MERCENARY a gripping, action-packed thriller (Johnny Silver Thriller Book 1)

by PAUL BENNETT

  It was Stan who would have the most dangerous journey. In the boot of his Volkswagen people carrier was an arsenal of guns. He couldn’t afford to be stopped by the police for some minor traffic offence and have the car searched. He said he would go alone – no one else should be put at risk.

  Pieter was to drive one of the hire cars with Carlo as a passenger and Bull as a minder. I took another hire car and left first so that I could get some cash and find us all some accommodation within striking distance of the forest, or better still, deep inside it.

  I was lucky to find a hunting lodge with four bedrooms just inside the forest outside Freiberg. Carlo and I would share one room, the others could take their pick of the other bedrooms and the sofa bed in the central large living room. The hunting lodge was basic, no more than a glorified log cabin, but we’d known much worse. It would be just like old times.

  Whilst in Freiberg I also stopped at a supermarket and bought some basic supplies – sugar, salt, rice, potatoes, ketchup, eggs, canned stuff and so on – as well as enough meat and beers to last a few days. We would need to be self-sufficient, as keeping a low profile was a priority.

  When we were all assembled I started to allocate tasks. Red was to organise rotas for cooking and for watches during the night. Stan was to sort out defences for the lodge, Pieter and Bull to begin the reconnaissance of the area. By seven o’clock the September sun was starting to set and Pieter and Bull arrived back. Red set some beers on the big oak table and we lit a fire. It felt like home, or at least the sort of home we were used to during our mercenary days.

  ‘Time for reports,’ I said.

  Bull started. ‘The holding station is about five miles from here, deep in the heart of the forest. Natasha was right, you can’t miss it. There’s a well-made track, solid enough to take one of the trucks from the transport company run by Almas. It leads to a big compound surrounded by a high barbed-wire fence and watch-towers at each corner. The sign outside says it’s a facility for war games, presumably so that if anyone hears shooting or anything untoward they’d think it was nothing to be bothered about. I don’t think the watch-towers are as much of a problem as they seem at first sight. I reckon the guards are more likely to be looking into the compound to make sure that no one escapes rather than looking outside for potential threats. Inside the compound is a collection of huts to house the people and a large central building that I suppose is for admin, although it seems too big. I can’t see what other purpose it would have.’

  ‘Anna told me,’ I said, ‘that everyone has extensive medical checks before they are taken from the compound for their journey to Amsterdam or wherever. That could be it – some kind of medical facility with all the equipment they need. I doubt that Almas spares any expense. Be good to get another look earlier in the day when there might be more activity.’

  ‘We need some binoculars,’ Bull said.

  ‘Can you take a trip into Freiberg in the morning and buy some and anything else we might need?’

  ‘No problem,’ Bull said.

  We then looked at Stan.

  ‘Firing positions,’ he said. ‘I’ve laid them out with gaffer tape – a big X for each one. We’re very close to the trees, so we won’t see any attackers until the last minute. The lodge provides all-round cover from the windows so you’ll see the firing positions there. There’s another inside by the door – you’ll have to keep low there because the door will need to be open in order to utilize it. The biggest problem will be the roof. It’s vulnerable to smoking us out by dropping fire or a smoke grenade, if they have one, down the chimney. They could also chop a hole in the roof pretty easily, so I’ve marked out a position in the corner of this room.’ He pointed it out. ‘But, on the whole, we can put up a fair defence from inside. If we get warning of an attack, I’ve also laid out positions in the forest, one at each quadrant.’

  ‘You’re not expecting them to attack us, are you?’ said Carlo, sounding worried.

  ‘No,’ I said, ‘but in our business you try to allow for any eventuality. They don’t know we’re here, or what we are intending, but it’s better to play safe.’ I turned back to Stan. ‘Have you got everything on the shopping list?’ I asked.

  ‘Everything and a bit more,’ he said. ‘Playing safe again,’ he said for Carlo’s benefit. ‘Do you want them now?’

  ‘Let’s eat first. What have we got, Red?’

  ‘My special recipe chilli con carne. Hot stuff, like Pieter,’ he said with a laugh. ‘Man’s food. You can’t fight on an empty stomach.’

