Authors: Craig Simpson
Jabir took hold of him roughly. He was seething. “What did I tell you? You had to throw this away. They can track mobile phone signals. Allah have mercy, you haven’t left it switched on, have you?”
Pushing past the guys from bomb disposal, Connor collared a comms sergeant. “Get me Lieutenant Sharp in the Ops Room at Camp Delta.” Connor’s earpiece crackled as the radio channel switched over. “Sharp, come in. This is Delta Primary requesting immediate medevac at our co-ordinates. Area is secure, disposal team is clear to enter, over.”
“Understood, major,” Sharp said in Connor’s earpiece.
“The president can go ahead and give his goddamn speech. Now listen up, lieutenant; are you still monitoring the Predator drone’s live visual feed on Jabir’s location? Over.”
“Affirmative, sir. He’s not moved. He’s still up on the mountainside, over.”
“Then do it! Put in the call for the strike, over.”
“Yes, sir. Of course, over.”
Connor stood and gazed up at the mountains. Circling at three thousand metres the missile targeting system of the unmanned Predator drone locked onto Jabir’s position. Seconds later two Hellfire missiles launched. Less than a minute later they struck their target. Connor saw the flashes and the rising plume of rock and smoke.
“Goodbye, Jabir.”
Craig lives in the New Forest in southern England — a stone’s throw from where secret agents and spies were trained during WWII. He has spent more than ten years researching and writing books inspired by amazing true stories of wartime courage and determination. He’s a big fan of gritty action adventures, and the exploits of Special Forces and Special Operations provide a rich seam of material for Craig’s stories. As well as
Task Force Delta
, Craig has written five thrilling adventure novels.
checkpoint
a roadblock where vehicles are checked
GMV
Ground Mobility Vehicle: a customised Humvee
IEDs
Improvised Explosive Devices, home-made bombs triggered by remote control
intel
short for intelligence
ISAF
International Security Assistance Force — the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan
medevac
short for medical evacuation: used to get injured troops to hospital for treatment
RPG
short for rocketpropelled grenade
shrapnel
a small piece of debris thrown outwards by an explosion
sitrep
short for situation report: an update on the current state of things
wadi
a channel for water