Ready to Kill (16 page)

Estefan received a click, turned his NVGs off, and capped their apertures. He tucked the device into his pack. A deep breath later and he was walking across open ground. He could see the black outlines of houses to his left and right, none of them closer than one hundred yards. The town wasn’t completely dark. A few windows glowed with yellow light, probably from candles. Most people couldn’t afford much of an electric bill.

Estefan felt naked out in the open but maintained a casual yet quick pace. If anyone happened to see him, he wanted to look like an insomniac out for a midnight stroll. He’d considered jogging the four hundred yards, but dismissed the notion. No one jogged in the middle of the night around here.

Nathan followed Estefan’s progress across the field, alternately looking toward Mateo’s house every few seconds. He still couldn’t see anyone, but the incredibly sensitive NV weapon scope detected the periodic waning and ebbing of the cigarette’s glow.

He swept back toward Estefan. “Shit! He just went down.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” Harv said. “Was it a suppressed shot?”

“Hang on
. . .
He’s back up.”

“I see him.” They watched Estefan issue a wave before making a more elaborate hand gesture.

Nathan half laughed.

“Did we really just see that?” Harv asked.

“Yep. Apparently our boy’s a hockey fan. He just gave us the tripping penalty signal that referees use.”

“Well, isn’t old Viper just full of surprises. A Nicaraguan who follows ice hockey.”

After dusting himself off from the embarrassing fall, Estefan had made it halfway across the field when a rustling sound startled him. He’d barely heard it over the crickets’ noise.

Slowly pivoting, he focused his eyes just to the right of the sound. Peripheral vision worked better in near darkness.

There it was again! Quick measured footsteps, like someone hurrying toward him.

Damn, he really wished he had a suppressed weapon.

He pulled his Sig, took a knee, and waited for the intruder to arrive.

CHAPTER 20

Estefan held perfectly still and kept his Sig leveled at the source of the sound.

There!
A waist-high plant shuddered from being bumped.

Some kind of animal was weaving its way over here, coming straight toward him.

Estefan put three pounds of pressure on the trigger, hoping it was just a dog. A two-hundred-pound wild boar with razor-sharp teeth and a bad attitude would try to ruin his evening. Whatever the threat, Estefan didn’t want to blow his stealth by discharging his weapon. A gunshot would reverberate through this valley like a fireworks explosion. He should’ve switched pistols with Nathan or Harv. It was a careless mistake—perhaps a costly one.

He sighed with relief when a short-haired dog appeared. It stopped about fifteen yards away, lowered its head, and held still. Estefan had plenty of experience with dogs and knew what to do. Now wasn’t the time to make friends. He issued a low growl and took an aggressive step forward. The animal jumped back and ran back the way it had come. Alone again, he resumed his trek across the field. He liked having his former instructors watching his back. He could almost feel Nathan’s rifle scope track his progress. Night shooting was a fine art, much more so than daylight shots. It was far more difficult to gauge distances and make wind corrections.

He smelled it then, the cigarette Nathan had seen near Mateo’s house, but it wasn’t tobacco. It had the distinctive odor of marijuana. It would seem that Mateo wanted to be in a good mood for their meeting.

“I’ve got movement at the bus,” Nathan said to Harv. “Looks like our man. He’s looking toward Estefan
. . .
Okay, they see each other. Estefan waved. Keep eyes on the lumber mill area. I’ll cover Mateo and Estefan.”

“No problem.”

“They’re shaking hands. So far, so good. They’re walking out toward the river. Someone else stepped outside. It’s a woman. Mateo’s saying something to her
. . .
She’s going back inside. Looks fairly young. Late teens or early twenties.”

“Probably Mateo’s daughter, Antonia,” Harv said.

Nathan remembered her name from Tobias’s letters. He tracked Estefan and Mateo out to the tree line, making sure they weren’t followed. “I just lost sight of them at the river.”

“We’re all quiet at the lumber mill. No movement.”

“As long as Estefan’s with Mateo, he won’t be able to check in. Let’s hope he doesn’t keep us waiting too long.”

“Nate, you should take a scope break. I’ll watch for a spell.”

“Sounds good.” He powered off the scope before pulling its rubber boot away from his eye. He rubbed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. This whole operation, if it could even be called that, still seemed surreal. He thought back to Cantrell’s comment. She was right: even if they had created a hardened killer, they shouldn’t be held accountable for Raven’s actions beyond his kilo missions. Still, there’d been signs of instability. Raven’s demeanor hadn’t been extremely unusual, but he’d been overzealous about his sniper training. As much as Nathan hated to admit it, Harv was right. Raven enjoyed his work a little too much. Cantrell’s difficult question about why he hadn’t washed Raven out had been valid, but the answer was moot now.

The next ten minutes passed without incident. Harv’s voice broke the silence.

“Mateo’s walking back to his house,” Harv said.

Nathan shouldered his rifle and turned the scope back on. “We’ll let Mateo get fifty yards away from Estefan before we make radio contact. I’d like to know how the meeting went.”

A few seconds later, Estefan broke the radio silence.

“You guys copy?”

“Affirm. What spooked you earlier?”

“Just a stray dog.”

“How did it go with Mateo?”

“He didn’t know a whole lot about Macanas’s day-to-day operations, but I learned a few things that might be useful.”

“Do you think he was being truthful?”

“It’s hard to say. He didn’t want to accept it at first, but he was super grateful for the cash. We definitely scored some major points.”

“We’ll talk about your meeting later. Since you’re in tree cover, go ahead and wire your radio back up. Follow the creek until you’re abeam the church and head over there.”

“Do you want me to break in if it’s locked?”

