The Hill - BLACKBIRD book 5

6. hold the line

Gillian strode out of the tent toward the vehicles, lined side by side a few yards away from the fence. All of them had their headlights and searchlights on and pointing at the compound, so Balken and his men wouldn't see what they were doing behind them, at the command post.

On their way from the airport, Tanya told them more about the subjects. Not much, but enough for Gillian to know they were up against a vicious psychopath, most likely a narcissist as well, with a good deal of sadism. The kind to bludgeon someone to death while reciting the Second Amendment with a beatific smile on his face.

Then they'd driven past the two roadblocks the militia had attacked. Not a nice sight, the state cruisers abandoned by the road, full of huge bullet holes and sprayed with the troopers' blood. And just a few minutes later, they had to pull over the shoulder to give way to three ambulances wailing down the bumpy road. They carried each two and even three wounded agents, because it was a three-hour drive to Ashland hospital, and the medics didn't want to leave anybody behind, waiting for another six hours to get the attention they needed.

"Damn, man! Looks like a frigging war zone!" Hank grunted under his breath.

No one replied, but their faces showed all of them agreed.

If they had any doubt about how grave the situation was, they had none left by the time they arrived at the command post.

A whole hour had passed since then. It was midnight, and time to set their plan in motion. Cassidy had done his magic and granted them access to a geostationary satellite, so Tanya scanned each square feet of the compound, as well as any attempt of communication the militia might make. Ron and Kurt had worked more magic and doubled the range of Ron's motion scanner. So now Ron and Hank were out with a couple of state Tacs, placing the dishes to cover the back side of the compound—mostly woods and a small hill—while Kurt sat by Tanya on the board table to monitor the readings. Fred and the Tac leaders decided how to deploy their men around the perimeter, keeping two teams there at the post. Aldana worked with the one paramedic who had stayed and the Portland agents, readying half a dozen backpacks according to Gillian's instructions.

Gillian met the Tac leaders behind the vehicle parked before the closed gate.

"We're good to go, ma'am," the state Tac said.

Gillian glanced to the sides, were huge searchlights had been set at both sides of the gate. They only needed to be plugged to a power line.

She nodded, eyes on the cottage across the deserted yard. There were lights on inside. According to Ron's scanner, eight men guarded the house, and there were four more at each of the other two buildings—the garage and the barracks. All of them armed, of course. Each with both long and hand guns, of course.

But the scanner showed no traces of the men who attacked the post. Nor of Russell and Brock, because all the people showing on screen carried rifles or shotguns. Where were they? Where had they been taken?

Fred joined them, his rifle hanging from his shoulder. "They're in position, Reg."

She lowered her voice to ask, "Did you see any sign of other buildings in the woods?"

He shook his head, grimacing. "It's dark and the trees are tight. Give'em a minute to get the dishes online."

"We need to know where they are before moving."

Fred just nodded. They all agreed that was a capital part of their plan.

Their earphones gave them the sound key to set their radios on the channel only the team would use. So they pressed a tiny button on their earphones to open it.

"Got something," Kurt said. "There are three small sheds near the northeast end of the perimeter, just past the hill. I see two or three men inside each of them. But they're almost out of range, so I can only tell there's people in them. And Tanya doesn't even see the sheds under the trees."

Fred met Gillian's eyes. "I'll check the location on the map."

"And see if our trackers are ready."

"Got it. You wait for me."

"Go."

At any other moment, his concern would've made her smile. But tonight her lips were light-years away from curling up.

As she resumed her stare on the cottage, she tried to get ready to face Balken or his right-hand man, the one going by Kreuz. She needed to keep in mind not to shoot them on sight. Because she knew that facing any of them would be ten times worse than it'd been with Ledger. Back then, it'd been the possibility of Brock being hurt. Now it was not only Brock, but also Russell. And not a possibility of them being hurt, but only the frail hope of them being still alive—at least enough to survive the long ride to the hospital. That hideous certainty was a slow fire in her guts, burning low but hot. And it would blaze up as soon as she lay eyes on any of those sons of bitches. So she needed to keep it in check, to give their plan a chance.

"Helicopter standing by," Aldana reported from the tent.

"You ready?" Gillian asked.

"In a minute."

"Bring that Coltrane girl with you. Ron, Hank?"

"On our way. There in twenty," Ron replied.

"Too long. Kurt, give'em the location of those sheds. You guys wait for us there."

Gillian turned off her earphone, so their talk wouldn't distract her.

Fred came back a few minutes later. "The three sheds are near the end of the hill, in a line to the south," he said. "The scanner reads three or four men at the first, the one closest to the wire. There's no way to know if there are more of them at the other two, 'cause there doesn't seem to be any trace of movement in them." He flashed a tight smile. "So chances are they're holding Russ and Brockner there."

Or their dead bodies, she thought bitterly. Anguish and fear threatened to choke her. She needed to get things started.