by Mike Ryan
“Let’s just wait it out a little longer. I’d rather not take longer than we have to, but I also promised Tiff I wouldn’t rush and take unnecessary chances. We can give it some time.”
Their questions about whether someone was there or not was soon answered. Minutes later, a car drove down the road, coming from the opposite direction. It slowed up as it got near the gate, then stopped as it put its turn signal on. It turned, then waited in front of the small wooden gate. Seconds later, two men emerged from the trees and walked over to the car. Jacobs and Thrower looked at each other.
“Guess that answers that question,” Thrower said.
“There’s people in there, all right.”
Then the men by the car stepped away from it and opened the gate, allowing the car to drive through. Once the car was out of sight, the men closed the gate again, then disappeared into the trees themselves.
“That answers a few questions.”
“There’s people in the main building now,” Jacobs said. “And there are guards out here we gotta worry about.”
“Doesn’t tell us how many are out there, though.”
“If I know Mallette, I’m willing to bet those aren’t the only two. Whether he’s got people wandering around in those trees somewhere, or he’s got more stationed on the other side, he’s gonna have people in place, watching.”
“Might have another solution,” Thrower said.
“Which is?”
“We wait. Don’t bother going in there and taking chances. We wait for whoever comes out, follow them, take them out.”
Jacobs understood his reasoning for it, but didn’t think it would work. “One small problem with that.”
“Which is?”
“From here, we can’t see exactly who’s in the car that comes out. And with those guards there, we’re not gonna be able to get closer to tell. So if we follow someone, and it turns out not to be Mallette, we probably blew our chance here. He’s gonna think we followed them from here, and he’s gonna pack up and go somewhere else. Then we might not find him again.”
Thrower groaned. “Yeah. I guess that takes us back to square one.”
“Good news is, no matter how many men they got in there, it’s not an army.”
“You hope.”
“Well, we’ve knocked it down quite a bit so far. Mallette hasn’t had time to assemble too much of a squad. You’ve seen what we’ve been dealing with at the last couple of encounters. Now there’s even less.”
“So you’re saying the odds are in our favor?”
“I’m saying it’s manageable.” Jacobs looked back at Gunner. “What do you say, buddy?” Gunner barked. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“What’d he say?”
“He said he’s ready.”
“Why do I get the feeling that’s what he always says?”
Jacobs laughed. “Because it is.”
They continued to wait, going over plans, figuring out when the best time to attack would be. Several minutes later, another car came traveling down the road, the same path as the other one. Just like the first car, it turned and waited just in front of the gate. The men came out from the trees and let the car in, then disappeared again. It was a carbon copy of the first time.
“Don’t suppose you had your eagle eyes out and could see who was in that one?” Thrower asked.
“Nope.”
“I thought not. Another car means the odds are increasing.”
“Of Mallette being there? I agree.”
Thrower just glared at him. “I meant the odds of more men we have to deal with.”
“Mallette’s the prize.”
Thrower stared out his window, looking around as far as he could see. “Hope they’re not watching us now with some hidden cameras or this gig’s up right now.”
“Always a chance.”
“How about a diversion?”
“What kind?”
“The one of us crashes through the front gate kind. Then the other one advances toward the building, takes out whoever’s there, then comes up from behind the others.”
“I don’t really like the idea of splitting up right now,” Jacobs said. “What if there’s too many for one to handle here? If they have more in the trees waiting, there might not be anything to save for the other one. Or vice versa.”
“True. True.”
“I think we have strength if we stick together. With the three of us, if we stay smart, we can handle whatever they throw at us. We can watch each other’s backs, we can manage things, we’ll be OK. If we’re alone, too many bad things can happen. Easier to get overwhelmed.”
Thrower nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” They went back to the map. Thrower pointed to their location again. “We’re right here.” He looked through his window at the trees, then pointed back to the map again. “If we go in through here, let’s not go in a straight line toward the building. Let’s veer off to the right here. Kind of get up on the building diagonally. Once we get to the end of the trees up here, we’ll be right up on the corner of the building. Then we can see both sides at once instead of just the one.”
Jacobs agreed with his partner, nodding as he talked. “And if there are more people in there, and if they by chance already know we’re here, they’ll probably be expecting us to make the straight line here. Changing course like you said is a good plan, I think.”
Thrower grinned. “Unless they’re just inside there waiting to jump us as we go in.”
Jacobs looked past him out the window, then looked at Thrower. He turned his head around and looked behind them and pointed. “Maybe we should go in back that way.”
Thrower nodded. “I think that’s a wise move.”
“Just in case we’re on camera, let’s move the car, make it seem like we’re driving away, then we can come back up on foot.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“So I guess we’re doing this, then?”
“No time like the present.”
Gunner barked, causing both men to turn around and look at him.
“Yes, buddy, we know you’re ready,” Jacobs said. “You’re always ready.”
Jacobs started the car and drove it back on the road, turning around and heading in the other direction. They wound up parking the car in a lot several minutes away, well out of sight from where they’d been previously. As they got out of the car and double checked their gear and weapons, they looked at where they had to go.
