Chapter 17: Jump off

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."

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."