Guns for Hire - Script Sixty Seven
Route 1 West, Nueva Helvecia 11.57pm 02/12/17
Facing the way they'd come Vrasten was the first to spot the following San José de Mayo Police, quietly he spoke into the comm's to let the others know.
The kidnappers leader & spokesman meanwhile, Tau Marchegiano as he declared himself, looked past Alex a the approaching lights & spoke,
"Look
lady, I'll be straight, this is getting' way to complicated, I'm reckonin' you
don't wanna wait for these fuckers to join the party an' we all got places we
wanna be, we got maybe two, three minutes max before this gets messy. How about
your agreeing to us all slippin' away, we got a place not too far away where
maybe we can sought this out peaceable like"
Listening on the exchange Vrasten nodded acquiescence, over the comm's T-Bird & Skinpin agreed, Alex replied to Marchegiano,
"Fine, but try anything shitty . . . . "
To emphasize her intentions she withdrew her MAC 14 from her bag & waved it in the direction of Marchegiano,
"Kapeesh, comprehend"
Marchegiano immediately ordered his two remaining accomplices to get Satish out of their vehicle, it was well & truly shot to shit. Alex gestured to the car stolen by Vrasten slew across the lane in front of the kidnappers car,
"In there please"
Vrasten quickly slipped back behind the wheel whilst Marchegiano dropped into the front passenger seat directing his accomplices to take the back seat withSatish sandwiched between them.
Back in the hire car, T-Bird slid over into the driver's seat with Alex riding shotgun. Skinpin remained in the back seat peering out of the rear screen at the rapidly closing emergency services.
Route 1 West, Nueva Helvecia 11.59pm 02/12/17
Vrasten accelerated forward, in the rear view mirror he could see the others close on his tail. Glancing to his right he eyed up Marchegiano before asking,
"So where we going dickwad ?"
In response Marchegiano told him to just drive & keep following the road towards Colonia del Sacramento. Across his lap pointing in Vrasten's general direction was foreshortened custom Kalashnikov A81. Vrasten equally looking to piss further eased his Colt AMT2000 from under his coat to balance on the steering column.
Route 1 West, Nueva Helvecia 12.06am 03/12/17
Inside the following hire car Alex, T-Bird & Skinpin listened via the comm's units to the terse conversation between Vrasten & his passengers. From the rear Skinpin confirmed that police vehicles were just a distant glow, presumably having stopped to investigate the abandoned & shot up kidnapper's car. Alex urged T-Bird to keep as close as he could.
Route 1 West, Nueva Helvecia 12.23am 03/12/17
Fifteen
minutes or so later Marchegiano told Vrasten that in a couple of miles there
would be a turning on the left he needed to take just before a motel, the Camino
de Palmeras. In the tailing car T-Bird accelerated passed the stolen car muttering
about not being lead along like no fucking pussy.
In the former lead car Vrasten tensed slightly anticipating some sort of reaction, when there was nothing he continued to follow Marchegiano instructions.
Route 1 West, Nueva Helvecia 12.29am 03/12/17
Four miles down the road Alex spotted a cruddy neon sign at the side of the road advertising rooms at the Camino de Palmeras, just before the rundown motel she heard Vrasten acknowledging Marchegiano's instructions to take the next left.
Slowing T-Bird pulled onto what was really no more than a well compacted dirt track, there was a small sign informing all that the road lead to the Laguna de los Patos Aeropuerto. Afew dim lights could be seen off to both sides of the track hinting a buildings somewhere across the sugarcane fields.
A second sign warned that the road ended around two miles ahead as beyond was the Río de la Plata.
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 12.31am 03/12/17
Vrasten
echoing Marchegiano's instructions for the benefit of listening Alex, T-Bird
& Skinpin in the lead car, followed Marchegiano's instructions as he told Vrasten
to head along the track for around three quarters of mile where he'd see a entrance
on the right. As they neared the airport entrance they passed several of what
Vrasten assumed to be small farm houses on either side of the track from whose
windows the lights seen earlier were now clearly visible.
