‘Golf-Oscar One. In position.’ He whispered.
‘Copy Golf-Oscar One. Maintain safe distance. On command, move in to apprehend.’
‘Command to Golf-Oscar Two. Request status update.’
‘Golf-Oscar Two to command. Making approach. Maintaining safe distance.’
Sam looked at Virani. She was concentrating on the feeds. Sam broke the silence.
‘Will they simply apprehend him before he even enters, Jay?’
Her gaze left the screen as she turned to face Sam.
‘Why not?’ She asked. ‘Might as well get it over and done with sooner rather than later, don’t you think?’
Sam nodded in agreement, but wore a concerned look on his face.
‘What’s wrong?’ Virani asked, noticing the look of concern.
‘It’s manpower, or lack of it, that bothers me, Jay.’
Bray looked at Sam and joined the conversation.
‘What’s the problem, Sam?’ He enquired ‘He’s only one man. These are some of the finest soldiers we have.’
‘They may well be, sir.’ Sam replied. ‘But Raynor was better than the best, and he doesn’t have rules to play by like our guys do.’
Bray’s brow furrowed. A mix of deep concentration and confusion. He asked. ‘So you don’t think two men will be able to apprehend him?’
Sam thought a moment before giving his answer.
‘No sir, I don’t think two will be enough. I think we need to let him get inside and surround him.’
‘Your concerns are duly noted Sam, but I think you give this man too much credit.’
Raynor’s senses were on overtime as he surveyed his surroundings for his next cover. He needed to start moving toward the power station, and then needed to track down Sam. That would be the easy part. Sam would no doubt be wandering blindly around the structure, showing no concern for his own safety. Sam wasn’t trained for such things, Raynor undoubtedly was.
Spotting a yellow dumper truck, Raynor edged toward the side of the shipping container. The dumper was tall enough to hide behind, and the route to it was mainly weed covered rubble. Once more, he made himself as small a target as was possible and started his approach to new cover.
A movement, slight but noticeable, caught his eye. Probably just the wind blowing the weeds, but he couldn’t risk it being anything else. He deviated from his route and headed for another pile of bricks in the direction of the movement.
‘Golf-Oscar Two to Command. Target is approaching. Repeat, target is approaching.’
‘Understood Golf-Oscar Two. Do not move. Let target pass. Await assistance from Golf-Oscar One.’
Virani looked at Bray.
‘What’s going on?’ She asked.
Bray shrugged his shoulders.
‘How do I know? I’m not the one in the field.’
‘Yes, I’m aware of that.’ Snapped Virani. ‘I mean, do you think he’s seen our man?’
‘Again, Jay, I don’t know. I’d have thought he’d be heading for the best cover.’
Virani leaned forward, toward the control panel. She picked up a pair of headphones and put them on, covering one ear only, like a nightclub DJ. She then picked up a microphone and pressed the button to speak. Before she got a chance, the equipment came to life once more.
‘Hello sunshine. Don’t move a muscle. Take your hands away from your firearm. I’m going to remove your sidearm now. Try anything and this Ka-Bar I’m holding will slot effortlessly between your ribs.’
To a passer-by it would look like Raynor was kneeling on a weed-covered mound of dirt. In reality, his left knee was heavily resting at the base of the spine belonging to Golf-Oscar Two. His right leg was stretched out straight, perpendicular to his body which was now bent over towards the ghillie-suited soldier’s head. Raynor’s right hand held the deadly Ka-Bar knife at Golf-Oscar Two’s side.
‘Now, with me, up you get?’
Raynor slowly stood up, bringing the soldier up with him.
‘Good lad. Now tell your friend to stand up. The one about fifteen metres that way.’ He pointed in the direction of the other soldier, all the while moving back toward the shipping container, using Golf-Oscar Two as cover. A moment later, Golf-Oscar One stood and raised his assault rifle at Raynor.
‘Now, tell him to play nicely and lower his weapon.
The gun remained sighted on Raynor.
‘What the hell just happened?’ Virani shouted. The monitor relaying Golf-Oscar Two’s helmet-cam showed a soldier, gun raised and aiming at the cameraman. A voice came over the receiver once again.
‘I told you. Tell your friend to lower his weapon. Last chance.’
‘Command, this is Golf-Oscar One. Please advise.’
‘Command to Golf Oscar One. Please comply. Lower your weapon. Attempt to draw him out into Overwatch line of sight.’
Sam, Virani, and Bray watched the first-person view as Golf-Oscar One lowered his weapon. He placed it on the ground, and then stood straight, raising his hands in the air.
The room became silent once more. Sam could feel his heart pounding in his chest as his pulse quickened. He was sure everyone in the room could hear it too. It felt like time had stopped.
The three of them exchanged a glance before their attention was snapped back toward the screen. The blast of two gunshots echoed through the room via the audio receiver.
Sam’s gaze fell on the screen just in time to watch as Golf-Oscar one fell to the ground. A chuckle, then a familiar voice followed.
‘You boys and your rules. They’ll always get you into trouble. When will you learn? If you’ve got a clean shot, take it.’
Raynor loosened his grip from around the neck of Golf-Oscar Two. He shoved the soldier forward, forcing him to crash into the side of the shipping container. The soldier stumbled and fell to the ground. Raynor walked up to him and kicked him hard in the side.
‘Get up. I never said you can have a rest.’
The soldier slowly stood. He grunted in pain as he tried to stand up straight.
‘What’s your name, mate?’ Raynor asked, like they had just got chatting in a pub.
The soldier replied. ‘Harry. Harry Sewell.’
‘Nice to meet you Harry. I’m Nate. Now, you’re going to do me a little favour.’
Raynor held the SIG Sauer P229 he’d previously taken from Sewell. He was aiming it at the soldier. Raynor nodded toward the fallen body of Golf-Oscar One.
‘I want you to go and get his comms unit. Don’t try anything, or I’ll shoot you. And I won’t miss. I never miss. And you know I don’t have a problem doing it.’
Sewell started to walk across the building site.
‘I hope your snipers have got their wits about them. I hope they don’t confuse you for me and take a shot at you!’ He laughed again.
It was a matter of a few seconds before Harry Sewell was kneeling next to his fallen comrade, unravelling the communications kit. The microphone and earpiece. A few seconds later, the man stood and walked back to Raynor, offering him the small devices. Raynor took them and said ‘Thank you Harry. Please sit down, back to the container, arms behind your head.’
The soldier complied. Raynor inserted the earpiece and held the tiny microphone to his mouth. All the while keeping his gun aimed at Sewell.
‘Tango-One to control.’ He said, chuckling as he spoke.