The Demon Deception

by Mark Harritt

  Lazarus was dismayed. He looked at Sam with concern, “Ah, big guy, I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Are you okay? Do you have a fever?”

  Sam looked over at the expression on Lazarus’ face, and began laughing, tears rolling down his face. He was laughing so hard that Lazarus was afraid Sam would drive off the road.

  “Oh, man, the look on your face. Oh, that’s absolutely precious. I wish I had a camera to take a picture of that face.”

  Lazarus shook his head at his friend’s obvious dementia, “You my friend, are seriously disturbed.”

  “What’s the matter, Eli? You don’t like to laugh anymore?”

  “No, it’s not that. I think this thing’s more complicated than we were initially led to believe.”

  Sam frowned, “What, working with a demon to fight evil from outside the universe isn’t complicated enough?”

  Lazarus looked out the side window, at the countryside, “Evidently not. There might be third party involvement on this side of the equation.”

  Sam’s expression went from humorous to serious, “What third party?”

  “Think about it. How did my guys, the good guys, know that this was happening?”

  Sam shrugged, “All powerful, all knowing.”

  Lazarus shook his head, “No, or, at least that’s not the intel I’m getting from Uriel.”

  A dumbfounded expression look appeared on Sam’s face. The pickup truck swerved as Sam took his eyes of the road to look at Lazarus, “Seriously. Are you kidding me? Uriel, an archangel, came down from heaven, and told you that there was a third party involved in all of this.”

  Lazarus shrugged. He pointed at the road that Sam was ignoring. Sam got the hint and looked forward.

  Sam shook his head in consternation, “Okay, I get the, ‘Redeemer laid his hands on me and I arose from the dead.’ I can handle that in a somewhat abstract way. But dude, a direct line to heaven?”

  Lazarus waved that away, “It doesn’t happen often. Last time was a few hundred years ago.”

  Sam frowned, “You and I need to have a serious talk sometime. There are a few things that you and I need to discuss.”

  “Such as?” Lazarus asked.

  “Such as the, brought back from the dead, fought demonic evil for two thousand years, have intimate knowledge of demons and angels. Hell, you probably know more about the way the universe works than the Vatican or the people at CERN.”

  Lazarus looked away, “Maybe.”

  Sam frowned, “In light of what you’re telling me, I think we should be a bit more circumspect when we go into check on the first cache.”

  Lazarus thought about it, “Yeah, I see your point. Without knowing anything about this possible third party, we should be more careful.”

  “And the bad guys just keep piling on,” Sam thought for a moment. “Well, there is one upside to all of this.”

  “What’s that?”

  “We don’t have to worry about an innocent being in the way. I was right about that. Seems we’ll have bad guys 360 degrees.”

  The conversation subsided. Lazarus was unhappy as he thought about that last statement, “There is that at least.”

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  It was just before noon when they got close to the first site. Sam pulled over at a restaurant. A light mist was starting to fall.

  “What’s up?” Lazarus asked.

  Sam smiled, “Recon time.”

  “What, you don’t want to just drive up to the cache site and hope that we don’t have any uninvited guests?”

  Sam shook his head, “I think you know me better than that.” He pulled out a topographical map of the area, and began pointing out where the cache was, and how they would have to drive into the cache site.

  “So, you want both of us to go in and have a sneak and peak before we drive in?”

  Sam shook his head, “No, I think I can handle this one. If you look here, this is the obvious, and only way that we can get a vehicle into the cache site.”

  He pointed out a logging road that ran towards the valley where the cache was. The valley was flanked on both sides by two spurs off of a ridge.

  “If I was wantin’ to take us out, I’d have a team, maybe two, of snipers in the bushes, waitin’ for coordinated shots at us. That way, they can kill us both at the exact same time. No place to hide if both sides of the car are covered.”

  Lazarus conceded Sam’s logic.

  Sam continued, “So, I’m thinkin’ that one team would be right here, and the other would be right around here.”

  “What do you want to do about them?” Lazarus asked.

  “Well, I think that if I come in from the backside, over here, I could go in and take a look around and see if I see them, before they see me. I could go in over here, and then you could drive around the opening of the valley, say, in three hours, to give me a distraction to use against them.”

  Lazarus thought about the plan. It was a good plan, but he would prefer to back Sam up in the woods. Sam was good in the woods, though. There was no better stalker for this kind of work.

  Stalking was not for the faint hearted. It took a special skill set to move silently through the woods without being seen or heard. Stalking wasn’t something that was taught in the military, at least not to the regular infantry. Too often, leaders were more interested in getting their infantry to a certain location by a certain time, leading to the phrase, “movement to contact.”

  Movement to contact just meant that the infantry walked until somebody started shooting at them. Then they would react against whoever and wherever the shooting began. The problem was, of course, the first guy gets shot at; if it was a well thought out ambush, he usually didn’t walk away from the initial contact.

  Stalking was a different skill set, though. Stalking involved an understanding of the psychology of your enemy and woods skills to find your targets. In this case, that would be the team or teams of snipers that might be in the woods waiting for them. Stalking was a slow, laborious process. Quick movement would get a man killed in that environment. Anything that attracted the eye, or made a sound would get you killed just as quickly.

