Hetman: Hard Kil Read Free Page A

we’re here for isn’t it, to keep the ceasefire alive at any cost.”
    O’Connor was shocked. “No Napp, the Det is not a ‘hit squad’. Sean...Fannon’s loss was very unfortunate but we must let the RUC run with this.”
    “Run with it? What if the PROVOS ‘run off’ with the Kalashnikovs? What if they plant an IED?” Napp added.
    Lancing raised his hands in a calming gesture. “There is nothing I want more than to see them stopped. I want them to pay for what happened to Fannon, but this is bigger than just one man - regardless of who he was. If the RUC arrests them we’ll find out who else is involved.”
    Napp and Gord exchanged looks, they weren’t convinced. Fox simply glared at O’Connor whilst Snow drank his coffee.
    “You move out at nightfall. Questions?” O’Connor asked.
    “Have you finished?”
    O’Connor took a deep breath. “Yes Paddy I have.”
    “Good. Let’s grab some scoff.” Fox stood and opened the door.
    The four troopers made for the canteen. Once their plates were piled high they sat at a table to one side. The other personnel knew who the SAS boys were and gave them a wide berth.
    Snow looked across the table at Fox. “What have you got against her?”
    “Who?”
    “Mary O’Connor.”
    “I just don’t like her, that’s all.” Fox took a gulp of his tea. “She’s too political. If I wanted to be a politician I’d wear a monkey suit with a large rosette.”
    “What would it say, ‘best of breed’?” Napp asked with a mouth full of chips.
    “Piss off.” Fox retorted.
    “Was she close to Fannon?”
    “She really ‘handled him’, if you get what I mean.” Gord raised his eyebrow suggestively.
    “She’s a whore.” Fox abruptly stood and walked back to the counter.
    Gord leant forward. “Ignore Paddy; he’s a bit sensitive, what with his own wife shagging someone else.”
    “Ah.” Snow bit into his chicken.
    “What was that, five years ago?” Gord asked.
    “Seven.” Replied Napp.
    “He holds grudges.” Gord stated.
    “Memory like an Elephant.” Napp confirmed. “Matches his ears.”
    When Fox returned Lancing was with him and addressed the team. “Fastball. I’ve just received a call. The South Det has intercepted Dolan speaking on the phone to one of his old ‘deputies’. The hit’s going down tonight.”

Keady, South Armagh, Northern Ireland
    A heavy rain had started to fall as the Q car drove through Keady. Taylor’s house was a large, white, detached property just off of the Crossmore Road. This was the posh end of the village. Further substantial houses, all a respectable distance away from each other, dotted the otherwise open countryside.
    Taylor’s house had belonged to his wife’s mother. She’d been a catholic and a highly regarded figure in the local community. As such although many in the village didn’t approve of his views, they tolerated Taylor’s presence. The IRA did not, but luckily for Taylor the South Armagh Brigade had had bigger fish to fry in the shape of the British army who still patrolled the area and manned a permanent checkpoint nearby.
    Napp steered the car past the house and took a left up-hill. The interior light had been set to the ‘off position’. He flicked an extra added switch to disable the brake lights before pulling over at the side of the road. A casual observer would not notice that the car had stopped to allow the pair of Det operatives to alight and push their way through the hedgerow into the dark fields beyond.
    Fox and Snow lay prone in the sticky earth and foliage at the edge of the field as the car pulled away. Their NVGs turned the night around them into a green alien world. They remained static until their hearing had acclimatised to the ambient sounds around them. Satisfied that they were alone they moved at a crouch, day sacks on their backs as the wind picked up and blew rain into their faces.
    On cue they heard the distant thud of a pair of Chinooks on a flight path to the north.