Chapter Twenty-Seven
It took Ben two hoursto return to his office and fetch Sarah, but at last he arrived.“Ready?”he asked.She’d already sent an email to Milly.
Surprising her, Ben had changed into combat fatigues and heavy gloves.He smiled and quickly escorted her through the office and outside to a small structure she hadn’t noticed before, a hut attached to the shoot house.
Stevens waited at the little room.Three other new men stood by, each dressed in clothing similar to Ben’s.One was the hulking bald and tattooed man, Franklin.He stood stiffly, his eyes hard.They all wore helmets and carried weapons.
Rio stood nearby, talking to other new recruits.
“We turned this shed into the viewing room,” Ben told Sarah, opening the door.Inside the darkened area were large video monitors and two chairs.The monitors showed the inside of a warehouse-type building.Apparently, cameras were attached to the rafters, so the view was from above.
Sarah noticed immediately that the building had no windows.She pointed at the screens.“You did it!You installed cameras in the shoot house?”
“Yep.We made your idea come to life.Stevens has been hard at work.”Ben gestured at the other man.
“They’re thermal imaging cameras.”Stevens squeezed by Ben into the hut, his expression open and bright.“Their actual purpose is for security, but here we’re using them to observe the action.They detect the self-emitted heat of objects, like a running vehicle.Or—”
“Or a human?”Eagerly Sarah took one of the chairs.
“Right.”Dropping into the other chair, he indicated the monitors.“These are the display screens.I chose thermal imagining because it’s dark in the shoot house and these cameras need no visible light to produce images.”
“So, when the guys do their thing inside, we can watch in real time?”Enthused, Sarah stared at the screens.
“Yep.This system features video analytics and recording for training purposes.”Stevens leaned over to a control panel and turned a dial.Instantly, the view on the first monitor moved.“We have pan and tilt options, too.”
“Fantastic,” Sarah said.“Can I watch somebody in there today?”
“Right now.”Ben pulled a helmet over his head and accepted a rifle from one of the other armed men.“We’re giving you a demonstration.”
Rio came forward, grinning at Ben.“All’s ready, Boss.”
“You’re going in there?”Sarah asked Ben from her chair, surprised, but of course she shouldn’t be.Naturally he’d have a hands-on role in training his men.
An unexpected excitement gripped her.Then a new thought bloomed.“It’s safe, right?You said you use live rounds.”
“Don’t worry.”Ben was already turning away.
From inside the hut’s open door, she watched as he gave a few clipped orders and the other three men gathered close.
