Wizard under Fire

Wizard Under Fire

3133 words

I hunched my shoulders trying to get warm after sitting in the cool damp night air for more than six hours. The four FBI SWAT team members hidden in the clump of trees with me made small stretching movements to relieve the tension in their bodies. The noise of the traffic from the Gowanus Parkway, less than a half-mile away, masked any noises we made. Only Ramón, my Ghost Team partner, trained as a Special Forces sniper, remained motionless.

Ramón and I made up a unit called a Ghost Team because as a wizard I could create a shield that made us invisible to the human eye or even to radar. At twenty-six, I should be asleep after a long day at my law firm or something equally dull. Instead, I was on a mission to prevent terrorists from blowing up chlorine storage tanks. The Koenig bleach producing plant, in Kearney New Jersey, was considered the most dangerous chemical plant in America.

Homeland Security had received information that terrorists planned to blow up the chlorine storage tanks and release the highly toxic gas into the air. Thousands of deaths would occur in the immediate area if that happened. However, if the winds blew the gas towards Manhattan, only seven miles away, the number of deaths would rise into the tens of thousands with the potential for a million casualties.

Homeland Security had ordered Ramón and me to join the FBI SWAT team because the intelligence indicated that terrorist wizards would be part of this attack. The presence of Al Qaeda wizards in the United States was a significant escalation in our war with international terrorism. I was only one of two American wizards who had fought and defeated an enemy wizard.

The SWAT team Commander, FBI Special Agent Michael Kurt, had placed our twelve-person squad a half-mile west of the chemical plant on 3rd Street. Special Agent Tom Flanagan, a short, compact intense man, was in command of our squad. Ramón, four SWAT team members, and I had taken positions in a clump of trees on the north side of the street. The other six SWAT team members hid behind three parked cars on the other side of the street. An agent placed on the roof, a half mile further west, would warn us of cars headed in our direction. Two tire puncturing spike strips stretched across the street two hundred yards west of our position.



Another SWAT squad with a Ghost Team Unit was placed on Hackensack Avenue, which led to the southern entrance of the Koenig Plant.

When the agent on the roof spoke into the mike, I opened my eyes.

"A Dodge Ram Charger truck is coming in your direction at thirty miles an hour," said the agent. "The truck has heavy-duty oversized puncture resistant tires. You'll probably need to use automatic weapons to blow them out."

"It is important to remember that a wizard's shield covers at most a 240° arc," I said into the mike. "If a terrorist and a wizard get past us, or we circle behind them, we can see their backs.

There was movement around me as the agents raised their M14's into firing position.

"Get ready to fire," said Flanagan. "The truck should be here in less than a minute. I'm going to concentrate on the tires. Agent Yoder, I'd like you to do the same."

The truck came into view just after Flanagan finished speaking. Bullets from a dozen automatic weapons tore into the truck, shattering the front window when the vehicle was a half-block away. The front tires remained intact when the truck rolled over the spiked strip, but the hail of bullets soon shredded them. The vehicle ground to a screeching halt less than thirty yards away, sparks flying from the metal undercarriage as it scraped the macadam. A bloody arm of the driver hung in the steering wheel.

"Cease-fire," Flanagan said. The tumultuous roar ended, and the agents leaned forward, looking for targets. "Hold your positions. Just because we can't see anyone doesn't mean they're not in front of us."

I flexed my hand, anticipating my coming battle with the enemy wizard.

Bullets from the automatic weapon of a terrorist hidden by a wizard's shield slammed into the cars across the street. Some of the agents returned fire, but it's impossible to hit something you can't see. Another burst of bullets from the hidden assailant weapon punctured the bodies of the cars. When the agents fired back, a hand appeared seemingly out of nowhere and threw a bright ball of fire that enveloped the cars and the agents. The screams of the SWAT team members into their mikes tore through my head.

I moved forward out of the trees, ready to throw a ball of fire when the terrorist wizard became visible. My heart thumped in my chest and perspiration formed on my forehead.

"No, Tena," Ramón said, unsuccessfully trying to grab my arm. "Give her cover fire."

Bullets whizzed by me, one so close it grazed my hair. I raised my hand, concentrated for a second, and threw a fireball where I thought the hand had appeared. I had guessed incorrectly, and my fireball fell harmlessly on the street beyond. It would take me several minutes to create another fireball.

The flashes from the terrorist's weapon provided a target for the agents behind me. The roar of five automatic weapons me was deafening. Thirty yards away, a man fell to the ground, clutching his chest. A hand holding a fireball rose above the shield. But I was quicker, and my fireball enveloped the wizard before he could throw his. The wizard's shield disappeared as his body erupted into flame and his scream pierced the night. He stood shrieking for a moment, and then fell to the ground.