  He left the table and brought in plates and cutlery for us to pass around and then returned with a big bowl of rice and another of his chilli. It smelt good.

  The bowls circulated and we helped ourselves. I raised my can of beer and said, ‘To the success of our operation.’

  Cans were raised around the table. Then we dug in to the chilli.

  There was silence.

  ‘Interesting,’ I said. I had another mouthful to make sure. Remembered back to Scout’s glass of water. ‘We need to talk, Red. And you have to be honest with us. You’ve used sugar instead of salt. You can’t see without glasses, can you? That’s why you’ve been wearing sunglasses so much. They’re prescription lenses, aren’t they?’

  Red looked down at the table, avoiding our eyes. ‘My sight’s been worsening for the last three years. I have to wear glasses all the time now. I thought if I told you about it you wouldn’t want me.’

  ‘Wearing glasses isn’t a problem unless they get broken or something happens to them during the cut and thrust of battle. Then you’re blind and a hazard to us as well as yourself.’

  ‘I’ve got just the thing,’ Stan said.

  He got up from the table and went outside. Came back with a gym bag in each hand. Placed them on the sofa and began to unpack them. One by one he laid out the contents.

  ‘Four Colt M16 assault rifles,’ he said. ‘I went for this instead of the Kalashnikov AK-74 because it’s more reliable, less likely to jam. Lighter and a greater maximum range too. That was one for each of us. Your favourite Uzi, Johnny. Silencer already fitted. Five Browning High Powers 9mm with silencers, one each, leather shoulder holsters. Barrett M82A1 monster sniper rifle – you never know when one will come in handy. And for Red, this.’ He reached inside the bag, pulled something out and passed it to Red. ‘Pump-action shotgun. You don’t need to see much with one of these – just aim at a shape and fire. You can’t miss.’ Stan paused. ‘One thing to remember. Just make sure we’re behind you. We don’t want any collateral damage.’

  Red nodded and got up from the table. He went into his room and came back wearing a pair of steel-rim glasses. He pointed at the chilli and said, ‘What do you want me to do?’

  ‘Two things,’ Pieter said. ‘Pass the ketchup, and pray that we’re not still here when it’s my turn to cook.’

  Pieter was on breakfast duty – cereals and toast – which was good since he couldn’t really mess it up. He managed to burn the toast though.

  There was a chill to the autumn air and we all had on jackets over our sweatshirts and jeans. The jackets helped conceal the bulge of the holstered handguns too. It was a further reconnaissance mission so we left the assault rifles back at the lodge. We also left Carlo, whose laboured breathing and heavy footsteps would have been a liability when moving silently through the forest. He couldn’t go anywhere because we had taken all the keys to the hire cars and wouldn’t get far on foot. I still didn’t trust him not to do something impulsive that would endanger us all.

  The holding camp was about five miles away and we approached on foot rather than taking the people carrier and having to find somewhere to hide it. We set off at a jog and it was good to be doing some physical exercise again. Red had his glasses on and was leading with Bull close behind. Pieter and I took positions on the left and right and Stan watched the back door.

  The forest was mainly pines and firs and provided good cover. Occasionally we would come ac
ross an open space where the trees had been cut down by mass logging. While in these clearings we could see the surrounding mountains, some already with snow on their peaks. It was easy going, the soft carpet of decaying needles from the trees cushioning our feet. Pieter was struggling – he was out of condition – and we had to slacken our pace from time to time for him to catch up.

  When we reached the holding station we lay on our fronts and surveyed the scene. Stan produced a pair of binoculars and passed them to me. It was exactly as Bull had described it last night at dinner. It was like a scene from a prisoner-of-war movie with the watch-towers at each corner of a square. People were shuffling around in that aimless manner of the captive. It reminded me of the animals at the zoo.

  ‘Entry won’t be a problem,’ Stan said. ‘I’ve got some bolt-cutters so we can cut the wire easily.’

  ‘Tell me, Stan,’ I said, ‘is there anything you didn’t bring?’

  ‘Only female company.’

  ‘Spoilsport,’ said Pieter.

