Gaz, he had to admit that the Geordie was a real expert. Gaz seemed to slide from bush to bush, tree to tree, keeping flat, using no rapid movements, but at the same time progressing so swiftly that there was no time for anyone to get a fix on him. It was the nearest Mitch had ever come to seeing a human snake on the move.
Gaz reached the building without an alarm being raised and slid up to the window where the corrugated iron sheeting had come away at one corner. Slowly, Gaz rose up from the ground, his back against the wall, his eyes on the armed guards.
The guards were still in the same positions as before: one reasonably alert, with his assault rifle at the ready, three playing dice, two lounging around and chatting.
Gaz turned and began to prise the iron sheet apart, but as he did so Mitch saw one of the men suddenly stand up and raise his gun.
Gaz must have seen him too, because he dropped out of sight behind a shrub.
Had the man heard something? Seen a movement out of the corner of his eye?
Mitch moved the barrel of his rifle so that it was now aimed at the man who’d got up. His finger was poised on the trigger. To shoot now would blow the mission, but so would letting Gaz be captured.
The man who’d got up said something to the others, and then headed for the main entrance of the hotel. There was no urgency in his movements. Maybe he just wanted to get something to eat or drink.
Mitch’s attention switched back to the window.There was a pause as Gaz waited for the man to get inside the hotel entrance. Then he rose up slowly and quietly again. Mitch saw him push the transmitter in between the corrugated iron and the window, and then he dropped down out of sight.
Immediately the small receiver by Mitch’s side began humming, and then voices could be heard coming from it. They were muffled, but if he strained hard to listen Mitch could pick up what was being said.
On the small screen Mitch could make out some movements, but nothing very clear – mainly just shadows in the background.
Mitch kept his eyes and his rifle on the building and the bandits, watching out for Gaz. He spotted the Geordie every now and then, surfacing from beneath a bush or from a dip in the ground, and then sliding on to another sheltered point.
Finally, Gaz made it back to the hide and Mitch. He gestured at the small receiver.
‘Getting anything?’ he asked.
Mitch nodded. ‘Sound and vision working OK,’ he confirmed. ‘Now I guess we just wait, watch and listen.’
13
After some close observations using the transmitter, they heard Nelson radio with instructions for everyone to regroup at the original location.
‘Looks like we’re ready to roll,’ muttered Gaz as he and Mitch gathered their weapons and headed back through the trees.
When they arrived, Two Moons and Benny were already there with Nelson and Tug. Nelson had drawn a more detailed plan of the hotel buildings and grounds, with extra information from what he and Tug, and Two Moons and Benny, had observed and picked up.
‘We managed to get a mic and camera in a hole in the wall,’ explained Two Moons.
‘We did the same thing in one of the windows,’said Mitch. Then he added with a grin, ‘Or, to be fair, Gaz did. I just watched him.’
Quickly, Mitch and Gaz told the rest of the unit what they’d been able to pick up from their own observations.
‘There are between five and six men on guard at the front as a general rule. Another three, all fully armed, roaming around the side. Now and then they join up with their pals at the front, and then go off and chat to their mates round the back of the hotel,’ said Gaz. ‘There was a change-over about an hour ago. Nothing organised, it all looked pretty casual. Some guys came out from inside, and some of the guys who were outside went in. But the numbers stayed pretty much the same.’
‘What intel did you get from your mic and camera?’ asked Nelson.
‘It looks like that room at the front is
Gaz reached the building without an alarm being raised and slid up to the window where the corrugated iron sheeting had come away at one corner. Slowly, Gaz rose up from the ground, his back against the wall, his eyes on the armed guards.
The guards were still in the same positions as before: one reasonably alert, with his assault rifle at the ready, three playing dice, two lounging around and chatting.
Gaz turned and began to prise the iron sheet apart, but as he did so Mitch saw one of the men suddenly stand up and raise his gun.
Gaz must have seen him too, because he dropped out of sight behind a shrub.
Had the man heard something? Seen a movement out of the corner of his eye?
Mitch moved the barrel of his rifle so that it was now aimed at the man who’d got up. His finger was poised on the trigger. To shoot now would blow the mission, but so would letting Gaz be captured.
The man who’d got up said something to the others, and then headed for the main entrance of the hotel. There was no urgency in his movements. Maybe he just wanted to get something to eat or drink.
Mitch’s attention switched back to the window.There was a pause as Gaz waited for the man to get inside the hotel entrance. Then he rose up slowly and quietly again. Mitch saw him push the transmitter in between the corrugated iron and the window, and then he dropped down out of sight.
Immediately the small receiver by Mitch’s side began humming, and then voices could be heard coming from it. They were muffled, but if he strained hard to listen Mitch could pick up what was being said.
On the small screen Mitch could make out some movements, but nothing very clear – mainly just shadows in the background.
Mitch kept his eyes and his rifle on the building and the bandits, watching out for Gaz. He spotted the Geordie every now and then, surfacing from beneath a bush or from a dip in the ground, and then sliding on to another sheltered point.
Finally, Gaz made it back to the hide and Mitch. He gestured at the small receiver.
‘Getting anything?’ he asked.
Mitch nodded. ‘Sound and vision working OK,’ he confirmed. ‘Now I guess we just wait, watch and listen.’
13
After some close observations using the transmitter, they heard Nelson radio with instructions for everyone to regroup at the original location.
‘Looks like we’re ready to roll,’ muttered Gaz as he and Mitch gathered their weapons and headed back through the trees.
When they arrived, Two Moons and Benny were already there with Nelson and Tug. Nelson had drawn a more detailed plan of the hotel buildings and grounds, with extra information from what he and Tug, and Two Moons and Benny, had observed and picked up.
‘We managed to get a mic and camera in a hole in the wall,’ explained Two Moons.
‘We did the same thing in one of the windows,’said Mitch. Then he added with a grin, ‘Or, to be fair, Gaz did. I just watched him.’
Quickly, Mitch and Gaz told the rest of the unit what they’d been able to pick up from their own observations.
‘There are between five and six men on guard at the front as a general rule. Another three, all fully armed, roaming around the side. Now and then they join up with their pals at the front, and then go off and chat to their mates round the back of the hotel,’ said Gaz. ‘There was a change-over about an hour ago. Nothing organised, it all looked pretty casual. Some guys came out from inside, and some of the guys who were outside went in. But the numbers stayed pretty much the same.’
‘What intel did you get from your mic and camera?’ asked Nelson.
‘It looks like that room at the front is
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