Bad Soldier: Danny Black Thriller 4 Read Online Free PDF Page B

targets will risk doing anything to identify themselves once we board that boat. Most of the migrants fucking hate IS – it’s them they’re running from, and if they suspect they’ve got a couple among them, they’ll most likely send them for a swim. But if our guys do make a move, we shoot to wound. You got that, Black?’
    Danny gave him a dark look, then a curt nod. Tony liked to put it around that Danny was a loose cannon, but now wasn’t the time to bite back . . .
    There was a noisy slap and a jolt as the RIB hit the water. They were hit with a cloud of spray, and the boat lurched forward immediately as the Marine lowered the outboard.
    The rough sea state had barely affected the Enterprise , but the tiny RIB was immediately showered by the crest of a wave, before falling several feet into a valley of seawater. They were drenched in seconds. Danny gripped the side firmly, trusting that the Marine at the helm was well used to manoeuvring vessels in these conditions. He was right. The RIB didn’t veer from its course. Each time the horizon bobbed into view, the lights of the migrant boat grew closer. In just a couple of minutes, it was fifty metres distant. The two RIBs with the Marine support unit were circling it.
    ‘Approach the rear of the boat,’ Tony shouted over the crashing of the waves. The Marine at the helm nodded, and they ploughed relentlessly through the rough seas towards the migrant ship.
    Moments later, they were alongside it. It was being badly tossed and jolted by the waves, but Danny could see that it was massively overcrowded. At a glance, he estimated ninety to 100 migrants on an old tug that was no more than twenty metres in length. Its wheelhouse, painted in blue and white, seemed unnaturally tall and narrow. The name Ocean Star had been painted on the side, but most of the letters had eroded away. There was a boarding ladder at the rear, and the Marine manoeuvred the RIB towards it.
    Spud grabbed the slats of the ladder. As he pulled himself out of the RIB and started to scramble up it, Danny engaged his weapon to offer covering fire if it turned out to be necessary. It didn’t. Spud disappeared over the side of the migrant vessel, and over the noise of the sea Danny could hear him barking instructions, though he couldn’t make out the individual words. Moments later, Tony was halfway up the ladder, followed closely by Caitlin. Only when they had safely boarded did Danny leave the RIB. The slats of the ladder were wet and slippery. The boat yawed with the movement of the sea. But his grip was firm. Seconds later he had boarded.
    Narrow beams of light shone across the deck from the torches fitted to each unit member’s rifle, illuminating the pelting rain, which had doubled in intensity in the last couple of minutes. By the light of those torches, Danny could see that in the few seconds they had been on the boat, Spud, Tony and Caitlin had been busy. Almost all the migrants on board had hit the deck. They were now lying on their fronts with their hands on the backs of their heads. They were all very poorly dressed in old shorts and tracksuit bottoms. A few lucky ones had hooded tops to keep them warm, but every garment was soaked by the rain. Many of the passengers had no shoes. The sea air was failing to blow away a nasty stench of unwashed bodies.
    Three men on the steps that led up to the wheelhouse were still standing, but that was only because there was no room on deck for them to lie down. Tony was stalking towards them, weapon engaged, barking at them to get on their knees. They obviously didn’t understand him, and looked confused and frightened. Towards the foredeck, fifteen metres from Danny’s position, were five more migrants, also standing. To Danny’s eye, they were more of a problem. They were talking quickly and looking out to sea, as though discussing whether or not to jump.
    Danny surged forward. It was impossible not to step on the arms and legs of some of the