PRIMAL Mirza (A PRIMAL Series Novella) (16 page)

Mirza
twisted the pistol from his grasp and punched him in the throat.

He
dropped to his knees, gasping for air. Seconds later, his hands were yanked
behind his back and he felt the cold metal of a pair of cuffs. “Release me, you
halfwits. Release me or I’ll have your badges.”

The
police officer with the handcuffs bent over his shoulder and showed him a
badge. “This belonged to a good friend of mine.
A better man
than you.
A family man who you ordered murdered. So if you want to take
my badge, I’ll be happy to fight you for it.”

The
policeman yanked the NSG commander to his feet and slammed him into a door.

“You
think this is over? This isn’t over. I own this fucking town,” Prasad spat, his
head held firm against the wood. At the clicking of approaching high-heels, he
caught a glimpse of a woman in a tight-fitting business suit.

“Save
it for court, Prasad. You’re under arrest,” Sonia Jayaram said.

“This’ll
never reach court! You’re a dead woman,” he shot back.

“I
know. Your friend Neeraj told me all about it.” She nodded to the officer
holding him. “Get this piece of shit out of my sight.”

CHAPTER 26

CBI
HEADQUARTERS

“So, what’s going on?” Mirza sat opposite Sonia in her
office. It had been three days since Prasad’s arrest and his frustration at
being hidden away in a CBI safe house was riding him hard.

He glanced at a
dark-suited man sitting in the back with Major Jayaram,
then
looked at Sonia. “We’ve been over my evidence twice now. Don’t tell me you
still don’t have enough to convict Prasad. He’s been arrested. You just need to
make the charges stick.”

“And I will. My
colleague,” she motioned to the man in the suit, “from the anti-corruption
branch is working on that. The case is developing nicely. But it’s going to
take time.”

The
anti-corruption investigator shuffled some papers.

“Then why are we
back in here? What’s the problem?”

“The problem is
your safety.”

“You think
Prasad and his thugs might try to kill me?”

“That’s exactly
what we think. He’s a very powerful man.”

“I get that. But
we’ve got enough from the Chandni Chowk incident to put him away.”

She shook her
head. “No, he had the site swept. The bodies were cremated and his reports
justify his every action. The case against him is going to revolve around yours
and Neeraj’s testimony and the results of the internal affairs investigation.”

“What about
Atal? Is he safe?”

Sonia looked at
her brother.

“The kid is
safe,” said the major. “He’s with your mother just like you asked. They’ll have
RAW protection until this thing’s sorted.”

“And he’s going
to school?” Mirza asked.

“It would seem
that your mother is a very,” Jayaram searched for the right word, “persuasive
woman.”

“He’s in good
hands. And what about you, Sonia? Prasad also wanted you dead.”

“Our family has
a home in London. I’m heading there until the investigations team finishes
their work. I’ll also have a protection element from the local police. So that
just leaves you, Mirza,” she said softly.

He shook his
head. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.” He moved to stand. “Is
that all?”

“Sit down and
listen, Corporal,” Major Jayaram ordered. “I don’t think you understand the
severity of the situation. Prasad has an extensive network of supporters; not
only the Black Cats,
but
crime gangs with nothing to
lose. These people don’t play by our rules, Mirza.
Their
only loyalty is to whoever has the fattest wallet. We can’t guarantee your
safety whilst you’re in New Delhi.”

“Then I can go
back up north, rejoin the unit.”

The major shook
his head. “You need to be out of the country. At least until this cools down.”
He stood, walked across to the desk, and handed over a document. “These are
your deployment orders.”

Frowning, Mirza
stared at him. “Where are you sending me?”

“Have you ever
heard of a place called Sierra Leone?”

Mirza shook his
head. “No.”

“It’s in West
Africa and it’s going to be your home for at least the next six months. You
leave in the morning. Good luck, Corporal.” The major nodded to his sister and
left the office with the anti-corruption officer on his heels.

Mirza read
through the orders. The two-page document had him posted to Africa on a United
Nations peacekeeping mission. He knew these overseas postings were prestigious
and sought-after for their generous allowances.
Usually only
available to soldiers with the right connections or bribes.
However, it
was a regular infantry role and, to Mirza, sounded boring compared to his work
in RAW.

“It’s only for
six months,” said Sonia.

“I’ve never
travelled this far from India before.”

“It’ll be an
adventure. When you get back, perhaps we could go out for dinner and you can
tell me all about it.”

Mirza smiled.
“I’d like that. Just don’t forget while I’m away.”

Sonia leaned in
and kissed him softly on the cheek. “How could I ever forget my knight in
shining armor? Just try to stay out of trouble.”

CHAPTER 27

UN MISSION HEADQUARTERS, SIERRA LEONE

Mirza stood at attention
before the colonel in charge of the Indian contingent. He tried not to stare at
the obese commander. He couldn’t figure out how the man stuffed his bulk into
the dress uniform. At a glance, it looked ready to burst.

“So, you’re the new section leader.”

“Yes, sir.”

