*
“What do you think, Muerto?” Gus watched his friend build his sniper’s roost in the large branched tree with John watching everything with night vision range finders.
“It’s perfect. I’m glad Clyde took the initiative to mention securing a spot with open access to the hangar property, both visually and physically. The real estate agent handling the property told Clyde the owners live in Florida. I have the hangar front in full view. The bastards couldn’t get the helicopters fully inside the hangar which is why Paul’s drone could see something besides heat signatures. They have tarps covering some spots but it looks like they’re sure no one has a clue what they’re doing. They’re a hundred yards back from the road and hidden by the house when traffic goes by in front. The road curvature lends a perfect blind spot to the hangar from either direction.”
“What do you have planned in that devious mind of yours, Muerto? I know you didn’t spend the last forty-five minutes getting into a tree perch for nothing. Do you still plan on using John and I as bait again?”
“Bait is such a negative term, Payaso. I like to think of you and John in this situation as greeters of the dead. They will come forth to greet you and John. I will make them dead.”
Gus glanced over at the snorting John who kept repeating ‘greeters of the dead’. “You are such a suck up, John. That’s not funny. It will be more like dead greeting the dead.”
“You worry too much, Payaso,” John replied, not glancing away from his night vision sweep of the area at ground level. “Muerto loves us. He would never let anyone hurt us. If he did, he would then have to face the Tyrannosaurus Tina Rex. That is reason enough to never let a hair be grazed at the top of Payaso’s head – is that not correct, Muerto?”
“Absolutely,” Nick replied, now scoping range and humidity factors. “I would rather shoot myself in the head than face Tyrannosaurus Tina Rex when I’ve allowed her precious Payaso to be hurt.”
“I get it. You two have been working on this shit when I’m not around,” Gus said. “I’m being punked in the middle of a mission. Back to facts, Muerto. How do you want us to play it?”
“Approach them in an open distance along the driveway. I’ll have eyes on all movement. They’ll be upset, so it won’t take much prodding to get them moving around.”
“Just so we’re on the same page, why will they be upset?”
“I plan to make their helicopters useless. I brought enough depleted uranium .50 caliber loads to make those two helicopters into very large paper weights. When I get through with them, they certainly won’t be flying anywhere. I also have the weapons sighted which will be getting their fair share of coated caliber action. By the time I finish, I’ll have attracted the occupants in the house. They only leave one guard for the hangar here in the safety of Ohio. I’m ready. I’ll tell you guys when to begin your approach.”
“What if they have snipers,” Gus asked.
“What if they have werewolves, vampires, and the creature from the black lagoon,” Nick kidded his friend. “Dive to the ground once I start shooting at targets approaching you and John. Everything will be fine for Tyrannosaurus Tina’s precious Payaso.”
“Still not funny!”
“Here we go, boys.” Nick sighted in on the lone guard. The penetration round passed through the man’s skull at such speed, he simply dropped. “There goes the guard. He’s virgin hunting so it’s time for my little buddies Payaso and El Kabong to get across the street in approach. We’ll be networked from now on, right Kabong?”
John looked into the tree perch for a moment from his keyboard play. “We are networked now, Muerto. Test us when we get across the street. If we hear you as planned, we’ll give you the thumbs up sign.”
“That’ll work.” Nick called Paul Gilbrech. “I’m ready to launch our assault, Paul. Do you have people in place to stop local interference? They’ll probably get calls.”
“Already taken care of. Good luck, brother.”
“Won’t need it, but thanks.” Nick disconnected.
Nick returned to his part, squeezing off penetration rounds into the engines, propeller shafts, and finally the guns and missile mountings, making them impossible to do anything with if the helicopter could fly. His shots tore apart the mounted chain guns and machine guns. The noise of assaulted metal reached the house’s occupants. They came racing out of the house in various stages of dress.