Bodyguard (Bodyguard 5) by Chris Bradford

Author:Chris Bradford [Bradford, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141374536
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2017-05-03T22:00:00+00:00

Red Square was frosted like the icing on a wedding cake. The candy-coloured onion-domes of St Basil’s Cathedral glistened in the bright morning sun in stark contrast to the tall towers and imposing red-brick walls of the Kremlin. In the vast cobbled square itself, row upon row of craft stalls were dusted in snow like sugar-coated gingerbread houses. Fairground rides twinkled and spun like fancy decorations. And, sparkling in the golden sunlight, elaborate ice sculptures of breathtaking size rose up from the ground as if a frozen army had been summoned. Overhead the sky was festooned with streamers, flags and fairy lights, turning the square into a magical winter wonderland through which strolled hundreds of people wrapped in thick coats and woolly scarves, all enjoying the season’s festivities.

Above the grand edifice of the GUM department store that bordered the square’s north-eastern edge, a lone figure crouched on the roof. Concealed from public eyes behind a stone parapet, white gloved hands removed a Vanquish .308 collapsible sniper rifle from its oblong backpack and assembled it with workman-like efficiency: extending the telescopic shoulder butt, deploying the bi-pod supports, screwing the slender barrel on to the stock. Then attaching a suppressor to the barrel, ramming home a full magazine of 7.62 mm calibre bullets, and finally chambering the rifle with a live round.

All in under sixty seconds.

Careful to stay behind the glare of a mounted spotlight, the sniper knelt down in the icy snow and put an eye to the rifle’s tactical scope.

The scope’s cross hairs swept the square, seeking out their target.

But the multitude of constantly shifting people hampered the search. There were also other factors to consider.

First, the cold. The longer the wait, the more stress on the body. So the harder it would be to control the breathing – and, as a consequence, the smooth pull of the trigger finger.

Second, light. There was a risk of glare in the magnified view of the scope from the dazzle of sun on the ice sculptures, perhaps with temporary loss of vision. There was also a danger that the scope itself would be spotted by a stray reflection of sunlight on its lens.

Third, wind. The flags were fluttering in the breeze, indicating a crosswind speed of at least twelve kilometres per hour: enough to cause the bullet to drift. Depending upon the range of the shot, the rifle would need to be aimed anywhere between two to ten centimetres to the left of the target in order to compensate.

Finally, distance. The kill would have to be made over a range of anywhere between fifty and three hundred metres. There would be little time to take aim and adjust for the shot.

As soon as the target entered the cross hairs, the trigger would have to be squeezed.

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