State Of The Union

A hail of brass shell casings fell all around him and the air was thick with the smell of cordite as the MEK operatives continued firing at the roof across the street. Harvath wrestled with the vest until he was finally able to slide out from underneath it and then laid there panting, only able to gulp in short, painful gasps of air. Turning the body armor inside out, he noticed that two of the three rounds had actually penetrated the Spectra, but had been stopped short of entering his body. He offered up a silent thanks to Herman Toffle for insisting he wear it.

Taking the sniper fire full force to his side had knocked the wind out of him, and so Harvath focused on his breathing until he slowly got it back under control. He then did a more thorough triaging of his injuries and decided that he had probably received a severe bruising, or worse, several cracked ribs. From his combat medical training, Harvath knew the biggest risk from broken ribs was puncturing a lung. He drew in another painful breath of air and was confident that though it hurt like hell to breathe, neither of his lungs had been punctured. As far as a course of action for his ribs was concerned, there was nothing that could be done. While some people might tape or wrap damaged ribs, all it served to do was remind you of your injury. Harvath didn’t need any extra reminders, he was sure the pain would be reminder enough.

Several of the MEK operatives had already left the apartment in pursuit of the shooter across the street when Sebastian made his way over to Harvath and helped him to his feet. Sebastian was a man of few words. He offered a simplethank you and Harvath shook his hand in return. Herman Toffle, on the other hand, was anything but a man of few words.

“What the hell is going on? It looks like your friend is in more than just a little bit of trouble,” said Herman as he limped over to Harvath on his bad leg. “I know you agreed to pay for the beer tonight, but that’s not going to be enough for Sebastian and his people now. Look at this place.”

Harvath ignored Herman as he worked one of the bullets out of his Spectra vest.

“Are you listening to me?” continued Herman. “Why would a sniper have been staking out this apartment?”

“Whoever it was, that was no ordinary sniper,” replied Harvath holding up the bullet he had retrieved from his body armor. “Nine millimeter. Full metal jacket.”

“Nine millimeter?” said Herman as he accepted the round from Harvath and held it up to get a better look at it. “Why not use a high-velocity rifle round like a 308 or 223?”

“Because the shooter wasn’t using a rifle.”

“Why not? Why take the time to stake out the apartment, but not bring the right equipment?” asked Herman as he handed the round back to Harvath.

“Who said he didn’t bring the right equipment? Nine millimeter is a very fast round. With a ported silencer and a bipod, even a small weapon can be very effective at this range. This is a narrow street. The shot wouldn’t have been that hard. And the best thing about a small weapon is that it’s extremely easy to conceal.”

“Even with body armor on, that was a very brave thing you did,” said Herman.

“I reacted, that’s all.”

“Well, call it what you will, but I’m sure Sebastian appreciates it.”

“He would have done the same thing for me.”

“I’d like to think so. He’s a good man. That’s why I asked for his help. Now, tell me, did you have any idea the apartment was being watched?” asked Herman, his eyes searching Harvath’s for any indication that he might not being telling the truth.

“Of course not. I told you everything I knew,” Scot replied.

“About the apartment, but not about your friend. All you said was that he had gone missing and you had reason to believe he might be being held against his will in here.”

“That’s true.”

“What about the rest of it? Who is this friend of yours and what was he up to?”

Harvath had hoped things wouldn’t come to this. Herman had agreed to help him, no questions asked, but being ambushed by the sniper had now altered the arrangement and Harvath knew it.

“All I can tell you is that he is one of the good guys and we need to find him very soon,” said Scot.

“Or else what?” asked Herman, not happy that his friend was keeping him in the dark.

“Suffice it to say that there is a very serious time element at work here and an incredible amount of lives hang in the balance.”

“Yet you’re not working with the German government.”

“I told you, the assignment is too sensitive. I brought you in because I knew I could trust you.”

“But not with the full picture,” responded Herman, as he massaged his forehead with the broad palm of his hand.

Harvath remained quiet.

“I understand that in this business secrets must be kept, sometimes even between good friends, but Sebastian and his people don’t know you; not like I do,” said Herman. “They are doing this as a favor to me and they are going to want answers-answers that I’m not equipped to give them. What am I supposed to say?”