Street Game (GhostWalkers, #8)(113)

Jaimie jumped up and paced across the floor with her quick, fluid step. “Excuse me, guys, but this happens to be my area of expertise. You go out, shoot ’em up, bang, bang, but I plan for stealth, silent training if you recall. Trust me on this. If the embassy is putting on a high-profile dinner party—announced, say, now—the security will be upped like you wouldn’t believe. They won’t be able to kill those children. They’ll have to stay tucked in that tunnel waiting until security eases a bit.”

Gideon cleared his throat. “Sergeant Major. If there’s even a small chance that the terrorists will kill the children, shouldn’t the Marines on-site go in and rescue them now? Not wait?”

“Doomsday will kill them. You know they would, Gideon,” Mack said. “You’ve seen the way they operate. At the first sign of trouble, they’ll kill the kids and try to fight their way out. The few times an operative has been close to capture, they’ve blown themselves and everyone around them up.”

Gideon nodded. “I knew you’d say that, but I had to ask.”

“I think Jaimie’s on to something,” Mack said. “Doomsday will be pinned down until we get there. They’ll keep the kids alive until after the dinner party. They’ll need to just for insurance, for bargaining chips. They’ll want fresh bodies for the optimum scandal, probably cut their throats on the embassy lawn. Hopefully the captain has kept the corporal from guard duty so he hasn’t given them the opportunity and won’t before we can get there.”

“He has,” Griffen said grimly.

Javier pulled his knife from his boot and began sharpening it. Griffen shot him a speculative look.

“You’ll have to keep your men in line, Mack,” he warned.

“My men know what to do, Top,” Mack said.

He caught Javier’s eye and shook his head. Javier sighed and put the knife away, having made his point. “Maybe we should make some fresh coffee and give ourselves time to think this through.”

“I’ll make a fresh pot,” Marc volunteered.

Javier snorted. “No way am I drinking his coffee. I’d rather go to this embassy buck naked and armed with only water guns.”

Laughter accompanied the shudders that went around the room. Almost as one they stood up and headed for the stairs. Jaimie turned off her computers and followed. Mack waited on the bottom stair for her, reaching for her hand.

He brought her fingers to his mouth. “We’ll do this, baby.”

“I think we have a good chance. We’ve got all the right people,” Jaimie agreed. “You know if something goes wrong, I probably won’t be much of an asset to you.”

“You can fire a gun, Jaimie. No one’s going to ask you to shoot through a hostage. We’re there to save them.”

She took a deep breath and let it out. “Don’t worry. Really, Mack. You know me, once I make up my mind to do something, I’m in all the way.”

That was true. She was very disciplined and methodical. She’d be a huge asset in planning how to get in and out.

It was Kane who put on a new pot of coffee while the men raided the refrigerator and cupboards, reminding Mack of locusts.

Jaimie and Mack followed Griffen to the comfortable chairs and sank into them. Jaimie leaned toward Sergeant Major. “Put your handpicked embassy Marines at the gate, let them watch all the people going in, but don’t tell them about us. Believe me, Sergeant Major, if the guards know someone is meant to slip through, they’ll never be as alert and neither will we.”

“You have a plan?” Griffen asked.

Mack nodded. “You said the commanding officer was going to take his Marines in and clean up. How exactly?”

Griffen hesitated again.

“I need to know,” Mack said.

“We’ve got a small unit standing by. Special Ops. They’ll go in with the commander, take the sleeping terrorists to a waiting unmarked car. It will have tinted windows so no one can see in. The commander will go about his business as if nothing has transpired. The Special Ops team will take the terrorists to the North Korean embassy in Beijing. They’ll leave them right outside the gates and General Chun will be notified that they are on the way. He’ll have his men waiting. Special Ops will walk away, leaving the car and the keys for the North Koreans to just drive inside their gates.”

Mack nodded. “This Special Ops unit. Marines?”

“Of course,” Griffen replied.

“Then let’s use them to help us get inside. They have to be briefed on what’s going on, right?” Mack said. “Put them in the guard’s position on the side nearest the tunnel and tell them to stand down when we come over the fence.”

Griffen shook his head. “They don’t know about the kids. This is need-to-know only.”

“But they know someone’s going in and tranqing the terrorists. They know the cell is beneath the embassy, right?”

“Yes.”

“Put the Special Ops team in uniform and arrange for them to guard the fence near the tunnel entrance. They can know we’ll be slipping onto the grounds. Or just one of them. Tell their Top. We can make our way through the roving guards and the dogs both going in and getting out. The danger is at the fence itself, especially coming out with the children. If they know, they can let us slip over the fence with our packages. Once we’re clear, the captain can relieve them of their duties and they can get out of uniform and carry out their orders. They can strip down in seconds.”