“That’s a long way to go if we get into trouble,” Thrower said.
Jacobs looked at the distance. “I know it. What other option is there?”
Thrower shrugged. “None, I guess. Just hope we don’t have to get back here in a hurry.”
“Worse comes to worst, if we have to, one of us can try to hold them off at the edge of the trees there.” Jacobs pointed to the beginning of the tree line. “Then the other one can run over here, grab the car, then pick up the other, then get out of here real quick.”
“Hopefully there’s time for that.”
“Hopefully we won’t need to do it at all. Whatever the case, we’ll make it work.”
Thrower finished getting himself together, adjusting his vest. “Hopefully.”
Jacobs finished as well. “Yeah. Hopefully.”
19
Mallette and Butch stepped out of their vehicle and walked into the building, eager to get the night underway. As soon as they entered, Mallette found Reed, who was sitting at the desk, looking at a monitor.
“Where do we stand?” Mallette asked. There was an obvious air of hope in his voice.
Reed pointed to the screen. “That car there… off to the side of the road. Just sitting there for a while.”
“Is it Jacobs?”
“Tough to say. We’ve zoomed in on the cameras, but we can’t tell. Looks like there’s two people in there. Whether that’s Jacobs and his friend, or just two people who pulled over to the side of the road for a bit, we don’t know.”
&nb
sp; “That’s him,” Mallette said confidently. “It has to be. Our plan has worked. It’s brought him here. Now it’s time to finish the job.”
“Well, finishing the job might be a bit more difficult, boss.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well… they moved. They’re gone.”
“You didn’t think they’d just sit there for eternity and let us walk up on them, do you?”
“Well…”
“Where did they go?”
“Uh, I dunno. Off camera.”
“They’re just moving to a new position. They haven’t left.”
“We don’t know that for sure.”
“I know it. They’re here. Start getting the men into position.”
Reed stood up, though he looked like he had a problem with the order, as he didn’t move after that. “About that, boss. Are you sure it’s a good idea that we don’t tell the others what’s going on? I mean, wouldn’t it be better if we let the guards know we think Jacobs is here?”
“No. I want everything to play out naturally. As naturally as it can be.”
“But those guards out there. They might be sitting ducks.”
“Quite possible. Sometimes in order to win the war, you have to sacrifice a few of your men along the way.”
“I don’t mean to argue or question, boss, but we ain’t exactly loaded with men here.”
“Which is exactly why we need this plan to work. If we try to meet Jacobs out there somewhere, there’s the possibility of him getting away. I want to bring him in.” Mallette moved his arms around to demonstrate his point. “I want to lure him in, bring him here, then the rest of us surround him, where there’s no chance of his escape. Unfortunately, if we lose two or three men in that endeavor… that’s the price of war.”
Reed nodded, understanding what his boss wanted, even if he still didn’t agree with it himself. Mallette waved him off, and Reed left the building to take care of the positioning of the other men. Mallette looked at Butch, who was staring at him.
Butch was willing to go along with it, but he had his reservations as well. “This had better work.”
Mallette held his hand out to calm his partner. “If everyone plays it cool and does what they’re supposed to do… it’ll work.”
“It’s not just Jacobs out there, though. There’s the other guy, and the dog.”
“Jacobs is the big prize. Once he falls, the others will fall with him. Or if we get rid of the others first, he’ll lose his security blankets. Either way it doesn’t matter. We just need to lure them in. Then once they’re here… we’ll pounce.”
Reed came back in a minute later, with another man standing behind him. “Boys are getting into position.”
“Good.” Mallette looked past Reed at the other man. Reed stepped aside. “You know what to do?”
The man nodded. “Yeah. Stay here, fire a few rounds, draw them in.”
“It’s imperative that you don’t stay in here for too long. If you do, I’m not sure I can help you.”
“No sweat. As soon as they start approaching, I’ll hightail it out the back and rejoin everybody else outside.”
Mallette seemed pleased as he nodded at the man. “Good.” He then looked at the others. “Any more questions?” Everyone glanced at each other. No one had any. Mallette grinned. “Then let’s do this. Let’s finally put an end to Jacobs. Tonight.”
Before walking away from their car, Jacobs and Thrower put suppressors on their weapons.
“Not sure why we’re even bothering with this,” Thrower said. “Not like the movies where you can’t hear anything.”
Jacobs shrugged. “Yeah, but maybe they’ll be inside with the TV or radio on and not hear the muffled sound.”
“Better be one loud TV.”
“Better to take precautions than not.”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
“Let’s try not to use these things until we have to, though, huh?”
Jacobs didn’t want to take the chance, suppressor or not, of using their guns and alerting whoever else was on patrol out there. The moment they did, their element of surprise was gone. Assuming they had one at all.
Thrower looked at him and nodded. Though killing whoever got in their way up close would be quieter, it was also more dangerous, as one would imagine. He carried two knives with him and took both of them out of their sheaths to make sure they didn’t stick if he needed to use them in a hurry. And he was pretty sure he would.
