by Mick Bose
Jonty and three others had rushed up to the main building now. It was ominously quiet. Dan didn’t like it. If a senior Al Qaeda chief was holed up here, where the hell were the other fighters? They had killed five, maybe six so far.
They patrolled around the building and met up in the foyer. It was a two-storey, four-bedroom house. Jonty pointed up with a finger and the four men started to slowly ascend the stairwell. Rusty and Dan stayed on guard below. As the group moved up, Dan saw a movement at the far end of the hallway. A figure slipped out a doorway in the back. Dan fired a round, but it missed, hitting the doorframe. He ran to the back of the house and to the wall next to the doorway. He kicked it open, staying under cover. No gunfire came from outside.
He went out, weapon at the ready. He could hear Rusty behind him. He was in a courtyard, smaller than the front. The tall perimeter wall loomed at the back. Dan saw movement on his extreme right. He fired immediately and saw his target crumple to the ground. He ran forward. As he got closer his heart jumped in his mouth. The prostate figure on the ground was wearing a uniform. He recognised the blue shirt of the Afghan National Police. This was all wrong. This was a Taliban compound. What was ANP doing here?
Dan turned the body over. He flicked his light on the face. It looked familiar for some unknown reason. Dan snapped off two photos and looked at the body again. One arm was pointed straight, as if it was reaching for something. A large brass handle embedded in the ground. Dan heard a sound behind him and turned around. It was Rusty. He sighed, and indicated the handle.
Together, they crept forward. The gunfire had ceased and the compound was strangely quiet. The team upstairs must have finished checking by now, Dan thought to himself. It was odd that they hadn’t found more resistance. Dan looked at Rusty, they grabbed hold of the trapdoor and pulled. There was a splintering noise and Dan stopped. He didn’t want to blow up an Improvised Explosive Device. But he knew if it was an IED, they would be dead already.
“It’s a cellar,” Rusty whispered to him urgently.
They pulled again, and this time, the loose earth on top fell off revealing a chasm beneath their feet. Rusty shone his IR torch on wooden steps descending into darkness. Dan leaned down, weapon still at the ready, and checked with the magnifying night scope mounted on his rifle. What he saw took his breath away.
Anti-aircraft guns. The DshK-M, known as the Dushka, was a Soviet heavy machine gun on a tripod. There was a whole row of them, with mounds of coiled ammunition chains, on the floor of the basement. Dan had seen them before in Iraq. Insurgents still used them frequently.
He signalled to Rusty to keep a watch and went down the steps. Below was a huge room. Rifles were mounted on the walls and several short-range missiles lay on the floor. They looked Soviet-made with surface-to-air capability. In the corners, he found high, stacked piles of grenades with launchers. He got to the far end of the room and his hair stood up on end. Heckler and Koch rifles. G3, G6, 416,417, all subtypes. MP 5 and 7 submachine guns. These weren’t Soviet-made. He looked closer at the serial number on one HK. It was indistinct. He could smell the oxy-acetylene blow torch used to remove the serial number. Insurgents did this in Mosul, Iraq. His breath came fast and shallow. He’d stumbled upon a Taliban weapon armoury. But some of these weapons were…
Before he could think any further, his radio crackled into life.
“Delta one calling all tango, respond. Over.”
“Delta one this is tango 4. I have…” He didn’t finish. Jonty’s normal calm voice seemed forced.
“Mission aborted. I repeat, mission aborted. Evacuate site and proceed to HLS. Do you copy, over.”
Dan stood in the silent blackness of the basement, thoughts running in his head.
“Roger that delta one,” he whispered into his radio.
He took his camera out and began taking photos.
HIDDEN AGENDA
The start of an exciting new series.
Available December 2016!
EXCLUSIVE OFFER
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The book whose extract you just read will be released within the next 4 weeks. If you sign up to the mailing list at the website, then at the time of the book`s launch you will be informed of special launch bonuses, and also receive an exclusive novella ABSOLUTELY FREE. This novella is only for the mailing list subscribers, and not available elsewhere.
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THANKS FROM MICK
Writing is the best way I know to connect with people. I hope you enjoyed this book, and thank you for reading it.
The upcoming series about Dan Roy is a collection of fast paced thrillers which fans of David Baldacci, Lee Child and Vince Flynn would enjoy.
As you know, reviews are how other readers find an author, and if you could leave one in Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk, then that would be the icing on my literary cake. It can be as short as you like, and will take less than five minutes of your time.
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Wish you all the best, and thank you very much.
Mick.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
EPILOGUE
AUTHOR`S NOTE
EXCERPT: HIDDEN AGENDA
EXCLUSIVE OFFER
THANKS FROM MICK
