dollars. “For you, sir. And the Taliban cause. They will buy many weapons.”
Khan thought long and hard before announcing his decision. “Very well, I shall release your family.” He then addressed the crowd. “Brothers, this is our last evening together. Tonight, we shall have a great feast here, inshallah . Tomorrow you leave. And you all know your missions. A week from now the streets of Kabul shall run with the blood of the infidel.”
Cries of Allahu Akbar rang out.
“And tonight we shall film these two infidels pleading for mercy. Then, at midnight, you, Hamid, will have the honour of cutting off their heads.”
Standing at the back of the crowd, Connor whispered, “I’ve heard enough. Come on, we’ve got work to do.”
Having watched Sam and Ben being locked up in the heavily guarded stone hut close to the mine’s entrance, Connor and the rest of his team retraced their steps to Hamid’s house and set about figuring out a rescue plan.
A worried Hamid returned half an hour later with his father, wife and two children. They looked hungry and scared out of their wits, their fear doubling on seeing Connor and his men. Hamid paced the room anxiously. “I cannot do it. Allah forbids it. I will not cut off their heads. We must run away. Otherwise Khan will kill us too.”
“If all goes well you won’t need to,” Connor replied. He took hold of the Afghan and sat him down. “Now, listen, are there any other entrances to that mine?”
Hamid shook his head.
“Good. Where do you keep those old Russian explosives you use to blast out the emeralds?”
Hamid looked up. “In an outbuilding. Why?”
“Jacko, go with him and fetch as much as you can carry. Sparks, relay the GPS co-ordinates of the mine and village to CENTCOM and inform them the meeting is being held tonight. Also, make it clear that an air strike will only have limited success on the mine and so we’re going to try and destroy it ourselves. To give us time to get clear, set Zero Hour for the F-16s at 2300 hours. Arrange an evac by helo for us one kilometre back along the trail, timed to coincide.”
Connor’s plan was simple, to wait until the feast inside the mine was under way and then blast the mine tunnel with enough plastic explosive to cause it to collapse. Even if some of the Taliban survived the explosion, they’d be entombed. But there were complications.
“We can’t lay an old-fashioned wire or Bickford fuse,” Danny noted, scratching his beard thoughtfully. “There are too many guards. They’d see it. And, we haven’t any remote detonators, sir.”
Connor already had the problem covered. “That’s not quite true, Danny. We’ll improvise. Go and fetch the Switchblade that Sam was carrying in his backpack.”
“Yes, sir.” Danny grinned. He realised what Connor had in mind. Switchblade was the latest high-tech mini-drone, so new that it had barely finished official testing.
Jacko and Hamid returned lugging two large sacks filled with plastic explosive. Connor inspected them. “Excellent. There’s enough there to demolish half a mountain. Now, Hamid, we need three wooden crates and a pile of cooking vessels. And ask your wife to boil up a large pot of vegetables.”
“Vegetables?” Hamid frowned in bewilderment but did as asked.
As dusk fell and the Taliban began making their way to the feast, Delta Force prepared the wooden crates. In one, they placed pots of steaming vegetables. The other two were crammed with explosives. Hamid’s wife draped cloths over all three. They were ready. Connor ran through everyone’s role one last time. Hamid appeared extremely nervous, and he had good reason to be.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Connorâs plan
Positioning themselves overlooking the ravine, Connor and Sparks watched through their night-vision binoculars as the last of the visiting Taliban fighters entered the mine. It was 2200. The nearby stone hut remained under guard. Connor was relieved, as it meant that Ben and
Khan thought long and hard before announcing his decision. “Very well, I shall release your family.” He then addressed the crowd. “Brothers, this is our last evening together. Tonight, we shall have a great feast here, inshallah . Tomorrow you leave. And you all know your missions. A week from now the streets of Kabul shall run with the blood of the infidel.”
Cries of Allahu Akbar rang out.
“And tonight we shall film these two infidels pleading for mercy. Then, at midnight, you, Hamid, will have the honour of cutting off their heads.”
Standing at the back of the crowd, Connor whispered, “I’ve heard enough. Come on, we’ve got work to do.”
Having watched Sam and Ben being locked up in the heavily guarded stone hut close to the mine’s entrance, Connor and the rest of his team retraced their steps to Hamid’s house and set about figuring out a rescue plan.
A worried Hamid returned half an hour later with his father, wife and two children. They looked hungry and scared out of their wits, their fear doubling on seeing Connor and his men. Hamid paced the room anxiously. “I cannot do it. Allah forbids it. I will not cut off their heads. We must run away. Otherwise Khan will kill us too.”
“If all goes well you won’t need to,” Connor replied. He took hold of the Afghan and sat him down. “Now, listen, are there any other entrances to that mine?”
Hamid shook his head.
“Good. Where do you keep those old Russian explosives you use to blast out the emeralds?”
Hamid looked up. “In an outbuilding. Why?”
“Jacko, go with him and fetch as much as you can carry. Sparks, relay the GPS co-ordinates of the mine and village to CENTCOM and inform them the meeting is being held tonight. Also, make it clear that an air strike will only have limited success on the mine and so we’re going to try and destroy it ourselves. To give us time to get clear, set Zero Hour for the F-16s at 2300 hours. Arrange an evac by helo for us one kilometre back along the trail, timed to coincide.”
Connor’s plan was simple, to wait until the feast inside the mine was under way and then blast the mine tunnel with enough plastic explosive to cause it to collapse. Even if some of the Taliban survived the explosion, they’d be entombed. But there were complications.
“We can’t lay an old-fashioned wire or Bickford fuse,” Danny noted, scratching his beard thoughtfully. “There are too many guards. They’d see it. And, we haven’t any remote detonators, sir.”
Connor already had the problem covered. “That’s not quite true, Danny. We’ll improvise. Go and fetch the Switchblade that Sam was carrying in his backpack.”
“Yes, sir.” Danny grinned. He realised what Connor had in mind. Switchblade was the latest high-tech mini-drone, so new that it had barely finished official testing.
Jacko and Hamid returned lugging two large sacks filled with plastic explosive. Connor inspected them. “Excellent. There’s enough there to demolish half a mountain. Now, Hamid, we need three wooden crates and a pile of cooking vessels. And ask your wife to boil up a large pot of vegetables.”
“Vegetables?” Hamid frowned in bewilderment but did as asked.
As dusk fell and the Taliban began making their way to the feast, Delta Force prepared the wooden crates. In one, they placed pots of steaming vegetables. The other two were crammed with explosives. Hamid’s wife draped cloths over all three. They were ready. Connor ran through everyone’s role one last time. Hamid appeared extremely nervous, and he had good reason to be.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Connorâs plan
Positioning themselves overlooking the ravine, Connor and Sparks watched through their night-vision binoculars as the last of the visiting Taliban fighters entered the mine. It was 2200. The nearby stone hut remained under guard. Connor was relieved, as it meant that Ben and
Similar Books
Lullabye (Rockstar #6)
Anne Mercier
Chasing Temptation
Payton Lane
Murder Gets a Life
Anne George
Mug Shots
Barry Oakley
Knowing Your Value
Mika Brzezinski
Insatiable
Opal Carew
Bat-Wing
Sax Rohmer
Florence and Giles
John Harding
Unforgettable
Adrianne Byrd
Three Little Maids
Patricia Scott