Ultimate Weapon by Chris Ryan

Author:Chris Ryan
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Thriller
ISBN: 9780099492146
Publisher: Arrow
Published: 2006-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

The streets looked darker than the last time Jed had walked along them. The people were moving faster. Nobody was stopping to talk. The pavement cafés were emptied of the men who usually spent half the day sitting around talking. The shops were sold out, a few even boarded up. Everywhere you looked, the faces of the people were strained and tired. Only the children were still playing in the streets.

They’re afraid, thought Jed. And right to be. This city is about to hammered into dust.

It was early afternoon, and Jed and Matt had just driven back across Baghdad towards the plant. The journey had been completed without incident. Jed couldn’t say for certain, but there seemed to be fewer soldiers on the streets today. Maybe they’d all returned to their barracks, getting in some training before the battle kicked off. Maybe they’ve already started abandoning their posts. There was no way of knowing. He was just grateful to get to the right district without meeting any roadblocks.

‘You think it’s safe to approach the plant?’ he whispered to Matt.

Matt glanced down the street, then nodded. ‘So long as we don’t draw any attention to ourselves.’

They walked in silence, keeping a couple of yards apart and never breaking stride. One or two men glanced in their direction, but the more time they spent in Baghdad, Jed noticed, the more they started to blend in with the locals. The skin on their faces was tanned, and lined with the grime and dust that seemed to cling to every surface of the city. Their clothes were unwashed, and their beards growing. If we start looking much worse, Jed thought, they’ll arrest us as tramps, not as enemy soldiers.

‘Stop,’ hissed Matt.

He pointed up ahead to a roadblock. A cordon of soldiers was surrounding the plant, and temporary wooden fencing had been put up around its perimeter. There was a soldier standing about every ten yards or so, and from their purple insignia, they looked like crack troops. Special Republican Guard. Not the raw conscripts who were patrolling the rest of Baghdad. The Iraqis knew this place had been attacked by special forces two nights ago, and they knew they hadn’t captured the men responsible. If we come back, they’re planning to be ready for us this time.

Both Jed and Matt turned round, and walked purposefully but not too quickly in the other direction. The Toyota was parked half a mile away, but they didn’t want to go back there. ‘Where can we fix our kit?’ said Jed.

‘The higher up we get, the better chance we have.’

‘Then we keep walking. Until we find something.’

Jed checked his watch. It was almost two o’clock. The number of people on the streets was thinning out, making him feel vulnerable. In a crowd, they could blend in. By themselves, they were more likely to stand out. He was starting to get a sense of the layout of the area. The streets curved away from the plant, and most of

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