The Contractor

"Brits are masters of planning."

Deng Shiyang felt he had truly experienced the truth of this statement.

As an American sergeant once said about the British during World War II, "I may not need them to help me flank a target, but I'll certainly let them do the planning because they’re exceptionally good at it."

Indeed, Harrowby and Keith excelled at making plans.

To further understand their adversary, Harrowby used Manlinson's connections to consult a military advisor who had helped the Bolivian government forces with counter-guerrilla operations in the 1990s, assessing the guerrillas' combat capabilities. He also bribed several guards at Santa Cruz prison, enabling him to gather information from captured ELN members about the guerrillas' equipment.

Every evening for a week, there were meetings to report the latest intelligence and refine the details of the operation.

Keith was responsible for organizing the equipment. He consulted geographical and botanical experts to understand the local vegetation, then selected suitable camouflage and gear. The barn had become a temporary base, with trucks disguised as pesticide or fertilizer deliveries regularly arriving at night to bring various supplies.

In terms of weapons, the team opted for .223 caliber firearms for ammunition compatibility. Keith, Jansen, Du Preez, and Rodin all used M4 carbines produced by Bushmaster, each outfitted with full-auto lower receivers and modified according to the user’s role.

For close-quarters combat, Du Preez and Rodin’s rifles were equipped with EoTech holographic sights and Gemtech G5 Suppressor,the shorter 10.5-inch barrels to reduce weight and overall length when suppressors were attached.

Keith and Jansen chose standard 14.5-inch barrels. As the team leader, Keith had a 4x ACOG scope mounted on his rifle, allowing him to observe enemy movements and, if necessary, engage distant targets. Since Jansen was a communications specialist and not expected to actively engage in combat, he fitted an M203 grenade launcher under his rifle's handguard to provide fire support with high-explosive grenades, deploy smoke grenades for cover, and mark targets for airstrikes.

Mark's weapon was an FN Minimi Para light machine gun from FNH USA, equipped with a Canadian-made Elcan scope. As the team's primary source of suppressive fire, the other members would carry extra ammunition and a spare barrel for him in their packs.

Deng Shiyang selected a KAC SR-16 M5 modified into a precision rifle. It featured a 20-inch stainless steel match barrel, KAC NT4 suppressor, a bipod, and a Leupold Ultra M3A scope, ensuring that match-grade ammunition could hit an orange at 300 yards.

For sidearms, the team used 9mm Parabellum rounds, with each member choosing their preferred pistol.

Although Deng Shiyang was fond of the classic 1911 pistol, its seven-round magazine capacity limited sustained fire, so he ultimately chose a P226. The gun had a moderate size, a 15-round double-stack magazine, and was similar enough to the M11 that he was already familiar with its operation.

In addition to firearms, the team prepared numerous Claymore mines and smoke grenades for covering their retreat, as well as non-combat essentials such as night vision devices, binoculars, radios, medical supplies, and military rations. To keep weight down, they planned to go light, without wearing heavy body armor or helmets.

The days passed quickly, and the pile of gear in the corner of the barn grew steadily as the equipment was gathered. However, Deng Shiyang encountered a challenge.

Each firearm had its own unique characteristics, so the new guns needed to be zeroed for accuracy. While the others had lower precision requirements and could zero their weapons inside the barn, Deng Shiyang needed to calibrate his rifle for targets hundreds of yards away, requiring a more open area.

So, he asked one of Harrowby’s local contacts, "Is there a secluded place near Camiri suitable for test shooting? I need a space about 100 to 150 yards long."

The local thought for a moment and replied, "Head east out of town. Near the provincial border, there’s a forest that’s very quiet. You can make a round trip in a day, but I suggest going in the next couple of days since people will start picnicking there on the weekend."

"Oh, thanks." Deng Shiyang nodded in satisfaction.

He found a laser boresighter to roughly align the scope, matched ammunition batches by checking the box labels, and prepared some target sheets. Using a compass, he drew concentric circles with diameters of one and two inches on the paper, then marked a clear black dot at the center with a marker. Once the targets were ready, he gathered a field pack, a thick blanket, and some tacks, pens, and rulers from around the farm.