  Lazarus nodded, but said, “Okay, we can do it your way, but I’d feel better if you let the rain work its magic for a while. Plus, I think it would be better for you if you wait until visibility decreases, maybe after the sun goes down.”

  Sam thought about it, “Yeah, okay, we can do that. There’s a small Econolodge we can set up at. I can move out of there, and you can watch TV until it’s time for you to cause the distraction.”

  “You brought night vision goggles?” Lazarus asked.

  Sam grinned, “Of course. What good Marine would go anywhere without NVGs. It’s the latest in fashion trends.”

  Lazarus smiled, and nodded, “Okay, let’s go.”

  Sam started the Dodge, and they went to the Econolodge. The Econolodge had seen better days. It was run down, and there were only a few cars out front. The manager was surprised to see them, but quickly took their money for the two adjoining rooms. Lazarus made sure the rooms were at the back, close to the woods so that Sam could slip out without being seen.

  They pulled out their duffle bags and took them into the rooms. When they got inside, Sam pulled out everything he would need for the night time reconnaissance. He had light boots, multicam pants and shirt. He had a boonie cap in the same camouflage pattern. He pulled out camo cream for his face.

  There was multicam gortex for the rain, but he didn’t want to use that for the stalk. The swish of the material moving back and forth would give him away. It was going to be a wet night, but it would only be for a few hours. He would be cold and wet, but better cold and wet, than dry and dead.

  He pulled out a Heckler and Koch MP5 in 9mm. The weapon was made for this kind of situation. It was silenced for the subsonic 9mm rounds he was using, and the action was buffered so that the sound of the bullets cycling through couldn’t be heard. I
t was the perfect tool for in close wet work. He could quickly dispatch one team then move to the other team. The only thing that he had to worry about was the flash of the gunshots.

  It was a few hours before he had to go out, and he was going to be out late, so he decided to take a nap. He racked out, and Lazarus was set to wake him an hour before it was time for the recon. Lazarus went back to his room, turned on the TV, and watched for a while before he became hungry. He took the pickup truck out and bought some hamburgers from a local shack and brought them back to the Econolodge. He bought four of them, knowing that Sam would be hungry when he woke. Lazarus tried one, and it was actually pretty good. The fries sucked though. He wash it down with a coke. The first was so good, he decided to eat another, saving the other two for Sam.

  The hours passed. He kept looking at his watch, but time was dragging. Finally, he looked at his watch, and it was time. He walked next door, and banged on Sam’s door. Sam opened the door and turned back into the room. Lazarus followed him in. He sat the bag with the burgers on the table.

  “What’s this?”

  “Dinner. I hope you like cheeseburgers.”

  “Who doesn’t like cheeseburgers?” Sam asked. He pulled out one of the burgers and unwrapped it. It was lukewarm, but it was better than nothing. He took a bite, “Hey, not bad.”

  “Yeah, but the fries suck.”

  Sam tried one, “Yeah, you’re right, they do suck.”

  Lazarus noticed that didn’t keep Sam from eating the rest of them. The coke disappeared quickly as well.

  Sam began getting dressed. “How cold is it?” he asked.

  “In the low fifties. It’ll be colder by the time you finish.”

  Sam nodded, “No problem. That’ll be perfect. Is it still raining?”

  Lazarus shook his head, “No, it stopped raining about an hour ago. Just enough to make everything wet out there.

  Sam smiled, “Good. That should keep the noise down.”

  A look of concern crossed Lazarus’ face, “Sam, are you sure you want to do it this way? I can go out as well.”

  Sam shook his head, “Naw, don’t worry. If they’re out there, I’ll deal with it.” He noticed the look on Lazarus’ face, “Don’t worry, Mom. If they have rear security, or I think there’s too many, I’ll sneak back out, and we’ll figure out something else. That’s if there’s even anyone out there.”

  Sam added a kabar knife to his kit, a multicam camalbak, and a gunslinger pouch that had extra magazines in it. It also had a radio in it to call Lazarus. He put the starlight monocular on.

  “Okay, I’m ready.”

  Lazarus walked to door, and opened it. He stepped outside, pulled the door closed to keep anyone from seeing inside, and stretched. He walked down the sidewalk, then walked back to the room, looking around. There was no one moving outside. They couldn’t be seen from the office. Lazarus opened the door, stepped back to the room, and snapped his fingers. Sam ran directly out of the room to the woods. He was inside the wood line in less than two seconds. As soon as he entered the wood line, he couldn’t be seen. Lazarus closed the door and waited.

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  Sam made it to the tree line, and walked into the tree line away from the edge. He walked in about thirty feet. He crouched down to look and listen, to see if there was anything moving. He dropped the monocular over his non-firing eye, and turned it on. He had an infrared laser on the MP5, but he didn’t want to use it unless he had to. If there was somebody out there with NVGs, the laser would give Sam’s position away.

