Sappho's Commando

EIGHTEEN (ISELEN POV)

The dirty military boot is very close to my face right now and I hold my breath, concerned, because if the forest guard moves a few inches closer to the bush, he'll kick my mouth, literally. If that happens, I'll have to stand up fast to shoot him, and his mate too. I'll make a hell of a noise that will catch the attention other guards that are patrolling this natural park and our escape plan will turn into the script of Mission: Impossible number... To be honest, I don't know how many movies there are.

I can feel Ruby getting tense next to me but she remains still, quiet, lying face down on the dry leaves and ferns, trying not to make a sound. Luckily, this forest is lush and provides a good cover. The other girls are hiding nearby, behind other bushes and fallen tree trunks, but they're not at immediate risk of being stepped on by a guard that's laughing and talking to his workmate. It's pretty obvious that these two men aren't expecting problems today and I'd like to keep it that way.

We left the van parked under the trees in the middle of a narrow rural road more than one hour ago, we made sure that there wasn't anything in there that could compromise Zenaida and Oleg's work and removed the license plates too. We managed to walk fast despite the forest is wet and there's mud in some areas, it's still easier than a 12-miles ruck march and we're used to those because they're a core element of the training programme. It wasn't difficult to reach this area of the forest after getting rid of the plates, tossing them down a ravine as far as possible from the vehicle. Everything seemed fine.

Till we heard the sound of footsteps and laughter and we rushed to hide, Ruby crawled under this bush covering her body with fern leaves and I followed her while listening to Hanna grumbling a curse. The truth is that we'd been very lucky so far but that's over.

Those two men are still laughing and talking about soccer, I think, the boot moves two steps, getting away from us and Ruby relaxes slightly under my arm. Suddenly, the distinctive sound of a zipper startles us and the asshole moves closer to the bush again... I can't help but get tense because I know what comes next, it's not the first time this happens to me. They guy is pissing 10 centimetres away from my face while whistling a stupid song. I keep my head low, cursing in my mind the guards that have a massive forest to do their business but they decide to do it on my fucking bush, damn it.

Finally, the two men walk away, focused on their conversation and not looking back. I wait for five more minutes before raising my head and take a quick look, cautiously. I can hear Dakota getting up and Tara and Nora stick their heads behind a tree trunk. Ruby hits my side with her elbow gently and I obey her silent command, getting up and taking her arm to help her too. I sigh relieved and Hanna points at a path between trees that's in the opposite direction of the one the guards' chose.

"That was close. Are you okay?" the blonde captain asks and I nod.

"We narrowly dodged the golden shower, damn it," I grunt angrily. "Luckily for him because I was about shooting his foot. Last time someone almost pissed on my head, I was protected by my ghillie suit, at least."

"Did this happen before to you?" Tara asks surprised and I nod.

"Once, at the sniper school. One of my instructors got too close while I was practicing camouflage techniques and couldn't psst him to grab his attention and tell him to go away because, well, we were supposed to stay hidden."

"He didn't notice you were there?" Ruby frowns, bewildered. "Damn, you're good."

"Thank you. Where are we going now, Hanna?"

"We have to walk across that marsh area and will reach the border, things are going to get a little wet, I'm afraid, ladies. I'm sorry, there's a dryer path south of the forest but those guards chose it before us, smart guys."