Crossing Savage Read Online Free Page A

who follow the words of the Prophet.”
    â€œI am Kaseem. You have our money and transportation ready?”
    â€œAll is proceeding according to plan. Are the Claymores armed?”
    â€œYes, just as we were instructed. I have the detonator.” Kaseem produced a small remote control device from his waist belt.
    â€œVery good. Keep your men tightly positioned with the hostages, just in case some macho policeman barges in here trying to be a hero. I will go back out and make a show of our negotiations and explain to the local police captain that you and your men and a handful of hostages will be escorted by me and my team to awaiting transportation. He may object, but he has no authority in the matter. I will calm him by explaining that you have agreed to release the remaining hostages at the airport.
    â€œI will return in ten minutes with six of my men. Together we will bind the hostages and then place the Claymores. Two minutes after we leave the room you will detonate the mines. The explosion will confuse the police and soldiers and aid our escape. Your money will be waiting in the escape vehicles.”
    With his brief instructions issued, Major Muriel turned smartly and left the room. Kaseem quickly faced back toward the group of hostages and ordered his men to pull in tight near the terrified scientists and engineers. If they were stormed, either through the main entrance doors or from the back by the stage, no one would dare shoot for fear of killing a hostage.
    Muriel walked down the hallway, and as he reached the staircase to the lobby, Captain Ortiz intercepted him. “Sir, what did they say?”
    â€œThe terrorists repeated their demands, but the hostages are all in good condition. Keep your men posted here and stay alert. I will communicate the situation to my commanding officer and will return shortly. Captain, do not leave your post. Is that understood?”
    â€œYes, sir!”
    Major Muriel proceeded down the staircase. When he reached the bottom, he turned toward the lobby door and removed a small transmitter from his breast pocket. It was a small black plastic device with a single button—just like the one Kaseem had shown him. Muriel pushed a toggle switch on the side of the transmitter to the on position and a tiny red LED illuminated. Then he moved his thumb to the button and, without a further thought, pressed it.
    The result was instantaneous. There was a deafening sound followed immediately by the blast wave. In the meeting room, all four of the Claymores strapped to the bodies of the terrorists simultaneously detonated, sending their deadly volley of steel balls ripping through the hostages as if they were made of paper.
    The terrorist themselves were killed instantly by the force of the explosives; many of the hostages were not so lucky.
    The police officers in the hall outside the meeting room panicked. The blast and the steel balls were not contained by the flimsy walls of the meeting room. Three officers were on the floor, bleeding from leg wounds where shrapnel had torn into their flesh. The two officers standing guard at the entry doors lay dead, having been hit in the head and back by the doors when they were blasted from their hinges and hurled into the hall.
    In the ensuing confusion Major Muriel calmly walked out of the hotel and into a waiting white Mercedes sedan parked around the corner on Avenue Casanova. He sat in the back seat and closed the door, then instructed his driver to take him to the safe house. His mission was completed exactly as planned.
    Inside the conference room the scene was horrendous. Chairs were thrown about; papers littered the floor. A crystal chandelier dangled precariously from the ceiling, with most of the light bulbs shattered. Blood splattered the walls, and the carpet was soaked with more blood and gore. Bodies were scattered haphazardly.
    Jeremy was lying on his stomach. He hurt in too many places, and he could not feel his legs.