Read No Man's Land - A Russell Carter Thriller for Free Online Page B

out of the ordinary.
    He tapped another key and a map of the property appeared. A red light flashed along the track leading into the property about twenty yards from the point where the foliage and bush turned into lawn.
    “Maybe it’s Erina?” Carter asked.
    “No. She would’ve called first.”
    Wayan stood and picked up a daypack that was resting against the wall. “I’m going to the ridge at the back of the house to see what I can from there.”
    “No,” Carter said without hesitation. “You stay on the computer. I’ll go.”
    Wayan looked at Thomas. “But I know the layout of the property.”
    Thomas gave his head a slight shake. “You’ll get your chance soon enough.”
    Carter understood how Thomas operated. He knew the value of dealing in hope. All warriors in training craved recognition and the opportunity to prove themselves.
    Wayan nodded and handed Carter the daypack. Carter placed it on the table, slid the zipper open, reached inside and pulled out a Gore-Tex holster holding a Glock 18, his favored handgun.
    The beautifully balanced weapon had a sighting range of fifty yards, but it was only accurate up to twenty. It had a seventeen-shot magazine, which allowed the shooter to fire the first round without any preparation. Carter slid the weapon out of its holster and ran his hands over the cool steel of its lightly oiled barrel.
    After checking the magazine, he hung a set of black Vivitar binoculars around his neck and returned the handgun and holster to the daypack, which he slung over his shoulders.
    Thomas handed him a bluetooth earpiece and a satellite phone. Both looked like they had just come out of their packaging.
    “Since when did satphones come with bluetooth?”
    “It’s the latest technology.”
    “That’s one benefit of working with the government,” Carter said, unable to hold back the barb.
    “It’s brand-new for you.”
    “You’re that confident I’ll come on board?”
    “You need to get moving,” Thomas said, ignoring the question. “I’ve preset it with my number. As soon as you’re in position, press 1 and report. Keep the line open.”
    Carter nodded and headed toward the back door.
    It took him a couple of minutes to climb the rocky ridge that ran along the top of the summit, using the trees and bushes for cover.
    A wild rabbit ran across his path and disappeared. He followed it into the bushes and went as far along the ridge as he could without being exposed from below. He crawled into a small clearing surrounded by thick low scrub, lay on his belly, placed the bluetooth in his ear and the satphone in front of him.
    He was about eighty yards from the back of the house, giving him a clear view of the property all the way to the highway he and Erina had driven along, about a quarter of a mile away. In the distance beyond the rich green of the long valley, he glimpsed the blue of the ocean. Thomas’s four-wheel drive, parked in the shade of the gum tree, sat ten yards to the right of the house.
    The only problem with his position was that he couldn’t see the front or the left-hand side of the building. But that shouldn’t be an issue. All he needed to do was identify what had triggered the alarm and warn Thomas.
    He took the Glock and its stock out of the daypack and laid them next to the satphone, then focused the binoculars in the direction of where the sensor had been triggered. He scanned further along to the right, following the track to the highway, trying to locate anything through the foliage.
    Nothing.
    He pulled out the antenna on the side of the satphone, turned on the bluetooth and pressed 1. Thomas answered straightaway.
    “What can you see?” he asked.
    “All clear for now. Has the intruder changed position?”
    “No change,” Thomas replied. “Keep me posted.”
    “Will do.”
    All he could do was watch and wait.

13
    Carter lay motionless under the scrub, watching the property below through the binoculars and trying to get his head around