Royal Reckoning by Stephanie St. Klaire
19
“Ryker is with Cally still.Ronan is manning the front of the building in full tactical with a team at the ready,” Killion explained. “Liam locked down the building, and he’ll leave it that way. He’s running command until our arrival, and then we’ll tag team it. Dace and Wylie are there for support, and they also called in Gannon and CT.”
Watermark wasn’t just where they worked. It was where they lived with their families – where his family was. It was an all-hands-on-deck ordeal. They were protecting more than a building or each other. CT and Gannon had been working a case with the local police, and they brought her, Detective Truly Payne, to assist with jurisdictional issues and help control the area should an arrest go down and to help clean up anything they didn’t want leaked.
They’d also reached out to friends of BK Security – men they’d worked with in the past while serving their country – people they could count on when they were stretched thin. Their local friend Dr. Rick Mendoza had been working more and more with the Keepers. Once this life was in your blood, it was hard to leave behind. Mendoza was a longtime friend of the O’Reillys, having served with them, then settling in Portland after he’d returned to civilian life as an oncologist at the local university hospital. His ties to the family and BK Security ran deep.
Once you connected with the O’Reillys, you never wandered far. It was like finding your tribe. At least that was the story for Rip, owner of Rose City Ink. He didn’t have the history most Keepers did with them, but he had a similar past that connected them. They were the same breed, made of the same grit. He too often came through the threshold of Watermark Tower and ran a mission or protection detail because it was in him to do so.
The Keepers needed the support. They needed to contain this, and they needed to connect the dots of their enemy so they could adequately fight back and bring him and anyone affiliated with him down. The threat needed to be neutralized. That was their plan. It was shaky, and it wasn’t perfect, but they were fighting blind, and it was the best they had. An army against one. Who knew if there were more? It could be an army against army, and they’d be prepared.
Liam had assigned teams to the surrounding areas as support should their guy turn up on a random city block in Portland. Teams were staged to cover within minutes. There were also snipers on the rooftop, and Rip was on the long gun. Anyone within his range, which was wide, was going down because he never missed. Wit was teamed up with him.
Killion was prepared to run command from outside the building and had deployed his drones to do a full city sweep while Liam was inside running point. It was the biggest showdown they’d had, and there wasn’t a single passerby who knew they were even there. That was how the Keepers worked – under the radar.
Eli and the team didn’t return to Watermark. Instead, they staged across the street in a building the company owned and occupied – they housed many of the Keepers there who remained local as well as clients when needed. It was also a security measure for instances like this. They entered through the underground parking and staged themselves throughout the building, giving themselves multiple vantage points. They could see all around them yet go unseen.
“There’s something here Archer wants,” Killion said through the comms. “He’s here, in Portland, and headed right this way. Son of a bitch landed in our airfield.”
“Who the hell does this guy think he is?” Eli chided. “Iz was right. The guy has a secret, an agenda, and something tells me it’s about to unfold.”
“Stay alert. This assertion of dominant behavior surprises me,” Israel said. “He’s more of a keep your hands clean kind of guy and pay the help to do your dirty work. This is some big balls behavior right now, and I believe it’s out of character for him.”
“Wit? Ry? How are you doing in there?” Eli asked. They were staged with Cally and Penelope inside the building, and they were her protection should the building be breached, and they were found.
“This here’s your captain speaking,” Wit began, heavy on the twang and deep into his own bullshit. “We’re going to need you all to buckle up and hang on tight. This is going to be a bumpy-ass ride. Prepare for a showdown at the BK corral. It’s gonna get uggggg-ly. Don’t worry, folks, the package is secure, and I’ll lay down my life before it’s taken. You can bet your sack on that. So do some push-ups and get pumped ’cause we ’bout to take some bad dudes out.”
“Uh, ditto that?” Ryker said.
“Ah, man. That the best you got?” Wit said for all to hear. “Let’s see some enthusiasm. Let’s get pumped, man. We goin’ to shoot some stuff, brother. Let me hear a yeehaw, brother Ryker.”
Ryker laughed. “Yeeeehaaaaw.”
“There it is, my man. C’mon, team, let’s get dirty. I want a yeehaw.”
There was a rush of camaraderie and unison response of yeehaw through the comms, and it made Eli grin.
“This fucking guy,” he said, shaking his head as he looked at Coy. “That was your friend over there. You brought that here.”
Coy chuckled. “Yeah, but he means what he says, and he’ll die before he loses another friend. He’s the real deal. I’d rather have his crazy ass watching the prize than most anyone.”
“Aw, be still my heart, Coy ole buddy. I didn’t even have to pay you to say that,” Wit said. “I didn’t hear the big guy on the roof. Rip, you wired in? Can you test your comms with a yeehaw?”
“No, I can’t. What are you, captain of the cheer squad?” Rip replied.
“You learn to love me in time. Everyone does. I’m an acquired taste, my mama said,” Wit fired back with a laugh. “You might just need a hug, and I got you, man.”
“You come near me with your hug, and my long gun goes so far up your ass you’ll be spittin’ lead for weeks. We clear, cowboy?” Rip warned.
