Ultimate Weapon Read Online Free PDF Page B

that was delicate, feminine yet strong all at the same time.
    ‘What’s a smart guy like you doing in the Regiment?’
    ‘Who says I’m smart?’
    Laura took a sip of her wine. ‘I took a good look at your CV before choosing you for this mission,’ she said. ‘A degree from Cambridge. Not many Regiment guys have one of those.’
    ‘More than there used to be.’
    Laura nodded. ‘The world is changing. The battles we’re fighting now are more about brains than brawn. The old Regiment guys don’t really understand that.’
    Jed laughed. ‘I remember one of the old guys explaining their SOP to me.’
    ‘And …’
    ‘Standard operating procedure for this Regiment, boy: Bang, bang, then run like fuck.’
    ‘Maximum speed and maximum aggression, that was always the old motto,’ said Laura. ‘Now maximum intelligence has been added to the list. The only trouble is, some of the older hands haven’t quite caught up with what century we’re living in.’
    ‘And that’s why you wanted me to go into Iraq?’
    Laura nodded. ‘We need people who can recognise what they’re looking at.’
    Jed served himself another helping of the seafood pasta: the dish was a mixture of fresh prawns, squid and clams, drenched in oil, garlic and basil, and made a change from the sausages, chips and beans that made up a typical menu in the mess. He could eat his way through her whole larder right now. ‘I
didn’t
recognise it, though.’
    ‘You did enough.’
    Jed shook his head. ‘I could feel it during that meeting. Everyone was pissed off with me for not getting closer to that lab.’
    ‘We’re under a lot of pressure,’ said Laura. ‘I’ve been at the Firm for thirteen years now, ever since I got out of university. I’ve never known anything like it. The place is buzzing, but it’s also getting a bit weird. We haveto come up with the goods on Iraq, no matter what. And it doesn’t matter how we get them.’
    ‘Or else that dickhead Muir bites your arse.’
    Laura laughed. ‘You saw the bugger in a good mood. You should catch him on an off day.’
    ‘So what did I see in there?’ said Jed, looking straight into Laura’s eyes.
    She glanced towards the window. ‘We’re still waiting for a full analysis –’
    ‘But you’ve got an idea,’ interrupted Jed.
    ‘There are theories all over the place about what’s happening in Iraq,’ said Laura. ‘It’s impossible to keep track of them all.’
    ‘Try,’ said Jed firmly. ‘If I get confused, we’ll draw a diagram.’
    She leant closer to him, and he could feel her hand brushing against the inside of his jeans. ‘I like you, Jed,’ she whispered, moving on to his lap. Before he realised what was happening, he was kissing her. Her mouth was full, and her lips hard, like rubber. He could taste the pasta on her breath, and the seafood on her tongue. The kiss tasted salty and acid, yet supple and exciting all the same. For a brief moment, Jed hesitated, wondering if he was doing the right thing: he’d seen the kind of trouble some men had got into by sleeping with their colleagues, and although he and Sarah might be going through one of their breaks, she was still just about his girlfriend. But the doubts drained out of him as he could feel Laura’s hot breath against the skin of his chest, and feel her hands roaming down the muscles on his back. I’ve never beenable to think straight with a woman in my arms, he reminded himself.
No point trying to learn now
.
    He wrapped his arms tight around her back squeezing her close to him. They were still sitting on the chair, but it was rocking backwards, and in seconds they had fallen down on to the carpet, both of them laughing. Jed was lying on top of her, his lips running down the side of her body. Her skin was smooth, with just a pale tan, and her muscles were toned and hard. He pushed her bra up over her neck, running his tongue around her nipples, then slipped his hand down between her legs. She groaned softly,