Black Market Merchant

Chapter 191: Breaking IN
”Looks like they only have two patrol teams down there.” Lisa said with a hushed tone.

Lisa, Zane, Wayne, Willis, and Henry were all sitting on top of a brick wall that overlooked the golf course situated in the scrubland below. They had only been staking out the golf course and mansion for an hour and by now the sun had already set behind the mountain. Night’s darkness would soon fall, and that was when they were going to make their move.

Tayvon, Sadie, and Eva were told to stay behind at the powerhouse building to finish smoking the fish and getting the dam’s tunnel ready to house everyone they freed. There was still much to be done and gathered for this ordeal, but for now what they had would have to be enough.

“Luckily for us they only walk on the main gulf cart path too.” Willis replied equally as soft. “We can predict where they will be coming from easily.”

Even though they were still quite far away, the buildings behind them might have people inside. If those people overheard their conversations and told the Mad Dogs, then the whole factory raid would be a bust.

“So last time we went over and under the fence by the runoff creek. How are we going to get the others out?” Wayne asked.

“I will explain in more detail as we go.” Lisa replied hopping down from the brick wall. She landed softly in the sand and looked back up at the others. “I don’t know how long they will be forced to work in the factory or what time they are put back in their cells. It is best we get there right at twilight to get a head start. So, Zane, don’t worry if you don’t see us coming back right away. Only if the sun starts to rise do you need to then worry.”

“Alright, I hope I won’t be pulling an all-nighter though. I will still do my best to not miss my shots despite staying awake for so long.” Zane replied as he patted Lisa’s .50cal resting crossways on his thighs.

“Let us just hope you never even have to shoot. Getting this done silently is preferable.” Lisa replied while glancing above her into the sky. “The moon is looking nearly full tonight and as usual, no clouds either. You will probably see almost as good as daytime with my special scope.” Then pulling the three ropes out from the blue crate, Lisa slung them over her shoulders. “Willis and Henry, you two grab a ladder each. Wayne, you carry the dish towels.”

“So, where are we going to be breaking in at exactly?” Wayne asked.

“The vents, just like before.” Lisa replied.

“Seriously?” Wayne asked raising an eyebrow skeptically. “Those vents could barely hold two of us. How are they going to hold two hundred people!?”

“Good question.” Lisa replied rubbing her chin in thought.

“You don’t have the plan figured out yet!” Willis exclaimed.

“I do.” Lisa chided. “I guess we will just guide them out two at a time. As for the whole plan, like I said before, I will explain as we go. We might have to improvise as things progress.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Henry sighed. “Remember, we only originally signed up to get the dams power running to the east side of town. We are only helping now because we know they need help too. If things go bad, I will not be risking my life for strangers.”

“A fair point.” Lisa sighed. Then she turned to start going down the little hill the brick wall was situated on and into the scrubland. “I promise that if we get found out that I’ll drop the whole raid. Even if we, fail the other reason we are doing this, to piss off Martinez, is still going to be accomplished. Even if they are still trapped in the factory, all I need to do next is take over the gang and free them that way.”

“I guess that will make it a win-win situation.” Henry replied as the three men followed Lisa in a single file line.

As Zane watched them wandering off into the scrublands, he looked around him for a suitable place to snipe from. Infront of the wall was no good, the sand was slippery, and it sloped too quickly. The wall itself was too narrow to lay on, so that wasn’t an option either. In the end he decided to climb on top of a nearby shed roof. The roof was slanted only in one direction and the high end was on the scrubland side. Meaning he could rest the tripod over the edge without worry of it slipping off the roof and remain steady to shoot.

Getting into position Zane loaded the sniper with a magazine that could hold twelve .50 caliber rounds. Then looking into the large scope, he found that the scope made everything brighter than what his eyes perceived. It was no wonder Lisa called it special, it must have had light enhancing technology featured into it. It didn’t take him long to find the four zigzagging through the brush, and he followed their progress carefully.

The little group was now halfway across the scrubland when Willis, who was closest to Lisa, asked, “What is that in your back pocket? A spray paint can?”

“Hmm, oh, that’s a little extra surprise I brought to leave my symbol behind so that Martinez will know for sure it was me.” Lisa replied as she ducked under a bush’s leafless branch that was poking out in her way.

“You have a symbol?” Wayne asked overhearing the comment.

“Everyone else has a symbol, why can’t I?” Lisa answered while exaggerating her voice some. “The ERM got their green armbands, the Mad Dogs got two different armbands and the snarling dog image. I’d imagine the Black Rats and the Skull have similar identification means.”

“Well, you’re not wrong about that.” Willis replied thoughtfully. “What is it going to be?”

Lisa slowed down to look at the others following her. “I’ll tell you now, because from this point on they might hear us speaking. Wayne, you already know the hand motions I taught you, but do you two remember them? I know we only went over them right before leaving the dam.”

