‹ Prequel: Going Bush
Going Bush 2: Suburbia
48
Taylor was awkwardly loaded into the back of the plane where multiple animal cages sat. Seeing the chains and other attachments Taylor could tell that they weren’t used for transporting animals so much as people. Once he’d been locked inside a rather large one, the master closed up the doors and made his way to the front of the plane. He took his time performing all of his pre-flight checks before taking his seat in the pilot’s position.
Taylor shook the hair out of his eyes as the plane took off down the runway, before struggling to find his footing as it lifted into the air. His hands had nothing to hold behind him so all he could do was dig his heels into the wire base of the cage. The cage itself wasn’t very secure and was already sliding across the floor.
By the time they steadied out in the air, the sun was well and truly gone.
*
“They’re in position,” Carlson informed Isaac as he stood at the rear of the surveillance van.
Isaac was sitting inside with Rick, eyes plastered to a screen that gave them a thermal imaging aerial view of the building. The amount of body heat signatures told them there were at minimum thirty people in there.
“How much longer?” Isaac asked without looking up, holding a headset to his ear.
“Not long. You’ll see them move in. You guys stay here until I give the all clear,” Carlson indicated his own headset.
Isaac and Rick both nodded, and Carlson closed the doors again.
“Do you really think they’re still here?” Rick asked once he’d gone.
“I don’t know,” Isaac looked tired, “but where else would they be? We don’t even know why they were brought here in the first place.”
They leant forward a little in anticipation as they saw the outlines of the SWAT team moving in on the building. They saw a group of three hit one of the doors at the perimeter, gradually making their way inside. They headed down a hall, slowly coming across a group of six heat signatures to their right. Isaac and Rick held their breath as they waited to see what would happen when they met. Curiously, one of the SWAT members stayed by the doorway to the room while the other two continued down the hall. None of the bodies in the room moved.
“Why aren’t they taking them down?” Isaac frowned, before Rick grabbed the headset from him.
He listened in to the agents as they whispered commands to each other, picking up on codes and terms that Isaac wouldn’t know.
“They’re hostages,” he said finally, making Isaac’s eyes widen.
“Do you think…?”
“We won’t know until it’s over,” Rick kept his eyes to the screen.
They saw two people starting to make their way down the hall to where the SWAT members were coming through. This time when they met there were sudden shouts through the headset and then many of the heat signatures began to scatter.
“Here we go,” Rick’s eyebrows rose as Isaac leant further forward.
They took note of the multiple rooms where signatures lay where no one appeared to be moving. As gunfire began to break out, they noticed that only about ten of the thirty they could see were actually fighting back.
“Something’s going on here,” Isaac said decidedly, “this can’t only be about Taylor and Zac.”
“You’re telling me,” Rick barely breathed.
Taylor shook the hair out of his eyes as the plane took off down the runway, before struggling to find his footing as it lifted into the air. His hands had nothing to hold behind him so all he could do was dig his heels into the wire base of the cage. The cage itself wasn’t very secure and was already sliding across the floor.
By the time they steadied out in the air, the sun was well and truly gone.
*
“They’re in position,” Carlson informed Isaac as he stood at the rear of the surveillance van.
Isaac was sitting inside with Rick, eyes plastered to a screen that gave them a thermal imaging aerial view of the building. The amount of body heat signatures told them there were at minimum thirty people in there.
“How much longer?” Isaac asked without looking up, holding a headset to his ear.
“Not long. You’ll see them move in. You guys stay here until I give the all clear,” Carlson indicated his own headset.
Isaac and Rick both nodded, and Carlson closed the doors again.
“Do you really think they’re still here?” Rick asked once he’d gone.
“I don’t know,” Isaac looked tired, “but where else would they be? We don’t even know why they were brought here in the first place.”
They leant forward a little in anticipation as they saw the outlines of the SWAT team moving in on the building. They saw a group of three hit one of the doors at the perimeter, gradually making their way inside. They headed down a hall, slowly coming across a group of six heat signatures to their right. Isaac and Rick held their breath as they waited to see what would happen when they met. Curiously, one of the SWAT members stayed by the doorway to the room while the other two continued down the hall. None of the bodies in the room moved.
“Why aren’t they taking them down?” Isaac frowned, before Rick grabbed the headset from him.
He listened in to the agents as they whispered commands to each other, picking up on codes and terms that Isaac wouldn’t know.
“They’re hostages,” he said finally, making Isaac’s eyes widen.
“Do you think…?”
“We won’t know until it’s over,” Rick kept his eyes to the screen.
They saw two people starting to make their way down the hall to where the SWAT members were coming through. This time when they met there were sudden shouts through the headset and then many of the heat signatures began to scatter.
“Here we go,” Rick’s eyebrows rose as Isaac leant further forward.
They took note of the multiple rooms where signatures lay where no one appeared to be moving. As gunfire began to break out, they noticed that only about ten of the thirty they could see were actually fighting back.
“Something’s going on here,” Isaac said decidedly, “this can’t only be about Taylor and Zac.”
“You’re telling me,” Rick barely breathed.