Brothers In Arms (Matt Drake 5) Read Online Free PDF Page B

of tiptoeing around to be done before we decide what to do.”
    Dahl slammed a desk with his fist. Hayden butted in quickly before the Swede could say anything stupid. “The Koreans aren’t supposed to have anything that would detect that plane flying at that height, Mr . Secretary.”
    Gates shrugged. “Dai Hibiki’s message warned of ‘futuristic arms ,’ I believe.”
    “What can we do?” Ben spoke up , fingers hovering over his keyboard.
    “Nothing with that thing.” Dahl growled. “We need to send a team in. Now. Our brothers are in danger.”
    “Politically—” Gates emphasized the word. “We must wait. Besides, Drake and Mai are pretty capable. And we didn’t send ’em along with a bunch of cheerleaders. Those were Force Recon marines.”
    Alicia had listened to it all perched on the end of a desk. Now she pushed off. “Drake would lead a team,” she said. “He’d do it for you. For any of us.”
    Gates’s eyes were hollow. “The old Drake might have. The new Drake seems a little different. I may not be a soldier, but I do share some experience with him. I think he’ d never again make that promise to save anyone.”
    Alicia paused. She didn’t remind anyone that she’d also lost someone recently. It wouldn’t help anything. Besides, the American had a point. Drake was a changed man.
    “So let’s help him another way ,” Hayden said whilst the argument paused. “How does a squeaky-clean American man with no previous convictions end up attempting to assassinate a senator? Riddle me that.”
    “And how does it all link to the North Koreans and Dai Hibiki’s transmission?” Kinimaka added.
    Hayden started the video of the shooting yet again. “Let’s get to work.”
    “I think we need take-out.” Karin looked around innocently at Komodo. “Wanna drive me round the corner?”
    The Delta man had the grace to look slightly embarrassed as he whispered, “I’ll do my best.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
     
    Drake shouted a warning. Romero and Smyth shot up, staring wildly around. The bulk drifted closer, on a collision course, and now Drake recognized it as a piece of smashed wing.
    “Paddle!” Drake cried
    The marines suddenly remembered their oars and dug them hard into the calm waters. The light craft responded immediately, shifting its course sharply, but the wing loomed over them, a dark, dead force that could capsize them without malice or concern.
    Drake ducked. Part of the wing, angled out of the water, grazed the top of his head. The Zodiac skimmed out of its shadow a second before the two masses collided.
    The three soldiers sat in silence, watching the remains of their plane float away. Romero finally took a swig of water, chewed on some remaining rations and motioned at Smyth.
    “Keep paddling. No one else is gonna save our asses.”
    Drake forced himself to stay alert. It was too easy to let the unending vastness lull him and drain him of all hope and motivation. If they kept busy, they had a better chance at survival. Lethargy, after all, helps kill the brain. He occupied himself studying the constellations, inventorying their meager possessions, and checking the Zodiac for bumps and scrapes. When full light came, he would dive overboard to check the bottom. Silently, he knew they all hoped and prayed there wouldn’t be another storm. This part of the world was renowned for its cyclones, a weather anomaly that would truly wipe them off the face of the earth.
    Daylight came quickly. The soldiers and Drake did their best to keep the craft heading north where, they’d reasoned, lay the nearest body of land and their only chance of ever stepping foot on terra firma again. More visitors began to glide around them, visitors from the pitiless deep. Long white shapes cruised underneath the boat, triangular fins occasionally cleaving at the surface.
    Drake was the first to overcome his fear and wonder aloud, “Anyone know how to fish?”
    Romero shrugged. “I fished a little. You