Read Online Troubleshooters (Jackson Chase Novella Book 2) by Connor Black - Free Book Online
Authors: Connor Black
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saw could be looking our way. We continued on past the petrol station.
“What do you have, Joe?” I asked while trying to maintain a constant speed.
“No threat,” he said. “Noticed someone on the roof holding what could be a rifle. Or a broom, for that matter. But keep your eyes straight ahead. Don’t want to spook ‘em.”
To our right was a small hill. An opening in the vegetation showed the corners of some buildings.
“There’s a small road to the right that may go up the hill. How about we find a good spot to have a look?”
“Sounds good,” Sterba said.
We were about 800 meters or so past the petrol station when I turned off the main road and onto the small dirt trail. The surface was loose and deeply rutted, throwing the little truck side-to-side as we made our way past a couple of small sheds. They were in a sad state, and gave me the impression we were entering an old farm of some sort.
I pushed my chin out and to the right, needing both hands on the wheel, and said, “Let’s take this path to the right. Might double us back.”
“Take it slow. I don’t want to leave a dust trail they can see,” Sterba said.
The path took us up a slight incline, the brush thickening as we backtracked. It finally ended after 500 meters or so.
“End of the line,” Sterba said.
“Grab the gear for a little recon time,” I said. “I’ll call Chen.”
Sterba hopped out of the passenger seat. I pulled out my phone and dialed.
“Haley, it’s Jackson,” I said when she picked up. “We’re at site eleven on highway 104, edge of town. Sterba pinged a guard on the roof, and we’re proceeding on foot to have a look.”
“Understood,” she replied. “I’ve been digging into calls made on the stolen cards. There are inbound and outbound calls overseas before and after the bombings that I’ve been focusing on.”
“You think a go-order came from overseas?”
“The timing is suspiciously close,” she continued. “Could be nothing, but I want to check. I’ll focus on calls made to and from site eleven.”
“Good. We’ll keep you posted.”
“Might want to let Kahembe know you’ve hit on something.”
“Will do. He is at the airport. Assume you heard.”
“I did. We have to stop this, Jackson. Take them down.”
There wasn’t the need to respond.
“Once I collect these data, I’ll have Naseeb bring me back to the police station.”
“Roger. Out.”
I closed the line and stepped out of the truck to join Sterba. He passed me a small pack and continued to try and find a path through the brush.
“Dilbert have anything?” he asked. Dilbert was the call sign Sterba had christened Chen with in Thailand, much to her dismay. It was interesting that he switched to that now, and I sensed it meant he felt we had just gone operational.
“She’s found some calls that make her think there’s a connection outside of Tanzania. Looking into it now.”
“Over there,” Sterba said, pointing to a small path that let roughly in the direction we needed to go. I put the pack on and followed.
After a few minutes of making our way through the bush, he said, “Check six.”
“I think the baddies are ahead of us, Sterbs.”
“Not the baddies I’m worried about.”
I checked behind us. Nothing. “What are you worried about?”
He stopped and turned to me. “In case you haven’t noticed, Hillary,” he said, using the call sign I had inherited in Afghanistan, “we’re in the bush in Tanzania. Ever occur to you why so many tourists come here? Do you remember Kahembe saying, ‘It is rather easy to dispose of bodies here’?”
Well frankly I had been more focused on finding bad guys. But now I saw what he meant, and the feeling didn’t exactly fill me with warmth.
“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Lions, cheetahs, leopards. And plenty of other things that go chomp-chomp.”
I took the opportunity to move past him on the path.
“My turn to take point,” I said. “They always go for
“What do you have, Joe?” I asked while trying to maintain a constant speed.
“No threat,” he said. “Noticed someone on the roof holding what could be a rifle. Or a broom, for that matter. But keep your eyes straight ahead. Don’t want to spook ‘em.”
To our right was a small hill. An opening in the vegetation showed the corners of some buildings.
“There’s a small road to the right that may go up the hill. How about we find a good spot to have a look?”
“Sounds good,” Sterba said.
We were about 800 meters or so past the petrol station when I turned off the main road and onto the small dirt trail. The surface was loose and deeply rutted, throwing the little truck side-to-side as we made our way past a couple of small sheds. They were in a sad state, and gave me the impression we were entering an old farm of some sort.
I pushed my chin out and to the right, needing both hands on the wheel, and said, “Let’s take this path to the right. Might double us back.”
“Take it slow. I don’t want to leave a dust trail they can see,” Sterba said.
The path took us up a slight incline, the brush thickening as we backtracked. It finally ended after 500 meters or so.
“End of the line,” Sterba said.
“Grab the gear for a little recon time,” I said. “I’ll call Chen.”
Sterba hopped out of the passenger seat. I pulled out my phone and dialed.
“Haley, it’s Jackson,” I said when she picked up. “We’re at site eleven on highway 104, edge of town. Sterba pinged a guard on the roof, and we’re proceeding on foot to have a look.”
“Understood,” she replied. “I’ve been digging into calls made on the stolen cards. There are inbound and outbound calls overseas before and after the bombings that I’ve been focusing on.”
“You think a go-order came from overseas?”
“The timing is suspiciously close,” she continued. “Could be nothing, but I want to check. I’ll focus on calls made to and from site eleven.”
“Good. We’ll keep you posted.”
“Might want to let Kahembe know you’ve hit on something.”
“Will do. He is at the airport. Assume you heard.”
“I did. We have to stop this, Jackson. Take them down.”
There wasn’t the need to respond.
“Once I collect these data, I’ll have Naseeb bring me back to the police station.”
“Roger. Out.”
I closed the line and stepped out of the truck to join Sterba. He passed me a small pack and continued to try and find a path through the brush.
“Dilbert have anything?” he asked. Dilbert was the call sign Sterba had christened Chen with in Thailand, much to her dismay. It was interesting that he switched to that now, and I sensed it meant he felt we had just gone operational.
“She’s found some calls that make her think there’s a connection outside of Tanzania. Looking into it now.”
“Over there,” Sterba said, pointing to a small path that let roughly in the direction we needed to go. I put the pack on and followed.
After a few minutes of making our way through the bush, he said, “Check six.”
“I think the baddies are ahead of us, Sterbs.”
“Not the baddies I’m worried about.”
I checked behind us. Nothing. “What are you worried about?”
He stopped and turned to me. “In case you haven’t noticed, Hillary,” he said, using the call sign I had inherited in Afghanistan, “we’re in the bush in Tanzania. Ever occur to you why so many tourists come here? Do you remember Kahembe saying, ‘It is rather easy to dispose of bodies here’?”
Well frankly I had been more focused on finding bad guys. But now I saw what he meant, and the feeling didn’t exactly fill me with warmth.
“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Lions, cheetahs, leopards. And plenty of other things that go chomp-chomp.”
I took the opportunity to move past him on the path.
“My turn to take point,” I said. “They always go for
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