“Clear as the sky’s blue, buddy. We’ll get there. You’ll see,” Wit assured. “Let’s get serious. Lookin’ out my window here, and we have incoming. Killion, coming up behind you, ’bout a half mile.”
“Copy, Wit. Got them on my screen, coming in hot. I count three vehicles, but two pulled out of the convoy and stayed ahead of the roadblock,” Killion said. “Here we go. I have a fleet of SUVs hell-bent on getting here. They just ran through the detective’s roadblock she had set up. Golden question…who gets out of the car?”
“Be ready to deploy on my mark,” Eli said to the team. “Move at my pace, no surprises.”
The comms went quiet as everyone waited for their orders. Eli was ready to move in from the west side with a team while Ronan and his team held the Watermark lobby, prepared to move in if needed. They had snipers and a long gun on the rooftops of the buildings they occupied. They were ready for whatever was about to roll in and land on their literal doorstep.
The convoy came to a stop in front of Watermark, and nobody moved from either side.
“Everyone in Watermark, move your protection details to the east side of the building and hunker down. These rigs could be packin’ heat,” Eli said, concerned that one of the SUVs could contain explosives, and they had Keeper families inside. “It’s designed to take a hit, but let’s play it safe until we know what we’re working with.”
This was the first time Watermark had been exposed in such a way and threatened. They were always prepared for anything, but this was the kind of shit you couldn’t practice. At this point, they were strictly relying on instinct.
A rear car door opened and outstepped none other than Archer with his hands up in the air. He turned in the street, looking around, unsure where to focus because he clearly knew he was surrounded. He knew he’d flown straight into the middle of the hive.
“I’m not armed,” he said. “I need to talk to Eli. I have information for you.”
Archer continued to stand in the middle of the street, making nervous turns, constantly looking over his shoulder. “Eli, I bring no harm. I need your help. We are both being threatened. I know what happened to Cally.”
That piqued Eli’s curiosity, and he wanted to move in. Through his comms, he said, “Do we have a clear scan of the vehicles yet?”
“So far, clear,” Coy said, taking point on explosives. “I’m not getting a reading on anything unless they have micro explosives on board, and if they do, it can’t hurt us as much as it can hurt them while contained in those vehicles. If I get closer, I can tell you what’s inside, if anything.”
“I’m moving in,” Eli said. “You’re welcome to follow. Ro, watch me from your side.”
“Copy that,” Ronan said as he moved a part of his team outside of Watermark, weapons raised, each focused on a different target.
Eli moved outside the building he was in as well. In perfect synchronization, they pushed forward until they were close enough to have a conversation but far enough away to maintain safety.
“You have something to say to me? You better say it fast,” Eli said. “You have about two minutes before I have your ass hauled down to the police station where they can deal with you.”
“I’ve done nothing, Eli. On what grounds?” Archer spat.
“Grounds that you’re a lying son of a bitch. That was enough for me,” Eli fired back, intentionally riling Archer up. Getting him off balance is what he wanted. He wanted Archer to make a mistake. “You got about a minute thirty seconds left.”
“Oh, you really are timing me. How original. I’m not here as a threat. I’m here to warn you and seek asylum as we have a mutual enemy.”
“Asylum? Do I look like Lady Liberty? I can’t grant asylum.” Eli laughed.
“You know what I mean. I need your protection. I have information you need, and you have the kind of protection I need. Do we have a deal?” Archer asked, looking around, seeming more nervous. “And can we move this inside? We aren’t safe out here.”
“No, you can’t go inside. You have about a minute left, Arch.”
“Jesus. You really are going to play hardball. Fine. There’s someone after you, your family, and the endgame is the throne.”
“You just earned yourself another minute, mate,” Eli said. “Keep talking.”
“That was why I was in New York. I learned the threat was viable, and I went to intercept, but he’d already reached Penelope.” Archer stopped and looked around again, lowering his hands slowly. “He could be watching right now, and if he sees me talking to you, he’ll kill both of us.”
“I’m not worried. I got a fancy jacket on that protects me and a helmet on my head, along with a bunch of men and women in the same getup all around me ready to fire on my behalf. I’m feeling pretty safe…and confident.”
“Well, you shouldn’t. He knows everything. He’s been tracking you for years – the entire royal family, actually. He wants it all. He wants the money, and he wants the throne.”
“The throne is powerless anymore.”
“Not necessarily. It can overturn the proclamation and take senior power again, leaving the parliament powerless instead.”
“Medaro has little international influence. The power is limited to Medaro,” Eli fired back. “What’s your endgame, Arch? Your time is up.”
“I don’t have an endgame other than to marry your sister, and I don’t want her home until it’s safe,” Archer said.
“Flip of a switch,” Israel said under his breath, just loud enough for the team to hear through comms. “He’s being deceptive. He’s afraid alright, though.”
“You don’t care about my sister.”
“I do. Maybe not in a traditional sense, but I do believe we care for each other as friends, and that was enough for me.”
“He’s lying,” Israel said once more.
Eli heard him. “My sister isn’t marrying you. In fact, that’s what she’s been doing while here. Fixing it so she doesn’t have to, unraveling shitty business deals, making sure you go away and so does your whole damn family.”
