Read Online Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (Book 4): Walking In The Shadow Of Death by W.J. Lundy - Free Book Online Page B

of the driveway. Sean nodded to
the Marines providing point; they stood slowly and began to patrol up the
approach to the cabin.
    As they followed the drive it
widened into a small, open field. The trees there had been cut back and the
cabin sat in the middle of a snow-covered meadow. There was a pond behind it
and a pair of out buildings. Brad recognized one as an outhouse; the other
looked to be a tool shed. The cabin itself wasn’t the pioneer housing folks
would expect when they heard “cabin.” It was a meager one-story structure
sheathed in painted plywood and roofed with shabby cedar shingles. The door was
made of heavy planks and the windows were covered with heavy shutters. There
was a large stack of firewood under the covered front porch.
    The men grouped together in some
high grass and observed the structure from a distance. They watched for several
minutes without detecting any movement. Brad volunteered to check it out, and
Hahn followed close behind him for support. The rest of the men covered the
driveway and the field behind the building. Brad ran across the open ground and
ducked behind the firewood on the porch.
    Looking at the front door, he could
easily see a hasp and padlock on it. The shutters on the two front windows were
also padlocked shut.  Brad walked along the outside wall of the cabin,
staying low to the ground with his body close to the building. Every window
they passed had similar locks. He moved slowly with Hahn following until they
had completely circumnavigated the building and returned to the
front.  
    “Unless the owner did some magic
trick where he locked the door, then teleported himself inside, the cabin must
be empty,” Brad whispered.
    “You want me to pop the door?” Hahn
whispered, unfastening his tomahawk from his belt.
    “Okay, let’s do it, but try not to
damage it, I’d like to be able to use it later.”
    “Piece of cake,” Hahn answered.
    The two of them left their position
by the woodpile and quickly moved up on opposite sides of the plank door. Hahn
inserted the spike of the hawk into the ring of the lock and applied pressure. The
lever arm of the hawk worked flawlessly and with a small sound of splitting
wood the hasp separated itself from the door. With the hasp removed, Hahn slid
his hand down to the knob. He twisted and felt resistance.  Hahn returned
the hawk to his belt and drew his knife. Forcing the blade between the door and
its frame, Hahn pushed the blade forward and the door popped.
    He let go of the handle and let the
door swing open and into the structure. The door opened with a loud squeak,
allowing daylight to bleed into the room. Brad slowly crept into the opening
with Hahn beside him. They moved shoulder to shoulder, looking into the dark
interior of the cabin. Brad clicked on the light at the end of his M4 and
probed the interior of the structure. He swept the beam around the room
quickly; finding nothing that looked threatening, they moved inside.
    The cabin was sparsely furnished
with a set of commercial bunk beds against one wall, a wood stove in a corner
with a cook plate on top. On the opposite side of the room was a small kitchen
and a long counter top. Mounted above the counter were long rough cut board
shelves stocked with canned goods.  A small sofa and a kitchen table with
four chairs around it sat in the center of the room.
    Brad moved in and stood near the
table. He swept his hand across the surface and swiped a trail of dust. “This
place is empty, has been for a while. Go ahead and signal for the rest of them
to move in,” Brad said to Hahn.
    As Hahn moved outside, Brad walked
over to the kitchen area. A small sink was cut out into the counter with a hand
pump for water sitting over it. The pump looked rusted and unserviceable. Brad
lifted the handle and forced it down; he heard the screech of the gear as it
broke free of the rust. He pumped it again and again before he was rewarded by
resistance followed by a gush of brown