Gun in hand, he watched the rise and fall of G1’s boots. In a few more seconds, his pursuer would pass inside five yards of his hiding place.
Estefan reminded himself to breathe.
He wasn’t prepared for what happened next.
The guy turned his direction and took two slow, measured steps.
Estefan watched in horror as G1’s boots stopped moving. Could he have been spotted? How was that possible? Estefan could see the laces were double-tied — the guy was that close. Shit!
“I might be blown,” he whispered. “G1 stopped right in front of me.”
“Don’t move,” Harv said. “Give it a few more seconds. Stay calm, Estefan. You’ve seen this before. He’s probably just looking for movement.”
Estefan clicked his radio.
Time seemed to stretch as Estefan waited. What the hell was this clown doing? Maybe he should pop up and nail him before a deadly barrage of bullets sprayed his hiding place.
He was seconds from doing that when a stream of liquid bisected the guy’s boots.
Estefan couldn’t believe it and nearly laughed out loud. “The son of a bitch is taking a piss.”
“I could crack a joke, but I’ll spare you,” Harv said.
“Good grief… This guy’s raising the river.”
“They left the lumber mill in a hurry. Your gunshot caught them off guard.”
Estefan watched the waterfall continue for thirty more seconds. Man, this guy really has to go. “Okay, he’s moving again. Do you want me to tail him?”
“Yes, but give me periodic lasers into the canopy so I can keep track of your advance.”
“No problem. Whoever this guy is, he’s moving pretty well. I suspect he’s former military. The only mistake he made was taking that leak.”
“When you gotta go, you gotta go. Keep eyes on him. G2’s well concealed, but I have a feeling once they see each other, they’re going to huddle at the dam to decide what to do. Nathan, did you copy our exchange?”
Estefan heard Nathan’s click. For the moment, he remained motionless. From the opening under the fallen tree, he watched G1’s boots recede toward the dam before maneuvering into a kneeling position. He leaned to his right to keep the gunman in sight. Every ten to twelve steps G1 stopped to clear his six, and Estefan saw the pattern clearly. Tailing him shouldn’t be difficult.
Looking around, Estefan knew why G1 had chosen this spot to relieve himself. It was the same reason Estefan had picked it. The downed tree provided good visual protection from both directions. Years ago it had fallen from the top of the bank at a 45-degree angle to the water. It offered a mushroom-shaped area of deep shadow laced with patchy moonlight. The pattern of silvery light landing on the ground looked similar to the digital pattern of the guy’s combat uniform. Had their situations been reversed, Estefan might’ve chosen the same spot.
He eased over the trunk, checked himself for ants, and began following. “I’m on the move. G1’s about thirty yards ahead of me. I’ll give you a laser into the canopy every thirty steps or so. Any sign of G2?”
“No. Until he makes a move, I probably won’t see him. I left the thermal imager with Nate. I’ll give you several rapid clicks once I have G1 in sight. Once you hear my clicks, hold your position. I don’t want a stray bullet finding you if a firefight ensues.”
“Good hunting,” Estefan said.
After making a slow-motion approach down the footpath, Harv estimated his distance from the dam to be less than thirty yards. He moved off the trail to his left and took a knee. He’d like to be a little closer, but he wasn’t comfortable going any farther because he had no way to know if G2 had already crossed. The guy could be anywhere within a hundred-yard radius. Harv was reasonably sure G2 would focus his attention to the east, along the north side of the river, because that was the direction from which Estefan would be coming.
Harv registered every laser shot Estefan sent into the canopy. Even though the beams weren’t directly visible, the surrounding flash created from their penetrations were. Based on the number and frequency of Estefan’s laser bursts, Harv knew he’d be able to see G1 within the next two minutes. Patience wasn’t one of Harv’s strongest traits. Despite outward appearances, Nathan possessed much better control in situations like this. His friend had an uncanny ability to disconnect his emotions. The light-switch analogy described it perfectly, and right now, Harv had to flip his switch. He couldn’t think of Raven’s gunmen as human beings. They were nothing more than armed thugs who’d readily deliver himself, Estefan, and Nathan into the hands of a sadistic interrogator. Thinking about it in those terms made it possible to kill. Like Nathan, Harv would never allow Estefan — or himself — to be captured and rendered. Not on this marine’s watch.
A vicious image of Nathan’s emaciated body invaded his mind. Not more than thirty miles from here, Nathan had endured three weeks of unspeakable pain and anguish before being left to die in a suspended cage. When Harv had rescued Nathan, his friend hadn’t weighed more than 120 pounds, half his normal weight. Being in this dark jungle environment was a stark reminder of Nathan’s ordeal. But now wasn’t the time to reminisce; he needed to concentrate on his surroundings. Although he doubted there were more than two gunmen pursuing Estefan, he couldn’t be certain. It was possible G3 had avoided detection and joined the hunt.
From his current location he had a pretty good view of the pond created by the earthen dam. In another ten minutes, the moon would sink below the horizon, and it was going to get even darker out here. Unlike cities, remote Nicaraguan villages had no streetlights, lit parking lots, storefronts, or other sources of artificial light. As far as Harv was concerned, Santavilla was one step above stone knives and bearskins.
About seventy yards from the dam, Harv saw the interior of another tree flash, indicating Estefan’s position. If Estefan had gauged his separation accurately, G1 ought to be about forty yards from the dam. Harv focused at that approximate location but saw nothing. The underbrush, interspersed with the dark vertical forms of massive trees, was moderately thick on the north side of the river, but it wouldn’t totally obscure a human body — especially someone walking upright.
Patience, Harv told himself. Give it a few more minutes.
There!
He saw G1’s outline. The guy was holding his assault rifle at the hip and advancing in high, calculated steps, careful not to trip over anything.
Silhouetted against the random background, G1’s sharp lines might’ve gone unnoticed, but his forward motion betrayed his location. Estefan was right, the guy was skilled. Harv thought he was doing well given the absence of an NV device. Harv repeatedly clicked his radio, looked in Estefan’s direction, and saw a tree flash three times, indicating Estefan had heard the clicks.
Harv studied G1’s progression carefully, making a mental note of which foot the guy used to resume walking after clearing his six. Not surprisingly, G1 was right-footed. Most right-footers were also right-handed. Harv wanted that info in the unlikely event he ended up in hand-to-hand combat. If all went well, the two gunmen would make their presence known to each other, but it may not happen until they were closer together. If some kind of verbal signal was used, it wouldn’t be easily heard over the forest’s noise unless it was pretty damned loud. Harv put himself into G1’s shoes and knew he had to be feeling a high level of apprehension at this point. If Antonia or the motel owner had relayed Estefan’s description to Raven, the three gunmen would know they were pursuing an opponent who had the appearance of a special forces soldier.