Suddenly, a man holding an automatic rifle stood up behind the wrecked truck. He pointed the weapon at me, but before he could squeeze the trigger, Ramón's hand pushed me forward and I fell forward to the grass. The bullets fired by the terrorist went over my head, and I heard a soldier yell, "Aaagh." Then bullets fired from behind me tore into the terrorist, lifting him off the ground and sending him backwards. A few shots from his automatic weapon went wildly into the night air before he fell to the ground.

A few minutes passed with no movement or sounds from the area of the truck. Ramón, and the three remaining agents, moved forward into the street, their weapons at the ready. Only two of the six agents hidden behind cars stood up and walked into the street. One of those agents was Flanagan, who glanced in our direction and pointed towards the truck.

I pushed myself off the ground and followed Ramón into the street.

Flanagan approached the two terrorists' bodies lying on the ground, but didn't touch them. "Be careful, this one's got C-4 wrapped around him," he said, pointing the tip of his weapon at the terrorist who had stood beside the wizard. "

A third agent stood up behind the smoldering cars. "We've got three burned men who need immediate medical attention," he said on the mike

"Kurt, we need a medic and two ambulances ASAP," said Flanagan.

"Will do," said Kurt.

Microphones in our helmets enabled clear communication among the SWAT team, even a half-mile away.

The sound of automatic weapon fire from Hackensack Avenue caused everyone's head to turn.

"Tena, with me," Ramón said.

"Schwartz, Grabowski, take positions beside her," Flanagan said.

In a moment, the two men stood on either side of me.

Ramón began to trot and we followed him towards Hackensack Avenue. When we were about a hundred yards away, he slowed and put his fist up, signaling us to stop. A burning pickup truck rested in the middle of the street. Four SWAT team members hid behind the cars parked on the edge of the large, nearly vacant lot on the east side of Hackensack Avenue

An agent holding a medical bag ran west on 3rd street. I heard the sound of an ambulance coming in our direction.

"Kurt, what's your situation?" asked Ramón.

The boom of hand grenade on Hackensack Avenue made me flinch.

Four agents moved into the street from behind two parked cars in the lot on the west side of Hackensack Avenue, their guns held at the ready.

Suddenly, Flanagan shouted over the mike, "I'm following the terrorist into Maguire's shipping and storage." The agents and front of us ran east across the avenue east into McGuire's, south of the chemical plant.

"Tena, stay behind me," Ramón said, jogging towards Hackensack Avenue. James and Grabowski kept their positions beside me. Ramón slowed as we approached the big Ford F350 pickup truck that had slid into the curb on the east side of the avenue. The blown-out front window and shredded tires gave evidence of the automatic weapon fire it had received. The driver, covered in blood, lay half in and half out of the truck with his head on the ground.

When we rounded the truck, I saw an agent lying motionless on the ground, his head covered in blood. Another SWAT team member was receiving medical attention for wounds on his chest. Miles, the other Ghost Team Wizard, sat on the ground. His partner, Pete Halloran, knelt behind him dabbing a handkerchief against a thin line of blood going down Miles' cheek.

"Miles, are you hurt?" I asked.

He looked up at me with a thin smile on his face. "I'll be okay. A grenade fragment nicked the side of my head."

"Where's Kurt?" Ramón asked.

"He went into Maguire Shipping and Storage," replied Pete. "After the grenade was thrown, the terrorist wizard used a fireball to open the gate. When the guards came to investigate, the wizard shot them. There are too many places for the terrorist to hide on the other side of their fence."

Two large tow trucks had been parked next to the fence. About ten yards further east shipping containers lined the fence for over two hundred yards.

Ramón glanced behind him towards the entrance to the plant and then to the east. I guessed he was trying to make up his mind where we should go next.

"Tena, can a wizard open a hole in the chain-link fence?" asked Ramón.

"Not as easily as opening the gate," I replied. "It would take several fireballs to melt the metal. Before that could be done, Kurt and his men would have the terrorist surrounded."

"Then they need C-4 to blow a hole in the fence," Ramón said. "That will tell us where they are, but the dozen SWAT team members guarding the inside the fence are strung out along an area over a quarter-mile wide. At most, only a couple of agents would be in position to confront them when they go through the hole. We need to back them up."

"We'll go through the main gate," Ramón said, and began running north. The main entrance of the chemical plant was almost a quarter-mile away. I followed him and the agents ran beside me.

As we entered the chemical plant, I heard a loud explosion behind me.

"Faster," Ramón said.

A short time later, I heard automatic weapons fire from the direction of the fence.

"Tena, we need to stay between the terrorists and the railroad cars filled with chlorine," Ramón said. He ran then east towards the main offices of the plant. Kurt and several agents had had come through the fence and ran in our direction. Though the terrorists were shielded from us, Kurt and his men could see them from behind.

Suddenly, a terrorist became visible, about fifty yards away from Kurt and a hundred yards south of us. When the terrorist dropped to his knees, Kurt and his men opened fire. Ramón and the two agents by my side fired their automatic weapons.

