If they encountered any Brush Vipers, they would kill them silently and move on. Crouching low, they began moving forward.
Their boots sank deep in the mud of the island. Each step was accompanied by a soft pop as they fought the suction. Geckos ran over and around their feet. But Abreo never took his eyes from the shack.
It took four minutes for the men to reach the back wall. The captain and the sergeant separated. They went around the sides and checked the front. No one was there. They came back to the rear window where Captain Abreo looked around for a small rock. He found one and tossed it up to the roof. Standard operating procedure for an incursion like this was to cause a sudden noise and see what sounds came from inside.
The stone clattered on the tin roof and rolled off the far side. Abreo heard nothing from inside. A captive might not react to the sound. However, sentries tended to be tense or at least curious. There were no footsteps from inside. No one went to the door and looked out. If the priest was inside, chances were good he was there alone.
The next move was a little trickier. Abreo stood. Standing well to the side of the window, he used the hilt '6f his knife
364
OP-CENTER
to rap on the shutter. He knocked twice. He heard distinctive muffled sounds. A man with a gag.
Diamante and Abreo exchanged glances. Someone was in there, probably the priest. Abreo moved toward the window. Diamante sheathed his knife and removed his pistol.
The captain regarded the window. It had the kind of shutter that lifted straight up. The dead bolt was at the center bottom. He indicated to Diamante that he would raise the shutter. The sergeant would then scan the room from behind his pistol. If the shack were clean, they would go inside and get the prisoner.
Slowly, Abreo raised the dead bolt. Squatting to the side, he picked up a fallen branch. He used it to lift the shutter. If anyone shot at him, he would be out of the line of fire.
Abreo and Diamante waited. The muffled cries returned. Diamante looked at Abreo. The captain nodded for him to investigate. Diamante nodded back. He rose slowly behind his pistol.
Abreo unholstered his own weapon. If anything happened to the sergeant, he wanted to be ready to return fire.
Diamante stuck his head inside. He looked quickly to the left, then the right. After a moment, the sergeant ducked back down. Abreo lowered the shutter and crouched beside him.
'There's a man in there, masked and tied to the bed,' the sergeant whispered. 'The room is empty.'
'He's masked?' Abreo said. 'Then why is the lantern on?'
'Probably because they will be coming back for him soon,' Diamante suggested.
Abreo nodded. That made sense. In the haste of breaking camp, that would be one less thing to think about.
Now came the difficult part: the commit. If they could escape silently, they would. If not, they would escape any way possible. If that proved impossible, they would have to execute an exit plan that neither man wanted to use.
The soldiers had seen an old picture of Father Bradbury. They knew his age, that he was Caucasian, and that he spoke both English and Bantu. Still, the man in the bed was thinner, dirty, unkempt. He could be a decoy. The soldiers would not
MISSION OF HONOR
365
know until they went in and Diamante talked with him.
'Are you ready?' Abreo asked.
Diamante nodded.
Abreo dropped the stick and went to the shutter. He raised it. The priest was inside. He was gagged and bound spreadeagle on a cot. He was facing the window. He was just lying there. The captain climbed into the low window. Sergeant Diamante followed his commander in. The sergeant ran directly to the door and placed his ear against it.
Abreo took a quick look around in the light of the single lantern. There was no one else in the shack. He hurried to the cot.
The priest was facing away from him. He had a black hood over his head. His hands were tied behind his back. His clothes were filthy and torn. Abreo pulled off the hood. A gaunt, pale face looked up at him. He removed the cloth gag from the man's mouth.
'Padre Bradbury?' Abreo asked.
'Yes,' said the man.
The captain studied him for a moment. He looked like a man who had been through hell. His eyes were soft. So were his hands. He was not a warrior or a laborer.
Abreo tossed the hood aside. Still holding his pistol in his right hand, he took out his knife and began cutting the bonds. First he freed the priest's left hand, then his right. The priest sat up.
And then Captain Abreo heard it. A low, dull hiss coming from under the bed. Diamante heard it, too.
It was then that the captain noticed a wire attached to the priest's right hand. It had been run down the headboard of the cot. Smoke began to pour from under the bed. That was why the priest had been hooded. So he could not tell them what had been done.
