Rough Diamonds (A Spider Shepherd short story) Read Free Page A

think about their fighting qualities, we’re not going to defeat an armoured column of mercs with AK-47s, and since the Boss isn’t going give us any resources, we’re going to have to find someone else who will.’
     A slow smile spread across Jock’s face. ‘Go on, though I think I’ve already guessed where this is heading.’
    When Shepherd had finished outlining his plan to them, there was a stunned silence for a few seconds, before Geordie found his voice. ‘What? You want us to invade a whole country? Are you off your head?’
    ‘It’s not an invasion. Just a brief incursion. And who dares wins, right? We’re the SAS, the best of the best. They’re just a half-trained rabble. All we need is one of their Russian Hind helicopters.’
    ‘Oh, that’s all we need?’ said Jimbo. ‘Spider, we’re probably short of everything we need for this op. But even if we can manage to sort all that out somehow, and assuming we can get ourselves a Hind, then who the hell is going to fly it for us because the last time I checked none of us has a pilot’s licence.’
    ‘The pilot’s the least of our problems,’ said Shepherd. ‘Providing our Czech friend Jerzy is still around.’
    ‘He flies a Hoplite, remember?’ said Jimbo.
    ‘Maybe so,’ Jock said. ‘But as an old Cold Warrior, I can tell you that the Mi 2, Mi 8 and Mi 24 - the Hoplite, Hip and Hind as we call them - were all manufactured by the same Russian company. Apart from the weapons systems on the Hind, they’re pretty similar mechanically. The engines may be bigger but the controls are much the same, so in theory if you can fly one, you should be able to fly any of them. And though most Soviet kit is rubbish, the Hind is a real quality chopper. It’s faster than any equivalent Western helicopter and more manoeuvrable - I’ve even heard you can do barrel rolls in them, though I’d pay good money to see that. Their armour’s good too - anything smaller than a 23 millimetre round bounces off - and though the muj I trained shot a lot of them down with Stinger missiles in Afghanistan, the armour’s now been upgraded enough that they’ve even been known to survive impacts from Stingers.’
    ‘But even if Jerzy can fly a Hind, he’s a civilian now,’ said Jimbo. ‘Why would he want to risk his life for us?’
    ‘Because we’ll make it worth his while,’ Shepherd said. ‘Jimbo, mate, you need to stop with the negativity.’
    ‘I’m just playing devil’s avocado,’ said Jimbo.
    ‘Advocate,’ said Geordie.
    ‘I was joking,’ said Jimbo, flashing him a tight smile.
    ‘Hard to tell with you,’ said Geordie. ‘But I’m with Jock. I reckon Jerzy will do it for money. He’s a merc when you get down to it.’
    ‘To be fair, we get paid for what we do as well,’ said Jock.
    ‘We’re professional soldiers,’ said Shepherd. ‘We fight for queen and country, there’s a hell of a difference between us and mercenaries. Right, we need to get moving. I’ll drop you guys at the base so you can get to work on the detailed planning and grab some kit, while I find Jerzy and put a deal to him.’
    They piled into their Landcruiser with Shepherd at the wheel. He dropped them at the compound the SAS had requisitioned within the Sierra Leone Air Force headquarters compound near the head of Aberdeen Creek, then drove on to the civilian airport at Lungi to find Jerzy. In a decision that defied all logic, Lungi, the country’s only international airport had been sited on the far bank of the Sierra Leone River from the capital, Freetown so that the only way to reach it was by an inland detour that added several hours to the journey, or by using one of the rust-bucket ferries across the river. Shepherd took the latter option. He drove down to the waterfront at Kissy and inched his way onto the ferry among hordes of foot passengers making the crossing. The ferry was so packed there was not a single inch of deck space unoccupied when the ferry set off with