AWOL 4 by Andrew Lane

Author:Andrew Lane
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781848126701
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction
Published: 2019-05-09T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Bex’s mind raced as she tried to process this new information.

‘Let’s assume that the station’s been taken over,’ she said softly, half to herself and half to Kieron. ‘Let’s also assume that the attackers are Japanese, because at least two of them speak that language. We can worry about why later. Let’s also assume that the technicians who normally operate the base are being held captive, rather than having been killed, because the attacking force will need at least some of them to operate the equipment, take the PEREGRINE satellites offline and send status reports back to MI6 and the Ministry of Defence in the UK so nobody suspects anything. That means we need to get in there and rescue the crew, so they can get the satellites operational again. We know there’s at least one armed guard out here, so either she’s meant to patrol the site on a regular route or there are other guards and this is her station. More likely there are several guards, set around the perimeter of the site. Not sure how many – that depends how large their team is. Probably at least four. One on each side of the site.’ She shook her head. ‘Sentry duty at night is tricky. If you’re walking around then you can get too focused on the sound of your feet and your breathing. If you stand in one spot you become very familiar with that location – the way it looks in the dark and the way it sounds – and you can easily spot any changes, but it does get boring and you have to keep your alertness levels up. We’re lucky she’s not wearing image-intensifying goggles – if she was, she’d have spotted us before we spotted her.’ Bex hesitated for a moment, thinking through the next set of actions. ‘OK. I’m going in alone. I’ll sneak past this guard; she’s obviously bored, and easily distracted.’

‘Are you going to … to knock her out?’ Kieron asked. Bex suspected that he’d been going to say ‘kill her’ but had stopped himself at the last moment.

‘No,’ she said. ‘She’s probably got orders to check back with whoever is giving the orders on a regular basis. If she doesn’t make that report, then they’ll raise the alarm. No, I’ll just get past her. You stay out here and provide me with whatever support you can via the ARCC glasses. Stay low and keep as quiet as possible.’

‘I want to come in with you,’ Kieron said mutinously.

‘That’s not going to happen,’ she explained patiently but firmly. ‘These people have guns, and I suspect they’re willing to use them. I’m responsible for your safety. Besides which, I’m trained in things like hand-to-hand combat and you’re not.’ She reached across the space between them and gripped his shoulder. ‘And if none of that changes your mind, just remember that I need your help out here. You can give me details of the floor plans of the buildings and alert me to any threats that I can’t see.

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