Bendoo lay in a tree at Wareika. He had just returned from his latest meeting with Wood. He gave him a full account about the activities at the camp. He knew that once he got to know who the boss was then it would be easy to wipe out this gang of drug smugglers. He lay relaxed in the tree; he could see the beautiful glow of the city. The fresh cool air of the mountains was certainly a refreshing change from all that dust and pollution down there.
He had told Wood about the criminals up here. Premba Mc Donald, Lance Thompson and Desmond Pennant, were serial killers. These three men along with others, had taken part in the hold-up of a bank in St. Ann’s Bay. They had killed a policeman in making their getaway. A policewoman on the scene had shot and killed one of the criminals, but the rest had escaped with almost a hundred thousand dollars. That was about five years ago, he was sure that they would have spent off that money. He wasn’t sure if people like Miles Butler, Matthew Grosset, Stan ‘Dillinger’ Boyd, Weston Duffus and Pablo ‘Indian’ Maragh were a part of the original gang. As for Ardez, Wood was still looking for information about him.
The police had gotten hold of the letters to Tai and the man from Ocho Rios, Winston Young, but had not been able to trace the telephone number. They must have gotten some crooked technician to set up the number. Maybe it was the same man who had set up the line for them to use at the ranch. They also could not make out who had signed the letter.
He was awakened by the sound of the machine gun. Sub-machine gunfire was also coming from the two look out points. The big searchlight was on and was scanning the trail. A group of men led by Grosset rushed to the machine-gun nest and began taking up positions. Bendoo jumped off the tree limb and made his way into the compound.
A voice challenged him.
“Who are you?”
“It’s me, Bendoo,” he said to Nelson, the man on guard duty.
“Pass, Bendoo.”
He made his way back to his shack to get his gun; all the units were being deployed.
When he went to the gun nests he saw fighters below looking at what remained of the two intruders.
“They’re Phanso and Roxy,” Butler stated.
“They must have been coming to join us,” Ardez remarked.
“The two of them just escaped from the General Penitentiary,” Pennant stated.
“They’re just unlucky. I can’t blame the men handling the machine guns. They just have to shoot at anybody they suspect is trying to infiltrate us. We’ll bury them in the morning,” Ardez stated.
The two bodies were riddled with bullets. At least a dozen bullets had drilled each man as the three heavy caliber guns had brought fire to bear on them simultaneously.
Bendoo felt sick in his stomach. Wareika was simply impregnable. He noticed the short time it took for the fighters to get to their posts. A surprise raid was nearly out of the question. A raiding party must come by the trail for to travel by any other route would be almost impossible.
The machine-gun nest would have to be destroyed, the search-light put out and the ammunition depot either captured or blown up as a launching pad to any successful raid.
The fighters were slowly trickling homewards. Bendoo saw Grosset and went over to him.
“Where were you, Bendoo?” the giant asked.
“I was having a smoke. When I heard the machine-gun I thought it was the security forces who were attacking us.”
“Those two men behaved like idiots, they just burst in on us without any warning,” Grosset said.
“Is it the trail they came through?”
“We’ll find that out in the morning.”
“The fighters who are manning the machine-guns are certainly sharp.”
“We’re safe up here. It’s two times the security forces come up here and found that we had bigger guns than they.”
“The boss wasn’t joking when he set up this place.”
They had reached the camp compound now.
“I’ll be seeing you,” Grosset said as he set off for his shack, which was at the eastern end of the village. Bendoo said goodbye too, and made off for his shack at the western end of the village. Niah was seated outside, drinking a stout.
“What’s happening, Bendoo?”
Bendoo put down the rifle and took a seat on one of the benches.
“Were you out there, Niah?”
“Yes, those two guys were foolish to try to reach us like that.”
“How did they reach here? Do you think it was the trail they came through?”
“It must be through there, I don’t see any other way.”
Bendoo went for a stout out of the tiny refrigerator and went to turn on the radio; a soap opera was being aired.
“Turn that off, Bendoo. You don’t see is foolishness that.”
“Just because you can’t understand the show, that’s why you are calling it foolishness.”
“I want to listen to my radio, so I’m going to my shack.”
“Okay,” Bendoo replied, whereupon Niah departed for his shack.
***
Lorena Mc Creed looked into Paul Eason’s face and laughed. She wouldn’t say that he was handsome, but he was certainly fun to be with. He had returned from the States a year ago and occupied a senior position with a top bank in Ocho Rios. A mutual friend at a party they attended had introduced them.
They danced, chatted and generally had a good time since both of them were without a date. The next day he called her, asking for a date but she refused. That was a month ago. He told her that he had broken off his relationship with his American girlfriend just before returning to Jamaica. She wasn’t sure she believed him, but had decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
They were now back at their table.
“You know something, I didn’t know that you were so nice,” he complimented her.
She was definitely enjoying his company.
“I didn’t know that you were such a good dancer.”
Paul smiled to himself. In the States he had been known as ‘Paul the party animal.’ It was only because he and his latest Jamaican girlfriend had broken up why he had been at the party alone and of course that tip off he got from his friend.
He ordered some more drinks; they talked a bit more and got up to dance again.
“I’d like to see you more often.”
“I told you that I’m not seeing anybody else at the moment, so you can always call me. And depending on my schedule I might be willing to go out with you, but running a hotel can be hectic at times.”
“Okay, baby, anything you say, but you know how I feel about you,” he said, holding her closer now.
They were silent now as the song finished and they returned to their table.
They had just sat down when a tall man came over to them.
“Hi, Paul Eason, what’s going on? It’s a long time since I’ve seen you.”
“Rory Dillon, it’s been a couple of years now since I’ve seen you too.”
Paul used both hands to shake the man’s hand.
“Sit down, Rory, let me buy you a drink, and meet my date, Lorena.”
“Sorry, I’m just leaving, but I have a party to invite you to.” the man shook her hand and gave Paul a card.
After the man left Paul explained to her that both of them had been classmates at college in the States, but had lost contact with each other since leaving college.
“You want to go with me?” he asked her, showing her the card.
She took the card and looked at it.
“It looks like a dance, I don’t like to go to those places.”
She returned the card to him.
He thought to himself. If she didn’t want to go, that was no
problem. Most of the girls in the bank would be only too willing to date him if he gave them the word.
“It’s going to be at his mother’s home, nobody’s going to bother you if you come with me.”
“I’ll think about it.”
She looked at her watch; it was five minutes past one o’clock.
“Look at the time, I have to go home. I have to go to work in the morning.”
“I thought you were the boss, so what are you worrying about?”
“Paul, I have to set an example, if I’m absent from work because I was partying the night away what do you believe the staff will think?”
He called over the waiter and asked him for the bill.
“Maybe you need a break, take a holiday, go abroad, have fun.”
“I don’t need any holiday, I’m okay.”
“You know something, lots of people, who live in towns like
Ocho Rios believe that they’re on a permanent holiday.” ``
“I don’t know about you, but I work very hard.”
He laughed.
“That’s how I like to hear you talk,” he said as the waiter reappeared with their bill.
He wrote a check and gave him, and they departed.
Later that morning after he had dropped her off at her apartment, she lay thinking. Although it was their first real date she had some doubts about him. She certainly wasn’t going to rush into anything with him until she got to know him better.