  ‘The best place to cut,’ Bull said, ‘would be at the base of one of the watch-towers. We’d be concealed from view there. The trickiest bit is covering the open ground of the square to get to the huts. Always presuming that Irina is in one of the huts.’

  ‘Good enough place to start,’ I said.

  ‘We could use your silenced Uzi to take out the guards,’ said Stan.

  ‘I’d rather not start shooting yet,’ I said. ‘We don’t know who are the good guys and who are the bad. Some may just be obeying orders.’

  ‘That conscience of yours is going to get you in trouble one day,’ said Red.

  ‘But not today, hopefully,’ I said, knowing that he might be right.

  ‘Indian brave can take out a guard silently,’ Red said. ‘Bringum heap big rope to tie up and something to use as a gag.’

  ‘It’s a good idea,’ I said, ‘but we need to take out all four guards at the same time. Anyone not up for it?’ No one spoke. ‘Red, are you sure you can manage it?’

  ‘No problem. I’m better close up.’

  ‘OK, we cut holes in the wire one watch-tower at a time. When they’re all done we move through simultaneously and take out the guards. Pieter, you stay on the outside in case there’s trouble and move to any point that needs help.’

  We carried on watching for a while. At intervals of around a half-hour one of the people walking around the square was singled out and taken to the central facility. At twelve o’clock the guards changed. At one, large tureens of food were taken into the huts and the inmates moved inside for a meal. It was as riveting as watching paint dry, but it was a necessary part of the preparations. After a further hour Bull volunteered to stay behind to continue the watch and the rest of us headed back to the lodge. As we were leaving, Stan turned to Bull and said, ‘Dinner will be at nine. Don’t be late. I wouldn’t want it to spoil.’

  ‘Are you doing something special? I don’t have to wear black tie, do I?’

  ‘Special Polish recipe.’

  ‘So, it’s stew then,’ Bull said.

  Bull was back on the dot of nine. He had jogged back and was breathing heavily when he walked through the door. The sight that greeted him must have taken him aback. The table had been laid and Stan had even managed to find some napkins. There were water glasses for each of us and he was just setting down a cold beer by each place.

  ‘What’s this in aid of?’ asked Bull.

  ‘If a job’s worth doing,’ Stan said, ‘it’s worth doing properly.’

  ‘I’ll go and clean up,’ Bull said. ‘I suppose that’s all right?’

  Stan sighed. ‘Make it quick,’ he said.

  The stew was good. Some kind of cut of pork with paprika. To go with it were potatoes and a mixture of carrots, green beans and peas. There was a loaf of bread that Stan sliced into large chunks and placed in a wooden bowl for passing around. We fell silent for a while. Finally Red broke ranks.

  ‘This is good,’ he said. ‘Where did you learn to cook like this?’

  ‘It’s what I do now,’ Stan said. ‘I’m a sous chef at a restaurant in Warsaw.’

  ‘I suppose you can still kill people by cooking,’ Pieter said. ‘We could keep you in reserve in case we want anyone poisoned.’

  ‘If you go on like that, you could be the first,’ Stan said.

  I turned to Bull. ‘Did you learn anything new?’ I said.

  ‘They changed the guards at eight o’clock so it looks like they work eight-hour shifts. I’m going back there later to see what they do during the night. If it was me I’d make it four-hour shifts at night – hard to maintain concentration when it’s dark. That would put the guard count to sixteen minimum. Be best if we could pen them in so they don’t get in our way.’

  ‘We hit them tomorrow when we know their movements. Do it sometime in the hours of dark. Take out the guards and move to the huts. Find Irina and out.’

  ‘You talk about it so casually,’ said Carlo. ‘Aren’t you afraid?’

  ‘Of course,’ said Bull. ‘Be stupid not to be. But you deal with it. Use the adrenaline to drive you on. And we try to plan for all eventualities. That’s why we’re not hitting them tonight – don’t know enough about the set up.’

  Carlo shook his head. The idea of actually waiting before doing something was foreign to him. Go with your instincts was his philosophy, even if past experience proved that the strategy was flawed.

