They chose a spot just inside the jungle, but with a clear view of the hotel through the trees and bushes. They found a dip in the jungle floor and dug and scraped away at it until they had created a shallow trench, large enough for the two of them to lie down. Then they covered it with branches to make a roof, and overlaid that with big leaves and brush. They knew that the other two teams would be doing the same at their vantage points, covering the bandits’ HQ from three positions, which would give them an overall view of the whole place. As Mitch and Gaz settled down under their hide, Mitch reflected that during his time in Special Forces he’d spent more time carrying out observation than he had in actual combat. Gathering intelligence was what kept him alive. You had to know where the enemy was, and how many you were up against. What weapons did they have? If they were in a building, was the building booby-trapped? Which were the fastest ways in and out of it? If the mission was to rescue hostages, you had to know where the hostages were being kept.
