Hawkins 4 Inferno by Eric Meyer

Author:Eric Meyer
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Swordworks
Published: 2019-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

Savage sat in the command seat inside the Stryker, enjoying the comfortable ride so much an improvement over the Humvees. There was something else he enjoyed. The thick armor plate that surrounded him, so he was satisfied he’d be safe from anything they threw at them. Bullets, bombs, the Stryker was proof against most of them. Unlike the Humvees, and if they attacked, his men would just have to make the best of it.

He was thinking about the steps he needed to take to lick the company into shape.

They’re always dirty, often unshaven, and I frequently detect a reluctance to follow orders. They need a man like me to turn them into an effective fighting unit, and by God, I’m determined to be that man, and when I’ve finished they’ll be the envy of the Division.

They reached the outskirts of Ghazni, and he called a stop in the same place as they’d halted before. He’d been forced to return to Bagram after catching up on administrative matters in Kunduz, but now he was in command, he’d make sure there were no more screw ups. He climbed out, and the NCOs and junior officers clustered around him.

“Men, before we hit the city, we’ll need to make a reconnaissance. I…”

“The Stryker is a perfect vehicle for recon, Major. If they’re waiting for us, you’ll be able to hit back without worrying about taking any serious hits.”

He glared at Sergeant Jones. “I was speaking, Sergeant. And if you think I plan to risk my command vehicle on a simple recon, you’re wrong. It’s important I maintain efficient command and control of the company, so I’ll wait here while we send in a vehicle to look things over.” He smiled, “As you’re so keen, perhaps you should take it on. You know what to look for, I imagine?”

“I’ve done this once or twice before, Sir.”

He glared at Dan for several seconds, working out whether he’d said it as an insult. In the end, he decided to drop it. “Carry on, Sergeant.”

Dan returned to their vehicle. “We’re going in to carry out recon. Heads up, my guess is they’re all around us.”

They started to drive away, and they were no more than four hundred meters along the track when the artillery hit.

“What the hell!” Jones shouted, “Since when did they have artillery? Mortars we know about, and we ran into those two Soviet tanks the last time we were here, but our intel never said anything about artillery. Winston, spin her around. Even an idiot like Savage will want to get out of here before they grind us into mincemeat.”

The tires squealed as Winston executed yet another perfect handbrake turn. He squealed to a halt next to the Stryker. The hatches were battened down, and Jones had to communicate on the radio.

“Major, we have to get out of here, now! We can’t do anything about artillery. We’ll have to call in air support and wait until they’ve knocked them out.”

The voice that came back to him was cold.

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