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Fredo and Armando surveyed the perimeter and tested all the other doors, using their night vision goggles to check out or to look for guards. Brady noticed off in the distance, several pairs of eyes watching them all, probably coyotes or wild dogs, but other than their curiosity, the team maneuvered without being noticed. The vans had cut their lights and motors, and all of their gear was transferred to the windowless van. The keys were given to Brady, and both drivers left in the van they rode in.
“Let’s get inside where we can talk. Carter, you and Enemario want to get your drones out?”
“Hell yes,” Carter said.
“I’m game for that. I got a new one I want to try. She’s a little tiny thing, a hummingbird, but she’s completely silent,” Enemario Rodriguez said.
Carter added, “Sweet.”
Both men brought out small hard cases, set their drones up, and adjusted the controlling devices. While Enemario tossed his small bird into the air, Carter launched his larger drone manually from the computer, taking off from the ground. They both traveled in the direction of the hangar where the passengers were believed to be held. And then they were going to be surveying the perimeter of the terminal itself.
Brady had tasked Riley and John Pawley to find the tunnel over to the terminal. They reported back to confirm that there was a ramp at the far end, large enough to drive a small golf cart or baggage handler cart.
Riley added, “And they got two of them parked right there. I’m not sure they work, but I’ll try, with permission. They’re both electric, yet I don’t see a place to plug them in to charge. They might both be dead.”
John said he would fiddle with it and see if he could get one of them started.
“Let’s see if we can get them both working, John,” Brady begged.
“You got it.”
John ran to the back corner with a toolkit slung over his shoulder, ready to make the carts operable. Brady asked everyone to take inventory of what they were offloading and asked them to make choices to leave some of the heavier equipment they might use for a breach in the van. “I think you should leave your personal stuff there because we can lock the van. We can always go out and grab it later. What I want is our firepower, explosive charges, our tools, and your side arms. Make sure you bring your goggles, and let’s get your invisios going, okay? We’re going to be split up so we can give a full perimeter search, so we gotta have coms.”
Fredo passed out the ear pieces and had everyone test.
John returned to let them know that while he got both of them to charge, one of them was nearly empty. “I’m going to have to find some place to power it up. I’m just not sure, but maybe down the tunnel somewhere there we’ll find a plug.”
“We have a converter in the van somewhere?” Brady asked.
“Excellent idea.” John held out his hand for the van keys but returned shaking his head.
Riley asked, “You think it’s safe to try to drive it? What if we lose power midway in the tunnel? Will we block access?”
“No, the tunnel’s pretty wide. We’ll be okay. I’ve got to think that they’ve got cutouts in there, places where somebody could hook up a light, but it’s dark as hell in that tunnel. And I don’t think they’ve used it very often recently. So I don’t think we’re going to see anybody in there. But we better get ready.”
Brady directed Armando and Fredo to lead the team out front, having John drive one of the carts and Riley drive the other. Enemario and Carter were still fiddling with the drones outside the back door.
Fredo came back from delivering their Invisios with a short report. “They see a couple of big trucks coming in. Looks like they’re trying to bring in some water or food. It’s a big old beer truck. Enemario’s bird is headed over to the terminal to give us account on troops stationed there.”
Brady was pleased with that. “Score one for the bad guys. I wouldn’t want four hundred angry, hungry, tired, and thirsty people on my hands, either. I like the fact that they’re going to feed everybody, which kind of indicates they’re not going to kill them at least right away.”
Riley gave him a blank stare. Brady knew he was thinking about Maggie.
Brady tapped on his Invisio and hailed both the drone operators. “Listen, fellas. We’re going to take the carts into the tunnel. I’m going to leave you guys here, but you send any images to my phone. If there’s something I got to see, talk to me, okay? I don’t want to be running into any columns of soldiers or faced with a band of mercenaries when we get outside over toward the terminals, you copy?”
One by one, he heard the affirmative.
They loaded several duty bags onto the back of the cart that was fully charged, and the remaining team were split between the two carts. John drove the spare. They headed into the dark bowels of the tunnel, hoping to God it wasn’t an ambush. He slipped on his NVR’s, as did all the other men.
Brady could see rats and flocks of bats in the tunnel being scared away by the whirring of the electric carts. The tunnel was straight, it was cool, and it was dry.
But it still looked like they were descending into the bowels of hell itself.
