He tossed it to Hutchinson who passed it from hand to hand.
“Nice and light,” the American said. He handed it on to Natalie who looked at it and went to hand it straight back.
“It’s yours,” Dennis said to her, ”I suggest you tuck it into the waistband of your jeans so you can get to it easily.”
She did as she was told. The feel of it was reassuring to her.
“We’ll have thigh holsters for ours.”
Al Massri sorted two out. Dennis attached his to his jeans straight away. He stopped Hutchinson from doing his.
“Hang on Jim. We’re going to sort your attire out.”
“RPG’s?” Al Massri asked.
“No,” Dennis answered. His t-shirt was now completely soaked from the heat under the tarpaulins. “We could do with some flashlights though. The type that clip onto combat jackets.”
Al Massri sought out three.
“What else do you want?”
“I dunno. Are we still in budget?”
“Still in budget?” Hutchinson said, “That was twenty grand.”
“I told you prices have gone up. Before 2008 an AK-47 was less than a thousand, now they’re probably two. Plus the percentage Hamas takes for itself.”
“Grenades?” Al Massri asked.
Dennis looked at his companions, then at the bearded man.
“No,” then a thought struck him, “Have you got any trackers?”
“Personal trackers? Of course.”
“ Magnetic ones?”
“All types. What do you want to track? People? Vehicles?”
“Probably both.”
Al Massri spoke to the man sitting at the table. He was still opening small boxes. He hadn’t spoken since they’d got there. Now he beckoned Dennis over. He opened a box and took two personal trackers, the size of a large cigarette lighter, out and activated them. He handed one to Dennis and the other to Hutchinson.
“One more,” Dennis said.
The man nodded and opened another box. There was a brief discussion between himself and Al Massri. The faction leader had the final word and the man shrugged.
“They come in pairs. I told him to let you have the other one so now you have a spare.”
“I’m sure it will come in very handy,” Hutchinson thanked him.
“So how do we track ourselves?” Dennis asked.
“The signals can be picked up by computers, laptops and smart phones.”
The man handing out the trackers gave Dennis the codes for each personal tracker. Dennis found it on his I-phone and was impressed to see a red dot appear on the GPS map on his screen.
“It’s working?” Al Massri asked.
They each checked with their phones. Each had a red dot.
“You had better turn them off again,” Al Massri ordered, ”I hope Israel is not already picking up the signals.”
“I wouldn’t have thought so,” Dennis replied.
“Let us hope not.”
“Do you want us to switch our phones off now.”
“It might be better if you did.”
Al Massri felt a little more relaxed once their phones were off. He should have insisted when they’d first arrived.
“Now,” he said, “A weapon for the woman.”
“AK-47,” Dennis said instantly, “Something lightweight, easy to use.”
Al Massri selected one and tossed it to Dennis who caught it mid air.
“This is a great weapon,” he said, “Designed in 1949 by the Russian general with the same name. Mikhail Kalashnikov. Still being used around the globe. Over 75 million rifles built. Weighs a little over ten pounds. Doesn’t freeze or stick in any condition. Even if you get sand in it.”
He took the AK-47 and handed it to Natalie. To her the weapon felt heavy and cumbersome but she took it and held it across her waist.
“Are you okay with it?”
“Yeah I’ll be fine,” she answered, already getting used to the weight of the gun.
“You could have it without the stock but I think it’s better for you with it. It’ll be easier to control.”
“Is that everything?”
“We need acouple of those vests your men are wearing, but not new ones. They’d stand out. We need to look like we’ve been doing this for a long time.”
While Al Massri went to sort out the vests, Hutchinson spoke to Dennis, while keeping his voice low.
“Pete I don’t think I can do this.”
“Of course you can.”
Dennis looked at his friend. Hutchinson, despite the weapons, the handgun and the thigh holster, still looked like an academic.
“We just need to make you look the part.”
Dennis reached forward and removed Hutchinson’s spectacles.
“Hey! I need those for reading.”
“How bad is your eyesight?”
“I can see fine. I need them to be able to read at a distance.”
Dennis spun around, looking for something for Hutchinson to focus on.
“Can you see that six wheeler lorry over there being loaded?”
“Yes of course I can.”
“Can you see what it says on the driver’s door?”
“I can see it. I can’t read what it says. It’s too far away. I’d need my glasses for that.”
“But you can see.”
“Yes. I can see as far as the horizon allows. I just need glasses for reading.”
“That’s good enough.”
Dennis put the spectacles in the older man’s shirt pocket. Then he reached up and ruffled the older man’s hair. Hutchinson took a step back.
“Pete!” he said reaching a hand up to smooth his hair over again. Dennis grabbed the hand to stop him.
“Don’t! Trust me! You look better like that. More rugged.”
Hutchinson looked to Natalie for approval. She nodded.
“I like the look Jim.”
“Really?” he asked, convinced he looked like a senior citizen yob.
“Really,” she affirmed.
Dennis took a step back and looked Hutchinson’s attire up and down.
“Khalil. Have you got any cargo style trousers and possibly a denim style shirt? Oh and two keffiyehs. I’d better wear one too.”
Fifteen minutes later and Hutchinson was looking more like a private contractor. His clothes were now casual, more military like.
“Hold the gun across your chest like this. Gun muzzle pointing down. Finger on the trigger. That’s it just there. Hold that pose.”
“That’s quite a transformation,” Natalie said, “Wow. You do actually look the part.”
“Yeah you do,” Dennis agreed. “Just try to look tough all the time.”
Hutchinson took a stance which made Natalie laugh.
“No don’t raise your eyebrows,” she chuckled, “Try to look serious. That’s it. You’ve got it.”
“I must admit,” Hutchinson said, “I do now feel that I can pull this off.”
“Good,” Dennis said, “Just a bit of confidence is all that is needed. Now we just need to see if you can shoot. Khalil! A few practice rounds.”
The big man nodded. He took a handful of extra ammunition clips and once again led the way.
“I must say,” Hutchinson said as he and Natalie walked alongside Dennis, “That you have a really good knowledge of guns. Are you also a good shot?”
“I have a small confession to make.”
‘What is he going to come out with now’ Natalie was thinking.
“You know when I told you and the metropolitan police that I did some training with the SAS,” he looked at them both for confirmation, “I lied. I learned to shoot with these guys.”
“What?” Hutchinson said, “You mean you were one of them. A terrorist.”
“Will you stop using that word around here,” Dennis said glancing nervously about, “They prefer the term ‘freedom fighter.”
“Freedom fighter. Terrorist. Isn’t that the same thing?”
“That depends on which side you’re on.”
Natalie was genuinely interested.