Read Online Girl Takes Up Her Sword by Jacques Antoine - Free Book Online

outcropping overlooking the camp just before sunset. From that vantage, it looked as if only a small contingent remained. So far, at least, Meacham’s intel was accurate. They would wait a few hours before descending.
    No moon that night, even the sky was in their favor. Javier and Daniels took control of the front gate, Danko and Cantorini took out the men in the guard towers as quietly as possible. They were seasoned soldiers, good at what they did. All four had been killed in action several years earlier. At least, that’s what any records said about them.
    Once the compound was secure, David and George went from building to building, the messy business of suppressing whatever resistance might emerge from groggy, freshly wakened men. George killed a few, mainly the ones who managed to find their weapons. Mostly he preferred to bind them with zip ties. In their disorientation most were compliant. Who knows what Khun Sa’s people would do with them on his return? That wasn’t his immediate concern.
    David killed wherever he could, relishing each opportunity. In the first barracks building, which was little more than a wooden floor and frame supporting a tent roof, he drew his sword from over his shoulder and slashed at the sleeping figures on the floor. One man, roused by the groans and gurgles of dying men, lunged at him. He pivoted, swung the blade through the man’s neck, and watched as he toppled backwards, his head lolling to one side like a drooping flower. Another man charged at him as he admired his handiwork. A quick thrust forward, through the chest, and David found himself face to face with the dying man, watching as the life fled from his eyes.
    “That’s enough,” George hissed at him. “We’ve got work to do.”
    “Aww, and things were just getting interesting,” David replied sardonically.
    Still no general alarm had been sounded. They went to the next building, and a similar scene unfolded. There’s too many men here, George thought. At least fifty so far, maybe more. David’s thirst for death was unquenchable.
    They saved the main building for last. With its pagoda-style roof, it looked more like a temple or a palace then a camp building. Stone walls and columns were surrounded by a full wooden veranda. Toys were visible near the front entrance. Danko had already shot the two guards from his position in the trees. They looked like they were sleeping on duty. No sign of any other soldiers.
    George found the vault room. A heavy steel door built into the stonework. Opening it might prove more difficult than Meacham thought. He signaled to Danko and Cantorini to bring the explosives. David looked through the rest of the rooms on the first floor.
    “I’m not sure what we brought will have enough pop to get through that door,” Cantorini said. “This isn’t your typical piggy bank.”
    “Maybe we can use something from their weapons cache. How about that artillery piece in the yard?”
    “Yeah, if they have any shells for it. It looks pretty old.”
    “Danko, get Javier to check the stores.”
    “Shit. What’s he up to now?” Cantorini asked at the sound of muffled screaming.
    Danko and George followed the noise up the front staircase. A hideous scene unfolded before them. In the main corridor one woman lay dead, evidently stabbed in the back. She was holding an infant, also dead, probably by the same stroke. Nearby, another woman lay dead against a wall, a gaping slash across her chest, blood pooling around her. A third woman cringed in a doorway, too frightened to scream. David stood over her, dripping sword in his hand. The cries of children in a backroom seemed to have frozen him. He raised the sword to strike.
    “David,” George barked. “That’s enough!”
    Danko stepped toward him and David moved, wild-eyed, as if to strike him with the sword. George stepped in, blocking the blade with the barrel of his rifle. He slammed his cousin’s hand into the stone wall. The blade