room.”
Raymond nodded and for once did not even think of making any innuendo.
Matthers hung up phone and then hung his head. Why him, why his command? A media coup for the Taliban; the impossible possible. But the Taliban had made a mistake, one that even the most unsophisticated insurgent would have avoided at all cost. The hostage video had been uploaded directly via an Iridium satellite phone and as such the NSA’s Echelon monitoring program had ‘pinged’ it. JSOC had already tasked several drones to overfly the surrounding area and the feed from the US satellites going back twelve hours was being studied. He had no doubt that the hostages would be found it was just a matter of if they would be alive. The demands on the video, even if realistic would not be met as the US ‘did not negotiate with terrorists’. As it happened the demands were anything but realistic. The leader of the Taliban group called for the immediate departure of all ISAF forces from Afghanistan, the immediate release of all prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay and the immediate recognition of the Taliban as the true government of Afghanistan by the United Nations. And the time scale for all of this? Immediately, by midnight Kabul time. The hostage takers were nothing if not ambitious but it wasn’t their demands that had caught the attention of the world but the fact that they had executed a Delta operative. In the good old days news could have been suppressed but now it was impossible, take down one website and another would instantly pop up to replace it. Matthers stood and paced. It did not make sense. Why get such HVHs and then give away your position? It was almost as if they wanted to be found, as if they wanted a fight. He shook his head; did the Taliban actually believe that they could spring a trap? That they could out-fox the resources of ISAF with a few men wearing dresses armed with AKs? What was the plan, try to take down a helo or perhaps kill the hostages and blame ISAF? He had no idea but he also had no time. He checked his watch; a Delta team would be going in within the hour. They had already been given valuable ‘HUMINT’ by the only survivor of the attack, an ANA soldier who claimed to know exactly who was responsible and where they were based. This was being crosschecked against the satellite and drone feed. Feed…food; that always helped. He left his office.
***
No sooner had the sun set than Krasnov appeared and readied their arsenal. Now they had taken the Toyota and were en route to attack the Taliban base. It was another cave system known to Krasnov; he had used it before, when he had been an ally against the West. If Dratshev was still in Afghanistan Krasnov had bet that he would be with his pet Taliban warlord, Ghulam Ali.
Carefully strapped to the back of the Toyota their bespoke ordnance could have passed for ‘bling’ on an MTV rap video. This included two modified RPGs with silver filled and coated shells, a box of silver fragmentation grenades, a Russian Dragunov sniper rifle and an AK47 each with 1000 silver jacketed rounds.
“I’ve had a long time to prepare for this war; I do not intend to lose.” Krasnov stated dryly as they pulled away. “They will expect to be attacked with conventional weapons so we shall have the advantage until they realise that we are outnumbered.”
“How many men does this warlord have?”
“Around his base perhaps two hundred, that he can call upon to take arms against ISAF? That could be thousands, remember you Americans are not at all popular here.”
“You know this man how?”
“He was in league with Dratshev during the occupation; that is how he survived and gained his power.”
“And now he has a vampire army?” Black looked down at the brown robes, the Shalwar kameez that Krasnov had given him to disguise his appearance and smirked. “I’ve never dressed as a woman before.”
Krasnov shook his head. “Is that the American sense of humour? Beware
Raymond nodded and for once did not even think of making any innuendo.
Matthers hung up phone and then hung his head. Why him, why his command? A media coup for the Taliban; the impossible possible. But the Taliban had made a mistake, one that even the most unsophisticated insurgent would have avoided at all cost. The hostage video had been uploaded directly via an Iridium satellite phone and as such the NSA’s Echelon monitoring program had ‘pinged’ it. JSOC had already tasked several drones to overfly the surrounding area and the feed from the US satellites going back twelve hours was being studied. He had no doubt that the hostages would be found it was just a matter of if they would be alive. The demands on the video, even if realistic would not be met as the US ‘did not negotiate with terrorists’. As it happened the demands were anything but realistic. The leader of the Taliban group called for the immediate departure of all ISAF forces from Afghanistan, the immediate release of all prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay and the immediate recognition of the Taliban as the true government of Afghanistan by the United Nations. And the time scale for all of this? Immediately, by midnight Kabul time. The hostage takers were nothing if not ambitious but it wasn’t their demands that had caught the attention of the world but the fact that they had executed a Delta operative. In the good old days news could have been suppressed but now it was impossible, take down one website and another would instantly pop up to replace it. Matthers stood and paced. It did not make sense. Why get such HVHs and then give away your position? It was almost as if they wanted to be found, as if they wanted a fight. He shook his head; did the Taliban actually believe that they could spring a trap? That they could out-fox the resources of ISAF with a few men wearing dresses armed with AKs? What was the plan, try to take down a helo or perhaps kill the hostages and blame ISAF? He had no idea but he also had no time. He checked his watch; a Delta team would be going in within the hour. They had already been given valuable ‘HUMINT’ by the only survivor of the attack, an ANA soldier who claimed to know exactly who was responsible and where they were based. This was being crosschecked against the satellite and drone feed. Feed…food; that always helped. He left his office.
***
No sooner had the sun set than Krasnov appeared and readied their arsenal. Now they had taken the Toyota and were en route to attack the Taliban base. It was another cave system known to Krasnov; he had used it before, when he had been an ally against the West. If Dratshev was still in Afghanistan Krasnov had bet that he would be with his pet Taliban warlord, Ghulam Ali.
Carefully strapped to the back of the Toyota their bespoke ordnance could have passed for ‘bling’ on an MTV rap video. This included two modified RPGs with silver filled and coated shells, a box of silver fragmentation grenades, a Russian Dragunov sniper rifle and an AK47 each with 1000 silver jacketed rounds.
“I’ve had a long time to prepare for this war; I do not intend to lose.” Krasnov stated dryly as they pulled away. “They will expect to be attacked with conventional weapons so we shall have the advantage until they realise that we are outnumbered.”
“How many men does this warlord have?”
“Around his base perhaps two hundred, that he can call upon to take arms against ISAF? That could be thousands, remember you Americans are not at all popular here.”
“You know this man how?”
“He was in league with Dratshev during the occupation; that is how he survived and gained his power.”
“And now he has a vampire army?” Black looked down at the brown robes, the Shalwar kameez that Krasnov had given him to disguise his appearance and smirked. “I’ve never dressed as a woman before.”
Krasnov shook his head. “Is that the American sense of humour? Beware
Similar Books
