by J C Ryan
“Okay Irene, in that case, we will both stay.” James laughed.
When the meeting with James was over, Carter suggested that he and Irene go and get a coffee on the outside before they returned to her office to continue with their preparation work.
Irene had taken a seat, and Carter was standing at the counter, waiting to order their coffees, when his cell phone started buzzing. He took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the message. It was from Roy. He and Andre were in different locations outside keeping a watch.
How much longer are you going to be???
Carter was half-surprised when he read the message, but then the three question marks struck him. It was their code for you are being watched; don’t say anything. He quickly hit reply and responded about 20 minutes!! He was careful to include the two exclamation marks which meant to divide the value of the number in half twice; 20 became 10 and 10 became five, meaning he would be out in five minutes.
Ordering the coffee to take away he paid for it picked up the two cups and, walking over to Irene smiled as he said, “Here’s yours, let’s go.”
She looked at him inquisitively, then seeing the slight movement of his head and eyes; indicating that they should leave, she got the message; smiling she took the cup and joined him as they walked outside.
Back in the safety of her office, Roy and Andre described what they’d seen.
“Shortly after you two entered the coffee shop a van pulled up and parked across the road from you,” Roy told them. “It looked like a plumber’s van with all the canisters, pipes, and things on the roof and sides; it also had a plumber’s signage on it. What caught my attention was that no one got out of the van and the windows were tinted so I couldn’t see what was going on inside. I told Andre via the throat mic to have a closer look. He was nearby on the same side of the street as the van.”
Andre nodded. “I was looking through the shop window at a woman who entered the shop shortly after you did. She was hanging around until Irene took a seat and then she took a seat, two tables away from Irene.”
“The woman with the turquoise scarf?” Irene asked.
“Yes, that’s the one.” Andre nodded. “Can’t say for sure if she had anything to do with this, but she certainly drew my attention for one reason or another.”
Andre continued. “That’s when I got Roy’s message to try and check out the van without raising any suspicion, so I walked past it. When I got closer, I saw the wires leading out of the canisters on the roof into the cabin. They hadn’t bothered obscuring those lines, and I’ve seen that setup before. Those PVC canisters are used to hide parabolic antennae and other surveillance equipment. I’d bet my bottom dollar if I opened the back door of that van we would have seen people with headphones sitting in front of panels with sophisticated listening equipment.”
A lengthy and uneasy silence settled over the four of them as they absorbed the information.
“Do you think they know you spotted them?” Carter asked.
“Difficult to say. They didn’t do anything to give that impression.” Andre replied. “But I assume they probably know Roy and I are your bodyguards. We have never tried to hide that from anyone. That’s part of body guarding – to be a visible deterrent.”
When Andre and Roy left, Carter turned to Irene. “Do you think the mole has poked its head out of the hole?”
Irene shrugged. “It’s possible. However, first we don’t know if that van had surveillance equipment on it. If it had, we can’t be sure you and I were their targets. If we were the targets, you could be certain, even if we grab them and hold their feet to the fire, they wouldn’t know who they’re working for. But it’s definitely going to be worth putting a few of our own people onto them to see where it leads us.”
“I’ve got an idea,” Carter said. “If these people are so keen to hear what we say to each other let’s feed them a bit of information and blow a bit of smoke up their skirts.”
“Exactly what I was going to suggest,” Irene smiled. “Let’s talk to Sean and Dylan and see what they think.”
***
The day before, Lex and Jason were watching the video feed coming from the two drones over Freydis, 25 miles away, and saw Carter and his two bodyguards pack their luggage into the Piper Seminole and take off.
Judging by the luggage, it looked as if the three men were going to be away from Freydis for a while. They let their manager know and waited for further instructions. They were hoping for a break from the monotonous routine. Sitting in a log hut in the middle of the wilderness with no Internet or cell phone connection was driving them bonkers. They were not allowed to use the satellite connection to the Internet for any purpose other than sending the data feeds back to the offices in Montreal.
During the daytime, they, at least, had something to do when they were controlling the drones and watching the video feeds coming in. At night, there was nothing to do. They’d read all the books and watched all the videos, which they’d brought with them, at least three times. Although both of them had military training, neither one of them were the outdoor, nature-loving, type and they were bored stiff.
When they saw Carter and his companions leaving, they thought maybe their manager would let them go back to Montreal and wait there until Carter returned. They were both thoroughly pissed-off when they were told to stay put and wait for instructions.
A few hours later, they received their instructions. They were to go and check out the Freydis homestead, break into the place if they could, and collect as much information as possible. That would have been all okay with them – it sounded like a bit of an adventure – but that was only until they were told that they had to cover the 25 miles from their location to Freydis and back on foot.
“A 50-mile round trip on foot!” Lex shouted after the call with the manager ended. “What the hell does he think we are? Pack mules or mountain goats or something? Is he fuckin’ crazy?”
“Maybe he is,” Jason shrugged, “but the problem is if we don’t do it he might just leave us in this godforsaken place forever. So I suggest the quicker we get it done, the quicker we can go back to our girls in Montreal.”
