Spence and Mac glanced at each other then nodded at Prig.
“Golf and I are going to stay here and man the comm system,” Prig continued. “As soon as that transmitter is up, we’ll know it. Cat, you stick close to the bunker door. If the mercenaries find it, guard it with everything you’ve got. Any able-bodied civilian is welcome to help.”
“Count me in,” Raymond Cabello said from the door of the clinic room.
“Great,” Prig said. “Let’s get that man a gun.”
Norman had been quiet through all of this, but he leaned forward now and tapped a place on the map just outside the bunker door. “What if we set up boobytraps for them in the area outside the bunker door? They’ll be so busy worrying about the Marines shooting at them, they might not expect it.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Prig said. “Work with Mac here. See if you can’t come up with a plan. Okay, folks, we know who is doing what. The doctor will keep an eye on our injured. Let’s put the children, the elderly, and any others who can’t fight in the barracks room and shut that door. This is it.” He grabbed the edge of the map and folded it over. “We can’t afford to fail. This is about more than the island. This is about the future of our country. I can’t stress that enough. Elna and Malin, your only goal is to get that repeater set up and working. Avoid fighting. Let us draw the attention of the enemy.”
Elna gave him an awkward salute, though she knew her style was way off. Still, he seemed amused by this, smiling and shaking his head as he rolled up the map.
The device they gave her was essentially a black box bolted into a metal frame. A thick, rubberized antenna was plugged into a socket on the end, and a battery was fastened to the bottom of the frame. Though it was only maybe eight inches across, it was heavy as hell. Spence wrapped it in a towel and placed it in a backpack, but when Elna started to put it on her back, Malin grabbed the straps.
“Let me carry it,” he said, gently taking the backpack out of her hands. “You’re in pain. I don’t want you to put any more strain on your back.”
“Is it that noticeable?” Elna asked.
“Yeah, you can barely sit still for more than a few seconds,” he replied, putting the straps over his shoulders. “Don’t you think you should let the doctor take a look at you? Maybe you should stay here and let me complete the mission by myself.”
“Absolutely not,” Elna replied. “I’m going. I know this island better than anyone. I can get us to the hilltop safely. Anyway, what’s the doc going to do for me? I wrenched my back and shoulders. She doesn’t have an X-ray machine to tell me if anything is broken, so all she can do is drug me and make me lie down. There’ll be time for that later.”
Malin gave her a hug. She received it warmly, though it made her back twinge a bit.
The various teams had gathered with their gear around the front door of the bunker. Spence and Mac were going to engage the enemies in a firefight to draw their attention away from the hilltop, and they stood together, looking tough and ready for battle, with guns in hand. Norman, Raymond, and Selene had volunteered to set up traps around the lighthouse and bunker door—anything to delay the mercenaries if they happened to get close. Elna didn’t know what they had in mind, but Norman was lugging a big sack that jangled heavily when he moved. Cat was going to guard the door, with Norman and the others joining her once the traps were set. As for Elna and Malin, they each had a Beretta M9, though Elna hoped they wouldn’t need to use them. Chloe and Daniel were dashing about along the side of the room, chasing a frantic Sniffy. The dog seemed to be looking for a place to hide.
Prig approached Elna and handed her one of the small two-way radios. “The second you get that repeater working, let me know. Got it?”
“Got it,” Elna replied, slipping the radio into the side pocket of the backpack on Malin’s back.
Prig then moved to the front of the room and turned to face the teams, his impressive arms crossed over his chest, biceps straining his sleeves. He seemed to be silently analyzing the teams, and possibly the plans, and by the slight scowl on his face, Elna didn’t think he was entirely satisfied.
“Okay, well, this is what we’re doing then,” he said finally. “I hate to involve the civilians like this, but under the circumstance we have to work with what we’ve got. Elna and Malin, a whole heck of a lot is riding on you two. I really, really hope to God we can trust you guys to get this done.”
“I know this island like the back of my hand,” Elna said.
“Except you didn’t know about the bunker, cameras, transmitter, tunnels, and so forth,” Spence said, with a wink.
“Well…fair enough,” she said, “but then again, I had no reason to suspect that my little island was a strategic location. We’re just a family vineyard off the coast.”
Prig waved a hand dismissively at Spence. “We’re not looking for hidden cameras, okay? We’re looking to boost the signal on our transmitter. All you have to do, Elna, is get it to the highest possible location on the island and switch the device on. That’s it. We’ll take care of the rest
