Carrera stuck his enormous head around the corner. “Breakfast? Did I hear correctly? I’ve been cooking dinner for an hour.”
Alicia gave him her best smile. “Well, well, Mr. Fortress,” she said, rising to her feet. “Let’s see if your cooking is as tasty and entertaining as your physique.”
THIRTY FIVE
Alicia and Russo made it to the Isidenge Forest area with a day to spare. Realizing they had an abundance of time the team had ditched Carrera and his luxurious aircraft at Adelaide airport and rented a car to take them through Fort Beaufort and on up the A352 toward Keiskammahoek, a small rural town and the location of the Cata Lodge, the only nearby lodging area that offered all the amenities they would need. Crouch rented out chalets and both Caitlyn and he set up whilst Alicia and Russo started on the fourteen mile hike to the Isidenge. Thanks to Caitlyn’s cutting edge tracking system she would be able to relate Healey’s location in relation to theirs, but was able to offer nothing better. Access to the technology she needed just wasn’t possible out here.
Alicia and Russo hiked in silence for many miles, eventually recognizing the forest through satellite pictures taken on the plane, the trusty compasses in their hands and Caitlyn’s assurances through their headsets.
Alicia dropped to her stomach. “I guess this is it then.”
Caitlyn came through loud and clear. “The Isidenge is a sprawling, sometimes flat sometimes mountainous area. You’ve still a long way to go. As with most state or national parks in Africa the degree of protection therein is questionable and can vary on a daily basis. Hence Solomon’s occupation. Fighting was reported there at least as recently as 2013.”
Alicia and Russo rose and hiked some more before dropping out of sight again at Caitlyn’s request.
“You’re three miles away, due north of your target.”
Alicia turned her head toward Russo. “Here’s where it gets harder. You ready, big man?”
Russo was already scrambling forward. “Let’s go bring Zack home.”
Alicia crept along for a while, then stopped in mid-crawl. “This is South Africa, right?”
“Well done for catching up. Yes, it is.”
“I’m thinking — spiders. I once saw a sand spider in Babylon. Sacred me half to friggin’ death.”
“Babylon? Shit, how old are you?”
“Oh, har har. Russo cracks a funny. Dude, you started off being a bit of a wanker but now I’m actually starting to like you.”
“Oh, thanks. So long as you don’t try to shag me we’ll be all right.”
Alicia filled her sigh with disappointment. “Okay then.”
An hour passed. The two-person team worked their way in slowly, mindful for traps and observers. The Isidenge River put in an appearance to the left, a narrow waterway at this point overhung by low branches and plants, but offering some shade. With sweat stinging their eyes, the sun blazing down almost directly above and insects flitting about their extremities they finally reached the area Caitlyn designated as hyper-sensitive.
“Outskirts,” Russo said unnecessarily.
Alicia moved to follow in the man’s wake, reasoning that one track was better than two. Through the trees ahead the pair finally saw the glint of steel — Solomon’s chain link fence and the boundary of his compound.
“We’re here,” Alicia whispered.
Crouch’s voice answered immediately. “Any sign of surveillance? Guards?”
“Nothing so far.”
“I don’t get it. All this is entirely too blasé for a criminal overlord. What are we missing?”
“Only this,” Alicia said. “A guard tower inside the compound every ten feet. One hundred yards of no-man’s land, possibly mined. Rolls of razor wire after that with only… one clear path that I can see. Past that, sentries on constant patrol. And more cameras than a Hollywood movie.”
“Ah.”
Alicia looked at Russo, then clicked the comms. “Ah? Is that all you can say?”
“Wait. Can you get a sense for the size of the compound?”
Alicia scrutinized the fence as far as she could see. “It’s bigger than Harrods. Does that help?”
Crouch sniffed. “You can bet your life on one thing. Once you’re in it’ll be easier to get out of than Harrods. Hold for a while.”
The comms went dead. Alicia nodded at Russo. “Screw that. Russo, you scan the perimeter in that direction; I’ll go this way. We’ll meet on the other side and get a better picture of the place.”
Russo nodded, already mobile. Alicia took her time, staying low enough to scrape her chin along the ground. The border scan was arduous but necessary and it took them almost two hours to complete the circuit.
Alicia went first. “I have a front entrance, obviously heavily guarded, to the east. Road in leads past the guard towers to a row of parked jeeps, all unmarked. At the north side I saw a long, round-topped building that I’m guessing is the soldiers’ quarters.”
Russo pursed his lips. “To the west and northwest lies nothing but a large, block built office building in the corner. Two stories and with a roof lookout post and helipad, I believe. You can see a pair of rotor blades up there with two satellite dishes and other paraphernalia. I visibly counted twelve guards.”
Alicia let out a breath. “And I counted eight, not including the towers. Michael, what do you have?”
Crouch answered as if his reconnaissance team hadn’t just disobeyed an order. “Your only way in is to scale the office building. Out here, Solomon might not employ the sensors he would in the middle of a big city. Now, Healey is positioned at the northern end of the guard’s quarters, quite close to your current position actually. I’m guessing there’s some sort of holding cell area inside.”
“Any communication from Solomon yet?”
“No. We still have three hours left according to the message he sent with proof of life. That’s almost sundown.”
“Distractions?”
“These are trained military men. With Healey’s presence they’ll be on hyperalert and will suspect some kind of distraction. It’ll only draw attention.”
“So it’s stealth all the way.” Alicia flicked her eyes over Russo. “And I chose to team up with an African elephant. Fantastic.”
Russo gave her a hurt gaze. “Have I concerned you yet?”
“What concerns me is how the hell we’re going to scale that two-story building before sundown and without the proper gear. Mr. Crouch, sir, it’s time to do what you do best and come up with a plan.”
“Already done,” Crouch said a little haughtily. “I had plenty of time to think it through whilst you two kids were pissing about on your bellies.”
Alicia flicked dirt from the back of her hand. “Do tell.”
Buildering, also known as urban climbing, counted on being able to climb walls, often vertical, finding the right handholds to complement the correct body positioning. Whilst achievable on some modern buildings their evenness and uniform surfaces made it a lethal, illegal sport though several daredevils still tried it. Once Alicia had surveyed Solomon’s HQ a little more closely and despite its lack of drainpipes, she determined the weathered, dried and crumbled nature of the block construction offered sufficient handholds for Russo and her to climb it. Positioned as it was, close to the northeastern side of the compound, they agreed that it was also the most screened position. Of course, not every angle could be foreseen, but they had already determined that Solomon employed no forest-mounted CCTV, no motion sensors outside the compound and no traps. To assume the same for the interior would be foolhardy, but Alicia and Russo were at the top of their game — the situation demanded a little risk.