1

Istanbul

It was cold and Wade felt tired. He hunched his shoulders, turned up his collar, tried to shield his face from the lashing wind. The crowd of people were like a tidal wave as they rushed for the warmth of the subway entry. A beggar sat cross legged with his bony hand outstretched, head lowered and his other hand holding a tattered piece of cardboard to shield against the wind. Arms and legs brushed by him. All oblivious to his plight. Wade stood beside the forgotten man, about to rifle through his backpack looking for some change, when over the cacophony of noise and voices he heard the distinctive sound of muffled automatic gunfire, coming from deep within the bowels of the train station. The late afternoon Turkish commuters, incognisant to the noise from below, watched in amazement as he leapt the turnstile and charged down the hundred year old, worn, smooth stone stairs; taking three or four at a time.

The doors of the second level platform train were closing as he turned for the next downward spiralling staircase. An express train rumbled past on the opposite line. People closed their jackets tighter and increased the grip on their belongings trying to resist the force of air being sucked along behind the carriages. But still no one seemed to have noticed the sound of weapons only one floor below. Wade didn’t hesitate to try and understand why. Grabbing the handrail, to speed his forward momentum, he immediately pivoted to his left to avoid the two blood splattered women who were carrying an old man, head dropped forward, gunshot to the shoulder. Not slowing, Wade glanced backwards, and immediately realised the shooters were using Hollow Point rounds. The man’s shoulder was indistinguishable. His shoulder blade and half his back blown away, obviously dead. People started screaming. Pandemonium erupted.

Arriving at the third level platform he saw the carnage. Victims, like scattered tenpins, all shot from behind, trying to flee the onslaught. Wade dropped his backpack and slid behind a young, blood covered woman lying supine, with all her distinguishable features gone. Beside her a young man shot through the neck. Lifeless as the last vestibules of blood slowly trickled down his chin.

Blood and bone fragments covered the cold, grey, dirty concrete. Odours of gunpowder and human excrement coated the air. The colourful Turkish tiles, that lined the walls and curved ceiling, were shattered and strewn across the ground. Fluorescent lights hung precariously from their wires. Glass encased advertising was riddled with gunshots. It was reminiscent of entering a war zone.

Years of Special Forces military work, and numerous too many conflicts to remember, Wade was accustomed to the blood and gore that goes with shootings and death but that did not stop him from needing to contain the urge to gag.

Moving to a column, he squatted, waited and listened. Muffled voices could be heard from the end carriage, sixty metres away. Sliding like a snake and avoiding broken tiles he used dead bodies as cover and slowly raised his head. Two balaclava hooded men were dragging boxes from the rear carriage, another was watching for any onlookers and a fourth was inside the carriage; all had an M16 assault rifle slung over their shoulder.

The four carriage train had been disabled and sat in darkness. The windows of the closest carriage were littered with bullet holes or shattered, with the walls and ceiling covered in blood. Wade saw more bodies lying limp on the chairs and strewn across the floor. The platform was like a scene from a horror movie, with the only light coming from a single halogen above the gunmen and the slithers that crept down the escalator from the floor above.

Reaching across to the young guy lying on his front, Wade slowly dragged him behind the column. He removed the blood stained jacket, beanie and put them on.

Trains could be heard rumbling throughout the station. Moving from the protection of the concrete column he commenced a drunken stupor act; stumbling across the platform. The shooter on guard noticedhim first and approached. Wade saw the two grenades hanging from his waistband and the thirty centimetre serrated knife at his hip. Using his peripheral vision and keeping up his act he watched as the guard unslung his rifle, intending to use the butt as a club. Wade hung back, head lowered, bent over at the waist; forcing the guard to step into a pool of blood. The guard raised the butt ready to strike. Waiting until the last possible moment Wade reacted, like a cobra strike, and pivoted on his right foot, swung his left leg, and collected the guards open midriff. The force of the kick broke the guard’s ribs. The noise echoed across the platform like a whip cracking. Unable to keep his footing, in the slippery pool of blood, the guard started to fall. Continuing his circular motion Wade grabbed the rifle, with his right hand and with his left gave a sharp but decisive throat punch, shattering the guard’s windpipe.

The attack took less than three seconds and gave him the advantage of surprise, over the other guards, even though the noise had given away his position. The first two dropped the boxes. Unable to even get their rifles unslung; they were executed by a double tap. Special Forces shooting style; one body shot and one head shot. The last guard charged from the carriage as a single shot passed through the side of his head.

Minutes had passed. Wade had been checking for survivors when a nine man Turkish SWAT team, swarmed the platform and had him surrounded. Unable to understand the language he quickly became aware they wanted him on the ground and in the prone position. One SWAT team member had a rifle hard against the back of his head whilst another frisked him. The one searching deliberately taking his time and elbowing Wade, in the ribs, as he progressed. Kicking him as he searched each leg. Finding nothing they zip tied his hands behind his back.

Forced to stay face down on the cold concrete platform, twenty minutes passed when a large policeman, the officer in command, approached and barked commands. Not understanding, Wade lay still which further agitated the police officer. Having endured torture, in his past, he was ready for any response. He flexed his muscles and concentrated hard on not responding or showing any sign of weakness. The size twelve boots connected with his ribs. After six kicks the perpetrator was distracted and moved away, still yelling orders at his men.

Dragged to his feet he was dropped on a platform seat. A SWAT team member kept a rifle to the back of his head. Swallowing he grimaced as he took smaller and smaller breaths aware his ribs had been bruised. Watching the scene before him the body language, yelling, finger pointing and stares he came to realisehe was being blamed for what had happened. Angry and frustrated the police chief returned. Unclipped his pouch and drew out a 9mm Glock. Wade was lifted to his feet. The platform was in complete silence as he pushed the weapon against Wade’s forehead. Continually barking commands and yelling the officer was frothing from the mouth. Spittle was showering Wade’s face. With his hands cuffed behind his back and no other way of responding; he called the officers bluff and stared straight back. This further enraged the police officer. His pistol was shaking as he continued his screams and raised it to strike.

A voice could be heard when suddenly the police chief turned and stepped back. A man of medium height, average build, well groomed and in his mid-forties stepped in front of the officer and ordered him, in Turkish, to holster his weapon. He instructed the SWAT team to lower their weapons and for Wade’s hand restraints to be removed.

“I’m CIA Special Agent Joe Plant and I think we need to talk.”

Neither man spoke as Plant led Wade to the opposite end of the platform. Large industrial floodlights had the entire platform lit up like a football stadium. Remaining calm and unflinching Wade concentrated on controlling his breathing. He was trying to decide if he trusted this well spoken African American or was there a hidden agenda somewhere. He studied his eyes waiting for the tell tale signs of a liar while also accepting that he had helped him with the police officer.

“You’re definitely not Turkish, so I assume you’re a traveller, correct?” Waiting for a response and with none forthcoming he continued. “Well I’m guessing you’ve had military training by what’s happened here,” again waiting for a response and with Wade still showing no reaction. “Okay … so if you could tell me who you are, where you’re from and what happened I can then, maybe, help with getting you out of here?” asked Plant sitting beside him.

Wade paused. Looked around. He watched the forensic team camera flashes. Body bags being zipped. Ambulance and police officers frantically scribbling notes. He listened and realised how bizarre it was to be in such a large, busy subway but no trains to be heard. He thought of all the families that had now lost a loved one.

“My name is Ross …Wade Ross … I’m Australian. I’m on my way to London when I came across this commotion.”

“‘You are obviously military …correct?”

“Ex.”

“Australian Army?” Plant asked.

“Yes.”

“What part?”

Confused with the question Wade watched as Plant fiddled in his pockets.

“Infantry.”

“Infantry?” he questioned. “I’m ex American military. Army, 110th Military Intelligence and I can tell from what I’m seeing here that you’re definitely not a regular infantryman. More likely a special forces group or something similar …correct?”

Pausing again he looked away. “Yeah.”

“So tell me how it went down?” Plant asked as he activated his recorder app on his phone.

Wade proceeded to explain the whole event as if he was back in the forces, no details left out with a clear description of who was where and when and how the take down happened. When he was finished, Plant looked at the scene, looked at Wade and confirmed he agreed with exactly what Wade had described.

“I am not sure what I should do now. On one hand you should be given a medal for service to the safety of the Turkish people. On the other hand, you are now going to be hunted for stopping a major supply lane of guns, ammunition and most likely drugs,” stated Plant.

“Don’t worry I can handle myself.”

“Of that I have no doubt. It’s the collateral damage I’m most worried about. Anyway, you should come with me.”

“Thanks but I think I’ll make my own way.”

“I’m sorry Wade I can’t let you do that.”

“Why … who are these guys?”

“Grey Wolves. They’re from an active Turkish terrorist cell. We are still trying to ascertain how many of them there are and who or what is their primary targets and they’re going to be pretty pissed with you …so let’s go.”

Wade looked down the platform at the swarms of people. He tried to decide if he really wanted, at this time, to be mixed up with an organisation like the CIA. He had left Australia, and the military, to clear his head and find peace with his life. Hanging around with the CIA would definitely make sure that didn’t happen. Reluctantly he walked back and grabbed his backpack. Turning he noticed one of the attackers had a fighting knife under his jacket. Never one to pass up an opportunity, he bent down, pretending to look into the eyes of his attacker, and slipped the knife under his shirt.

The fire stairs, leading off the end of the platform, stunk of urine and alcohol. Broken beer bottles and syringes covered every step. A well known haunt for street people and drug addicts. They climbed to street level avoiding the crowds and the leach like media. Plant was concerned that Wade, covered in blood, would induce too many questions; with answers that could be misconstrued. Wade listened as Plant, on the phone, ordered a plane to be ready at the Istanbul Ataturk International Airport, private flights area, and a car to be brought around.

They headed through a set of large, steel, fire doors. A dark blue Opel sedan was waiting with the driver anxious to get out of the alley. Wade and Plant leapt in the back seat. The driver floored the accelerator, before the doors had closed, racing out into the Istanbul late afternoon peak hour traffic.

The sixty five minute trip went without any further incident. Wade waited to question Plant but the CIA agent spent the entire trip on his phone discussing details in Turkish. They entered through a customs entry, opposite side of the airport to the main terminal. The guard had not fully opened the gate when automatic gunfire erupted from a landing atop a hanger off to their right. Bullets riddled the passenger side of the car. Glass spewed everywhere as the windows shattered. The driver immediately took evasive action and accelerated behind the first building as he screamed out. Plant leapt from the car firing in the direction of the incoming rounds. The drivers head fell forward; dead, shot through the neck.

Plant yelled, “Ross you need to get over to the black Gulfstream … now. I’ll call them … go.”

Wade charged toward the nearest gap in the buildings hoping that the jet was somewhere near. He rounded the building, with a stream of bullets ricocheting off the ground behind him. The long dark grey Gulfstream IV corporate jet stood on the runway one hundred metres to his front vibrating as two 13,850 lbf Rolls Royce engines were building to maximum power. A buzz cut, black suited, pistol drawn male was standing in the doorway, frantically gesturing him to hurry.

2

Darwin

Martha loved this time of year. She closed her eyes and thought of her younger days growing up in the Northern Territory, Australia. The springtime sun and the cooling south easterly breezes made everything feel so carefree.

Life had not been easy for an aboriginal girl in an era when white men treated aboriginals with utter contempt and an aboriginal girl even worse. Her drunken father had given her to a white drover, for money, when she was fourteen years old. She endured many years of physical and mental abuse until the drover decided he had enough and dumped her at a watering hole, miles from the nearest town or homestead. She survived in the desert, for three months, until she stumbled across an orphanage mission.

Martha was in her early twenties when she arrived at the mission. The doctor and nurses treated her injuries and nursed her back to health. This became the turning point in Martha’s life because for the first time someone had shown they cared. She stayed, lived and worked in the mission for nine years. During this time, she adopted two young children, an eight year old half cast boy Wundurra, meaning Warrior, and a two year old aboriginal girl Camira, named after her mother, and meaning Of the Wind.

Time passed, she had saved some money and Martha left the mission to resettle in Darwin. She wanted her children to have a proper education and hopefully an opportunity in life. They met other aboriginal families who were very welcoming and helpful. This made the transition to city life a lot easier; except for Wundurra. Being half cast, not fully white and not fully black, life was tough with no friends, constant bullying and fights. Wundurra became very strong both physically and mentally. It also made him shy and withdrawn. He sought solace with learning the aboriginal beliefs of the Dreamtime.

It was through these teachings he learnt to be able to observe and understand. He watched his mother show the highest level of human compassion no matter how difficult or tough her own situation might be.

He would remember times like when he was sitting on the front step and his mother came home after a long day of working with aboriginal children. She was exhausted and struggling with the hardships of life when she noticed an old white man shuffling, barefoot, past their house. She walked out and enquired what was wrong. When she saw his bruised and battered feet, she told him to wait. She went inside, grabbed a pair of Wundurra’s thongs, which she gave to him and wished him good luck. The old man was so grateful, and happy, he kissed her and she smiled.

He spent all his free hours asking the aboriginal elders questions and learning about the Dreamtime. Eventually, the elders took him through an initiation ceremony so that he could enter into manhood. The older he got the more intense the learning and studying became. He was an excellent student because he had a genuine desire to learn. He would ask the elders to explain something and if he was not one hundred percent certain he understood he would ask again. The elders admired his passion to learn and never found him irritating. He completed his schooling and achieved exceptionally high results. Martha was so proud she wanted him to continue with tertiary studies. They discussed the options and decided he would go to Sydney to study psychology and further his passion of abstract art. His mother and sister were sad to see him leave but excited about his future.

In Sydney Wundurra developed his love for Parkour ‘the art of displacement’ or more easily understood as free running street gymnastics and at this time he also discovered the military. Within twelve months he had joined the army.

3

London

Wade opened his eyes as the jet started its descent. He sat there stretching his arms, legs, neck and any other part of his body that was suffering from muscle fatigue. He felt his ribs and knew that the bruising and swelling would need a few days to recuperate. He walked to the bathroom.Upon seeing his reflection he was surprised at how bad he looked. Bloodshot eyes, hair filthy and caked with blood. A large cut to the side of his neck, from a gunshot graze, with dried blood leading down into his shirt. His clothes were no better.

He checked all the cupboards in the bathroom hoping to find some clean clothes or at least something to clean himself with. No luck, the bathroom was as sterile as a hospital theatre and the only item of any use was toilet paper. He wiped as much dirt and blood off as he could. The result was not startling but at least he could walk in public without being arrested.

Heading back to his seat he noticed, for the first time, that the entire cabin was empty. He knocked and entered a bedroom. It was so well presented it looked like a photo shoot was about to happen. A fully stocked galley was the same and the conference room looked like it had never been occupied. He approached the cockpit door. After various attempts to attract attention he returned to his seat.

Dark grey and black clouds flitted past the window. He watched water droplets of rain skim across the glass developing patterns of no particular order. He was thinking he would possibly make his way to western England, namely Hereford, home of the British SAS. Whilst he was sitting contemplating and analysing options, the guy with the suit entered from the cockpit area, handed him a piece of paper, with a hand scribbled phone number and advised they would be landing at Heathrow in five minutes and he needed to belt himself in.

The jet landed and taxied inside a huge hangar. Leaving the doorway, the pilot appeared and informed him that the CIA had an agent waiting to escort him through customs and take him to wherever he wished.

Wade felt like he was on some surreal adventure. A few hours earlier he was wandering through Turkey minding his own business and enjoying the freedom. And now he was exiting a private jet after being manhandled, shot at, given an unknown phone number and no answers. The agent was no more helpful and walked him through the customs gate, past a completely uninterested customs officer, who did not even raise her head, and pointed at a door.

Opening the door, and leaving the hangar, Wade was confronted with a typical English autumn of cold biting winds and heavy rain. The wind chill made him think snow was not far off. The door behind him slammed shut. No way back and he knew no one was going to open it for him. The row of sheer faced, Second World War buildings had no cover or overhangs. To his front was a derelict car park, the size of ten football fields, also bare of cover. In the distance, two kilometres away, he saw an airport service road and no traffic to be seen in either direction.

With no coat and getting colder and wetter every moment he needed to get out of the weather. He ran toward the service road, hoping he could find a way to the train station. A truck approached. Dressed in ragged clothing, no coat and dripping wet he knew the driver would not stop.His only option was to get in the back without the driver being aware. The rain was so intense the truck’s wipers were going flat out. Wade dropped in a trench at the sharp bend in the road. The truck slowed. Like a hunting lion Wade leapt from the reeds and water, three large strides and lunged at the tailgate. The tailgate took his weight and he pulled himself into the back.

The truck was an airport operation vehicle used for transporting luggage to different areas and terminals. After cutting into the fifth suitcase he found what he needed. He quickly grabbed pants, shirt, boots, socks, hat and a coat. He bundled it all up in a large towelling bathrobe and carefully looked along the side of the truck determining when to leap out. As luck would have it the truck was about to stop, for traffic lights, and there were no vehicles behind it.

He waited until the truck came to a halt. His head ached. He was freezing. His thin linen shirt had started to form icicles as it stuck against his chest and back. Wade had been in enough situations to know hypothermia was not far off. Jumping down he saw an office block off to his right.

The weather was getting worse. Wind hitting harder and the rain becoming horizontal but this aided him with screening from onlookers. He briefly thought how no one takes any notice of people walking around in the rain and cold. He ran toward the office building. Checking it was empty he made his way to the rear. The door was locked. Picking up a fist sized rock; he took off his shirt, wrapped the rock and smashed against the rear door glass. After five attempts the glass shattered. He threw the shirt and rock into what looked like a staff lunchroom he waited for any alarms. Nothing happened. He reached in, opened the lock and entered.

The room had a fridge, with food and drink, and on the far side was a bathroom and a shower. Removing his clothes, he stood relieved under the hot running water. Slowly his core temperature rose. By the time he was finished the room had turned into a steam room and he felt revived. Dressed in his new clothes, he ate some food and started a search of the offices. He found money, a current travel card and a scruffy worn ID card he felt might suffice if flashed.

Time to find the closest railway station and make his way to Earls Court. More precisely the Seven Kings hotel.

The room was small but comfortable with a view overlooking the rear workings of the pub. He lay on the bed and immediately a stream of mixed emotions started flooding back. This was the very pub that his best friend, Kiwi, and the person who had saved his life, had always talked about. The place they had intended to come to and party until they dropped. He had dreamt of this place and the opportunity for he and Sean to come here and be happy and free for a short time in their lives. The tears of emotion trickled down his cheeks as he thought of Sean and all the times they had spent in those hell holes around the world, talking and thinking about the Seven Kings Pub, Earls Court, London. The best friend that had been taken from him, by a botched mission, as quickly as he had come into his life.

Wade knew for the first time in his life he was struggling but he also knew he needed and wanted to go on.

4

Darwin

Camira walked across the shopping centre car park. Martha sat on the bench sheltering from the piercing sun and proudly watching how she had grown into such a beautiful young lady. She was aware that the time was coming when Camira would also leave Darwin and head to Sydney to further her education. With whatever time was left she was determined to spend it with her daughter.

The territory had turned on a beautiful, sunny day and anybody could be excused for feeling carefree and happy. They had both spent a wonderful time in the Darwin library reading and enjoying each other’s company.

“Mum, what would you like to do now?”

Martha thought for a moment and said, “Why don’t we go to Bakers Hole?”

“Good idea. I’d like that,” replied Camira.

Bakers Hole, where Wundurra liked to go and get lost in his Dreamtime thoughts. He always talked of it as the most beautiful place. As time progressed Martha and Camira had come to understand what he meant. An isolated place, fifteen kilometres from their home, in a mangrove region. Known for saltwater crocodiles, one of the most dangerous and unpredictable creatures on earth, and the Boab tree. A tree not known for their beauty but one that has a very important place in aboriginal folklore. Used for their medicinal purposes, they are also a source of water and food during the long, hot dry periods.

The thought of a trip to Bakers Hole had made the two women very happy and consequently oblivious to the two foreign looking men who appeared to be searching for something under their car.

Martha and Camira stopped at the shop and bought some food and drink for their trip. They approached their car, opened the doors and climbed in. Martha put the key into the ignition. The turning of the key activated a circuit between the battery, the detonator and the four pounds of plastic C4 explosive that was strapped to the underside of the fuel tank. At eight thousand metres per second the detonator fired and the C4 exploded. The result was instant and neither occupant would have known what had happened. Fragments of the vehicle were blown up to one hundred metres away and buildings in the immediate area had their windows shattered. The closest building later collapsed from structural damage. Forty unsuspecting residents also suffered the consequence of shock blast and shrapnel, two later dying from internal damages.

5

Washington

Darwin, is a small and isolated city, at the top of Australia and not known for terrorist activity, so initially the local law enforcement had assumed that Martha’s fuel tank had leaked and exploded. Normally this is where the investigation would have ended but upon the release of Martha and Camira’s names a light lit up on a CIA computer terminal twelve thousand kilometres away.

The operator had been at his terminal for seven hours and was getting to the end of his shift, when the flashing icon appeared in the top left hand corner of his screen. The icon was activated by words that were preloaded into the system to alert staff to activity throughout the world. CIA headquarters Langley, Virginia is a world away from Darwin, Australia but the names of Martha and Camira Ross appearing on a police death report suddenly set in motion a sequence of events.

The CIA terminal operator sent the information to his superior, who in turn passed it on to Covert Operations. Special Agent Max Bernhard was unsure of the significance of this information but seeing the name of the Chief of CIA International Affairs as a respondent to be notified if these names appeared, he knew something important was up.

He uploaded the file to the Chief and then called the agent in charge of instigating the report.

“Hello, Special Agent Max Bernhard, Langley wishing to speak with Special Agent Joe Plant.”

“Speaking.”

“Hi Joe. I’ve just received information that you might find interesting. Three days ago you logged a memo for a Wade Ross and all known affiliates to be evaluated if anything came to light. We’ve just received a police report from Darwin, Australia that a Martha Ross and a Camira Ross have been involved in a car explosion and were killed. The report states no suspicious circumstances and the result was probably a consequence of a leaking fuel tank or fuel line. It says the car was an extremely old model and the local authorities are not known for enforcing vehicle compliance. Martha Ross is Wade Ross’s mother and Camira Ross his sister. They were his only living relatives.”

“Max, I appreciate you letting me know. Has this been passed on to anyone?”

“Yes it states on the log that this is to be passed to the Chief of IA.”

“Will you be the contact in Langley looking after this case?”

“I guess so … but you might want to fill me in on what’s going on,” replied Bernhard, with concern in his voice. He knew that when the Chief gets involved it’s usually only because of one of two reasons. Either it involved the President of the United States or the issue was of major importance to national security.

“Max I understand what you are asking and as this is not a secure line, I’ll get back to you as soon as I get to the office. That will take about an hour but I have a funny feeling you’ll know all about this before I call back. This is an extremely sensitive issue with huge ramifications, hence the chief’s involvement. I’ll say even I’m surprised at how quickly it has started. Will call as soon as I can.”

6

London

It was just after breakfast, in Turkey, as Plant arrived at his CIA office. He knew that the very first thing he had to do was find Wade Ross before the Grey Wolves. He called Bernhard on his secure line and explained what had happened and why this Australian was to be such an important part of the ongoing operation. He had decided not to mention Wade’s military experience, as he knew this would only cause delays from within Langley and have too many people asking questions.

Bernhard advised he had not heard from anybody as it was just passed midnight, in Washington, and he didn’t expect to hear until morning. This surprised Plant but he said nothing. He went on to ask if Bernhard would check on when and where Wade was last seen.

Twenty minutes later Bernhard was back on the phone advising that the CIA jet had dropped him at the Heathrow entry point, mid-morning three days earlier and the local agent had stated that he had wanted to be left to his own devices. Wade had left through the customs door and had not been seen or heard of since. Plant asked if Langley could access London CCTV and check if he’d been sighted. He suspected he would stay in the Greater London CBD.

Another hour passed, and then Plant received an email with an attachment showing a grainy photo of Wade walking through the West Kensington subway station approximately forty five minutes earlier, 0600 hours, London time.

Without hesitation Plant called up the next available flight to Heathrow and ten minutes later he was in a cab to Istanbul International Airport.

The flight to London went without incident but the five hour flying time, two hours waiting at Istanbul airport, two hours from landing to London CBD, and the time zone difference meant that it was now 1700 hours local time.

He spent the travel time trying to find out as much information as he could about this Australian but to no avail. The CIA, FBI, NSA (and every other three letter organisation) data banks all came up with no more than he was an Australian citizen, thirty three years old, single, now with no family and he had military service. There was no record of what part of the military he served in, how long he served, rank attained, achievements or any countries he might have been deployed to.

Plant wondered how this guy could be such an enigma. After trying every possible agency both within the United States and abroad and getting no further information he decided the best way to get this guy on side was to be open, upfront and hope their mutual military association would help.

Arriving at the West Kensington subway entrance Plant felt the most logical place to start looking for an Australian male, would be the closest pub. Directly opposite the subway entrance was the Cross Arms Hotel. He entered and was immediately confronted by at least one hundred loud, cheerful and drunken Irishmen who were attending a wake. Irish in their typical friendly nature welcomed him to their function and proceeded to explain the virtues of their departed comrade, Paddy.

An hour had past when Plant hailed a cab and made his way to the Seven Kings Hotel, Earls Court a fairly standard place of accommodation for CIA operatives staying in London.

Standing at reception, he was surprised when appearing at the bottom of the stairs was the big, olive skinned Australian.

“Wade,” stammered Plant. “Joe Plant, we met in Turkey a few days ago.”

Wade stopped and cautiously replied, “Hi.”

Plant knew he had probably had too much to drink but he was determined to talk with Wade.

“Wade, I know this might seem odd but it’s crucial we talk. Is there somewhere private?”

Wade, feeling very sceptical of what was going on replied, “Your room!”

“Okay. Room 202, twenty minutes. I just need to wash up.”

Plant was aware this was not going to be easy but he felt comfortable with the Australian and still believed honesty was the best way to proceed.

Wade watched him walk to the lift, push the button, wait for the lift door to open and enter the lift. He then raced to the stairs, taking three steps at a time until he was at the second floor; he stopped at the landing and waited. He heard the lift bell, the door open, Plant walk out, lift door close, walk to his room, key in the lock, door open and close. He continued to wait aware a suspicious person would double back out the door to check if he was followed. Three minutes past and no movement so Wade made his way to Plant’s door, stopped, listened and waited.

After a further seventeen minutes when he had heard nothing but running water and Plant moving about in the room, he knocked and walked straight in.

“Okay … what’s so important.”

“Have a seat,” replied a surprised Plant.

He watched Wade pick the seat, back to the wall, that gave him a clear view of both the window and the door. He sat feet shoulder width apart, one foot slightly in front of the other, back straight as a tree trunk, hands lightly resting on his thighs. A sitting technique that enabled him to leap from the chair, instantly, like a caged tiger released. He knew these were traits of Special Forces training.

Plant started, “I don’t know how I should begin. I’m sorry to be the one who has to tell you this.” He paused, trying to find words to comfort Wade. But there is never anything to soften the news Wade was about to hear. “Your mother and sister have been killed in a car explosion, in Darwin.” He then waited for Wade’s reaction but Wade just sat there with the most surreal expression Plant had ever seen.

After what seemed an eternity but was probably two to three minutes, Wade spoke, “Tell me what happened, all the details.”

Plant sensed this was a man who only wanted the facts. He explained how the local authorities deducted that the explosion was a consequence of a faulty fuel line. But CIA surveillance uncovered the image of two known Grey Wolves operatives who entered Darwin the day before the explosion and left fourteen hours after the explosion. This was all too coincidental for them, so they started searching. The first thing they did was check their luggage when the operatives landed in Singapore and they found traces of Semtex C4. Large traces of C4 were evident at the scene and the lab was able to deduct that it was the same batch that caused the explosion. Evidence showed the explosive was remotely detonated and fixed under the driver’s seat and fuel line for maximum impact.

“I’m sorry Wade but we have no choice other than to assume your family was targeted and now they’ll be looking for you.”

Wade sprung to his feet with rage in his eyes and replied, “No they won’t because I’ll find them first and every single Grey Wolf on this planet will regret the day they did this.” With that he was out the door and gone before Plant had blinked.

Wade stormed into his room, slammed the door and collapsed on the bed. He did not know how to process the information he had just received but he did feel the tears start to swell.

The only two people he had ever loved had been taken from him. His natural instinct was to call on the Dreamtime spirits to help him get through his pain. He closed his eyes. He thought of the beautiful smiling faces of his mother and sister. Of how they had always brought peace to his troubled thoughts. He watched his mother, in his mind and heard her say, ‘Wade you need to go back to your roots. Find the answer in the Dreaming.’

He opened his eyes and knew instantly that walkabout was what he needed to do. Walkabout, an aged old Australian Aboriginal custom where an Aborigine will wander in a nomadic state throughout the vast Australian bush land. The Aborigines will undertake this when they feel the need to get away from white society and return for spiritual replenishment to their traditional ways. Alone for days, weeks or even months they use their hunting and survival skills to find food and stay alive. Being one of the harshest environments on earth it appears to the outsider as some form of survival test or a punishment but the reality is they use this time to reunite with their spirit world and their ancestors. The Australian Aboriginal believes that everything on earth serves a purpose for all other things and consequently all are created equal. They listen to the wind, earth, animals, birds, spirits, rivers and everything else they come in contact with to guide and help them to learn.

Wade picked up his bag and was about to head for the airport when he realized he had no passport, which would not normally be a problem if he had the time, but right then he wanted to be home as quickly as possible.

He made his way back to Plant’s room. Knocked on the door and walked straight in.

“Alright, I don’t know why you came all the way from Turkey to tell me this but I’m guessing you want something from me. I don’t want to know, right now, what it is because firstly you are going to get me to Darwin. Then I’m going to attend to the things I need to with my family. Then and only then will I talk to you about whatever it is you want,” said Wade.

He waited for Plant’s response.

Plant initially felt taken back by Wade’s confrontational entry but as he listened, he started to understand what it must be like for this guy to be going through such an ordeal.

He replied, “I guess I owe you for being the one to deliver the bad news and yes I do want your help. One condition though, that you call me when you’re ready to talk.”

“Okay.”

Fifty minutes later Wade was gone.

7

Darwin

Wade looked out the window of the plane at his beloved homeland. The red deserts, the meandering waterways full of birdlife, the lush grasses of the swamplands and the thick tropical jungles. Whenever he came back, to the Northern Territory, he always appreciated how much he missed the beauty and tranquillity of his home.

Completely lost in his thoughts, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. “Excuse me sir, could you please put on your seatbelt as we are about to land,” the hostess asked.

Wade looked at her stunned, surprised and unsure what to say. So he nodded. He was feeling very much out of his comfort zone, with all these unusual responses, but it highlighted to him that he needed to get out into the bush and find peace with his thoughts.

The plane landed on a typical late spring afternoon in Darwin. The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky, temperature about thirty degrees and he noticed the white cockatoos were circling, which meant rain in the next few days.

