A Scandalous Job

Chapter Twenty-Six

"We're about two miles out from compound. There's a small turnoff ahead; we'll park the car though. If we drive any closer, it will look suspicious."

Suddenly it made a lot more sense why Cooper had went out and bought pants and boots for us. We were going on a two mile hike in a snake and alligator-infested swamp.

Lovely.

Sure enough, Chance parked the SUV in the next turnoff. Mosquitoes surrounded us the second we got out of the car. Desperately, I tried to swat them away but it was no use.

"Did you at least have the decency to bring bugspray?"

Cooper threw an aluminum can at me. I gave a sigh of relief and stated to spray the repellent all over me. Immediately, the bugs began to recede.

After I was done, I threw the boys the can and they both sprayed themselves. Once they were done, Chance opened the truck and took out a backpack.

"What's in there?"

"Protein bars, water, first aid kit—all standard hiking equipment."

I was impressed. "Were you a boy scout?" I teased.

He didn't look amused as he tugged the bag over his shoulder. "I wouldn't be caught dead in one of those neck ties."

I snorted. Figures. Chance wasn't one to work well with others. Nor was he into the whole community service thing.

"We need to get going. The hike alone will take us close to an hour," Cooper jutted in and started moving to the right.

"How do you know where to go?"' I asked. It wasn't like he'd been here before.

"I looked at satellite images of the area last night. The compound is west of here."

"Keep your eyes peeled for gators and snakes. They're everywhere in here," Chance interjected.

I shuddered. I was a California girl. I didn't do gators or snakes. The closet thing I'd ever dealt with was a baby rattle snake when I was hiking in Santa Monica. And even then it was tiny.

"Since you're such the expert, you can lead."

Chance rolled his eyes but started walking. I went behind him and Cooper took the rear.

And on we went.

Hiking proved harder than I thought it would be. My boots sunk into the swampy mud, making it extra hard to walk. Even through the thick foliage of trees, the sun beat down hard on our backs. A thin layer of sweat covered my entire body and I knew my face was going to be as red as a lobster tomorrow.

It took us awhile to see our first gator, but after we located one, they seemed to be everywhere.  Granted, they weren't that big and I knew that both Chance and Cooper had guns if things were to go south, but seeing an alligator in real life was still unnerving.

I was so focused in my internal conversation that I didn't realize where I was about to step. Or actually, what I was about to step on.

"Stop, Piper!" Cooper shouted from behind me.

I froze just in time to avoid stepping on a giant water moccasin. It took all my strength to keep myself from screaming and freaking out. Chance had warned me while we were hiking to not panic in the presence of these animals, or, should I say, reptiles. He said it would only piss them off more.

"Back away slowly," Chance whispered.

I tried to steady my erratic heartbeat and, slowly, took a step back. The snake perked up at the movement and its attention was drawn to me. Water moccasins were poisonous so getting bit by one would not be a good idea.

I took another step back. And another. And another. Until finally, I was a couple feet away. The snake soon lost interest in me and returned to its resting position.

I sighed in relief and had to grab onto a nearby tree to steady myself.

"That was close," Cooper mused, voicing what we were all thinking.

Chance's concern for the situation evaporated quickly and his eyes turned focused once more. "Let's get moving. We still have another mile."

I groaned, but started walking once more.

~

We came to a large clearing thirty minutes later. Chance halted immediately and partially moved his body behind a tree. This was it. This was the compound.

I glanced towards the opening and my jaw fell open in surprise. I'd never seen a drug compound so I didn't know what to expect, but the compound was nothing like I thought it would be.

For one, it was huge. Multiple buildings were stacked next to each other. Tall, barbed wire fences surrounded the buildings and I could see guards patrolling the fence lines. There was only once entrance and there were about ten guards stationed around it. Every so often a car would go through the gates, but not without heavy screening and questioning from the guards.

"This is like a prison," I muttered. Chance nodded but Cooper didn't look surprised. He must've seen what the place looked like on the satellite images.

"I say we set up camp here and start our recon. We have a good view of the entrance points."

"And what exactly are we looking for?" I was still slightly confused. How was a swampy, juiced-up drug house going to help us take down Miguel.

"Weaknesses. If we find out the weakest links, then taking them down will be ten times easier."

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Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please vote and comment!

Also, I've been thinking about making a cast for this story and I was wondering who you invision as Chance, Piper, or Cooper. Please comment your thoughts, I'd love to hear all of your suggestions!