Predator Island

by Douglas Cameron

  Gerallt did as bidden and eased up to the corner. In the dimness across the corridor, he could see a form there giving him a thumbs up. He waited and then he heard someone singing. It was Monica coming the down the hall singing one of her songs low and sultry. She had unbuttoned two buttons on her blouse revealing skin and, quite obviously, no bra. It worked as it was supposed to – the singing alerted the guards to her presence, they looked and what they saw caught their attention.

  “Hey, senor,” she said as she reached them. “Have you seen Senor Esteves?”

  “Si, si,” they said excitedly, attention relaxed, weapons hanging idly in one hand.

  At that point, Scheetz, Gerallt and Declercq stepped around their corners, weapons at the ready, Declercq racking a cartridge into firing position and said, “¡No te muevas o eres un hombre muerto! (Don’t move or you’re dead men!)” as bright light filled the hallway.

  At the sound of the weapon being readied, both men (Soldiers 3 and 8) had reacted but with the bright light and what they saw, each raised his free hand into the air. Monica and Gerallt quickly disarmed them. Their armament was removed and Declercq and Scheetz escorted them to the jail.

  Horus changed the Invader Count from 22 to 20 and the jail count to 4.

  “I’m going inside where I am expected,” Monica said as she buttoned the two buttons. “You stay out here – that’s an order. If you are needed, Horus will tell you.”

  And with that she walked to the theater’s door and went inside leaving Gerallt alone without the faintest idea where he was. What he did know was that on the other side of the wall was the man he wanted desperately to kill. It was difficult for him not to turn around, kick the door open and shoot the sonofabitch before he knew what hit him. What he didn’t know was that the door would only open if Horus opened it and Horus wasn’t about to do that.

  Fortunately, Hansel and Declercq showed up two minutes later, introduced themselves formally. Hansel stood guard this time across the hall from the theater’s door and faced it because the only person in the complex he had to worry about was Esteves and he was in the theater. Declercq led Gerallt to the dining room where Carmen gave him his first good meal in weeks. Then he was taken to the apartment that Monica had vacated where he took a shower, dressed in clean clothes belonging to either Hansel or Gretel although the underwear was Hansel’s.

  Chapter 33

  In the theater, all eyes turned to Monica as she entered. Sensing this, she curtsied and said, “You gents really know how to treat a girl.”

  Issaack said, “We know how to treat ladies too.”

  “Aah, you’re the sweet one, aren’t you ?”

  That said, to those who needed to know that everything was going according to plan, and those who knew relaxed, even if just a little. These verbal alerts were necessary because all had been warned not to wear earbuds in the theater lest one of the Esteves-ites see them and become concerned. With the evening’s predator entertainment about to unfold, all were present, but they were not going to see what they expected to see.

  At that moment, an alarm was raised in the invaders’ encampment because the guards at Vulcan’s Roost had not checked in. A call was made to the guards at the outside tunnel entrance.

  “Two of you go through the tunnel and check out the guards at the headquarters. They didn’t check in.”

  Anxious for some action other than just standing guard where one wasn’t needed, two of the men (Soldado 30 and Soldado 32) quickly volunteered leaving the third (Soldado 31) to enjoy the boredom by himself and headed into the tunnel. When they were about a hundred yards into the tunnel, two things happened at the tunnel entrance. First, the gates swung shut and second, Deva the snow leopard leapt from above the tunnel entrance where he had been herded by Horus. He was fairly ravenous. The three guards (whom he considered prey) were too much for him but one prey alone was something he could handle. The unexpectedness of the leap and the force of the impact knocked the guard to the ground, and his weapon went flying. Because the snow leopard was the attacker, he was prepared for the attack. In the few seconds that the guard was dazed, Deva sank his front claws into the man’s shoulders and fastened teeth at the base of the back of his neck. The guard he had killed and partially eaten outside the lava tube had been unconscious when he killed it but this one wasn’t going to be that easy. The man started thrashing, flailing his arms as best he could and kicking his legs, again, the best he could. Somehow he had managed to get the snow leopard off himself and had gotten to his knees when the snow leopard, who had been looking for an opening like an experienced boxer, leapt. Deva hit the man in the chest and knocked him backward with his legs pinned under him. Then the snow leopard was atop him, clawing and biting at his neck and scratching with his back paws managing to rip the man’s shirt open and cutting several gashes in his stomach with his back paws. The man screamed as the blood started pouring from his abdomen and then the snow leopard sank his teeth into his neck and severed the man’s jugular and it was over.

