Trent and Gutierrez made up the rearguard. The two men were also uncanny good at stealth, and their presence at his back was comforting. It also gave Trev an opportunity to keep an eye on Rick, moving along beside him.
His friend had mostly recovered from his shoulder wound, and had demonstrated so by rotating it through every motion without the slightest hint of favoring it. Although from his strained expression there was still a bit of pain. That was good enough for Trev, considering Lewis wasn’t fully recovered either.
Besides, an injured Rick would still be more of an asset than just about any of the other volunteers, and on top of that just about everyone in the raiding party was used to working with him. Even Trent had spent some time with the younger man while he was healing up, swapping stories and sharing laughs.
It took them a few hours to circle around northeast of the depot. Just as Trev had seen, east of town the patrols weren’t quite as vigilant and they were able to move faster, keeping cover between them and any camps or patrols they saw.
They only had a few scares, usually with a truck driving by, where they had to stop and hide. Trev wasn’t actually too worried about the chance of being caught in any of those situations, but the consequences if they were kept him extremely cautious.
When they finally neared the depot they slowed down again. They were getting back to an area where sentries and patrols were far heavier, and the cover wasn’t always great. During his and Jane’s scouting they’d selected a few possible routes to the camp, places where they thought the cover was good enough to safely approach.
This one was in a ditch alongside a gravel road, which connected to Highway 10 near the north end of camp and went right past the shed. The plan was to use the ditch to get in between the tents, then leave the road behind and go through the camp itself to avoid notice.
It seemed crazy to try to get in along a road, but Lewis was confident that the sentries along it would mostly be keeping an eye out for vehicles. There were just as many sentries watching the camp in all directions, and away from the road those sentries would be vigilant for people trying to sneak in on foot.
Even having found the best spot to approach the camp, they still spent almost a half hour watching the sentries and patrols to find openings. They were sticking with the two-man teams going in and while in the camp itself, since two people at a time had an easier time than six. They’d stay within view of each other, and try to follow the same route, but each team would be responsible for watching for danger and making sure they weren’t spotted.
Finally, with the next opening, Lewis and Jane picked their way along the ditch as if they were part of the night, nearly moving with the grass and leaves as they were blown by the breeze. Trev barely saw them even though he was watching them the entire time, and the sentries didn’t even pause in their routine. He couldn’t help but admire the display of skill.
The two made it safely to the first tents and left the road and ditch behind, disappearing off to the left between two tents. Then it was time to wait for his and Rick’s turn. The sentry off to the left had a habit of wandering away close enough to chat with the next sentry along the line, although he always came back after a minute or so. They just had to wait for him to do it again, at the same time as the sentry on the right’s back was turned.
It seemed to take forever for the few minutes before the next opening. Then, senses alert to his breathing and the location and movement of his limbs, Trev checked his 1911 in its holster at his hip and his M16 slung on his back one last time, then slipped along the ditch towards camp.
He tried to mimic his cousins’ ease, but he still felt clumsy and obvious in spite of the fact that he made so little noise he could barely hear himself. Behind him Rick was just as quiet, and a glance back showed his friend moving slowly but surely. He still expected to hear a warning shout, followed immediately after by gunfire, with every step he took.
Then they were in the camp. Trev poked his head above the side of the ditch and looked around to make sure the coast was clear, then with a curt gesture climbed out and broke left into the tents, trying to be stealthy and appear casual at the same time. Behind him he heard Rick grunt softly in pain at having to use his injured shoulder to pull himself out, but it was quiet enough Trev didn’t feel any alarm. Still as the camp was with everyone sleeping, there was still enough noise to cover minor slip ups.
Lewis and Jane crouched behind some tents ten feet ahead, and when the redheaded woman saw them she nudged her husband and the two broke away to move farther down the row of tents. Trev and Rick followed until they’d reached his cousin’s former hiding spot and used it themselves, waiting tensely for what seemed like forever until Gutierrez and Trent appeared.
Everyone had made it in without drawing notice. Now they just had to pick their way a hundred yards to the shed, between tents full of sleeping enemy soldiers with patrols regularly moving through the area.
Lewis and Jane led the way, still keeping ten feet ahead. Trev and Rick followed at their signal, and ten feet behind them Gutierrez and Trent brought up the rear. They used a pattern of hiding behind cover to see if the coast was clear, then hurrying down the lane to duck between the next two tents and look around.
Sticking to that pattern the hundred yards between the edge of camp and the armory shed was whittled down to fifty, and everything seemed to be going well. A few patrols passed, flashlights sweeping the night, but they were easy to avoid and didn’t seem to be too vigilant. Unless something went wrong they’d never know anyone was in camp, right up to the moment Lewis’s team had safely gotten out and the armory went up.
So of course something did.
There was no warning as a shirtless blockhead stumbled through the flaps of the tent to Lewis and Jane’s left, yawning hugely and scratching at the side of his head. He nearly walked right into Jane, and for an eternal moment the two stood frozen gaping at each other.
Then Lewis lunged forward around his wife, closing his hands around the enemy soldier’s throat not quite in time to choke off a surprised shout. They both dropped to the ground, struggling. Jane recovered almost as quickly, yanking out the knife sheathed at her hip and dropping to a crouch to plunge it into the blockhead’s eye. A moment later the man’s struggles ceased, and Lewis pulled himself into a crouch with a sigh of relief.
Just in time to hear another shout from down the row of tents behind them. A flashlight beam swung their way, blinking through the tents as it moved in their direction.
“Get to the armory!” Lewis hissed back at Trev and Rick, grabbing the dead soldier. With Jane’s help he started dragging the man back into the tent.
Trev wasted no time darting into a gap between the tents, just as the light panned along the row behind him. Gutierrez and Trent had already bolted the other way between two more tents ten feet back.
“Fantastic,” Rick muttered as he followed Trev down the narrow alley, then across another lane to get between two more tents. They both ducked a bit lower as a light shone through the tent next to them, revealing the silhouettes of sleeping soldiers inside. “We’re all going to die because some idiot had to take a piss.”
“Just come on,” Trev hissed back. They were almost to the armory, so they could figure out what to do once they got there.
Of course, at the moment the flashlights were herding them away from the shed, in the direction of the barn. There was also the fact that even though Lewis had split them into pairs in case some of them got caught, his cousin was the one with the detonator.
Sure, if they got into the armory Trev could probably figure out some way to make things go boom. But there’d be no countdown timer, so whatever they did would probably start the fireworks while they were still in camp. Getting out then would be a delight.