Slowing as the brake lights on the hire car in front came on Vrasten tailed T-Bird as he was turned into the unlit airfield entrance. Following Vrasten in T-Bird could see the shadow of a barn type building on his right, presumably a hanger. On his left was a smaller low level building which he guessed was supposed to be the terminal come café come customs building. Both buildings were in complete darkness.
Driving between the two buildings T-Bird felt the car run off loose stone onto concrete. Passing the building on his left he & the others were suddenly aware of a sleek twin rear engine executive jet sitting on the apron, from its open door & windows light spilled forth. Beyond the Embraer Legacy L660SS Skinpin could see the silhouette of a small squat structure, possibly an excuse for a control tower. Ignoring the aircraft for the moment Alex suggested pulling up in front of the closed hanger doors, Vrasten drew to a halt behind & killed the engine. In the absence of any external lighting on the buildings he left the head lights on full beam as had T-Bird. At least between both sets of lights, the aircraft's lights & the new crescent moon they weren't in complete darkness.
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 12.36am 03/12/17
As Vrasten stepped out of the driver's door Marchegiano emerged from the front passenger side & slung the chopped rifle over his shoulder. The two goons in the rear stayed where they were for the moment still with Satish trapped between them, whilst in Vrasten's opinion Satish wasn't unconscious Vrasten reckoned he'd been doctored to keep him quiet.
Ahead of Vrasten & Marchegiano both Alex & T-Bird opened their respective doors & climbed out of the hire car, for the moment Skinpin stayed where he was in the rear.
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 12.37am 03/12/17
Marchegiano sighed & took a few steps forward arms spread wide to show he just wanted to talk. Alex stayed where she was using the open car door as part cover just in case it kicked off.
"So mystery lady how's this gonna go ? You want him dead, we wanna take him for ride somewhere nice, maybe we could agree terms"
Before they could discuss business further Marchegiano looked towards the waiting jet, T-Bird on getting out of the hire car had begun to sidle around & away from both cars to get a better view or if required field of fire, he was carrying his A81 loosely in the most non aggressive way he could.
"If that cuntfucker takes one more step towards that plane I will personally shit down his dead fuckin' throat" suggested Marchegiano "it is distinctly not fuckin' cool"
T-Bird with slightly more tact than Alex generally gave him credit for shrugged, smiled & went no further.
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 12.38am 03/12/17
Alex, despite her & Vrasten's initial reaction to the kidnapping outside of the apartments in San José de Mayo, in reality was actually as keen as Marchegiano to try & end this without bloodshed, everything had happened to fast & she & the others weren't ready for this. OK, so they were armed &, albeit lightly, armoured, but they were distinctly not battle ready. This wasn't planned & had the prospects of going distinctly tits up.
"Maybe" asked Marchegiano, "maybe I could buy you off, maybe for let's say for five hundred big ones you & your pretty boys could just go fuck off somewhere sunny"
Alex
smiled,
"Maybe we can keep talking"
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 12.40am 03/12/17
As thier exchange continued Vrasten casually dipped his hands in his pockets. As usual there were several small but nasty frag grenades nestled in the lining, he figured that if it came to it he could really mess up that pretty plane pretty bad from where he was standing.
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 12.41am 03/12/17
As Marchegiano continued to talk Alex realised that what he could offer them financially wasn't going to get anywhere near what they hoped to recover from Lynch for pulling this off however she suddenly thought that maybe Lynch could offer this fucker more than he was earning for this little jolly, well maybe more than enough to make it worth his while risking taking a bullet or three.
"OK, fella, you won't tell me who's yanking your dick & I sure as fuck ain't gonna tell ya who's poking us but maybe I could get our man to talk Benjamin's with you, interested ?"
For a moment Marchegiano considered the options before nodding acquiescence to Alex's suggestion.
Seeing this maybe as a way to resolve matters without too much bloodshed Alex delicately removed her mobile from her purse & speed dialled Lynch. It took longer than she would have liked before he answered but eventually an out of breath Lynch picked up th call. Alex briefly explained their predicament before tossing the phone to Marchegiano.
Marchegiano listened intently to whatever Lynch had to say before responding,
"Three million US dollars gets you what you want"
With that he flicked the phone back to Alex.