“50 fuckin’ miles!” Lex shouted again. “It’s going to take days to do it.”
“Well, then we better get going,” Jason grinned.
***
Sean and Dylan had questioned Andre and Roy in detail about the morning’s encounter and agreed that the safest assumption to make was that the van was equipped for surveillance purposes and that Carter and Irene were the targets.
They suggested that the best approach would be not to let their observers know they had been discovered and to act normally. Carter and Irene would go back to the same coffee shop the next morning and every day after that. Apart from Roy and Andre, who would be there and make their presence known, three more people would be assigned who would try and get a better look at the van or any similar vehicle. They’d take pictures of it and try to get close enough to stick a small tracking device on it. They’d also take photos of all the people in and around the shop.
If the vehicle was there the next day, they would have their confirmation and would follow it. They were not going to jump them too quickly; they wanted to observe them for a while to see what they could learn.
“So, Carter for the next few days you and Irene go back to that coffee shop, but instead of ordering takeaway you sit at a table next to the window facing the street, and you talk shop.” Sean smiled. “That is when we’re going to blow some smoke up their skirts as Carter suggested.”
“We’re going to let them know Carter is on his way to the City of Lights and that he and his team are planning to leave in two weeks.”
Carter and Irene nodded their understanding.
“However, in the meantime, I suggest we fast track your departure Carter and get you ready to leave in three days’ time. Do you think that can be done?”
Carter looked at Irene. She nodded and replied, “Yes, we have all the eq
uipment ready, the men are on standby prepared to go with an hour’s notice. The only reason we were planning to go in two weeks was to give Kevin and John a bit of time to be with their girlfriends and to put Carter through more training.”
“I spoke to Kevin and John, and they were both happy with Carter’s progress and current skills,” Dylan said. “He’s not nearly ready for a hostage rescue mission, but that’s not what he is going to be doing out there in the Egyptian desert. So I’m comfortable with him going there with the four bodyguards.”
“I will just double check with our Egyptian contacts that Daan Hannah is onsite and has no plans to leave soon,” Irene said. “Then I’ll arrange with our private charter company to have a Gulfstream jet ready to fly the five of you out in three days. I already have everyone’s passport and will make the necessary arrangements for border control to stamp their departure but make sure it is not entered into any records.”
They spent another hour discussing the details and finalizing the plans before Carter and Irene returned to the A-Echelon offices.
***
The next morning shortly after Carter and Irene took their seats in the coffee shop Carter got a text message from Roy. Just got good news. Jane is pregnant!
That was the signal; the van has arrived again.
Carter replied. Well-done! Great news! The code that he understood and they were proceeding as planned.
He and Irene had to suppress the urge to stare out the window to try and see the van. They spoke about family, weather and politics and then turned the conversation to their preplanned agenda.
“I heard this morning that you’re going back to Egypt soon,” Irene said.
“Yep, things are finally coming together for a return trip.”
“When do you leave?”
“Not soon enough for me,” Carter laughed. “The week after next.”
“I’m excited for you, Carter. You must be thrilled to be going back to the City of Lights again.”
“Yes, very excited. It’s an intriguing place, Irene, but difficult to describe it to anyone. You have to experience it. The wondrous thing is when those lights come on at night. It feels like you are in another world.”
She laughed, and they continued the conversation for another ten minutes, and then left when they had finished their coffee.
Later that afternoon Sean told them that they had tracked the van; it belonged to AMZ Security, a company located on the outskirts of DC. Rick Winslow, their IT guru, was already on the job, hacking into their servers and scanning their personnel records and financial data.
***
Lex and Jason unenthusiastically stuffed their backpacks with food and water bottles and set course for Freydis just before sunrise the next morning. There would be no weapons or special clothes, and no camouflage. Their cover was that they were hikers, and if they were discovered on Freydis, they’d say they were lost and looking for shelter and directions to get back to civilization.
They were hoping to reach the Freydis homestead that same night, but they had misjudged the terrain, the distance, and their state of fitness.
Instead, they were forced to spend a nearly sleepless night under a rock overhang, on the hard ground. The following morning just before midday they reached a summit from where they could see the Freydis homestead still about two miles away. Lying low for the rest of the day, they waited until it was dark to approach the buildings unnoticed.
Loki and Keeva were on the hunt; the pups were now old enough to be demanding solid food and had ravenous appetites. They faced into the soft, almost undetectable, breeze from the east, picking up scents from a variety of small creatures that had come out to forage. The pickings were good, and they could afford to be choosy.
Behind them, their four pups were safely asleep in the cave.
Lex and Jason arrived at the homestead, feeling their way around in the dim light of their small flashlights.
Lex clumsily bumped into an empty four-gallon gas can knocking it over and causing a thunderous crash when the can hit the concrete.
Both men froze in their tracks, switched off their flashlights, and waited.
About three miles away Loki stopped and lifted his nose into the breeze; his ears were raised. Keeva heard it as well, there was little they would miss when it came to sounds or smells over the vast Freydis property, their senses were sharp and honed to perfection.