He took a cab to his mum’s house. Entering the street, he felt grief, beyond anything he had felt before. Opening the front door, he was once again overcome with emotion. Tears ran down his face as he straightened photographs hanging on the painted walls. All the rooms were just as if his mum and sister had gone out ten minutes earlier and would be back any moment. Cups sat turned upside down in the sink, a tap dripped endlessly in the bathroom and the mosquito net curtains floated in the hot breeze. He couldn’t handle his pain any longer. He dumped his pack, tore off his shoes and socks and in only his pants and tee shirt he went to his room, found his trusty hunting knife and walked out the door.

Wade’s walkabout had started. With every fibre of his body respecting the Aboriginal forefathers and their teachings he took it seriously and wanted to reconnect with the Dreaming. He headed south out of Darwin, off the roads and into the harsh red desert. This is a journey of discovery, enlightenment, personal sanctuary and it has no time or boundaries. It is an opportunity for Wade to communicate with all parts of the Dreaming, from the rivers to the birds, the earth to the sky and everything in between.

He travelled with only his hunting skills and wit to keep him alive. It is the time to push the levels of his skill knowledge, whilst enjoying the tranquillity of the surroundings and his thoughts.

He knew he needed to talk to the spirits of his mother and sister.

8

Istanbul

It had been nine weeks, with no word from Wade. Plant was starting to think he had misjudged this Australian. Local agents, in Darwin, had told him that trying to find somebody who had gone walkabout was nearly impossible, so he just had to wait.

The situation in Istanbul had become extremely volatile with the Grey Wolves stepping up their campaign against all American facilities. Civilians of Anglo Saxon appearance walking the streets were being targeted. The Turkish government was putting a lot of pressure on the American government to either solve the problem or leave the country. Plant knew leaving the country was not an option they could ever consider due to Turkeys’ strategic location to Pakistan, Iran and Iraq.

On top of all this, Langley was applying a lot of pressure for him to defuse this pressure cooker. His boss Marcus Smithwright, who had only recently come into the position of Chief of International Affairs, second in charge of the CIA operative’s division, was personally making him responsible for a remedy.

The phone rang as he was wondering ‘what the hell can I do’.

“Joe, it’s Wade. Time for you to tell me what you want.”

Relieved, Plant asked, “Okay, where are you?”

“In a public phone box, in Darwin. You kept your end of the deal, now I’ll keep mine.”

“I appreciate that. Could you make your way to 16 Lasp Street and ask for Ben Squires? I’ll let him know you’re coming.”

“No problem,” replied Wade and he hung up.

Plant had no time to loose, he rang Squires and pre warned him about Wade’s impending arrival. Squires, one of Plant’s agents, who had been in Darwin for the last nine weeks, was given a list of directives. Call back as soon as Wade arrived. Organise their immediate departure to Langley. He reminded Squires that the CIA jet was still in the Darwin hangar and he needed to get the pilot moving. Squires and his partner were to accompany Wade all the way and he wanted no delays. They were to go straight to Smithwright’s office and he would meet them there.

He then sat back in his chair and waited for the call, knowing full well that how he handled this call could be the difference between success and failure.

The secure phone line rang; he took a deep breath, picked up the phone and answered.

“Wade I’ve organised a flight for you and Ben to CIA headquarters Langley, West Virginia. When you arrive you’ll be met by my boss, Marcus Smithwright, who is the Chief of International Affairs within the CIA and myself. We need to discuss with you the situation that has developed in Turkey. We had a car bomb explosion killing eleven staff at the American embassy, two weeks ago. A letter bomb was detonated before entering the Australian embassy, three weeks ago. This killed four Turkish nationals. Two Australian backpackers were stabbed as they were leaving an Istanbul church and an Australian couple were killed when their yacht exploded in the local harbour. We know these are all linked to the Grey Wolves.”

Wade responded, “And how do you want me to help?”

“We believe that you have more to offer than you realise but we also need honesty about your past. We can’t find anything on record about you but my instincts tell me you are what we need.”

“Obviously you want to get these Grey Wolves as much as I do, so if I help you I want the CIA to tell me anything they know about the ones who killed my family,” stated Wade.

“Agreed …I’ll see you at Langley.”

Plant hung up the phone and then called his boss to advise of their arrival.

9

Washington

Wade felt as comfortable as he could with his life, after his walkabout, and the trip to Langley had been nice. Flying in a private jet with all the modern conveniences was definitely something he would like to get used to.

They landed at Andrews Air Force Base. On their arrival they were met by two black Suburbans. The Suburbans raced through the streets of Washington. Wade noticed as they approached the gates of Langley they were already open. The vehicle went straight down into the underground carpark and came to a halt at a lift door. Ben and his partner were out the door, as if the car was about to explode, and stood at the lift waiting for him.

Wade unsure why everyone was in such a hurry, climbed out and grabbed his bag. The agents had the number of the floor, pushed and ready to go. He knew better than to ask any questions so they rode the lift in silence and went to the top floor. The door opened and he saw only one person he recognized. Plant put his hand out and welcomed him.

“Hi Wade, thanks for coming. Let me introduce you to Marcus Smithwright, Chief of CIA International Affairs.”

“Marcus Smithwright, pleased to meet you.”

“Hi,” said Wade as he looked at this extremely short, black American, wearing the expensive custom made Italian suit, which just did not work for him. He was a little surprised as Wade thought most tailors could make a good suit fit anybody. He noticed the large nose, small mouth and slant brown eyes concealed behind the smallest gold wire framed glasses.

Wade wasn’t sure what to think at that moment. He had imagined somebody, second in charge of the CIA, to not be about his age, of such small stature and wearing a suit that made him look so ridiculous.

Plant instructed the two agents to wait outside and asked Wade to take a seat.

Wade sat on one of the two low back classical style wooden chairs that faced Smithwright’s desk. Plant to his right. Smithwright, seated like a king on a crown, appeared a head higher than both men. Wade knew his height inferiority complex was the reason he sat perched on his chair with his feet a good thirty centimetres above the floor.

The room was covered in memorabilia of famous faces, events and places. Another complex of wanted to appear more experienced and aligned than he actually was.

“Wade, first thing we need to understand is your history. As I told you, we can find nothing about your past but you did tell me back at the Istanbul train station that you were ex Australian military. The strange thing about this is we found nothing about you and any military service or anything you have done in your life for the last ten years. It’s like you didn’t even exist and it’s extremely rare, if ever, that the CIA cannot find out something about somebody. But as I also told you, I’m ex-military, and I can tell you’ve had military training. Very good training at that.”

Wade looked at the both of them, looked out the window at the view of the Potomac River, off in the distance as it slowly drifted by, and the hustle and bustle of the people below. He thought for a moment at how unusual everybody within the CIA seemed to be acting. Looking back at Plant he noticed he had an expression of almost pleading for him to respond.

“You’re right. I have had military training and it was with the Australian SAS. I’ve also trained with your American Navy Seal Team Six, the Israeli Mossad and the Nepalese Ghurkha.”

“Go on,” asked a taken back Smithwright. “What sort of work did you do?”

“What do you mean what sort of work did I do?”

“I don’t know. Maybe give us an example of a mission you were on,” replied Smithwright searching for words.

Wade looked between the two men. Analysing how much he should say. Trying not to appear sceptical but at the same time cautious. Smithwright stared up at him like a hungry cat waiting for the milk.

“My expertise was underwater and silent death. As a consequence of this me and my partner were sent on a black operation to Central Africa, namely Uganda. We were HALO parachuted to Lake Victoria and then made our way underwater, to Entebbe. From there we got to Kampala and our mission was to take out Baski.”

“You telling me you’re the one who killed President Baski?” asked a surprised Smithwright.

“Hmmm. That’s right.”

“Well that does put a whole new light on the situation,” replied Smithwright.

Wade didn’t trust this CIA boss. He felt he was hiding something and this made him very cautious of anything else that was about to be said.

Smithwright continued, “Alright, I need you to answer some questions first, so that everything is clear in my mind before I start telling you what will happen.”

Wade nodded his acknowledgement and he also noticed that Plant seemed uncomfortable in his seat.

“How old are you?”

“Thirty three.”

“Where did you train?”

“Perth, various parts of Australia and Nepal.”

“I need more details as to what and where?” asked Smithwright becoming more excited with each question.

“Just like I don’t know anything about you. All I’m going to tell you is that I trained for four years with the SAS in Perth, various attack training stints with the Ghurkha’s in Nepal, underwater training with Seals in San Diego and weapons training with Mossad in Tel Aviv. Anymore you want … read about it,” responded Wade.

“Don’t try to be smart, Ross. We have waited nine weeks for you, while you went on your childish, sulk in the Australian bush. So you better cooperate and you’d better do it now.” Smithwright, by now standing behind his desk, was becoming very agitated and he raised his voice as he said, “You might want to remember who you are talking to. If it wasn’t for me, you would still be rotting in some Turkish prison and I can still make that happen.”

Wade looked at him, unclenched his fists, looked at Plant and said, “Thanks for your help but I’m not having anything to do with an egotistical moron like this.”

He stood and walked for the door.

“You open that door and I will have you arrested, and I can guarantee you will never get out of jail,” shouted Smithwright.

With that Wade spun around in one smooth motion and two steps he leapt fifteen feet across the room and clamped his left hand around Marcus’s throat before either man had the chance to react.

“Now you listen to me, you smart ass, little piece of shit. If I ever hear you threaten me again there won’t be another breath coming out of your filthy little mouth.” He then shoved him back into his chair.

Smithwright and Plant sat stunned as Wade slammed the door and left. Plant immediately called Squires and told him that he was to keep Wade in his sights at all times and try not to get spotted.

Plant was the first to speak. “Well that went well. What do you want to do now?”

“He is a loose cannon and we need to ensure we keep a tight reign on him,” replied Smithwright as he slowly got to his feet, rubbing his neck and trying to hide his embarrassment.

Plant knew that his boss had no idea how difficult that was going to be but he nodded in agreement. “Sure … well I’ll go find him and get him on the first flight to Africa.”

“I need to know at all times what he is doing and don’t give him any more than the basics on this mission.” Smithwright responded as he dropped back into his chair, at which time Plant knew their conversation was over.

10

Washington

As Plant left the gates of Langley, he dialled Squires. “Where are you?”

“He has just walked into the Gloria Jean coffee shop on the corner of 56th and Jamison. I’m directly opposite. I can see him at the counter ordering something.”

“I’m there in two. Don’t move.”

Plant crossed over the Beltway and within ninety seconds pulled his Suburban up behind Squires.

“He’s still inside. Do you want me to wait here?” asked Squires.

“No, come in. I want him to feel as one of us, so we keep it casual.”

Plant and Squires entered the coffee shop.

“So that didn’t go so well, hey!” said Plant as he and Squires slid into the booth opposite Wade.

Wade nodded and said nothing.

“Look, it’s obvious you don’t have any time for Smithwright but I just thought I should fill you in on him … Plus, we do need your help.”

Wade nodded again and still said nothing while slowly eating his muffin.

“He’s a CIA career ladder climber but at the same time he is pretty bloody smart. He is only twenty nine years old and already second in charge of the CIA’s largest division, and probably only four or five from the top. He has a PHD in psychology, a PHD in physics, and a degree in IT software. He’s got a photographic memory, and can come up with some of the most obscure ideas, that incredibly seem to work. He has never had any field training, so we all cut him some slack on that, but there would not be a weapon on earth he does not know about. And when I say weapon I mean to the most minute detail. I accept he has a real attitude but unfortunately he is my boss and we have to live with that.”

Wade didn’t react as he kept on eating.

“Wade, we want you to go on a mission to Africa for us. We have Intel that tells us there are camps that gunrunners have set up in Cameroon. We know they have set them up for gunrunning, training troops, and then shipping them all over the world. The problem we have is that no matter how we try to infiltrate their camps or get undercover; they always seem to know whenever a new operative arrives. We believe it’s because our operatives are American and/or American trained. We want somebody who has no idea of the ways of the CIA, no association with America, and somebody who has a reason to want to make it succeed.” Plant then sat back and waited for Wade to respond.

Wade kept eating but at the same time watched Plant and Squires and their body language. Squires was relaxed, borderline disinterested but Plant was tense, his shoulders tight with an expression of ‘please respond’. Wade had been through the psychology of this mind game many times so he watched and waited, with still no response.

Plant started again, “So after what I saw in Turkey, your legitimate reason for revenge, I thought you would be the perfect non-American and all. We are looking for surveillance and definite confirmation that a certain leader is in a certain camp. Once we know we’ll organise an air strike and problem solved. It’s beneficial to you as this camp is the one that supplies the arms to the Grey Wolves.”

Wade looked at Squires then looked at back at Plant. Still no response.

“Ok, I need to know. Are you in?” Plant asked anxiously and becoming frustrated with the silence.

Wade realised the time had come to get involved in the conversation. “Why is this beneficial to me?”

“Well,” stammered Plant frantically searching for the right words. “I thought what happened to your family, and all, you would want some revenge or retribution.”

Wade studied Plant as he absorbed the words.

“If that was the case why wouldn’t I just go to Turkey and extract revenge directly?”

“Well, true,” replied Plant now lost for words. “But … this way you can cut of the snake’s head by stopping its supply chain.”

“When and how?”

“Uhm … Uhm … well,” Plant couldn’t respond. He wasn’t expecting Wade to agree so his mind had been in a turmoil of finding the next convincing sentence.

Wade sat up straight. Crossed his arms and waited as Plant fidgeted looking from Squires to the waitress.

“We go to the store and then out to Andrews. Should be gone in two hours. Halo infiltration into Cameroon. Ben will go with you on the jet and he will have all the mission details,” Plant replied letting out the air from holding his breath. Relief in his voice that Wade had finally agreed.

“All right, let’s go,” replied Wade with a renewed command in his voice.

They all left the coffee shop, crossed the road, got in the vehicles. Wade with Plant and they headed to the Langley store.

Sixty minutes later they were heading on the road back to Andrews Air Force base with the Suburban loaded up. Wade had been kitted with a rapid deploy, high altitude parachute and jump suit, oxygen breathing gear, Glock hand gun, Styer long range sniper rifle, Heckler and Koch automatic combat rifle, transmitting gear, long range binoculars, night vision glasses, long range digital camera, sat phone, ration packs, and various items to help make things a little more comfortable in one of the harshest jungles on earth.

Arriving at Andrews, through what was obviously a CIA entrance, Wade noticed the extremely long, completely black jet, sitting on the tarmac, ready to leave.

Plant pulled the Suburban along side the stairs of the jet, put his hand out to shake and with a slight wetness to his eyes turned to Wade, hesitated, and said, “I know you won’t necessarily believe this but I seriously thank you for what you are about to do.” Then he paused looked away, then looked back. “Just like you, I lost my family, my wife, to the Grey Wolves.” He shook Wade’s hand and turned back to face straight ahead through the windscreen.

Wade could tell this was hard for Plant and he believed what he had said, so without another word, he and Squires got out, grabbed the gear and boarded the jet.

It was a state of the art, long range, Gulfstream X and as Wade entered he knew that at least the flight would be comfortable. The interior was completely lined in solid mahogany, with leather seats; separate sleeping facilities, plush carpets and the walls had been decorated in some of the most famous paintings available.

His observation broken with the pleasant distraction of the attractive hostess as she asked if he required anything to eat or drink, he thanked her and said he would wait awhile. With that she handed him an envelope and than she and Squires walked to the rear of the cabin.

Wade sat down, opened the envelope but before he started reading, he remembered the note that Plant had slipped him when they shook hands. It had three short words; ‘Trust no one’.

Wade thought about this for a moment, thought how Plant had reacted when they arrived at the jet but put it aside and started to read the mission brief. ‘You will deploy from the aircraft at 45,000 feet in a HALO decent, you will be dropped over a known gun runner camp in south western Cameroon, near Mt Cameroon. You have been given a laser guided GPS that will be activated when you are at 10,000 feet. Once on the ground make your way south / southwest for approximately thirty kilometres until you are ten kilometres north of Douala. We need photographic evidence, of the camp, guns and the whereabouts of their leader Duna Obani.’

The attached photo had been taken with long range satellite imagery, Obani was wearing sunglasses and it was slightly side on. Wade studied the photo until he was sure he had the image implanted in his brain and then continued with the brief.

‘Once your Intel has been sent through you are to make your way to Gabon where you will be met and an extraction organised. You are not an American citizen and therefore do not expect any assistance if you are captured, we will deny all association’.

Wade smiled and thought to himself, ‘Some things in life just don’t change’.

11

Washington

Plant entered the operations area of Section 11 Langley and was surprised to see Smithwright standing there in conference with the Director of Central Intelligence, the man second only to the President, within the intelligence sector. They were in front of eight large plasma screens, all showing live satellite feeds of scenes from somewhere in what looked like Africa, somewhere that looked familiar, like Turkey, and various American warships.

“Good of you to make it Joe,” remarked Smithwright with an extreme subtle tone of impatience. “General Forest and I were just discussing the situation regarding the Grey Wolves and now you can further enlighten us.”

“Sir, there is not much I can tell you except that our operatives in Turkey and Greece have definitely noticed an increase in movement of the Grey Wolves. We are getting more hits on the airwaves than is normal and we believe that they are planning to either move something or bring a lot of things under one umbrella,” replied Plant.

“What makes you think this?” asked Forest.

“The Grey Wolves are renowned for moving to and from Turkey mainly through Bulgaria and Greece, and to do this they tend to cross through the Edirne region. Our local station has logged an increase in known passport crossings. Many of our undercover agents have been hearing how more of the known members are making the trip from eastern and southern Turkey to this area. Word on the street is something big is about to happen but we do not know what. We feel the increased drug and guns trade and the prostitutes coming into the area are all signs of this. Also we have received word that a large shipment of guns has been reported on a French registered liner that had come in from Cameroon.”

“Have we seized these guns?” asked Smithwright expectantly.

“No!” responded Plant surprised at the question. “Why would we have done that?”

Smithwright suddenly realising he had reacted in an unusual manner, back tracked and responded by trying to defuse the situation. “Oh, I just thought we might be trying to limit the amount of arms coming into the country,” as he looked away at one of the screens.

Both Forest and Plant looked at Smithwright with expressions of suspicion as Forest responded first. “Alright, I have heard and seen enough. Smithwright you are to keep me informed of any developments.” He said as he walked out the door.

“What was that all about?” asked Plant.

“Never you mind, just make sure that this Australian does the job.”

12

Cameroon

Wade heard in his earpiece that the drop zone was coming up in three minutes, time to get ready. Dressed in his high altitude jumpsuit and all kitted to leave the plane, he felt the airspeed slow as he entered the escape capsule, an area at the bottom of the plane, only big enough for one man to lie in.

He checked the parachute was engaged in its slot, made sure his boots were hard against the pressure panel, turned his oxygen on, rechecked everything was where it should be, and gave the thumbs up. Squires closed the lid and Wade heard the air pressure released, felt the surge of air that was now forcing itself against the capsule and waited for the ejection.

The pressure built to the point it felt suffocating. His body felt like an elephant was sitting on him. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. Concentrated on relaxing but constantly aware that at any moment he would be shot out like a canon ball. The helmet stifled the ear shattering noise as the explosion shot him feet first.

No matter how many times he did this jump he never got used to the ‘g’ forces from the ejection. Freefalling he opened his eyes and got his bearings. Wade flipped himself forward and went into a head first dive, with his arms locked into his side and his head tucked into his chin. At terminal velocity, falling like a bullet, he concentrated on reducing the amount of time he was exposed.

He had made hundreds, if not thousands, of jumps and knew instinctively when he would reach 10,000 feet. Approaching the altitude, he brought his arm into view and noticed the GPS was not activating, it was now up to him to find his own landing zone. Knowing that night time jumping has the disadvantage that you have no bearings on what is coming toward you and being over a jungle, meant no subsidiary light.

With no time to contemplate the situation he levelled himself out, deployed his chute, checked his altimeter and strained to see if he had a clear landing area. With the chute deployed everything around him started to slow down. At fifteen hundred feet, he saw a hunting party slowly crossing a clearing he had chosen as his landing zone. Pulling on his left cord, he swung toward the trees. He estimated the trees to be at least three hundred feet high and knew he was going to make either a lot of noise or hurt himself. He hit the first branches at the top of the canopy, it slowed him down but he was making more noise than a tree falling. This could blow his cover, so he released his harness, grabbed for anything he could and after crashing through branch after branch he finally got hold of a branch strong enough to hold his weight.

After five minutes of waiting for the hunting party to react to the noise, he started the long and slow ascent. On the ground he felt the sticky substance in his hand. A large gash to his forearm had blood flowing freely and he needed to stop the bleeding immediately. Firstly, for his own blood supply but secondly, and most importantly, he knew wandering through one of the densest jungles on earth, with some of the most dangerous wild cats, having the smell of blood on him, was a death warrant.

Cleaning himself up, burying anything that had come in contact with his blood, he then checked his gear. The sat phone had no signal, the transmission gear was all dead, the long range binoculars and night vision glasses would not activate. Starting to realise something could be wrong he then checked the camera, nothing; even the ration packs were only blocks of cardboard. The Styer sniper rifle, no rounds in any of the magazines. Same with the Glock and the Heckler & Koch HK416.

Extremely annoyed with himself for only checking his parachuting gear and knowing he had broken a soldier’s cardinal rule of being responsible for his own gear.

He knew he was angry at what had happened to his family and it was now clouding his judgement. Burying all the gear, including his jumpsuit, he kept only his trusted knife, and the assault rifle, thinking that the 5.56mm rounds should be common enough around here.

13

Sierra Leone

The young girl was only twelve and as she bent down, she suddenly felt the butt of the guard’s rifle slam into the back of her head. She immediately lost consciousness and fell face first into the murky yellow, grey waters of the diamond pit. The others all knew better than to look or stop working, she was already dead.

The guard yelled, “Anybody else tries to steal or slacken off, a bullet through the head.” With that he aimed his rifle at one of the villagers working on the bank of the pit and fired. The man fell into the same waters, as the young girl, with blood gushing from the hole in the side of his head.

It was easy to understand why this diamond pit, which was no different to any other in Sierra Leone, was the source of the world’s so called ‘blood diamonds’.

“You all work harder or you’ll be next,” the guard shouted, with a satisfied smirk on his face.

It was the hottest part of the day, all the workers had been in the diamond pit since sunrise and they would still be there until sunset. At which time they would receive enough pay to purchase a bowl of porridge and be expected to return for work the following day. Those who refused would have an arm or leg cut off by a machete wielding member of the RUF, the Revolutionary United Front, known for their use of fear to impose control over the villagers.

A worker wouldfinda diamond and yell to the guards. A young boy, wearing a white cap, carrying a glass jar would run through the pit and the worker would drop the diamond into the jar. The worker was then able to take a drink break, whilst the young boy would scurry up the banks of the pit and then run down the crude, overgrown path until he came to the fuselage of any old jumbo jet. The jumbo had been shot down, over the jungle, by rebel forces and was now used as a base for their diamond trade.

The young boy knew to leave the glass jar at the entrance to the fuselage; he would then grab another jar and return to the pit. This would go on all day with up to forty trips.

One of the guards, inside the fuselage, would clean the diamonds and hand them over to the most feared man in Sierra Leone, Ammi Bohad.

Bohad was reputed to have beheaded his brother and two of his sisters for not working in his diamond mines. At six foot five, two hundred and fifty pounds, he is a giant black man who was known to inflict fear upon everybody he came in contact with. Hands as big as baseball mitts it was rumoured he had crushed a man’s head with them.

But Bohad had two problems, one his fetish for young Mediterranean girls, mainly Turkish, and two his fear of Duna Obani.

14

Cameroon

Wade had been travelling all night. The sun started to filter the first rays of light into the jungle. He could now confirm his bearings. He had proven himself, many times, to his superiors and fellow soldiers, of his hunting and tracking skills. He knew he was on course and how far he had travelled but one of his SAS instructors had once told him, that ‘to check and then check again is to be correct’ and he had followed this advice to the letter.

An old Aboriginal tracking skill, he took his bearings, using the compass in the end of his knife, then doubled back, took his bearings again, and then went the same distance perpendicular and checked his bearings a third time. The results confirmed he was on course.

The jungle thinned and gave him some reprieve which enabled him to cover more ground quicker.

He arrived at the designated position, ten kilometres north of Douala, as the sun started to set. He located the camp and established a reconnaissance position. The large group of trees gave him camouflage and a clear vantage of all buildings within the camp.

Wade had already decided he would finish the mission but not the way Smithwright had hoped. He would hunt down Obani, finish him off, destroy his operation, and then return to make Smithwright pay.

He had been sitting in the fork of the tree, eight metres up, for five hours when he heard the sounds. Three males came into view thirty metres ahead. He watched and realised it was an execution. Two rangy black Africans each carried a Russian made AK47, slung over their shoulder, and a machete in their hand, which they were using to beat the third guy. Having been beaten for a long time he was loosing consciousness.

The two with the guns were yelling and making so much noise they never heard Wade come down the tree. As the first gun toting guard was about to deliver a fatal machete blow to the head of their prisoner, Wade struck. He came up behind the first guard, reached to his right and threw his knife in a direct hit to the throat of the second guard. At the same time, he wrapped his arm around the neck of the first guard and in one clear action, broke his neck.

He checked the rifles and gathered all the ammo he could. He undressed the taller of the two guards, and put on his clothes. The whole time the prisoner sat petrified with his head down not daring to look. When finished, Wade helped the prisoner to his feet, gave him one of the machetes, and anything of any value from the dead guards. He then helped him on his way as he turned to the compound.

The compound had only one guard, who had obviously been drinking and wasn’t expecting anybody to be coming through the jungle at this time of night. He was half asleep swaying and leaning on the entrance gate. It was very easy for Wade to come up behind him, slit his throat and drag him out into the jungle, without alerting anyone. In seconds the smell of blood had the jungle animals in fever pitch.

Using the cover of the noise he entered the compound and spent the next thirty minutes doing a reconnaissance of who and what was where.

He did not find Obani but he did find an ammunition hut and a comms room. He gathered up as many C4 plastics as he could carry and lay them throughout the compound. Each explosive had a timer detonator, which he set for a twenty-minute delay. Once all the C4 was ready he then laid a ring of M18A1 Claymore mines, on a trip wire, facing into the camp, around the perimeter. He returned to the tree and waited.

He now had in his possession a Russian made sniper rifle, grenades, C4 plastics, and a couple of hundred 5.56mm rounds for his assault rifle.

The explosions shattered the stillness of the night and Wade watched to see if anybody had escaped. The Claymores and their seven hundred steel ball bearings took out any that survived the C4 explosions. If they were lucky enough to get past both of these, Wade then picked them off with the sniper rifle.

When all had quietened down and the smoke and dust had settled he carefully made his way through the compound. The amount of carnage was staggering, even to Wade. The only available light was quickly disappearing as the small fires died out. The explosions had destroyed all the makeshift buildings except two abutting containers in the furthest back corner. Dragging the bodies from the containers he found Obani, he was now satisfied the mission had been completed but he was leaving no evidence. Behind the containers were three drums of fuel that had not ignited from the explosions.

Spreading the fuel and with the blaze fully alight, he needed to get as far as possible as quickly as he could.

The minor explosions and the raging fire had shielded the sound of the approaching Black Hawk helicopter. It wasn’t until the helicopter was directly above him with its floodlight scouring the area that he realised. He grabbed his gear, got down behind an old car body and watched.

The helicopter kept circling the compound with the floodlight trying to find someone or something. Wade noticed the side door slide open. A gunner leant out with an M60 machine gun and opened fire on the camp. He knew it was him they were after. But who were they?

He took aim with the sniper rifle and waited until the chopperwas closer.His first shot killed the gunner. The unstrapped gunner plummeted from where he had been standing on the rail. His second shot shattered the front glass. The pilot instinctively took evasive action and banked to his right as glass peppered his face and body.

Wade crawled over to the fallen gunner and on inspection realised he was CIA.

So Smithwright wanted him dead. The stakes had just got higher.

15

Washington

Plant was the first to hear the news from the Nigerian office that a field operative had been shot, killed and fallen from a helicopter in Cameroon, northwest of Douala, while trying to take out a rogue operative. He knew this was the work of Wade but why was the CIA using a helicopter to track and kill him, why was he a rogue operative and why was the mission now CIA public knowledge?

The line of command meant he was to go to Smithwright, and the CIA did not tolerate those stepping outside the line of command, but something definitely seemed wrong.

Plant also knew that if he started looking for further information on what was going on, alarm bells would ring for Smithwright. He thought long and hard, knowing this Intel would be on Smithwright’s desk within the next hour or two, so he decided he would try General Forest.

Plant dialled the number, wondering if this would be the end of his career, but at the same time feeling he was doing the right thing, “General Forest, sir?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“Sir, my name is Joe Plant and we meet two days ago, at Langley, when I was explaining the Grey Wolves situation to you.”

“Yes, I remember. What can I do for you?”

“Sir I am not sure how to say this and I do understand the line of command,” Plant then waited expecting a backlash from the head of the CIA, but when none came he continued. “But I assume you are aware we have an Australian field operative, in Cameroon, who is acting on our behalf chasing one of Africa’s, if not Europe’s largest gun runners.”

Plant then waited to hear the reaction from General Forest.

“Go on. I’m listening,” replied the General.

“Well sir, we got word in this morning that one of our field operatives in Nigeria has been shot, killed and fallen from a helicopter which happened to be one of ours, whilst trying to take out this Australian. On top of that an order has been issued that he is a rogue operative. The problem is this mission came from Section 11 and, I believe, only four people knew of the mission. Those being you, me, the Australian and Marcus Smithwright.” Plant then waited for the General to respond.

There was a long pause on the end of the line until eventually Forest responded, “Okay, I want you in my office in thirty minutes and want nobody, including Smithwright, to know. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes sir,” replied Plant as the line went dead.

16

Gabon

Wade had intended to make his way north through Africa, across the Mediterranean, up through Italy, Austria, Germany, to Sweden. From Sweden, by boat to Greenland and on to Canada, then back down to Washington.

He crossed the border into Gabon, a lawless region, and came across a group of American game hunters who were having trouble with a few locals. The four locals had decided the Americans looked like a good opportunity to extort some money. Each had an AK47 aimed at the six Americans and were demanding money, weapons, and passports.

Without hesitation Wade walked straight toward the gang of four. Caught off guard they weren’t sure how to react to this unusually large, very confident, stranger dressed in local clothes, who was armed with an array of weapons. Wade had the assault rifle, in his left hand, aimed at two of the locals and his Browning pistol, in his right, moving between the other two.

One of the gang suddenly decided that this guy was muscling in on their capture and as he started to move his weapon, Wade noticed the flinch in his hand and fired a double tap, one shot to the body and one to the head.

He had got off his four shots and both of those to his left were dead before they hit the ground. The two to his right did not even get a chance to move their weapons before they also received double taps from the Browning.

As Wade approached one of the larger Americans yelled, “You’re in trouble now because there are six of us and only one of you.”

He ignored the comment, checked all were dead and walked to the Americans. “You lot might want to get out of here ASAP, in case their buddies come looking.”

The loud mouth American asked, “You American?”