On
the other end of the phone Lynch suggested she pay the man.
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 12.49am 03/12/17
Marchegiano watched intently as Miss Titty spoke to the wanker on the other end of the phone. He could hear the reticence in her responses as she argued her case. On a scale of one to ten it sounded like a big fat fuck all. Shrugging he dragged the A81 of his shoulder & squeezed the trigger.
Out of the corner of her eye Alex saw death spitting in her direction, without hesitation she dropped the phone on the hood of the hire car & ripped her MAC 14 from where she'd dropped it on the front passenger seat.
Ignored, forgotten & unheard Lynch's voice went unanswered on the other end of the phone.
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 12.50am 03/12/17
As hot slugs hammered into Alex she returned the gift tenfold & peppered Marchegiano from the MAC. Fortunately for both they were equally shielded by the open doors of thier respective vehicles & both apparently had the added protection of Skinweave however it did nothing for the appearance of Alex's patent leather shoulder bag.
Across the apron T-Bird glanced at the two goons emerging from the rear seat of the kidnappers saloon noting that the bastard on the opposite side of the car, behind Marchegiano, was dragging Satish with him. Surprisingly however he ignored the nearest exposed goon & ripped off a burst of 10mm slugs towards the open door of the waiting executive jet convinced he'd seen somebody peering out of the shadowed opening.
Vrasten, frag grenade already in hand, wasted no time in joining T-Bird in targeting the aircraft & bowled the live grenade across the concrete, as it rolled under the nose of the plane it exploded showering the belly of the aircraft's cockpit & front undercarriage with steel shards.
As Alex & Marchegiano continued to exchange presents T-Bird for definite spotted a figure peering out of the Legacy's open front hatch, emptying the remains of the H&K MP2013 submachinegun's clip towards the doorway he hastily dragged his Militech LzS from his holster.
Ruzzier slipped out of the back of the car leaving Lefevre to drag the stooge behind him. For a moment he thought about sticking a blade into the neck of the fucker who'd driven the car, what had he called himself when Marchegiano had asked him, Vrasten, yeah that was it. From the look of him a fucking cop if ever there was one, piece of no good shit more like. From the driver's side of the car he heard Marchegiano bellowing to get the target to the plane, nursing his right shoulder from the shot he'd taken back in town as they'd fled the scene Ruzzier just had time to think lucky bastard as he dived around the back of the car. As he ran he indiscriminately emptied the H&K MPK-9 clip over his shoulder in the general direction of the fucker stood halfway to the plane.
Behind Marchegiano Lefevre emerged from the back seat & took stock, he'd heard Marchegiano's orders but he wanted payback, the fuckers had shot & killed his long time drinking buddy Arden Bethea as they'd grabbed the target & driven away. He didn't know which of the cunts had done it but figured taking out the bitch queen would somewhat even the score. Grinning he raised & pointed his empty right hand at her & activated the sheathed micro missile buried under the synthetic Real-Skin of his right forearm, targeted the bitch & fired.
As Alex tried to conceal herself behind the open car door she was horrified to see the trail of the micro missile heading towards her, it was point blank, it couldn't fucking miss, as it hit her she prayed that the already peppered Skinweave was enough.
T-Bird
again fired into the open hatch but was unsure if he'd found flesh, at the very
least he reckoned he'd stop the fuckers using the plane to fly. It was at the
point that his legs disappeared from beneath him. As he spun around under the
impact force of the slugs he saw the look of horror on Vrasten's face. At first,
mistakenly as it turned out, he thought it was sympathy for a wounded comrade,
it was only then that he realised Vrasten was scrabbling on the floor for the
dropped grenade that had rolled under the adjacent car. Before T-Bird had chance
to consider the consequences of this for Vrasten he was hit by the second micro
missile from Lefevre's left arm. After that he didn't care what happened to
Vrasten, he also didn't see who or what his final shots had hit.
Reloaded, deafened & somehow still alive Alex pulled the mangled passenger side car door of its hinges & looked for a target. Marchegiano was running for the plane, for some reason, & she couldn't work out why, the car from which Satish had been dragged was now rolling over onto its side towards the darkened hanger whilst Vrasten was traveling horizontally in the opposite direction. As he hit the deck the pressure wave of the grenade going off under the car hit her equally knocking her off her feet.
