An Office And A Gentleman
By
Billy Jampot

 

 

WADE FROZE, his heart racing, mouth dry. He held up a fisted hand. His team knew exactly what this meant and stopped.

He listened intently, the blood pounding in his ears, can’t be discovered, there’s a lot riding on this mission.

The five of them kept perfectly still, crouching in the bracken. To the naked eye, they were invisible in the dimly lit forest, as the light struggled to break through the dense canopy the leaves offered above.

Their adversary closed in. Wade could see one of them, no two, barely visible through the undergrowth. As they made their way silently across his path, he turned to find Matt and Jock, and with series of silent hand signals, he gave the order to “take them out”. Matt raised himself slightly from his hiding place, levelled his weapon and took aim.

Chooke…The silenced retort of weapons fire was barely audible. Matt’s body convulsed and fell to the ground.

A trap. ‘Scatter!’ shouted Wade. ‘Position compromised.’ Throwing himself into the bushes he took flight from the area, tripping over the sickening red stained body of Matt in the process.

Chooke… Chooke… Chooke… Projectiles struck tree trunks and branches all around him as he weaved this way and that, stumbling occasionally over hidden stumps, but he kept going; the mission depended on it. With the adrenalin coursing through his body, he finally dived for cover behind a fallen tree.

He lay there for a while, not daring to move, waiting, listening. His heart beating like an old steam pump, lungs burning as he gasped for air, trying to control his breathing. His leg hurt where he had collided with a fencepost. Where the hell had they been hiding?

Gradually his breathing returned to normal. Wade cautiously raised his head to look over the horizontal trunk. It was quiet, peaceful, nothing stirred. He watched for a few minutes, listening to the leaves rustling in the slight breeze. A light mist began to weave its way through the trees as he checked his watch. Well if I can’t see them, they can’t see me. Time to go.

Slowly, carefully, he began to make his way towards the objective, pausing every minute or so to make sure he was alone. But what of the others? He hadn’t had time to look back. They all knew the mission, and they would push on regardless, he could count on that if nothing else.

He was now within fifty metres of the target, no sign of his men; the small wooden building looked deserted. Wait, no. There were two men, one on either side of the cabin. They were well camouflaged, but they were there. If he could somehow make his way around and secure one of those positions, that would give him a distinct advantage.

Deciding to take the right hand side, he made his way to within striking distance of the sniper. Raising his weapon he took aim and gently squeezed the trigger. Chooke…

A burst of red erupted from the soldier as he toppled over in silence. Good. Wade allowed himself a satisfied smile. It’s about time I had a break. He crept across to the motionless form and turned him over.

What?

It was one of his own men, bound and gagged. He whirled around. Chooke… Chooke… Chooke…

‘Agh…’ he yelled, as sharp stinging pain struck his body several times. Chooke… Chooke…He screamed again after being hit with another merciless barrage.

‘Hold your fire,’ someone shouted.

Wade Maxwell lay on the ground, writhing in agony, his combat fatigues stained with numerous, and rapidly expanding dark red pools. A soldier of average height and build entered his field of vision and stood over him. This commando removed the camouflaged headgear, to revealed a cascade of long luscious, golden hair that had been tied up beneath.

‘Just a secretary am I, Mr. Maxwell?’ she said. ‘ I forgot to mention, I’ve been paint-balling before.’ The girl offered her hand to help a red faced Wade to his feet. ‘Ok girls, hit the showers,’ she called to the rest of her team. ‘Stings a bit doesn’t it Mr. Maxwell, when you get hit?’ She laughed. ‘I’ll see you at the office on Monday.’

His secretary turned and walked away, leaving Wade - his pride and his ego in tatters - to untie the rest of his men.

© Colyn Broom 2006

 

 

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