“Excellent. Let’s do it.”
Lucas extended his hand. “Give me the grenades, Dead Boy.”
Nick grinned. “Kiss my ass, Ahab. You heard your orders. You and Casey reinforce DL.”
Lucas smiled, waving as he and a chuckling Casey moved to the ladder. “I have a long memory for disrespect, Dead Boy. Watch your six.”
“I’ll see you shortly, Admiral.”
Nick turned to Johnny and Clint. “Ready boys?”
“Yes, Muerto!” Johnny edged forward but Clint put a restraining hand on his shoulder.
“Let Tonto take point. He’ll give us an indication by stopping with a grunt. Be ready to fire support.” Clint motioned Tonto ahead on point with a hand gesture wavering downward.
Staying low to the deck, Tonto streaked ahead through the open hatch. Nick saw him reach the middle of the large one room observation deck, growl, and leap over the plush couch seating. Three men popped from behind their cover, trying to aim at Tonto streaking to the side. Clint, Johnny, and Nick fired a burst into the men Tonto had forced out. They then ran over to fire a certainty kill shot into each while keeping an eye on Tonto.
“The admiral won’t like all this blood,” Nick said.
“We’ll worry about Admiral Ahab later,” Clint replied. “It’s a good thing you didn’t charge in here, Johnny.”
“I see that. Tonto is the best. He knew to scramble to the side away from the firing line.” Johnny maneuvered amongst the other furniture on the observation deck, checking for anything out of place.
Nick looked down the inner ladder to the amidships deck landing. “Tight space with no line of sight. I don’t like it. We need to flush any birds out of the bush. Hold on to Tonto, Clint. Watch this.”
Nick tossed one of his grenades noisily down the ladder, where it hit the landing, one of the bulkheads, and then slid into the room. “Grenade! Fire in the hole.”
“What the hell? I told you not-” Lucas’s verbal onslaught ended with shouts, screams, and gunfire.
“Guard the ladder, Johnny.”
“On it, Muerto.”
Nick gestured an amused Clint to follow him. He led Clint and Tonto to the outside ladder to the amidships deck where a gun battle raged. “I think the little birdies left the bush.”
*
Lucas, Casey, and I kept watch behind my fort waiting for our cohorts to clear the upper deck. Muffled bursts of silenced MP5 fire announced Nick and company had found some Carone soldiers above us. I heard Nick’s ‘fire in the hole’ shout and Lucas’s enraged retort a second before chaos reigned inside the amidships level. Four men rushed the hatch into our line of sight, firing as they ran. Our return fire cut them down, leaving our outer deck quiet once more. I smiled at Casey next to me.
“Dead Boy! You are on my shit list for that stunt,” Lucas shouted up at Nick who was waving from the ladder.
“He loves that grenade trick,” Casey muttered.
“The trouble with Muerto is we’ll never know whether he pulls the pin or not,” Lucas retorted.
“Who cares?” I earned an immediate slap to the back of my head.
*
“We’re letting Tonto go down the ladder inside, DL, with us following,” Nick announced over the com unit after rejoining Johnny at the inner ladder. “Hold your fire, guys. That goes double for you, Admiral.”
“Blow it out your ass, you disrespectful piss-ant!”
“Understood,” Harding acknowledged, enjoying Nick’s verbal shot.
Clint crouched next to Tonto, pointed downward, and made a circle with his finger in front of the dog’s eyes. Tonto leaped to the amidships landing, only touching the ladder steps twice. He jetted into the interior with his human companions on his tail. Tonto scooted along the deck, alternately leaping over or under the luxurious setting’s furniture. After a complete search of the room, Tonto returned to Clint. Nick retrieved his grenade.
“We’re clear,” Nick said. “Want to jump in the hot tub before we secure the boat?”
“Hey, Sylvio,” Clint said. “Take the minions into the main deck interior and flush the bad guys toward us.”
“Still not funny, prick,” Sylvio said. “We have seen no lights or movement inside, but it’s dark. We have our night-vision goggles on. Do you want us to board on the main deck?”
“No,” Nick said. “Stay aboard the Valkyrie. Keep watch. Don’t fire unless sure of your target. We’ll work our way down and let you know when we clear the main deck. We’ll need you guys to watch our backs while we secure the area below decks.”
“Understood, Muerto,” Sylvio replied.
Inside the amidships deck interior, the men stood near the ladder with backlit rock crystal staircase. Nick shook his head. “Damn… this is one beautiful ship. I don’t know whether the grenade trick will work again.”
Nick retrieved a canister from his pack. Lucas grabbed his arm. “What the hell you doin’ boy?”