Dead Drop (A Spider Shepherd short story) Read Online Free PDF Page A

knocked off all the time.’
    ‘Bloody hell,
Geordie,’ Shepherd said. ‘I’m going to see a kid. The meet’s inside the base
and he probably only wants to shake me down for some money because his tip-off
proved right.’
    ‘Just the same,
you need someone watching your back. It’s not just the direct threat. If anyone
else is taking too much interest, you want to know about it, don’t you?’
    Shepherd knew
better than to argue with his more experienced colleague. At six that night, he
strolled out of the Special Forces compound and walked around the perimeter
fence towards the meeting place. Mitchell had already been in position for an
hour, in cover nearby, watching for anyone approaching the meeting place or
observing it from a distance.
    When Shepherd got
to the edge of the dip where it was sited, he got a double click in his
earpiece that told him the area was clear. He found Karim already there,
sitting on a rock with his back to him.
    ‘So Karim,’ he
said. ‘Come to get some more money…’ The words died on his lips as Karim turned
to face him. The boy’s face was ashen and his eyes were red from crying. ‘What
the hell’s happened?’
    ‘Jabbaar’s men
came back to our village to avenge the killing of Hadir,’ said Karim, stumbling
over the words. ‘They took all the tribal elders away, and they took my father
too.’
    ‘Your father?
What the hell was he doing there? He’s an interpreter for the Americans, he
must have known he’d be targeted.’
    ‘My grandfather
was dying. My father had gone to see him in secret, to say his last farewell,
but someone must have seen him and betrayed him, because the Taliban knew he
was there.’
    ‘Then we’ll set
up an operation to rescue him,’ Shepherd said. ‘I’ll get the lads on it right
away. Don’t worry, we’ll sort this out, Karim, I promise.’
    The boy shook his
head. ‘It’s too late. Just before dawn, my grandfather’s neighbour heard the
noise of a vehicle stopping outside the house. He waited until it drove off,
then went outside. My father’s body had been thrown on the ground outside my
grandfather’s door. He had been tortured; his fingernails had been pulled off
and his body was covered with burns and knife cuts. But there was worse…’ He
stopped, fighting for self-control. ‘They had cut off his manhood and stuffed
it in his mouth… the sign they use to mark informers.’
    ‘Oh hell, Karim,
I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.’
    ‘He had bled to
death. My only consolation is that my grandfather never saw his son like that,
for he also died that night, in his sleep.’ He paused and when he spoke again,
his voice had a colder, steelier edge. ‘It is now a blood feud for me. My
father is dead, killed by Jabbaar.’ He spat on the ground as he said the name.
‘I was my father’s only son, I live now only to avenge him. It is a matter of
honour: either Jabbaar or I must die. Will you help me, Spider?’
    Shepherd nodded.
‘We’ll find him, Karim, I promise you that.’
    ‘And when we find
him, he dies?’
    ‘Yes Karim,’ said
Shepherd. ‘We find him and he dies.’
    Karim held his
gaze. ‘We don’t have to find him, I already know where he is, or at least,
where he will be in three days’ time,’ he said quietly.
    Shepherd held up
his hand. ‘Don’t tell me the rest until we’re in a more secure area. You can
come with us back to the compound. At least we don’t have to worry about you
being seen with me any more, because the Taliban will already have your card
marked. If they’ve killed your father, they will come after you as well, the
first chance they get.’ He spoke into his throat-mic. ‘Geordie, we’re heading
back now.’
    ‘We?’   Mitchell said.
    ‘Yes, the boy’s
coming in with us.’
    ‘Are you sure
that’s a good idea?’
    ‘I’ve no choice.
I’ll explain later.’
    ‘Are you sure
you’re not getting a little too personally involved with the boy, Spider?’
    ‘The Taliban