“No, just a tourist passing through.”

By this stage the rest of the group were starting to come back to their senses and a small, bald headed guy spoke up. “How can we repay you, for your help? Could we give you a lift somewhere ... maybe?”

“Thanks anyway but I am heading stateside.”

“Do you mean the USA?”

“Correct.”

“Well it just so happens we’re leaving today. It would be excellent if we could offer you a lift.”

Wade thought for a moment and decided why not, beats walking. “Thanks, I appreciate that.”

To his surprise and relief, it was a private jet.

17

CIA Headquarters - Langley

Plant had never been to the office of the head of the CIA, and as he waited in the outer office he could feel the sweat on the back of his neck. Everything he had believed and worked for, including the death of his wife, could all be for nothing in the next few minutes.

He was surprised at the stark interior. No pictures. Bland painted walls and plain carpet. The secretary looked like she had stepped out of a 60’s sitcom. Her three computer screens were the only hint of a modern office. The steel waiting chairs offered no comfort and everything was deathly quiet.

The door opened and General Forest appeared. A big man in both stature, at six five and 240 pounds, but also in presence. He walked over and smiled as he said, “Thanks for coming over so quickly.”

“Yes sir,” replied Plant; so nervous he felt he was going to collapse.

“Come in.”

As Plant entered he noticed a second person sitting in one of the lounge chairs, a woman and a very attractive one.

Forest started, “Joe, I’m going to explain some things to you and they are not going to be repeated ... am I clear on that?”

“Yes sir.”

“And the only ones who will ever know are the three of us … clear?”

“Yes sir,” replied Plant glancing across at the unknown woman.

“Right ... we have Intel that has us believe that Marcus Smithwright’s actions are suspicious. We are unclear, as yet, of the details but we do know information is coming out of Section 11 and being passed on through Turkey. We do not know exactly what that information is and whom it’s being directed to. When you called about the Australian, and gave us your concerns a few things started to piece together,” Forest paused.

“I want to introduce you to Kia, and for your information that is not her real name and there is no need for you to know any different.”

“Yes sir,” replied Plant again. He stood, “Pleased to meet you,” but when no response came from the woman only a friendly nod, he sat back down.

“We need you to act as our eyes and ears. You need to spend as much time as you can around Smithwright ... okay?”

“Yes sir,” nervously replied Plant, feeling the sweat increasing on the back of his neck and across his forehead.

“Our biggest problem is getting any devices, whether it be recording, tracking, or transmitting in through Langley control but Kia has got an ingenious device which solves that problem. She will inject a small chip into the roof of your mouth; it is completely undetectable because it appears on screens as a blood molecule. Whenever we need to contact you there will be a small pulse on the roof of your mouth. Whenever you need to respond to us just touch the roof of your mouth with your tongue. Once for yes, twice for no. Now here is a phone number, remember it, destroy it and never write it down. If you ever need to ring this number, whatever device you use, must be destroyed immediately after the call. Your point of contact is Kia. Got all that?”

“Yes sir.”

“Any questions?”

“Yes sir. Just one. What am I actually looking for?”

“Like I said we don’t really know but let us know of anything, no matter how trivial it seems.” With that Forest stood, nodded and left.

Kia walked over with the largest syringe Plant had ever seen.

“Open your mouth, please. This will feel like a small pinprick,” she said in highly accented English.

It was all over in fifteen seconds, at which Kia headed to the door.

As she was about to leave, she turned and said, “Good luck, I will help you as much as I can but remember this is an extremely dangerous mission and we don’t even know who the enemy is yet.” Then she was gone.

18

Washington

The rest of the trip was uneventful and they arrived in Washington DC nineteen hours later, after a refuelling stopover in Spain.

Wade thanked them for their hospitality and bid them farewell, as they dropped him off at a cafe, just five minutes walk from Langley.

Sitting in the cafe, he decided that even though he was determined to make Smithwright pay, he should speak with Plant first.

Unsure how to contact Plant he decided to write a short note and leave it at the gatehouse entrance to Langley. He dropped off the note and returned to the cafe to wait.

Unknown to Wade, Smithwright had already contacted all branches of the CIA to instruct if anybody came in contact with Wade they were to report back to him immediately. The gate guard, doing his job, phoned the message through to Smithwright who then organised an undercover non-CIA, hit squad to take Wade out.

Sitting in the cafe, in a typical Special Forces tactic of back to the wall, full view of all entrances, and a preplanned escape route, Wade drank his water, and waited. With the main entrance six metres to his front and two sets of tables and chairs separating him from the automatic doors he concentrated on his peripheral. The early morning coffee crowd had gone and mothers with their babies filled most tables. Waiters ambled around with the quieter pace of the morning. A wall mounted television played MTV but nobody took any notice.

The first thirty five minutes were fairly uneventful. Customers and vehicles coming and going, people meeting and greeting until he noticed the two black vans, slowly driving past. Keeping his eyes down, he saw them pass, slow down, turn around and come back. One pulled into the carpark, whilst the other went two hundred metres further down the road and parked.

He saw the three men get out of the van and tuck standard 9mm Colt pistols, complete with silencer, into the back of their pants. Tactically aware he knew they were after him.

Was this Plant or did Smithwright intercept his message? Could there be a third party involved? Or had he completely misjudged what was happening and they had nothing to do with him? This was not the time to think about it. Instead he needed to be prepared. He ducked down behind the bench, snaked to the door, that he knew led to the storeroom and out to the back alley.

From the alley, he circled around the block and came up behind the second black van. Using the butt of his knife, he tapped on the back door. The door opened and he leapt inside. One male was seated at a terminal with headphones. A second was looking over his shoulder and the third, who opened the door, was turning to head back to the screen. None were armed and not field operatives. Computer geeks and oblivious to any danger.

Grabbing the third guy around his neck and his knife against his throat, Wade ordered them on to the floor. Instantly they responded; more through fear than as a consequence of the command. He duct taped their hands, feet and mouths and smashed their equipment. Sixty seconds had passed when he closed the door, taking with him a secure CIA phone and an identification pass.

The second van was empty. He sprinted to the Langley carpark gatehouse entry. Waiting until there was a line of three cars, ready to enter, he approached.

From the unseen side of the gatehouse, with two of the guards being distracted by the cars and the third guard, in the gatehouse, watching proceedings, he slowly opened the door, crept up behind the seated guard and in one swift motion clamped his hand over the guard’s mouth and applied a pressure point lock, behind his ear. Within three seconds the guard slumped to the floor. Wade grabbed his service revolver, jacket, cap and ID card and left as quickly and quietly as he had arrived.

He crossed the carpark and approached the front glass doors as the security alarm activated. He bolted for the staff entrance and using the guard’s ID access card, swiped the key card and raced through the rear foyer.

Keeping his head down, to avoid the security cameras, he found the fire stairs and taking three or four steps at a time, raced to the top floor. Male and female staff passed him on the way down with nobody taking any notice of somebody going the opposite direction. He arrived sweating and breathing hard. He pushed the door slowly open, just enough to look in and check all clear. Slowing his breathing he focused on his bearings and knew he had come in behind Smithwright’s office. Creeping along the winding corridor and aware of the cameras, he turned a corner as a guard appeared. Quick glance he saw Smithwright’s name on the door. Head down, he approached as if he was in a terrible hurry.

The guard went to stop him, “Hey, what’re you doing up here?” he said with aggression.

Wade just kept walking as the guard reach for his revolver. He covered the last two metres in one quick motion; this caught the guard off balance, which allowed Wade the time he needed to strike using a martial arts Praying Mantis attack. The guard dropped to the floor. Wade stepped over him, opened the door and walked straight in.

Smithwright spoke without even looking up, “I thought I told you no one is to come in here.”

Wade took two steps, leapt across the desk hitting Smithwright in the side of the head, with the heel of his boot. The force of the contact knocked him out of his chair and he crashed against the bookcase behind him.

Opening his eyes slowly, he tried to focus on what had happened. Before anything was clear in his mind, he felt the onslaught of more ferocious punches to both his head and body. Then he felt himself lifted off the ground and something cold pressed to his throat.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t slit your throat,” whispered Wade against his ear.

“How .... how did you get in here?” asked Smithwright groggily.

Wade whispered again, “You might want to worry about how you think you are going to get out of here alive, instead of how I got in. Right now that’s the least of your concerns.”

“What do you want?” asked Smithwright in a slow uncoordinated speech, still trying to come to his senses.

“Are you serious? You want me to believe you have no idea why I’m here. You definitely are delusional.”

Smithwright had returned to his old self, “Do you not realise the trouble you are in?”

Wade had lost his patience. He pushed the knife harder against his throat and the first trickles of blood come down the handle.

Smithwright tried pleading, “Wade, I know it was hard but we had to see if you were up to what we needed. Please ... please can we talk about this ... let me explain.”

Wade didn’t respond, just held the knife against his throat.

“If you give me a chance you will see that it’s not as bad as it seems,” stuttered Smithwright. He glared into the unblinking, cold blue eyes that stared at him. He saw they were eyes of a man who had seen a lot of death and another was not going to bother him the least.

Wade removed the knife from his throat and held it six inches from his face.

Wade spoke, “Get Joe on the phone now. Get him over here. Anybody else comes near this office and you’re dead. Is that clear?”

“Sure,” he nodded.

Smithwright collapsed into his chair, picked up his phone and dialled. The small alarm under his desk was within reach so he risked it. A sequence of events was sparked that started with all the entrances being locked down, cameras immediately went into threat mode, three duty guards were deployed from the ground floor ops room, lifts were shut down, all floors and special operations areas were locked and a tactical response unit was deployed from the SOG training facility.

“Joe, I have Wade here with me and I need you to get over here immediately ... where are you?”

“I am just coming through the gate but hang on … there has been a lock down,” came the reply through the speaker phone.

Smithwright froze and then tried desperately to disconnect the call.

“Dumb move,” responded Wade as he slammed the butt of his knife into the side of Smithwright’s face. The force of the blow fractured his cheekbone, broke three teeth and shattered his nose. “You are without a doubt the most arrogant bastard I have ever met. People die because of your attitude and you couldn’t care less. Well this time you met the wrong person.”

With that Wade stepped around the desk, bent down and plunged his knife into Smithwright’s thigh. Withdrawing his knife, he wiped the blood on Smithwright’s shirt. He reached inside Smithwright’s jacket and took his ID, wallet and mobile phone.

Smithwright collapsed into unconsciousness.

Wade hit the button on the private elevator and it descended to the basement carpark. Smithwright’s mobile rang.

“Boss, it’s me Joe. They have let me into the carpark. Can you send down your elevator?”

“Joe ... it’s Wade.”

There was a pause and then Plant replied.

“Wade! What the hell are you doing with Smithwright’s phone?”

“Long story. I’m just about to enter the lower level carpark from Smithwright’s elevator. Where are you?”

“I’ll meet you there.”

The elevator door opened and Wade saw Plant’s car approach. He raced across and threw himself in the passenger’s seat. “Ok, let’s get out of here and I’ll explain.”

“Do you realise what has happened? ... Langley does not go into lockdown unless something pretty serious is going on.”

“Joe, we need to get out of here and we need to do it now.”

They sped up the ramp.

“We have a problem. The gates will not let us out unless we scan our passes and you don’t have one.”

“Yes I do. I’ve got Smithwright’s.”

“What the hell ... how did you get that?”

“Like I said, I will tell you later, let’s just get out of here,” replied Wade with slight annoyance in his voice.

19

Sierra Leone

Ammi Bohad was a man who showed very little emotion, but when he received the news of the death of his superior, Duna Obani, he smiled. Now he had the perfect opportunity to deal directly with the Turks and that meant bigger profits and more young girls.

He set things in motion for his people to organise a flight to Istanbul, as soon as possible.

He then sat back in his chair and smiled as he thought ‘those stinking Wolves will pay now’.

20

Washington

Plant and Wade had been driving, in silence, for ten minutes, when Plant felt the electric shock in his mouth.

He pulled the car off to the kerb, got out and dialled the number.

“Do you have Ross with you?” asked Kia.

“Yes.”

“I’m sending you an address. Soon as you have it, destroy the phone. Go straight there and wait. Take Ross with you.” The phone went dead.

With the smashed phone in the bus stop bin and the SIM card destroyed, Plant accelerated and joined the stream of traffic as they headed west.

Their destination was a deserted shed in a derelict area of West Washington. The building was unoccupied, covered in graffiti. No windows, rusted corrugated walls, old roller doors that were so smashed and rusted, they were never going to open again. It was a massive building twelve metres high, two hundred metres long and one hundred metres wide.

“What are we doing here?” asked Wade noticing homeless street men watching from the shadows.

“No idea,” replied Plant. “My orders were to bring you here and wait.”

They heard the sound of the approaching cars before they saw them. They both turned and saw the circling dust, birds flapping in fright and a large black Lincoln limousine; all the windows blacked out followed by two familiar CIA black Suburbans.

The driver put down his window and said, “Get in,” and the window started to rise.

The back seats were empty but there was no time to focus on anything else as the car accelerated straight toward the building. Both men grabbed the door handles when suddenly a five metre wide by five metre high section of the wall dropped into the ground. All three cars raced through the opening and the wall returned to its original position.

The inside of the building was like something from the future. Two hundred people worked in front of computer screens, listened with headphones, looked over maps, or were in discussions. There were 3D images appearing and disappearing everywhere. It seemed like a futuristic military operation.

The two men climbed from the limo and Plant noticed Forest calling him over.

“Come on. Follow me,” instructed Plant. They weaved their way through the maze of people, computers and screens towards the General.

“Hello Mr Ross.” He put his hand out to shake. “My name is General Forest and I am in charge here. I guess you’re wondering what you are doing here and what this is all about ... correct?”

“Yeah, that had crossed my mind,” replied Wade as he continued to look around the room.

The General was about to continue talking, when Wade without hesitation, headed directly toward a large 3D pop up screen three rows in front of them. The General and Plant looked at each other in astonishment and followed him.

A dark haired woman with her head bent manned the screen.

“Well, well, well. Look whose here? Am I not surprised to see you mixed up in this,” stated Wade as the woman looked up.

“Hello Wundurra,” replied Kia with a voice as beautiful as her image.

“Well this is a turn of events,” said the General. “Let’s go into my office.” Indicating the way to a large set of double doors at the rear of the building.

Entering the office, they all took a seat in the luxurious leather armchairs. Plant noticed the vast difference between this office and the general’s CIA office. Abstract paintings covered the walls. A bar was off to one side. Multiple muted televisions played throughout the ridiculously large room. A twenty four chair table was further into the room. The lighting was so bright he felt he needed sunglasses to stop squinting.

“Kia, I might let you explain all this, as I would imagine you are now the only person in this room who knows just about everybody,” continued the General.

“How much do you want me to tell?” asked Kia, flicking a loose curl of hair away from her eyes. Something she did out of habit to stall the moment and gather her thoughts.

“Well, it is all becoming a little bit confusing, so maybe say it as it is.”

“Okay. To explain to everybody, General Forest is the person in charge here and also the Director of the CIA.” Gesturing in the direction of Plant, she continued. “Joe Plant is a CIA field operative, in charge of the Turkish office, stationed in Istanbul, but has been seconded to work out of Section 11 of the CIA. A special operations area, focused on terrorist activities or a means to influence terrorist groups. My field name is Kaitlyn, but Wade here knows me as Kia and my real name is Kian. I am attached to the CIA for this mission but I am a Mossad agent. I speak five languages, trained in all weapons, have no family and have known Wade for many years. Wade Ross is an Australian ex SAS soldier and probably one of the most highly skilled operatives on the planet.”

Standing and looking around the group she continued, “Joe, you wondered why you and Smithwright could not find any information on Wade; the reason is - it no longer exists. His file has been wiped from all known agencies, and as far as the world is concerned, he never existed. Wade has trained with all the major known Special Forces groups of the world and even some you may not know. You probably wondered why I called him Wundurra, well that is his real name, given to him by his non-biological aboriginal mother. Joe, when you found him in Turkey that was not by coincidence.” She said as she paused and looked toward General Forest.

“It’s okay, go on,” replied Forest.

She moved around behind the large desk and flicked her hair again. Calmly she continued, “Wade has a special talent of being one of the most skilled, silent killers we have ever come across. He revealed his talents whilst training in Israel and he has an uncanny ability to achieve results when all else fails. He uses an unusual talent that we feel has something to do with being an Australian Aboriginal. We do not understand how or why it works. Wade is working with an ex-SAS British Colonel, who unknowingly to Wade, is working with General Forest to infiltrate the Grey Wolves. We believe they are now involved with nuclear weapons. We are getting closer by destroying their arms suppliers but we still need to ascertain how we can get into their inner sanctum.” She paused for a moment knowing it was a lot to absorb. “One last item. We now have a problem from within Section 11.”

“Thank you Kia. Now that we all know about each other, I want to discuss our options,” stated Forest.

Kia was relieved to have completed the briefing, knowing it’s always difficult to know how much detail to present. She retreated to a lounge chair next to Wade.

“Mr Ross, I am aware of your talents and your exceptional record. Before I ask you for your thoughts, and I understand how you feel about Marcus Smithwright, but I ask that you let me handle him and I ensure you I will keep you informed of the outcomes.”

Wade sat in silence as he looked in turn from the General, to Plant, to Kia. Then he looked back at the General but remained silent.

Something about this situation bothered him, but right now he couldn’t put his finger on it.

The General was becoming agitated and he was an extremely impatient person who always expected those around him to respond to his commands immediately.

“Alright, Mr Ross ... I don’t have time for games so you better start co-operating as part of this team or I will make your life misery,” bellowed Forest.

Wade stood up and walked toward the General, stopping at arm’s length he replied, “I don’t know what it is with you dumb ass yanks but, I swear on my mother’s grave, the next one of you arseholes who threatens me ... is dead.”

Forest had worked and dealt with some of the hardest, coldest, toughest men on earth but he had never seen eyes as blue, cold and fearsome as what was currently glaring at him.

Wade turned and left.

He was no more than halfway across the floor when Kia caught him, grabbed his arm and stopped him. “What are you trying to do?” she asked.

He paused and then said, “I can’t believe you stay mixed up in this. Do you realise what this lot are like?”

“Wade, I owe you more than any person alive, but this time I actually do agree with what they are trying to do.”

He looked at her, “Okay then, tell me why?”

She led him outside, across the deserted lot and behind the next shed. Stacked crates stood against the wall. She removed one and sat down waiting for Wade to follow.

Kia looked him straight in the eye. “When you left Israel, I was sent to Turkey, on assignment from Mossad. Nobody in either Mossad or MIT (Milli Istihbarat Teskilati - Turkish National Intelligence Organisation) was aware of who I was except for Darkan, a Mossad director, and the MIT Director of Operations, Doksal. This was extremely advantageous, as I could move around with relative freedom. My mission was to obtain information about the Grey Wolves. As you are probably aware they are big into prostitution, so I played the part of a prostitute.” She moved closer to Wade as she caught his reaction to the mention of prostitution.

Putting her hand on his, she continued, “I was about to get into their inner sanctum when Darkan was found murdered. I also learnt that Doksal, had trained with Darkan, and was using his friendship to get our help, so I decided to check out Doksal. Whilst I had him under surveillance, I found he had recruited others and formed his own mercenary group, mainly ex Grey Wolves. He is using diamonds from Africa to subsidise his operation and develop a nuclear weapon. He then intends to threaten various countries and groups, to pay up or he blows them up. It turns out that he and Darkan were trained in nuclear weaponry.”

“I still don’t get how this makes you feel that it’s all okay to work with these idiots,” as he pointed in the direction of the building they had just left.

Kia went on, “I understand what you are thinking but let me finish. The twist in all this, is that it appears the weapons are being constructed somewhere in the Australian outback. Aboriginals are being blackmailed and forced to build them. That’s why they recruited you. They knew how you would react once you found out. When I heard you were involved I knew I had to be here.”

“So those street people who were continually stopping me in Istanbul were planted?” he asked.

“Correct. We needed you to be at the station at the exact time.”

“Really. This gets more stupid as it goes.”

Wade gave that stare that could kill and then as the news sank in, said, “Okay … but what’s the story with Smithwright? Where does he fit in all this?”

“That part I can’t answer, I don’t know.”

“What do they want me to do?” he asked hardly believing what he was hearing. If this were coming from anybody else other than Kia he would never have believed it.

“I think you need General Forest to explain that as I’m not privilege to some of the details.”

Wade was losing his patience. “Go and get him. I’ll wait here.”

Kia turned and headed back to the entrance. Wade yell out, “You tell him we talk here or we don’t talk.”

21

West Washington

Forest stood from his chair, arched his back and looking at Plant said, “Well, we definitely have a problem now.”

“Sir, if you don’t mind me saying, I can understand what this guy must be going through. He is working for us and we have him nearly locked up in a Turkish jail, we try to have him killed in Africa, and then we attempt a hit on him here in Washington. He knows he’s been double-crossed. And, as if that’s not enough - we tell him we will handle the guy who is trying to kill him. With due respect, sir, maybe we need to try a different tact of persuasion.”

“I take your point, Joe. Any ideas?” the General asked.

Plant had had a lot of experience himself in the field, but he was younger than the General and perhaps the difference helped him to empathise more with Wade.

“Well it appears that Kia and Wade have a past history; maybe we should get her to persuade him to help. I also believe we need to have a more concrete idea of our intentions toward Smithwright,” replied Plant, feeling more nervous by the minute.

“Good point. Wade, do you trust him?” asked the Director.

“Sir, he is one of the most dangerous men on earth and I’m really glad he’s on our side. He definitely doesn’t play by the rules but he gets the results. So, yes sir, I do trust him.”

Both men stood rigid as the door suddenly opened. Kia appeared flustered and out of sorts.

“General, I told Wade about my involvement in Turkey and about Australia. I can’t say I have him convinced but he has asked what we want from him. He is prepared to listen to you but only outside and only now.”

Forest paused, thought about what had been said. “Okay let’s go.”

22

Istanbul

The plane touched down on the runway of Istanbul International Airport at 2300. The first person to come through the air bridge was a huge black man dressed in a ten thousand dollar Armani suit. He was carrying a diamond topped cane, wore sunglasses and escorted by an entourage of twelve extremely capable looking guards. The guards were not from Sierra Leone but hired mercenaries. The last of the group almost looked as if he had caught the wrong flight, he didn’t fit the mould. He looked like someone had put a fifty year olds head on a twelve year olds body. He was Bohad’s aide a short, wiry, heavily scarred individual. They all passed through customs and were met at the front by a very discreet Turkish national and a cavalcade of cars. The six cars immediately took off, not in the direction of the city, instead toward the international freight section of the airport.

On arrival and after the Turkish national had paid a bribe to the customs official, the guards commenced loading crates into the cars.

Bohad smiled and said to himself, “Tonight the Grey Wolves won’t know what hit them and tomorrow I’ll be dictating the terms.”

The driver got back in his car. Turned to Bohad and explained all the weapons and explosives were as they had ordered.

Bohad instructed his men to kit up and be ready to leave in ten minutes.

The driver left to fulfil his orders.

Bohad opened his laptop and typed the message he had waited so long to send.

‘You have one hour to lodge one million dollars and the account details of Duna Obani into this account or more Grey Wolves die. Every hour I don’t see the money or details, more die and the rate goes up another million. You will respond by 0700 hours this morning’. He set the email to be sent at 0200.

Exactly ten minutes after he gave his order the vehicles started to move. Bohad was happy. He felt they were good servants.

Bohad sat alone in the rear of his vehicle as he listened to the Turkish national giving directions to the Grey Wolves headquarters. They travelled north away from the city. The streetlights started to dim, the trees of the forest took over from the buildings and the roads had changed from bitumen to dirt tracks.

Forty minutes later, the driver stopped. Put down the glass shield and said, “We’re here.”

“Good, everyone dies, except any young girls,” instructed Bohad.

“Yes sir,” replied the driver, as the glass returned up.

Bohad heard the rapid fire gunshots that shattered the stillness of the night air. Six minutes later, the driver returned and the vehicles started to move.

Bohad knew they had succeeded but he would let them explain in their time. He was more excited about the thought of young Turkish girls.

They did not keep him waiting more than a couple of minutes, when the glass went down and the driver explained, “All done sir. I estimate about seventeen inside and four outside, all dead. We also set a C4 timer in the computer room for ten minutes.”

“Very good. What about girls?” asked Bohad with excitement in his voice.

“No sir, no girls.”

Bohad returned the glass back up, sat back in his seat and was furious. He sat thinking for a moment and then decided. He buzzed his driver and furiously declared, “Get that Turk to tell us the next place we can find some more of these Grey Wolves. Then we go there. Same result.”

“Yes, sir,” replied the driver.

They arrived fifty minutes later. The guards immediately stormed the Grey Wolves hangout. Unfortunately for Bohad word had already got around and the Wolves were ready.

In a rapid exchange of gunfire, grenades and explosives; twenty five Grey Wolves were killed, with three fatally wounded and Bohad lost eight of his men.

The driver and the Turkish national survived. The car raced from the scene and travelled for fifteen minutes until they pulled into a vacant lot.

Bohad got out and approached the group of survivors, “What happened?” he bellowed.

The driver replied, “They were ready for us. The building had explosives at every entrance, a sniper on the roof and the only thing that saved us was our better weapons.”

He looked at his remaining guards, “Okay next time, we plan and we don’t fail ... got it?”

The guards looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Not sure if the fear of dying was as bad as their fear of Bohad.

23

Washington

Wade sat on the old wooden crate like a jungle cat about to spring on its prey. He watched as Forest, Plant and Kia approached.

Forest stared at Wade as he spoke, “I think I am right to say that you are having trouble believing us and my intentions to handle Marcus Smithwright … correct?”

Wade nodded, looked across at Plant and Kia, and then stood up, directly in front of the General.

Forest was not accustomed to this confrontational approach that was coming from Wade. He struggled to control himself but he knew a reaction would be futile.

Wade spoke, “You want me to go to Turkey, infiltrate the Grey Wolves, find out how to stop them and then report back to you ... correct?”

“In a nutshell, correct,” replied Forest.

“Firstly, where these nut bags who want to blow up the world are located, is not the place to start making enquiries. It would take months before they would trust or accept anybody into their realms. We need to gain access through the Africans, ie the diamonds, guns, etc. Whilst at the same time find out the expected buyers of these nukes and look at infiltrating from that side … Am I doing this alone and if so, what’ve I got available to me? Secondly, what’s the story with this Smithwright character?” said Wade, with extreme conviction in his voice.

Forest paused, looked away, and then looked back at Wade, “The problem I have is that I’m the one who put Smithwright forward as the best person for the role. That role has far reaching powers within the CIA and I need to be very sure of what and how I handle things. I believe he is operating something illegal outside of his CIA jurisdiction but I need proof before I can act accordingly.” The General paused, “We’ve implanted a chip, in Joe’s mouth, that will enable him to operate and us communicate with him, undetected within Langley. We’re hoping that by Joe spending time with Smithwright he will be able to uncover some Intel that will show us what he is up to.”

Wade was becoming very agitated and annoyed. Unless something was resolved very soon, he was leaving this situation and taking matters into his own hands.

He glared at Forest and said, “Okay, here and now, you tell me everything you know about Smithwright, irrespective of whether it’s correct or not and ... then we move forward. But if I find out you or anyone in the CIA is lying to me, you’ll be next after I finish with Smithwright.”

Forest had not known or felt fear for many years but Wade was inducing that effect on him, at that very moment. He knew that he either gave up everything he had on Marcus Smithwright to this completely unknown Australian, who was both a non-CIA operative, so not under his command, but also possibly his only hope. Or he lies and then has the problem of Ross tracking him for the rest of his life.

“I imagine you’ve been informed, by Joe, of Smithwright’s qualifications, abilities and operational successes. What Joe has told you is all very true but on top of all these traits he has a fascination with weapons. We’ve been following an encrypted computer path, over the past twelve months, which shows him and some foreign scientists, developing a digital mechanism that enables a standard firearm to have nuclear capabilities. Now I am not sure if you can comprehend the magnitude of such a weapon but no matter what happens, it can never be designed, developed and/or manufactured. The second issue is that he’s developing some relationship, with somebody or something to do with Australian Aboriginals. We have reason to think it could be for slave labour to produce the weapons. Highly likely they would be killed off once finished.” Forest looked at the small group standing in front of him.

Wade thought for a long moment whilst looking at Kia, then Plant and finally responded to the General, “Okay.”

Forest exhaled a breath of relief.

“Alright, let’s go back inside and we’ll get started on the operational briefing,” he remarked as he turned and led the group back into the operational headquarters.

24

Washington

Smithwright slowly opened his eyes and tried to get his bearings of where he was. He saw the nurse standing over him, heard the machines, smelt the familiar scents of a hospital and realised he was in a bed.

He tried to speak, but his mouth was fixed in position. He tried his arms but they felt numb. Suddenly looking concerned he noticed a middle aged man step into his vision and speak.

“Mister Smithwright, my name is Doctor Barton-Joyce and you are at Bethesda Private Hospital. You will not be able to speak, as we have had to wire your jaw in position. You came in here with a broken jaw, smashed teeth, broken nose, fractured cheekbone, knife wound to the right thigh, severe blood loss, knife cut to the throat and four broken ribs. You have been here for nearly three days and we still need to do another two or three operations depending on your healing process. I cannot say for sure how long you will have to stay but I imagine at least eight to ten weeks. This is Nurse Jane and she will help you as much as possible. I will say whoever did this to you knew exactly what they were doing and you are very lucky to be alive … could you please blink that you understand what I have said,” asked the doctor.

Smithwright closed and opened the one eye that seemed to work as he tried to watch the doctor leave.

25

Istanbul

Sitting in an exclusive, five star hotel, central Istanbul, Bohad had now recovered from his anger at the failure of their attack on the second Grey Wolves facility. Room service had been very impressive and he was enjoying all the staff falling over themselves to help him. At six thousand US dollars per night he thought they should be acting this way.

The Turkish national had earned his money and probably saved his own life by finding three young Turkish girls.

Having exhausted himself with the girls Bohad was ready for more action with the Grey Wolves. He ordered two of his men to get rid of the girls and ensure the bodies were not found, at least until after they had left the country.

It was 0500 and he wanted to be on a flight back to Sierra Leone by 0800. He instructed his driver, the Turkish national and the remaining three guards to be ready to leave in thirty minutes. At 0530, they climbed into two of the cars and headed to the next Grey Wolves location.

They arrived at the boarded up deserted hotel, which had been made to look like a construction site. His men leapt from the vehicles and circled the building to check on any guards or detection devices.

One of his men returned from the reconnaissance and advised there was one guard, at the end of the back alley and he was half asleep. Bohad decided he wasn’t in the mood for a fire fight so he instructed his men to plant all the C4 they had and set detonation for 0645. Twenty minutes later they were all back in the cars and heading to the airport. Bohad felt satisfied. This explosion would show he meant business and he was now the one they would be dealing with.

26

Washington

They had been sitting in the briefing room, for four hours, going over all possible scenarios when an aide knocked and entered.

“Sir, we have just received Intel,” she said as she handed the single page to the General.

