobs.”
“The president gave explicit orders. This is why he gave you such nice accommodations. He does not want you to leave.”
Omari leaned halfway out of the van. “So, he doesn’t want to be protected?”
“You don’t understand. He has protection. Haitian protection. He doesn’t want to be protected by Americans. This will make him look weak to his enemies.”
“Then we’ll be sure to blend in while we do our jobs,” King said.
The man laughed; then he pointed to Omari. “Him. He could blend in.” The man moved his finger to King. “You,” he said as he moved his finger to Sam and Kyle, “and them? No, no, no. You are like the cream in the middle of an OREO cookie.”
The man continued to laugh. He was the only one. King just stared back at him, waiting for him to finish.
“You done?” King said.
The man sobered, then straightened his posture. “I told you, you aren’t supposed to leave.”
“We’re going. Question is, do I have to take that gun from you first?”
The man looked down at his weapon. As he moved his eyes back to King, King’s eyes didn’t leave the man’s trigger finger. There was an awkward silence. King was fine waiting.
“Okay, Captain America. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
King responded by turning for the van. He lifted his index finger and circled it in the air. His team followed behind him. Sam watched the guard until everyone was safely inside; then she got in the front passenger seat. Kyle started up the van and pulled away.
“Make a left,” Sam told Kyle. “Then another left in about a mile. The president’s place isn’t far.”
“You think Juice and the boys will be all right back there?” Omari said.
“I think they know how to handle themselves,” King said. “That’s about as good a prediction as I can give you.”
“Fair enough.”
Kyle pulled forward and drove toward President Desir’s neighborhood. There weren’t many wealthy neighborhoods in Haiti, so it wasn’t hard to find. Sam had mentioned that this wealthy area in particular actually overlooked the mountainside slums of Jalousie. Either it reminded the fortunate people who lived there how lucky they were every day, or it kept them motivated to work hard to keep their position in life. King supposed a place like New York City wasn’t much different. It was just wrapped in a fancier package.
“This is it,” Sam said.
Kyle turned off the mostly empty main road into the even more deserted neighborhood. Even in the dark it was clear the homes got nicer the farther into the neighborhood you went.
“Make a circle,” Sam said. “Desir’s house is at the back of the neighborhood. There should be guards at the front and back, so just drive by casually.”
Omari looked out the window as they drove. “It doesn’t seem very safe for a president whose life is being threatened to just live out here in the open. Guards or no guards.”
King answered, “That’s what President Gibbons tried to explain to him. But he wouldn’t listen.”
“A bit odd, don’t you think?” Kyle said.
“What?” King said. “That the president of a country thinks he’s invincible and won’t listen?”
“Yeah, touché.”
“It’s right up here,” Sam said. “Don’t slow down. Everyone just take a good look and make sure all is well. Then at least we can say we tried.”
Kyle drove past the front gate. There was a Humvee and three guards posted there. Though it wasn’t a lot, it did ease King’s mind a bit. He couldn’t help what Desir decided for his own safety, but he didn’t want to disappoint President Gibbons. He had a tremendous amount of respect for the way he was handling his own presidency, and King didn’t want anything to go wrong on his watch. Things were getting crazy in other parts of the world, not to mention right at home in the United States, so King didn’t want to add any stress to Gibbons’s plate.
“All three had semi-autos,” Kyle said. “I’m assuming there are men at the back armed the same way.”
“Let’s roll the neighborhood one more time,” King said. “Check for anything out of the ordinary in driveways or between houses.”
Kyle made a loop. Everyone was quiet. None of them saw anything particularly interesting, so Kyle steered toward the exit of the neighborhood.
“Maybe Desir knows something we don’t,” Omari said. “That he’s safer than we think he is.”
Their van rolled out of the neighborhood, and Kyle made a right onto the main road.
“Yeah, maybe,” King said. “Or maybe we just came on a quiet night.”
It wasn’t more than a second after the words left his lips that King saw a light flare out of the corner of his left eye. There was an explosion, and the front end of the van elevated toward the sky.