“She can’t.” Archer panicked. “She can’t do that. It’s too dangerous. They’ll kill her. They’ll kill all of you.”
“He’s getting desperate,” Israel said. “Everyone watch your back. He’s getting hot.”
“And Cally. She’s still in danger. Imminent danger…” A loud whistle cut through the air, and Archer let out a haunting moan as he grasped his chest, and blood began to stain through his clothing. A loud, distant crack followed.
“Gun!” Eli yelled as they all retreated against the buildings. All but Eli. “Find the shooter. Where’s it coming from? Look up. Look up.”
Eli kneeled next to where Archer had fallen. “Shit. He’s bleeding out. We need a medic. Call it in.”
Archer lay on the ground, eyes wide as the vehicles that brought him there peeled out and left when they realized what was going on around them.
“What about Cally, Archer?” Eli questioned, desperate to get answers.
“Rogue operative. He’s going to kill all of us,” Archer said, gasping between words. “He’s here. He’s…”
Archer began to shake. A gurgling sound escaped him, and Eli grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket. “What about Cally? Dammit. Tell me.”
“Storm,” Archer said. “Storm is coming.”
“What the bloody hell are you talking about? Tell me about Cally,” Eli demanded, screaming at Archer. When Archer didn’t answer, Eli began to bang Archer’s body against the pavement. “Fucking tell me. You don’t get to die.”
Coy put a hand on Eli’s shoulder. “Stop. You’re not helping. Let these guys work.”
Ronan and Gannon had approached with a medic kit and went to work, trying to keep Archer alive until the ambulance arrived. They heard it in the distance, but it wasn’t enough.
Ronan looked at Eli, and Eli snapped. “Don’t say it, man. Don’t fucking say it. Save him. I need to know.”
“I got a roof jumper,” Rip said through the comms. “Six blocks south. He hasn’t seen me yet, but he sees you, Eli. Gun.”
“Get out of the street!” Wit yelled through the comms. “Got him in my sights too. Get out of the street. I’m coming up, Rip. Package is safe here.”
Eli stood and turned, facing the direction of the assumed shooter.
“Come for me!” he screamed. “Come for me, you coward son of a bitch!”
“Shit,” Rip said. “What the hell are you doing, Eli? Dammit. He’s been made and on the move. I have the shot.”
When Eli didn’t reply with an order to fire, Wit took matters into his own hands. “Take it, Rip. Take the shot. Get the son of a bitch.”
Another crack in the air was followed by silence as they each waited to hear if they had a body to recover or a rogue operative, as Archer put it, to hunt down.
“It’s a hit, but the threat is not neutralized,” Rip said. “He’s on the move. Move in. I’m on your tail. Don’t let him get away. Box him in.”
“Eli,” Israel said, pulling his hand away from his arm, revealing a bloodied wound and wincing in pain. “He’s not the shooter. I took Archer’s bullet. It came from the north. He was shot in the back – shooter is north.”
“Rip!” Eli yelled. “North. The shooter is north. What do you see?”
Rip hunched back down on the rooftop and began to scan all areas from the north as Wit burst through the door and slid on his knees next to Rip.
“I got east, you go west,” Wit said. “Meet in the middle.”
“Copy,” Rip said.
The two men began to scan, slowly and methodically, searching for as far as they could see with their scopes, ready to take out anything that moved just right.
“Drones sweeping,” Killion said. “I have a hot one northeast.”
Killion rattled off coordinates, and Wit called it. “It’s mine. I got it on my side. I don’t see him yet. Distance?”
Killion gave him the information he needed to find what the drone had shown them. When Killion had visual through the video feed, he yelled, “Bridge!”
“Bridge. Copy that,” Wit said, scanning the only bridge they could see clearly from their perspective. Portland was the city of bridges, but from their vantage point and the way the river curved, there was only one option that the shooter could have used to hit right in front of Watermark Tower. “Got him. I got him. He’s disappearing into the crowd. I don’t think that was our guy. No weapon that I can see.”
Portland was under fire as more shots rang out, and everyone waited for the fallout.
“Gah,” Wit yelled. “I’ve been hit. Shit. I’ve been hit. I don’t have a lock on anyone.”
“Shit,” Rip said, looking at Wit. He ripped off part of Wit’s T-shirt and used it to put pressure on his wound. “The guy dipped into a crowd down under the bridge by the waterfront. He’s clean. Keep looking, Killion. He sees us, but we don’t see him. We need medics up here right away. Cowboy’s bleeding out pretty good.”
“I got another drone up here, and it isn’t mine,” Killion said. “It’s loaded. There’s our shooter.”
Eli stood in the middle of the street, covered in Archer's blood, as operatives tore past him. Some were running south to assist with the first outlier they got a hit on. The rest were headed north to find the one who took out Archer and hit two of their own…or a drone that did, anyway.
He was empty. Blank stare. Unfeeling. He’d done this. He’d brought this to their team, their family, to their streets. Everyone had been put on the line because of him, and now their blood was on his hands. Eli was losing. He was losing fast. And if he wasn’t careful, he’d lose the only thing he had left to lose. Cally.