government loonies? I don't think so,' Larry Paxton muttered. 'You're right, Henry, these assholes are up to something, no doubt about it. The question is, what?'
'Actually, I think I might know the answer to that.' Mike Takahara's remark caused all eyes to turn instantly in his direction.
I think they plan to draw Charlie Team in, using Boggs as bait.'
'What?' all five voices echoed in unison.
'What makes you think that?' Larry Paxton demanded.
'I tapped into one of Charlie Team's cell phone calls earlier this evening.'
'Hey, wait a minute,' Bobby LaGrange said, 'I thought you said you guys were all using encrypted cell phones now.'
'Yeah, we are.' Mike Takahara shrugged.
'So then how…'
'We, uh, managed to acquire Charlie Team's encryption code when we were all at Glynco a couple weeks ago,' the tech agent explained.
'That was how we knew all about their plan to hide Donato and Green up in the loft, and have Marashenko hide her gun under a rock by the dirt path,' Thomas Woeshack added cheerfully.
'But which, naturally, never showed up in our exercise reports,' Dwight Stoner further elaborated for Bobby LaGrange's benefit.
'A minor discrepancy. Nothing worth bothering Halahan or Moore about,' Larry Paxton said dismissively as he zeroed in on Mike Takahara's comment. 'So what's the deal with Boggs?' he asked the tech agent.
'We know Charlie Team's been trying to work out an illegally guided hunt at the Windgate National Wildlife Refuge with one of the Chosen Brigade members, right?'
All five heads nodded.
'Well, according to the conversation I picked up between Donato and Riley, one of their local contacts apparently called Donato at his motel room, told him the hunt was on for tonight, and not to worry about any problems with the local game warden because they knew exactly where Special Agent Boggs would be all evening.'
'And just where is that?' A perceptible edge replaced the exhaustion in Larry Paxton's voice.
Mike Takahara shrugged. 'I couldn't tell for sure from the conversation, but I got the impression that Charlie Team thinks the Chosen Brigade managed to capture Boggs — apparently sometime after he walked out of Providence Hospital — and that they're hiding him until they can put him on trial.'
'For what?'
'Who knows.' The tech agent shrugged. 'Being a law-enforcement agent. Representing the federal government. Intruding on the God-given rights of local deer poachers. Something like that.'
'What the hell kind of sense does that make?' Paxton demanded.
'Hey, I only tap the conversations. I don't psychoanalyze them.'
'So what's Charlie Team going to do? Notify Halahan and have him send us in as backup?' Dwight Stoner asked hopefully.
'I don't think so.' Mike Takahara shook his head. 'In fact, not only do they seem to have no idea that we're here, I got the distinct impression they're planning to play hero.'
'Oh no…' Lightstone whispered.
'You mean they intend to send Donato and LiBrandi in on the illicit hunt, tag everybody, and then try to take everybody down and rescue Boggs… all by themselves?' Larry Paxton's face turned a distinctly paler shade of brown.
'That's the way it sounded to me.' The tech agent nodded solemnly.
'Oh, shit.' The Bravo Team leader said what every one of them was thinking.
'We need to call them. Right now,' Henry Lightstone declared emphatically. 'I don't give a damn what Halahan said. They may think they're taking on a bunch of incompetent losers, but from what I've seen and heard, they're walking right into a nest of ex-Army Rangers.'
'Assuming these ex-Rangers are part of the plan,' Larry Paxton reminded his wild-card agent.
'Hey, if they're not, fine. We end up looking like a bunch of idiots. Who cares?' Lightstone shrugged indifferently. 'But if I'm right, and this night-exercise deal is nothing more than a setup to trap Charlie Team, then everything's going to go to shit real fast. And if it does,' the covert agent went on, 'we're going to lose a bunch of agents.'
'And if it is a setup, Henry, where does that leave you?' Bobby LaGrange reminded his former partner.
'I'll worry about that later.' Henry Lightstone gave Paxton a pleading look. 'We've got to call them, Larry. Right now.'
Larry Paxton hesitated for a brief moment, then nodded at Mike Takahara, who immediately reached for his cell phone and punched in a memorized number.
For a good thirty seconds everyone stared at the tech agent-who finally folded up the phone and shook his head.
'No answer. They probably left the cell phones at the hotel.'
'Which means they're already gone.' Henry Lightstone looked stricken.
'Doing it just like we taught them,' Dwight Stoner growled. 'Get out to the meet site early, monitor the area, see what happens.'
'Shit!' Larry Paxton exploded angrily.
'Did Riley or Donato give any indication of what they planned to do?' Lightstone asked hopefully.
Mike Takahara shook his head silently.
'Nothing about the Chosen Brigade compound at all?'
The tech agent shook his head again and held his hands out in a helpless gesture.
'They could meet their contacts for an illegal hunt anywhere on the outskirts of the refuge, Henry,' Bobby LaGrange pointed out. 'And that includes literally hundreds of miles. Plus, don't forget, this whole night- exercise business could be a ruse, just to distract you, too.'
'I think we need to call Halahan, brief him on the situation, tell him to get us some help out here,' Dwight Stoner suggested. 'FBI, DEA, somebody with some serious firepower.'
'Yeah, but what about right now?' Lightstone looked down at his watch. 'It's almost quarter to eight now, and I'm due back at the compound in fifteen minutes. By the time he manages to get anybody out here, whatever's going to happen will be all over.'
For a while, only the sounds of the crickets filled the warehouse.
Everyone in the warehouse was silent for a long moment.
'One thing's for certain' — Larry Paxton finally spoke slowly and deliberately-'we can't let them walk into a trap completely blind. Regardless of anything else, we have to at least try to back them up.'
Everyone nodded in agreement.
'Trouble is, though, Henry's right.' Bobby LaGrange noted as he slowly pulled an old. 45 semiautomatic pistol out of his waistband, dropped the magazine into his hand, and stared forlornly at the exposed round-nosed bullet. 'If we try to face down a team of hotshot Army Rangers armed with assault rifles on our own, we could get ourselves seriously killed.'
Henry Lightstone stared gloomily down at the warehouse floor, only vaguely aware of the scattered clumps of tangled duct tape and discarded plastic bags.
Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face.
'But then again,' he whispered softly, 'who says we have to fight fair.'
Chapter Forty-eight
Remembering his new employer's comment that it would take no more than fifteen minutes to learn how to use the night-vision gear, Henry Lightstone made a show of paying careful attention while his wrist-cast-hampered fellow instructor demonstrated how to secure the binocular night-sight goggles over his head, and adjust the
