OUTSIDE BROWNS HOTEL
BOND STREET
Inside the armoured, pearl-gray Audi A8, Ronan retrieved his radio headset and responded to the incessant beeping alarm.
"Iron Hammer." He held up a hand to silence Sir William as he entered the sedan.
"Validation code required, Iron Hammer," the controller's voice demanded via the digital, encrypted network.
"Dialing Delta Four Echo seven Tango nine Shift slash," Ronan instructed as he matched his words with actions on the built in keyboard on his arm controls.
A brief pause before the controller returned. "Validation completed. Iron Hammer, we have three validated contacts for you. Please acknowledge transmission received."
Ronan focused on the digital display on the dash board. "Transmission received."
"The information is not stored in flash memory, sir. Please indicate when you are completed, so that we can expunge the transmission logs."
"Acknowledged."
"What is it?" Sir William queried as he attempted to peer at the display over Ronan's shoulder.
"Surveillance reports on your key suspects. Lady Catherine is meeting with two executives from BAE, Mark Jacobsen is carefully threading his way to the heliport and our friends at MI-6 seem to be meeting with ... Now that's strange."
"What's strange?" Sir William attempted to turn the display.
"Stop that! It's designed to ensure that the passenger can't see the display. They're meeting with several Chinese counterparts. Do you know something about that, William?"
"Not really, but I understand their logic. We need to have them and the Russians engaged if we're going to solve this mess." Sir William sat back and peered out at the gray February sky. "Make sure your people don't lose Mark. I want to know every communication he sends."
WEST OF QUETTA
"Pay attention, Miss." Primo pointed to a position half a kilometer from their position. "The Taliban fighter is a man who uses the entire environment to his advantage. He knows instinctively how to use this terrain while our soldiers depend on firepower and technology. Here." He passed Alexandra his binoculars. "That is the last NATO patrol that will enter this area. For the next twenty-four hours, there'll be no more unless I call in a strike force. Now watch the houses and compounds in the distance. And listen."
Alexandra studied the terrain in front of the NATO vehicles as the approached a small cluster of compounds. "What am I looking for?"
"Tell me what you see, Miss."
"Smoke from chimneys in two of the houses. Young shepherd boys. Wait." She adjusted the binoculars. "Some pigeons or doves. I'm not sure."
Primo tapped her shoulders and retrieved his binoculars. After two quick sweeps, he handed them back. "Look at those head-sized openings in the wall of the left house. The house that looks like it's abandoned."
"There's someone in there. There's a rifle. He's shooting." Alexandra continued to observe the house. "He's shooting and moving to another of those holes."
The chatter of a .50 caliber machine gun began in the distance. "The NATO forces are shooting!"
"Easy, Miss. Pay attention to the other houses. Forget the fight."
"More smoke. More pigeons?" She adjusted the binoculars. "This time the smoke is in white puffs. Bigger. Did they get hit?"
"Watch while the NATO forces withdraw." Primo smiled as he observed her reactions.
YOU ARE READING
The Shaddad Conspiracy
Adventure“Your murder victim was not an innocent, naive woman. She was on our terrorist watch list. The fact that she escaped from Basra and lived a normal life in London buggers belief, but she was planted here by a foreign government to wreck the Taliban p...