Forest was sitting at the head of the large, twenty four seat table, with Kia and Wade to his right and Plant to his left.

They had been studying satellite imagery, photos and landscape layouts on the various nine plasma screens throughout the room. Whilst reading Intel documents and listening to briefings from Forest’s staff.

Forest read the Intel report, looked at Wade and spoke, “Okay things have changed. We have received a report from Bethesda that Smithwright will be out of action for at least eight to ten weeks, thanks to Wade.”

He noticed no response from Wade, or the other two, so he continued.

“We have just had it confirmed that a Sierra Leone Gang Leader, Ammi Bohad, left Turkey bound for Africa. He was in Turkey for less than twelve hours and in that time has killed approximately forty to fifty suspected Grey Wolves, thirty two civilians and destroyed seven buildings. We have intercepted an email message that was sent from Bohad to the Grey Wolves demanding ransom and account details of Duna Obani. Wade, as you well know, took out Obani, and so now Bohad is taking over his territory. Bohad has a reputation of indiscriminate killing and has been known to slaughter individuals, or even groups, that cross him. He pretty well runs the black diamond trade in Sierra Leone and is thought to have an army of over one thousand. This power thrust by Bohad could be used to our advantage.”

The General paused to see if there was any reaction from the group but there was none. He continued, “I would imagine the Grey Wolves will be distracted by todays’ events and will start thinking of retaliation and how they can control Bohad. The problem they will have is they need the diamond and gun trade to continue. But they will also want to stamp their authority. Any thoughts?”

All four sat in silence for over two minutes when finally, Kia spoke.

“If we were able to get rid of Bohad, cause substantial chaos to his army, without anybody knowing who we are, this would unsettle the Grey Wolves and give us a short window of opportunity to get inside their operation?”

They all nodded their heads in agreeance, albeit with not a huge amount of confidence, but at least it was an idea and a possibility and therefore they decided a plan could be devised.

Late into the evening after many hours of drafting ideas, talking with the National Security Council (NSC), the President of the United States (POTUS), the Secretary of State and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), a plan was formalised and accepted. It was decided that Wade would go to Sierra Leone, find Bohad, cause as much damage as possible to his operation and then meet Kia and Plant in Turkey, to plan their next phase.

27

Atlantic Ocean

Early the next morning Wade, Kia, Plant, Forest and three CIA operatives boarded a CIA Gulfstream X at Andrews Air Force base.

The seven hour flight took them directly to US air force base Moron, Spain. Wade then boarded a US Air Force Orion and made the flight to the aircraft carrier USS George H W Bush, stationed with the Fifth Fleet off the west coast of Africa. The trip from Andrews to the carrier went without incident, Wade touch down 1600 (local time). Admiral Johnson had been pre-warned, by CJCS, that an unknown, non-US military male would be landing on his aircraft carrier. He was to make him welcome and provide him with whatever he needed. These orders had come straight from POTUS.

The Admiral stood in the control tower of the USS George H W Bush and watched as the unknown male walked from the Orion. Dressed in all black military clothes, carrying two large bags he had the demeanour of somebody that exuded confidence. The Admiral noticed he walked like a jungle cat on the prowl.

The Admiral had ordered the stranger to be brought directly to him; so he waited.

Wade entered the control tower, saw the Admiral, placed his bags, walked over, put out his hand and said, “Admiral Johnson?”

“Yes, and you are?” asked the Admiral as they shook hands.

“Wade Ross. Good to meet you sir.”

“Good to meet you, Wade … Australian, I presume?”

“Yes and proud of it,” Wade replied.

“I like that … what can I do for you out here in the middle of the ocean?”

“I assume you have received orders from CJCS.”

“I have.”

“All I need is a ride from here to Sierra Leone, at midnight tonight, and then picked up sometime tomorrow.”

The Admiral thought for a moment then looked at his flight chief.

“Scotty, what do we have that could get to Sierra Leone, available for midnight?”

His flight chief checked on a screen and responded, “Sir, all that’s available is a Viper and the only pilot with available flight time is Flight Lieutenant Carters.”

“Okay, Carters it is. Can you make the necessary arrangements and Mister Ross will be ready to leave at midnight.”

“Well, Wade, I guess you can’t tell me what this is all about, so good luck. I will have somebody show you to your quarters and I will also get Lieutenant Carters to call and meet you.”

“Thanks Admiral,” replied Wade as he turned and left.

A navy seaman led him through the endless corridors of the aircraft carrier until they arrived at the officer’s quarters.

He was surprised by the spaciousness of the room considering space was such a rare commodity on a carrier. The room had a bed, clothes locker, writing desk, lounge chair, television set, fridge and ensuite of shower, basin and toilet.

He sat down on the bed and proceeded to unpack his luggage from the two bags.

He spread out bags of Semtex, detonators, boxes of 5.56mm rounds, boxes of 7.62mm rounds, disassembled Styer long range sniper rifle, H+K assault rifle, Glock 9mm pistol, his trusty knife, night vision glasses, long range binoculars, sat phone, grenades and relevant jungle protection products (i.e. tick spray). With all this equipment spread throughout the room it looked like a military supply depot.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Wade realised he would have a problem explaining all this. He threw a blanket over everything. Cautiously approached the door; when he heard a female voice.

“Mister Ross, my name is Flight Lieutenant Crystal Carters. I’m your pilot for tonight.”

Wade opened the door as Carters was about to knock again. Wade was caught off guard at her beauty while she lost her balance trying to knock on an opening door. The whole affair was clumsy. The door fell open, Carters stumbled into the room and Wade fell backwards.

Carters quickly got her balance as she remarked, “I apologise for the intrusion but Admiral Johnson asked that I introduce myself and ascertain your exact requirements for tonight’s flight.”

Wade, still sitting on the floor, looked up at this beautiful woman who, he thought, was probably the first person he had ever met that looked good in a flight suit.

She was tall, five foot ten, shoulder length brunette hair, rich green eyes, olive complexion. He thought how she appeared fit and would probably have long legs.

She was beautiful and he was lost for words.

“Are you okay Mister Ross?” she asked as she looked about the room. Trying to figure out what was happening without appearing like she was intruding. Wade climbed to his feet, put out his hand to shake, as he said, “Lovely to meet you Flight Lieutenant Carters. Sorry about the room and the entrance … Regarding tonight’s flight unfortunately I can’t tell you the exact location until we are in the air. Suffice to say we will be going to the eastern side of Sierra Leone, a district called Kono, near the Guinea border on the Sewa River. So if you could allow enough fuel to fly that far, that would be all we need.”

“Please, call me Crystal,” Carters replied as she blushed and quickly left the room.

Wade couldn’t figure out what had just caused her reaction but he knew he had to get ready and put it to the back of his mind.

As per the Admiral’s instruction a navy seaman arrived at his door, at exactly 2330 and escorted him to the flight briefing centre.

He arrived at the briefing room and was confronted with a Naval Flight Captain, standing in the doorway, balling out Carters. As Wade approached the Captain stopped talking, turned and left.

“What was that all about?” asked Wade, noticing that Crystal was extremely upset and nervous.

“Nothing,” she replied, trying to get her composure. He paused and said, “Well, if there is anything I can do to help, just ask.”

She nodded, stood up and said, “We should go over the flight plan.”

28

Sierra Leone

The flight plan showed they would be in the air for two and a half hours, with one of those hours over the Sierra Leone mainland. Wade had explained they were heading for an area south of Mount Lorna Mansa, on the eastern side of Sierra Leone, near the Guinea border.

After all the relevant approvals and plans had been finalised they made there way to the flight deck. Crystal had become very quiet and cagey in her demeanour and Wade knew the Captain actions had shook her up. Not a person who gets too involved with the affairs of others he tried to block it out but this woman had him intrigued and he knew his great skill of compartmentalisation was for the first time just not working.

Cruising in stealth mode at 2000 feet, four kilometres south of Mount Lorna Mansa and seven kilometres west of the target destination; Crystal suddenly yelled into Wade’s helmet “We’re locked on, we’re locked on.”

With this she immediately took evasive action, thrusting the cyclic forward which plunged the Viper into a vertical dive. Releasing anti-missile chaff, activating all available ECM (electronic countermeasures) and hitting the kill switch to all the radar sweeping electronics.

Wade looked across to Crystal as she frantically spoke, “We have a SAM (guided surface to air missile) locked on to our tail and impact is about fifteen seconds. Hang on.”

The Viper was in a very serious dive as the sound of the MAW (missile approach warning) system was screaming throughout the helicopters interior.

“Ten seconds to impact.”

“Five seconds to impact,” was coming from the voice recorded missile tracking device.

They were at 400 feet, in a vertical dive, when the SAM slammed into the tail rotor. The direction of impact between the missile and the tail rotor, and the speed of the Viper’s fall, caused the rear rotor tail blade to sheer away from the frame of the helicopter and the consequent explosion aided in levelling out the Viper body.

The sound of the explosion was deafening, within the cockpit, but Crystal stayed composed enough to be able to crash the Viper through the trees and into the reeds at the edge of a lake.

The denseness of the reeds and the water helped cushion the crash and stopped the fuel line from exploding.

Wade opened his eyes and immediately smelt the aviation gas. The cockpit was seconds away from becoming a blazing inferno. He quickly unbuckled his seat belt, suddenly realising water was at the seat line and they were sinking.

Scrambling through the pitch black, he reached around, found Crystal, unbuckled her seat belt and she fell forward. He knew she was unconscious. Picking her up, under the legs and around the neck, he splashed his way out of the cockpit and toward the rear door.

Feeling the helicopter starting to sink faster, nose first into the lake, Wade kicked and kicked at the door until it broke open.

Scrambling and falling into the reeds, he got to his feet, manoeuvred Crystal into a fireman’s carry position and proceeded to slash and crash a path through the tall, sharp, scratching, cutting reeds. He kept forcing his way until he felt the ground start to rise. The mud became more slippery and difficult for him to keep his footing. Finally, the reeds and mud stopped and he climbed on to solid ground. Focusing his night vision, which was by now fully active, he looked out across the small clearing.

It was definitely not the best location but time was of the essence. He headed one hundred metres across the clearing to where he found a suitable tree. He propped Crystal against the tree, checked she was stable and raced back to the helicopter to get his gear.

When he returned, she had regained consciousness and was trying to determine where she was and what had happened.

Wade dropped his bags, bent down next to her and whispered, “I want you to be as quite as possible. I am going to check if you’re okay.” He felt around her arms, legs, back, chest, stomach and deducted she had fractured her left wrist. She had numerous cuts and bruises to her hands, face, neck and her breathing indicated a possible rib injury.

Using the first aid pack and some homemade implements; reeds for splints and strips of jungle vine as strapping, he was able to bandage and brace her wrist. Next he quickly checked and washed all the cuts to ensure none were life threatening. Bandaged the severe cuts and proceeded to help her to her feet.

As she rose he saw he grimace with pain and struggle to breathe. Leaning her against the tree, he proceeded to undo her flight suit and lift her shirt.

“What are you doing?” she asked, surprise at his action and grabbing to hold her shirt.

“I believe you have either bruised or broken ribs. If we are to get out of here, you need to be able to walk and breathe. If you let me wrap this vine around you it will hold the ribcage in place and not cause any more damage,” Wade whispered. Crystal just nodded as the pain started to take over.

Finding the special vine, he needed, and stripping it into two inch wide lengths, he then started wrapping it around her ribcage.

“I want you to breathe in while I pull these vines tight,” he whispered, “this will make your breathing harder so you will only be able to take small breaths but at least the pain should stop.”

Crystal concentrated hard on her breathing as Wade wrapped the vines around and around. Eventually he stopped and pulled her shirt back down.

“I want you to sit down, try and concentrate on smaller breaths. Don’t say a word and I’ll be back in a minute.”

With that he was gone.

Four minutes later he returned.

“I want you to slowly suck this reed,” Wade said as he helped her to her feet, “We need to get going.”

“What is this and where are we going?” Crystal asked as she put the hollow reed in her mouth.

“It is something that will take away the pain and help with your concussion,” Wade whispered, “and we are heading west. Unless you want to wait here, for a rescue from the carrier, but I would strongly advise against that as I would imagine that those who launched the SAM won’t be far away.”

Crystal felt the reed make her mouth numb. Her breathing was easing and the headache seemed to be abating.

“I don’t know who you are or what’s going on here, but you seem to know what you are doing, so I think I will come with you,” replied Crystal.

Wade nodded, bent down, picked up his packs, helped Crystal to her feet, and pulled out his knife to check his bearings.

Crystal saw he had an illuminated compass in the end of his knife. “This way,” he whispered.

They headed west and immediately the jungle got denser. Wade made some obscure left and right turns and they come out on what seemed like a vehicle track that hadn’t been used for a long time. It was over grown but the growth was only grass and the tyre tracks were still visible.

They followed the track for an hour, when suddenly Wade turned, grabbed her by the arm and crash tackled her off the track into the jungle trees and vines. With his hand clamped over her mouth he whispered into her ear, “Not a word.”

Crystal then heard what he was talking about as an old dilapidated army truck came along the beaten track. It passed and stopped fifty metres further along. Shouting and yelling pierced the surroundings as seven rebels leapt from the truck, armed with AK47 rifles and machetes. Three men, two women and three children were then bundled from the truck while the rebels kept shouting, kicking and hitting them. The prisoners were forced to get on their hands and knees with their faces in the dirt.

One of the rebels drew his razor sharp machete, grabbed a man by the head, and in one swift motion decapitated him. The remaining rebels cheered as he raised the head and threw it into the bushes.

Wade turned to Crystal who was gasping and dry reaching. He dropped his pack and pulled out what looked like a stub nose machine gun with a silencer.

“Do not move … whatever happens,” he commanded and before she could even respond, he had vanished into the trees.

Crystal lay behind the tree, in the bushes, and noticed that the rebels were getting quieter. In less than sixty seconds the only sounds were the jungle creatures. She peered from behind the tree and saw Wade helping the prisoners back into the truck. She picked up Wade’s packs and made her way to him.

Crystal just looked at him as he took the packs and responded, “Thanks.”

“Come on, jump in, we need to get out of here,” remarked Wade as if nothing had happened.

They both climbed into the front of the truck, with one of the remaining prisoners acting as a guide. He directed them back to their village. The village was nine thatched huts grouped in a circle around a dried well. Some had parts of the roof missing others had walls that appeared to have been slashed off. Most of the adults had been beaten at some time and many of the children were missing a hand or arm or leg. Pots were cooking over small fires.

On their arrival, those rescued and the villagers were extremely thankful and offered food and water. Wade asked for some local clothing, which they provided. He thanked them and told them where he would be leaving the truck as they headed off. Crystal was in awe of how Wade reacted with the villagers and how quickly they seemed to accept him. At first instance he came across as a hunting, killing, fighting machine but he genuinely exuded compassion and warmth. She smiled as they drove off feeling glad to be with him.

29

Sierra Leone

They had been driving for forty five minutes, over some very rough terrain, neither had said a word, when Wade slowed the truck and pulled it into an overhanging rock ledge. Switching off the engine and lights, he grabbed his packs, weapon, looked across at Crystal and said, “Let’s go.”

It was 0300 and they only had two more hours of darkness to get to the destination point.

They partly ran and briskly walked, for an hour, depending on Crystal’s breathing, when Wade stopped. “Alright we’re going up this tree,” he said and pointed. “Make sure you don’t touch any of those orange trails.”

Partly amazed by the statement Crystal went to put her face closer as Wade yanked her back.

“I mean it. It will feel like you have been stung by a thousand bees.”

“What are they?”

“Soldier ants. They hunt on mass and when disturbed they swarm. You would have hundreds of bites before we could get away and you would be in pain for hours. If we don’t touch their trails or interfere with them, it’s all okay.”

They proceeded to climb with Wade partly lifting and partly coaxing Crystal as she kept a cautious watch on the ants. A large fork appeared in the tree at forty feet up and Wade decided this was a suitable spot.

Leaving Crystal, he climbed back down, retrieved his packs and covered their tracks. On his return he went higher and started hacking off branches to use as camouflage. Thirty minutes after the whole tree exercise had commenced, and the first rays of morning sun were coming through the trees, Wade sat down.

“Right, this is what’s happening. See that fuselage over there, in amongst the trees?” Wade stated as he looked at Crystal, who nodded, “Well that is the lair of a known gun runner and black diamonds gang lord. He and all his gang members, along with about two to three hundred locals, will be arriving any minute now.”

As if on cue, they saw and heard the two abreast line of beaten, exhausted, head dropped locals come into view. The line seemed to go on forever, as they crossed their view from right to left.

The guards were continually rifle prodding, hitting and shouting at their prisoners to keep them moving.

After the scene had finished Wade continued, “My job is to get rid of their leader and cause as much damage as possible to the remaining gang. I had intended to have all this completed and gone by sunrise. Now that’s not possible, we will watch today and I will finish tonight.”

Crystal, who was now completely dumbstruck at what she was hearing, looked at him and asked, “Who are you and how are you going to do all this? Plus, how do you expect we will we get out of here?”

Wade looked at her and could tell she was scared. He proceeded to tell her, “I’m an Australian Special Forces operative who specialises in this sort of work and this sort of environment. I have all the equipment I need to finish this but I need to do it at night. That’s the advantage I use. To get out of here we will cross into Guinea and make our way north, then east as best we can. I’ve done this before so you just have to trust me … but my concern is your ribs.”

He waited for her response.

Crystal looked at her fractured wrist, superbly splintered, considering the conditions, then looked up at Wade and replied, “Thank you for telling me ... I do trust you, especially since you have saved my life, twice now.”

“Well, try and get comfortable because this will be a long day. No noise and no moving unless I say so.”

Crystal nodded in agreement.

30

Spain

Plant entered the control centre, Moron air base, 0600 as Forest and Kia were pouring themselves an early morning coffee.

“We have just received word from the USS George H W Bush, that Wade’s chopper could have been shot down over Sierra Leone. They have reported a SAM launched and exploded. It is unclear if the SAM was directed at Wade’s chopper as the chopper went stealth and was flying below radar the moment it crossed onto the mainland. The Admiral advised he was expecting the chopper to return before sunrise. Sunrise was two hours ago and for them to be trapped out there, in daylight, is not good,” said Plant.

Kia was first to speak, “Well if you wanted it to be anybody out there, Wade would be your first choice.”

Forest looked at Kia, “You know him better than anyone. What’s your take on what we should do?”

“He’s good sir, so if he’s alive I would give him some time. Maybe forty eight hours. We should also get a satellite watch on Bohad’s camp. I believe sending anybody else in, at this time, could be more detrimental than advantageous.”

“Alright then, that’s how we’ll do this,” the General replied as he turned to one of his aides to organise the satellite coverage.

Plant and Kia walked out of earshot. “Do you really think he could have survived a SAM?” asked Plant.

“Joe I really don’t know but I will say of all the people that could survive some of the most unbelievable situations Wade is definitely the stand out.”

“He really is that good?”

“Yes he really is. He has the amazing ability to coordinate and unravel very complicated situations at the blink of an eye. His photographic memory is unrivalled, he has lightning reflexes and his stealth is scary.”

“I hope you’re right.”

31

Sierra Leone

The day passed uneventfully and very uncomfortably, especially for Crystal, who was starting to think she was becoming addicted to the reed Wade given her.

They had watched young boys coming and going with glass jars.

Wade had determined there were approximately forty men and five women; who he suspected were used for sex, in the fuselage and another sixty five guarding at the diamond pits.

During the mid-afternoon, the hottest time of day, when Wade knew Bohad’s men would be at their least state of awareness, he slipped out of the tree. He headed away from the fuselage and down the track where the guards had come earlier that morning.

Seven hundred metres he came upon an old deserted village that had been converted to a prison. He counted thirty huts that served as shelter for the prisoners. The huts had thatched roofs, no windows or doors, earthen floors and strewn banana leaf beds. The village was circled with two metre high rows of razor wire. One single person width gate was the only access.

He found an area of ground where the guards would throw food through the fence and the prisoners would have to scavenge for what they could. Opposite side of the compound, he discovered another area, which had three very deep holes and were used as toilets. Each hole had a knotted rope beside it. Any non-obeying prisoners were thrown in and if they were able to survive until the rebels agreed to their release, then the others would go down the knotted rope to rescue them. The area was covered with flies, insects, rats and all forms of creatures associated with disease.

Outside the compound, two hundred metres from the gate, eight large shipping containers had been placed together to form a living area for the guards. A generator for their lighting, air conditioning and all other electrical appliances. Wade noticed televisions, computers and a large transmitting and receiving satellite dish on the roof. A diesel water pump ran from the river.

Behind the guard’s compound was a cleared area, which showed all the signs of a helicopter landing pad.

He gathered further Intel on guard posts, ammunition, weapon locations and radio areas. He was surprised there were no early warning devices set up around the camp but then he thought maybe they believed no one would be stupid enough to take them on.

Arriving back at the tree he found Crystal had fallen asleep through sheer exhaustion. He woke her four hours later as the night was starting to set upon the jungle and the last of the prisoners and guards left the area.

Climbing down the tree, in the semi darkness, stretching their arms and legs; Wade explained what was going to happen. He had found an area on the far side of the prison enclosure that would enable a quick escape and could also aid in their protection, if anything went wrong.

Gathering up the packs, weapons and helping Crystal they set off in a wide berth of the camp.

Movement through a jungle silently is extremely difficult. Made all the more difficult when at night but borderline impossible when with somebody inexperienced.

Two hours later they arrived at the base of a large rock outcrop that was perched one hundred metres above the surrounding jungle. They climbed the steep hill and crawled under the rock.

Crystal was by now extremely exhausted and he breathing was so shallow Wade was worried her lungs could have more problems than he first thought. He made her comfortable. He gave her food, water and setup a protection area around the rock ledge.

“Okay, now you must not leave here until I return. I’ve set up tripwires, with Claymore mines, spring grenades and dagger points so nobody or no animals will get in here,” Wade whispered.

Crystal nodded in acknowledgement whilst struggling to see him in the dark.

“I should be back in a couple of hours. Then we move.” With that he was gone.

Wade knew the first thing he needed to do was to get rid of any guards around the container area.

Approaching he saw a guard with an AK47 slung over his shoulder and a machete hanging from his belt, leaning on the gate to the prison area. A further two guards had fallen asleep sitting on drums at each end of the container compound.

He heard loud drunken noise coming from within the compound.

He skirted both compounds and found no others. He executed a silenced double tap to take out the three guards. Dragged their bodies into the jungle and placed C4 charges on all the containers, around the ammo dump, on fuel lines and against areas to cause the maximum amount of damage. The charges were hidden and set to be activated by remote detonation.

He entered the prisoner compound. He heard shuffling, fidgeting, moans andmuffled cries of pain. The prisoners were so malnourished and beaten their bodies were collapsing on them. Using the sounds as cover he snuck from area to area trying to convince the prisoners to come with him. They were petrified and thought it a trap. A young teenage boy felt trust toward Wade and eventually convinced the others to follow. Keeping them as quiet as possible, he slowly moved them away from the guard compound and into the jungle.

Once they were all clear and heading away from the camp, he found a tree, two hundred metres from the camp that provided a clear view to the guard compound. He attached his rifle scope and readied himself to detonate. Checking through his night scope he kept scanning the compound until he was sure he had identified Bohad. Once confirmed, he detonated the charges. The blast was tremendous with flames rocketing up to seventy metres in the air and the force of the explosion nearly knocking him out of the tree.

He waited a further five minutes to ensure there were no survivors. Convinced, he made his way back to Crystal. Disconnected and removed all the early warning devices, checked she was still okay and they headed off east toward Guinea.

32

Spain

“Mister Plant,” the aide called, as he stayed glued to his screen.

They had been in the control centre for nearly twenty-four hours. Continually watching blank screens, listening to defence force comms, starting to wonder if anything was going to happen.

Forest and his aides had been called back to Washington and had left on the first available flight.

This left Kia and Plant to try and ascertain what was happening and, if possible, establish and determine new levels of engagement, as required.

“What’ve you got,” Plant replied as he came up behind the seated aide while watching the satellite feed on his screen.

“We’ve just had a satellite pass over the Sierra Leone camp and it showed an extremely large explosion. The satellite had passed beyond a viewable range before we could ascertain the full extent of damage.”

“How long before the next pass and we can confirm?” Asked Plant.

“Nine hours, sir.”

Plant stood there as Kia approached.

She smiled as she looked at the now blank screen, “I knew he would succeed.”

“So what will he do now?” asked Plant.

“I’m sorry but I have absolutely no idea … I guess we’ll just have to wait and see where he turns up,” she replied.

“Well we better inform General Forest of what’s happened,” Plant remarked as he walked from the control operations centre.

“General Forest, Kia here. We’ve just received satellite imagery that indicates Wade has destroyed Bohad’s camp. We’ve had no communication with him. No idea of where he is and what he intends to do.” She said into the secure encrypted phone line.

“What’s your guess on his movements?” asked Forest.

“I would imagine he would try to get to the top of Africa somehow and then make his way to Turkey. Knowing Wade, he won’t stop until the mission is complete,” she responded.

“Right … I want you and Joe to make your way to Turkey. You need to get in under the cover of darkness. I definitely don’t want your face seen. We’ll talk again when you’re there.”

33

Italy

They had been travelling for four days, through jungle, on dusty dirt tracks, across a burnt out village and through rivers. Torrential rainstorms, the raging heat of a desert and the infamous windstorms of the Savannah had been their constant companions. They had walked, stolen vehicles, hitched a ride on a plane and eventually arrived at the coast of Tunisia. They stowed on board a fishing boat which sixteen hours later docked in Naples, Italy. Looking like refugees, no identification, filthy clothes, disheveled hair, cuts and bruises and Crystal in her tattered unmarked flight suit, the authorities struggled to believe their story. Crystal eventually convinced them to allow a call to the US Naval base. After confirming they were who they said they were the local immigration officials agreed to let them enter and escorted them the short distance to the gates of the base. On their arrival they asked to be taken to the base commanding officer.

The Seaman, who had escorted them from the gate, knocked on the door.

“Come in,” was the reply from behind the door. The Seaman opened the door and lead Wade and Crystal into the office of Captain James Blackwood. The Seaman spoke, “Sir, these two people have requested that they talk with you. They were brought to the base by two Italian Immigration Officers.”

“Thank you Seaman, you’re excused,” replied Blackwood. “Now, what can I do for you two?”

“My name is Wade Ross, I am an Australian and this is Flight Lieutenant Crystal Carters, attached to the USS George H W Bush.”

“Well Mister Ross and Miss Carters, I don’t deny you are who you say you are but once again what do you want from me?” asked the Captain.

“I know you have a direct link to Naval Command, at the Pentagon, and I would like you to contact them. Once our identities have been confirmed I then need to talk to General Forest,” said Wade.

The base commanding officer could hardly believe what he was hearing from these two raggedly dressed individuals and was very hesitant to agree to this request.

Blackwood knew that going directly to Naval Command and if it all went sour, would definitely not help his career.

“I’m not sure I can do that,” replied the Captain.

“Why not, sir?” asked Crystal.

“I have no idea who you are and I will not be calling Fleet Command on the say so of two individuals, dressed as civilians, with no ID and who have just entered the country illegally.”

“Well sir, maybe you could contact Admiral Johnson on board the USS George H W Bush to confirm my identity. I report to Flight Chief Jason Scott and I am a Viper pilot,” remarked Crystal, who was by now becoming extremely agitated and struggling to remain standing. The effects of her rib injury and her level of exhaustion were starting to take a toll on her body.

“Alright. Wait outside. I’ll see what I can do,” replied Blackwood.

Wade and Crystal stepped outside the office just as Crystal collapsed in the chair.

Two minutes later Blackwood opened the door and responded with, “Well, your story checks out and Admiral Johnson has told me to help in any way I can.”

Wade stood, helped Crystal to her feet and they walked back into the office.

“Okay, let’s get the Pentagon on the phone. As I said, I need to talk with General Forest.”

Wade and Crystal once again collapsed into the chairs as the Captain dialled the Pentagon.

With the phone on loudspeaker Blackwood was shuffled through three different people, eventually a Pentagon Aide came on the phone and said, “Just punching you through to JCS.”

Captain Blackwood sat there flabbergasted, trying to understand why this call had gone right to the virtual top of the command tree. “JCS, who are you looking for?” a voice came over the speaker phone.

“Good morning, this is Captain Blackwood, Naples, Italy with Mister Wade Ross wishing to speak with General Forest.”

“General Forest is not here, putting you through to POTUS, please hold.”

By this time Blackwood was starting to perspire, sitting up straighter in his chair, eyeing the two individuals sitting in front of him with utter bewilderment. Suddenly the phone was picked and a voice said, “President Markham, who’ve I got?”

Stammering through his words, Blackwood started. “Sir, this is Captain Blackwood, Naval Command, Naples, Italy.”

“Good afternoon Captain. What can we do for you?” asked the President.

“Sir, I have a Mr Wade Ross and a Flight Lieutenant Crystal Carters, here in my office. We are all on speaker phone and Mr Ross has asked to speak to General Forest.”

The President replied, “Thank you Captain. Well Wade I’m guessing if you’re there, everything has gone to plan?”

“That’s pretty well correct, if you call being shot down by a SAM, going to plan?”

“Sorry to hear that but where to from here? General Forest informed me to expect a call from you,” asked the President.

“Firstly, if you could instruct Captain Blackwood to help us, I then need the Captain to leave the room,” Wade replied as he looked across at the stunned base Commanding Officer.

“Sure. Captain Blackwood, I will get Naval Command to send through an authorisation for you to provide Mr Ross with whatever he needs.”

“Yes sir,” replied Blackwood as he got to his feet and left the room. They waited until the door was closed.

“Okay Wade, I’m placing this on speaker phone. There are three of us in here; Secretary of State, Charlotte Bysmith, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Burt Razen, and myself. Go ahead.”

“Mr President, I’m not sure you heard before but I have another person here with me from the USS George H W Bush. She was my pilot in Sierra Leone when the chopper was shot down. She has seen all that has happened so far, knows what I am doing and I have no problem with her being here.” Paused. “I believe we have a short window of opportunity, as it has already taken me four days to get here. I need to get into Turkey. I need to do it right now and I need as few people as possible knowing what I’m doing. I’ll give the Captain here a list of what I need and then I’ll have to develop my plan as I go. I also need to get word to Kia to get satellite coverage of outback Australia. We should also get heat sensor drones operating there to try and detect those manufacturing plants.”

Razen spoke up, “Mr Ross, General Razen here. I’ll make all this happen but how do we contact you? We had no idea what was going on in Africa and General Forest had to go on a hunch from Kia.”

“Well unfortunately General, you’ll have to do the same thing this time. I can’t allow comms with anybody and General Forest and President Markham knew this when I started.”

“So be it, if there is nothing else … then good luck soldier,” the line went dead.

Wade got up, walked to the door and asked the Captain to come in.

“Mr Ross, I know I shouldn’t be asking but who the hell are you?” asked Blackwood as he went around his desk and sat back down.

