|
Fuck! Where'd they come from? Another couple of steps and he'd be visible to anyone looking in his direction. The trees thinned out here, and even in his black outfit he could be spotted. He took a step back, then another. Now I can't see anything. He moved forward slighty, knelt and found a gap in the vegetation and used his binoculars. The two vans were parked in front of the house, blocking his view of most of it. He needed an overhead view. He keyed Carl's freak "What's up?" Carl asked. "Can we get an overhead view?" Reggie asked. "See what I can do, hang on." He adjusted the wakizashi slung over his back and stood briefly, returning to a kneeling position with the other knee on the grount. Getting old. Or out of shape. Both. Not good. "OK," Carl asked, "You ready?" "Go. I'm looking at the two black vans. Are there any other vehicles?" "Two cars on the other side of the house. Can't tell what kind, no markings I can see. One white or light grey, other darker." "Any people outside?" "Negative. I'll let you know if any come out." "OK, heard from Jason?" "About five minutes ago. He's about directly across from you." The base was in a clearing about an acre in size. The house, barn and two small outbuildings were in the center. It was about thirty feet to the vans, Jason would have a similar distance to cover to get to the back of the house. The small outbuildings would give him some cover. He keyed Carl again. "Are you sure they're all in the house?" "Unless there was someone in the barn before we began surveillance. Over an hour ago." They'd have to check the barn. Six guys and their prisoner in the house. As far as we know. The eye in the sky had been up when they arrived but was flying in a circle as hovering was too risky. It might have missed something. Should wait for reinforcements but that'd be an hour. Don't mind waiting but... "We got action," Carl said. Fuck! We're not in position. "What's up?" "Someone outside, back where the cars are." "We conferenced with Jason?" "I'm here." We are. "One person, looks like getting into one of the cars... let's see what happens." At least two people driving the cars. "Another one came out," Carl said. "They're standing between the cars. They're about ten, fifteen feet apart." Could be about to leave. Be happy to wait for that. He punched Jason's freak. "Let's get in close," he said. "It's dark enough. Just stay behind something." "Gotcha." Keeping an eye Reggie approached a group of trees of which the nearest which was a little over a hundred feet from the house. If anyone inside was looking out they wouldn't see him even if the vans weren't in the way. Jason should have it easier with the big barn, which he would have to check. He stopped at the tree nearest the house, a big oak that would hide him from a casual observer even in daylight. "I'm in the barn," Jason announced. "How's it look?" "There's a truck in here... hang on.... OK, looks like it hasn't moved in a while. Some junk. Nothing breathing except me." Good to have that out of the way. "They're getting in the cars," Jason said. "Looks like they're leaving." "Cool," Reggie replied. "Let's wait a bit." A couple of minutes later the cars came around the house and Reggie watched them leave. They paused briefly at the end of the long driveway and then went in oppsite directions on the road. "Wanna wait a while and see if the others come out?" Jason asked. "Yeah. Let's give them a bit. Can you get around here? I'm behind that big tree nearest the house." "Belive so, gimme a minute." A few minutes later he saw Jason coming, moving in a crouch. They were near invisible from even a short distance. "If they don't come out pretty soon they're probably not going to," Reggie said. "At least not soon enough." "Let's giv'em ten minutes," Jason suggested. "Sounds good." They didn't have to wait that long. From his position the front door was just visible between the two vans. Two men came out and stood on either side as another exited, holding the arm of another man who was apparently restrained, his arms at his sides and not moving at all. Cuffed behind his back maybe? A third man followed, grasping the other arm once in the open. The man in the middle moved with them to one of the vans. One of the others opened the sliding door and the prisoner was herded inside, the door closed behind him. The four stood talking for a few minutes and then two got into one van and two into the one with the prisoner. He keyed Jason. "Looks like they're leaving," he said. "What do we do now?" Jason asked. "We can't follow them, hang on..." Their vehicles were over a hundred yards behind the house, they had hiked through woods to get to the house. He keyed Carl. "Looks like they're about to leave." "So much for that plan," Carl said. "Would have been hard to take them that way anyway, even if it was just the four. We'll keep eyes on them as they go, let me know when they leave. As soon as they're gone, try penetrating the house." "Got it. They've fired up the vehicles." The exhaust vapor was visible in the cool night. The van with the prisoner began to move. "OK, they're rolling." "Give them a few minutes out of sight before moving on the house. I'll advise if one of them turns back, or any others approach." "Got it. Jason, you get all that?" "Affirmative. Meet you there in about five?" "Sounds good." The house was about the size of an average suburban dwelling. Why it was out here in the middle of nowhere would be anyone's guess but it wasn't that uncommon. Occasionally someone who had the money and inclination would acquire land in an isolated location and build a house there. Keeping an eye on the windows and doors Reggie and Jason checked out the outside. There were three doors - a back door almost opposite the front door and another door near the end on the back. "Ready to go in?" he asked. "Let's do it." Reggie selected the back door nearest the end. The house looked to be at least thirty years old and the locks appeared to be as old. He attacked the knob first - if the deadbolt wasn't locked it would save time. It wasn't and the door was open in a couple of minutes. The room was dark, a quick scan with a flashlight revealed another closed door. No light was visible at the bottom and he tried the knob. It wasn't locked and he opened it and went through, Jason following with his Glock G20 out. They were in a dimly lighted hallway with two doors on each side. All were unlocked and unoccupied. Two were empty, one was a bathroom and the last contained several large boxes. All were taped shut and there were no markings on the outside to indicate the contents. Reggie tried moving a couple and found them moderately heavy, too heavy for one man to lift easily. "We'll have to check these later," Reggie said, "see what Central wants to do." The open living area was likewise sparsely furnished. A couch and a couple of chairs around a coffee table, a card table with two chairs. There was another bathroom which Jason checked. "Definitely nobody home," he said. "Doesn't look like much goes on here - wonder why they brought him here for a while and then left. Change of plans?" "Possibly. When they brought him out here I figured they might be going to interrogate him, or at least hold him. Reggie buzzed Carl. "House empty," he reported when Carl answered. "Some stuff here you might want to look at - it's in sealed boxes." "OK, you guys stay there and keep an eye on it, let me know if there's any more visitors. Did you have to break in?" "Negative. Picked the locks, no alarms." "All right. I'll get a team out there. Inside an hour with any luck. Can you handle that?" "Affirmative. We'll be in the woods." |
| the rebel states | ||