The Child Taker & Slow Burn Read Online Free PDF Page A

the use of suppressors but heavily armed militiamen in their technicals constantly patrolled the empty streets. If Adid was amongst the dead then his absence couldn’t be kept a secret. His remaining troops would realise that he had not returned to his safe house.
    “Roger that. Our tech people are analysing the data from the drone. Now that we have the details of the vehicle that he was travelling in, we can trace back through the footage to see where its journey originated.” The Major wanted this mission completed and wrapped up as soon as was physically possible. He was on board the Nimitz-class carrier The Ronald Reagan and although he had served for many years in the Royal Marines, he had never got used to sailing. He didn’t have sea legs at all. Seasickness was amplified on carriers like the Ronald Reagan because they are powered by two nuclear reactors, which drive a huge water turbine. The turbine propels the vessel through the oceans in virtual silence. The sensation of being below decks without any engine noise added to the sick feeling.
    The Major was handed a series of aerial photographs and a tech pointed to the relevant areas on the operations map. He assessed the information from the drone and spoke into the coms unit.
    “Pilgrim one, I’m sending in a Heli-vac for your unit. You can’t achieve anything more there,” he said.
    “Roger that, we’ll be at the rendezvous point in five minutes.” Grace made a circular motion with her right hand and pointed it towards a narrow street one hundred yards down the road. Her unit moved silently in combat formation towards their extraction point. The dead Somalis were left bleeding in the dirt; swarms of flies were already feasting on their carcasses.
    “Pilgrim two, the vehicles started out from a small compound three blocks to the east of your position. There appears to be some activity taking place there.” The Major nodded to the tech and indicated that he wanted the live feed from the drone patched onto the screen in the command centre. The screen flickered to life and the ancient city appeared on it, the aerial view segmented by gridlines.
    “Roger that, what type of activity Major?” Tank asked.
    “It’s difficult to say, but there are a dozen or so armed men in and around the compound. It looks like an abandoned open air souk with one main entrance gate on its west wall. The gate is being guarded by two men in a technical.” The Major relayed what he could see on the detailed pictures from the drone.
    “What is the ETA for the extraction helicopter?” Tank asked. The sight of an American Navy helicopter flying over the city would create mayhem on the streets below. Every militia in the city would call its men to arms. Tank was hoping that its arrival would create enough of a diversion for his unit to take a sneaky look at what or who was being guarded inside the souk.
    “Six minutes exactly,” the Major replied. He already knew what Tank was thinking. They had an understanding that came from years of working together.
    “I need ten minutes at least to get to that souk before the chopper stirs up a storm.” Tank made a circular movement with his hand and then pointed his fingers to the east. The task force men moved as a unit to the jagged hole in the building that was once a door. The compacted sandy road had a pinkish tinge to it. The buildings around them had flat roofs and were rendered with yellowed plaster. They scanned the road and it was clear in both directions before Tank and his men began to slither stealthily between the ruined buildings towards the old market place. At certain points, the road narrowed to nothing more than an alleyway three yards wide and the path was strewn with shattered bricks and debris.
    “Roger that Pilgrim two, you have ten minutes before the extraction. You’d better get in and out of there before the city comes down on you. Check out the souk and then lay low until sundown and then we’ll extract