“Yes, we know them.” Henry replied.

Henry then motioned out a few of the gestures Lisa showed him. Willis did likewise, but his were not exactly right. However, Lisa was not going to be picky about it. She understood enough to know what he meant to say.

“Good.” Lisa nodded. “Ok, my symbol will be representing the name, ‘Queen’, so its going to be a tiara shaped crown. It’s easy to draw as it’s a flat bottom line with a bunch of peaks on top that get taller in the middle and short on the sides.”

“That makes since. Your Match Fighter name is Queen and Martinez will put the two together no problem.” Wayne said giving a nod.

The sunlight was nearly gone now. It was that odd time of twilight where they could see most everything, but all the colors were disappearing from their surroundings. They had crossed the scrubland to the point where the runoff creek met the fence. When they stopped, they were just within sight of the fence. All was quiet, all was still, and everyone anxious.

Lisa motioned for all of them to gather close to her. “Alright, before we cross the course, Willis you are going to be staying on the other side of the fence after we cross with the ladders.” Lisa whispered as softly as she could. “Your job will be to raise and lower the ladders when the escapees come here. You are then to point them in the right direction to go and meet up with Zane. He should still be near where we left him.”

Willis gave a thumbs up, though he looked a bit downcast that he wasn’t actually breaking into the factory.

Lisa continued to whisper the plan, “Henry, when we get to the vent that I picked earlier to be the one we break into, I want you to remain just inside it. Your job is to be on lookout for the patrols and guide the escapees to Willis. Also, you will have one of the ropes to help the escapees climb out with. You need to make sure that they are as quiet as possible. Wayne and I know how to move through the vent and that is why we got the dish towels. They are going to mark out the quietest and most stable parts of the vent to crawl on and further muffle any movements.”

“Oh, so that’s what they are for.” Wayne murmured under his breath.

“From here on out we only use hand motions.” Lisa whispered looking from man to man. “Any last questions?”

“Once we do find them, are we breaking out the women or men first?” Wayne asked.

“The women.” Lisa answered. “They looked to be in worse condition then the men. Also, once the women are out and we are working with the men, the guards might check and see the ladies are gone and sound the alarm. If we are helping the guys and get found out, we have a better fighting chance.”

“That makes since.” Wayne replied.

“That all?” Lisa asked again. Everyone remained silent. “Ok, let’s go!”

Getting over was easily done. The gangs patrol was nowhere to be seen and the moonlit darkness was enough to hid them well. Lisa hopped over first to keep watch as the three men looked on in amazement. They felt jealous of her actions as they had to use the ladders to get over. Willis laid down the outside ladder being sure that he could reach and raise it again.

Lisa led the way as Wayne and Henry followed her closely. All three remained crouched low as they went. The exposed cart path and smooth cut course provided zero cover for them and in the moonlight their shadows might give them away if someone was looking in the right place.

The vent Lisa had picked was on the other side of the course. She tried her best to recall how far down the room the women were being kept in and it was truly fortunate that the inside of the factory was shaped like a rectangle. It also helped that the vent tops were surrounded by decorations and the spot Lisa picked had a doll house sized barn placed by the vent. Of the various course holes, this one looked to have shortest hedges but thankfully the largest rocks.

When they arrived at the vent location on course hole fifteen all had remained silent. They had made it so far with no problems and now for the hard part, crawling through the noisy vent.

Lisa carefully removed the vent cover as Wayne scrapped the loose rocks and sand away from the hole. Lisa then grabbed the fans center cone to slow it down before grabbing the dangerously fast fan blade. She then reached in a tore out the wires to the fan, shutting it off for good.

Wayne, in the meantime, tied one of the ropes around the largest of the nearby decorative rocks half sunken into the sand. Then when Lisa stopped the fan, he lowered the rope gently onto the vent floor. Henry remained on look out while using the little barn as cover to allow him to sit up on his knees to better view the area.

Lisa patted the two men’s arms and motioned that she was going in first. Using the rope, Lisa lowered gently down without a sound and like before this vent was only a bit higher than Lisa’s head. Looking back up she waved for them to hand her the crate of dish towels.

When Wayne and Henry joined her in the vent duct, Lisa had already laid out a few towels. Pointing at the towels, Lisa motioned for Wayne to place them on the duct floor as she led the way. Once Lisa dropped onto all fours, she saw the faint factory lighting coming from their right and it was only six meters or so away.

Lisa carefully shuffled towards it being sure to point out to Wayne where the best spots were. Then when she arrived at the horizontally slatted vent, she could not believe her luck. The ladies had already been brought back to their cells and all of them looked to be asleep already. Then to put icing on the cake, directly below her was Jenifer!