Insurgency (18 page)

“Some secrets should stay secret.”

“A-ha. So you agree; Matthers was keeping something from us?”

“It’s Op-sec. If he tells us he breaks operational security. Whatever it is he may or may not be hiding, may or may not be harmful to ISAF if it gets into the hands of the Taliban.”

“Bollocks, that’s all I’ve got to say. Bollocks and bollocks to the lot of it.”

Raymond put his hand on her knee. “When we get home I’ll buy you a drink, a real drink and we can forget all about Matthers and his secrets. Agreed?”

Turner removed his hand. “As long as it is only a drink.”

Raymond sighed. “How long can you continue to resist me?”

“For as long as you are married. Now shut your eyes and don’t bloody snore.”

Turner shut her own eyes but sleep would not come. There was a story and something inside her told her that she must not let it be covered up. How she would follow it or where it would lead she did not know.

Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan

The shaking in the Black Hawk intensified as the buffeting of the wind increased. Ghost was used to ‘hairy’ helo rides but this was something else. The weather and Vaha’s skill as a pilot seemed to be bending the laws of physics. Ghost had no idea how they were still in the air. A sudden loss of height caused him to lose his grip and fall sideways. His back struck a black box which came loose from the fuselage. As Ghost pushed himself back into his position he froze. A thin wire was now protruding from the box. He moved towards it and his eyes widened.

“Jesus Christ!”

Kirill looked up. “What?”

As Ghost turned his head he heard an explosion from the cockpit and threw himself in the opposite direction at Dratshev and the door. A millisecond later a white fireball tore into the cabin. Flames engulfed every interior surface. The Black Hawk plummeted and smashed into ground. There was a moment of calm as the rotors came to a stop in the sand and then the fuel ignited followed by a much larger explosion from the cabin which all but tore the bird apart. Flames licked the ground and surrounding vegetation.

Landstuhl Regional Medical Centre, Germany

Hudson swallowed the strong coffee and pointed at the file on the desk in front of him. “That the report?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“Take a look for yourself, it’s all very impressive.”

Hudson rolled his eyes. “Just give me an overview Adam.”

“As you wish.” Thurlbeck opened the file and took out the top page. “Well, he is the fastest and the strongest subject we have ever tested. The attributes that got him into Delta have been vastly improved by his vampiric state. In short he makes an Olympic athlete look like a couch potato.”

“Adam you are a funny man but that’s a good analogy. Ok so we know that physically he is A+.”

“I’d say AAA+.”

“Whatever, he’s physically fit etc.” Hudson tapped the side of his head with his forefinger. “But how is he mentally? If we let this vampire loose how do I know he won’t go on some kind of killing spree?”

Thurlbeck remained calm; he was used to Hudson’s lack of tact. “When was the last time you saw me kill anyone?”

“You are different.”

“In what way? I am a vampire; I must drink human blood in order to function.”

“But you are not a trained killer.”

Thurlbeck’s eyes hardened. “I am six hundred years older than you, I may not have picked up a gun in a while, but I know how to use one.”

“Adam, sometimes I also find you very irritating. You know what I mean. You are a ‘good guy’ ok? What about Black, is he?”

“In my opinion? Yes he is. When he was sired he seems to have not taken on any of the primordial vampiric tendencies, like some of the others we have seen. In fact he seems quite human, quite super-human.”

“So he is good to go?”

“You mean into the field?”

“Yes.”

“He is too valuable to our research, if he was to get killed or if he fell into the wrong hands it would be a disaster.”

“Adam, if we followed that logic we’d never deploy drones or stealth fighters or I’d never get to take my 1955 Merc out for a burn.”

“Colin, he is not a machine.”

“Adam he is no longer a man. He’s a weapon, and we have to deploy him.”

