PRIMAL Vengeance (3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Middle East."
           "What about the British then, or the French?" asked Omar. "They had men in Libya. Maybe they have sent them south? Or the South Africans? They are always meddling in our affairs."
           "You chase shadows, Omar. Leave the investigation to my people. We will find those responsible."
           "Bah! Your people. It was your people who failed us in the—"
           Zhu cut him short. "Do not snap at the hand that feeds you, Omar. Without me you would still be squabbling in the mud with the rest of your pitiful nation. Look out the windows of your palace and remind yourself who makes it so."
           The Oil Minister gritted his teeth as the Chinese businessman continued. "The shipment is no longer your concern. I will find who is responsible and they will be dealt with. Now YOU must find new ways to push back the rebels and claim the oil fields."
           "Without tanks it will be difficult," said Omar.
           "Difficult but not impossible."
           "No, not impossible. We will need more equipment, and better weapons to exterminate the vermin." He looked up eagerly at the camera. "If you could supply gas shells for our mortars my men would soon kill them all."
           Zhu stroked his beard as he contemplated the request. "No, we cannot afford to bring the world's attention to their plight. Gassing them would condemn us."
           "No one would know."
           "Don't be a fool, Omar. If the UN thinks that you are using chemical weapons their observers will descend upon you like locusts. The Western world will occupy your country with their armies and China will lose our influence. No, we must use conventional means to crush our enemies."
           "Without the additional equipment the President will never approve the use of the army. That was the deal!" Omar was becoming animated again.
           "What about your own fighters, the horsemen?" asked Zhu.
           "The Janjaweed already raid the border tribes to the west. They spread fear but they do not have the weapons or the vehicles to push the southern militias from the area."
           "China will provide all you need. Our Abyei refinery will be the logistics base and we will support your horsemen against the southerners. I have an agent I will send. He will organize your rabble into an army and they will defeat our enemies."
           Omar shook his head. "The Janjaweed will not accept an outsider. Send guns and ammunition but do not send men."
           Zhu stared into the camera at Omar. "Believe me when I say, they will accept this man."
     
    ***
     
    Over ten thousand kilometers away, in the skies above Mongolia, Zhu terminated the conference call with Khartoum.
           Omar irritated him. A small time thug in a position of great influence and responsibility. A man whose stupidity he was forced to entertain, for now. He nodded towards the pretty flight attendant who responded with a warm hand towel and a glass of Maotai. Relaxing into his chair, he sipped the traditional Chinese liquor and stared out the business jet's window at the bleak landscape below.
           Zhu's thoughts were interrupted by the stewardess. She handed him the aircraft's satellite phone. "It's him, sir."
           Zhu handed her his glass and took the phone.
           "Yang, what have you learned?" he asked in Mandarin.
           "Not as much as I would like. No one on the coastline saw the aircraft. It must have stayed out to sea."
           "Perhaps another vessel? One of the counter-piracy task force?" asked Zhu.
           "No. I have already checked with my contacts there. None of their helicopters were in the area."
           "This man you described to me, could he have been South African?"
           "A mercenary? It is possible. I cannot place his accent. His equipment was modern, definitely trained by a Western nation. Perhaps one of our