  Horus changed the Invader Count from 20 to 19.

  The crowd in the theater was aghast when Horus had switched the main screen to a shot from a drone above the snow leopard showing the animal crouched to spring and the man below unaware of its presence.

  “Whatz going on?” Ramiro asked, standing up. “Where is zis?”

  “Looks like the entrance to the tunnel outside the volcano,” Waldo said, an evil grin on his lips. If Ramiro had seen the smirk, he would have killed Waldo. He didn’t usually kill people. He hired people to do his killing, but this time he would have made an exception.

  Then the snow leopard leapt, and the theater fell silence. As the tussle continued, people began to cheer, a few favoring the man, most the snow leopard.

  “He’z going to kill zis man. Howz that happen?”

  “Well, remember the snow leopard cage was put in the mountain as high as we could put it,” Issaack said. “When he got out, he came over the top of the mountain and ended up down in the crater and killed a guard.”

  “Zatz thiz cat?”

  “Exactly. He must have made his way back over the crater rim and found his way down to the tunnel entrance.”

  “But he’z not to kill man. He killz other predatorz.”

  “Try telling him that,” Issaack said.

  “I needz to talk to Gutierrez,” Ramiro said and started to get up.

  “Call him from here,” Issaack said. “Nobody cares.”

  If any of them did care, because of the situation they would say nothing. But Issaack knew that once Ramiro opened the door he would see that his guards were gone and that would change things in his mind drastically. The longer he could be kept uninformed and the longer the invader compound could be kept uninformed, the better it would be.

  Ramiro pulled out his communication phone and pressed a button.

  The following conversation was in Spanish.

  “Yes, sir,” General Matias Gutierrez answered.

  “Only one guard at tunnel and he has been killed by a leopard,” Ramiro said.

  “What? He’s dead!”

  “Sim. Where are other men?”

  “Checking out why the outside sentries have not reported as scheduled.”

  Before anyone could stop him, Ramiro stepped to the door and opened it, and stood there stunned when he saw Hansel standing there armed with a weapon pointed at him.

  Spinning around, he shouted “What iz going on?”

  Issaack stood up. “You’re finished, Ramiro. Your guards are either dead or incapacitated.”

  “Dead! Inz – cap –zi-ta ted?”

  “Estan en la carcel. (In jail.)”

  Ramiro stared at him.

  “¿Hablas español? (You speak Spanish?)”

  “Sim. Si.”

  “¿Que me dijiste?(Why didn’t you tell me?)”

  “It wasn’t important.”

  “Era importante. (It was important.)”

  “I didn’t think so. Anywa
y, unless you wish to join your men in jail, I suggest you come and sit down and watch with the rest of us.”

  “Mato a todos!(I will kill you all!)” Ramiro almost snarled as he sat down.

  Issaack turned around to face the seats in the theater. “Does everyone understand what is happening.”

  Everyone nodded, and Gloria said, “I understand you are trying to take our island back from this asshole. I don’t understand how you are planning on do it, but I support it completely.”

  “Thank you. Anyone side with Esteves?”

  No one did or at least no one admitted it.

  “Good. Now let’s watch and see how this unfolds. Oh, by the way, I think that you all should know that the man in the contest...”

  “You mean the Esteves entry?” Waldo said.

  “Yes, that man is alive. His name...”

  “Whatz? You zaid he waz dead.” Ramiro was on his feet in disbelief.

  “No, Horus did but Horus lied. His name is Gerallt Carrach. He’s Welsh and he wants to kill Esteves because his brother died from drugs supplied by people working, although indirectly, for Esteves. He is working with us.”

