72. The partnership
“Main Gate, bring Hunter straight to my office. No detours! Bring him immediately right in front of my desk. Leave his vehicle in front of the gate. He must have no contact with anybody before he has told me what news he has. Do you read me, troop? Over.”
“Will do, Colonel. Over and out.”
Morrison looks at Chloe and Jane and points to two open chairs at the table. “You can sit and wait here in suspense. I shall call you when I am finished talking to Hunter.”
Chloe looks like a little girl whose ice cream has just been grabbed out of her hand. Annoyed to no end she stares at Morrison’s back as he walks to his office.
Hunter takes place on one of the three chairs in front of Morrison’s desk while the colonel talks to the troop who brought Hunter: “Wait outside! You must take him back when we are finished, troop!”
The troop salutes, turn around, and stamps his heel heavily on the ground before he marches out of the office. Amused Hunter watches him. This little boy acts like an RSM.
Morrison tersely talks to Hunter: “They told me you have important news.”
“Why hasn’t the Puma arrived yet?” Hunter’s face shows no sign of emotion.
The two gentlemen stare at each other with poker faces. Morrison breaks the silence: “Are you going to tell me, or are you just wasting my time?”
Once again they challenge each other up with stern faces as if they don’t want to expose any lead which could maybe give away the cards they have in their hands. Hunter is the first to react.
“We are in the same area. We can just as well work together and improve our security. The one hand washes the other. The people here are dependent on you for their safety. This community’s wellbeing is close to my heart. It is not to the advantage of you or them to hide anything from me. Tell me precisely what is going on here and I will tell you everything I found out. Why did the Puma not return?”
“I wish I know, do you have an idea?” answers the colonel, slightly annoyed.
Hunter rises while talking: “Okay, I see you are a closed book, maybe I just came here to waste our time. I shall keep my information for myself. All that I can say to you is: Colonel, be vigilant! I recommend that you warn your men to be very alert on the watchtowers especially at sunset. And I hope your men are prepared to take up their positions at any time. And as it seems that we have nothing to share, I am taking my leave before the sun sets. It is quite a distance to the smallholding and I don’t want my people to be alone overnight.”
Morrison raises his hand. “Wait! Not so quick! You are going nowhere. Sit down, Hunter!”
Hunter turns around making geared up to leave the room. “The sun is going down, Colonel, I must go …”
Morrison decides to put his cards on the table. “The morning after the Puma had landed with our spies after they had observed overnight from the rooftop in town to make sure he spider plague had vanished, I sent an escort to the dam followed by the water truck. Chloe, Jane, and their dogs accompanied a Casspir full of foot soldiers down there. At the dam, they found that a company of 24 people hid there and had left their secret camp just before the escort arrived. Those people stayed in the dense woods at the dam. It is quite a hidden place because of the high hills between us and the dam. In other words, we could not become aware of any fires they had made.”
Hunter again sits down. “You said they evacuated just before the foot soldiers and dogs arrived there?”
Morrison nods. “Yes, the campfire has just been extinguished, they found still warm embers.”
“Do you think they could have heard the Casspir and the soldiers and then got out of there?”
“No, my trackers think there were about twelve two man’s tents and they drove away in about six 4x4s. So, they must have been warned beforehand because they had enough time to take down all the tents, pack up everything, and made sure they left nothing behind. From all the tracks it seems as if they had camped there for about a week. The foot soldiers and dogs immediately scoured the area and the dogs picked up their scents. We are quite sure someone must have warned them early that morning even before we sent out the escort.”
Hunter rubs his chin deep in thought. “Maybe they had a sentry on a hill who warned them by radio?”
“Could be. But now it is your turn.”
“I think I saw your visitors in town. Six black Ranger double cabs visited the town regularly and plundered it. They are excellently equipped so as if someone supplied them with special gear and prepared them thoroughly for the plague. They are wearing fighting gear with metal scabs all over to protect their bodies and helmets with shields to protect their faces. Each time before they left they enticed the cannibals to come out of their dark nests and they maimed quite a few before they left. I couldn’t make out whether it was practice or just plain for their pleasure. They are armed to the teeth with swords, knives, bows and arrows, pistols, and R5 machine guns. They move in formations and look trained and organized. I think they are mercenaries. Their leader is a monster of a man enforcing his authority. Not only is he a big guy, but he also is extraordinarily muscled. He is extremely dominating!”
“How could you study them in such detail? Were you lying in waiting for them?”
“Yes, and they came every afternoon. There is no traffic out there, so I could not follow them discreetly to their base. I suppose they have their camp not too far out of town. I have just identified a pristine observation post on a hill from where I could look down on the road with which they usually leave the town with the hope to discover a farm road they use when going back when they haven’t arrived anymore. Now I wonder whether they had hidden on the farm and evacuated just before you arrived. They visited the town every day, but not since last week after the Puma flew out to Port Elizabeth. And now your Puma hasn’t returned. Am I right, Colonel, the Puma must surely have landed by now, or have you changed your plans?”
Morrison shakes his head: “I am going to send out the private chopper tomorrow to investigate and as soon as they report back to me, we will decide what to do.”
“Colonel, there is a very important pointer as well. Nico described the gear the occult had provided for our eight friends to wear when they leave the hide-out. The gear of the visitors to the town looks exactly like those Nico had described. I deduct that the occult hired them and prepared them for the plague. I further think the occult told them to hide on your farm until the plague had subsided. It seems as if they knew about your appointment with Nico’s group at the hide-out. Colonel, I assume those mercenaries are in the service of the occult and abducted our friends from under your noses to take them to a place where they can fulfill their mission under their supervision.”
“Do you think this was their only interest in the Eastwood Estate and they will now leave us alone?”
“I don’t know, Colonel, but they are looking extremely dangerous and fearless and I am sure our friends would have been much safer here than in their hands. I propose we work together to sniff out their base, rescue our friends, and apprehend those dangerous mercenaries at the same time. We will all be much safer and you can then milk them for information about the interest the occult might still have in the Eastwood Estate. After all, it is important for the security of all of us to know what really is going on.”
The colonel is silent for a few moments. He looks Hunter straight in his eyes. Then he leans forward.
“Hunter, I am going to confide in you, Chloe and Jane fully and share extremely sensitive information with you. Let it be proof that we can and must trust each other completely in the future.”
He pushes a button on the intercom. “Chloe and Jane! Come through! It is time to put our heads together!”