The Range Rover sped across the road as the tires gripped the loose surface, kicking up dirt and small rocks as it accelerated. The last surviving member of the security detail had no time to react, and the Range Rover crashed into the back of the Mercedes, shoving it forward over the edge of the road. The front end dropped from the road and crashed onto the first slab of concrete ten inches below.

Zack kept the pedal to the floor, and the Range Rover pushed the elevated end of the SUV forward like a sumo wrestler intent on forcing his overmatched opponent out of the ring. The engine of the Range Rover roared as if in outrage as the driver tried to engage the brakes, with no impact except to delay the inevitable.

The Mercedes turned sharply to the left, and Zack gripped the steering wheel, held on, and waited. The back end of the Mercedes plummeted off the edge with a tremendous crash as the SUV bounced and came to a rest, its nose suspended in the air off the left side of the ruined concrete over the deep blue water. Any farther, and Ray-Ray Moretti and his girlfriend would’ve been swimming in the manmade paradise.

“Keep him inside until I wave you out. I’ve got this. I don’t want them talking to each other just yet,” Zack said.

“You got it,” Noah responded. He turned to Belyakov, and said, “You heard the man. We’re going to sit here and enjoy the show. Understand?”

Belyakov was still breathing hard from the gunfight and car chase, his adrenaline surge still commanding his body’s physiological response. He nodded and wisely chose to remain silent.

Zack opened the driver’s door and stepped out into the sunlight, brandishing the HK416 at the driver’s window. He heard gasps of terror behind him, and he imagined how he looked. Which is exactly the point. Easier to manage people when they’re afraid. Several people whose features weren’t discernible stared at him from the village across the water. He looked left and saw a small boat with a cabin approaching from the mouth of the bay, and his pulse quickened. Too many people. You need to get this done.

“Mr. Moretti, you literally have nowhere to go,” Zack said loud enough so that he was certain the driver and Moretti could hear him. “If you come out, you have my word that no one else will die, and that includes you. If you make me come and get you, that guarantee is off the table. I want the driver out first, hands up, back to me, on his knees. You have five seconds. I won’t ask again.”

Zack counted internally. One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand— Are you really going to make me do this the hard way? He grabbed a smoke grenade from his vest.