Epilogue: Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan

The wreckage was still smouldering as the Mounted Reconnaissance Troop of the US Army’s 14th Cavalry Regiment arrived at the crash site in their Stryker armoured personnel carriers. The turret gunners on the 0.50 cals did a sweep with NVGs as the men in the first vehicle debussed and formed a perimeter whilst the group in the second made for the charred Black Hawk. The helo had come down almost on top of the highway leading south to the regional centre of Kandahar. It was Tarin Kowt’s only road to the outside world and ISAF forces had been subjected frequently to Taliban attack on the exposed route. Lieutenant Jimmy Novak took his trained medic looked for signs of any survivors. In the pre-dawn light the air was still cold but even so he was sweating under his body armour as something inside him said that this was not a normal crash site. Using a flashlight they peered inside the carcass of the Black Hawk and saw only the charred remains of the pilot in the cockpit and one other in the back. Novak squinted, he could not be sure but in the torchlight he thought he saw a body a few meters away from the helo. It was not long before they discovered a total of three bodies which had miraculously been thrown clear on impact. One was wearing US fatigues.

“Bag em and put em in the Strykers. There’s nothing else we can do here.”

A private gave Novak a strange look. “You want us to travel back to the base with a body at our feet?”

“What is it Gaynor, you afraid of ghosts?”

The young private shook his head. “No, Lt.”

“Good then get em in the back. We ain’t leaving em here to become trophies for the Talibs. They are Americans and deserve to get a chance to be taken home. We’ll put em in the morgue and let the doc look at em.”

With the bodies loaded aboard, the two Strykers headed back to Camp Holland as the first fiery fingers of dawn appeared on the horizon.

***

A Message from Alex Shaw

Dear Reader,

Let me thank you for purchasing this book. As an Indie author it is you the reader who determines if my work is a success or falls flat. In deciding to try a new genre I have taken a chance that not many traditional authors are either willing or permitted to do. If you are a reader of my Aidan Snow thrillers then you will have seen that Delta Force Vampire: Insurgency is somewhat different. I have attempted to keep the authenticity of location and realism of characters and issues whilst adding an element of horror. In short I have tried to entertain and thrill. I therefore hope that you have been entertained and thrilled!

This book is planned as the start of a new series but do not worry if you are missing Aidan Snow, his third novel ‘The Dangerous Deadly Elite’ will be available in early 2013.

Please let me know any comments, ideas or questions you have. One question I get asked a lot is ‘what happens next?’ Why not tell me? I would be extremely happy to hear your feedback either via Facebook, Twitter or email:
[email protected]

Thank you for reading and supporting my writing.

Alex

Praise for Alex Shaw

‘He won’t be stopped now. The book will become popular among Kyiv’s expats; some of them will even recognize themselves.’
Kyiv Post
on ‘
Hetman
’.

‘A strong aspect of
HETMAN
is Shaw’s knowledge of Ukraine & Special Forces operations. The character of Bull felt real on the page, you don't get better than that.’

2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

‘With the world in financial turmoil and the Middle East aflame, fans of this genre will find
COLD BLACK
timely and entertaining.’

2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

‘Something has clicked with audiences as Shaw’s books frequently hit

#1 on International Kindle charts.’
What’s On Kyiv

***

Also by Alex Shaw

HETMAN

A Special Forces Thriller
introducing a reluctant hero, former SAS Trooper Aidan Snow.

Attacked
by an unknown adversary,
Framed
for two assassinations,
Hunted
by the Ukrainian Security Service, the life of former SAS Trooper Aidan Snow has been destroyed.

Teaching at an international school in Ukraine, former SAS Trooper Aidan Snow has laid the nightmares of his past to rest. But when after ten years Snow meets again the man who put a gun to his head and ended his military career his past becomes very real. Told by the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) that his would be tormenter is dead Snow tries to forget...

Attacked by an unknown adversary, Framed for two high profile assassinations and Hunted by the Ukrainian Security Service, Snow is torn from the life he has worked so hard to build and must once again rely on his SAS training in an attempt to clear his name.