A deafening explosion knocked me on my back. While I remained conscious, my vision was blurred and I couldn't hear anything. I rolled to my side and pushed myself up. I shook my head and blinked, clearing my vision. A hundred yards away, a crater ten yards wide gaped open with smoke rising in the air. Kurt and two agents near him lay motionless on the ground.

Two hands grasped my shoulders and turned me around. Ramón was talking to me, but I couldn't hear him. He gestured towards the railroad cars filled with chlorine gas. I nodded my head, and when he turned and ran in that direction, I followed him. From the corner of my left eye, I saw several SWAT team members coming from the west running to the north side of the gas-filled cars.

I caught a glimpse of the left foot of the terrorist wizard as he approached the railroad cars. When he made a slight change in direction, I was able to see the back of him.

Ramón changed his direction, apparently seeing what I had.

Schwartz and Grabowski had run past me. When they came within came within twenty yards of the wizard, they raised their weapons. The wizard turned around and threw a fireball that knocked them down with their clothes ablaze. I was thankful I could barely hear their screams.

Ramón, now closest to the wizard, fired a burst in his direction. Unfortunately, none of the shots hit him.

Gasping for breath, I closed the distance with the wizard. I reached back and threw a fireball at him. He fell to the ground, and the ball of fire hit the side of the railroad car. When the wizard stood up, two of the SWAT team members approaching from the west fired volleys in his direction. They missed and the wizard disappeared, hiding behind the shield.

I turned my head towards the agents who had fired and shouted, "Keep firing where you last saw him."

One agent stopped and took careful aim before firing his automatic weapon. The other fired as he continued running towards where the wizard was last seen. A moment later, I threw another fireball where I had last seen the wizard. It was important to keep him under fire and on the run so he did not have time to attach C-4 on a chlorine-filled car and blow a hole in its side. Fireballs thrown by wizards don't last long enough to burn through the middle of the car.

Ramón ran towards me. "Team members to the north of the railroad cars, get close to the cars and run establish positions alongside them," he said over the mike. "If you see the wizard, fire, but be ready to hit the ground if he pulls his arm back. Tena, I'll make sure he isn't on this side. Then we'll swing around the front car and try to spot him." Ramón stopped and swapped out the ammo clip. Then he pointed his weapon at the last railroad car and fired into the train wheels until he had raked the cars from the end of the last one to the front of the first one.

There was no evidence the wizard was on our side of the railroad cars. Ramón and I ran around the front of the leading car.

An agent had positioned himself against the side of the end of the last railroad car, ready to fire his automatic weapon. Another agent stood behind him. Between the two of them, there was little likelihood the terrorist wizard could make physical contact with the car and survive. I looked to the north where a single railroad car with chlorine sat on the track about three hundred yards away.

"Ramón, the wizard has to be heading towards the railroad car north of us," I said, and began running towards the northernmost car.

An agent fifty yards northwest of Ramón and me ran in the same direction. "The wizard can't run directly at the car because we would see him," I said. "He has to take a circular route to remain invisible. He can't run behind the car because of the fence to the north of it."

Though Ramón and the other agent ran faster than I did, I was closer to the railroad car because of my head start. "When I get to the car I'm going to turn around and raise my shield. The wizard will have to make himself visible to the two of you or me to get to the car."

"Tena, you're going to be an easy target until you reach the car," Ramón said. "Wait for me so I can provide you cover."

"I don't think he'll shoot at me because that would give away his position," I said. "Even if he is only wounded, the attack becomes a failure."

When I reached the car, I spun around, knelt down, and put up my shield. I put down my M14 and took out my Glock. I was a better shot with a pistol then with an automatic weapon.

"Tena, if he comes between us I can't fire at him," said Ramón.

"Aim at his head if that happens," I said. "I'm in a kneeling position."

Ramón moved to his right, creating a triangle with me and the other agent who was twenty yards from the car.

Suddenly, to my left, I saw the right side of the wizard with his arm raised up.

I turned and fired my Glock, not stopping until I had emptied the whole clip. The wizard's shield had disappeared with my first shot, which hit him in the middle of his chest.

Ramón jogged to the body of the terrorist and kicked it with his foot. "Good shooting, Tena."

I turned off my shield and stood up. Swallowing hard, I looked at the corpse of the wizard I had just killed. I counted five bullet holes in the chest of his bloodied black leather jacket. His body lay in an expanding puddle of blood. My stomach heaved, and I leaned forward, feeling nauseous.

Ramón took the Glock from my right hand, cleared the chamber, and placed it in my holster. I was glad that he did because I wasn't aware I was still holding the gun." You don't want to do that," he said, grasping my shoulders and turning me away from the corpse. He put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed.

I took a deep breath and looked at my right hand, which shook visibly. "I think I need a drink."

Ramón chuckled. "I don't think we'll find any bars open at this hour of the day. But as soon as one opens, I'll be happy to buy you whatever you want."