Re: Sneak and Peek
In reply to Robert A. Conklin (msg #71):
Ed shrugged. "I don't know why they want to do this as bloodless as possible. It's their country, who knows?"
"As for the truck, We could go at it a couple ways. Let's talk to Darryl in a bit, see how quickly we can move the truck(s). Might be tough to move them around. If it seems too difficult, then we may have to simply grab what we can, like fill some fuel cans, stuff like that. If conditions are favourable and the area is deserted, we may get a chance to do some maintenance and drive them out of there. If the Canucks insist, sure, I'd be satisfied with the car, but in the end I don't want to take any more risk than we have to."
"Why not observe the guard, see if there is some vulnerability we can exploit? If we get the drop on them, and they refuse to surrender, well, no one can say we didn't try!"
Later, before the group meeting, they met with Darryl, a mechanic. He was a black man from Seattle, DeShawn's father and a longtime friend of Ed, altnough not a veteran. "Sure, I could get the car going within 15 minutes if all I have to do is replace the spark plugs, assuming there's no other problems and the hoses don't need to be changed. That fuel truck? If its a diesel, then there are no spark plugs to replace, and maintenance is a lot simpler. We'd need to replace the heavy-duty batteries, check the hoses, fuel and hydraulics lines, and if it's got central tire-inflation, then we could get it moving within minutes. The moving van's probably diesel as well, but if the tires are flat then we could move it but they'd need replacing after.
Rob knew both vehicles had flat tires, which could complicate at least moving the van.