The Tunnel Rats by Stephen Leather

Author:Stephen Leather [Leather, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2010-03-25T00:00:00+00:00

The two men nodded. 'Let's do it,' said Ramirez.

'We'll leave the kitbags down in the tunnel,' said Doc.

They carried the bags to the tunnel entrance. All three men were breathing heavily and sweating. Hammack's T-shirt was already soaked. They dropped their bags and stood around the hole, looking down. Doc patted Ramirez on the shoulder. 'Do you wanna lead the way, Sergio?' he said.

'Happy to,' said Ramirez.

He switched on his flashlight and sat down on the ground, swinging his legs into the square of darkness. He took several deep breaths and then crossed himself. He slid down through the hatchway, then dropped into a crouch and shuffled to the side. Doc and Hammack passed the kitbags down. Ramirez stacked them at the far side of the tunnel and then moved away from the hatch.

Hammack eased himself into the hole, his shoulders scraping against the wooden frame. He grunted, then he was through, bending his legs and crawling forward. Doc followed. He switched on his flashlight and then pulled the cover across the entrance.

' O t0P nere> Chinh,' said Bamber, pointing at a roadside shack. k3Chinh jammed on his brakes and they shuddered to a halt in a cloud of dust.

Wright opened his eyes. 'Are we there?' he asked.

'Not yet,' said the FBI agent. He opengtl the door and got out. 'I figured we should get some water.’

Bamber went over to the shack where an old woman in a wide-brimmed hat was hacking away at a coconut with a machete. Wright climbed out of the taxi and joined him. In the back of the shack was a refrigerator full of cans of soft drinks and bottles of water. An old man was sprawled on a sun-lounger, his head turned to a wall. He was skeletally thin, his ribs clearly outlined through his mahogany skin.

Bamber pointed at the water and held up four fingers. The old woman gave him four bottles. 'Do you want a Coke or something?' Bamber asked Wright.

Wright shook his head.'An ancient bus rattled down the road towards Saigon, scattering a group of scrawny chickens that had been pecking at spilled rice grains. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to loosen the knotted muscles there. The sun was dipping towards the horizon. 'How long until it gets dark?' he asked.

'A couple of hours,' said Bamber. 'Don't worry, we'll be there well before the sun goes down. And once we're underground, it won't matter whether it's night or day.' He handed two of the bottles to Wright. 'You okay?’

Wright smiled tightly. 'Getting a bit of a headache, that's all.’

'It'll all be over in a few hours,' said Bamber, patting him on the back and guiding him towards the taxi where Chinh was gunning the engine impatiently.

May Eckhardt climbed out of the Isuzu and stretched lazily. The heat of the afternoon sun had been almost unbearable, even with the pick-up's airconditioning full on, but now it was early evening and there was a soft breeze from the north. She

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