Chapter Twelve

Bryan shot his pistol three times, then pressed the button on the wall which drew  his human cardboard target closer to where he was.

“Not bad.”

Kimberly shouted in the midst of the gunshots from other shooters, who we’re practicing in the shooting range.

His target had a hole on the side of its head, on a shoulder and in the middle of its torso.

“My turn.”

She said after replacing the bullet ridden target with a new one, and pressing the button on the wall, which pushed it away till it got to forty meters away from where she stood.

She took the pistol from Bryan, and took a deep breath, with legs apart and shoulders in an upright posture before firing thrice.

Her target had a hole in the center of its head, neck and chest.

“You’re really good.”

Bryan complimented her.

“Yeah I know. That’s why I picked this place for our second date.”

Kimberly replied.

“You’re weird and spontaneous. I like it.”

He said, then he pecked her on the cheek.

“Let’s go for another round.”

She said.

“You’re not tired of winning this game right?”

Bryan asked

“No. Please allow me to relish this. It may be one of the few things I’ll be able to beat you in.”

She replied.

“Alright, just this last time.”

Bryan said before his phone buzzed.

He took it out of his pocket and checked it, then raised his head and looked at her apologetically.

“I’m sorry but I have to go. I’m needed at work.”

“It’s ok. I understand, but you’ll make it up to me later.”

“Sure.”

 He said, while removing the safety googles and ear muffs he had on, before  he hurriedly took his leave.

Kimberly knew that whatever made Bryan leave urgently was related to the Blood gang.

The Bloods were done for, because whenever the DEA bust a Crib and make some arrests, it was only a matter of time before the others  usually came down one after the other ,like dominoes .

She changed the magazine in the gun, took a deep breath, aimed and took another shot at her target.

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It’s was gradually getting dark when Bryan arrived at the harbor which had closed for the day. He made his way to a van that was parked under a shed, and knocked twice before the door slid open and he entered the cramped vehicle.”

“Welcome aboard.”

Jamal said.

“Thanks. So what do we have here?”

Bryan asked his partner, who pointed at one of the eight frames on the laptop screen, which was relaying the live feeds of hidden cameras that were set up in strategic places around the harbor.

Looking at the screen, he saw three Latinos unloading  some crates from a speed boat at the pier.

From where the boat was, there was an open space about half the size of a football field, which was surrounded by shipping containers that were  stacked on one another.

Looking closer, he saw that each of the men had viper tattoos on different parts of their body.

“Jamal can you see this? These men are from the  Colombian cartel.”

“Yes they are.”

Jamal replied in agreement.

There was a rap on the van’s door, which Jamal opened to let Maggie and Justin in.

“SWAT team are few minutes out.”

Maggie announced immediately she entered the cramped vehicle.

Looking at his wrist watch, Bryan saw that the time was 7:25am.

“Since the men are already set, it’s safe to assume that the handoff will happen in the next five minutes. Put on your bullet proof vests and get your firearms.”

Bryan instructed his colleagues who quickly did as he said.

      By the time they got out of the van, the swat team were just arriving.

“Let’s divide ourselves into two groups of six. My group will move closer to the boat under the cover of the huge metal cuboid structures, while the others will wait here.”

Bryan announced.

Bryan’s group was silently moving behind the containers to the boat in a crouched stance, when he heard the sound of an engine which got louder. They got to their position to see that another boat had arrived.

Stepping out of the vessel was Paulo, head of the Colombian cartel, with another of his men.

Bryan could not believe his eyes. Standing before him was one of the most wanted drug dealer that the DEA was after.

Paulo was suspected to be the major supplier of cocaine and heroin to most of the gangs in Atlanta. He was the very definition of ‘top of the food chain.’

He was barely on land when the four leaders of the blood gang arrived in a car.

One of the Paulo’s men stacked the crates on a handtruck, and wheeled it towards the open space, while Big Trey carried a bag that was likely to be filled with cash.

The exchange was about to happen ,when Bryan’s group rushed out of their hiding place with their guns pointed at the criminals.

“Hands where we can see them!”

Bryan who was in front of the rest of his team yelled.

The criminals turned towards him, which was what Bryan had planned..

“On your knees!”

The SWAT captain, who was the leader of the second group on the other side yelled also.

The criminals who now realized that they were caught in the middle of an ambush scattered.

Bryan could see one of them reaching under his shirt to pull a gun of his waist band, but  he was quick to fire a shot before his opponent had the chance to.

Within seconds, there was a cacophony as gunshots sounded from different directions, as the drug dealers returned fire to the agents.

In the midst of he gum duel, a few billets which hit the containers ricocheted, causing sparks in the dark night.

After two minutes, three of the criminals laid dead on the concrete ground, while the others knelt down on a straight line with their hands raised up.

Jamal counted the suspects and said,

“They are only five here. One of them is missing.”

Big Trey was nowhere to be found.