“What’s your recommendation for an assault?” asked Major O’Malley.
“I’d like a confirmation of our mission objective, sir.”
“This mission is simply for info purposes only, captain. We want these men alive. Captured, if necessary. You’re to use live fire only if directly threatened.”
“Yes sir, it’s what I’ve kept in mind while forming a plan. I think we should try and breach the perimeter guard undetected and then disable all four guards on the house. At that point, we can gain entry by the rear door. We’ll send a two-man team to recon. They’ll withdraw and provide us best assessment. We’ll re-enter with a full team to disarm or disable. Flash-bangs would make this easier but we’re seeking a silent takedown, so no go. I’d like not to bring attention from outside in the takedown. The leader’s likely in the upstairs room above the front porch. There’s a lot of movement in that room—it’d be my guess that’s the primary command post.”
“Agreed, captain. Good work. Keep in mind that they’re revved up from our fly-by. You’ll need to treat this with the utmost caution.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Proceed.”
CHAPTER 1.19-The Hunter’s Home
“Snuff, this place is trashed. There’s nothing here worth a crap.”
“Don’t be so sure, Mac.” Amanda was keenly interested in this particular house. They climbed to the second floor and entered the master bedroom. Immediately, she was intrigued with the large walk-in closet, but suspended her investigation, sensing Connor’s unease. “Are you okay, Mac?”
“Shh. Lower your voice. I’m fine—I just… there’s something going on. My senses are tingling.”
He stared through the bedroom window, far enough away from it to be unseen from the ground. The house across the street had attracted his attention. It had a crumbling blue stucco façade with green trim and its yard sported a well-worn path in the grass indicative of recent activity. That, combined with the tripwires and the voices he had heard, left him uneasy. He sensed Amanda’s gaze and he relaxed his iron grip on the binoculars.
“I’ll understand if you want to leave, Mac.” Amanda failed at keeping the disappointment from her voice, but she had learned to trust Connor’s instincts.
“No, Snuff, we don’t have to leave just yet. Go ahead and play, but do it quietly. I think there’s a lot more to this subdivision than meets the eye.”
“Like what?”
“Like maybe we have a few reasonably experienced hunters waiting for the next batch of fresh meat to come walking in.”
“An ambush?”
“There’s something going on here and they’re keeping out of any visual tracking. I don’t like the absence. I’ll give you about ten minutes of searching. After that, we’re gone.”
“Okay.” She entered the walk-in closet and began reviewing its meager contents. “Hey, Mac? I think this house might have some surprises.”
He walked toward Amanda, but continued his surveillance on the house across the street. “Nah. I think this place is trashed. I don’t think there’s squat here, but explain your reasoning.”
“Well, there are lots of fancy built-ins downstairs, right?”
“Yeah, so?”
“The den or library or whatever it was had tons of little cubby-holes. And those two deer heads. And the moldy Field & Stream’s. Not to mention that there was a bird-dog painting in the corner and—”
“What’s your point, Snuff?”
“The guy who lived here liked his hiding places and he was a hunter.”
Connor recognized the glint of excitement in her eyes. He entered the huge closet, inspecting the area, considering Amanda’s argument. He peered out the small window set above a window seat for ease in dressing.
“Okay, so he was a hunter. Sure, he had a beautiful gun cabinet right there, but it’s busted and cleaned out. You ready?”
“Not just yet, Mac.” There was nothing on the wall to her left, but she continued to stare at it, deep in thought for a minute.
“Snuff? Come on,” whispered Mac.
Amanda re-entered the bedroom, spun toward the closet, and compared the depths of the wall. “Wow!”
“Snuff, be quiet!”
“I found it, Mac,” she whispered. “I fucking found it!”
“What are you talking about?”
“I knew he had a cubby-hole in here. Come on—help me figure it out.”
“Show me what you discovered.”
“You see this wall? The depth? There’s something inside there, I know it.” The closet was eight feet wide and about ten feet deep. One wall of the closet was located about two feet from the hall. Yet, the hall only widened about one foot beyond the master bedroom doorway. There was an area approximately one foot by ten feet unaccounted for.
They felt around the wall in the closet and, upon closer inspection, they discovered a fine line, nearly undetectable, in the drywall. The line ran vertically from the floor to the ceiling, three feet from the doorframe. Amanda inspected the doorjamb adjoining the wall, but there was nothing to suggest a button or any hidden release.
“It’s just a drywall crack, Snuff. Let’s go.”
She found it difficult to hide her disappointment. “Yeah, I guess we better go,” she said. She turned and, as she did, she noticed a small brown notch on the other side of the doorjamb. She reached up and felt a small lever. She pushed the lever with her index finger and heard a soft click behind her. Connor tensed at the sound as if a grenade had exploded.
“Gotcha!” Despite whispering, Amanda’s excitement bubbled to the surface. The vertical line in the drywall was now split—one side was raised while the other hadn’t moved. “I get first dibs.” Thrilled, she pulled open the panel.
“Of course, but let’s make it quick. We need to go.”
The hidden compartment was quite large and they were momentarily overcome with awe about what was inside. Numerous rifles were lined up vertically in neat slots of a beautifully carved gun rack. There was a large shelf above and two wide drawers below the hidden gun rack. There were thick stacks of one hundred dollar bills and other papers on the shelf—their only value now was if you needed them to start a fire. There were four one-ounce Golden Eagle coins in individual holders placed atop the money stacks to keep them in place. Amanda quickly grabbed all four and handed two to Connor. They both barely smiled at this useful discovery, so focused were they on the remainder of the cabinet contents. They slipped the coins into their front pockets and Connor nodded for Amanda to continue.
She reached into the cabinet, removing a scoped rifle. The extensive filigree etching and a dusty black walnut stock begged to be touched. She felt the silky smoothness of the stock and the light dust fell away easily. “It’s beautiful.”
“It better be. Let me see it, Snuff.” She handed it to him carefully and he held it up toward the window. “That’s a Bennelli. What a beautiful weapon. It probably set this guy back about $5000. Maybe more.” He handed the Bennelli back to Amanda and inspected the remaining guns. “Check this out.”
Connor removed a Weatherby shotgun that was more beautiful than the Bennelli, at least to him it was. He noticed the smooth finish of the stock. These guns, each one, represented excellent treatment and care. “This guy knew his guns. This thing is beautiful.”
“I guess you found your shotgun, Mac.”