Savage Deadlock by Don Pendleton

Author:Don Pendleton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Worldwide Library
Published: 2014-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Jinnah made good time back to the small pathway where the military party had left the packs. He opted to leave the Americans’ two packs behind, and also three of those belonging to his men. Faiz’s pack contained most of the med supplies—the grim irony of that fact did not escape him—and he picked up his own and Zia’s. Each pack was heavy, and the combined weight of three made the rangy warrior strain as he heaved them up onto the plateau.

Jinnah was thankful that the route to and from the packs had hidden him from the Americans and the PWLA women. To be observed when he was disabled by the load he carried was the last thing he needed right now.

Faiz was badly injured. Cleaning and binding the wounds would only take him so far. At the very least, he needed a blood transfusion. If they tracked the Americans and the women back to the PWLA camp, there was a chance they would find the necessary supplies there.

There was, of course, no guarantee the women would cooperate, at least initially. But that was a hurdle to be tackled later. For now, keeping Faiz alive would be enough.

As Jinnah closed on the gully he slowed so he could scout the area. He wanted the Americans and the women to be out of sight, so he could deal with Faiz before setting out after them. There was no room for interference of any kind. When he was sure they were out of visual range, he dropped the packs into the narrow space before slipping down himself.

He silenced Zia as the younger man started to speak, and unpacked the medical supplies before turning his attention to Faiz. The older warrior lay still, the whites of his eyes showing as he drifted in and out of a semiconscious state. His wounds were bound with a rough tourniquet, but blood had soaked through the strips of rag that Zia had torn from his own fatigues while his corporal had been absent. Jinnah grunted his approval as he removed them and applied sterile dressings. He injected Faiz with a painkiller and let him rest for a moment.

Jinnah spoke to Zia quietly. “We’ll need to improvise a stretcher and carry him once we’ve got him onto level ground,” he began. “You’ve done a good job with him, Zia, and it will not be forgotten. Now, tell me what you saw while I was gone.”

Zia delivered as full and concise a report as possible, though he couldn’t help expressing his confusion at the American man’s attitude.

“I can’t understand why he gave in so easily, or why he was going to shoot Patel, or why he did nothing when one of the women did so.”

Jinnah ran his hands through his hair, puzzling over this, as well.

“I think Stone would have fired on Patel, but not at him. Consider our mission—our orders are to get Yasmin back alive, along with what she has taken. Patel had some rush of blood to the head, and Stone couldn’t let him derail the mission.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.