which helps us.’
‘I’ve nearly been caught out by sloppy guards before,’ said Mitch. ‘I was hiding in a ditch once, keeping observation on a building, when this guy came out for a pee and actually pissed on me. If he’d looked more closely at what he was doing, I’d have been caught for sure.’
Gaz grinned. ‘I’ll watch out for anyone taking a leak,’ he said. He triggered his headset intercom, giving the call sign, and they heard Nelson’s voice. Using as few words as possible, Gaz outlined the proposal for him to get to the window and plant alistening and viewing device at the exposed corner of the downstairs window.
There was a brief muttered discussion between Nelson and Tug, and then Nelson’s voice said: ‘We’re thinking the same on this side. We reckon we can get a mic in place. So go. But if it looks sticky, abort. We don’t blow this.’
Gaz clicked off his intercom and then pulled a roll of cloth out of his pack, which he opened to reveal an array of tiny transmitters and cameras.
‘Were you a private eye before you came into this?’ asked Mitch, impressed.
Gaz shook his head. ‘No, I was a burglar. These things saved me from getting caught. Well, not these
exact
things, but earlier versions.’
‘How long were you a burglar for?’ asked Mitch, surprised and intrigued.
‘From the time I was ten until I was sixteen. I worked with my Uncle George. He showed me the ropes,’ explained Gaz.
‘So what made you join the army?’
‘Uncle George robbed some big-time gangster in Gateshead who took offence and had him killed. I had to disappear before he worked out I was in on it, so I joined the army.’ He shrugged. ‘Burglary taught me a few useful skills, but it’s not a part of my past I’m proud of, and it’s not something I’d ever go back to. I hated doing it. But hey, you live and learn.’
Gaz had selected a small piece of apparatus and tucked it into his top pocket. Then he handed something to Mitch. It looked like a mobile phone, complete with a small screen.
‘This the receiver?’ asked Mitch.
Gaz nodded. ‘I’ve set the frequencies so it should start picking up as soon as I’ve got it in place.’
Mitch lay down near the edge of the clearing and trained his rifle on the armed men hanging around outside the front of the hotel. He put the small mobile-phone-like receiver on the ground next to him so he could see the tiny screen.
‘Let’s keep radio silence,’ Gaz said. ‘Just in casethey’ve got sharp hearing.’
Mitch nodded in agreement. ‘If any shooting starts, I’ll come and get you,’ he promised.
Gaz shook his head. ‘No need,’ he said. ‘Just give me covering fire if it comes to that. I’ll look after myself.’
With that, Gaz edged forward, crawling to the point where the jungle became the overgrown garden of the hotel.
12
Mitch watched as Gaz slid out towards the hotel.
On this side he could see six armed men keeping guard, but only one of them really seemed to be alert. Three of them were playing with dice, while two others sat on the fallen trunks of trees, their rifles held casually by their sides. The sixth stood up and paced around, jerking his rifle this way and that, aiming it into the jungle.
Mitch shifted his binoculars to follow Gaz’s progress. As Gaz had said, there was lots of cover. But in a few places there were just open areas of grass. If Gaz was spotted moving across these open areas, the trigger-happy bandits would open fire and the operation would be blown. The firing would bring the rest of the bandits out of the hotel.
As Mitch weighed up the situation, he found himself fingering the trigger of his assault rifle, ready to swing into action. If anything went wrong, he was determined to do everything he could to make sure Gaz wasn’t killed.
He kept switching his attention backwards and forwards between the armed bandits and Gaz.
Mitch prided himself on being able to move covertly, but as he watched
‘I’ve nearly been caught out by sloppy guards before,’ said Mitch. ‘I was hiding in a ditch once, keeping observation on a building, when this guy came out for a pee and actually pissed on me. If he’d looked more closely at what he was doing, I’d have been caught for sure.’
Gaz grinned. ‘I’ll watch out for anyone taking a leak,’ he said. He triggered his headset intercom, giving the call sign, and they heard Nelson’s voice. Using as few words as possible, Gaz outlined the proposal for him to get to the window and plant alistening and viewing device at the exposed corner of the downstairs window.
There was a brief muttered discussion between Nelson and Tug, and then Nelson’s voice said: ‘We’re thinking the same on this side. We reckon we can get a mic in place. So go. But if it looks sticky, abort. We don’t blow this.’
Gaz clicked off his intercom and then pulled a roll of cloth out of his pack, which he opened to reveal an array of tiny transmitters and cameras.
‘Were you a private eye before you came into this?’ asked Mitch, impressed.
Gaz shook his head. ‘No, I was a burglar. These things saved me from getting caught. Well, not these
exact
things, but earlier versions.’
‘How long were you a burglar for?’ asked Mitch, surprised and intrigued.
‘From the time I was ten until I was sixteen. I worked with my Uncle George. He showed me the ropes,’ explained Gaz.
‘So what made you join the army?’
‘Uncle George robbed some big-time gangster in Gateshead who took offence and had him killed. I had to disappear before he worked out I was in on it, so I joined the army.’ He shrugged. ‘Burglary taught me a few useful skills, but it’s not a part of my past I’m proud of, and it’s not something I’d ever go back to. I hated doing it. But hey, you live and learn.’
Gaz had selected a small piece of apparatus and tucked it into his top pocket. Then he handed something to Mitch. It looked like a mobile phone, complete with a small screen.
‘This the receiver?’ asked Mitch.
Gaz nodded. ‘I’ve set the frequencies so it should start picking up as soon as I’ve got it in place.’
Mitch lay down near the edge of the clearing and trained his rifle on the armed men hanging around outside the front of the hotel. He put the small mobile-phone-like receiver on the ground next to him so he could see the tiny screen.
‘Let’s keep radio silence,’ Gaz said. ‘Just in casethey’ve got sharp hearing.’
Mitch nodded in agreement. ‘If any shooting starts, I’ll come and get you,’ he promised.
Gaz shook his head. ‘No need,’ he said. ‘Just give me covering fire if it comes to that. I’ll look after myself.’
With that, Gaz edged forward, crawling to the point where the jungle became the overgrown garden of the hotel.
12
Mitch watched as Gaz slid out towards the hotel.
On this side he could see six armed men keeping guard, but only one of them really seemed to be alert. Three of them were playing with dice, while two others sat on the fallen trunks of trees, their rifles held casually by their sides. The sixth stood up and paced around, jerking his rifle this way and that, aiming it into the jungle.
Mitch shifted his binoculars to follow Gaz’s progress. As Gaz had said, there was lots of cover. But in a few places there were just open areas of grass. If Gaz was spotted moving across these open areas, the trigger-happy bandits would open fire and the operation would be blown. The firing would bring the rest of the bandits out of the hotel.
As Mitch weighed up the situation, he found himself fingering the trigger of his assault rifle, ready to swing into action. If anything went wrong, he was determined to do everything he could to make sure Gaz wasn’t killed.
He kept switching his attention backwards and forwards between the armed bandits and Gaz.
Mitch prided himself on being able to move covertly, but as he watched
Similar Books
