The Payback Assignment Read Online Free

transportation.”   What he really needed, he thought was a cup of hot, fresh brewed coffee.   He was dirty and exhausted.   A real bed, a hot meal and that coffee would square him away.
                But, as he approached the landing boats, his head suddenly snapped up.   He was getting that old familiar feeling.   That funny tingle at the nape of his neck.   That jangling of nerves that told him something was wrong, that he was in deadly danger.   But, where was the danger?   Neither the local army nor the police could have found them so quickly.   Was some jungle beast stalking them?   Could a survivor from Abrigo’s compound have followed them?   He was staring around for some clue when Smitty shouted.
                “For Christ’s sake, Morgan, look.”   All eyes turned seaward.   The boat they had returned to looked smaller than it had before.   A barely visible wake showed behind her, and she was turned at a slightly different angle to the shore.
                “Son of a bitch,” Morgan snarled.   “She’s heading out to sea without us.”
                “Well, what now?”   Josh asked.   Seven pairs of eyes turned to rest on Morgan Stark.
                “Sorry guys.   I guess I screwed us all.”
                “Hey, not your fault,” Crazy Mike said with a grin.   “Stone’s been around this business a long time.   We’ve all worked for him before.   You can’t figure a guy with his experience and reputation to pull something like this.”
                “Well, it’s done,” Morgan sighed.   “I give the federales about twenty minutes to get here.   Like amateurs we left a trail behind us a blind man could follow, and those signal shots will pinpoint us for sure.   I think maybe we better split up.”
                “Mexico’s only about a hundred fifty miles away, but they’re on pretty good terms with Belize, so they’ll be bottling up the border pretty fast,” Lee said.  
                “Panama’s good,” Fallon said.   “We can get lost there easy and get in and out easy.   Of course, it’s a bit of a hike from here.”
                “Okay,” Morgan said.   “Here’s the best way to play it.   We’ll make two teams.   Four go south, four go north.   Anybody who makes it out can find me in the usual way.   I’ll make your money good.   Okay?”
                “In that case, I’m going with you,” Mike said.   “If you get caught, nobody gets paid.”
                Everybody chuckled, and they began choosing teams.   Despite the tension inherent in a mission gone wrong, Morgan knew that their professionalism would keep them in a positive frame of mine.   As long as leadership is confident, the men are confident, he thought.  
                Then Morgan’s head whipped around, his eyes riveted on the jungle they had just left.   His men’s laughter and light hearted banter trailed off, replaced by the grinding screech of an ill-tuned transmission.

-5-
     
                “Scatter!”   It was all Morgan had time to say before the fireworks started.   Four of his men fell in as many seconds.   Dirt and foliage was scattered through the air.
                Five jeeps stood at the tree line, and Morgan figured more must be hidden beyond it.   His jaw dropped open when he saw Crazy Mike standing straight up at the edge of the shore, returning fire with his M249.   The lead vehicle crumpled as 7.62 mm NATO rounds chewed it up at the rate of six hundred rounds per minute.   Knowing that some of those rounds would find the gas can in the back, Morgan clenched his eyes shut just before the jeep exploded into shrapnel.   The piercing blast tortured Morgan’s ears, and a thick black cloud burst skyward.
                 Mike’s courageous cover fire, and the explosion it caused,