On Her Majesty's Behalf Read Online Free PDF Page B

stand about fifteen feet in front of the crowd.
    When in doubt, go on the offensive, he thought to himself.
    â€œI want this dock cleared and I want it cleared now!” he shouted at the mob, making no effort to hide either his mechanical arm or the Colt automatic that he held in his good hand. “If you’re still here thirty seconds from now, I’ll have your asses hauled down to the brig where you can spend the next week digging latrines and contemplating what it means to disobey a direct order!”
    An undercurrent of angry murmurs ran through the crowd at his statement, but except for a few stragglers out along the edges, no one moved.
    If your first bluff fails, bluff again, but make it bigger and bolder this time around, Burke told himself.
    He searched the row of men directly in front of him for a second, settling his gaze on a large, hulking man with master sergeant stripes on his sleeve who appeared to be leading one of the larger groups. Burke stepped up and got right into the man’s face.
    â€œDo you know who I am?” he demanded.
    Caught off-­guard by the combination of Burke’s command voice and being called out in front of all the others, the master sergeant responded just the way Burke had hoped. The man’s bald head nodded vigorously. “You’re Madman B . . . ah, Major Burke, sir.”
    Normally Burke would have objected to the ridiculous nickname he’d been tagged with after the battle of Cambrai, but in this case it worked to his advantage. Madman Burke had a reputation for taking on overwhelming odds with the single-­minded determination of a rabid bulldog and right now that reputation might be the very thing that got him and his men out of this mess.
    â€œThat’s right, Master Sergeant. Major Madman Burke,” he replied, emphasizing his nickname so the others around them would hear it, betting that it would spread through the crowd in seconds and figuring that he might as well put his notoriety to good use. He could see that those in the front row had stopped paying attention to the shredder and were now watching his interaction with the man, which was exactly what he wanted.
    â€œI don’t know what this bunch of rabble is doing away from their posts, but they’re interfering with an authorized military intelligence mission and I’m ordering you and all the rest of them to get the hell out of my way. Do I make myself clear?”
    Years of habit of accepting the commands of senior officers had the master sergeant practically snapping to attention by the time Burke had finished speaking. “Yes, sir!” he replied before turning to face the crowd.
    â€œYou heard the major!” he yelled. “Show’s over! Back to your posts or he’ll have you up on charges faster than you can blink!”
    Burke began backing away from the assembled mob, and for a moment he thought it was going to be all right. He’d apparently chosen the right man; the master sergeant was a known entity to these men, and many of them were listening to him. They were grumbling and clearly unhappy, but at least they were moving away from the boat and that was precisely what Burke had been hoping for. A few minutes to unload the shredder and secure it for transport to MID headquarters and they’d be on their way.
    But then some jackass in the back of the crowd shouted, “I don’t care if he’s in charge of the entire war effort! If that thing gets loose, we’re all dead. I say we kill it now and be done with it!”
    There was a moment of silence as the crowd teetered on the edge, trying to decide what to do, and then an answering shout rose up from somewhere to Burke’s left—­“I’m not waiting around for that thing to get loose and bite me! Kill it now while we still can, I say!”—­and Burke lost them completely.
    The crowd surged forward, more than a handful of them shouting,