Nathan looked at Harv. He hadn’t considered that. “This isn’t a big-city church with valuables inside. Aside from Bibles, there’s probably nothing worth stealing in there. Besides, anyone who steals the most-printed book in all of mankind’s history definitely needs to read it. If it’s locked, look for a key in some obvious places near the door. But don’t break in, okay? I don’t like the idea of vandalizing God’s house.”

“Well, well, well, there may be hope for you yet.”

“Just get going.”

“Aye, aye, sir.”

“If it’s locked, head up to your dad’s house and have a look around. Searching the church isn’t as important as looking through your dad’s possessions. You’re primarily looking for letters he hadn’t sent you yet. I think we can reasonably assume he discovered something Macanas didn’t want anyone else to know.”

“I’ve kind of come to the same conclusion. He wasn’t killed solely for helping the miners.”

“On your way over to Mateo’s, did you see the dam we located on the aerials?”

“Yes, the trail goes across it and up the canyon to my father’s house. I’ve hiked it a couple of times.”

“We’ll be able to see you once you reemerge north of the trees. One of the farmhouses between you and the church has a light on.”

“I saw it. I’ll give it a wide berth. I’ll stash my NV in the pack. If anyone sees me, I don’t want to look too suspicious.”

“Estefan, you’re in a woodland combat uniform with a sidearm and face paint.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I already look out of place.”

Nathan gave him a click and swung the scope toward Mateo’s house.

All quiet.

Estefan retraced his steps along the creek. The damp fallout allowed him to move quietly. He didn’t think anyone had come out here in the last fifteen minutes, but he’d never assume that. As he had on the way over, he stopped every so often and looked around. He knew he was approaching the pond because the frogs were getting louder. Crossing the riprap dam wouldn’t be difficult. Allowing the water to flow between them, five-hundred-pound boulders were strategically placed like stepping stones. River crossings like this were common around here. After heavy rainfall, the water rose above the stepping stones, but it always receded back to a manageable flow. Every so often a hurricane would devastate the area, washing out the dams. Sometimes it took years before they were replaced.

Estefan looked to the west and spotted the church’s abbreviated bell tower. If he left the creek here, a little sooner than he’d planned, he could avoid getting too close to the farmhouse with the glowing window. Not everyone in Santavilla was dirt poor; a few people had TVs with satellite subscriptions. Analog TV and cell signals weren’t available this far north.

“I’m leaving the tree line. You should see me in a few seconds. Give me a click when you’ve got me in sight.” Because of the towering trees between himself and Nathan’s perch on the mountainside, he’d have to traverse more than seventy-five yards before he’d be visible.

Estefan received his acknowledgment click about where he’d estimated. Maintaining a northbound vector, he followed a narrow dirt track with barbed-wire fencing on both sides. The nearest he could tell, all the farms were approximately four acres in size. Estefan didn’t see any livestock, but some of the fields had been plowed recently. Always scanning the immediate area, he maintained a steady pace. If all went well, he’d reach the church in the next three minutes.

Nathan kept his eye firmly against the rubber boot of the scope and aimed his rifle back toward Mateo’s house.

He saw movement and froze.

There it was again.

A human form—moving slowly toward the main road.

“Harv, we’ve got movement.”

“What’ve you got?”

“That girl I saw before. She’s walking west toward the main road. She keeps looking over her shoulder.”

“I see her. Can she get eyes on Estefan from there?”

“Not yet, but if she turns south toward the church on the main road, she’ll be able to.” Nathan pressed the transmit button. “You’ve got company. I’m pretty sure it’s Mateo’s daughter. She’s walking toward the main road. I want you to do an all-out sprint for the stone wall east of the church. I think you can get there before she gets a clear line of sight to you.” He heard his radio click and watched Estefan hustle down the dirt track. He hoped his friend’s footfalls wouldn’t be heard. Although he doubted any people would hear them, dogs were a different matter.

“Crap, she turned south at the road.”

“Can he make it in time?” Harv asked.

“I’m not sure.” Nathan kept alternating from Estefan to the girl, gauging her visual line of sight. Estefan needed to cover another two hundred yards which ought to take around twenty seconds. At the girl’s current pace, she’d have a clear line of sight at about the same time. Her visual window wouldn’t be large—an opening between a couple of houses lining the road—but if she looked in Estefan’s direction, she might see him. Seconds counted.

“Nate, he’s not going to make it.”

“Estefan, drop!” Nathan watched his friend sprawl out on the ground and hold perfectly still.

“I’m on Estefan, Nate. What’s the girl doing?”

“She stopped walking. She’s just standing there, staring in Estefan’s direction.”

“Think she saw him?” Harv asked.

“I don’t think so, but I’m not sure. At best she might’ve seen movement in the corner of her eye. Estefan, did you mention you were heading over to the church during your meeting with Mateo?”

“No, not really.”

“Not really?”

“I just asked if it was locked at night. That’s why I asked about breaking in.”

“And . . .”

“Mateo didn’t know.”

“Did you see the girl before you went prone?”

“No.”

“I want you to low crawl due north for about twenty-five yards until you reach the cover of the waist-high rock wall. It’s about forty yards east of the church’s playground. You should be able to see it.”

“Copy. I’ve got it.”

“Once you reach the wall, take a look over it. You’ll see some abandoned vehicles. Hold your position east of the wall until you hear from me.” He checked Estefan’s position but detected no movement. The only indicator that his friend was making forward progress was the slowly decreasing distance between Estefan’s prone form and rock wall. It seemed their friend hadn’t lost his low-crawling skill.

“The girl’s walking south along the east side of the street. At her current pace, she’ll be at the church in less than a minute.”

Harv asked, “Is she empty-handed? Do you see a gun?”

“No, I doubt most people own them here, besides farmers and ranchers. She keeps looking behind, like she’s worried she’s being followed.”