EIGHT
P
ushing the blade of the shovel deep into the ground, Darren paused digging to wipe the back of his sleeve across his sweaty forehead.The humidity was unusually high tonight, even out here in the woods.
He took a swig of water, tugged his work gloves higher up his wrists, and grabbed the shovel.“Keep going.We’re almost there.”
Beside him, knee deep in the rectangular hole they’d made, one of the others kept digging.Darren enlarged the outline a little, making sure it was big enough to accommodate what they’d come to bury.
The thud of their shovels and the swish of soil sliding off the blades filled the silence, their headlamps illuminating a circle in the darkness.At least the hot weather and drought conditions meant the ground was dry, making it easier to dig.
They’d nearly excavated the hole when his phone beeped softly.He checked the message, sent a reply.
Bring it in.
“They’re on their way,” he said, shoving his phone into his pocket to resume their dig.
“How long?”
“Ten, fifteen minutes maybe.”It would take them that long to hike in from the access point closest to the road.
By the time they had finished, motion in the brush to the west announced the others’ arrival.Four men strained to carry the weight of the container over the densely-covered, uneven terrain.
“Any problems?”Darren asked.
“Nope.Except maybe a herniated disc or two,” one of them muttered, his face flushed and sweaty from the exertion.
“We’re ready.Go ahead and lower it in.”He stepped back to give them room, supervised while they maneuvered the container in the ground.
He’d measured well enough.It fit with a bit of room all around and on top.“Okay, let’s fill it in.”He handed one of them his shovel.
While he left them to the grunt work of covering it up, he walked around the interior perimeter of the area, examining the layout of the trees.“One of you give me a hand,” he called out.
The two of them mounted a camera in a spot that would be hard to see.He checked it, made a few adjustments to make sure it was getting a good view of the site, then pulled up the live feed using an app on his phone.
The camera was motion activated.If anything larger than a dog tripped the motion sensor, the camera would start recording and send him an alert.
He couldn’t be too careful.
“Well?Where to now?”one of his men asked.They had buried the container and covered up the backfill with branches and brush.If anyone came through this remote spot, they would pass by it without having a clue.“Into town for a beer?”
“I could use a few cold ones,” another said.
“Me too,” said another.
“Why not,” Darren said to them, feeling generous.Things were going well.Very well, as a matter of fact.“First round’s on me.”
The men grinned and slapped his back on the way by before filing through the woods to retrace their steps.Darren paused for a moment, inspecting the site.He added some fern fronds, adjusted some of the branches to make the camouflage look more natural.
There.Perfect.