  ‘I’m not sure I’ll ever fully understand you people. Why do you do it?’

  ‘It’s a living,’ said Pieter. ‘And we’re good at it. Since we broke up as a group I’ve not felt really good at anything. I drifted, couldn’t hold down a job. I missed the action. I missed the comradeship. I feel better than I have done for years, even if I’m now putting myself in danger.’

  ‘Maybe the danger is part of it,’ Red said. ‘Testing oneself, overcoming the fear and the danger. The buzz when the plan comes together and we execute it perfectly.’

  ‘We’re a good team,’ I said. ‘And that’s rare. When we go into action we each know our role. We depend on each other – and that’s good. Being able to trust people is a good feeling.’

  ‘I let you down badly, didn’t I?’ said Carlo.

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Don’t do it again.’

  ‘Or you’ll have five of us after your hide,’ said Bull.

  22

  Bull and I lay on our stomachs, keeping watch on the compound of the holding station. Running a stake-out is lonely work and since there’s always a risk of falling asleep I had decided to accompany Bull. We needed to see if the guards stuck to eight-hour shifts or whether the timing was different during the night.

  All was quiet and still. The only activity was the regular beam of light coming from the searchlight on the top of each watch-tower. As we had reasoned the lights only shone inwards and didn’t scan for entry from the outside. The plan we had worked out looked good.

  ‘Do you think we’ll get thanked at the end of this job?’ Bull said.

  ‘Doubt it. Never got much thanks in the past.’

  ‘We’re like the wind,’ Bull said. ‘We breeze into town, blow away all the bad stuff and move on. Everyone’s happy when we arrive and no one’s sorry to see us go.’

  ‘What brought on this burst of philosophy?’ I said.

  ‘Just thinking of the five of us. We don’t really know any other kind of living. Pieter’s been drifting around and is out of shape. Red told me he’d been doing the rodeo circuit and that the horses had started to beat him rather than the other way round. Stan is Stan and always will be, but one day his meticulous planning will miss out a vital element or he won’t be able to think quick enough on his feet. We’re all getting older. Should be wiser too. But this is all we know and we can’t break out.’

  ‘Wow,’ I said. ‘Some speech.’

  ‘Just nervous, I guess. Makes me think more about failure and its consequences. In the old days we didn’t have any ties. That made everyt
hing easier. But now, well, I wouldn’t want to leave Mai Ling without a husband and Michael without a father. If things go wrong, promise me you’ll look after them.’

  ‘I promise,’ I said.

  He gave a sigh of relief.

  The lights stopped their motion. Four figures appeared from the largest of the huts and walked across the compound to their respective posts. It was midnight – looked like they were working on four-hour shifts during the night. The best time for us to strike would be around two o’clock when tiredness was starting to get a hold.

  Suddenly a lone figure ran from one of the huts and headed for the wire fence. He must have thought that the guards would be distracted at the changeover. They were, but not enough. A shout in a language I couldn’t understand came from one of the guards. The figure kept running and then leapt at the fence. He started to climb, but there wasn’t anything to give him sufficient hold. One of the guards turned to face him and shouted again. A gun was raised and pointed at him. The guard shouted again. The figure kept up his pointless climb up the fence. A burst of bullets rang out and the figure fell to the ground. It didn’t move.

  ‘Least we now know who the bad guys are,’ said Bull.

  ‘And what they’ll do when challenged,’ I said. ‘Tomorrow night we take no prisoners.’

  We slept late and had a large brunch which Carlo – turning over a new leaf, perhaps – cooked. The bacon was so crisp it shattered into a thousand pieces when you put your fork in it. The eggs were so hard that they had the look and the texture of a discus. Luckily none of us was hungry. Nerves were beginning to gnaw at our insides.

  We spent the day packing all our things for an instant getaway that night and, when that was done, in various types of displacement activity. We cleaned all the weapons and then Stan, in sergeant-major mode, sucked air through his teeth and got us to clean them again. We checked out the firing positions marked by branches that Stan had laid out around the perimeter of the cabin and left spare clips of ammunition by the internal firing positions. Finally we adjusted the straps on the shoulder holsters and started to pack the cars.