His black hair was tied back in a bun and his broad shoulders touched the side of the chopper and Axle who was next to him.Calm blue eyes watched Dobby, who gave him a nod of acknowledgement.Radar’s slight smile was hard to discern beneath his bushy beard.
“Yippee ki-yay,” Axle responded, a hint of sarcasm in his tone, his beach- blond hair hidden under his helmet.
Yeah, none of them were thrilled with the way the mission had been planned, but they’d deal with it together.
While Dobby’s gut told him this mission was going to suck, he knew his team would have his back.
Pity they were one man down, with Duke injuring himself yesterday.
The little voice in his head which had questioned whether it was time to get out of the army grew in volume.He blocked it out.
He still loved what he did, the challenges and making a difference in the world, but the restrictions were beginning to strangle him.He wanted complete control.
“One minute out,” the pilot said over the comms.
The team readied themselves.They were flying under the radar because there hadn’t been time to negotiate with the Indonesian government—something else that could put them in hot water on this already rushed mission.
The drop zone was just beyond the horizon from the island.Most of the land was mountainous, so people arrived by boat as there wasn’t an airstrip.
They should have two Zodiacs for built-in redundancy, but because of the distance of the ship from the drop zone, they’d had to keep equipment to a minimum to get a better range for the helicopter.Command thought they’d be in and out and wouldn’t need a lot.
Dobby knew from experience it was better to plan for the worst.
At least they’d identified the house most likely owned by Agus, due to its size and position on the cliff overlooking the ocean.
But that’s all they had.
Dobby sighed.
They reached the drop zone and the Zodiac hit the water followed by Joker and the rest of the team.
Dobby hit the warm water and surfaced, giving the OK to the men in the helicopter and then checking his pack.The down draught from the rotors spat water at him, making it difficult to see where the raft and his men were.He swam forward as the chopper flew away and as soon as it did, it was easier to make out shapes in the dark water.By the time he reached the boat, the rest of his men were onboard, and he hauled himself up.
Joker had the boat heading for the shore the second Dobby’s feet left the water.Their infiltration point was on the north side of the island, one bay around from the main village.
When they landed, they’d trek a couple of kilometres through jungle to reach Batara.
Dobby grimaced.He hated working in the jungle; the humidity, the dense undergrowth, the mosquitoes, and to top it off he was soaking wet.Give him a dry desert any day.
As they reached a small uninhabited islet near the larger island, Joker cut the engine and they rowed the rest of the way to the shore.
The jungle loomed, dark and impenetrable.
And silent.
Where were the bird calls and the insects chirping?
His gut clenched as he scanned the area with his night vision goggles.They carried the zod to the back of the beach and tied it to a tree before covering it in leaf litter, removing all sign.Thankfully it was high tide and they didn’t have to carry it far.If all went to plan, they’d be back in less than two hours, and it was unlikely any villagers would wander the jungle at this time of night.
Dobby checked his men and adjusted his goggles, taking a step forward only to have the ground tremble beneath him.His heart pounded as he searched for the source.
Nothing but darkness.
“Earthquake,” Joker called.
The rumbling increased, and the trees shook, leaves and branches falling around them.
Dobby struggled to stay upright and swore.“Back to shore.”