By the time he finished preparing, it was already afternoon. He went to the kitchen and asked the cook to prepare a packed lunch for him the next morning, as he planned to have a picnic while zeroing the rifle.

The next morning at nine o'clock, Deng Shiyang drove out of Camiri and onto Highway 6, heading north toward Chuquisaca province.

The sunlit road signaled another scorching day. He glanced at the empty highway, pressed down on the accelerator, and sped toward the provincial border.

Before noon, the Nissan Patrol left the highway and followed a dirt road southward into the mountains. As the road twisted and grew rougher, the forest became denser, with the trees lining the path motionless and drooping under a layer of dust, as though their vitality had been dried out along with the moisture.

Around midday, he parked the vehicle beside a sparse grove of trees. As soon as he opened the door, the heat hit him like a wall, nearly taking his breath away. He removed his sunglasses and wiped the moisture from the lenses. Then, he took a plastic lunchbox containing a smoked ham sandwich and a thermos of coffee from the storage compartment.

He sat in the driver's seat a little longer, finishing his lunch in the cool air conditioning before lazily getting out of the car. At the back, he retrieved a long gun bag, a military green backpack, and a rolled-up blanket. He took the rifle from the bag, slung the backpack over his shoulder, and carried the rifle and blanket into the forest.

Ten minutes later, he found an open clearing. He set down the rifle and blanket, pulled a Leupold RXB-IV laser rangefinder from his backpack, and measured the distances to various trees, ultimately choosing a tall, broken tree about 100 yards away.

He dropped the pack, walked to the tree, and pinned one of the target sheets at about five feet above the ground. He then returned to the pack, positioning it exactly 100 yards from the target using the rangefinder. He spread the blanket on the ground behind the pack.

After checking the rifle’s scope to ensure that the elevation and windage knobs were set to "1" and "0," respectively, he loaded the magazine, lay down on the blanket, rested the rifle on the pack, and adjusted the focus of the scope until the white target sheet on the brown tree trunk came into sharp view.

A faint smile formed on his lips. He disengaged the safety, bent his right leg slightly, adjusted his posture, and, once his breathing steadied, squeezed the trigger, aiming at the black dot in the center.

"Thwip—" the suppressor emitted a sharp sound as a 77-grain MK262 match-grade hollow point punched through the upper right corner of the target and embedded itself in the tree.

He fired two more rounds, then walked over to inspect the tree.

The three bullet holes clustered in the upper right corner, with two close together about an inch from the center and the third a bit farther away.

He marked the bullet holes with a pen, measured with a ruler, and confirmed that the impact points were one inch high and about half an inch right of the aim point.

Returning to the shooting position, he adjusted the scope’s elevation and windage knobs carefully, then fired three more shots and went to check the results.

This time, the impact points aligned with the center but were slightly to the left, forming a small triangle along the edge of the inner circle.

He replaced the target sheet, adjusted the scope again, and continued firing.

He kept adjusting and shooting, using two magazines and five target sheets, until every shot hit within the small circle.

Now satisfied with the rifle, Deng Shiyang took a hex wrench, loosened the screws on the adjustment knobs, carefully set the dials to "1" for elevation and "0" for windage, then tightened the screws.

After completing the zeroing process, he burned the used target sheets and collected the spent casings into a paper bag. Once he confirmed that there was no other trace left besides the bullet holes in the tree, he packed up and left the forest.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was the last week of November. After more than two weeks of preparation, the departure day finally arrived.

Having spent the previous day organizing gear, the group had a relaxing time today. They slept in until noon, enjoyed a hearty lunch, and then sat around the living room with beers, chatting aimlessly while waiting for sunset.

As darkness fell and people in town returned home for dinner, the team loaded their bags into an inconspicuous light truck and headed to the airport. In a remote hangar, they changed into their gear and quickly ate dinner.

At dusk, the helicopter carrying the six desperados took off, flying under the cover of night downstream along the Parapetí River.