Line of Sight by Mike Maden & Tom Clancy

Author:Mike Maden & Tom Clancy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Thriller
Published: 2018-06-12T00:00:00+00:00

33

PANČEVO, SERBIA

Serbian troopers fast-roped from the Mil Mi-8 “Hip” single-rotor helicopter hovering low over the ministry building as the gunfire chattered throughout the seven floors beneath.

The chopper roared away as the last pair of boots hit the roof. On the street below, the first captives emerged from the front entrance, prodded forward by short-barreled AKS-74Us of the civilian-clad Serbian special ops fighters.

The captain in charge of the building assault radioed in over the speakers on the observation deck. “Objective achieved, Colonel!”

Lieutenant Colonel Maksimović, the commander of the Serbian 63rd Parachute Battalion, picked up his comms. “Well done, Captain. Congratulate your boys for me. We’ll muster in fifteen minutes for a debrief, and prep the exercise again.”

“Yes, sir!”

The tall Serbian colonel was genuinely pleased. The exercise couldn’t have gone any better. That was fortunate, given the two Russian officers standing next to him watching the live video feeds.

Colonel Smolov, HoRF—Hero of the Russian Federation—commanded the Russian 45th Guards VDV (Airborne) Detached Spetsnaz Brigade. A distinguished combat veteran, Smolov was also in charge of the Slavic Sword and Shield training exercise today.

As part of the Special Brigade of the Serbian Army, the 63rd was one of the elite Serbian Spetsnaz units, a mirror image of the Russian 45th Guards. Not only was the Russian commander a personal hero of the Serbian colonel, but the Serbian’s future military career depended upon today’s evaluation by Smolov.

The man standing next to him was equally intimidating to the tough Serbian parachutist. Colonel Denisov was a lean, bespectacled GRU staff officer rumored to have spearheaded the deployment of a malware Android app used by Polish tank officers for fire control. Thanks to Denisov’s operation, the Russians were now tracking the exact whereabouts of all 247 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks in the Polish arsenal.

Denisov was also known to be one of the principal architects of the New Generation warfare strategy, and a personal favorite of the Russian president. The GRU was by far the largest and most effective Russian intelligence service in both field agents and combat operatives, dwarfing the more famous FSB and SVR agencies, with which they competed for resources and political favor.

Colonel Maksimović wasn’t sure why a man of Denisov’s stature had been invited at the last minute to observe this relatively minor exercise. It only added to the Serbian’s anxiety.

“Your men are well trained in CQC,” Denisov said. “You should be pleased.”

“Colonel Smolov deserves most of the credit, sir,” the Serbian replied. “It’s his training regimen we follow.”

“Nonsense. These are your men and they obey your orders,” Smolov insisted.

“Thank you, sir. They’re good men. It’s an honor to lead them.”

Today’s exercise was intended to take down an “unnamed parliamentary building,” but everybody in the observation post knew exactly what that meant. The practice facility had been reengineered to fit exact blueprints of the actual target building just across the border.

Denisov turned to the Serbian commander, the disastrous report from Croatia and the empty cargo ship still on his mind.

“How soon could you mobilize the rest of your battalion, Colonel?”

The tall Serbian grinned.

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