Loki turned aside and moved quickly, dropping into a full lope in the direction of the sound, Keeva settled into the easy, mile-eating gait beside him.
Nothing stirred, and the men began to relax.
“Be careful, you clumsy twit,” Jason whispered as he switched his flashlight back on and started moving towards the house again.
They reached the house and started circling it searching for a window they could break that would allow them easy access in and out.
A mile away Loki stopped, his nose lifted, as did Keeva - an unfamiliar scent reached them. Humans, but not the humans he and Keeva knew and protected. He snorted to clear his nostrils then tore out at full speed with Keeva close behind.
After a few minutes, Lex and Jason found an ideal window on the porch for the break-in. Jason went back to look for something he could use to break the glass. There were no burglar guards on any of the windows and as far as they could see, no alarm system. He found a spade in the shed and returned to the porch.
He was halfway up the stairs when he heard quiet snarling and spun around.
To his horror, in the moonlight he saw two wolves, their lips drawn back exposing their fangs. They were large and threatening, and their growls, a rattling sound deep in their throats, terrified him.
They were moving very slowly towards him, their eyes glowing green-gold in the flashlight.
He started yelling. “Oh God, Lex, RUN! WOLVES! They’re going to attack us!”
Jason tripped on the top step and fell backward onto the porch floor but jumped up like a rubber ball. He had the spade in his hand but had dropped his flashlight on the ground. He could see the wolves still moving slowly towards him and hear their deep threatening snarls.
His terror grew; he started screaming and lifted the shovel above his head ready to strike if the wolves attacked. He didn’t know where Lex was. Maybe if Lex would come and stand next to him, they could scare the animals away.
He yelled, “Lex come here. Fuck man, come now! Immediately!”
Lex had seen the wolves and was scared frozen. When Jason started screaming at him, he’d heard him, but couldn’t move. He felt his bladder empty into his pants, and still he stood motionless in a puddle of his own urine.
Jeha, who was at Ahote and Bly’s house, heard the commotion and went berserk. Ahote got up from the lounge chair and walked outside. He heard the clamor coming from the direction of Carter’s place. Running back into the house, he told Bly to lock the doors. He put his shoes on grabbed the flashlight and his rifle and raced up the road towards Carter’s cabin. Jeha was hard on his heels and barking furiously.
Jason kept on screaming at Lex while he took small steps backward, but for every step he took, the two wolves took one forward.
When he was next to Lex, he gave him a fleeting glance and screamed. “You piece of shit, you pissed yourself instead of helping me. Well, the moment I’ve passed you those wolves are going to have your ass, and I’m gone.”
Lex didn’t need any other motivation; he started moving back with Jason. They were heading for the rails furthest away from the wolves, that were now, both on the porch.
They were planning to jump over the rails and run for their lives, but just as they felt the rails against their backs, they heard a dog barking and saw the reflection of a flashlight through the trees to their left. Jason dropped the spade, turned his back to the wolves, grabbed the rails, and threw himself over.
Lex took a second or two longer; he had the upper part of his body over the rails when he felt the teeth of a wolf sink into his ass. He kicked a
nd screamed, fell to the ground landing on his knees, jumped up and started running with burning pain in his buttocks. Behind him, the two wolves cleared the rails and gave chase.
Ahote and Jeha arrived on the porch in time to see Loki and Keeva racing down the paddocks. Far off he could hear screaming.
Half an hour later, on the still, silent air of Freydis, he heard howling and knew the two wolves were letting their prey go and would be returning home.
Ahote sat on the top step waiting, feeling sure they would come to him. Jeha had stopped barking and settled in to wait beside Ahote, leaning slightly against his leg.
They arrived quietly and greeted him.
“Loki, Keeva, what in the world is going on over here?” Ahote tutted to the animals. “Did we have intruders? Is that right? You found them and have given them such a fright they will never return, eh?” He chuckled quietly, as he pictured the scene that must have played out on the porch where a spade had been dropped. “Well done!”
Loki moved forward slowly, with a wagging tail. Ahote held his hand out, and Loki came closer so that Ahote could touch him. “Clever boy, clever boy,” Ahote whispered as he scratched Loki’s ears and head.
Soon Keeva joined and allowed Ahote to scratch her ears and head as well. “You’re an ingenious pair. Thank you.”
About ten minutes later the two wolves left and disappeared into the night.
Ahote took the flashlight and walked around the house and outbuildings making sure the intruders didn’t break in. He found their backpacks outside the shed and took them with him.
There was not much more he could do in the dark. He was pretty sure the intruders were still running and would not return to Freydis of their own free will ever again.
He returned the next morning for a better inspection. In the daylight, he saw the blood on the rail and a ripped piece of bloodied denim. Picking up the tracks of the intruders, he followed them for about half a mile, finding drops of dried blood on the twigs and grass as he went. He went back home, saddled his horse, took his rifle and picked up the trail again.
He followed their spoor for about fifteen miles, right to the border of Freydis before turning back toward home. They were about nine to ten hours ahead of him and by now were probably back in their vehicle and out of the area.