With it being nighttime, the two men, plus Gunner, crossed the road under the cover of darkness. There was no other traffic. They immediately immersed themselves in between the trees, though they weren’t quite on the property that they suspected belonged to Mallette.
“Keep an eye out for traps or something,” Jacobs said. “Wouldn’t surprise me if Mallette’s got some surprises out here for guests.”
“I’m on it.”
The trio continued going farther and farther into the woods, keeping a sharp lookout for guards, or anything that looked like it might be an unwelcome surprise, such as Punji sticks. It was Mallette they were talking about. They had to expect the unexpected. They slowly continued on their path, which at times was too slow for Gunner, who frequently kept going farther ahead of them. He’d periodically look back at Jacobs, who had to wave him back to them, since he was afraid that whistling or whispering would alert someone who might be nearby.
After several minutes, both Jacobs and Thrower took a knee, sizing up their surroundings. They were still in the middle of the trees, with the main building not in sight yet. Gunner lay down in between them.
They were just about to get up when they both snapped their heads to the right, hearing a crackling noise. It sounded like someone stepping on some branches. Whoever it was was getting closer. Jacobs put his hand on Gunner’s head to make sure he kept calm.
They all remained motionless for a few seconds as they waited for their target to step into their sights. Moments later, they saw the outline of a man, rifle in hand, walking alone. He was about twenty yards in front of them. Thrower slowly removed a knife from his vest, waiting for the right time to throw it. They continued to wait as the man slowly walked along, oblivious to their presence.
Thrower waited until the man had his back to them. Once he did, Thrower got up, and started creeping his way closer to him. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to make up the entire distance without being noticed, but he’d be ready if he couldn’t. He got about halfway there before the man turned around, thinking that he’d heard something. By the time he did, though, there was a knife already in the air with his name on it.
Almost immediately, the knife stuck in his chest, dropping the man to the ground in an instant. Thankfully for Jacobs and Thrower, he never got a chance to pull the trigger on his rifle. Everything went down silently, just as they’d hoped it would.
Thrower went over to the man and removed the knife from his chest. Just as he pulled it out, Jacobs rose up from his position and fired his gun. Thrower hurriedly turned around to see what was happening. His eyes first went to Jacobs, who was looking in the opposite direction. Thrower then put his eyes on the spot that it appeared that Jacobs was focused on, and saw another man lying on the ground.
Jacobs briefly glanced at Thrower, took one hand off his rifle for a split second, and motioned to him, wanting him to check on the fallen man’s condition. Thrower put his knife away and took out his pistol, pointing it at the man’s body as he slowly walked over to him. As Thrower approached the man, Jacobs altered the aim of his rifle, looking to see if there was anybody else nearby. If the man suddenly jumped up, or was playing possum, Thrower would take care of him. Jacobs just had to make sure there was nobody else who had Thrower in their sights.
Once Thrower got to the man, he hovered over him for a second, still having his gun pointed at him. The man was face down, so Thrower gently nudged him in the side with his foot. If he was still alive, Thrower hoped that would get a reaction. There w
as none, though. Thrower didn’t see a gun near the body, leading him to believe it might have been underneath the man. If he was playing dead, Thrower worried the man would suddenly roll over and come up shooting.
Thrower tapped him with his foot again, a little harder this time. Again, he got no reaction. Now he believed the man was dead. He took his left hand off his pistol, keeping his right hand firmly on the grip and pointed at the man, and reached down to push the man’s body over. As the man rolled over, Thrower saw the rifle beneath the man. He then looked at the man’s chest and saw the two holes in it. He was gone.
Thrower looked back to Jacobs and made a motion with his hand, letting him know the man was dead. Jacobs and Gunner immediately hurried over to him. Jacobs and Thrower continued looking out in the distance, in different directions, making sure they had no more visitors as they talked about their next move.
“Good looking out,” Thrower said, appreciating that Jacobs saw the man, or else he might have been a goner too.
Jacobs kept looking around, still aiming his weapon in case he saw something. “Let’s just hope nobody heard those shots.”
“You wanna try to hide these two?”
“Don’t think we have time for that. Besides, once they know they’re missing, they’ll know something’s up whether they find the bodies or not.”
“Get to the building double-time?”
“Yeah, let’s go. Gunner, scout.”
Gunner started running ahead of them, with Jacobs and Thrower trying to follow close behind. If there was anything ahead of them, Gunner would find it and alert them. The only concern for Jacobs, as always, was that Gunner would get too aggressive and find something that would get him in trouble before his handler was able to catch up.
They maneuvered through the trees for the next several minutes, quietly, not finding anything troublesome. Once Gunner got to the edge of the trees, he sat and waited for the others to reach him. When Jacobs and Thrower finally got there, they each took a knee next to Gunner and stared at the main building, which was now directly in front of them, though still a good distance away. They guessed they were about thirty or forty yards away from it.