“Captain, you’re right. You shouldn’t be asking and I will not be telling you. You’ll receive an official communiqué from Naval Command very shortly. This will be your authorisation to help us without asking any questions. I’ll give you two lists. The first list is to be sent to General Razen, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff and I would strongly suggest you don’t read it. Once sent, destroy it. The second list is items we need you to get for us from this base. We need a room to clean up and I need transport to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey ready to go at 1900 tonight,” Wade instructed. With that he stood, reached down to help Crystal and turned to the Captain.

“I’ll get someone to show you to your quarters,” replied the still stunned Captain.

The day had gone along quite quickly. Wade had prepared his lists; the items from the base were on the floor of their room and the items from Naval Command were due any minute. They had showered, cleaned up and were in new clothes. A doctor had checked them both for injuries and bandaged Crystal’s wrist and ribs, which had now been diagnosed as bruised. They were sitting on their beds, with an hour before they left.

“I would like to come with you, to Turkey?” Crystal softly spoke as she looked at Wade.

Wade nodded, looked down at his hands and thought, ‘she is so beautiful, I’ve put her through so much, I just can’t endanger her life anymore.’

“Thank you, that is nice of you to say, but unfortunately I’ll need all my wits about me for this lot and I’m sorry but you don’t have the skills. I would spend all my time worrying about protecting you.”

Crystal smiled as she spoke, “You are the first person who has ever said that or even cared about me since the day I entered the military. That is very nice but I would like to help.”

Wade nodded again, as he lowered his head.

“Well can I wait for you at Incirlik and you can at least promise me you’ll come back, so we can head back to the States together?” asked Crystal.

“Okay then, I promise,” replied Wade hesitantly as he started to sort his equipment.

After a few minutes Wade spoke, “I’ve been meaning to ask. What was happening with that Captain and you when I approached in the flight centre on the carrier?”

Surprised by his question, Crystal thought for a moment and then dropped her head so as not to have to look at him. “As you could imagine being a female pilot in a male dominated world is not easy and unfortunately I was continually picked on. I learnt that the male pilots and officers would try anything to have sex with me and they treated it like a game, or a conquest, or something,” she stammered as the tears fell on to her lap.

“It’s okay you don’t have to tell me,” Wade said as he reached over, put his arm around her and held her tight.

Crystal felt so safe with this man. She could not believe it, as she continued, “No I would like to tell you. My father was a very successful pilot during the Vietnam War and when I was born, my mother died at childbirth. My father loved my mother so much he never remarried but I always felt he wanted a son to follow in his footsteps as a pilot, so I became a pilot. I’m not sure it was the best idea at the time but I haven’t seen my father as proud as he was when I graduated flight school. On my first posting I was assaulted by the XO. He threatened if I ever said anything about it he would make it public knowledge and claim why would a twenty year acclaimed veteran consider destroying his career for a bit of sex with a bimbo who believed that bedding the XO was the way to promotion. On top of that he said he would destroy my career and tarnish me in front of my father … and now I just have to pay the price.”

Wade reached over lifted her head and looked into her tear filled eyes as he said; “No one will ever hurt you again … that I promise.”

Crystal’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped but she could not get any words out. Wade continued with sorting his gear.

The Captain was good to his word and at 1900 they boarded a Naval VIP jet, with Wade carrying his two fully laden black carry bags.

34

Turkey

Midnight, local time, they arrived at Incurlik Air Base. The base was buzzing with jets scrambling in take off and landing. A large military Russian Antonov cargo plane thundered down the runway. As the largest plane ever built everybody noticed the size and noise of the six large jet engines that screamed to lift the 660 tonnes into the sky. Wade was surprised, as he walked down the steps of the jet, to see Kia and Plant standing waiting.

“Well, hello stranger,” remarked Plant.

“Hi Joe, Kia. How are you both?” asked Wade.

“Good thank you Wade … and who is this with you?” asked Kia, with the fire intensity of a volcano in her eyes as she watched this beautiful tall woman follow him down the steps.

“Joe, Kia this is Crystal,” answered Wade as he turned and introduced them all. “Crystal was my pilot, from the carrier, and we got shot down over the LZ. She has been with me ever since,” he said as he smiled at them both.

“And what will CRYSTAL be doing now?” asked Kia once again, with more fire in her voice.

“Chill out Kia. Crystal is coming with us and when it’s all finished she will be heading back to the States. She knows what’s going on, so don’t try and make this difficult,” Wade stated as he glared at Kia, with his piercing eyes.

Kia turned and headed away from the jet.

They all made their way to their quarters and as they were splitting up to their respective rooms, Kia grabbed Wade by the arm, stopped him and said, “What were you thinking? She might be beautiful, have a great body but she cannot be here.”

“Granted, she might not be like you and I, but I’m not leaving her until I get her safely home. I owe her that and that is the end of this conversation … got it?” Wade commanded as he turned and headed for his quarters.

An hour later, the four of them, plus two CIA agents gathered in the officer’s operational wing.

Wade was the first to speak, “Joe, have you got the info on the mosque?”

“Sure,” he replied as he handed Wade a small tracking device, about the size of a wedding ring. “Once you get to within fifty metres, the signal will die.”

With that Wade, dressed in all black military gear and carrying a small pack, stood and left the room.

The mosque was twenty five minutes from the base, housed in a very dense, poor residential area. Carefully making his way through the side streets, surrounding the mosque, he proceeded in a circuit surveillance to ascertain who or what was guarding.

Deciding there were no guards, he found a deserted building overlooking the mosque and settled down to observe.

After an hour of watching he had decided the only way into the mosque was by wearing a Burkha. Contemplating how he could make this happen, he suddenly saw Crystal walking across his line of sight.

Springing from his hiding position, he grabbed her and pulled her into the building.

“What the hell are you doing here?” whispered Wade as he continually scanned the area, looking for anybody who might have seen her arrive.

He noticed she had been smart enough to dress in black and hide her hair and face.

Part of him felt good she was there but another part was wishing she was safe at the base. He had fought for years to restrict his emotions towards others so as to not cloud his judgement when he most needed to be clear headed. At various times he had meet and dated woman but nothing serious had ever developed. Something about Crystal seem different. He wasn’t sure what but he felt better when she was around.

“I wanted to be with you. I know I’m not as capable as you. I know you told me to stay at the base but I believe I could be of some help. Plus, I owe you for saving my life,” Crystal replied.

“Well there is not much we can do now except work out how we are going to get into that mosque.”

“And what had you been thinking?” she asked.

“It appears to me that to get in I need to be wearing a Burkha. Everybody who has entered has been wearing one. I have no idea if they’re male or female, but it’s pretty hard to believe that only females are entering a mosque.”

They were sitting in silence watching the mosque off to their right, when Crystal noticed out to her left peripheral vision, a small child slowly wandering along. The child appeared lost with its head down and softly crying.

Crystal got to her feet, looked at Wade and said, “I need to help that child.”

“You can’t. It could get us killed,” whispered Wade, with intensity in his voice.

“Sorry but I must,” she said as she ran out the door.

Wade sat thinking ‘How much more can this go wrong?’

He watched as Crystal got to the child, picked it up, turned and headed back the way it had came. She rounded a corner and Wade lost sight.

Ten minutes past and she reappeared carrying something under her arm.

Wade looked at the garments, looked at Crystal and asked, “What happened?”

She handed the robe and explained, “It turns out the child was lost. As I was walking back, the way she had come, we came across the mother. The mother was frantic and when she saw me helping the child, she was so relieved and thankful she asked if there was anything she could do to repay me. So I asked her if I could borrow two Burkha’s and here they are.”

“Excellent,” replied Wade as they both commenced dressing.

Two minutes later they were entering the front doors of the mosque. Wade was suddenly taken back by the sight of the two men, the CIA had identified as being responsible for his mother and sister’s death.

The CIA could not confirm they had actually planted the devices but they did know they were in Darwin, and at the scene, at the time of the explosion.

Using all his willpower to remain constrained and keeping his head bowed, he stopped and looked down the mosque corridors as if he was searching for a specific door.

The two men headed for a side door, turned, checked no one was watching and left.

The number of people milling around in the mosque, considering it was approaching 0230, surprised Wade.

Realising this was not the time to be worrying about religious habits; he quickly tapped his hand to Crystal’s arm and motioned for them to leave. Exiting the same door as the two killers, they followed them on a path of continual backtracking, doubling over covered ground and finally arriving at a small hotel. Wade was impressed with their surveillance skills.

The hotel was in an exclusive part of the city and had very little foot traffic at this early hour of the morning.

Watching from across the road and checking for surveillance, cameras or anything out of the ordinary, they waited.

The two men entered and approached an extremely nervous younger guy. He could not stop fidgeting. He kept looking around as if waiting for something to happen. He handed the two a small package the size of a shoebox. They slapped him on the back and walked further into the hotel foyer.

Wade watched as the younger guy exited the front entrance, looked both ways, turned to his right and headed down the alley.

Realising this was an opportunity, he motioned for Crystal to wait where she was and he raced towards the alley.

Wade caught up with the younger guy halfway down the alley. Being caught completely off guard, the guy turned, recognised Wade and lunged. As he turned Wade noticed the knife in his left hand. The attacker thrust the knife left and right, at the same time lunging forward. A person gifted with lightning fast reactionary skills Wade stepped to his left, as if he had all the time in the world, parried the knife and his attackers arm to his right. In one fluid motion, grabbed his attackers head and instantly stepped around behind him.

Unfortunately, the intensity of Wade’s parry and the speed he moved snapped the younger guy’s neck. Realising he now had no chance of getting any information; he dropped the body and raced back down the alley. As he rounded the corner he saw the two killers getting into a taxi.

He ran across the road, grabbed Crystal by the arm and headed in the direction of the taxi.

They had gone one hundred metres when he saw the motorbike. Knowing the culture in the Middle East was to leave a key under the seat, so other family members can use the same bike, he stopped.

He reached under the seat, found the key and fifteen seconds later they were pursuing the taxi.

They covertly followed the taxi, through the city and out to the airport. Not stopping at the terminals the taxi continued to the private charter area.

The two Turks, without hesitation, left the taxi; walked through a side gate and directly across to a waiting unmarked private jet. The moment they entered the jet, the stairs were swung up and closed, and it started to move.

Wade entered the compound and found two maintenance workers. He attempted to gain information about the jet. The language barrier made conversation difficult and the two workers appeared quite concerned about this guy dressed in a Burka and speaking English.

With each passing second Wade realised his attempts were becoming more and more fruitless. He turned and was heading back to Crystal, waiting by the bike outside the compound, when a tall, black, extremely large American approached him.

“Mister Ross, you need to come with me and we need to leave now.”

Wade, not being a person who becomes intimidated, looked the man directly in the eyes and said, “And you might be who?”

“Sir I am here to help you. I have been sent by Joe Plant and we need to move.”

“Okay but she comes with us,” he replied as he looked across to Crystal.

“Yes sir, but we must leave now.”

Wade ran to Crystal, quickly explained they must leave and grabbed her hand as they headed back toward the black American.

By this time the CIA man was heading into a large hangar, as the main doors started to open and light began cascading out into the surrounding darkness.

Rounding the corner and into the side hangar door, they saw the man climbing the stairs into a black jet. Wade instantly recognised it as the same one he came from Darwin to Washington in. They ran to the steps, as the engines were powering up and it was slowly starting to move.

They collapsed into the first two available seats and the big black American said, “Buckle up and I’ll fill you in once we’re airborne.”

Five minutes later with the plane levelling out to a cruising altitude the CIA man approached with a small Asian lady by his side.

“Hi, my name is Special Agent Frank Bryon and this is Special Agent Elizabeth Wu. We are here to help as much as we can and our boss, Joe Plant, has instructed us to do as you request.”

“Good to meet you both. My name is Wade Ross and this is Flight Lieutenant Crystal Carters but I guess you already know that. I have no idea how much Joe has told you about what is going on but right now but I’m hoping to be able to follow a jet that left immediately before us.”

“We guessed that would be what you wanted. The Captain has advised the jet you have asked about is bound for England, more precisely Gatwick airport,” replied Frank.

“Does the Captain know how far we’ll be behind them when we land?” asked Wade.

“This Gulfstream X will have us arriving about an hour before them … so if you want to freshen up, we have a shower you can use and some clothes in the rear room. When you’re ready we will get you some food,” Frank stated as he and Elizabeth turned and left them alone.

Wade suggested Crystal to go first as he had calls he needed to make.

Crystal got up and left for the shower at the rear of the cabin.

“Hi Kia, Joe, as you know I’m on my way to London. Do we know anything about these two guys I’m following?”

Kia replied first, “We know you’re thinking these are the two who murdered your family, and even if that’s right, we need you to forget them. When you arrive in London go to the address I’m sending through now. When you get there the host will show you two photos and you’ll need to decide your next course of action from there.”

“Kia are you serious ... you want me to forget these two guys after what they have done ... sorry that’s not happening,” Wade spoke with such ferocity it bothered Kia.

“If you do anything it might alert the others to what’s going on,” she replied.

The line went quiet and eventually Kia asked, “Wade are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m here … who is this guy in London?”

“He’s an Arab Israeli national, who supplies us with information. He works for no one directly but has links with most sides.”

“And I’m supposed to trust this guy!” remarked a surprised Wade.

“Well actually you are because he is now our only link to the Grey Wolves.”

“Great,” Wade replied as he cut the line.

After he and Crystal had showered, dressed and finished eating; they were sitting in the luxurious sofas when Crystal asked, “How did you get involved in all this?”

Wade thought for a moment as he looked across. He knew he was starting to have feelings for her but he was trying desperately to suppress them.

“It’s a long story and not that interesting,” he casually responded.

“We have plenty of time and I’m sure it will be interesting but if you would rather not talk about it, I understand.”

Wade noticed how she spoke with such gentleness that it made him feel very comfortable.

“Crystal you are a very beautiful person. Somebody who I enjoy being with and talking to but my story is anything but beautiful,” he replied as he bowed his head.

She got up out of her chair, walked over, bent down and kissed him on the cheek as she said, “You are a very beautiful person too and your story would interest me,” she said as she sat back down.

He looked at those beautiful green eyes, nodded and started, “Well as you know I am Australian, I’m thirty three years old, single, military trained both in Australia and overseas. I have no family as my mother and sister were recently killed in a car bomb explosion.”

He paused looked down at his feet and Crystal saw how he had clamped his hands around the sofa arms. She watched the pain spread across his face as he started to speak again.

“My mother, is my adopted mother, she is an Australian indigenous Aboriginal and the same for my sister. They are the most beautiful caring people and they are the loves of my life.”

He paused again and Crystal could tell this was extremely hard for him to talk about but she also noticed how he spoke as if they were still alive.

“I believe those that took my family from me are the two we followed from the hotel and I intend to make them pay.”

She waited until she felt he had relaxed and then asked, “Can I help in any way?”

“Thank you, but just your being here is enough.”

35

London

Arriving 0500, local Gatwick time, Wade and Crystal thanked and bid farewell to their hosts.

The CIA had arranged for a car to take them into Chelsea, western London.

Approximately one hour later they arrived at the address given to them by Kia. The house was a typical single fronted, two storey, brick façade building with a set of steps leading to a leadlight glass front door. The front light was on and noise could be heard coming from inside.

The first rays of morning were becoming obvious out to the east. It was still dark and as Wade stepped from the car he noticed how it had started to snow. There was no wind and most of the sky was clear, even though it was snowing, but it was extremely cold.

They climbed the steps; knocked on the door and a small, squat Arab man, in his late fifties answered the door.

Recognising Wade, he gestured them in the front door and into the first room off to the left. Having still not said a word he handed Wade two photos and stood watching. Wade recognised one of the men in the photos as one of the two they had followed from the hotel and then on to the flight. The other photo showed a younger man who was definitely not Turkish and Wade had not seen before.

He was about to ask who the photo was, when the man handed him a card, nodded, turned and left.

Realising the conversation was over; they left the house, down the steps and back into the waiting car.

Sitting in the car and unsure what to do next Crystal saw something written on the back of the photo of the unknown guy.

It was an address for an art gallery in Soho, north London and there was a name ‘Rabul’.

“Well I don’t think they will be letting us into an art gallery at this time of the morning so let’s go and find it and maybe grab a coffee,” commented Wade.

Arriving at the art gallery Wade was slightly bothered by what was going on. The building did not seem to be what it said it was, but he decided he was just tired and let it go. They found a coffee shop, just opening, directly opposite the gallery and they sent the driver away.

Entering the coffee shop, they both order strong coffees and sat down to rest.

Crystal was the first to speak, “We need to sleep; we can’t keep going like this.”

“I know but something just doesn’t seem right about all this, especially this gallery,” Wade responded as he looked across the road.

The art gallery was a two storey brick building with all the windows boarded up from the inside, painted black and steel security frames on the outside. The front door appeared to be constructed of reinforced steel and painted ‘blood red’. A large sliding viewing hatch was located near the top of the door. Above the door was a very bright downward facing, narrow arced light. Each end of the building had a high-powered security camera. On the roof were five antennas plus four satellite dishes.

“Why would they need so much protection for an art gallery and what’s with all the transmission and receiving equipment on the roof … the whole setup does not seem like an art gallery, more like a fortress,” Wade commented as if talking to himself.

Their coffees arrived and they sat drinking and watching in silence for ten minutes. Suddenly the front door opened and out walked a man.

Wade recognised his gait as that of military. He noticed he was wearing a shoulder holster under his jacket. The man stopped as he closed the door, looked around as if checking for somebody and then looked up to the camera and nodded. He unbuttoned his jacket, checked each way again and headed off down the street.

“This is definitely not an art gallery,” Wade replied as he stood to leave.

“What are you going to do now?” asked Crystal.

“I think we need to check out the rear of the building.”

The streets around Soho are long and narrow and the early hour of the morning took locating the rear entrance, quite difficult. Eventually, after many incorrect attempts, Wade decided they had definitely found the right entrance.

To enter they had to go down a winding narrow alley then turn into a widened carpark area. At the end of the carpark was another steel reinforced door with a sliding hatch, not dissimilar to the front door but not painted. The whole area was covered in rubbish and had not been cleaned for years.

Considering the fortress like state of the building Wade was surprised there were no cameras out here but instead there was a guard. The guard was of Turkish decent six feet tall, well built, with long black unkempt hair, and numerous scars on his face and hands. He had a pistol in a shoulder holster, evident through his jacket, and a knife tucked in his rear waistband. He was extremely cold and continually moving and rubbing his hands to try and keep warm.

Watching from behind the neighbouring building they observed the movement of people in and out of the building. They saw cars arrive and people enter as couples but only men were leaving.

They were about to move when the rear door opened and two men appeared carrying a woman slumped between them. The woman had been badly beaten, appeared unconscious or even dead. Her face nearly unrecognisable, her clothes ripped in shreds and she was covered in blood. The men’s head’s swivelled frantically as they searched for prying eyes. They carried her to a van, open the rear door and threw her inside. Wade knew that the way the body fell she was dead.

He waited until the two men had gone back inside and then whispered to Crystal, “I think that there is some form of female torture or abuse going on in there. So this is what we’re going to do. We’ll approach that guy over there, who is obviously a guard, as if we are invited. I want you to distract him so I can get around behind him and I’ll take care of the rest. Once he is out of the way I want you to go to the end of the alley. There is a pub on the opposite side of the road. I noticed it was open. I want you to go inside and wait in the female toilets. Don’t come out until I come back, no matter what you hear. Okay?” He then waited for her response.

She nodded.

“Can you open your shirt and show some cleavage?”

“Why?” she asked surprised.

“This guy has a gun in a shoulder holster, which won’t be much of a problem but he also has a knife and I need him distracted enough to give me time to get it.”

Crystal smiled as she undid her shirt, “Is that enough?” she asked.

“Well it definitely works for me,” he said smiling.

“Are you ready for this?” Wade asked switching back to military mode and waiting for Crystal’s response. Slowly nodding he could tell she was extremely scared. Holding her hand he said, “Come on.”

They approached the guard as quickly as they could without arousing undue suspicion.

The guard stepped forward, leering at Crystal breasts, “You want in?” he asked in terrible broken English, heavily accented in Turkish. His breathe stunk of cigarettes and alcohol. His eyes glued to her breasts as his hands came up.

Like a choreographed ballerina Wade spun behind the guard and used his left hand to grab the guard’s knife, whilst at the same time he wrapped his right arm around the guards chin and he pulled his head back over his hip. The guard’s own weight and Wade strangle hold instantly snapped his neck.

The sound of bones and vertebrae snapping caused Crystal to jump in fright as she clamped her hand over her mouth.

Holding him upright Wade dragged him behind the van and dumped the body. Searching through his pockets he found the set of keys he needed and the guard’s ID.

He looked across at Crystal who was now buttoning up her shirt and he could tell was visibly shaken from the ordeal. He whispered, “Thanks, now to the pub and wait.”

He watched as she ran down the alley and then he turned to the door. Using the dead guard’s key, he slowly opened the large steel door until he had a gap large enough to enter.

Inside it became apparent that the building had been sound proofed. There were screams coming from all through the building.

The hallway had a single hanging dull globe at the front entrance otherwise it was predominately dark. The smell of stale cigarettes, urine, alcohol and blood coated the air like a heavy blanket.

Heading down the hallway he stopped at the first door on his left. Slowly opening he saw that the room was completely floodlit, with a recording video set up on a tripod off to the left. The video had a red recording light flashing on its top. There were three mattresses stacked on top off each other against the far wall. Flecks of blood were on every wall. On the mattresses was a naked woman who had been severely beaten. Her face nearly unrecognisable as a woman. She was trying to get away from a balaclava clad man, who was naked from the waist down, and was attempting to hit her with a long timber cane.

The woman had her head tucked into her body. She was desperately trying to get into the foetal position as the man attempted to get around the mattresses to reach her.

Without even thinking Wade slammed open the door, took two giant leaps across the room and smashed his elbow into the back of the man’s head with a very simple but decisive killer blow. Instantly the man fell to the ground, dead.

Wade knew he needed to make this whole operation last for as short a time as possible so he immediately charged from the room, closing the door behind him. He crossed the hall, entered the next room and was confronted with the same scenario but this time the attacker had removed his head cover. Once again he eliminated the attacker and left closing the door behind him.

This went on for the remaining six rooms on the ground floor with women in various states of either about to be assaulted or nearly dead and everywhere in between. By the time he had reached the stairs leading to the first floor, there were now nine dead Turks. He fought desperately to control his inner demons to smash these Turks to oblivion and focus on the task at hand.

About to climb the stairs he heard the creak of floorboards as somebody descended. The stair cupboard didn’t give much cover but he knew those in the building would not be suspecting an attack so he had the advantage of surprise. As the person turned into the hallway he was confronted with the guy in the photo, Rabul.

Wade hesitated, all advantage of surprise now gone. Instantly Rabul spun and collected Wade on the side of the head with a strong well directed punch. Hewas knocked back into the doorjamb. His back slammed into the old oak frame and then his head bounced off the same timber. The combination of a dark hallway and his eyes floating around in their sockets like they were caught in a wave at the beach meant he didn’t see Rabul let loose with a kick to his ribs and as Wade fell, another to the side of his head. Staggering to get his bearings, he fell backwards down the hallway. Wade saw Rabul had turned expecting there to be others. Calling on all those years of training and a stronger than average ability to control his mind he leapt to his feet. Having spent many years as a Parkour disciple he bounced off his left foot toward the wall and then off his right foot five feet up the wall. Rabul started to turn as Wade’s foot slammed into his back. He crashed into the front door as his right eye connected with the sliding hatch ripping the ball from the socket. He grabbed for his face and fell to the floor with blood gushing all over his face and hands. Wade reached down grabbed his hair and turned his face toward him.

Rabul tried to spit the blood from his mouth. The blood from his eye and his ruptured kidney, from Wade’s kick, were working together to drown him in his own blood. He looked up, smiled and went limp.

Wade dropped the body and started up the stairs.

The top floor was configured differently with only three doors, one on the left and two on the right.

He approached the one on the left first. He charged inside to be met by eight men sitting on the floor, with their hands duct taped behind their backs and across their mouths. All eight had been severely beaten with some showing clear signs of broken bones. Two children were in the far corner with sacks over their heads, their hands and feet bound. On the opposite side of the room were three filthy mattresses spread the length of the room. The mattresses were covered in blood, urine, dirt, saliva, excreta and semen. Above each mattress was the same video recording equipment and lights as downstairs. They were filming naked, beaten woman in various stages of being raped.

At each mattress was a man, naked from the waist down and another, fully clothed, watching proceedings. Wade saw how the clothed guy was carrying a large hunting knife in his left hand and a riding crop in his right.

Within less than a second from entering the room he was onto the first mattress. Then in one stride directly into the left hand side of the knife wielding guard. As he left the mattress, he grabbed the light stand, which in turn caused the recording equipment to crash onto the rapist.

The force of his kick, into the knife wielding guard, knocked the knife from his hand. With the extra seconds Wade gained he brought the light crashing down on the guard’s head. The force of the impact disintegrated the light fixture and left Wade with a six foot pole.

He spun around and collected the rapist from the first mattress with a blow to the side of his head. The force of the impact instantly shattered his skull. The rapist fell onto the mattress.

Using the pole as leverage he somersaulted through the air. Before either of the two remaining rapists had realised, or could get themselves up from their respective positions, he had killed them both.

Having been in the building for over three minutes, he knew his luck would eventually run out. At that exact moment he turned to see three men standing at the door, with one holding a 9mm pistol, aimed directly at him.

Without hesitation he started walking toward them. Wade knew from his training and years of experience that the one thing that confuses most people when holding a gun; is they believe they are then in control. If they feel the control has been taking away from them they instantly become confused, hesitate and loose the advantage.

He kept walking, still holding the light pole, and continually watching the gunman’s eyes and trigger finger. He noticed the trigger finger had relaxed and the gunman was starting to look at his fellow compatriots for help. By now he was two metres from the gunman. With the gunman’s head turned, in one step he leapt forward, at the same time he brought the light pole down onto the gunman’s wrist, shattering the bone instantly. With his left hand he smashed his nose into his brain, killing him.

Before the remaining two assailants could respond he grabbed his pistol and fired a double tap into them both.

He leapt over the dead Turks and ran into the remaining two rooms and found more woman, in various stages of nakedness and bound, beaten men.

Reaching the end of the hallway, on the top floor, he sensed something was still missing. ‘Where was the room that all the antennas were going to?’

He turned, started back down the hallway. As he passed the open doors he saw the victims starting to get their wits about themselves, helping the others and getting ready to escape.

Taking the stairs three at a time, he got to the bottom, looked down the hallway and noticed the victims were doing the same on this floor. He turned to his left, went behind the stairs and as he suspected there was a door.

The door led down under the stairs. Quickly and quietly he made his way down. As he stepped off the bottom stair he heard a female scream and males yelling in Turkish. The area had also been soundproofed and they had not heard what had happened upstairs.

The corridor led to another closed door at the end. The area under the building had been recently dug out and the earthen walls were wet with seepage. The floor had been covered with old carpet that covered timber pallets sitting directly on the dirt. The carpet was saturated and covered in blood. Hanging from the ceiling was a single globe, continually flickering from the water running down its cord. The air stunk of stale urine and blood. It was extremely cold.

Half way along the corridor, off to the left, was a storage room that contained boxes. Wade recognised the boxes as military and noticed they contained HE (High Explosive ordinance).

Behind the boxes were computer terminals, television screens, and wires running to the floors above. The whole setup indicated that information was continually being up loaded to another site. The area was extremely damp and Wade was surprised anything electrical could even operate in this environment.

Continuing to the door, kneeling down, he quietly pushed the door ajar and was confronted with the sight of two men who had a woman held against a table. She was middle aged, well dressed and well groomed. One of the men had hold around her throat. Using his other hand he was holding her hand on the table. The second man had a butcher’s knife. He had already cut off two fingers and was about to cut off another. Wade noticed the cryogenics cylinder, the small industrial freezer and realised they were cutting of the fingers, as some form of extortion, to use for the fingerprints. They were removing the fingers, snap freezing and storing them in the freezer. They obviously intended to take the fingers and use them as access to safes and/or secure sites.

There was blood all over the table, on her clothes and body and she was screaming in pain. The man with the knife reached over, and with his free hand, punched her in the face, shattering her nose and knocking her unconscious.

The room was similar to the corridor; wet carpet, wet earth walls, a single globe for lighting and the table in the centre of the room. Against one wall was the cylinder and freezer and in the corner was an open box with three mutilated, dead bodies lying inside.

Wade charged into the room catching out the guard with the knife. His foot slammed into the guard’s kneecap and as he fell his elbow collected the side of his temple. Using the cleaver, as a spear, he threw the knife at the other escaping man. The knife penetrated his shoulder blade and threw him off balance giving Wade enough time to round the table. Wade saw it was one of the original guys who got on the flight in Turkey and therefore one of those identified, by the CIA, as being at the scene, in Darwin, when his family was murdered. Rage took over and he stared into the eyes of his family’s killer; he brought his arm back and lunged with a Death Thrust to the killer’s windpipe. His arm shook as he held the punch and watched the last signs of life leave the killer’s body.

He wanted to focus and remember the moment but logic took over and he grabbed the knife, walked over, slit the remaining torturers throat and picked up the woman with the fingers cut off. He ripped her blouse, wrapped it around her bleeding hand, then carried her out of the room and up the stairs.

Reaching the top, the other victims had by now determined they could escape and were helping each other. Wade noticed a guy who had been severely beaten coming down the stairs. Wade handed the woman he was carrying to the guy. He gestured to him to hurry and get the others out.

Running back to the basement he set about laying the explosives throughout the building.

Three minutes later he had charges in every room, had checked that all the victims were out and raced out the back door, closing the door behind him.

There were victims all down the alley and out onto the end road. Neighbours were coming out of the buildings, passers-by were stopping to help and Wade could hear the sound of sirens in the distance.

As he opened the door of the pub the sound of explosions engulfed the neighbourhood and glass shattered everywhere. He ran into the female toilet yelling for Crystal as she opened the door to one of the booths.

Upon seeing him she was stunned by the state he was in; covered in blood, face beaten, clothes dirty and torn. “What happened?” she asked.

“Come on we need to get out of here,” he commanded as he grabbed her hand and led her out.

Reaching the rear entrance, he forced the door open and they ran out into a carpark. Getting his bearings and checking that no one was watching they headed off toward the Soho tube entrance.

The area was becoming inundated with police cars, fire trucks, ambulances and spectators.

Wade knew he needed to find something to cover the state of his appearance. He started to look in the parked cars along the heavily populated street. After passing cars they came across a white van that is commonplace in London and does not attract attention when somebody is hanging around them.

Looking inside he saw a long coat on the rear floor. He stepped to the back door. Checked nobody was watching and using the ever increasing noise of emergency vehicles, planted a kick right beside the door handle. The force of the kick snapped the lever and the door sprung open. Grabbing the coat, he slipped it on, turned up the collar and they headed down the street.

As they rounded the last corner and were about to enter the tube entrance a blackened out limo pulled alongside and the rear passenger door swung open. They hesitated, Wade checked to see who was inside but it was empty. He stepped back looked up and down the street and decided with this many police in the area this could be their best option.