  When he was satisfied he was alone, he walked slowly, getting used to the sound and smell of the forest around him. The pine needles were quiet under his feet as he walked, the rain water soaking everything so that there was no crackle left in the vegetation. He walked quietly and slowly, testing every step before he put his full weight down. He made slow time, but he was very quiet. He fell into a rhythm and soon he was a ghost among the trees. He moved from the shadow of one tree to another, avoiding clearings, allowing him to blend into the darkness.

  It took him a long time to move to the area he was interested in. Stalking took time, the slower the better to ensure that you saw or heard the other person first. Stalking was a very deliberate skill. The stalker had to be patient.

  It took him an hour to get to the area. He began his sweep along the top of the ridge. He moved even slower while making the sweep, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He was looking for something that wasn’t natural, something that would stand out. As he walked, he noticed that there was no rear security. So, either there wasn’t anybody up there, or they weren’t very professional. Still, he didn’t let down his guard. He kept moving.

  It took him a while, but then he saw the shooter stretched out on the ground. The shooter had made one very tiny, but very important mistake. He was wearing vibram soled boots. It said so, on the bottom of his boot, with a big yellow rectangle. Sam looked around, looking for the sniper’s spotter. Usually sniper’s operated in teams of two, a sniper and spotter. The spotter served two purposes. One, the spotter helped the sniper figure out range, elevation, and wind. Second, he acted as the sniper’s security, so that the sniper could concentrate on making the shot.

  Sam waited. He listened. He looked. He didn’t see a second person anywhere. He moved closer. Now he was taking a step every twenty seconds. When the sniper shifted, he would freeze in position, sometimes staying there for a full minute, looking and listening. Eventually, he closed to within ten feet of the shooter. Sam began to worry. He was worried the shooter would sense him. Sam had to think about what he did next. He could shoot, and possibly give away the fact that he was hunting the shooters. The muzzle flash would illuminate the surrounding vegetation, giving him away if there was a second or third team. Or he could use the knife, and hope that sounds of the struggle didn’t give him away. With the wet vegetation, and since there was only one shooter, he really had no choice. That gave him the edge when it came to stealth.

  Sam slowly shifted the MP5 to his back, and pulled the Kabar from the sheath. The guy was lying chest to the ground, his back to Sam, and he was only ten feet away. That was two, maybe three steps, then Sam would be on top of him. Sam took a deep breath, and rushed forward. He landed on top of the shooter, and stabbed down with the knife. The shooter struggled against the sudden weight on his back. Sam heard the rush of air as he landed and drove the air from the shooter’s lungs. He stabbed until he felt the shooter go slack. Then he cut the shooter’s throat.

  He knelt down, feeling around the shooter, not willing to use a light. There was blood everywhere, but he found what he was looking for. The shooter was wearing a microphone strapped to his throat, and had an ear piece in his ear. Sam felt around and found the line that ran to the radio on the shooter’s harness. So, there were at least two, possibly more shooters in the area.

  Sam stopped and listened. He listened for movement. He waited for ten minutes, and didn’t hear or see anybody. He pulled out his radio, and very quietly said, “One down.”

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  Lazarus waited for three hours, to give Sam time to clear the area. Around two hours, he heard Sam say, “One down,” over the handheld radio. This meant that, yes there was an ambush in place, and there was more than one shooter, or sniper team, out there. Now it was time for him to do his part. He climbed into the Dodge, and cranked the engine. He put it in gear, and drove out to the logging road. He took his time and drove slowly, pretending he didn’t know where he was going and didn’t know where to turn. He had to play this right, to give Sam a chance to take care of whatever problems he might find out there.

  The road was wet and the gravel loose with mud. He put the pickup truck into four wheel drive. He turned the bright lights on, to saturate the area with light. He hoped that the bright lights might blind the shooters. He found the side road that he needed, but drove past it, trying to
give Sam more time. He drove past about a mile, then turned around, and drove back.

  Lazarus was conflicted. He hadn’t heard anything from Sam. He didn’t know if he would be driving into a trap. For all he knew, Sam was dead and bleeding in the forest. He stopped at the entrance to the side road. He thought for a minute, and made a decision: no guts, no glory. He would rely on Sam’s capabilities. He turned onto the side road, and drove into the valley.

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  Sam spent the better part of an hour searching for the second sniper. He knew the guy was out here. It wasn’t just the radio that Sam found that indicated this to him. It was also an instinct that Sam had developed over the years. There were only two places the guy could have set up for the shot. The other shooter had to be in place to cover the other side of any vehicle that drove into the valley. Sam covered the first area, but he didn’t find anything. There was always the possibility that the second shooter had heard the first kill and was now hunting Sam. Sam was cautious, but that was always a possibility. Carefully, but understanding that his time was running out, he made his way to the second possible position.

  This guy was much better at hiding than the other shooter. Sam was having a bear of a time finding him. There was nothing artificial, no straight lines, nothing he could find. He didn’t see any movement, didn’t hear anything. Then it drifted to him on the wind. It was something most guys didn’t think about. Hell, most guys didn’t need to think about it. Sam thought about it, though. Little things like that were important when your life was on the line. That was why everything he used was scent free. He didn’t like to use any kind of products that had a smell to it. Out here in the woods, smell can give away your position. It smelled like shampoo, or soap. It was faint, but the breeze carried it to him.