Discovering a mercenary brigade made up of former Soviet Spetsnaz soldiers Snow trusts only himself to stop them and save those he cares about.

Snow is left one step ahead of the authorities with no one to watch his back.

In a Fire Fight, Pray for SNOW....

COLD BLACK – Hetman 2

Abduction

Veteran SAS trooper, Paddy Fox has lost his job, his wife and his temper. Whilst bitterly job hunting, Fox witnesses a car crash and finds himself rescuing a kidnapped Saudi Royal. Persuaded by MI6 to accept a job as security adviser in Saudi Arabia, Fox travels to Riyadh.

Assassination

In Kyiv, a director of the Belorussian KGB is gunned down whilst trying to pass shocking intelligence to his counterpart in the Ukrainian SBU. Intelligence, which if verified, sets out plans to commit international acts of terror.

Al-Qaeda

In Saudi Arabia, an entire British Trade mission is taken hostage by a new, highly funded, group aligned to Al-Qaeda. But who is funding this new insurgency and why?

An International Conspiracy

Former SAS Trooper turned MI6 operative, Aidan Snow is caught in a maelstrom involving East, West and Middle East which endangers the world’s supply of oil.

HETMAN: Donetsk Calling
– an Aidan Snow short story

Former SAS Trooper turned MI6 Operative Aidan Snow returns in a short story preceding the release of the third Aidan Snow thriller.
As an ex-pat Brian Webb has a great life, a sexy wife and a perfect daughter. But all this is put in jeopardy when on his way home from a night of heavy drinking he is chased by a group of armed assailants. Who are his pursuers, what do they want from him and why are they shooting? Webb would rather not hang around to find out. Crashing a stolen car in an attempt to escape Webb is blooded, cornered and out of options…left with no other choice he calls the only person who would never let him down. He calls Aidan Snow.
Arriving in Kyiv, Snow takes the law into his own hands in an attempt to find and rescue one of his oldest friends. With the ghosts of the past on his shoulders Snow must again rely on his SAS training and will not stop until he discovers the truth.

***

About the Author

ALEX SHAW B.A. (Hons), P.G.C.E. was head of Drama at Pechersk School International, Kyiv, Ukraine, in the late 1990's before leaving to start his own Kyiv based 'consultancy' dealing specifically with the markets of the former USSR. He was subsequently head hunted for a division of Siemens where he was tasked with business development in the former USSR, the Middle East and Africa. Hetman was Alex's first novel and took twelve years to complete. Published in 2009 it gained critical acclaim in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) and later became a #1 UK Kindle bestseller. Cold Black was published a year later. It followed the success of Hetman, gaining critical acclaim in ABNA 2011 and rose to #6 in the Kindle UK bestseller list. Both books have also now become top 10 Kindle Bestsellers in the USA. In July 2012 Cold Black became a #1 German Kindle bestseller; Hetman reached #4 in April. The third Aidan Snow thriller will be released later this year.

When not writing Alex works as a freelance consultant (clients include the UN), dividing his time between his two homes in Kyiv, Ukraine and West Sussex, England. He is married to his beautiful wife Galia and has two fantastic sons, Alexander and Jonathan.

Alex welcomes feedback and comments from readers and can be contacted via his website
http://www.alexwshaw.com/
or his Facebook fan page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/AlexShaw/383476491724127
you can also follow Alex on twitter:
https://twitter.com/@alexshawhetman

Delta Force Vampire: Insurgency is dedicated to:

My wife Galia, my sons Alexander and Jonathan and my family in England and Ukraine.

Follow Alex on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/@alexshawhetman

Become a Delta Vampire fan on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Delta-Force-Vampire/424324860954955

Copyright

Digitally published with consent from Hetman Publishing. Date of first UK publication November 2012. This edition published November 2012. Copyright © Alexander William Shaw 2012

The right of ‘Alex Shaw’ to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents, other than those which are public domain, are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. This ebook is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated or transmitted without the author’s prior consent in any format other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.