The Men In The Shadows by Matt Currie

Author:Matt Currie [Currie, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

In a forest of weathered trees that brushed against the dark sky, where winds created a symphony through the leaves, Shane was crouched behind a bush at the top of an overhanging cliff. A pair of night vision binoculars pressed against his eyes. He studied something that was the opposite of the chirping birds and fresh, natural air that surrounded him.

“Two guarded entry points, one for supplies and the other for personnel.”

Shane crawled through dead branches before finding another vantage point.

“Security cameras are hanging on every wall, combat dogs, chained linked perimeter and….” He moved his head toward the east side of the building. “Even a helipad.”

At the end of a mountain road that twisted until your head begged you to pull over, what seemed to have once been a prosperous winery welcomed any visitor who dared trek to it. But long gone were the fields of green leafy vines and hard-packed rows of brown earth, now covered by multiple intersecting layered gravel roads.

Guests were no longer swirling wine as employees described the distilling process, having been strategically replaced by sentries patrolling the perimeter. The ruckus of military trucks driving through the potholes had replaced the clink of glasses, delivering equipment to a hospital, armoury and a mess hall established inside former employee quarters, gift shop and restaurant. Chains clanked against flag poles that displayed a banner Shane knew to be one of no nation, and rows of fighters stood on the freshly mown grass, facing a man who talked to them.

Turning the focus knob to get a better look, the man who held the binoculars smiled. Bradley Lane sure knew how to set up a secure headquarter.

Shane weighed up several ways to break in, but none seemed likely enough to work. The razored fences were too high, and sentries were posted at various vantage points, sniper rifles in their hands. The trees surrounding the base had been cut down, preventing anyone from slipping in concealed by their sun-dappled leaves.

A pair of guards approached Shane from the west. For a split second, he wondered if he had been sighted as the two men stopped a few dozen meters from his position and raised their weapons.

A couple of bullets raced above him, and a loud thud occurred behind him. A deer had poked his head out of the edge of the forest. He must have followed Shane. The poor creature had found himself in their crosshair and went down a fraction of a second after the HK33s were put into action.

“I think we both got it. Guess we split dinner tomorrow.”

The two turned and waved to the patrolmen atop the nearby towers, who responded with a wave of their own after shining their spotlights in their direction. They knew it was just in good fun, not a sign of danger. Shane took advantage of this eye contact between them to rush furtively up to the patrol, his ankle almost spraining over the raised edge of a tree trunk the darkness hid.

His

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.