Free Black Flagged Apex by Steven Konkoly Page A

I'm clearing the team. Keep your eyes glued to that screen," Luke said.
    He pressed a small button attached to a wire connecting his earpiece to a handheld VHF radio clipped to his belt.
    "Room looks clear for entry. No obstructions. Three targets facing away from door. All identities confirmed. Upon entry you'll find el-Masri on the left, Hassan in the middle and Akhnaten on the right. Police channels are clear. They're roughly four minutes into prayer. Do you want to breach while they're on the floor?" Luke said.
    "They're praying, right?" Hubner whispered.
    "Yes. But the prayer cycle involves standing, kneeling, prostrating. Your choice," Luke replied.
    "We'll take prostrated. Charges are set. Ready to go when they hit the floor," Hubner said.
    "Stand by."
    Fortier moved from his chair to a position directly behind Banergee and Batista, cramming himself against the side of the van behind their chairs and leaning forward until he could see the middle screen between their heads. Watching a live operation was an extremely rare event, and he had no intention of missing this one. Petrovich's reputation for ruthless brutality far preceded him, and given this terrorist cell's intentions, he hoped Petrovich wouldn't disappoint them.
    "Put this on speaker," he said to Batista.
    He watched the three men stand up as Quranic verses suddenly filled the van. He pressed the talk button for his handheld radio.
    "Five seconds estimated. Three. Two. Breach!" he hissed.
    The apartment door exploded inward just as the three terrorists touched their foreheads to the floor. Petrovich slid into view first, with a suppressed pistol extended forward. Luke heard the distinctive pop of the suppressor as the screen became a tangle of human bodies vying for physical dominance. When the action settled, the three suspected terrorists were arranged neatly in a line, secured tightly to chairs taken from the kitchen table. One of them, possibly Akhnaten, was bleeding profusely from a shoulder wound. A thick line of silver duct tape crossed each of their mouths.
    "Christ. That was quick. I wouldn't have wanted to be on the wrong side of that door," Luke said.
    "This crew doesn't fuck around," Batista said incredulously.
    **
    Petrovich glanced back at the door, which remained open. Hubner caught his glance and quickly slammed it shut, relocking the knob. They hadn't detected a deadbolt, so it turned out to be one of the easiest breach jobs yet. A simple lock-pick exercise and a kick. They had considered using a charge just to further disorient the three men, but given the fact that the men would be deep in prayer, they had opted for the quietest entry possible to avoid a call to the police. The apartment building on Jugenheim was different than Mazari's. The hallway extended the length of the building, giving them less privacy.
    Once the door was shut, Farrington nodded to Hubner, who would lead the interrogation. Neither Farrington nor Petrovich could speak German, which was the only language beyond Arabic that was listed on their human resources files at DBM. Farrington suspected that their German would be rough, but given the fact that nobody on Farrington's team spoke Arabic, German would be their only common ground. Luke's team had a sophisticated translation program, but they wanted to keep this a secret from the men for now. Huebner addressed Hassan in German.
    "Naeem Hassan, I will make this very simple for you. You have been betrayed by those you trusted. They led us directly to your apartment."
    Petrovich studied their eyes. Hassan and el-Masri kept the same defiant sneer. Akhnaten's grimace of pain didn't shift, though he didn't exude the same purposeful menace as his co-conspirators. He was slowly bleeding to death from the bullet that shattered his shoulder.
    "Your brothers in America have all been killed, and the virus canisters that you shipped to them have been stolen. This had been their plan all along. You were pawns in their game. Your