The four legionnaires – Nedjar, Pamuk, Pyotr, and Marcel – hustle along the edge of the road to the jeep. Nedjar motions with his hand for everyone to stay low, taking a knee and pointing his submachine gun over the top of the jeep toward the truck.
A gendarme lies on the ground behind the jeep – Marcel crouches down next to the man and gazes into unseeing eyes. A bullet, probably from a rifle, struck the man in the throat – a large pool of blood has spread from the pale, still body across the gravel road surface.
Marcel: If you’d like to get a rough idea of how long the gendarme has been dead, make a DC 20 Treat Injury check.
Pyotr watches the truck – there is no sign of movement. There are, however, a number of bullet holes – automatic weapons fire? – across the grille and hood of the truck. A puddle of fluid lies underneath the front of the Skoda.
Sgt. Katsourianis glances at the irrigation ditch, toward the third body in the water. “Mador, keep an eye on the culvert and the other side of the road there, past the junction. Gaspard, follow me.” The sergent leaves the cover of the GMC and dashes forward to the jeep, to join the rest of the choc group. Normand feels someone move up behind him – Sgt. Müller, who waits with the big Frenchman beside the OD deuce-and-a-half.
As he watches the road and the ditch, a movement, a shadow on a shadow, catches Normand’s eye. Something is moving in the culvert where the irrigation ditch crosses under the road.