‘You’re such a racist,’ Payne said as he walked past Jones. For as long as they had been friends, race had never been an issue, so they felt comfortable teasing each other about the subject. In their friendship, very few things were off limits.
‘Maybe so,’ Jones mumbled, ‘but my black ass is still alive.’
‘Because you’re a coward. A racist coward.’
‘A coward?’ Jones hustled to catch up with his best friend. ‘Did you just call me a coward? I swear, if I wasn’t so damn scared of you, I’d punch you in the face.’
Payne was going to tease him some more when he spotted something in the trees. Instinctively he froze and threw a clenched fist into the air. In the military this meant stop and shut up because a threat had been detected. Jones saw the sign and instantly obeyed. No questions, no debate, no sound of any kind. During his career, the signal had saved his life many times. He wasn’t about to challenge it now.
‘What’s wrong?’ Kaiser asked.
Jones turned and signalled for him to be quiet. A moment later, Payne pointed to the right, letting them know where danger was lurking. Jones nodded and calmly pulled a gun from his belt. The Sig Sauer had been tucked underneath his shirt at the small of his back. From the front of the group, Payne did the same, drawing his weapon with a steady hand.
One moment they were joking around. The next, they were ready to kill.
As if someone had flipped a switch.
‘Where are your men?’ Payne asked as he dropped into a crouch.
‘Up ahead, guarding the site.’
‘All of them?’
‘I don’t know,’ Kaiser admitted.
‘Get on your radio and find out.’
‘But I just talked to-’
Payne cut him off. ‘Do you like your men? If so, get a head count.’
‘But-’
‘Listen,’ Payne explained. ‘If I send DJ into the woods, he’s going to take out anyone he sees. And trust me when I say this, he’s very good at what he does.’
‘I’m like a ninja,’ Jones assured him.
‘Therefore, for the sake of your men, please ask them where they are. Otherwise, this is going to get messy.’
Kaiser nodded, concerned and exhilarated at the exact same time. He had heard stories about the duo, but had never seen them in action until this moment. Needless to say, he was impressed by their performance. ‘No problem. I’ll call them right now.’
Kaiser turned on the radio and started whispering in German. His message was longer than before, and a lot more urgent. So was the response from the guards. About halfway through, a smile surfaced on Kaiser’s lips.
‘It’s okay,’ he said, breathing a sigh of relief. ‘Richter was just taking a piss.’
‘A piss?’ Jones lowered his weapon. ‘That piss almost cost him his dick.’
‘I’ll be sure to tell him.’
Despite the explanation, Payne remained on high alert – unable to fully relax until he got more details from Kaiser. ‘Who are these guys?’
Kaiser frowned. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Why? Because they’re armed, and I know nothing about them.’
‘Fair enough,’ he said. ‘They’re men I’ve used before. Men I trust.’
‘And their backgrounds?’
‘German.’
‘Yeah, I figured that out on my own.’
‘What’s wrong?’ Jones asked.
‘Nothing’s wrong,’ Payne said, forcing a smile. ‘I just wanted to know who we’re dealing with. Better safe, than sorry. Right?’
Jones stared at him, trying to read his expression. ‘And you’re cool?’
Payne nodded, ever so slowly. ‘Yeah, I’m cool.’
‘Great!’ Kaiser exclaimed. ‘Then what are we waiting for? We’re almost there.’
7
While approaching the site, Payne and Jones kept their heads on a swivel. Not only because armed guards were watching their every move, but because the duo still didn’t know what Kaiser had discovered in this desolate stretch of woods. Or exactly why they had been summoned.
For the past twenty-four hours, Kaiser had been less than generous with the details, keeping information to himself for security reasons. Or so he claimed. At first, they were willing to let it slide because of their history with Kaiser. They trusted him and knew he wouldn’t have flown them to Germany for something trivial or illegal. But the longer the mystery lingered, the longer he kept them in the dark about their role, the more suspicious they became.
‘Ten o’clock,’ Payne whispered to Jones. ‘Behind the fallen rocks.’
Jones glanced in that direction and nodded. Although Kaiser’s men were dressed in woodland camouflage – a mixture of greens, browns and black that was perfect for this terrain – Payne and Jones had spotted four guards in less than a minute. An amazing feat in dim light.
‘Unbelievable,’ Kaiser gushed. ‘You found them all.’
‘Not yet,’ Payne said. He pointed to the hillside that overlooked the site. ‘Twelve o’clock, on the ledge. There’s a bird’s nest up there.’
Bird’s nest was military slang for an elevated sniper position.
‘Nice spot,’ Jones said. ‘Good protection, wide field of fire. And high enough to take a nap without the other guards knowing. That’s where I’d set up with a camouflage blanket.’
Kaiser studied the rock face. ‘Sorry. I forgot about him.’
‘Somehow I doubt that. But if you did, it makes me wonder,’ Payne said.
‘About what?’