  “He’s cute,” Monica said. “And I also think he is deadly.”

  In the tunnel, the other two sentries were nearing the end of their quarter mile walk. There were no lights in the tunnel and they were using their night vision googles to see. They had proceeded carefully – albeit trepidatiously – because they remembered what had happened during the invasion when the tunnel was being traversed. Now they were proceeding slowly because the exit to the crater was not that far ahead.

  “¡Si quieres vivir, tira tus armas,tu abrigo y pon las manos sobre la Cabeza! (If you want to live, throw down your weapons, remove all extraneous outerwear and clasp your hands over your head!)”

  This came from a drone which suddenly appeared at the exit to the tunnel illuminating them in a very bright light. Taken by surprise, both men let loose a burst of automatic rifle fire hitting nothing. Temporarily blinded by the bright light, they would have been easy targets for Symon Scheetz and Declercq who had waited out of sight on either side of the tunnel exit knowing what was likely to happen. The drone repeated the order and Symon Scheetz and Declercq stepped into the tunnel and fired short bursts into the air above the two. Knowing that if they took their night vision goggles off, the move might be taken as reaching for weapons and they would be killed, they dropped their weapons, threw off the night vision googles and removed all other outer gear and clasped their hands over their heads. They were good soldiers but knew when they were trapped and neither of them wanted to die on en esta isla olvidada por Dios (god-forsaken island) fighting for a cause they didn’t understand. If they knew that the plans for the island in the future included being a base for a drug lord, they probably wouldn’t have signed on because both of them (and most of the men in the unit) were violently opposed to recreational drugs.

  “Camina hacia adelante hasta que diga que pares (Walk forward until told to stop)”

  The two men (Soldado 30 and Soldado 32) complied, the drone flying backwards overhead keeping them in the center of the light. When they reached the end of the tunnel, they heard “Halt” and did so. While Declercq kept them covered, Symon Scheetz gave them the pat down. Then Declercq and Symon Scheetz marched the two men to the east door of Vulcan’s Roost to the door of the “jail” where Gretel stood guard. The two men were told to strip to their underwear, and then enter the “jail” and the door closed behind them.

  Horus change the Invader Count from 19 to 17 and the jail count to 6.

  If it had been something a little less dangerous, Symon Scheetz and Declercq might have high-fived but instead turned around and went to the tunnel where they retrieved the weaponry and other armament effects the men had dropped. These were taken to a room where such paraphernalia was being stored.

  Chapter 34

  When General Gutierrez’s aide tried to call Soldado 30 and Soldado 32, there was no answer although Symon Scheetz and Declercq heard the calls because they were carrying the communicators. They had no need for such as their contact was in their ears. When General Gutierrez heard the aide’s report, he gave the order for his men to assemble in combat gear. Ten minutes later he addressed his troops.

  “Something is wrong at the volcano headquarters. One of our men, Lautaro Cabrero, has been attacked and killed by one of the predators. The other two men do not respond to calls.”

  There were sounds of horror from some of the men, but most took the news as well-trained soldiers which they were for the most part.

  “We are going to investigate. We will all go by truck to the tunnel entrance. There ten men led by Commandte Lopez will precede through the tunnel and secure the headquarters. If it is needed, the gate will be blown. We do not know what armament the defenders have other than what they have obtained from our men they have killed or captured. But there are only five who can possibly provide any adequate resistance. The “rich” don’t know how to use guns. The rest of us will remain on the plateau on alert.”

  When dismissed, they headed for trucks. But, when the drivers got into the vehicles and tried to start them, nothing happened. With Waldo’s help, Horus had “cut” the ignition circuits by changing the key frequency. There was nothing for the invaders to do but to proceed by foot and that meant double time carrying all their equipment. The General was anxious to help his men because, at least on his part, nothing had been going right. And that almost played right into the hands of Horus who had orchestrated the entire thing.

