Black Ops by Chris Ryan

Author:Chris Ryan
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781473668089
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: 2019-08-21T16:00:00+00:00

Bethany White lay in the darkness.

She was fully clothed and fully awake. There were no lights on in her room, but her eyes had adjusted to the dark and she was staring at a crack, faintly visible, in the ceiling. There was a film of sweat on her forehead, but her breathing was shallow and steady. She was calm. The food she had bought from the convenience store sat uneaten on the table. A bottle of water, half drunk, was on her bedside table. Next to it was the handgun. Cocked and locked.

Although her room was quiet, the hotel was noisy. Over the course of the day and night, she had heard shouting in the streets and in nearby rooms. She had heard the creak of plumbing and the thump of heavy footsteps in the room above. A woman had screamed, but it hadn’t lasted long. Doors banged frequently enough for it to be clear that these rooms were being rented out for only short periods. She wondered if, having been here now for twelve hours, she was already the longest-staying guest.

Each new noise, however, kept her alert. Each time she heard a shout, she tried to determine whether it sounded closer or further away than the last one. Each footstep was a potential approach to her locked door. More than once, she had grabbed her handgun at the sound of creaking floorboards outside. And she grabbed it now, because that was what she had just heard.

Slowly, so she made no noise, Bethany swung her legs over the side of the bed. She listened again. Silence. Maybe she had imagined those footsteps in the first place. She crossed the room, treading softly, and placed herself by the door. She listened closely where it met the door frame. There was no doubt: she could hear breathing.

Her handgun was by her side. Now she raised it so it was shoulder-high and pointing up. The breathing on the other side of the door was fast. Wheezing.

A knock on the door. Bethany started.

‘Salam,’ she said, uncertainly. Hello.

‘Salam. I have brought some wine. Perhaps you would like some.’ Bethan recognised the voice of the man at reception. A sour expression crossed her face. She lowered the gun.

‘I want to be left alone,’ she said. ‘Go away. Don’t disturb

me again.’

The heavy breathing didn’t stop. The reception guy coughed chestily. ‘It is good wine,’ he said. ‘I bought it specially.’

‘Leave me alone,’ Bethan reiterated.

The reception guy mumbled something she couldn’t hear, but then the sound of breathing stopped and his footsteps disappeared down the corridor again.

Bethany glanced down at the door wedge that Danny Black had told her to fit under the door. The guy knew what he was talking about, no question. She wondered where he was now. Somewhere on the Syrian side of the border, she guessed. At least he should be, if he and his team were on schedule.

She walked back to her bed, laid her weapon on the bedside table, and lay down again to stare at the ceiling.

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