Squad Diablo: Operation 100

The room was charged as I walked in,  shouts of “Konga” filled the air. Some whistled and others made gunshot sounds. I had not seen the boys in a couple of months since the last operation about four months ago and we were all happy to see each other again drawing faith in being alive and in a piece. Eight persons excluding me were in the room. Seven familiar and one a stranger. I reckoned him to be the new member recruited to replace Kofo our dead comrade. I exchanged handshakes and hugs with the boys and bowed slightly to Honcho our recognised leader. The new boy sat huddled in a corner watching the spectacle before him. He was probably into crime and must’ve been experienced for Honcho to bring him into the fold but I doubted if he had ever seen crime as organised as this. We were certainly not your everyday gang of robbers. Amongst us were three university graduates, two soldiers gone AWOL and one martial artist. We were all very experienced criminals who knew the game in and out. We’ve worked together for four years since the inception of the group besides Talib the martial artist who joined us last year. We were in our guns and ammunition room in our operation base, an abandoned warehouse given to us by our godfather. This was were we held our meetings and briefings. Seeing your arsenal as you plan a heist gave you the required backbone and morale. Different types of guns were strewn on the long table. MP5’s, AK’s, M249, Glocks, pump actions and a grenade launcher. A table at the other end of the room held different narcotics and highness paraphernalia. Cocaine, crack, SK, codeine, vodka, beer, rum, etcetera. You were free to take whatever kicks your mojo on.
Honcho had called me three days ago to inform me of an upcoming heist and that a meeting was scheduled for today. I was already getting itchy for another hit mostly due to my diminishing funds. I needed another successful operation to maintain my lifestyle. It was considered a big offence to engage in external criminal activity once you are a member of Squad Diablo. We maintained exclusiveness.
Chief walked into the room and it got dead silent. He smiled at us and greeted us individually. He held the new boy in scrutiny. Honcho quickly introduced the new boy as Labija and gave us a run down on his profile and street credibility. Chief appeared satisfied with Labija and nodded in approval.
Chief Suswan was a senator of the federal republic. He served as our godfather. He provided us with the latest guns, gave us links to ammunition and provided info on the best jobs. Though anyone was free to propose a heist to be debated on, Chief’s jobs were often the most lucrative. He also gave us protection from the police whenever any member of the gang got into trouble which we hardly did due to the high rate of discipline in the Squad Diablo. He got thirty percent on every heist while we shared the remaining loot amongst ourselves. We were all happy to work with him.
Chief proceeded to give us a rundown of the current operation. It was going to be different from our previous operations. We mostly specialised in kidnappings and bank jobs but this was way more complicated and risky. The job was to assassinate the current governor using brute force. Intercept his convoy on their way to the airport in three days and waste him for a reward of two million dollars. We all gasped at the amount. The highest job we ever pulled off was kidnapping the senate president’s mother for a ransom of one million dollars.
Chief left us and we prepared the logistics for the operation. We were going to move into the base in order to fully prepare and comprehend our various roles. Planning and preparation we all knew was a condiment for success. We codenamed the heist: Operation 100.
On the D-day after relentless planning and intelligence gathering. We were armed to the teeth, ready for action. The ones who needed to get high for extra morale had things in their system. I always preferred being sober before an operation. I liked being fully in control of myself without interference.
Nobody besides my gang knew I was a daredevil armed robber. Though I did not really mingle with people on a close note, the few friends I had, I gave the impression of being a Yahoo boy.
We drove out in two Prado SUV’s, four persons to each SUV. Though we were a nine man gang, one person always stays back at base during each operation pending eventuality. Honcho coordinated proceedings in one of the Prado’s while I coordinated in the other one as the enforcer of the gang.
The plan was to wait for and ambush them as they make their way past a particular bridge which we were sure was on their route to the airport. We had also recruited two Vikings cult boys to give us intelligence on the exact time the convoy will pass their strategic positions to keep us ready and alert.
The previous night I and Honcho had planted C4’s on the underside of the bridge to blow up the bridge as they drove past . The aim was to disorientate the convoy, probably equally blow up one or two cars in the convoy. We had tried our best to know the particular car the governor was going to be riding on to no avail and it made the job more difficult for us but we were bent on succeeding. Two million dollars of bounty money is no child’s play.
I got a call from one of the Viking boys briefing that the convoy just passed his post. A total of eight cars. Six unmarked SUVs and two hilux vans carrying soldiers. One at the rear, one in front. According to our calculations in an estimated seven minutes the convoy will surface. We were parked in an undergrowth adjacent the bridge hidden in the line of sight of the convoy. Honcho and his crew were parked further ahead. I was in the SUV with Murphy one of the AWOL soldiers, Okpukpu a very muscular young man known for his strength and Labija the newbie. In no time we heard sirens and we braced ourselves. My nerves where twitching, adrenaline pumping as it always did minutes before action. We cocked our guns and got ready to ambush. The Hilux carrying the first set of soldiers sped past, the first SUV followed, another followed, the third one was about passing the point we marked X when I signaled Murphy to detonate the C4. It blew up the bridge in a deafening sound with a cloud of dust and smoke. The blast taking two of the SUV’s along with it. The noise of the blast drowned the sound of the immediate screeching of tires as the cars behind braked and swerved to avoid entering the gaping hole of concrete and rubles disguised by smoke. Honcho and his crew were designated to take care of the vehicles at the other end of the blast while we handled the ones behind. We burst out our hiding place with our heavy armory in full force like a commando squad. We had the element of surprise. Murphy and Okpukpu were armed with MP5K’s, Labija was slinging an AK47 and I had an UMP with me. My favorite. We were all strapped with chains of ammunition. We wore black Tshirts over US navy style camouflage pants and black balaclavas. I and Labija concentrated on the SUV’s whilst Murphy and Okpukpu barraged the hilux with the soldiers. We fired at them continuously and saw the opposition drop one after another, some not even getting the chance to fire back a single bullet in defence. We often practiced shooting targets before operations to keep us mentally sharp and give us shooting accuracy. The secret service provided more resistance due to their better training but we had more firepower and positioning. They knew how to shoot and take cover. I could hear gunshots from the other part of the divide meaning Honcho and his squad were busy as well. Chief had provided us with bullet proof vests which aided our course. Though the rule was never to leave a gang member alive to the mercy of the opposition it didn’t not seem like any of us was going to turn out a casualty in this particular operation. It was well thought and so far it was going according to plan. We fired rounds and rounds of ammunition, shooting at anything mobile or immobile, shards of glass flew in different directions and the vehicles had bullet holes. The driver of one of the vehicles had his head chopped in half with bullets. We riddled their bodies with bullets, emptying ammunition on them. We kept shooting nonstop till we were having no return fire. We flanked them to make sure none was still standing. When we certain they were all dead or dying. We had to make sure we had gotten the governor. We didn’t see anyone in his semblance in the carnage so we concluded him to be in one of the blown up cars who we were also sure definitely had no survivors. Honcho had also succeeded in dealing with his opposition though they had seemed to come up with more resistance judging that they had more casualties via injuries but no life of a gang member was lost. A job well done. Dusted and accomplished.
Later that night when we regrouped at the base of the Squad Diablo to rejoice and celebrate our escapade. Honcho got a call from Chief Suswan to turn on the television. There on the TV screen was the face of the governor explaining how he had escaped an assassination attempt.