kitted out.”
The doors opened to a well-lit corridor carved into rock. It forked off in two directions and Ice pointed down the left hand side. “I’ll show you later, but down there we’ve got the kill house and the shooting range.” He turned the buggy right and they started down the corridor.
“You have a kill house?” Mirza’s eyebrows lifted.
“Sure, but that’s not the best bit.”
They drove out of the corridor into a massive cave that clearly served as an equipment warehouse. One side of the space housed all manner of vehicles: jet skis, four-wheel drives, sports cars, light helicopters, and even a couple of mini-subs. On the other side, smaller shelves were stacked with gear, including racks of weapons ranging from compact pistols to automatic grenade launchers. Any piece of equipment anyone could possibly want for special operations or covert activities was held in the one facility.
Mirza felt like a kid in a toy store and he looked at Ice with a huge grin on his face. Mirza laughed as he left the cart and walked over for a closer look at the mini-subs.
Ice laughed and yelled after him, “I call it WARMART. Now lets get you kitted out before we head up to the Bunker for orders.”
Chapter 16
The Bunker
“Welcome to the Bunker. This is where it all happens,” Ice said as Mirza followed him through the sliding door.
“So it seems,” whispered the Indian as he walked into the Operations Room. The rest of PRIMAL Headquarters seemed like a ghost town in comparison. The room was packed with PRIMAL operators seated along the walls beneath the huge LCD screens. Key staff were busy amongst the central computer terminals. Mirza guessed that most of them were former US military; the room looked like a futuristic version of a US command post he had once visited, except in place of the uniforms were a variety of outfits, from Mitch’s flight suit to Ice’s Hawaiian shirt.
Mirza noticed Bishop sitting in the corner and gave him a wide grin. Bishop caught his eye and gave him a thumbs up.
Ice directed the new PRIMAL operative to a seat along the rough-cut wall. As Mirza sat, his eyes were drawn to a heavily built, bald-headed African-American who was talking to a small Asian.
“That’s Vance, the Director. He’s in charge of operations,” Ice whispered. “The little guy is Chua, our Chief of Intelligence. They run the show.”
Everyone went quiet and stopped what they were doing as Vance moved to the front of the room. He stood impassive in front of the central LCD screen, crossed his huge arms and locked eyes with Mirza.
“Before we begin I want to welcome the newest member of our team. Jump up, Mirza.” Vance’s deep voice filled the entire room.
Mirza stood abashed as all eyes turned to him.
“Mirza, my name’s Vance, and I’m in charge of this ragtag bunch of pirates. Sorry we haven’t had time for formal introductions. There is a situation developing that requires a bit of high-speed and low-drag, if you know what I mean.”
“Sir, I am at your service,” Mirza said. If he was intimidated, he didn’t show it.
“And we appreciate having you on team. Make yourself comfortable and we’ll get this ball game started,” Vance said as he headed back to his seat. “Chua, please outline the intel picture.”
PRIMAL’s Chief of Intelligence was far more animated than Vance, moving around the room as he spoke. “You may have already heard about the Taliban uprising occurring in Southern Afghanistan,” Chua started. He pressed his remote and the central screen displayed a map overlayed with broad red arrows. “For two days now insurgents have commenced large-scale offensive operations in both Helmand and Kandahar.”
He used the laser pointer in the remote to indicate on the map as he briefed. “Coalition reporting indicates that the offensive in Helmand involves over two thousand insurgents. British and US forces are currently restricted to their
The doors opened to a well-lit corridor carved into rock. It forked off in two directions and Ice pointed down the left hand side. “I’ll show you later, but down there we’ve got the kill house and the shooting range.” He turned the buggy right and they started down the corridor.
“You have a kill house?” Mirza’s eyebrows lifted.
“Sure, but that’s not the best bit.”
They drove out of the corridor into a massive cave that clearly served as an equipment warehouse. One side of the space housed all manner of vehicles: jet skis, four-wheel drives, sports cars, light helicopters, and even a couple of mini-subs. On the other side, smaller shelves were stacked with gear, including racks of weapons ranging from compact pistols to automatic grenade launchers. Any piece of equipment anyone could possibly want for special operations or covert activities was held in the one facility.
Mirza felt like a kid in a toy store and he looked at Ice with a huge grin on his face. Mirza laughed as he left the cart and walked over for a closer look at the mini-subs.
Ice laughed and yelled after him, “I call it WARMART. Now lets get you kitted out before we head up to the Bunker for orders.”
Chapter 16
The Bunker
“Welcome to the Bunker. This is where it all happens,” Ice said as Mirza followed him through the sliding door.
“So it seems,” whispered the Indian as he walked into the Operations Room. The rest of PRIMAL Headquarters seemed like a ghost town in comparison. The room was packed with PRIMAL operators seated along the walls beneath the huge LCD screens. Key staff were busy amongst the central computer terminals. Mirza guessed that most of them were former US military; the room looked like a futuristic version of a US command post he had once visited, except in place of the uniforms were a variety of outfits, from Mitch’s flight suit to Ice’s Hawaiian shirt.
Mirza noticed Bishop sitting in the corner and gave him a wide grin. Bishop caught his eye and gave him a thumbs up.
Ice directed the new PRIMAL operative to a seat along the rough-cut wall. As Mirza sat, his eyes were drawn to a heavily built, bald-headed African-American who was talking to a small Asian.
“That’s Vance, the Director. He’s in charge of operations,” Ice whispered. “The little guy is Chua, our Chief of Intelligence. They run the show.”
Everyone went quiet and stopped what they were doing as Vance moved to the front of the room. He stood impassive in front of the central LCD screen, crossed his huge arms and locked eyes with Mirza.
“Before we begin I want to welcome the newest member of our team. Jump up, Mirza.” Vance’s deep voice filled the entire room.
Mirza stood abashed as all eyes turned to him.
“Mirza, my name’s Vance, and I’m in charge of this ragtag bunch of pirates. Sorry we haven’t had time for formal introductions. There is a situation developing that requires a bit of high-speed and low-drag, if you know what I mean.”
“Sir, I am at your service,” Mirza said. If he was intimidated, he didn’t show it.
“And we appreciate having you on team. Make yourself comfortable and we’ll get this ball game started,” Vance said as he headed back to his seat. “Chua, please outline the intel picture.”
PRIMAL’s Chief of Intelligence was far more animated than Vance, moving around the room as he spoke. “You may have already heard about the Taliban uprising occurring in Southern Afghanistan,” Chua started. He pressed his remote and the central screen displayed a map overlayed with broad red arrows. “For two days now insurgents have commenced large-scale offensive operations in both Helmand and Kandahar.”
He used the laser pointer in the remote to indicate on the map as he briefed. “Coalition reporting indicates that the offensive in Helmand involves over two thousand insurgents. British and US forces are currently restricted to their
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