At the portal, they changed out of their fatigues and walked back to the safe house, managing to get under cover just as the nightly rains, that cleansed the C A streets and nourished its greenery, began.
The debrief was short, mainly concerned with terrain and similar factors. Mira described the shape of what she supposed was an antenna in some detail, sketching it on a sheet of paper, which Pru scanned to Solly. They ate snacks, drank gallons of water and went to bed. Pru lay wakeful for a while, trying to decide if she had done her job as well as she might. She fussed and worried for a half-hour, then shrugged, mentally. ‘I’ve either got it right or not. I’ll know tomorrow,’ and fell into a sound, dreamless sleep.
By mid-morning, Pru was up and showered. By habit, and since she was not leaving the safe house, she did not bother to dress beyond briefs. When the others began to arrive in the kitchen, neither had they. They all ate heartily and spent the morning resting, talking and planning.
“Pru,” Jazira sat up suddenly. “I just thought. If we have to stun the guards on the lockup, we may hit Zahl.”
“And?”
“And, Pru, he weighs 85 kilos. Who’s going to carry him? Even Alia’s not that strong, and if it takes two...”
“Glad you thought of that. Went right past me. I’ll call Said.”
“No, wait. I’ve got the solution, too. Have Said go to our offices and get a lift sled. We’ve got one that’ll fit in the ’mobile, and we can take it in when we go. I’ll call the office now and make sure they give him the right one.”
Later, the com chimed, and Pru took the call, focused on her. It was Solly, of course.
“That was really good work, Mira. That is a com antenna and one that’s reasonably up to date, especially for a place like that. That means they probably have contact with at least one other base and it could mean the guards are carrying remotes. How do you plan to handle that, Pru?”
“I was thinking about it this morning, Solly. My original idea was to stun all the guards when they meet for the change. That will take out six at once. I don’t know if there was a guard to the south – you didn’t report one last night, so I guess they don’t think there’ll be trouble from that direction. When they changed last night, I didn’t see any motion that looked like speaking into a remote. Neither did the others. So, the remotes are probably only to report an emergency, if they have them at all.
“Once we’ve got the guards, we’ll take out the main building, using our left flank and center forces. I think I’ll stick with my original plan.”
“All right. But, as soon as you stun them, check them for remotes. Make sure.”
“Solly, see if you can get a head count today.”
“Working on that. And, we’re pretty sure they have Zahlman in the building with the double guard. We’ve seen someone taking meals there – at least that’s what we think they are.”
.oOo.
This time, it was dark when they filtered out to the ’mobiles at the Qatal portal. The parking lot was deserted and Pru told everyone to suit up before leaving. The lift sled had been tucked into the back of the lead ’mobile and Mira had to sit on it during the ride. She checked the power pack and made certain it was fully charged. Jazira and Pru wore night goggles for driving, turning off the headlights as soon as they were away from the CA.
They parked the ’mobiles in almost the same location as before. The heavy vehicles always left an impression in the soft earth, and when leaving the night before, they had swept away all traces of their presence. Pru settled everyone down to wait and stretched out on the ground to deal with the butterflies in her stomach.
By 2330, they were all back in the positions of the night before, ready now for action. The flank teams were settled in rocky nests on the hills, where they could see the guards. Pru and Mira were back beneath the bushes near the central guard station.
“Solly,” Pru called, “what about that head count?”
“We make it about 20. There may be one or two more or less, but that’s based on our surveillance of the latrine, so it’s pretty much right. Check the windows in the main building before you attack. If there are screens or shutters, you may have to go through the doors.”
“Check. Alpha out.” Pru thought for a moment, and then spoke to her force. “Bravo Force, Alpha. One more time. Stun the guards, check for remotes. Left flank move for the main building. Center will join you there. Right flank take out the jail guards. Assemble at the jail. Keep in touch.”
Pru had brought the lift sled with her, moving with extra caution to be sure her passage was silent. She had had to maneuver carefully around bushes and found that the inertia of the sled made maneuvering difficult. Eventually she was in position, and about on time. Mira was off to her right, invisible except to Pru’s goggles. Pru settled down to re-learn patience.
It was well past midnight when Solly spoke into Pru’s earbug. “Moving. Guards are headed out. Good luck.”
“Bravo Force, Alpha. Move to attack positions. Luck.”
Mira and Pru worked their ways silently around the guard post. In the hills, the others were working slowly through the rocks and scrub to establish a crossfire.
Before Pru, the green image of the relief appeared from the village, walking slowly to his post. The green image of the duty guard turned to greet him, hearing his approaching footsteps. She slipped the safety off her stunner. Pru could see the reddish image of Mira to one side and out of her line of fire.
“God is great,” said the guard.
“Muhammad is his prophet.”
As they came close together, two stunners hummed at once, and both men fell heavily to the ground. Pru moved up and ran her hands over the nearest man, the relief. She searched him thoroughly and efficiently but found nothing worth keeping. Looking up, she saw Mira holding up a rectangular object she had taken from the guard. Pru nodded. Each guard station had one remote. She passed restraint bands around the relief’s wrists and ankles
“Bravo Force, Alpha. Center secure. One remote. Proceeding toward target.”
