The large flood lights from the police boat lit up the night. It raced towards its target with siren blaring. Assault Team One was hanging onto the front of the boat rail with their legs so that they could keep their weapons ready. The light from the boat cast long shadows through the marina.
One body was motionless lying on the deck of the target boat, while, in the shadows, Agent Rodriguez could see another person moving. Just yards away, the boat pilot announced into the load speaker. “Federal Agents! Put your chest on the deck and your hands out!”
Before a collision could occur, the pilot slammed the throttle in reverse, expertly coming to stop just feet from the dock.
With her revolver ready, Rodriguez yelled. “Cover me! I’m going in!” Using the boats forward momentum, she jumped, launching herself towards the target boat’s deck. Her team members swept back and forth with their M-16s looking for targets. Landing in the center of the deck, she rolled and came up in a half kneeling firing position. When she saw that the shadowy target hadn’t complied with the pilot’s orders, Angela instantly spun driving her out stretched leg through the back of the knees of her target. The karate leg sweep had the desired affect she was looking for.
Chet hadn’t a clue what hit him. He never suspected that the Agent’s orders were directed at him so he continued to video tape what he saw in the cabin. He was quite surprised when his legs went flying forward and up from his body.
“Ahhhhhhhh!” he yelled, as the camera flew off his shoulder and into the air. A half second later he landed squarely on his back, on the deck knocking the wind out of him. The camera hit the deck several feet away and shattered into several pieces.
Instantly, Agent Rodriguez came down hard directly on Chet’s chest with one knee further choking off his breath. With her gun in his face, Angela quickly frisked him. Finding nothing, she threw him over like a rag doll and cuffed him. At that instant, two of her team landed on the deck on either side of her. In knee-firing position, they trained their M-16s on the cabin entrance while the fourth Agent covered from the high ground of the police boat.
At that moment, Assault Team Two landed on the opposite side of the dock. Alan had just finished tying off the boat as two agents rolled onto the dock on either side of him. They both came up and trained their M-16s on him. Alan had his ID out and lifted it up into the air.
“Federal Agent!” he yelled, as he tried to shield his eyes from the blinding floodlights. The two agents were dark silhouettes against the light and didn’t budge from position, ready to fire.
“Put your chest on the deck and your hands out!” came an order from behind the light.
Alan immediately complied. He knew that these people were deadly serious.
Agent Dickson had recognized Bradley the second they had landed. He had orders to neutralize all targets, and that was exactly what he was going to do. Besides, Bradley had it coming. When Dickson jumped off the boat and rushed towards him, he was looking forward to roughing him up a little.
Dickson came down hard on Bradley’s back with one knee and heard Alan gasp painfully on impact. Pulling his arms around his back, he cuffed him.
“I’m a Federal Agent!” Bradley yelled angrily, gasping for air. He never expected them to cuff him.
Dickson signaled the two agents with M-16s. They each jumped up onto the target boat and slowly worked their way down either side, towards the back of it, as Dickson covered them.
Back on her feet and in firing position, Angela worked her way to the cabin. Seeing no immediate threat, she stepped toward the doorway and went in.
Reaching the entrance to Dock A, O’Leary ran past the Backup Team as they held position. He heard the call in his ear piece as he ran towards the boat. “Target One neutralized and secure,” he heard Angela report. The entire assault was over in seconds.
O’Leary saw the cuffed man face down on the dock and knew instantly it was Bradley. Oh no, he thought as he realized things had gone seriously wrong. He ran past him to the boat and climbed aboard. Looking in the cabin, his heart sank. He walked slowly down the steps and to the body of his informant.
O’Leary looked at him. With two holes in the center of his chest and real blood all over him, the informant’s dead eyes looked up asking the question, “Why?” O’Leary, sadly, didn’t have an answer as he bent down on one knee next to him. Then slowly moving his hand over the informant’s face, he closed his eyes.
Bradley had finally convinced Dickson to uncuff him, and he quickly moved to the back of the boat and climbed aboard.
“I’m a reporter!” Chet was finally able to gasp.
“That’s true. Let him go,” Bradley ordered. As another agent moved in to uncuff Chet, Alan entered the cabin.
O’Leary sighed heavily in frustration. “What do we have, Rodriguez,” he was finally able to say.
“A lot of coke, sir.” She’d been counting the bags when O’Leary came in. “At least five million dollars street value,” came the reply.
“Ten million, I’d say,” Bradley corrected her as he stepped inside.
“Damn it! Bradley!” O’Leary yelled angrily as he turned around. Then grabbing Alan by the coat, he shoved him against the cabin wall. “You’ve screwed things up for the last time. I’ll have your badge for this.”
“I was only doing my job,” Bradley scowled back. “I saw men with guns on a suspicious boat and I investigated. How was I supposed to know you had a bust going?”
Rodriguez pulled O’Leary off Bradley. “Stop it, sir. He’s not worth it.”
With his face as red as his hair, O’Leary glared at Bradley angrily then turned around slowly. “Get him out of here,” he ordered with noticeable frustration.
Just then, Chet was able to retrieve the remains of his video recorder. “My Camera! You idiots broke my camera!”
“And get that reporter out of here too!” O’Leary ordered. Rodriguez took Alan’s arm and spun him around.
“All right! I’m going!” Alan assured her. Another agent forced Chet off the boat as Rodriguez escorted Alan onto the dock.
“You can’t treat me like this! The public has a right to know what’s going on around them!” Chet said as he stopped to brush himself off. Two agents moved towards him. “I’m going!” he exclaimed, then walked hurriedly down the dock with the parts of his camera in hand.
“Get set up on the street for an interview,” Bradley whispered to him as he past by. Chet nodded and kept walking.
“I think you had better go now.” Rodriguez burned a deadly glare into Bradley.
“Maybe you’re right. Its all over, but the clean up anyway.” Bradley shrugged, then turned and walked away.
O’Leary came out of the cabin. “Pierce! Seal off the area and keep all unauthorized personnel out!” he ordered.
“Yes sir,” came a reply as an agent jumped from the police boat with a roll of yellow barricade tape.