Primal 09 - Deception by Jack Silkstone

Author:Jack Silkstone [Silkstone, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-12-23T00:00:00+00:00

***

Eight miles southwest of Al-Bab a USAF F-16, call sign Baron, cruised at twenty-eight thousand feet. The pilot, waiting to strike ISIS targets of opportunity, hummed as he banked his aircraft and began another circuit of his allocated airspace. His mind wandered to the cute Australian intelligence officer he’d met on the base in Jordan. He’d been pestering her for weeks, and she’d finally relented and agreed to go on a date with him.

The crackle of his radio brought him back to the job at hand.

“Any call sign; this is Slammer One. I require immediate Close Air Support.” The accent sounded Australian; he wasn’t aware of any Australian special forces operating in the area.

The pilot flicked through the notebook attached to his knee and found ‘Slammer’ in a list; an in-extremis call sign allocated to ‘Intelligence Assets.’ He thumbed his mike switch. “Slammer this is Baron, I am on station and able to assist.”

“Roger, Baron; stand by for coordinates.”

A moment later Slammer read out the coordinates and he entered them into his targeting system. Adjusting his orbit he slewed the LITENING pod under the belly of the jet onto the target. Glancing at the screen, he saw a flashing red icon over the compound. “Slammer, I’ve got bad news, bud. Your target’s on a no-strike list, I do not have authority to engage.”

There was a moment of silence before Slammer came back with a hard edge to his voice. “Baron, I can confirm that the location is not a hospital, it’s an ISIS C2 node and weapons cache.”

“Bud, I can’t hit it based on your word. It’s gotta be struck from the no-strike list. Call made by higher paid dudes than me.”

Another pause. “Baron, are you running a full suite of countermeasures?”

Behind his visor, the pilot frowned. “Yeah, what sort of question is that?”

There was no response.

“Slammer, this is Baron, do you read me?” The pilot shook his head and turned his attention back to the display screen for his LITENING pod. He could clearly see the Red Crescent markings and white paint of the hospital compound.

An alarm snapped his attention to the aircraft’s Electronic Counter Measures. A calm female voice declared, “Missile launch detected.”

“Fuck me!” He rolled the jet and sent it into a dive. A quick glance at his screens confirmed the missile’s point of origin, Slammer’s target. He keyed his mike as the jet shuddered, spitting flares to divert the missile. “Firebird, this is Baron, I have been engaged by a Surface to Air Missile. I have positive identification of the launch site. Request permission to engage.”

He registered a faint shudder in the stick as the SAM detonated behind the F-16. Having defeated the missile, he focused his attention on the launch site.

“Baron, you are cleared for engagement of TAI-0619,” replied the terminal controller.

“Here comes the rain, Slammer. I hope you’ve got your head down,” he transmitted as he hit the bomb release.”

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