“Am I cleared to engage?”
“Negative.” Nathan saw Estefan hustle south toward the church and knew it would be close. The gunmen were fast runners. “We want to avoid a firefight in the middle of town. Those houses have paper-thin walls.”
“Antonia might see me running over here.”
“Your shot spooked her. She’s hiding somewhere on the west side of the post office, probably scared shitless. When you reach the cars, stay low and hold your position. Don’t worry. I’ll drop every one of them if they make a move to capture you. Fall back on your training and become part of the landscape. They’ll never see you.”
“Let’s hope they don’t have flashlights or NV.”
“Stand by.” Nathan saw lights come on inside Mateo’s house. A few seconds later, Mateo stepped out to his porch and looked around. When the pair of gunmen reached Mateo’s house, they stopped. One of them said something to Mateo, who held his hands out innocently before retreating back inside his house.
“Estefan, you’re in good shape. Mateo just bought you a few extra seconds. You’ll reach the cover of the abandoned cars well before they get there.”
“Where are they?”
“They just passed Mateo’s house. Maintain radio silence until you hear from me. It looks like they’re going to pass very close to you. They’ll be there in thirty seconds.”
Harv spoke up. “One of those gunmen could be Raven. We shouldn’t assume he’s in Managua. Can you see a scope on any of their rifles?”
Nathan refocused on the gunmen, but they were carrying their weapons one-handed while running, which created too much motion for him to see any detail. “I can’t tell, but I understand your point. If one of those guys is Raven, Estefan could be in trouble.”
Still using his NV, Estefan lifted his head just high enough to peer over the hoods of the wrecked cars. From this distance, he couldn’t see much detail, but whoever these guys were, they were hauling ass directly toward him. Wearing woodland combat uniforms, the two men hopped the waist-high rock wall and resumed their sprint.
Estefan didn’t get a clear look at their assault rifles, but he was certain they weren’t AKs or M-4s. Those rifles had distinctive shapes.
He ducked lower, pulled his Sig, and held it close to his chest.
The thuds of their boots changed to crunches as they reached the expanse of gravel. Nathan had called it pretty damned close. These guys were going to pass within two or three yards of his hiding place between the cars.
In slow motion, Estefan lowered himself to a prone position and pivoted onto his right hip. Ignoring the rocks grinding into his flesh, he aimed his gun through the gap between the cars and held perfectly still.
He could hear their breathing.
If either of them glanced in his direction as they sprinted past, things would turn ugly.
Time seemed to slow as the moment of truth arrived.
He exhaled when two dark blurs rushed past the crevice between the cars.
As quickly as it had come, the crunching from their boots receded. It would’ve been easy to pop up and nail both of them, but Nathan had made it clear he didn’t want a firefight in the middle of town, and the third gunman was still out there somewhere. Estefan felt relief when Nathan’s voice came through his ear speaker.
“Good job. I want those men out of breath from their sprint before I send you out to the river.”
“Where’s Antonia?”
“Still behind the post office. I want you to start a low crawl directly toward the river. That will keep the abandoned cars between you and the church. When you reach the rock wall, hold your position until I tell you to scramble over it.”
“Do you guys have eyes on the third gunman?”
Harv said, “I lost sight of him when he initially crossed the street near the motel. I think he’s watching your room. Don’t worry. There’s no way he can advance toward your position without me seeing him.”
“Copy. Starting my crawl now.”
Nathan kept alternating his surveillance between the motel and the church. The third gunman’s diversion to the gas station to watch the motel was an intriguing development. Since Antonia hadn’t been able to make a second call to Franco, she couldn’t have been the source of the information. For now, Nathan had to assume the info had come from whomever checked Estefan in to the motel. A second snitch on Macanas’s payroll was hardly surprising. In all likelihood, that person reported all comings and goings in Santavilla to Macanas’s local headquarters. Or perhaps Estefan’s garb or manner had triggered suspicion. Either way, a gunman now watched Estefan’s lighted motel room, wondering whether Estefan remained inside. As long as the watcher stayed in place, it worked to their advantage. Nathan’s primary concern was the two men approaching the church.
On the east side of the church, the pair suddenly stopped running and huddled briefly. Now that they were a lot closer and holding still, Nathan got a clear look at their weapons.
“Harv, their rifles aren’t scoped.”
“Then it’s highly unlikely Raven is one of them. He’d be using a scoped weapon.”
“Agreed. Let’s keep your eyes on the area around the gas station. We need to know if the third gunman moves south. I’ll watch Estefan and the area around the church. Estefan, we’re going to give those guys alphanumeric designations. G1 and G2 are at the church, G3 is behind the gas station watching the motel. Copy that?”
“Copy. You have eyes on me?”
“Affirm. I have you in a low crawl approaching the rock wall due east of the abandoned cars. Keep going.”
Nathan saw G1 and G2 fan out in opposite directions and encircle the church. When they reformed a huddle in the middle of the street, Nathan saw an opportunity. Estefan had only crawled about half the distance to the rock wall. If he made an all-out sprint, he could reach the wall in under five seconds. Nathan decided it was an acceptable risk.
“Estefan, stop crawling and run for the wall. The church is screening you from the gunmen. Once you reach the wall, stay low and be ready to beat feet out to the river.”
Nathan swung his scope back to the men in the street. They appeared to be frozen in indecision. Since they hadn’t found anyone, they were probably trying to decide if conducting a search was worthwhile. No doubt they were pissed at having to run all the way over there for nothing.
“Did Estefan make it to the wall?” Harv asked.
“Yes. Estefan, stand up. I want the gunmen to see you. Okay, they’re looking your direction. Move south along the wall… a little more…” Nathan watched one of the gunmen point in Estefan’s direction. “Go now! All-out sprint to the river!”
Both gunmen joined the chase, but they weren’t running as fast this time and Estefan had a hundred-yard head start. Short of Estefan injuring himself during his sprint, Nathan knew his former student would reach the cover of the trees well in advance of the gunmen.
“G1 and G2 are on your six. When you reach the river, turn right and head for the dam. Use your radio to coordinate your location with Harv. Your gun isn’t suppressed, so find a good spot to lay low until Harv gets there. As far as I can tell, they don’t have NV, and I haven’t seen any flashlights.”
“Copy. Do I have a green light if things get ugly?”
Nathan didn’t hesitate. “Affirm. You are cleared to engage once you reach the river, but do your best to avoid it. Harv will be at the dam in three mikes. Copy that?”