The Debt Collectors War

Chapter 49

They drove to the militia’s compound. It was a fenced, gated set of buildings in the middle of nowhere, along a dirt road that went off into the distance forever.

They drove past, but didn’t stop. There had to be at least cameras and sensors at the gate, Ellie assumed, somewhere like this, and possibly drones and e-scanners too. She didn’t want to be too careless. She’d already checked on a map that the dirt road actually went somewhere else. If it had been a dead-end that lead only to the militia compound, they would have been too obvious if they’d just driven up and then had to pretend to be lost and turn around right at the front gate.

The road went somewhere else, though, so Ellie had decided to drive past. They might learn something useful, and Ellie wanted to see the compound anyway.

They drove down the road, and as they passed the compound, Ellie and Sameh held their tablets up to the SUV’s side windows and recorded video as they went past. Their tablets were linked and using an app which tried to build a moving three-dimensional model from the slightly different perspective the two cameras offered. It was a useful app. The picture wasn’t as good as a drone, but it also wasn’t as obvious as a drone drifting around in the sky, if anyone happened to be watching.

Ellie and Sameh held the tablets against the windows, but they all looked straight ahead as they passed, and Joe carefully didn’t slow down at all. Just in case they were being watched, so they didn’t seem to be paying any attention to the compound as they went past. The tablet’s cameras were enough.

Ellie had thought about dropping a sensor package out the window too, but she didn’t bother for now. It would be too obvious, if it was found or seen. It would give away someone like her was interested.

“It’s not very big,” Sameh said, looking at her tablet.

Ellie looked too. The imaging app had done its best, but she could see very much that was useful. No more than the satellite showed anyway. A few buildings, perhaps houses, and maybe a farm shed or a barn.

It didn’t matter, Ellie thought. They could try again later. This was just a first sweep, a recon, to see what the area looked like.

Sameh had a second tablet on her lap, and it was scanning the radio frequencies used for wireless data and cell signals, just in case anything interesting showed up. Probably there was a security system, and probably it was wired or using narrowcast laser like it ought to, to be secure. Probably, but perhaps not. Sometimes people did installations themselves, and linked equipment poorly, and sometimes surveillance equipment spillover broadcasts had markers in the encrypted datastreams which could be used to identify specific models, and those model’s capabilities.

“Anything?” Ellie said to Sameh, without turning around.

“Not really. There’s something broadcasting near their gate, but it might just be a remote opener or a doorbell.”

Ellie nodded. “Keep driving,” she said to Joe. “Go at least a couple of k in case anyone is watching.”

Joe nodded, and did.

While he drove, Ellie thought. They could assault now, and take their chances. They could fight, since they had tactical gear with them, although the militia probably did too. Or, Ellie could call in backup, and have someone else storm the compound, but it might be a little too soon to do that since she didn’t know the kid was still inside. She needed to be careful not to do anything which warned the militia of their interest, in case the kid was being held hostage, but not actually held here.

She needed to decide what to do next.