They climbed in. The vehicle travelled a short distance to the Sanderson Hotel and entered via the private underground carpark entrance. The vehicle stopped outside the lift, the passenger door opened and the lift door opened. They climbed out of the car, walked into the lift and proceeded to the sixth floor. It was a private entrance to a penthouse. They entered to find the television on and waiting for a DVD to be started.

Wade still feeling cautious about what was happening pushed the play button.

The DVD started and a well-dressed, eloquently spoken woman told them to make themselves comfortable, to shower, that suitable clean clothes had been provided in the wardrobes, food was on the way up and they should get some sleep. Tomorrow morning a car would pick them up at 0800 and take them to Gatwick. They would depart on a flight to where the second of his family’s killers will be. Once he had completed what he needed to do he was to call the number shown on the screen.

They both look at each other puzzled but were too tired to object.

36

Turkey

“General Forest, Kia here. We are still here at Incurlik but we have not heard from Wade since he was enroute to London.”

“Thank you Kia but I do know that Wade and Crystal are currently in a hotel in London and are fine,” replied the General.

Kia and Plant looked at each other surprised. “Sorry sir but how do you know this?” asked Kia.

“Not important … At this moment we have an issue that has arisen and I need you both back here as soon as possible. But first you need to stop off in Geneva. When you get there, go to the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) Information Centre in Meyrin, west of Geneva. There you will meet a man by the name of Borgias Bart. Borgias is an old acquaintance of mine and he will explain. He might show you various things and even take you somewhere. Whatever happens listen to what he says and take it all in. When you’re finished get back here ASAP,” ordered Forest.

“Sir, Joe here.”

“Yes Joe.”

“Is Borgias Bart the same Professor Bart who discovered the quark-gluon matter at the CERN collider and was instrumental in the progression of understanding ‘dark matter and dark energy’?”

“That’s correct; he is one of the same. How do you know so much about this subject Joe?” asked the General.

“Well sir, my uncle was one of the scientists who collaborated in the building of the LHC and consequently I have a general interest. I had the opportunity to go through the facility when it was completed and I remember the name Professor Bart as being a bit of a celebrity amongst the staff there.”

“Excellent. Well when you get there you can now understand that Borgias has a tendency to drift off into a discussion about quantum physics. So make sure you keep him on track and if you are unsure of something, ask!” with that he disconnected the line.

Plant turned to Kia and said, “This is a bit disconcerting. Professor Bart deals in an area of quantum physics that involves a product that if it got into the wrong hands could be catastrophic. I believe we are talking millions of times more lethal than a nuclear explosion.”

They both stood and left, to get their gear, and head for the CIA jet.

37

London

Wade had showered, eaten, climbed into bed and had been asleep for three hours when he awoke in a cold sweat. He lay there thinking about what had happened at the house in Soho. How he had felt when he killed one of the men who had murdered his mother and sister.

He knew he was a trained killer. He had always been able to compartmentalise the killings into a part of his mind that didn’t interfere with the rest of his life but something had changed this time. He kept seeing visions of his mother not smiling but frowning. She looked down at her killer and then across at him. He had never known his mother not to smile. He couldn’t understand why this was happening and why she appeared upset with what he had done.

Wade felt his spirituality with the Dreamtime and its spirits was being tested. He felt he needed to return to his homeland and connect with his ancestors before he went any further down this path.

Climbing out of bed, he showered again, dressed and went to see Crystal.

She awoke with a start to see him standing there. “Is it time to go?”

“No, it’s only about midday but I need to leave now. You get a good sleep and I’m sure they will get you back home … it has been wonderful to have met you and hopefully we will meet again someday,” he said as he turned to walk out the door.

“No wait ... you can’t just leave me here ... where are you going and why now?” Crystal questioned as she leapt out of bed before remembering she was naked.

Ducking for the covers she blushed as she said, “Sorry.”

He smiled as he looked back at her, “That’s okay but I need to go back to Australia and get my head straight.”

Crystal thought for a moment and then asked, “I know this might seem like an odd request but can I come with you?”

“That would be very nice but what I’m going to do is not something you’ll be able to be involved with. I intend to go walkabout for as long as I need to get things right for myself. That could be anything from a day to months and what would you do in this time?”

By now Crystal had crawled back under the covers and had sat up against the pillows.

Puzzled she asked, “What does walkabout mean?”

“Walkabout is something an Australian aboriginal does where they wander about in the vast, remote uninhabited lands of Australia. This area is called the outback meaning it is a long way from any civilisation. A young aboriginal is trained to survive in this terrain and climate. It’s normally very hot during the day and very cold at night, hence a desert and thus very barren and dry. But the main reason we go is because it is out spiritual home and connects us with our ancestors. We move around and listen to what they’re saying. It helps us to remember where we came from and what we’re doing here,” Wade replied.

Crystal noticed how he seemed to be in a dreamlike state, as he talked about this. Sensing the importance of it, she knew there and then she was going.

“Thank you for telling me and yes I’m coming. Now you need to leave and give me five minutes to dress.”

Wade left the room and sat in the lounge contemplating whether this was a good idea to have Crystal come with him. He decided he liked the idea. If it was ever going to be anybody to come with him than she was definitely the one.

It had been a long time since Wade had felt good, from within himself, and he knew he was falling for this woman even though he knew he still had something to complete. But he still struggled with the concept of one moment thinking as a killer than waking up in a cold sweat and moments later feeling desires towards a beautiful woman. He had been trained, by the best, in all possible scenarios but nothing had prepared him for this.

She walked into the room flicking back her hair as she tried to put on her jacket whilst carrying her bag. He sat there and watched her go through this motion and enjoyed what he was watching.

She caught his stares and said, “What?”

He casually and quietly mentioned as he stood and smiled, “Just admiring the view.”

They left the hotel through the fire stairs and the back delivery area. They made their way to the closest tube entrance. Arriving at the turnstile Wade directed them to the Earls Court train.

Approaching Earls Court station, Wade gave Crystal a baseball cap. He told her to keep her face covered as he put his on.

They exited the train, up the escalator and into the locker area. Entering the locker area, Wade waited until the last person had left. He then went over to a bench, reached up and disabled the wall camera.

Crystal knew better, by now, than to say anything and just watched as he went to the end locker. He turned a large combination lock, many times, and eventually the lock opened. She noticed that no other locker had a lock of this size. He opened the locker, removed a small parcel and then relocked it.

Still not having said a word they left the locker room and crossed to catch the next train.

Sitting on the train, as it raced through the stations towards St Pancras, Crystal became fascinated, and concerned, at the changing expressions on Wade’s face. She noticed how one moment he was relaxed, idly watching the images on the glass and the people standing on the train platforms. Then, without warning, he would screw up his face, frown lines across his forehead, constantly moving his eyes as if waiting for an attack. She would smile at him, with no response. It was like he was looking straight through her and did not even know she was there.

The train pulled into the platform. Wade stood, scanned the carriage, gently grabbed Crystal’s hand and led he out. They walked through the station, approached the ticket counter and Wade bought two tickets on the Eurostar to Paris, leaving in twenty minutes.

Once the train had left the station Wade smiled, reached across and removed Crystal’s cap.

Whispering he explained, “The locker room we went to is a place where a few of us, I mean SAS guys, keep some documents, money and a few odds and ends in case anything goes wrong. Like today, we had no way of buying a plane ticket, as they would be watching so I went there to get some money, a false passport, for myself, and now we go to Paris. Then we catch the VFT (Very Fast Train) to Marseille and on to Aubagne to get you a passport. Next stop Nice and a flight to Australia.”

Crystal realised there was going to be things she would never understand. She felt she was trying and Wade seemed to be so understanding of her questions. She continued, “Who are they?”

Wade looked across at her and smiled as he said, “I’m sorry. I keep forgetting you have no idea what all this is about. They … are the CIA. Haven’t you thought it odd how they always seem to be there when we need them or when we least expect them? Well that is because they know exactly where we are at all times. They are continually tracking us through satellites, cameras, airports, trains, the military, even traffic lights so there is no avoiding them.”

“If I’ve no passport how do I get into France and why Aubagne? Isn’t that where the French Foreign Legion are? Why would we go there to get me a passport?” She asked with a puzzled expression.

Wade sat watching her as she spoke. He became entranced with her beautiful lips and the way she moved her hands with every word. He knew he was staring but couldn’t help himself.

“Firstly, the passport I have now is like a diplomatic one. It tells the passport control that I am entitled to travel through their country without them asking any questions. It’s highly illegal that I use it for this purpose but it ensures that nobody takes note of who I am or what I’m doing. Hence they won’t ask who you are and will assume you are under my control. So when we get there say nothing. Okay!” He paused. “Secondly, you’re right. Aubagne is where the French Foreign Legion is headquartered and there are people there who will help us.”

Wade looked out the window as the train raced through the countryside, of southern England. He noticed how peaceful the snow covered landscape seemed. He thought how the last few days had brought emotions and feelings that he wasn’t use to whilst on an operation. He wondered if this could be good for him or was he heading into something that could be extremely dangerous. Would his feelings for Crystal cloud his judgment? Had they already? Was he spiralling out of control?

At that moment he knew he had to keep it together and focus on finishing his work.

“Won’t you need to let your boss know where you are?” he asked.

“That’s a very good question. I hadn’t even thought about that until now. I wonder if they’ll think I’ve gone AWOL. I could be charged with desertion … this is terrible. What do you think I should do?”

Wade paused for a moment than looked around the carriage to ensure nobody was eavesdropping. He lent closer to Crystal and said, “Remember that Captain called your boss when we were in Italy. When we get to Aubagne we will use a secure line to call a person, I know, in the CIA and they can contact Admiral Johnson.”

“But aren’t you trying to hide from the CIA?”

“The secure line means they’ll not know where the call is originating from. I intend to tell this person only part of what I’m doing.”

Crystal sat back in her seat. She started to think about all that had happened since she first met Wade. She knew it had been exciting and sometimes scary but she also felt incredibly safe whenever he was around. Running her fingers through her hair, she watched him, wanting him to hold and love her. She could feel the sweat in her hands, on the back of her neck as she looked away. She tried desperately not to show him her ever increasing desires.

38

Switzerland

Kia and Plant arrived at the LHC Information Centre, Meyrin, as the staff were closing up for the day.

Kia enquired about Professor Bart. A staff member told them to wait outside and Professor Bart would be called down.

The LHC Information Centre is located on the southern outskirts of Meyrin, at the base of a large mountain in a small two person office with an adjoining display area. The office is on the outside of a large three metre high, triple razor wire fence. It acts as both a place for tourists and visitors to get information about the LHC as well as a guard post for entry to the facility.

Plant remembered, that upon entering, everybody was subject to removing all metal items on themselves and their irises where scanned. He also remembered how there were three separate security areas that needed to be accessed before gaining entry. This would only get you into the facility administration and laboratory areas, with further numerous security areas to get to the collider proper.

The LHC is the world’s largest high energy particle accelerator. It is considered the most complex and expensive experimental facility ever built. It involved over ten thousand scientists and engineers from over one hundred countries. It is an extremely important scientific project and the required security is proportional.

Darkness had enveloped the mountain and snow had started to fall. They had been waiting for over an hour. With the information centre closed they sheltered under the entrance canopy.

Rubbing her gloves together Kia said, “This better be worth it. Standing here freezing to death.”

The snow had increased when a short, rotund, wild haired, man in his early sixties approached using his cane.

“Good evening, I am Professor Bart and you, I assume, are Kia and Joe?” he asked in heavily accented Swiss.

“Yes sir, good to meet you,” replied Plant as he held out his hand to shake.

“Thank you but sorry, if I let go of this cane I will fall.”

“That’s fine. I believe you can tell us why we are here,” Plant asked.

“Correct, I can but first we need to get out of this cold. Come with me.”

Bart led them away from the office towards a waiting car. Climbing in, they were greeted with the warmth of the interior car heating. The professor spoke to the driver, in Swiss, who got out but left the car running.

“I have been told by Forest that I am to trust you two and tell you everything I know. I don’t know how much you do know so I will start at the beginning. Eighteen years ago I was working on some nuclear physics ideas when I was approached to aid in the development of two young nuclear physicists. I agreed and showed these two incredibly gifted young men all I could. I showed them the latest technology advances and as you might be aware the LHC was being formulated and construction had started. As time went on I lost track of them. I didn’t really follow their accomplishments until six months ago when Forest contacted me that they had gone rogue. They had been stealing results from the LHC labs and using them to develop their own formulations. Unfortunately, one of the formulations has been successful. It appears that what they discovered was in fact a form of quantum physics that basically will enable a nuclear explosion to have a far greater effect with less initial fuel. Do you understand what I am saying?” asked Bart as he looked at both of them.

Plant spoke first, “I believe I do, sir. You’re saying these two guys have discovered something that makes a nuclear bomb more powerful.”

“Correct,” replied the professor.

“Who are these two guys?” asked Kia.

“Their names are Darkan and Doksal. Darkan is an Israeli national and Doksal is a Turkish national. They did not appear to know each other when I first met them but they had definitely developed a friendship by the time they left. They were with me for about nine months.”

Kia sat there with a stunned expression as she said, “Darkan is dead.”

Both men looked at her. Plant asked, “How do you know that?”

“Professor Bart is correct about the nationalities of both men. Darkan was a director of Mossad, the Israeli Intelligence Agency, when he was murdered. We believe he was murdered by either Doksal or his men,” she replied.

“Well, that being the case I would be more concerned than I originally was!” stated Bart.

“Why?” asked Kia. “Surely at least now we have only half the problem we originally had?”

“On the contrary. I thought Darkan was the sensible one and he would have kept Doksal contained. I would have at a guess that with Darkan gone Doksal would than pursue more illegal opportunities. Thinking back now I remember how Doksal was always enquiring about how things could be built bigger, faster and even more powerful. I never really took a lot of notice at the time but he was definitely very inquisitive about new and better developments. He also wanted to know the names of people that were involved in any of these projects,” remarked a concerned Bart.

“Professor I appreciate what you are saying and I understand its importance but I fail to understand why we needed to stop here to hear this,” asked Plant.

“That is a very good point, which leads to the second part of what I want to tell you. When Forest called, about the possibility of these two guys going rogue, I started searching all our databases for scientists and people who could have had any involvement with these two. As you could imagine there are hundreds or even thousands of names when you take into account students, universities, authors, R&D laboratories, etc. So we started to cross check on anybody who had a relationship with these two and was making enquiries about nuclear fusion related to new forms of quantum physics. What we found was quite a list of names but with Forest’s help we were able to eliminate most and we were left with two. This is the information that is of most relevance to you. One of those names is Bryan Scott, an Australian geologist. His last known location was an unsupported sighting in Turkey and before that a sighting in Somalia. The second name is Marcus Smithwright.”

With that Bart looked at both of them, sat back to let it sink in and waited for a response.

Eventually, Plant asked, “General Forest knows this?”

“Mostly but not all.”

“My god. Do we know how much and to what extent Smithwright is involved?” asked Plant again.

“Unfortunately I can’t help you with that. I would imagine that is what you two are to ascertain. I will say that we know Smithwright has made many enquiries about a certain type of uranium that is only found in Australia. This type of uranium is one of the main ingredients that are crucial to the process that Darkan and Doksal discovered. We also believe that Bryan Scott is an alias but we can’t confirm,” stated Bart.

“Professor, I only have one question. How do you, as a scientist here at the LHC come to be able to source all this information and have such data access available?” asked Kia.

“Once again, unfortunately I cannot answer. May I suggest you take that question up with Forest. So if there be no more questions, I bid you farewell and good luck with your pursuits. The driver will take you to wherever you need.” The professor nervously opened the door and left.

“He is either not telling us everything or this could be a setup,” said Kia. “Did you see his reaction when I knew of Darkan and Doksal and when I asked how he got the information?”

The driver returned and they headed to Geneva International Airport, private flights. Kia looked at Plant and said, “I think we should call the General and head to London. We need to catch up with Wade and decide our next course of action … what do you think?

Plant just nodded in agreement but Kia noticed his concern.

“What? You don’t think we should?” she asked again.

“No … no. My problem is if Smithwright is as deep into this as the professor says, then we don’t know who we can trust back at Langley?”

“True. Maybe we call the General when we’re airborne. At least the call is encrypted and will stop others hearing us,” she replied.

They rode the rest of the trip in silence. Once airborne they called General Forest.

“Sir. We had our meeting with Professor Bart. We believe it would be more advantageous for us to meet with Wade, in London, and decide our next course of action from there?” stated Kia.

“I agree. Call me when you’re all together, irrespective of the time.”

“What about the Smithwright issue and eavesdropping?” asked Kia.

“I’ll look after that from my end. Whenever I see your number, I’ll answer, hang up and then call back on a secure line,” replied the General as the line disconnected.

39

Aubagne

Wade and Crystal progressed through the English Channel Tunnel and arrived in Paris without any problems. Passing through French Customs they made their way to the platform where the VFT left for Marseilles.

The train trip from Paris to Marseilles was also uneventful.

Twenty minutes after arriving in Marseilles they were on the train to Aubagne. Wade realised the closer he got to Aubagne, the less obvious he was becoming, as there were now more and more military people about. He had already noticed the four in the next booth as legion personnel and a further group of three at the back of the carriage.

In true French custom, the train arrived at the platform on time.

They disembarked. Wade had deliberately stalled to allow the other French Foreign Legion guys to keep ahead.

Once he was sure they had all left in their various modes of transport, Wade approached a local taxi operator and asked to be taken to an insignificant boarding house.

The boarding house was located on the outskirts of Aubagne, down a dirt road, off one of the main thoroughfares.

The house was a small two storey, three hundred year old, typical French Mediterranean style cottage. The closest neighbour was seven hundred metres away and the cottage was shielded from view by large elm trees.

It had four separate bedrooms and a single bathroom on the top floor. The ground floor comprised of a kitchen, lounge, dining, entrance hallway and the owner’s bedroom. Behind the house was a separate building large enough to house two cars. Both buildings were surrounded by white gravel.

They walked up the steps, knocked and a small elderly, French woman opened the door. Instantly she recognised Wade, and was about to smile, when she noticed somebody was behind him.

Keeping herself as expressionless as possible she replied. Speaking in French Wade asked for a room. He paid in cash and she showed them upstairs.

As she opened the door to leave, she turned and looked back at Wade. Wade nodded, smiled and turned away. The old lady closed the door and left. Having not said anything for many hours, Crystal looked at Wade and asked, “What do we do now?”

“I make a phone call and then we wait,” he replied.

Wade made his call and told Crystal they would not be doing anything for about four to five hours. He asked was there anything she would like to do.

Crystal thought of the irony of the situation. Being in the south of France, a beautiful romantic place, with a man she was extremely attracted to and not able to broach the subject.

Crystal decided to take a shower and decide afterwards. Whilst she was occupied Wade went down to see the elderly lady.

Speaking in Italian, Wade spoke first, “Hello Maria.”

“Hello Wade, it is lovely to see you and your lady friend.”

“Thanks, but at this time we are just travelling together. It’s been so long and it is so good to see you,” he said, as he hugged her and kissed her on both cheeks.

“How long are you here for?” she asked.

“I’m sorry but only as little time as possible.”

“I know you can’t tell me and I don’t want you to, but is there anything I can do?”

“I need a passport for my friend. How long do you think?”

“I will organise now. Do you have a photo?”

Wade handed across a photo with Crystal’s details on the back.

Maria looked at the photo, looked at Wade, “She is very beautiful.”

Wade nodded without saying a word.

“Tomorrow morning. Are you going to the Barracks?” Maria asked.

“No, not this time … I have organised for Benjano to come here tonight,” he replied.

“Excellent. I think it very good that he and you are together. We should have a drink when he arrives … yes?”

“Thanks Maria. We need to talk about some things and then we’ll have a drink.”

“How much does your lady friend know and what can I say?”

“You can mention anything you want but for your safety don’t ask her about anything that has happened since she has known me.”

Maria nodded her acknowledgement. She stood to leave when she asked, “And how are Martha and Camira?”

Maria instantly noticed Wade’s change of emotion. She saw him drop his head, she saw his eyes glaze over and he became deathly quiet.

Wade looked up and said, “They’re dead.”

Maria gasped, grabbing at the chair. Holding her hand over her mouth she said, “My god Wade, what happened?”

Wade got her to sit down and explained all the horrid details.

Five minutes had lapsed when Maria asked, “Is this why you are here? … Are you going to avenge their deaths?”

Normally Wade would have been taken back by somebody asking such a question. But knowing what Maria had been through in her life, he knew he could answer.

Maria had been a French resistance fighter during the Second World War. She had seen both her boys and her husband slaughtered before her eyes. Death had been a very common event for many years and her work as a resistance fighter had not gone unnoticed by the French Foreign Legion. So after many attempts she had been seconded to work for the Legion. It had been nearly fifty years of service. Supplying a safe haven, point of contact to the Legion headquarters, somebody who had become intricately trusted by all Legionnaires and those associated with them.

It was through Wade’s training with the French Foreign Legion he had met Maria. The fact that he spoke fluent French and Italian made her very comfortable and their friendship developed.

“Yes, I am but I still need to work out how. Therefore, I’m going home to speak with the spirits,” he replied.

Maria stood up, walked over and hugged him. “I am sorry, you do not deserve this,” she said as she walked from the room with tears running down her cheeks.

By the time Wade arrived back to the room, Crystal had showered, dressed and was lying on the bed.

She looked up, as he walked in the room, and immediately knew something had happened.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was just explaining to Maria, the lady who owns this place, what happened to my family … she has been a good friend for many years.”

They engaged in idle chatter, watched television, read books for the next few hours, until there was a knock at the door.

Wade opened the door to someone he had not seen for many years but a person who he regarded as a very close friend.

Seeing each other, they both hugged and slapped each other on the back. Wade was the first to speak. “Benjano it is so good to see you.” Stepping aside Wade continued, “Please let me introduce you to Crystal.”

“Hello Crystal … such a beautiful lady … it is an honour to meet you,” he said as he stepped forward, took her hand and kissed her on both cheeks. Standing there and still holding her hands he was looking into her eyes as he remarked, “Such beautiful eyes and skin that glows,” and then he kissed her hands.

Crystal was blushing so much she didn’t know what to do or say as she looked across at Wade.

Wade replied, “Don’t worry about him. He definitely has a knack of making women feel uncomfortable.”

“Maybe that is so but only beautiful ones,” as he once again kissed her hand.

“Alright, alright,” Wade replied as he stepped across and freed Crystal’s hand from Benjano’s grasp.

Benjano stepped away; sat on the chair Wade offered him but continued to watch Crystal.

Crystal was becoming extremely uncomfortable. She got off the bed and went and sat next to Wade. Wade noticed and smiled.

“Okay buddy. How did you go with what I asked for?” Wade asked.

Benjano immediately switched to military mode and replied, “I have organised for you to pick up the weapons you asked about on your arrival into Darwin. When you get back from walkabout, call this number,” as he handed across a piece of paper. “Stefan will take you to the rest. I have been unable to locate an encrypted satellite phone with GPS capability but I am sure I can get it to Stefan before you get back. We have downloaded satellite imagery of the Northwest cape area of Western Australia, it is with Stefan. Did you want Stefan to come with you? … How were you thinking of getting in there?”

“I imagine the imagery shows that the area, in question, is at the top end of the Kimberley … correct?” asked Wade.

“That’s right, near a place called the Prince Regent River. Do you know it?”

“Yes, I know it. It’s a river that enters the Indian Ocean at Hanover Bay. It has numerous waterfalls and the typical red bull dust all around it. I won’t need Stefan to come with me. I need to go alone and I think the best way in, is from the air and at night. Could you arrange for me to HALO about four to five kilometres east of Mitchell Falls? When I’m finished, I’ll make my way down the river.”

“Will do and Stefan will have all the details when you get back. What about this encrypted phone you asked about?” asked Benjano as he took the phone from his jacket.

“Thanks,” replied Wade as he started to dial a number.

“General Forest, Wade here. I need you to notify Admiral Johnson on the USS George H W Bush that Flight Lieutenant Crystal Carters is with me and has not gone AWOL (absent without leave).

“Sure … but,” started the General and with that Wade cut the line.

Wade handed the phone back to Benjano and said, “So let’s have a drink with Maria. She is dying to see you.” He stood and escorted them to the door.

The rest of the evening was spent drinking and eating with Maria and Benjano telling stories of Wade and his exploits.

Early the next morning, they went downstairs and Maria handed over the fake passport. They said their goodbyes and Benjano dropped them at the Aubagne train station.

They crossed over into Italy, made their way to the Milan International Airport and booked the next flight to Denpasar, Bali.

Arriving in Bali they booked a flight to Australia. Three hours later they arrived in the hot, humid tropical environment of Darwin.

40

Washington

The news from Bart was playing heavily on Forest. He was starting to worry about his ability to analyse people.

He had spent hours researching any information he could find on Smithwright and trying to determine where he might have gone wrong in his initial appraisal. He read the top-secret files from cover to cover. No matter how much he thought about it, there just appeared to be nothing that stood out. The man was like an enigma. Lot of information but nothing untoward. Had involvement with many dubious projects and people but never a single word of doubt or questionable action.

He was sitting at his desk as the aide entered his office. “Sir, we have just received word that there has been a shooting at the Bethesda. The two guards, we had on Mr. Smithwright, have been found shot at point blank range and left inside a cupboard. Mr. Smithwright is gone and all the cameras have had the recordings wiped clean.”

Forest nodded his understanding as the aide left his office.

Before he could start to think about this latest news, his phone rang and he saw Kia’s name on the screen. He picked up the phone, listened, hung up and dialed from his secure phone.

Kia answered on the first ring. “General, we have a problem. Wade and Crystal are gone. Nobody has a clue when or where.”

The General paused, and then replied, “Alright … I want you both to make your way back here. I have just been informed that Smithwright has vanished from the hospital and his guards have been found dead. He was in no condition to do anything so obviously somebody has got him out of there but for what reason I don’t know.”

Forest knew he could not just sit around and wait for something to happen. He also knew he could not call on the resources of Langley. He sat there in frustration and thought ‘where to now’.

41

Darwin

The heat was oppressive but Crystal had noticed how happy Wade had been since they had arrived in Darwin. Hehad hired a car and taken her to a beautiful hotel that overlooked the Darwin marina. He had booked a lovely suite on the top floor and they had enjoyed a magnificent seafood dinner at the restaurant. After hours of talking and listening to each other’s life stories they eventually collapsed into their beds.

Crystal awoke the next morning to the sounds of a city coming to life. She had a wonderful night sleep. As she knocked on Wade’s door she saw that the bed had not been slept in and he was gone.

They had talked for so long about many different subjects that she then realised Wade had never given her a time frame of how long he expected walkabout to last. She decided she was going to wait as long as it took.

Crystal spent the next four to five days exploring Darwin. She went to the library to learn as much as she could about the Aboriginals and ventured on short trips to the outskirts of the city. Two or three times a day she would go back to the hotel to check if Wade had returned.

It was the fourteenth day. She was missing him terribly, when with a lapse of concentration, she walked through the marina terminal without her hat or disguise on. As an international point of entry, to Australia, the CCTV cameras were active 24/7 and were linked to the CIA database. Thus all images were being scanned. The computer instantly made facial recognition and the information started its route through the massive CIA mainframe to the person who had initiated the request.

Kia and Plant had been operating at the secure site in West Washington. Everybody had become extremely frustrated with no further advancement. Wade and Crystal had disappeared, Smithwright had vanished and the Grey Wolves had gone into hiding. The situation in Sierra Leone had stabilised as well as could be expected in a country like Sierra Leone. Turkey had received a major increase in violent crime and agents worldwide seemed to be coming up empty handed. Kia’s request to Mossad had also been fruitless.

Plant had just stood and walked to the whiteboard for the sixth time in the last hour when a computer operator called out, “Sir I think we have a hit.”

Plant strode across as he said, “What’ve you got?”

The operator showed a grainy image of Crystal walking across an open foyer.

“Where is this?” Plant asked as Kia and Forest approached.

“The image was taken four minutes ago at the international terminal of the marina in Darwin, Australia and shows the woman in question,” the operator replied.

Forest turned to his aide and ordered, “I want somebody on her tail now and they better not lose her.” He turned to Kia and Plant, “I want you two over there and I want to know what’s going on.”

Kia and Plant immediately started things in motion to be gone as soon as practical.

Kia had just finished talking on the phone when Forest walked up and said, “I don’t understand why he would be doing this. Do you?”

“Actually sir I do. I should have thought of this earlier. Wade is a very spiritual person. He will have had to do a few things. One he would need to return to the place of where his mother and sister were killed. Two he will go walkabout to clear his head and analyse what he needs to do. The problem we have is he also knows about the Grey Wolves and the expected facility in outback Australia. If he finds it, he will destroy it and everybody in it.”

“I need to keep POTUS and the executive informed of what’s happening. Call me as soon as you catch up with Wade. It’s important we find him. Okay?” he stated.

With that she nodded and her and Plant left.

42

Darwin

It had been sixteen days since Wade had gone. Crystal lay on the lounge chair, beside the pool, and was amazed how she was starting to dream of their life together. Would they stay in the military, if so where would they been stationed, or would they get out and start a home either here or back in the states.

She was so enthralled in her thoughts she didn’t notice the man and woman approach.

“Hello Crystal,” remarked Kia sternly. “What a surprise to see you here.”

Crystal bolted upright but couldn’t get a sound out of her mouth.

“Don’t worry you’re not going anywhere. We have questions that you need to answer,” said Kia as she sat on the lounge chair directly opposite.

Crystal suddenly realising that she had been sunbathing in her skimpy bikini, grabbed for her towel but Plant had already sat down on it. With Plant not budging and Kia speaking in such terse tones, Crystal became nervous and tried to cover herself as she asked, “What do you want?”

Kia replied, “What the hell are you doing here and where is Wade?”

Crystal responded, “I don’t have to answer any of your questions,” as she stood to leave.

Before she was half out of the lounge Kia had sprung to her feet and with her left hand struck Crystal across the face. As she fell back on the lounge Kia grabbed Crystal by the hair. Looked straight into her eyes and said, “You will answer the questions and you will answer them … now.”

Dragging Crystal to her feet Kia proceeded to march her through the foyer, into the elevator, up to her room and upon entering threw her onto the floor.

“I’m not really interested in you and unless you start to cooperate this will get nasty,” Kia remarked as she bent down and again hit Crystal across the face. Crystal didn’t respond but tried to hide on the floor.

Kia looked at Plant, stood and kicked Crystal, hard in the midriff, knowing that she had bruised ribs. Crystal cried out in pain and doubled up in the foetal position.

“Where is Wade or this gets worse?” screamed Kia.

“I’m right here and if you touch her again … I’ll kill you,” Wade said as he shoved past Kia and bent down to help Crystal.

“You two better get out of here, right now, before I do something you might regret,” he commanded without taking his eyes off Crystal.

“Wade we need to talk to you, this is extremely urgent,” responded a nervous Kia.

In one motion, that would be hard for an average person to decipher. Wade had leapt to his feet, sprung the four feet separating him and Kia and had a knife against her throat.