A few minutes later, “Bravo One. Left secure. One remote. Proceeding to next target.” On the left flank, Jazira wrestled the slug-thrower from under the guard’s body, checked it and slung it over her back. “Alpha, Bravo One. These slug-throwers are loaded. Not with paint.” Each of them placed restraints as Pru and Mira had done.
“Check.” Pru replied.
Pru had time to worry before another voice called, “Bravo Four. Right secure. One remote. Slug-throwers loaded. On our way.”
Pru had a feeling something had gone amiss there; but, the report was as expected, and she did not question it. Still, she decided to leave the lift sled where it was and, returning to the relief’s body, took his slug-thrower with her. Checking it, she found it, too, was loaded. She saw that Mira had done the same, and was slinging the weapon on her back. As an afterthought, she stunned both men again. They moved off toward the village, keeping low and quiet.
“Alpha. Solly.”
Pru clicked her tongue.
“Someone just left the main building, headed your way.”
Pru motioned to Mira to keep moving.
After several moments, Solly said, “He’s going into the latrine. Try a grenade on him.”
Pru clicked.
Before long, they reached the corners of the latrine building. Pru stepped around the front corner, her stunner ready. She looked carefully at the door, which was fastened only with a lift latch. She pulled a grenade from her bandolier, flipped the catch, opened the door, tossed the silvery ball inside and slammed the door. The man inside called out. A moment later, the grenade gave a baritone hum that lasted about ten seconds, and all was quiet. The flimsy structure was sided with boards, and some of the stun effect escaped through cracks, leaving Pru with a numbness on her shoulder what wasn’t altogether pleasant.
‘I hate learning experiences,’ she thought.
To her net, Pru said, “Bravo Force, Alpha. Latrine is clean. Report.”
“Bravo One. About 50 meters from back of target.”
“Bravo Four. About 100 meters out.”
“Bravo One, Alpha. Advance to 10 meters out and hold. I can see a guard on the front door. We’ll have to take him out at the same time we hit the jail. Bravo Four. Move to 10 meters from the jail and hold. Alpha out.”
Pru signaled Mira to move behind the latrine to a position facing the main building. She herself worked her way across the village street and along the front of the first of two buildings, ruins really, that adjoined the main one. She recalled briefly, how years before, she had attempted such a move in daylight only to be spotted and tagged out by one of her friends. In the dark, she was able to move with less fear of being seen.
The guard at the front door was leaning against the wall of the building, his slug-thrower leaning beside him. Pru guessed he was as nearly asleep as he could manage, his arms folded across his chest, his chin on his breastbone. Across the street, she saw the red image of Mira take a position at the corner of the ruin opposite. The range was a little long; the street was about 15 meters wide, but she was effective backup. Pru hunkered down and waited.
“Alpha. Bravo One. In place. Windows appear to be shuttered or curtained to keep it dark.”
“Any doors back there?” Pru asked
“Negative, Alpha.”
“Bravo Four, Alpha. Report position.”
“Alpha. Bravo Four. Coming up on position. We see two guards at the front of the building. We also see the guard at the main building.”
“Bravo Four, deploy along the front of the nearest building. Bravo Five, cross the street and take a cover position. Report on station.
“Bravo One, Alpha. Move along the side of the main building until you can see the jail and hold. Bravo Three, follow Bravo One and cover. Report on station.”
More waiting.
“Alpha, Bravo Five. One of the jail guards has gone inside.”
“Check, Bravo Five. Any windows?”
“Alpha, Bravo Five. Bravo Four is right under one. I can’t see any glass or shutters. Just open.”
“Bravo Four, Alpha. When we go, throw a rock through the window first, then the grenade. Keep low.”
“Check. Bravo Four.”
Both teams reported in position.
“Bravo Force. On my count. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Go!”
Pru stepped into the street, running forward but keeping close to the front of the ruined building. Her stunner hummed and the guard went down in a crossfire. Pru saw Jazira and Zaratta make the same move and the remaining jail guard dropped as well.
Pru ran to the door of the building, opening it and tossing in one grenade, then another. As she did so, she heard the same deep hum from the jail.
As soon as her grenades stopped humming, Pru waved Mira to her and went through the door, shifting to the side immediately. Her night goggles showed a door to another room and she began to move toward it. When it began to open, she stopped still. A light shone through the gap in the door, and she nudged her goggles to keep from being blinded. The light came onward, a large man behind it. Two stunners went off, and the light fell to the floor.
There was a cry from the room and Mira lobbed a grenade through the opening. The door and her position protected her, but stray discharge from under the door hit Pru, and she fell, her left leg numb below the knee.
Mira moved through the room checking the bodies and finding two remotes. She stepped into the adjoining room and came back grinning. “Com equipment,” she said. “Old, but functional.”
Pru keyed her wristcom. “Bravo Force, Report.”
“Alpha, Bravo One. Jail secure. Target is here with guard, both stunned. Target is chained to the wall. There’s a cutter on the sled.”
“Bravo Four and Five. Set a moving perimeter guard. Bravo Three, return to Center and bring the sled. Bravo Two, come give me a hand. You’ve got two passengers.”
Switching channels, she said to Solly, “As soon as we’re clear, go ahead and call in the OSG troops. You might want to run an ID scan now that everyone’s out cold.”
Moments later, her wristcom beeped as the scan queried her ID.