Double Blindside

“And…?”

“And it makes me determined to find a way to stop Özgürlük.”

“That wasn’t hard, was it?” Encizo said.

Kartal smiled. “Are you always so…so…?”

“Irritating?” McCarter said. “Not all the time.”

“Just most of the time,” James added.

The casual banter helped to break any strain over the meeting, and Kartal relaxed visibly. They spent the next couple of hours going over all the information they had, pooling everything. Kartal was not shy in sharing her own views. She was able to match anything Phoenix Force said.

“In the morning,” Kartal said, “we can formulate a plan of action. But now you must be ready to relax after your long journey. Have you somewhere to stay?”

McCarter nodded. “Accommodation has been reserved for us at a hotel in the city.”

“Give me a little while and I will drive you there.”

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_1d9f8ede-e466-5e4f-ba93-750ab9672d59)

Thirty minutes later Phoenix Force had loaded their luggage into the rear of the large SUV Kartal had been assigned, and she rolled out of the NIO compound.

“It will only take us twenty minutes to reach your hotel,” she said. “You do realize where you stay is a very expensive place.”

James said, “Our organizer always makes sure we get the best.”

“So it seems.”

The streets were busy with traffic and the sidewalks congested. Kartal knew a shortcut to the hotel. It took them away from the main stream of traffic, allowing them a relaxing drive as she negotiated the city. She pointed out landmarks as she drove, showing sections of the old city and comparing it to the modern buildings. Istanbul struck Phoenix Force as a city of diverse contrasts.

“A beautiful city,” James noted.

“I love it,” Kartal said, unashamedly proud of it.

“Is it where you were born?” McCarter asked.

“Yes. I grew up here and spent my childhood in it. And now I am lucky to be working here.” She hesitated. “The city is in the stages of bringing in the modern without losing too much of our historical past. It creates difficulties as this is achieved.”

Kartal eventually eased off the main route and picked up the side roads she would be using. She plainly knew her way around Istanbul. It was a pleasant enough drive for Phoenix Force after their long flight from the U.S.

Pleasant, that is, until someone decided to use them as target practice.

The panel truck was old, the paintwork faded and the bodywork battered and rusting. It came roaring out of a side street and sped directly at the NIO vehicle. There was no mistaking the driver’s intention. He was using the truck as a guided missile—and the target was Phoenix Force and Kartal.

If the SUV had been stationary the impact would have been worse. Kartal managed to boost the power, her foot stamping hard on the gas, sending the SUV lurching forward as she caught sight of the approaching truck. The vehicle slammed into the rear quarter of the SUV instead of full-on. The impact spun the SUV in a half circle, window glass shattering and spraying inside the passenger compartment as the car rocked violently, wheels lifting off the road for seconds. The impact drove the lower section of the wheel well into the vehicle’s tire.

“Two inside,” she said loudly. “They are showing weapons.”

“Move,” McCarter ordered. “Everyone out. Fast!”

The rocking SUV began to settle. Phoenix Force exited as quickly as possible, clearing the immediate scene and pulling out their weapons.

Berna Kartal hit the ground running, immediately moving around the SUV, her Glock targeting the truck as she spotted movement behind the cracked windshield.

The truck’s passenger door was kicked, the metal protesting where it had been buckled from the impact. A dark figure pushed out through the gap, a subgun clutched in his hands. The guy dropped to a crouch as he cleared the panel truck, the muzzle of the weapon rising. He fired quickly—too quickly to acquire a solid target. His burst of autofire sent 9 mm slugs into the SUV. As the guy altered his stance he fired again and his second burst missed James by inches. The black Phoenix Force member twisted his lean body aside, swinging his own weapon on line, and put two 9 mm slugs into the shooter. They hit high, one punching into the chest area, the second catching the guy in the shoulder. He was turned around by the impact, slamming into the side of the truck, then bouncing off and falling.

McCarter saw the driver emerge from the opposite door, the SMG in his hands rising.

Kartal had already leveled her Glock, triggering a pair of fast shots that punched through the door window, throwing glass fragments into the guy’s face. He reacted, still coming, and Kartal fired again. Her shot came a second before both Encizo and James fired. The driver’s body jerked under the impact of multiple shots, blood staining his shirt as he fell back and slammed down hard on the road.

McCarter moved toward the stalled panel truck, angling his Hi-Power to line up on the windows. The interior was empty except for the scattered trash that littered the floor. “Clear,” he said.

James and Encizo checked the area, weapons held ready. “I think we’re good,” James confirmed.

The others relaxed.

“Nice shooting,” Encizo said to Kartal.

The young woman offered a fleeting smile. “Not my best. Took three shots.”

“You got a result,” McCarter said. “That’s the important part.”

Kartal gestured at James and Encizo. “With help. Thank you,” she said.

McCarter gestured for Kartal to take a look at the downed men. She stared at their faces, moved, then returned to take a closer inspection of one of them.

“This one is still alive. I will call for assistance. The dead one…you know, he looks familiar to me,” she said. “But I can’t be certain for the moment who he is. When we get identification, perhaps we can find out who did this.”

“Something is already telling me who,” McCarter said.

Kartal glanced at him, realization dawning.

“Özgürlük?”

“I don’t know anyone else in this town we might be in line to have upset.”

McCarter didn’t say a great deal more. He would hold his judgment until he had solid facts. Yet he did have the sneaking suspicion that Phoenix Force’s presence was already known to unfriendly forces. They had barely set foot on Turkish soil and were already under attack.

It did prove one thing to McCarter. The Özgürlük problem had, for him, just been pushed up the scale. If people were ready to kill them, the probability had just been made a reality.

The short ride to Phoenix Force’s hotel had suddenly become a protracted event.

Turkish police arrived in force and a crowd gathered. Before they showed up, Phoenix Force put away their weapons and offered no resistance when the cops did arrive. Kartal took charge, advising McCarter and company to stand down while she used her NIO status to manage the situation. Watching her, McCarter was especially impressed by her management skills. She dealt with the local cops, using her NIO credentials and her not inconsiderable talent for defusing matters.

“Medical help has been summoned,” Kartal said. “Recovery vehicles, as well.”

Phoenix Force stayed close to the NIO SUV. They remained passive, but every one of them scanned the crowd and watched for any follow-up to the attack. The volatile crowd surged back and forth, held back by armed Istanbul cops who had no problem using force to restrain anyone overstepping the line that had been invisibly drawn. It became noisy and at times there was a feeling of danger in the air.