Latest from the Janitors, Asps, and Other Books - Birth Of The Asps (Asps Series) - Dusty and Kye have a problem.

 

Today’s excerpt is from Birth Of The Asps, Book #1 of the Asps Series.  While looking for al-Qaida camp, Dusty and Kye run into some trouble.  Enjoy and have a fantastic day.

m.j.

 

Kye just nodded as she pulled off her shirt and started taking off her shorts.  Dusty did the same, and soon they were putting on their camouflage gear—tights and form-fitting shirt for both.  They had those items rather than standard issue jungle fatigues because they took up far less room in the luggage bags.  Dusty took out a shoulder holster with an Asp and started to put it on.  He stopped, looked at it, grinned, and handed it to Kye, who nearly busted out laughing at the thought of Dusty trying to put on her much smaller shoulder holster straps.  He then put his own on, got out their small communication sets, and handed one to Kye.  Next he looked around and found a place to conceal their picnic basket, the blanket, and their discarded “tourist clothing.” 

Then they started up the incline, with Dusty carrying both equipment bags.  Just as he reached the top, Kye—who had been right behind him—lost her footing and fell down the incline head-over-heels.  Dusty heard the commotion and turned to look down the incline to Kye, now sitting up at the bottom.  He hurried down and knelt beside her.

“Are you okay?”

“No.  I hurt all over.  Let’s go.”

Dusty smiled, helped Kye to her feet, then followed her up the incline, giving her a gentle boost from behind.  Kye was sore, humiliated, and mad at herself, but thankful for Dusty just calmly helping her out, without sarcastic comments—which she was sure would follow at some point.

When she reached the top of the incline, she saw nothing of any camp and quietly asked, “Where’s this camp?”

Dusty pointed through some of the thick foliage.  Then Kye could see just a glimpse of what she had been looking for.  Without comment, Dusty started down the not very well worn path and Kye followed.  The further they went, the more Kye could see of the camp.  For the most part, it was in a clearing in the rain forest.

As they neared the camp, Dusty veered off the path into some thick vegetation and Kye followed.  Dusty pointed to a small place of concealment and whispered, “You climb in that hidey hole, while I go find a place to set up our gear.”

“Okay.  Hey, got a question—why are they right out in the open like this?”

“Because they’re al-Qaida…idiots.  They must feel sure no one will just come along this way, and none of our satellites will be wasting time to snapping pictures of Dominica.  They’re probably right on both counts, but they’re still idiots for not being concealed in the lush vegetation, where no one could see them with ease.  It would never occur to them someone might actually come along here, looking for them…or not.  See you in a while.  You see anybody coming along our trail from either direction, try to give me a head’s up.”

Kye said nothing in return, as Dusty eased off and was gone from sight in less than a minute.  The spot Dusty had picked out for her was far from comfortable—especially with her aches and pains from the fall—but she suffered on in silence.

Dusty worked his way down to a spot of concealment and set up the listening device contained in the two bags.  It was an elaborate set-up that not only listened, but also recorded.  Dusty could listen by plugging in an earphone apparatus.  The device only recorded when something was being said.  By careful aiming and tuning, Dusty was able to get the receiver pointed at a tent he determined was the headquarters tent, after listening in on various conversations from various points.

After two hours of listening, and being amazed at what he was hearing, Dusty popped out the tape of what he’d heard and put in a new one.  Then he started working his way back to Kye.  To avoid making noise or giving away his presence in any manner, the going was slow, but he carefully worked his way back toward her.

Meanwhile, Kye had also been busy.  She’d brought along a pad and pen in the pocket of her leotards and had been busy sketching out a map of the camp’s layout, which was fully visible to her from the vantage point where Dusty had left her.

She was so intent on what she was doing that she didn’t see or hear the machete-armed man who was walking down the path from the original direction she and Dusty had approached the camp.

He, on the other hand, was observant enough to accidentally spot Kye.  He quietly left the trail and approached her from behind.  Just as he raised his machete, Kye somehow sensed his presence and turned, reaching for her Asp as she did so.  She realized she’d never be fast enough, and resigned herself to joining her husband in death.

 

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