Extreme Instinct. Don Pendleton

aura of controlled violence, the calling card of every mercenary alive.

      “Man, I hate doing this naked,” Gary Manning muttered. The burly Canadian brushed a callused hand over his slicked-down hair. He felt like a damn fool in the tailored clothing, with a small diamond clipped to his left earlobe. There was a bulky Desert Eagle automatic holstered under his jacket, two spare clips attached to the straps. An expert sniper, his preferred weapon was a Barrett .50 rifle, but that had to be left behind for this particular mission.

      “At least you have that popgun,” Rafael Encizo countered, adjusting his glasses. “I only have my winning smile.”

      The eyewear was fake, merely sheets of clear glass, but they served as a vital part of his disguise as the money. The Stony Man operative was wearing a dark business suit of only moderate price range, but the attaché case handcuffed to his wrist was sheathed in the finest Moroccan leather. The lock was a biometric sensor plate, and the hinges glistened like solid gold. The stocky Puerto Rican had a quick smile, and even faster hands, and was considered one of the best underwater demolitions experts in the world.

      “No guns allowed, brother,” Calvin James said in a thick Chicago accent. The former U.S. Navy SEAL was wearing a yachting outfit, including white deck shoes and a jaunty cap. He was also armed with a Desert Eagle .357 Magnum, the big-bore automatic carefully fired a dozen times to take the clean sheen off the brand-new weapon.

      “Rather ironic for a weapons market, don’t you think?” Encizo asked out of the corner of his mouth.

      “I don’t think they know what the word means,” McCarter replied, striding for the front gate.

      Leaving the Hummer unlocked, the other men followed close behind as befitting their place as his staff. At the gate, the Stony Man operatives showed their identification once more to the guards. These men were wearing Level Five body armor, the so-called Dragonskin, and carrying MP-5 submachine guns slung on their shoulders. Grudgingly, McCarter approved of the choice of weapons. The Heckler & Koch MP-5 was what his team regularly used on combat missions, and in his opinion was the best all-purpose weapon in existence.

      “Welcome to Norel, gentlemen,” a bald guard said, waving a hand toward the plastic arch of a weapon scanner. “Step this way, please.”

      As McCarter stepped through the arch, a soft beep was audible.

      “No guns,” the second guard stated in halting English. “Leave it with us.”

      “But this is a gun show,” McCarter stated in mock outrage.

      Laying a hand on the MP-5, the guard stiffened. “No guns.”

      “Excuse my partner, sir,” the first guard said smoothly. “The Norel weapons policy is for your own protection. There are far too many—shall we say—old friends who meet here, and in the heat of the moment…well…” The guard smiled tolerantly, spreading his hands in a classic Italian gesture.

      Pretending to be annoyed, the members of Phoenix Force passed over their never-before-used weapons, and McCarter incredibly received a claim chit in return, as if they had just stored their coats at a restaurant.

      “And how is the sheikh these days, sir?” a guard asked out of the blue.

      “Still deceased,” McCarter replied, then added a smile that said the exact opposite was true.

      The two armed men laughed and bowed slightly as they waved him forward.

      One at a time, the Stony Man operatives walked through the weapon scanner. There was a brief moment of concern about the locked attaché case carried by Encizo, so he reluctantly opened it to display a double row of small bars of gold bullion. The guards probed for a false bottom, but found nothing and finally allowed Encizo through to join the other members of Phoenix Force.

      It was clear that the guards were suspicious of that much rare metal being used as a payment, as diamonds were much more prevalent. They were lighter, smaller, easier to transport and could be smuggled inside a human mule if necessary. However, there was nothing forbidden about using precious metals; only narcotics were not acceptable as payment for the goods. Not for any ethical reasons, but purely because the quality of drugs was often too difficult for even a professional to properly ascertain.