“Your choice. You either leave or you die. What will it be?”

Plant replied for Kia. “Wade we’re going, we’re going, just put down the knife.”

Wade let go of Kia and went to help Crystal. As Kia and Plant got to the door Wade, without looking up, said, “Kia you just crossed the line. You and I are through.”

As the door closed behind them Crystal turned, looked up and threw her arms around his neck. With tears streaming down her bruised face she whispered, “Please don’t leave me again.”

Wade held her tight, “It’s okay nobody is coming near you again.”

Crystal could feel the pain on her face and in her ribs but she was not going to let him go. She felt his muscular arms, back and chest pressing against her and his warm breath down the back of her neck. He made her feel so good she did not want this moment to pass.

Wade picked her up and carried her to the bed. Laying her down, he softly kissed her on the forehead and stroked her hair. “I’m sorry I’ve got you into this. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt.”

Crystal looked at him and smiled, “Please just kiss me again.”

He did as she asked but only on the forehead. He gave her some tablets to ease the pain and help her sleep. He sat with her until she was asleep and then he left.

Wade knew that Kia would have the room watched. He also knew that it was a standard procedure of the CIA to take the room either above, below, beside or opposite the room under observation.

He remembered noting that when they left he did not hear a door close so therefore they were not on this floor. As he was on the top floor they could only be below. He thought time for a visit.

Leaving the room, he saw the hotel cameras were watching. He proceeded to the fire stairs, down one flight and along the hall. Counting the doors until he was at the room directly below.

He violently kicked the door in and walked directly toward Kia, Plant and the two CIA operatives. Stopping directly in front of Kia he spoke with such intensity that she was starting to worry about her safety.

“You better have a bloody good reason for what you’ve done,” spoke Wade, with every muscle in his body as tight as a coiled spring.

Kia could tell she had crossed the line and couldn’t find the words to respond.

Plant, standing behind Wade and out of his view, spoke, “Wade this is not entirely her fault. You went off the grid. You know how important it is that we always keep in contact with each other. We were becoming frustrated and when we learnt of Crystal here in Darwin, we had no choice but to come. I understand that Kia probably shouldn’t have gone that far but you would have done the same.”

Wade spun around, “You have no idea what I would have done. You better not expect any help from me and I better not see you two again,” with that he started to leave.

“Freeze!” came the command from one of the CIA operatives.

Wade turned to see a H&K silenced 9mm pistol pointed at him. Looking at Plant, Kia and the second operative, he started walking toward the gun wielder.

“Stop or I will shoot,” the operative screamed. At the same time the second operative drew his pistol from his shoulder holster and aimed it at Wade.

Continuing toward the first operative Wade remarked, “You better use that or I will.”

Kia yelled, “Put your guns down, this will only end badly.”

Stopping two feet from the first operative and not taking his eyes off him, Wade noticed the slightest hesitation in his trigger finger. This being all the opportunity he needed Wade leant to his left, at the same time he used his right hand to grab the gun and his left hand to pull the operative down. The effect was the operative became a human shield. As he was pulled to his right, Wade was able to pivot the operative to take the bullet from the second gunman. Wade than double tapped the second gunman, grabbed the first around the neck, snapped his neck and pointed the gun, still in the first gunman’s hand, at Kia & Plant.

“Wade this is ridiculous. We all need to calm down,” bellowed Kia.

“On the floor,” commanded Wade.

Kia and Plant responded immediately, knowing better than to try and second guess or bluff someone like Wade.

Wade tore a sheet into strips and tying both their arms and legs, gagging them; he then covered their heads and put them into the cupboard. He took the two bodies and put them in the bath, closing the door behind him.

Gathering up the phones, guns and laptops he left the room.

Arriving back in his room, he woke Crystal and told her they needed to get out immediately.

Within five minutes they were leaving the rear carpark.

“What happened? Where are we going?” asked Crystal, still feeling groggy from the sleeping tablet.

“I’ll explain in a moment,” he replied, as he started to dial a number.

Wade made his call to Stefan; got the address he needed and hung up.

They drove in silence as Wade noticed Crystal was falling asleep. He felt this was good. He wanted to limit the surprise, as much as possible, for when she met Stefan.

Fifteen minutes later he pulled the car alongside the old, disused wharf in southern Darwin. An area that had become the home of vagrants, the homeless, drug users and anybody who wanted to escape from societies view. The old storage buildings had been left to decay in the severe tropical conditions of Northern Australia. All the windows were broken or gone, the timber walls had rotted, much of the concrete floors were breaking up and there were great holes to the water below. The corrugated iron roofs had rusted or the sheets had blown off, in the many cyclones that hit this region each year.

He got out of the car, locked the doors and headed to the wharfs edge. It was low tide and with Darwin having some of the largest tidal ranges in Australia, Wade noticed there was a twelve foot drop to the boat below.

He climbed down the wharf ladder, stepped onto the boat and was immediately confronted by a huge monster of a man. Stefan stands at six foot eight, two hundred and sixty pounds and has the biggest hands that Wade had ever seen. He is a French National who is part of the French Foreign Legion and works as an undercover operative. Seeing Wade, he stepped forward and grabbed him in his typical bear hug.

“Good to see you my friend,” said Stefan, in his broken English, as he released Wade from his hold.

“Good to see you to Stefan … it has been a long time,” Wade responded as they shook hands.

“Please let’s go below, have a drink and talk of old times,” asked Stefan as he started to head below.

“I am sorry, my friend, but I must keep moving.”

“I understand. I have what you have asked for. Please come see,” as he pointed to the front of the boat.

They walked to the front hold, removed the cover and Stefan reached down and brought up a black military carry bag. Opening the bag, he proceeded to show Wade an encrypted military satellite phone, satellite photos, long range binoculars, night vision glasses, desert camouflage clothes & boots, satlink laptop, long range diver’s flippers, various weapons, ammunition to suit and explosives. With all the equipment lying on the deck Stefan pulled out the last item; a small black bag eighteen inches long. Opening the bag it revealed a crossbow, tipless arrows and a blowpipe. Holding the arrows and blowpipe he looked at Wade and said, “What can you possibly want with these?”

Wade smiled and replied, “One day I’ll show you.”

“Thanks for getting all this,” Wade remarked as he started to put everything back in the bag. “Did Benjano mention anything about a water pick up?”

“He did. What are you wanting?”

“I need you to be about three kilometres off shore of the Prince Regent River, Hanover Bay in the Kimberley’s, midnight tomorrow night. We then need to get to Denpasar … what do you think?” asked Wade.

“No problem. I just need to add another fuel bladder for the extra distance but I’ll be there.”

“Excellent. Now one last thing. There will be a person who will be coming with you to Hanover and with both of us to Denpasar. Okay?”

“Sure. Where are they?”

Grabbing up the bag, Wade started across the deck as he said, “I’ll be back in a moment.”

He made his way up the ladder, across to the car, woke Crystal and then brought her back down.

Arriving back on deck Wade said looking at Stefan, “Stefan this is Crystal. Crystal Stefan.”

Crystal could not believe her eyes at the sheer enormity of this man. His shoulders were so big it hid any definition of a neck. His arms looked like they had been moulded from coils of steel while his legs were the size of tree trunks. The ripped shorts, cutoff shirt sleeves and rich tan all added to the disguise but also added to the terrifying look. Stepping closer to Wade she said, “Hello Stefan.”

Wade noticed the concern in Crystal’s demeanour and was about to reply, when Stefan said, “Hello Crystal. It is lovely to meet you. I hope you find the trip okay and do not worry; any friend of Wade’s is a friend of mine. I promise nobody will hurt you while you are with me.”

Crystal could see the genuineness of his remarks in the softness of his eyes. She relaxed and smiled.

Wade turned to Stefan and said, “Thank you, you are a good friend.” Then turning to Crystal he lightly kissed her on the cheek and said, “See you in two days.” Like a gazelle he leaped the boat rail and raced up the ladder. Gone in less than five seconds.

Wade left the wharf area and drove south for an hour, before turning west onto a dirt track. The track was covered in pot holes and deep tyre ruts that had been formed from vehicles following the latest flooding rains. Driving for another hour but only covering about twenty kilometres he arrived at a private airfield in the Finniss Valley.

He parked the car, south of the airfield, and waited until dark. Unsure what to expect he silently crossed through the sparsely treed terrain and approached the only hangar at the airfield. Wild dogs could be heard off in the distance and cicada noise was becoming more and more intense. A light emanated from a rear office. Without knocking or making any noise he entered the office, which caught, a large Doberman and a portly old guy, off guard. The dog sprang to its feet, growled and was about to attack when the guy called it back. Wade stood there waiting for the guy to speak.

“Well, I don’t know who you are and why you’re here but I will say you are the first person I have ever known that could sneak up on a Doberman without it hearing you ... impressive.”

“The name is Jonas. You should have a parcel for me and I believe you can take me up to 35000 feet?” asked Wade.

“Right … I was wondering about that. When do you want to leave?”

“As soon as we can.”

The old man stood from his chair and led Wade out into the hangar. Stopping beside a box, that was lying against the far wall; he said, “This is yours. When you’re ready we’re going in that blue Citation over there,” as he pointed.

With that he turned and headed for the plane. Wade removed the parachute, HALO suit, altimeter, helmet, oxygen tank and pack from the box. Putting the items from Stefan’s bag into the pack, he then donned all the gear, put on the cam cream and walked over to the plane.

The old man had seen more than his fair share of interesting people and there expectations after fifty years of flying and two tours of Vietnam in the AirCorp so he knew better than to ask what was happening. Wade handed him a set of coordinates and strapped himself into the rear seat.

The plane taxied out of the hangar and they were airborne within three minutes.

The pilot came over the intercom, advised flight time was fifty minutes and he would pre warn at five minutes out. He would level out at 35,000 feet. When Wade was ready to leave he needed to push the red button, beside the door, but he needed to be aware that the door would only remain open for twenty seconds.

The flight was uneventful and Wade spent the time thinking of how quickly things had changed for him since Crystal had come into his life. He felt he liked it but also felt nervous about it. How he wished his mother was still around so he could talk to her. She always seemed to have the right words that made everything clear for him. Was this love? Was this an emotion that scared him? Or was the loss of his mother and sister just playing havoc with his mind? He was forcing himself to focus when suddenly the old man’s voice bellowed through the cabin. “Five minutes.”

He left the plane at the designated point, at the right altitude and made the free-fall descent until he released his chute at 4200 feet. Once he had stabilised, with the chute fully inflated, he got his bearings and tried to locate a building or feature that would resemble a facility that could be used to produce weapons. It was a desert. Nothing but dirt and scrub bushes with the occasional undulating ground. There was virtually no wind, the night sky was completely clear, visibility was excellent and he could not figure out why, if there was a man made facility operating, he could not see at least one flicker of light. He continued searching, in every direction, until he reached the ground. Landing in an area, he was familiar with; he grabbed up the chute and buried all the gear under a mound of tree branches. Taking up the pack and making ready his weapons he started walking toward the river. The sky was cloudless and the moon was three quarters full. Stars covered the sky like a pin cushion of small flashing lights. Perfect conditions for travelling at night as long as you didn’t wish to be seen. If your intent was to stay hidden than the conditions couldn’t have been any worse. Keeping to the trees and bushes and below the horizon line, as much as is possible in a flat, rocky desert terrain, he swiftly crossed the plateau to the edge of a cliff that looked south, seventy feet down to the fast flowing Prince Regent River. To the west he could hear the waves of the Indian Ocean crashing against the rock face of the cliffs that form the mouth of the river. To the east were more cliffs and large cascading waterfalls. Turning to the north he started to head into the red bull dust and scraggy shrub bushes of the desert.

Walking northeast for two hours, he came to the crest of a small rock outcrop and he heard the familiar sound of a waterfall. Glancing over the edge it occurred to him that something was amiss with the sounds he could hear. As a student of the desert, and the Kimberley areas, he had grown up listening to the creatures and all the components of nature that comprise these areas. The different sounds waterfalls make depending on the season or how long since the latest rains. The birds and creatures that hang around the waterways and waterfalls depending on the current climatic conditions. Keeping out of sight he lay on his front, closed his eyes and listened for what was different.

He heard water tumbling over the edge of a waterfall and the same water crashing on the rocks below. He heard the slight sound of water mist dripping from the cliffs abutting the waterfall. There was the distinctive sound of creatures moving across the rocks and over the red dust. A night bird was scavenging amongst the desert shrubs, small insects were seeking prey throughout the still quite desert air. The desert was extremely cold at this hour. His, sixth sense, could hear the cold-blooded creatures; snakes and lizards, moving about.

It all seemed normal except for a very silent hum that felt like it was in the ground. Was an earthquake brewing or was he imagining things when suddenly he recognised the sound. A motorised generator and it was vibrating through the ground. It dawned on him that the facility must be hidden or buried. Climbing to his feet, donning his night vision glasses he started looking in all directions.

After numerous attempts he finally caught a small flicker of light below the waterfall, slightly up stream. Continuing to watch he saw the same flicker four minutes later. He kept watching until he could confirm it was man made.

Keeping himself below the horizon line he made his way along the cliff. He approached the river that was feeding the waterfall. He caught the silhouette of a man standing on the opposite side of the river. On closer inspection he saw the man had a rifle slung over his shoulder and an earpiece feeding to a transmitter. Obviously a guard and Wade knew there would be others. Using his night vision glasses, he found two more guards, strategically located so as to form a triangular perimeter, of whatever they were guarding.

He decided he would find an observation post for the day. Watch proceedings throughout daylight hours and make his attack after sunset.

He spent the next two hours scouting around until he found a suitable small cave, in the cliff face, overlooking the river. He gathered shrubs to obscure the opening, covered his tracks and settled in for the wait.

As the sun rose it became obvious how the Grey Wolves, or whoever was involved, had set up their operation. It could not be seen from the air because they had utilised an old American observation post. They had built the production facility underground. Covered the entire project with a concrete roof and covered the roof with the red bull dust and desert shrubs. From the air it looked like any other part of the Kimberley region abutting the river. The concrete roof structure stopped satellite imagery and the water hid all the sound generated. They were using the river for transportation and hence no tracks to follow.

It was late in the afternoon. The sun was at its maximum and the ground was like a furnace. All forms of life were sheltering or sleeping from the scorching conditions. Wade had still not seen anybody, except the three guards who were by now sheltering under the rock outcrops and against the cliff face, when he heard a boat approaching from downstream. The boat was a low, wide typical tourist type. There was nobody on board except the driver and five armed men sitting at the stern, under an awning. The boat came up to the facility, waited thirty seconds, then appeared to vanish under the earth. Wade determined the overhang was obscuring the river side entry.

Ten minutes later the boat reappeared. This time it was full of aboriginals, sitting on the floor, with their heads bowed, hands shackled behind their backs and now there was nine guards. The guards were standing, with their rifles at the ready, continually scanning the river, cliffs and sky.

After the boat was gone three new guards appeared in the triangulation as per the previous night.

Wade waited as the sun started to set over the ocean and the cold evening desert blanket enveloped the entire area. He heard the animal life start to move, as feeding time approached. One hour after sunset, when the temperature had dropped over thirty degrees and Wade knew the guards would be at their least observant, he started his attack.

Crawling, sliding and lowering himself throughout the area, he was able to eliminate each guard without any of the others being aware. After he had taken care of all three, he lowered himself into the river and made his way underwater to the boat opening. Being careful of any further guards he entered the facility. He was amazed to find a production plant as large as a jumbo jet maintenance terminal. It was a concrete box two hundred metres long, fifty metres wide and over eight metres high. The whole facility was air conditioned, there were no windows and two large, blacked out, full height, glass doors faced the wharf, which straddled the river. Beside them was a small single steel faced door that served as a fire escape or easy entry/exit. He could not believe it had been built without somebody questioning what was going on. The number of workers required to build the facility would have been staggering.

The facility only worked during the day and the lights were all off except for two emergency lights. They did not provide much illumination but were more than sufficient for what Wade required. Entering the single door he proceeded to check how the plant operated.

An hour later he had deduced that the mineral ore was brought in on pallets that went through a crushing machine. A product was produced that was stored in a large oven. There was another area that was kept sterile, where the munitions were packaged.

Against the back wall was a manufacturing plant where he found stainless steel and titanium products in all various stages of production. The entire facility had large plasma screens on the walls and hanging from the ceiling. In the back corner was a double faced steel door that led to the power generation plant, the mechanical plant, a kitchen, guard’s quarters and a storage area. In the storage area Wade found large drums of materials that he had no idea what they were used for but he deducted they would explode if detonated.

A further hour later he had strategically placed charges and explosives inside and out. He intended to both destroy the facility and to ensure the river and waterfall washed away any remnants of its existence. Having set the timers for 0400 he headed off, double time, across the escarpment toward the Indian Ocean.

It was 2300 hours when he arrived at the beach, he knew he only had one hour to swim three kilometres. Wade considered himself quite meticulous at planning but unfortunately he had missed taking into account the tides. Northwestern Australia has some of the largest tidal changes on earth. Therefore, a phenomenal volume of water moves in and out with each tide change. High tide was not for another hour and the tide was running in. He needed to get as far as possible, against the tide, until it peaked and becalmed. Then he had a chance of reaching the boat.

Removing and burying all his gear, except for the flippers, a knife (strapped to his leg), his watch and GPS and wearing only his boxers; he dived into the ocean.

He had been swimming solidly for twenty five minutes when he stopped to check his distance travelled. Turning he could not believe he had gone no more than eight hundred metres. Realising the current had not abated and staying on the surface was not going to work, he started a dolphin form of progress. Diving down ten to fifteen feet, he breaststroke crawled through the water until he needed air. Keeping this up for ten minutes he checked his progress. He was now making substantial gains but he was becoming exhausted very quickly.

A further ten minutes passed, with his lungs screaming for him to stop, his head starting to vacillate in and out of a conscious state, he checked his watch and bearing. He was fifteen minutes and a six hundred metres from his rendezvous point. Floating on the surface he suddenly felt a tiny sharp sting to the back of his arm. Reaching around and using the starlight as vision he realised he made another mistake and forgotten about the Irukandji jellyfish.

The Irukandji are a smaller than thumb size transparent jellyfish that live in the warm waters of Northern Australia. They have only four tentacles, coming from the four corners of its box shaped body. They can cause muscular pain, high blood pressure, heart attack and can be lethal.

He felt further stings and knew he had to get away. Taking a large mouthful of air, he dived down. He kept going deeper and deeper until he could no longer see the tiny light reflections off their transparent bodies. He knew that swarms of Irukandji had been known to cover large areas of the ocean, so he was determined to get as far as possible. Wade knew from years of diving training that he was at least forty feet underwater. Checking his watch, he had been under for over two minutes. If he didn’t get to the surface very soon asphyxiation would start and he would lose consciousness.

Trying desperately to stop the urge to breathe, he swam for the surface. His eyes started to become blurry and he felt his arms and legs turning to jelly. Busting through the waves he gasped for air as he felt himself drifting out of consciousness. Wade had been trained to push his body to the extremes as he fought the urge to blackout. The world all round him was black. He could not feel his body. Drawing on the strength of the spirits departed, he opened his eyes flipped his body over to face the sky and sucked in all the oxygen he could. He knew he had been stung many times by the Irukandji. The pain and numbness was swelling across the back of his neck and on his arms and legs.

Trying desperately to get his breath under control he knew the effects of the stings were starting. He was vomiting violently, he felt like his head was going to explode and his heart was racing. Taking a breath, he gasped as he tried to swim toward the rendezvous point.

The swell had grown. Concentrating on every stroke with his arms and head flailing about he didn’t hear the boat come alongside or the huge hands reach down and drag him on board.

As he lay on the deck gasping for air, dry reaching; he felt Stefan pouring vinegar on the stingers to safely remove them. Wade remembered the stars, shining down upon him and the rocking of the boat. He felt them lift him to his feet and then his world went black.

43

Darwin

It was late in the morning, the following day, when the cleaner entered the apartment. She found the two dead CIA operatives in the bathroom and the bound Plant and Kia in the cupboard.

Kia called Forest and explained what had happened.

When she was finished Forest asked her to leave the room. He asked Plant to give his account of what happened. When he was finished the General paused, thought for a moment than told them to wait in the room until he called back.

Plant and Kia had been waiting over two hours. The CIA had arranged for the bodies to be removed. A cleaning party had been through and sterilised the apartment, when the phone rang.

Kia answered, “General.”

“I’ve just been with POTUS and the executive. We’ve decided that Wade seems to know what he’s doing. So I want you both on the next plane back here. No stopovers and we’ll decide our next course of action. We need to focus on getting information that will aid Wade instead of trying to control him. The President has given us the green light to use all available resources in any way we see fit.” Pausing he continued, “I appreciate you acknowledge the sensitivity and importance of this mission but we cannot afford any more mistakes. What happen there was a mistake … am I clear on this?” stated Forest.

“Yes sir,” they both replied.

“All right. Have you been able to gather any Intel or any leads on a possible link to an aboriginal work camp?” asked the General again.

“Not exactly sir. One of the operatives, who was shot, told me there is word of white men, speaking in a foreign language, going into the aboriginal camps, kidnapping and destroying their camps. Apparently this has been happening in an area called the Kimberley. The problems we have are firstly the aboriginals are not very forthcoming in talking with white men. Secondly they move around so much you wouldn’t really know if they had been kidnapped or just left of their own accord. Thirdly, and the most difficult, the Kimberley covers 164,000 square miles, which is bigger than the state of California. So I feel it might not develop into much. We could spend months looking,” replied Plant cautiously.

The line went quiet. Eventually Forest responded, “I understand what you’re saying Joe. I’ll organise a permanent observation from our satellites. I’ll also deploy desert specialty teams into the area and we’ll watch and wait. I still want you both on the next flight … I feel we are always one step behind Wade. So let’s start thinking like him and catch up.”

Kia and Plant heard the General barking orders throughout the Washington facility. He came back on the line, “Kia … you’re the expert. Your thoughts?”

“Well sir. I was extremely surprised by Wade’s response. I appreciate I probably crossed the line. I didn’t realise how much he cares for Crystal. My time with him gives me the feeling he knows exactly what he’s doing. As you said we should let him do what he does best and let us concentrate on Turkey and Smithwright,” she answered.

“Okay … as soon as you’re on the flight I want you to access the encrypted site for this mission. The name of the mission is WAR. W. A. R. We’ll talk then,” and the head of the CIA disconnected the line.

“WAR that’s a pretty cool name, don’t you think?” asked Plant.

“Actually it’s quite clever. WAR is Wade’s initials,” replied Kia.

They made their way to the airport and were airborne, on a CIA jet, two hours later. A twenty two hour flight from Darwin to Washington. They had been in the air approaching ten hours when an operative, from mission control, came over the planes intercom with a general announcement.

“We have a satellite feed showing an explosion at 15 degrees south, 125 degrees east on the Prince Regent River Western Australia. The explosion appears to be at the base of a waterfall and a large portion of the cliff face has been blown away. We believe the explosion was underground. It occurred at 0400 local time, four minutes ago. Sunrise will be in forty minutes at which time a live feed will be sent through. There are no further details.”

Kia, Plant, Forest, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Razen and their aides were discussing their next plans of engagement when the announcement had come through.

“Well people what do we make of that?” asked Razen.

Kia responded first, “Sir, I would imagine this is Wade’s work. That was probably the facility we were looking for.”

44

Indian Ocean

Wade could feel the motion but could not figure out where he was. His eyes felt like lead as he struggled to open them. His arms and legs did not want to move. His head felt like he had been hit with a sledgehammer. Eventually his eyes did open and he felt the intensity of the sun on his face. Squinting to focus he saw Crystal with her head on her hands, face down, asleep at the end of the bunk he lay on.

He sat up, swung his legs off the bed as Crystal stirred and awoke. “Hello,” she said as she stretched her body back into life. “How do you feel?” she asked.

Wade went to speak and felt his mouth was dry and tasted like chalk. “Okay, I guess,” he muttered.

Looking around he said, “How long have I been out?”

Crystal looked at her watch and replied, “It’s four in the afternoon. Stefan said we should be getting there about sunset.”

Staggering to his feet, they made their way onto the deck. Stefan was standing at the helm. Upon seeing Wade, he remarked, “Well you look like you’ve had better days.”

“Thanks mate. What happened?” asked Wade.

“I’m not sure how much you remember but when I saw the tide was the wrong way I realised three kilometres was pushing how far you could make so I decided to head in closer. You were actually only four hundred metres from the RV. It was lucky I saw you come up; otherwise I would have gone straight past. When I dragged you on board you were covered in Irukandji stings. You looked in a pretty bad way and I remembered you telling me they should be removed with vinegar. I basically poured it all over you. Removed the stingers and put you on the bunk. Crystal has been with you ever since.”

“I appreciate you both helping. Thanks,” said Wade nodding his gratitude.

Crystal just smiled as Wade gave her a kiss on the cheek and Stefan replied, “No problem. That was one hell of an explosion we heard last night. I’m guessing you found the place?”

“Yeah I did. It was a production facility they had built underground, next to a river and beside a waterfall. There was no way anybody would have found it from the air and it isn’t the sort of area tourists would ever go. So, they knew what they were doing. But it will be a long time before they’re in production again.” Wade replied as he looked out across the ocean. “Crystal said you thought we should be in Denpasar soon?”

“Yes, I would imagine about two hours. What are you going to do next?” Stefan asked.

“When we were in London I was given a number to ring when I had completed a further part of this whole thing, so I think I will do that now and see what happens. Have you got the encrypted sat phone?”

Stefan handed it across and Wade dialled the number. With the phone on speaker a recorded voice came on, gave an address in Djibouti, Africa and the line went dead.

Looking across at Crystal and Stefan, Wade replied, “Well I guess that answers that question. I’m going to Djibouti, Africa,” and looking across at Crystal he said “and you, my dear, will need to go back stateside.”

Crystal was stunned with this statement. She sat there unable to say a word.

“What, no comment?” Wade asked, surprised.

Still looking stunned she replied, “You just said my dear.”

Wade looked at Stefan and back at Crystal and then quizzically remarked, “That’s right. But no comment about you going back to the states.”

She leant over and kissed him on the lips. When finished she replied, “That part doesn’t matter because I was always coming with you. It’s the ‘my dear’ that caught me off guard.”

Stefan laughed and said, “Another good man bites the dust,” as he slapped Wade on the back.

Wade just smiled and looked out across the ocean to the land starting to come into sight.

At the dock, they thanked Stefan, passed through customs, made their way to the airport and using a secure credit card and false travel documents booked the next flight to Djibouti.

45

Djibouti

They arrived at Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport 1100 local time. Keeping their heads down, and trying to stay hidden from cameras, they made their way through the terminal and out into the scorching midday heat. Not carrying any luggage, they flagged down a taxi and headed to Place Rimbaud. A market area, in the African quarter of Djibouti City, where Wade knew he could obtain some local clothing and possibly get some answers.

Wade and Crystal were both lucky to have reasonably darkened olive skin and dark hair which helped them hide their western appearances. Wade’s fluent French also aided in hiding suspicions.

The frantic activity of the morning’s trade had diminished and the market stalls were closing for the lunchtime break. They entered a side alley, made their way to a far corner and located the used clothing that Wade was seeking. Putting on their respective garbs, footwear and headwear, they ditched their current clothes and headed off to the address from the recorded message.

The address was in the Port of Djibouti, located at the eastern most tip of Djibouti City, an extremely busy port that provided over seventy five percent of the importing and exporting for the Republic of Djibouti and the neighbouring country of Somalia. Djibouti is a country of about 750,000 inhabitants, with the majority living in Djibouti City. Due to the countries extremely high level of unemployment, approximately sixty percent, harsh hot and dry climate and predominantly desert conditions; the port is a bustling, busy and dangerous area.

Wade knew, from experience, that gangland violence, corruption and deceit were rife in the Port of Djibouti and he knew he would need to be wary of everybody they met.

Following the old derelict train line, which headed out over the rusted and collapsing wharf, they came to the address. The building was enormous. It covered nearly six acres. All its windows and doors were boarded up. Old pallets, containers, rubbish and broken glass was strewn around three sides. The fourth side faced the harbour and had no windows, a small double set of doors and a larger door that had been welded shut. There was a wharf, large enough for a small vehicle to drive along. In front of the doors was a low slung gantry hanging off its edge. The wharf and building were raised two metres above the water level. At the end of the wharf was a guard, brandishing an AK47, leaning against the wall. He was completely oblivious to anybody as he smoked his cigarette and watched the ships sail by.

The whole facility looked deserted. Keeping on the side of caution, Wade decided to find a suitable hiding place for Crystal and then check out the building proper.

Seven hundred metres further down the old train line he found a collapsing single building between two more dilapidated warehouses. The building would have served as the train controller’s office and Wade was able to make a suitable hiding place where Crystal could wait undetected.

Wade could see the fear on her face as she said “I don’t like it here. What if somebody finds me?”

“They won’t find you. Now I want you to take this phone. I have preprogrammed a number into it. If I’m not back by one hour after sunset I want you to ring the number, say who you are, nobody will respond, hang up and destroy the phone … remember Benjano from France?” he waited for her response, as she nodded, “Well he will receive the call and that will give him your coordinates. He’ll immediately send a team from the French Foreign Legion barracks, at the airport, and they’ll be here in ten minutes.”

He looked around, for one last time, to make sure everything was as good as he could make it. He bent down, kissed her on the cheek and said, “I promise I’ll be back, so don’t worry.”

He closed the old timber door, turned away, from the warehouse in question, and headed down the train track. A further two hundred metres, the track came to the water’s edge. Wade ducked behind the last warehouse removed all his clothing except for his pants and boots and slid down into the murky harbour waters.

The walls underneath the warehouses and wharfs had been built from tree trunks that had been stood vertically along the length of the harbour. They acted as both the building supports and the barrier to hold back the soil from falling into the harbour. On top of these supports were built wharfs that cantilevered over the water and were the harbour side edge of the warehouses.

Wade had seen that the wharf abutting the warehouse, the one in question, seemed to have a dip across its front edge. He also noticed how the bow wave of passing boats seemed to reappear from under the wharves quite quickly but not from under this particular wharf. He deducted there was some form of opening and intended to find out what it was.

Entering the water the visibility was nonexistent. He made his way by feeling along the old tree trunks. Each time he came to the surface he would ensure nobody was watching, get his bearings, take a breath and go back under. The lack of visibility and the continual resurfacing for air meant he had brushed against the barnacles numerous times.

He was just about to break the surface when he caught a glimpse of light above his head. Ducking back under and back paddling he used the tree trunks to find the entrance to the opening. Coming to the surface he was confronted with a large open docking area that had been carved under the warehouse.

Wade checked there were no guards or cameras, climbed out onto the deck and hid behind a pile of crates. Two large speedboats were tied to the deck, a refuelling pump on one side and large pile of custom made crates on the other. The whole area was brightly lit. Air conditioning units, lathes, welders, pumps and conveyor machinery could be heard further into the building. There was a lot of noise but no voices.