Vrasten new he'd fucked up, as he curled himself into a ball he could feel shrapnel from the fragmentation grenade working its way into & through his polymer reinforced skin. Thankfully the car had absorbed the bulk of the blast but fuck it was still gonna hurt in the morning. Then he hit the concrete hard.
For a moment Alex fervently wished she'd loaded up the Ingram with the HEIAP slugs they'd packed but then this was supposedly such a simple operation, fly somewhere sunny, collect Dr Death, fly home, collect one million dollars, what could be fucking easier than that. Fuck it thought Alex as she emptied the next clip towards Marchegiano & his fleeing accomplices doing her best not to hit Skinpin as he scuttled across the concrete to the prostrate & bloody T-Bird.
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 12.50am 03/12/17
Lefevre, trusting his cyber enhancements would deal with any incoming fire, did what he was supposed to do, under one arm he dragged the stumbling target, under the other he did his best to support Ruzzier, he reckoned it was probably too late to save him. He'd felt Ruzzier's body jerk as the slugs had ripped into his friends spine & legs, seconds later he felt & ignored the impact of further shots hit his own back. Regrettably however the shots that ripped into the stooge weren't so easily dismissed. Immediately he felt the life slip out of the target.
Marchegiano sprinted for the plane knowing that his client would not be best pleased, this was meant to be a simple recovery operation; so far he was at least two good men down, the plane was hit & fuck knew if Baraja & Janssen were still alive or would be even able to get the bird off the ground. As he crossed the halfway point to the plane he passed the slumped figure of T-Bird on the concrete, small conciliation thought Marchegiano but at least he looks fucked. Glancing ahead he saw Lefevre stop in his tracks & both Ruzzier as well as the target slump to the ground, game over thought Marchegiano.
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 12.51am 03/12/17
For a moment everything seemed to stop, in Alex's hands the barrel of the Ingram almost glowed. Ears ringing from the earlier explosion she saw Satish slump to the ground, almost immediately Marchegiano slowed his charge towards the waiting plane & turned to face her. She couldn't hear what he shouted but the sentiment was clear. Game over. Nodding in agreement she mouther agreement & dropped her SMG through the space recently occupied by the front windshield. In her deafened state she totally failed to hear her phone announcing an incoming call.
On
the ground she could see Skinpin trying to stem the bleeding from T-Bird's multiple
wounds as well as Vrasten attempting to pull himself together, maybe, she wondered,
it was time to reconsider going solo.
Leaving Marchegiano to deal with his own crew Alex joined Vrasten in assisting Skinpin as he tried to save T-Bird's life. Skinpin wasn't convinced he wasn't going to bleed out or go into hypovolemic shock,
"Look, it's pretty fucking simples really, he needs an IV line & he needs surgery pretty fucking quick or he's in a fucking body bag. As it stands he's definitely on the edge, I'm doing what I can but I'm not geared up for this"
From past experience both Vrasten & Alex new just how good a battlefield paramedic Skinpin was, if Skinpin was worried then it was time to order a wreath.
Surprisingly their former antagonist threw T-Bird a lifeline. Marchegiano had no real ill feeling towards Vrasten, T-Bird, Alex & Skinpin, they'd all had a job to do & shitty as it was they'd come out on top, sort off, he hadn't. His current patron might not be full of beans over how things had panned out but shit happens, they'd just have to get over it. To that end he waved a hand towards Skinpin & then in the general direction of the plane suggesting Skinpin would find IV crystalloid lines, adrenalin shots & triage supplies inside, after all he added gesturing at the cooling body of his medic, Ruzzier, on the concrete,
"He ain't got no more use for it"
Skinpin muttered his thanks & quickly ransacked the offered medical supplies, it wasn't perfect but at least it would give T-Bird a fighting chance of making it to the meat factory.
With Skinpin playing doctor Alex & Vrasten did their best to stem the bleeding from their own not inconsiderate injuries.