The colonel studied him from head to toe. His pig-like eyes paused
on the pencil thin moustache that Mirza now wore. It was all that remained of
the beard he’d grown while in the SPEC-B detachment. His uniform had also
changed. Now, he wore the heavy khaki of a line infantryman.

“I hope you don’t think you’re anything special, Corporal Mansoor.”
The colonel turned his attention to the file on his desk. “Because your record
isn’t particularly impressive.”

Mirza said nothing. Major Jayaram had doctored a record of service
that included time spent in regular infantry units and made no mention of his
work at SPEC-B.

“In fact, I have no idea how you made Corporal, let alone snagged a
posting to the UN.” The colonel cleared his throat. “Until you, every man in
this contingent had been hand-picked by me. Every one of them a seasoned
soldier with an impeccable record and a bright future.”

Mirza watched as spittle flew from the colonel’s mouth and landed on
his file. He had no doubt the man was a pretender, a
bureaucrat
who had wrangled his UN deployment through groveling, favors, and
manipulation.

“This posting, is a great honor you don’t deserve.” The colonel
sighed. “Obviously you have friends in high places, so I’m stuck with you.”

Mirza remained impassive. He was enjoying watching the colonel
establishing himself as an idiot.

“Do you have anything to say?”

Mirza shook his head. “No, sir.”

“I’ve allocated you to our force protection company. You’ll be
working with UN observers from a number of different nations so don’t embarrass
us. I’m going to be watching you. Now get out of my office.”

Mirza snapped his heels together and exited the air-conditioned
building. The humidity hit him as he stepped out onto the wooden walkway,
linking the headquarters to the accommodation area. He slung his chest rig and
AK over his shoulder then picked up his kit bag and pack, one in each hand. He
felt disheartened as he shuffled across the weathered decking to the
demountable box that would be his home for the next six months.

“Hey, Corporal,” called out a tall dark-haired man dressed in a
camouflage pattern that looked like a jumble of jellybeans and love hearts.

“You Corporal Mansoor?”

Mirza spotted the three pips of a captain’s rank on the man’s
shoulder, dropped his kit bag and saluted. “Yes, sir.”

An easy smile spread across the captain’s face as he thrust out his
hand. “I’m Aden Bishop, welcome to the team.”

Mirza shook his hand. There was something about the officer’s manner
that reminded him of Himesh. His accent sounded almost British but was flatter,
broader. He was also more relaxed than a typical British officer. “Sorry sir, I
can’t place your accent.”

“I’m Australian, mate. Here, let me give you a hand with that.”
Before Mirza could stop him, the officer grabbed the kit bag and slung it over
his shoulder.

Bishop pointed at the customized chest rig. “Nice battle bra. You
make that yourself?”

“Yes, sir.”

“The pack looks like it’s seen some action as well. Let me guess,
you part Nepalese? Done some work in Kashmir, Mirza?”

He nodded. “A little.”

The captain dropped the bag at the door to the soldiers’ quarters.
“It’s good to have you on board. I’ll leave you to meet your boys. This lot
will benefit from your experience. Any questions?”

Mirza shook his head.

“And don’t worry about
the Colonel, he’s all bark and no bite.”

Bishop started walking away, paused, and glanced back. “Oh, by the way.
We’re rolling out to the refo camps tomorrow morning. Orders are at 1900
hours.”

Mirza picked up his gear with a smile. Maybe this wasn’t going to be
so bad after all.

AUTHOR’S
FINAL WORDS

Thanks for reading PRIMAL Mirza. I
really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
Ever since I introduced Mirza in PRIMAL Unleashed I’ve wanted to go back and
tell his story.

I was lucky enough to work in New
Delhi in 2010 and found it to be an amazing contrast of poverty and wealth. It’s
a city of polar opposites
;
of haves and have-nots.
It’s also a city of amazing color, smells, and flavors. A town so heavily
steeped in history that you can see and feel it at every corner. This was when
the idea for an Indian character in PRIMAL originated. I met amazing people
struggling to make it in this world of contrasts. People of character I knew
could help give birth to the type of hero that PRIMAL needed.

Thanks again for supporting PRIMAL
as it evolves. As always it’s you the reader that has made it what it is today.
You are the reason I continue to write. If you get a chance to post a review,
tell a friend or spread the word that would be great. It all helps. And if you
haven’t done it yet, ‘Join PRIMAL’ through the website if you want me to keep
you posted on future books.

JS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jack Silkstone grew up on a steady diet of Tom Clancy, James
Bond, Jason Bourne, Commando comics, and the original first-person shooters,
Wolfenstein and Doom. His background includes a career in military intelligence
and special operations, working alongside some of the world’s most elite units.
His love of action-adventure stories, his military background, and his
real-world experiences combined to inspire the no-holds-barred PRIMAL series,
including
PRIMAL Origin, PRIMAL
Unleashed, PRIMAL Vengeance, PRIMAL Fury,
and
PRIMAL Mirza.

[email protected]

www.primalunleashed.com

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