  Horus’s part in the plan – at least the most active part – started an hour before when drones started driving the predators toward the Vulcan’s Forge. It wasn’t all that easy because naturally the predators didn’t want to go, but Horus was relentless and had timed things perfectly. Using the red lights which were programmed to flicker like fire, he guided the wolf and coyotes so that they would come up behind the troops as they double timed up the road to the tunnel entrance. The lion and tiger were forced up the middle straight to the tunnel entrance. When they got close enough, they could smell fresh meat and were eager to go. The black panther, black bear and caracal were brought up the slope on the west side of the tunnel entrance and the snow leopard was kept above the entrance. He was the easy one because he was sated from his meal. When the troops reached the plateau entrance they were understandably upset for two reasons. First, there was the knowledge – memory for two of them– of the horror in the tunnel during the invasion when seven of their compadres died and there was the sight of the partially eaten body of their comrade Lautaro Cabrero lying directly in front of the closed tunnel entrance in a pool of blood, now dark and dried. They came to a halt while The General assessed the situation.

  “You two,” pointing at Axel Martin and Alejandro González, “drag the body away.”

  The two men stepped forward but when they got near the body, the snow leopard – roused from sleep by its drone – roared in disapproval and made his presence known. When the roar was hardly finished, it was echoed by the lion and tiger coming up the center of the plateau and the black panther to the west. The canines were silent in their approach as was their practice. This was enough to make the men nervous because they knew the predators were approaching and that they were not permitted to shoot them.

  Then two things happened fairly simultaneously. The gates opened and several men at the rear of the column turned around to retreat and saw the canines approaching. They shouted this and The General, seizing the only viable alternative, shouted at his men to enter the tunnel and then close the gates. Logically this was the only alternative other than waging war upon the felines. The men – albeit grudgingly – accepted the alternative and entered the tunnel. The first group inside was afraid to go too far in, but those behind them pushed them until all were inside and they were trapped. The drones keep prodding the beasts toward the tunnel entrance and the men, scared for their lives fired at the predators
– whom Horus had pushed a little too close – killing the black panther and severely wounding the black bear. But the men halted when they came to the first metal plate.

  However, it was here that Comandante Lopez proved his worth. Unlike General Gutierrez, he was a solid soldier. He wanted to make the military his life but ran into a senior officer who didn’t like being shown up and Pedro was doing that consistently. Consequently, he was surprised when he was turned down for advancement to comandante. He argued with his superior but got nowhere and the board reviewing the case sided with the superior. He had just gotten out and was looking for something to do when this position was brought to his attention. The General looked at his record and – not knowing the true story but looking for someone he could overshadow – accepted him as his second in command, an extremely fortunate decision in this case.

  Comandante Pedro Lopez had led the troops into the tunnel on the original assault and was determined that the traps encountered then were not going to be a hindrance to his troops again. He had walked the tunnel several time and discovered that there was a third ten-foot metal plate, five feet beyond the second of the plates. Therefore when they had come up this time, they brought with them three fourteen-foot long, three-foot wide wooden plank bridges made from materials they had found in the compound. The materials were from the wood used to make the pallets for the two bulldozers or had served as cartons in which the pieces for the Charon bridge had been shipped. The only video cameras in the tunnel were at the plateau entrance and even before the troops had entered the tunnel two things had happened. First, a pistol expert had entered the tunnel and shot the interior video camera. Not expecting this kind of assault, the camera was not protected. The second thing was that all the cards given to the soldiers had been left in the compound on their beds. By the time, Horus realized that something serious was wrong because he knew that soldiers were on the plateau, but the cards indicated they were in the barracks in the compound. He had sent for Issaack and Siegfried, but they could add nothing except guesswork. The drones used to coerce the predators to come to the plateau were needed to keep them there because they wanted to leave after the shooting, but it was felt that they couldn’t be permitted to go very far. But that wasn’t going to last forever so the troops had to be allowed to enter the tunnel and once inside the gates were shut. The gates could be opened, and the predators sent in, but it was obvious that they all would be killed. So the gates were left closed and the invaders could just go forward unless they blew the gates but there was no purpose in that.