horn. “C’mon, Chicken Little. Be a man. Move your ass.”
“Easy with the horn.”
“This guy’s gotta be the only idiot in Karachi who doesn’t push through a yellow light.”
“We’ll be okay,” said Harvath. “Let’s just not draw attention to ourselves.”
Chase tried to steer around him, but there wasn’t enough room.
“Not good,” Sloane stated from the backseat.
“Everybody, stay calm,” Harvath instructed. He didn’t like the idea of being separated from the motorcade or the rest of his team either, but there was no use blowing their cover. They’d been very careful and had made sure not to get too close, repeatedly switching positions. The ISI was well trained and would be looking for a tail. There was also no telling how many of the motorbikes or scooters zipping through traffic might have been spotters.
Before he could finish his sentence, a massive truck came barreling through the intersection and slammed right into the car carrying the Peshmerga fighters.
CHAPTER 4
* * *
* * *
Go, go, go!” Harvath shouted as Yaqub’s motorcade began to speed away.
Chase rolled into the car in front of them and then stepped on the gas. The tires of their heavy SUV smoked as he pushed the smaller vehicle into the intersection.
“Contact left!” Sloane yelled as gunfire erupted between the Peshmerga fighters and eight armed men who had leaped out of the truck.
Picking up Chase’s rifle, Harvath shouted out what he wanted. They weren’t going to leave any of their team to die.
Chase braked and pulled the steering wheel hard to the left. The large SUV skidded sideways and as it did, Harvath and Sloane aimed their suppressed weapons out the window. Coming parallel across the intersection with the truck that had plowed into their Peshmergas, they began firing.
The compact MP7s Harvath and Sloane had brought were personal defense weapons designed for close-in work. They fired the HK 4.6x30mm round, renowned for its ability to penetrate body armor. In order to have further reach, Harvath had grabbed Chase’s Hoplite. It was a lightweight, concealable “truck gun” built by a company called Citizen Arms. The extremely accurate rifle fired the 5.56 round and was made even more effective by its Aimpoint Micro T-1 quickfire red dot sight. Sloane took the attackers closest to them and Harvath focused on the ones farther away.
Harvath dropped the first man he fired on and then readjusted and took down a second. Sloane nailed one in the throat and a second with a headshot. The attackers moved to take cover behind their vehicle. As they did, Harvath and Sloane continued to fire. It gave the Peshmergas enough time to move to a better position. The last man on their team punctuated the fight by throwing a fragmentation grenade into the attackers’ truck.
“Grenade!” Harvath yelled. “Go, go, go!”
Chase stepped on the gas and sped out of the intersection just as the grenade detonated. Windows shattered behind them and a massive column of fire raced up into the night sky. Within seconds, shards of debris rained down on the roof of their SUV like a metallic hailstorm.
Harvath and Sloane had cut the team who ambushed their Peshmergas in half and had helped them get out of the kill zone. If any of the attackers had survived the grenade attack, they were going to wish they hadn’t. Right now, some very pissed-off Peshmergas would be enacting their revenge. They wouldn’t stop until all of their attackers were dead. Once they were, the Peshmergas would disappear into the night. They’d split up and regroup at their own safe house outside the city. Within twenty-four hours they’d be out of the country. Harvath had no further use for them. They were compromised. He was moving to his contingency plan.
Somehow, the Peshmergas had been spotted. Did the ISI also know about Harvath, Sloane, and Chase? Did they have another ambush planned? There was no way to know. They had to remain ready for anything. Better yet, they needed to spring their own trap before Yaqub’s ISI handlers could get him to safety. No doubt, they were already on their cell phones summoning reinforcements and putting the entire city on alert.
Harvath radioed his motorcycle team and plotted their location on his map of Karachi. The ISI wouldn’t be taking Yaqub back to the same safe house. They’d use an alternate. Not that it mattered. Harvath planned to hit their motorcade within the next three blocks. They couldn’t let Yaqub get away.