False Friends Read Free Page A

world like two giant insects about to attack each other, then Croft nodded. ‘Let’s do it,’ he said. ‘Leave four men watching the perimeter but take the rest over the west wal . And stay in radio contact; we don’t want any surprises in there.’
    ‘Roger that,’ said Henderson. He nodded at Shepherd and the two men ran back to the Black Hawk.
    Croft paced up and down outside the gate. The ground was rough red dirt that had turned to mud in recent rain and it sucked at his rubber-soled boots. Tommy and his team had finished attaching four charges the size of cigarette packs at the four corners of the gate.
    ‘Ready when you are,’ said Tommy, running wires from the charges to a safe distance. Croft crouched down on one knee and turned his head away. ‘Fire in the hole!’ shouted Tommy, and he blew the charges. The gate fel inwards and slammed into the muddy ground.
    Croft led the way, his boots thudding over the gate. His men fol owed. There was an al eyway some twenty feet long with another locked metal gate at the end.
    Croft pointed at Tommy, and then at the gate. Tommy nodded and went forward with his demolition team. As they fixed charges to the second gate, Croft looked at his watch. It had been seven minutes since the Black Hawk had crashed. According to their game plan they should have been inside the house already. As it was they were stil outside the residential part of the compound and whoever was inside would know that they were under attack.
    There were two explosions and the second gate was down. ‘We’re almost at the outer courtyard,’ Croft said into his radio mic.
    ‘Roger that,’ said Henderson. ‘We’re just about to go over the wal .’
    Croft led his team over the second gate into a courtyard. There was a smal building to the left. It was a guest house, used by a fifty-year-old man and his family. At the far end of the courtyard was another metal gate. Croft’s heart was pounding and sweat was dripping down his forehead. He wiped it away with the back of his left hand. He was finding it hard to visualise the layout of the compound. Al the training had started with him doing a fast rope drop directly into the residential compound and then storming the building. Everything they’d done since the helicopter had crashed was total y new and unplanned. He reached into the top pocket of his tunic and pul ed out the laminated map again. He stared at it, trying to get his bearings. According to the map, the third gate led to the inner courtyard and the house.
    A three-man team headed by Seal Golf peeled off to secure the guest house as Croft waved at Tommy and pointed at the third gate. ‘Last one and then we’re in, Tommy.’
    Tommy and his team rushed forward and started attaching C4 charges.
    Henderson and Shepherd studied the platform that the Seals had built against the perimeter wal using oil barrels and planks taken from the animal compound. There were three barrels at the bottom with planks on top, then two more barrels on top of that. Standing on the top barrels they’d have to jump only a few feet before scrambling over the top.
    ‘They’re just about to access the inner compound so we need to go now,’ said Henderson.
    ‘I’l go first,’ said Shepherd.
    ‘You’re here to observe,’ said Henderson.
    Shepherd tied a rope round his waist. ‘It was my idea so it’s the least I can do,’ he said. He handed the other end of the rope to Henderson. ‘Just be gentle with me,’ he said. ‘Eighteen feet isn’t that big a drop but I don’t want to go breaking an ankle at this stage.’
    Another Seal was also getting ready to go over the wal but Shepherd slung his MP5 on his back and beat him to it, clambering up on to the wooden planks and then careful y climbing on to one of the barrels. He reached up to the top of the wal , grabbed it with his gloved hands and dragged himself up with a grunt.

    Henderson played the rope out between his fingers, keeping a careful eye on