Outside Richter’s Compound
Asni, Morocco
“O
ver there.” Dawson pointed toward a large outcropping of rocks that would provide good cover for their vehicle. “We’ll hoof it the rest of the way.” Atlas pulled them in behind the outcropping and Dawson jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Niner, check it out.”
Niner jumped out and confirmed the vehicle wasn’t visible from the road, then gave Atlas a thumbs up before sprinting off toward the compound. Atlas turned off the engine and everyone geared up. After checking each other’s equipment, Dawson contacted Langley as they began their hike.
“Control, Zero-One. We’re about two klicks from the compound. We’ll be going on foot now, over.”
“Copy that, Zero-One. Whiskers is twenty-minutes out, over.”
Dawson checked his tactical computer for the lay of the land, zooming in on the latest satellite imagery of the compound. He turned to the others. “Still looks like six on the walls, unknown number inside. Control, is there any way in that you guys can see?”
“Negative, Zero-One, and we have no plans for this place, of course. All we can do is give you surface layout. With Whiskers compromised, we’ve lost our element of surprise, and for all we know, they might cut him to shreds the moment he arrives, over.”
“We need to be in position to provide cover, just in case.”
“Disco!”
Dawson rolled his eyes. “Thunder. And if I see a dance, there’s going to be a friendly fire incident.”
Niner emerged from behind a rock, moping. “You’re no fun.”
“Report.”
“I went all around that place. There’s no way in that I can see except through the front gate or over the walls. But I’ve got an idea.”
“What?”
“As we already know, there are six on the walls, but here’s the good piece of news: none of their positions have a line of sight with each other because of poor design.”
Dawson’s eyes narrowed. “Explain.”
“The guard towers are open to the outside so they can see anything approaching, but are closed behind them so they can’t see inside the compound.”
Spock cocked an eyebrow. “Why the hell would they do that?”
Leroux replied. “Our profile on him suggests he’s paranoid. He might not want them to be able to see anything he’s doing within the compound, so had the posts designed so they could protect him from outside aggressors, but maintain his privacy.”
Dawson grunted. “Maybe his paranoia is our gain.”
Niner continued leading them to the compound. “That’s what I was thinking. Here’s my idea. They’re all uniformed, in black, with cute little berets.”
Atlas looked at their own black outfits. “It is a rather fetching color. And slimming.”
Niner eyed him. “Stop clenching those glutes so much and you might not need to rely on fashion to slim down that fat ass of yours.”
“Vanessa likes my ass, and that’s all that matters.”
“I—”
Atlas raised a finger. “If you say you like her ass, you’re in for a world of hurt.”
Niner batted a hand at him. “While it is a spectacular ass, I was going to say I like your ass too.”
“Thank you, that’s important to me.”
Dawson rolled his eyes. “Are you two done?”
“In a moment. You know, my ass is still a little—”
Dawson booted Niner in the ass. “Your plan, sergeant?”
Niner patted Atlas’ shoulder. “We’ll continue this later.” He turned to Dawson. “I think we do the ole switcheroo.”
Dawson smiled. “I like it.”
