Afghan Storm (Nick Woods Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the Pakistani
government to stay close to the road for their safety.
    Things were
dangerous then, but they grew far worse after 2001 when the Americans with the
help of the Northern Alliance drove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan.
Those Taliban members who survived the onslaught of the world’s greatest
military power fled to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
    They quickly
gained influence there, and the cross-border attacks into Afghanistan grew so
bad that America convinced Pakistan to do something. (Probably with billions in
aid packages.) Pakistan deployed 80,000 troops into the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas in 2004, but even that sizable force failed to tame the area.
    Pakistan was
forced to sign a truce with the Pakistani Taliban, and though it deployed
troops into the area eight more times between 2004 and 2006, control had never
been established. The final treaty had stated the Taliban wouldn’t attack
either Pakistan or Afghanistan from the tribal areas while granting them the
privilege of carrying weapons and basically ruling the place as they pleased.
    Nick knew
these details by heart as he and his team had studied the area extensively
prior to the mission. And what pissed him off the most was that just ten days
ago, when they were planning their mission and studying the satellite and drone
imagery, there’d been no Pakistani army units in the area. Somehow, these
troops had moved in during the past several days.
    The cynical
part of Nick was sure these troops were here to hunt them down. But their
actions hinted the opposite. This newest set of troops was once again
completely unprofessional. They weren’t looking for men, and they certainly
weren’t looking for a fight. Fires blazed, laughing men sang, a few even
danced.
    It truly
seemed this was merely another fake incursion into the tribal regions by the
federal government, meant to appease America and release a few billion dollars
more in aid. Nick assumed that the Pakistani army had most likely warned the
tribes they’d be coming, giving the belligerent locals plenty of time to
prepare and hide ammunition and pro-Taliban banners and flags.
    The team
pulled back, huddled, and talked out their options. In this case, going down
the hill was a no go. Numerous homes dotted the hillside and valley on the
lower slopes. (They’d have to go above the troops, where there were fewer
homes. Still, there were homes up there, too, according to their maps.)
    “We’ll just
have to be careful,” Nick told the team.
     
    And careful
they were as they approached the first set of homes. They slipped along walls,
through alleys, and even in front of huts themselves. And somehow, even
carrying all their gear and water jugs, they managed to infiltrate through the
small enclave of homes.
    The men of
S3 had also pulled off some masterful teamwork. Covering danger areas, using
hand signals, and moving like shadows through the dark.
    But just
when they thought they were in the clear and a good hundred yards from the last
compound, they saw movement followed by the sound of a dog growling.
    “I got him,”
Red whispered.
    Red dropped
his AK, allowing it to hang across his body in its tactical sling, while he
pulled a Glock .45 pistol. Red pulled a suppressor from his pocket and twisted
it on as quickly as he could, then moved away from the group toward the threat.
    The dog approached
closer, his growl growing louder as his eyes now saw what only his nose had
smelled. Nick noticed the hair on the large dog raise and knew it was seconds
from barking or charging them.
    “Shoot,
Red,” Nick said.
    Pfft. Pfft.
Pfft.
    The beast
dropped, hit by three subsonic bullets from Red’s pistol.
    “Let’s go,”
Nick said.
    Although
they were on the outskirts of the enclave, Nick signaled the team forward,
anxious to get away in case some villager unable to sleep investigated. Red was
digging around in the dirt, picking up his shell casings.
    “Come on,”
Nick hissed.