“I’m still on the lumber mill, Nate. What’s she doing?”
“She’s walking south toward the church.”
“You want me to keep her in sight?”
“Negative, Estefan. We’ve got eyes on her. Is there another pay phone in town? At the post office or Laundromat?”
“I don’t know.”
“Stand by.” Nathan’s mind raced with alternate plans. Everything hinged on Antonia making the second call to Raven. Where the hell could she be going? He supposed she could still be planning to call him, but when? And why the delay? “Harv, switch to the thermal imager, and sweep the entire area surrounding the lumber mill.”
“You got it.”
“To be on the safe side, I’m putting more distance between Estefan and the lumber mill.” He radioed to Estefan, “Divert east past the Conex boxes to the small road behind Mateo’s house and turn south. Head over to the rear yard of the church. The small houses on the south side of the vacant lot should screen you. There are some abandoned cars over there. Use them for cover.” His radio clicked. “Harv?”
“Hang on, I’m just powering it on… I’ve got nothing. No warm bodies.”
“Check the river.”
“I’m not seeing anyone.”
“Verify if it sees the girl.”
“Affirm. The TI shows her as a bright object.”
“Okay, stay on the TI and keep eyes on the lumber mill. I don’t know what Antonia’s up to, but we’re staying on the offensive. We’re not going to fight Raven’s men on their terms.”
“She didn’t make the second call. How do we get them where we want them?”
“We’ll make the call for her. Loudly.” He pressed the transmit button. “Estefan, change in plans. Double-time it across the vacant lot, and prepare to fire a shot in front of Antonia.”
“Copy. How close do you want it?”
Nathan liked how Estefan didn’t second-guess his orders, a trait of a good combat soldier.
“I’ll let you know. You’ll need to be mindful of bullet skip.”
Nathan refocused on the street and felt a chill.
Antonia was gone.
CHAPTER 25
“Estefan, take a knee and hold position. We lost eyes on Antonia.” Nathan remained focused on the area immediately surrounding Estefan in the event Antonia planned to ambush him. “Harv, I need eyes on the street.”
“I’ve got her,” Harv said. “She’s running south, along the west side of the road. She just passed the post office.”
Nathan focused where Harv indicated and reacquired her. “We’ve got her, Estefan. She’s in a dead run heading south between the post office and Laundromat.”
Nathan watched Antonia take a sharp right and disappear behind the Laundromat — the southernmost commercial building on the west side of the road. “She could be executing a surveillance detection route,” he told Estefan. “Hold position until we determine that’s what she’s doing. If we’re correct, she’ll work her way north along the dirt track behind the buildings and head back toward the pay phone, but we’re done waiting for her. We’re going on the offensive.” His radio clicked.
“It seems Raven’s a good teacher,” Harv said.
“It’s a smart move doing a SDR. I might’ve done the same thing had our situations been reversed.”
“It’s interesting she doesn’t assume Estefan’s still in the motel room.”
Nathan said, “Either that or she suspects he isn’t alone down there.”
“She’s had no reason to think that. She hasn’t seen or heard Estefan on the radio. Raven probably told her to make sure she wasn’t seen using the phone.”
Nathan expected to see Antonia appear again within the next few seconds. He wasn’t disappointed. “Okay,” he radioed Estefan, “she’s on the move in the alley parallel to the main road. She’s heading north, back toward the post office. Sighting from your position, there’s nothing but open field behind the tavern. When I give the word, advance toward the street and be ready to fire a shot in the dirt in front of her. Use your NV in tandem with your laser. I’m hoping to flush Raven’s men out of the lumber mill and spook Antonia into going home. One shot only. Clear?”
“She deserves a bullet,” Estefan said.
“Are we clear?”
“Clear.”
“You’ll be able to see her when she runs between the post office and the tavern.”
“I’m on it.”
“Harv, I need your eyes back on the lumber mill.”
Estefan moved laterally about a yard to take advantage of a small clump of weeds and focused between the post office and the tavern. He gauged the distance to where the young woman would appear at just over thirty yards, took a deep breath, and tried to relax. The more he thought about it, the more he knew Nathan was right. They needed to avoid killing or injuring an innocent person — apparently that sentiment included Antonia. Although he wasn’t overly concerned about a stray shot from his pistol hurting someone, Raven’s thugs would likely have machine guns, and they wouldn’t be concerned about collateral damage at all.
Estefan hated to admit it, but he was rusty. The last combat he’d seen was over twenty years ago. He’d soon be mired in a game of cat and mouse where a mistake could prove fatal. Even though his trust in Nathan’s shooting skill was absolute, he had no desire to test his faith. The closest hospital in Jinotega was several hours away, and limping in there with a gunshot wound wasn’t a viable option. Secondly, he wanted to keep Nathan’s rifle silent. As long as Raven believed he was facing a single combatant, he’d feel confident that he and his men could eliminate the threat and get on with business as usual. Conversely, if Raven discovered a second sniper in the area, he’d be ten times harder to kill — if not impossible. As Estefan had learned long ago — from Harvey and Nate, in fact — short of facing an insurmountable number of enemy soldiers, a sniper’s worst enemy was another sniper.
Nathan was about to scan the lumber mill area when Antonia dashed from the northwest corner of the post office toward the tavern. “Estefan, she’s on the move. Put a bullet in front of her. Shoot now!”
Nathan saw Estefan’s gun flash.
A full second later, the sound reached his position, crackling off the valley’s walls like a small thunderclap.
The girl froze, then crouched. She reversed course and ran back to the post office, where Nathan lost sight of her.
“That ought to wake up the neighborhood,” Harv said.
“I’m not seeing any lights come on.”
“Based on Tobias’s letters, it’s not surprising. Here we go. We’ve got movement at the lumber mill,” Harv said.
Nathan swung his scope to the lumber mill and saw three men emerge from the building with the lit windows, presumably its office.
“Estefan, you’re on. Three gunmen are headed in your direction from the mill. Looks like they’ve got assault rifles. You’re out in the open. Make an all-out sprint for the abandoned cars behind the church. The gunmen are too far away to see you.” He released the transmit button. “Harv, I’m still zeroed on the church. Give me a wind correction.”
“No change. Hold left two inches.”
“Copy. Hold two left.”
“Do you think Raven alerted his men after Estefan interrupted her call? That was well over ten minutes ago.”
“Either that or someone from the motel called over there. I doubt they were dressed for combat at one o’clock in the morning. It took them a few minutes to get ready.”
“Hang on, Harv. Estefan, it looks like one of the gunmen is heading for the motel. The other two are running directly toward you. Sprint for the rock wall behind the church. Drop down on the other side and speed crawl over to the abandoned cars. The wall will screen you from their line of sight.”