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 1.07pm 03/12/17
Vrasten,
keeping an eye on Marchegiano & his remaining crew, watched as they bagged the
body of the dead medic & field dressed their own bloody wounds.
Two additional opo's had appeared post cessation of hostilities from within the aircraft so there was now, discounting the dead, one here & one back in San José de Mayo, four left alive. Presumably these two were the Legacy's flight crew. One of them, Efren Barajas according to his tag had been shot in the cheek & left arm, the second, addressed as Janssen, seemed to be limping heavily although Vrasten couldn't see any blood on his fatigues.
Before Marchegiano's squad could bag the remains of Gopala Satish Vrasten took a photo of his corpse as proof of his demise.
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 1.16pm 03/12/17
Between the three of them Skinpin, Alex & Vrasten ensconced the unconscious & doped T-Bird onto the back seat of the hire car. The vehicle had not gone unscathed in the close quarter fire fight, there were at least thirty bullet holes & a shattered front windshield plus they weren't quite sure where the passenger side rear door had ended up. Skinpin added that he thought it'd probably need a re-spray as well or they might struggle to get their deposit back.
Whilst they were sorting themselves out Marchegiano & his remaining crew were doing what they could to make the Embraer Legacy L660SS flyable if not airworthy. Vrasten didn't hold up much hope for their efforts.
Whilst Vrasten checked over the state of the cars engine Alex put a call into Teodozji Bembeneck at the Canelones airport to let them know they were on route but had casualties. Bembeneck wasn't impressed by the news but confirmed that the flight plan was logged in readiness of their arrival. He also promised to arrange access away from the civilian terminal but suggested Alex should call again when they were close.
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 1.19pm 03/12/17
Vrasten crossed his fingers & turned the ignition key, amazingly it started. It didn't sound too clever, there was a smell of burnt oil & they might need to piss in radiator if they intended driving far but he thought maybe he could limp it back as far as the last town they'd bypassed, Nueva Helvecia, or if not at least as far as the motel they'd seen just passed the turning for the airfield.
As Skinpin finished rigging up a drip in the rear of the car Alex walked around to the front passenger seat, her ears were still ringing & her vision was slightly blurry but she felt better than Vrasten looked who was a jigsaw of cuts & bruises plus the fragmentation grenade had done nothing for his dress sense, his clothing was shredded.
Brushing the shattered glass of the front passenger seat Alex contemplated calling Lynch back to give him the good news. Glancing skyward however confusion reigned as she watched the intermittent glow beyond the hanger.
Laguna
de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 1.22pm 03/12/17
"Jesus on a fucking stick" moaned Alex, "we got friggin' company"
Laguna de Los Patos Aeropuerto, Colonia del Sacramento 1.23pm 03/12/17
In the heady adrenalin rush of the fire fight all had apparently forgotten the earlier police presence on Route 1, that or they'd assumed that it was a problem left behind, unfortunately it looked like the local law enforcers hadn't gone back for doughnuts.
Under direction from Alex Vrasten tentatively eased the limping hire car over the concrete edging & into the small deserted parking lot around the far side of the hanger hoping that the police vehicle would approach the plane & its inhabitants allowing them to slip away quietly. Unfortunately it wasn't going to be that easy.
Glancing towards the stationary & silent plane Skinpin pointed out that Marchegiano had presumably ordered the aircraft's lights be killed at first sign of the approaching officers. The only illumination on the apron now came from the headlights of the first patrol car that were trained on the stationary jet & from a hand directed spotlight which swept across the overturned kidnappers car as well as the blood & debris from the fire-fight.
From
behind the hanger all three of them could see a second patrol car creeping onto
airfield access drive & a third unit parked blocking their escape route onto
the single track road 
Looking into the darkness around them they could see several curtain shrouded
lights across the fields, they'd spotted these on the way in as they'd passed
several small holdings however the overgrown, tree dotted & rubble strewn ground
looked way beyond what the shot up hire cars suspension could deal with.
For a instant Alex wondered about making a break away from the main highway but then recalled the sign at the airfield turning warning that the track was a dead end beyond which the waters of the Río de la Plata lapped.
"Any fucker got any bright ideas ?" whispered Alex.