After waiting a further few minutes, to ensure no one had noticed his arrival, he crawled along the deck, went around two small offices and came under a set of stairs. Using the stairs as cover he was surprised to find that the building appeared to be a large sterile manufacturing facility. Counting in excess of seventy workers, inside the sterile area, all dressed in white coats, hunched over large benches, he realised they were producing firearms. The machinery was spitting out the various components and the workers were assembling and testing.

He saw various weapons from; nine millimetre pistols, 7.62 mm rifles, GPMG’s to anti-aircraft weapons. As he was watching proceedings a familiar person stepped into his view. It was the second Turk who had been identified as murdering his mother and sister. Overcome with an adrenaline surge, at having his prey so close, he failed to notice the gunman approaching.

At the very last moment he felt somebody behind him. His instinctive reaction saved his life but the gunman got off a shot that grazed his temple. The shot was not fatal but caused him to lose consciousness.

46

Djibouti

Wade Ross is an extremely strong individual. He is one of only two people to have ever survived the gruelling testing and survival courses of the SAS (Special Air Service), the Israeli Mossad, the Nepalese Ghurkas and the US Navy SEALs. Much discussion has been had as to how he is able to endure this and even Wade is unsure. One thing Wade does know is that in his time of most need his homeland spirits are always there for him.

As he started to focus on what had happened he sensed his spirits were there and talking to him. He knew that only occurred when his body or mind was being pushed to the limit. Slowly opening his eyes, he tried to figure out where he was and what was happening. All he could decipher was that he was in something that was big, black and he could hear water flowing.

Squinting his eyes and concentrating on stopping the pain to his head, he felt his vision return. As the scene before his eyes started to clear it was some form of large tank or possibly a silo. He remembered how, when he was observing from under the stairs, he had seen something at the far end of the production facility that was made of curved steel and seemed to go from below the floor level to above the ceiling.

His hands and feet were bound. He felt the tape around his ankles and his wrists and the pain in his head was unbearable. Closing and slowly opening his eyes, he concentrated on slowing down his breathing, whilst trying to get his mind and eyes to focus on the surroundings.

He could feel the tape was some form of duct tape. The harder he forced against it the tighter and stronger the tape became. He then realised he was bound to the ladder that was used to enter this tank. His ankles were bound to either side of the ladder with his feet on a rung. His wrists were also bound to either side of the ladder but above his head. He was naked and could feel that he had been beaten in the stomach and back areas. He felt the blood on the side of his face, which he knew had come from the gunshot just before he lost consciousness.

The darkness and sounds echoing throughout the void led him to determine it was a very large tank. The sound of huge amounts of gushing water made him aware they intended to drown him.

Suddenly he felt the water at his feet. Struggling, as hard as he could, the tape on his wrists just got thinner and stronger and stronger. The water had now gone above his ankles and it was at this time, he remembered from his training with the US Navy SEALs that if the tape his abductors had used was a cloth based duct tape then the glue used on this tape reacts with salt water and starts to breakdown.

Not knowing if the water was salt water or if the tape was the cloth based type he proceeded to force his legs away from the ladder, stretching the tape, as hard as he could manage. He felt the width of the tape become smaller and smaller as it started to cut into his ankles. Forcing his thighs away from the ladder, he felt the muscles start to lactate. Knowing he was getting near his limit, as the water approached his groin; he closed his eyes and concentrated on remembering his training.

47

California

Arriving at Coronado, California, US Navy SEAL training facility, Wade was already a ten year veteran who had completed numerous tours of deployment at various places of hostility around the world.

His Commanding Officer Colonel James Barnes had been the first to notice Wade’s extraordinary abilities. He had convinced divisional command, in Australia, that Wade was the perfect person for the Australian SAS to send to the British SAS in a training swap. The training exercise had been a great success and the British had been very impressed.

Colonel Barnes’s counterpart within the British SAS had suggested that Wade be attached to a squad that was to infiltrate Pristina, Kosovo and obtain intelligence on rebel threats against UN facilities. The primary Intel for their deployment had not been accurate. After a disastrous entry into Kosovo and consequent ambush, if not for Wade all members of the squad would have been killed.

The success of the mission had not gone unnoticed by agencies around the world and upon Wade’s return to Australia; Colonel Barnes was approached about the opportunity for Wade to train with Mossad.

After much discussion between Colonel Barnes, his boss General Masters, head of the Australian Defence Forces and ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organisation) it was decided that Wade would go to Israeli but it would be completely undocumented.

Wade’s time in Israeli was when he met and trained with Kia and where his skills in unarmed combat; stealth killing and weapons were brought to a much higher level. The one item that had the biggest impact on Wade was the plight of the Israeli’s from the rest of the world. He felt similarities between the Jews and the Aboriginals and it was this raw emotion that drove him deeper and deeper into the Mossad world of retribution.

It was during this time, that Wade and Kia travelled to the corners of the earth eliminating and destroying all types of people from politicians, terrorists, wealthy businessman, other agency personnel, to the general populace. As a consequence of the success of his missions Wade’s identity was eliminated from all known data.

He remained in this form of both military and non-military activity for a further two years. At the completion of his second year with Mossad, whilst he and Kia were on an assignment in Taiwan, they became unknowingly involved in a US Navy SEAL operation that had turned bad.

Kia had been tasked with seducing a Russian oil oligarch and enticing him to a rendezvous at a dockside marina. The Russian and his entourage, eleven heavily armed bodyguards, had arrived at the correct time and place. Unfortunately, the SEALs had been instructed to take out an unmarked Chinese transmission boat that was berthed at the marina, at the same moment.

The meeting of the two armed groups caused a firefight that pinned the SEALs under the dock and had Kia trapped inside the marina warehouse. Wade was able to use his stealth skills to get inside the warehouse, trap the Russian, order his bodyguards to put down their weapons and enable the SEALs to slink away.

The SEALs squad commander reported what had happened to his superiors. After some checking Wade was located and advised if he ever wanted anything from a SEAL, it would be provided.

A few years later, whilst back home visiting his mother and sister, Wade contacted one of only a few people who by now knew of his existence. He asked for the opportunity to attend training with the US Navy SEALs. The request was approved and Wade arrived at Coronado for training.

He was introduced as an Australian who had an American passport and who had received limited military training. The fact that he was an Australian seemed to rile the instructors to further push him beyond even imaginable limits but his results served to develop their respect. After sixteen weeks and part way through the BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) intensive selection training, the SEAL command was informed of Wade’s previous experience and capabilities. This combined with the fact he had endured the punishment of the basic training regime and a survival course, increased the respect they held for him. But the one dominate factor that was talked about by all, at the training facility, was his remarkable underwater strength and ability to hold his breath.

A long held SEAL tradition was the test of who could dive down to fifty feet, pick up a sixty-pound weight, and lift it above his head onto a platform. The challenge was who could lift the most weights and each person only ever got one attempt. The record had been held by the current SEAL commanding officer who had lifted nine.

When his turn had come round Wade was determined that he would beat this record. He dived down the fifty feet, placed his feet securely on the floor of the pool, bent down picked up the weight, lifted the weight above his head, placed it on the platform and then bent down again. This time he closed his eyes, focused on the spirits and proceeded to go through the motions again and again. By the time he had lifted seven he could feel his lungs screaming for oxygen, his legs were like jelly, his head was starting to feel dizzy and he knew he was going into oxygen depletion. Continuing to focus on the spirits, slowing down his breathing he went through the motions five more times. Suddenly, as he was reaching down to pick up the next weight, he was grabbed around each arm and lifted to the surface.

Reaching the surface and gasping for air he accepted the safety divers had become concerned he was going to drown and had decided he had done enough. The experience was fulfilling and rewarding but also showed him he had the capability to go beyond what he thought were his limits.

48

Djibouti

He focused on the SEAL test and pushed harder and harder with his legs. Concentrating on slowing his breathing down, he slowly started to feel the glue give way. By now the water was at his waist and the pushing was becoming more difficult when suddenly the tapes broke free.

Kicking his legs and stimulating the blood flow back into his thighs, he used his stomach muscles to flip his legs above his head. Pushing with his arms he was able to have his bound wrists at the closest point to the water. Waiting until the water reached his wrists he then proceeded to go through the same exercise as per his ankles. Hooking his feet over a rung of the ladder, he pulled and pulled on the tape as he felt it cutting into his wrists.

It was easier to pull against his wrists than his ankles but he was upside down and fatigue was creeping into his battered and bruised body. Pulling and pulling the water reached his face. Taking one large breath he once again closed his eyes and focused on the spirits. He saw the hills and desert, the sky and clouds, felt the sand of the beaches under his feet, which helped him relax and conserve strength. Still pushing, with the water by now up to his waist, he once again felt the tape start to slip and then finally break away.

Grabbing the ladder and bursting through the surface he gasped for air. After two or three big breaths and starting to get his lungs under control, he saw the roof of the tank was only two metres away and approaching fast. Logic told him that if this was a tank than there must be somewhere that the water can be released and that would be at the bottom of the tank.

Taking a large breath, he dived for the bottom. Not expecting it to be so deep and so black he was becoming concerned at how far he had gone, when eventually his hands struck the bottom. It definitely was a tank from the rippled steel bottom. All he needed was to locate the valve before he drowned. Swimming and feeling his way he came to the side. He moved along the wall sweeping his hands from the bottom up the side in a one metre arc. He had covered three metres when he felt the valve. It was a large handle, half a metre across. He started to move it. It was going to take many turns and he was running out of air. Determined to get as many turns in as he could, he concentrated on ‘The Dreaming’ and listened to the stories of the elders.

His head was becoming dizzy, he knew the water pressure and lack of oxygen was starting to affect his conscious state. With one last twist he pushed off the bottom. He swam as fast as he could for the surface. As he broke through there was only ten centimetres of air left. With the water splashing and swirling around he choked for air when suddenly the water started to fall away. Not being close enough to grab the ladder he started falling with the water.

Rolling and tumbling as he went, he saw that there was light everywhere and he had come out of the tank. Trying desperately to grab something as well as get his bearings he crashed into a wall of empty pallets. The pallets had stopped his forward motion with the water but served to smash into his shoulder. As the water started to subside he was in the warehouse. Climbing to his feet he saw that the entire warehouse had borne the brunt of the wave from the tank.

The front of the tank completely gone and the edges ripped and sheared. The loosening of the valve and the increasing water pressure had all added to the wall around the valve failing and the entire tank wall shearing off. Hundreds of thousands of litres of seawater had then flooded the warehouse in a tidal wave effect. The wave of water had destroyed everything in its path. With the pump still spewing out gallons of water and the electrics starting to fail he staggered to his feet and headed off on a reconnaissance.

All that remained of the sterile firearms production facility was smashed against the rear wall. He saw bodies in white coats and men who had been the guards, strewn everywhere. The force of the water had smashed open and exposed the crates of firearms. Wade could not believe what he was seeing. There was enough firepower to equip an army.

Suddenly he heard a woman’s voice and a scream, that sounded familiar, and that kicked him back into military mode.

As he raced toward the scream, he bent down picked up an AK47, grabbed a few extra magazines and kept running. He knew before he got there it was Crystal and she sounded terrified. Leaping over broken walls, bodies, glass and guns he checked the weapon was operational and a round chambered. He raced across the open area separating the two warehouses and stopped at the corner. Squatting down and slowly peering around the corner he counted off at least twenty Sudanese guards.

They were all dancing around Crystal, who was duct taped to a column and was also naked except for torn panties. They appeared to have completely lost interest in their facility and must have decided no one else was alive. All, except two, had their weapons lying on the piles of crates. The two, with weapons, were brandishing AK47’s and had them slung over their shoulder. The group were rubbing their hands over Crystal’s body as they chanted, sung, and danced around the column.

Wade knew the priority was to take out the two with weapons first, then those closest to the crates. He determined the distance to Crystal was approximately twenty five metres. This would involve a frontal attack because a siege would only get Crystal killed. He was about to go when he saw out of the corner of his eye a dead guard who had a Kris Knife, a double bladed Arabian hunters knife, protruding from his back waistband. He grabbed the knife and stuck it between his teeth. Checking his weapon one last time, he leapt to his feet, rounded the corner, first shot in the head of the closest guard carrying a weapon, second shot was also a head shot, taking out the second guard with a weapon.

The Sudanese were quite use to gunfire so the sound didn’t surprise them. A naked man, covered in cuts and bruises, charging with a knife in his mouth, firing an AK47 and coming from where the tidal wave of water had just been; caught them off guard.

Before they had time to react Wade had covered twenty metres and had already killed nine of them. They frantically tried to get behind cover and grab for their weapons as Wade continued to pick them off. Reaching Crystal and still firing the weapon with his right hand, he used his left hand to cut her wrists free. Handing her the knife he yelled, “Quick get your feet free, we need to get out of here.”

She grabbed the knife and was cutting the tape off her feet, when his magazine clicked empty. In less than two seconds he was back ready to fire. The time lag had been enough for one of the Sudanese to get a shot off. The round went straight through his left shoulder. The shot was not life threatening but the pain was distracting. He yelled at Crystal, “Go … back to where the water’s coming from and keep going toward the back of the building.”

Crystal knew better than to second guess or even question Wade when he was like this; so she started running. Without turning back, she heard gunshots and prayed Wade would be okay. Rounding the corner, she saw where he meant. She also saw the mayhem and bodies. Trying desperately to block the faces of all the dead she leapt, slipped, crawled and forced her way to the back wall. She could feel her feet were severely cut from all the broken glass and she so desperately wanted Wade to be there with her.

Reaching the back wall, she could still hear the voluminous amount of water pouring through the building but the shooting had stopped. About to turn she heard somebody behind her and went to scream. Before she had a chance a dirty, blood soaked hand clamped over her mouth and she heard Wade say, “Come on.”

Grabbing her hand, they raced toward the back offices. Opening the first door was an empty room. The second room had paper and rubbish strewn everywhere but still nothing that could help them. The last door opened into a darkened room. Wade saw light cascading out of an opening in the floor, in the far corner. Without hesitating he led Crystal to the opening and down the ladder.

Reaching the bottom, he became aware Crystal was shaking and he knew she was starting to feel the effects of shock.

“I feel so cold,” stammered Crystal as she started to cry. “What is wrong with me? … Wade please help me?”

“Crystal … it’s okay. You’re starting to feel the effects of shock. You’ve been okay up until now because adrenaline has carried you along … we need to get you some clothes,” he replied putting his arm over her shoulder and trying to comfort her.

At the bottom of the stairs was a pontoon with a large forty foot, superbly fitted out, luxury ‘Scarab’ speedboat. The boat had been customised to include two large long range fuel tanks and included all the necessary equipment to enable a lengthy trip. It was an escape area from the warehouse if anything went wrong or they were attacked. Quickly helping Crystal on board, he scampered below deck. Wade noticed the diving gear and wetsuits tucked in the corner. Grabbing one of the wetsuits he rushed back up top and started putting it on her. He knew he was not overly skilled at dressing a naked woman but he also knew time was of the essence. Pulling the legs of the tight wetsuit, with her shaking, he trying to keep her stable, and them both naked; was causing a lot of bare skin contact. He tried to stay focused but he knew the contact was pleasurable. Finally getting her arms in, front zipped up; he pulled the hood over her head. Picking her up he carried her below the deck, lay her on one of the bunks and covered her with a blanket.

Luckily diving in the Arabian Sea area requires full length suits; due to the large numbers of sea snakes and their persistent biting habit. As he lay her down he noticed she had immediately started to warm up and was starting to relax into a semi-conscious state. He kissed her softly on the forehead and left.

Turning the boat with the bow facing toward the harbour and Arabian Sea, he secured the stern with a single quick release rope. Using a first aid kit, found under the driver’s seat, he cleaned and bandaged the gunshot wound. He climbed into a wetsuit, cleaned his feet of glass and put on diving boots. Leaving his hood off, to help with visibility and noise detection, he gathered up his rifle and started up the ladder.

By now the continual pumping of water had caused the flooding to reach the offices and was starting to come down the escape ladder. Wade was glad as this would act as a further deterrent for anybody to come checking.

Scaling the ladder, with the rifle ready, he entered the office, crossed to the door and started back into the area where the production facility had been. He heard voices outside the warehouse, in the distance. Due to the water, and the pump, he could not decipher how many there were and how far away they were.

He made his way across the warehouse. He was checking through the broken crates and strewn weapons, when he came upon a box of C4 explosives and detonators. They were being used to make Claymore mines. Grabbing some Claymores, tripwire, detonators and C4 he headed for the warehouse entrance. Setting the Claymores to activate four metres inside the entrance doors he then planted C4 explosives, with remote detonators, at various locations throughout the warehouse. The voices were growing more agitated. He could tell the numbers were increasing. They were either waiting for somebody or trying to determine an action. A truck pulled up.

He was nearly finished setting the explosives when the door burst open and four men rushed inside. Three were carrying rifles with the fourth leading and waving a 7.62mm belt fed GPMG. The machine gun toting Sudanese started firing blindly into the semi darkened warehouse with the three riflemen following suit. Wade ducked behind a pile of fallen crates as the rounds ricocheted off the concrete floor, steel girders and disintegrated everything they came in contact with.

The gunmen had now become confident they were in control and started walking further inside. Two steps later the GPMG gunman stepped on the tripwire, which instantly activated the detonation of the four Claymore mines, Wade had directed at the entrance doors.

At twelve hundred metres per second and containing seven hundred, three millimetre steel ball bearings shot out in a sixty degree fan shaped pattern, an M18 Claymore is a very effective anti-personnel weapon. When multiplied by four, the gunmen had no chance of survival. The thousands of ball bearings also had the added effect of destroying the warehouse eastern wall, which was facing the harbour, and smashing the water pump.

As the sound and dust dissipated Wade immediately returned to placing the explosives throughout the warehouse. He also became acutely aware of how quite the surroundings had now become. The only sounds, from within the building, was the trickle of water looking for its lowest resting point and any damaged material caught in the resultant water flow. He heard the sounds of vehicles and people yelling outside and sirens in the distance.

After placing the last explosive, he grabbed a box of the C4 and ran to the lower dock from where he had first come. As he placed the box, explosive and a detonator on top of the fuel tank he felt the warm feel of his blood between the wet suit and his shoulder. He knew the impact of his fall, when the gunmen burst into the building, had caused the gunshot wound to start bleeding again. The blood loss would rapidly drain his energy and could cause unconsciousness unless he reapplied the bandage very soon.

Leaving the dock, the noises from outside grew louder as more and more people arrived. He raced through the warehouse, down the ladder and onto the pontoon. He released the rope, fired the ignition, pushed the throttle fully down and aimed at the small opening under the dock. The seven litre Chevy motor responded and the boat lifted its bow and thrust forward.

The afternoon sun had gone behind the city buildings as the red twilight started to envelope the skyline. The harbour lights had been turned on and the combination had the surreal effect of causing everywhere to appear hallucinatory. He could feel his head becoming lighter and his eyes beginning to drift. On the opposite side of the harbour, four hundred metres away and directly to his front was a one hundred and sixty metre long, thirty metre high, fully loaded container ship. The ship was being escorted down the middle of the harbour by two tugboats.

By the time he reached the container ship he was already travelling at seventy kilometres per hour. Wade swung the steering wheel to the right and cut in front of the path of the tug and ship. The speedboat was on the port side of the container ship as Crystal, now aroused, was making her way outside. Grabbing hold of the stair handrail, leading from the galley to the deck, she looked up at Wade and asked, “What’s happening?”

He looked down, smiled and said, “Time for us to get out of here … how do you feel?”

“Not so good but glad to be away from this creepy place.”

Wade reached down, helped her onto the deck and into the luxurious passenger seat. He handed her a remote control and said, “Push that button and look to your left as we come past this ship.”

Looking at him with unknowing eyes she did as he asked. At that very instant she heard a huge explosion. The force of the explosion was incredible but the size of the container ship had shielded them from any impact. As they passed the stern they both looked to the left and saw the huge fireball that had erupted and the smoke that was engulfing the harbour area.

The speedboat was approaching a hundred and ten kilometres per hour and they were both hanging on tightly as Wade yelled across to Crystal, “We’re about to leave the harbour so it could get pretty rough. Hang on.”

Swinging the boat around to the left Wade set a course northeast heading for Aden, port city of Yemen. The twilight was fading fast; the lights of Djibouti City were diminishing behind them as they continued across the ever increasing swell of the Arabian Sea.

They had been pounding through the ocean swell for over twenty minutes. There were no land lights to be seen, the sky was pitch black due to cloud cover and neither had said a word, when suddenly Wade fell forward onto the steering wheel. The boat had an autopilot, which Wade had preset, and therefore kept bouncing along. Grappling her way to him Crystal pulled him back into his seat and pulled the throttle back, leaving the boat bobbing in the ocean.

Not knowing what was the problem she tried desperately to pull the hood off his head. After numerous attempts it finally came free. Laying him on the boat floor she pulled down the zipper on the front of his wet suit. His body and the entire inside of the wetsuit was covered in blood. Struggling to keep her footing as the boat rocked in the mountainous swell, she accidentally fell forward and hit her arm on his injured shoulder. The contact startled Wade back into consciousness as he tried to move and focus his eyes.

“What the hell,” he stammered as he tried to lift himself up but fell back against the seat.

“Wade! You’ve been shot,” exclaimed Crystal, as she looked at the blood coming from behind the bandage on his shoulder.

“Yeah … I know,” replied a calm but word disjointed Wade.

Looking around he said, “There’s a first aid kit on the dashboard. Can you take out the antiseptic alcohol and grab another bandage.”

Doing as he had asked Crystal tried desperately to get to the dashboard. The shock she was suffering and the continual rocking threw her back on to the deck and caused her to lapse back into an unconscious state.

Wade had lost so much blood he felt he was fighting a losing battle, to stay awake. Asking for the spirits to help him, he closed his eyes.

49

Arabian Sea

As he slowly opened his eyes he realised he was lying in a bed. The room was incredibly bright with machines all around him making different noises. Looking up he saw Crystal and a man, dressed in US navy military clothing, talking.

As he went to move one of the machines reacted and a small high pitched tone suddenly emanated. This caused the man to instantly avert his attention toward Wade. Stepping across he firmly put his hand on Wade’s chest, to stop him moving, as he said, “Well, Mister Ross, good to see you’re back.”

Stepping up next to the navy man, Crystal also said, “Hello,” as she gently grabbed hold of his hand.

The navy man spoke first. “You probably have a lot of questions that Flight Lieutenant Carters will be able to answer but I will let you know that you are aboard the USS Enterprise. My name is Commander Jarvis Maxwell and I’m the doctor in charge, on board this vessel. We have had to patch up your shoulder, from a gunshot wound, stitch up numerous cuts and give you quite a few litres of blood. Now that you’re awake I will need you to stay on the intravenous drip until we can be sure your system is back to health … can you speak?”

“Sure,” stammered Wade.

“Okay … do you have any questions?” asked Maxwell.

Wade just nodded as the doctor turned and left. Looking across at Crystal he asked, “What happened?”

“Apparently we both lost consciousness and because the boat gearing was engaged the boat slowly crept across the ocean. The radar operators on one of the frigates, of this fleet, spotted us and tracked us. When we crossed into their operational zone they scrambled a boarding party and they consequently found us. Not knowing who we were they brought us on board the carrier and basically we’ve been here since,” she replied.

“How long has that been?”

“It’s coming up to midday, so we’ve been here about thirty six hours.”

“How are you feeling?” asked Wade with genuine concern in his voice.

“Thank you for asking but I’m fine. I just don’t want to go back to Djibouti,” she replied as she grasped his hand tighter.

“Me either, actually,” he said as he smiled. She seemed more beautiful each time he saw her. The light flicking off her shining brunette hair and capturing the essence of her smooth gleaming olive skin made him forget, for a short time, all the suffering and pain that was becoming a continual part of his life.

“More importantly, how do you feel?”

“Not too bad … bit like I’ve been hit by a freight train but nothing that a good holiday wouldn’t fix,” he replied, smiling.

“The doctor told me he was to let the Admiral know when you woke up, so I’m guessing we’ll get a visit soon.”

A nurse entered the room, gave them some food, checked all Wade’s vitals, checked the machines and left.

They ate their food and engaged in some small talk for another thirty minutes until a small, middle aged, grey haired man entered the room. Crystal upon seeing him leapt to her feet and stood rigid.

“At ease Lieutenant, please sit,” motioned the Admiral as he walked up to Wade. “Hello Mister Ross, my name is Admiral Jack Plower … and I would have thought after thirty years in the navy I would have either heard or seen everything that there is possible to hear or see. But apparently not … I guess I was still to meet you,” he said with a smile on his face. Reaching down and shaking Wade’s hand he continued, “Congratulations are apparently in order. I have been told that you will not tell me what has happened but you definitely seem to have people in extremely high places that are very happy with your results. If you want to tell me that would be good, if not, is there anything I can do for you?”

“Thanks Admiral, I appreciate that but we were just doing our job. One thing, we would like is to get back to the states as soon as possible. Could you arrange for me to use a secure line to the Pentagon?”

“No problem. I will check with the doctor and see when you can travel. I will get someone to organise the flights. You can use the phone on your side table anytime. Just buzz through to the tower and I’ll approve,” he replied as he turned and left the room.

“Well, well Mister Ross … a hero hey,” snickered Crystal.

50

Washington

The chatter, on the airwaves, was by now in overdrive as reports kept filtering in of a major explosion in Djibouti harbour. CIA Intel was that the building in question was a suspected arms dealer’s distribution point but nothing had been proven. Sitting at the computer Plant turned to Kia and asked, “What are your thoughts on all this? … Wade’s work?”

“Sure seems like his MO but I don’t understand, if he is doing this, why he is destroying everything he comes in contact with, when he specifically mentioned he wanted to catch them off guard.”

“I find it amazing. We have had four agents working for nearly six months to find out some Intel on these arms dealers and he is in town for six hours and destroys the whole operation. He is definitely good. I’m glad he’s on our side,” commented Plant.

“Be careful what you say Joe. Remember what he said in Darwin, he is one person you want to take what he says literally,” she replied with a hint of concern in her voice.

At that moment Forest walked into the command facility, flanked by two huge, heavily armed guards followed by a petite Asian woman, with her head bowed, carrying a worn leather satchel.

As the party walked past Plant and Kia, Forest gestured for them to follow him into the secure operations room. With all four seated and the guards posted outside the door Forest started “Joe, Kia this is Wu Li. Wu Li is an advisor to us who specialises in deciphering technical data that is detected on the airwaves.” Looking across at Wu Li he nodded as he said, “I will get Wu to explain what she has discovered.”

“Thank you General,” she replied and then hesitated. Opening her satchel, she pulled out four photos, a single page document, marked ‘For POTUS eyes only’ and a small USB stick. Handing the photos to Forest, who passed them on to Kia and Plant, she started, “As you can see these are photos of CIA Chief of International Affairs Marcus Smithwright, US Vice President Daniel Cooper, the Ex Director of Operations at the Turkish intelligence agency MIT Batur Doksal and you Kia.”

Looking at the photos Kia then looked up toward Forest and asked, “What does this mean?”

“I know you are concerned Kia, but please let Wu Li finish,” responded the General.

Handing over the single page document she continued, “This is a transcript that has been decoded about a conversation between Vice President Cooper and Batur Doksal. As you can tell, from reading it, Doksal has some hold over Cooper and appears to be blackmailing him. We also accept that this could be interpreted to imply that Vice President Cooper has some form of allegiance with Doksal but we hope that is not the case. As you may or may not be aware Daniel Cooper and his family are one of the wealthiest families on earth and therefore blackmail is more likely. We have listened and deciphered a large volume of data between these three men and they appear to be talking about uranium and more specifically where it’s found. That last line of the page is a formula that we have tested, and if it were used with current uranium production would produce something that mankind would struggle to control. Basically it would generate explosions within explosions. The fourth photo, of you Kia, has been added to this list because when we viewed the data on this USB stick there is a scene where both Doksal and Cooper are holding a photo of you. We have been unable to gauge what they were discussing about you but we feel your operational ability could be now jeopardised,” pausing she waited for their response.

“Please continue,” said Forest as he looked across at a worried Kia.

“The USB stick shows various meetings between all three men but we have no proof of a link between the three. The point of most interest is the increased chatter since the explosion in Australia. Those involved are extremely well connected and use the latest technology for communication. We know they are able to scramble their signals so we can’t identify an exact point of transmission and that in turn slews the data. The last point is we believe we have detected a transmission, coming from Turkey that was sent by Marcus Smithwright. If we are correct it appears he has divulged the location of known operatives in the Mediterranean area and specifically mentions the name Wade Ross. Unfortunately, I cannot leave the transcript or the USB stick as they are to be returned to POTUS,” she stated as she gathered the items and stuck them back in the satchel.

Standing to leave, Forest said, “Thank you for your time. The escorts will return you to Langley.”

Waiting until she was gone Plant asked, “Well, sir, what do you want from us now?”

The General thought for a moment as he brought a satellite image of Djibouti harbour up on the first screen.

“Firstly where is Wade … and do we have any more details on this?” he asked without taking his eyes off the screen.

“We have no idea where Wade could be. We would have to guess if he blew this up and was in the country for such a short amount of time he must have got away by sea,” replied Plant.

“Not necessarily! We know he has had a past relationship with the French Foreign Legion and they have an attachment at the airport. He could be there. Plus, with the skills he has, he could have just walked out into the desert,” stated Forest.

“I would doubt both of those,” added Kia. “He won’t leave Crystal and it would be hard to hide a woman in a Foreign Legion barracks. I also couldn’t imagine he would endanger her in the desert. I think Joe’s right; he would have gone by sea, but how.”

“Well what about any details on this explosion?” asked the General again.

“Our people on the ground have determined it was an arms manufacturing and distribution facility. It was sealed up like a fortress. They had been moving everything in and out through the harbour from under the wharf. They had a sterile facility that was destroyed by water and then the complete building was blown by C4. Whoever did this knew what they were doing and yes it does seem like Wade’s handy work,” responded Kia.

A knock came on the door as an aide walked in “Sir, we have an incoming call to the NSC from a Wade Ross.”

“Punch it through,” replied the General.

After a few moments and some static, a voice came on the line, “Wade, good afternoon, its President Markham here and I have General Razen with me. I believe General Forest is also on the line.”

“Correct, Mister President. I also have CIA operative Joe Plant and consultant Mossad agent Kia with me.”

“Good now what can we do for you Wade?” asked the President.

The line was quiet as everybody waited for Wade to respond.

“Joe, I believed you when you dropped me at the airport and Kia you have been a very important part of my life, up until now, but unfortunately I don’t trust either of you anymore so you leave the room or this conversation ends,” Wade replied with a cold hard voice.

“What’s this all about?” asked a surprised President Markham.

“Mister President, I will explain but Kia and Joe will now leave,” replied Forest.

There was silence until they heard the door close. Then Wade continued, “What Intel do you have on the Grey Wolves?”

Forest proceeded to explain all the information that he had been provided, except about Vice President Daniel Cooper. When he was finished he asked, “Wade where are you now?”

“We’re onboard the USS Enterprise with Admiral Plower. I was intending to come back to the states but now I think I might pay Doksal a visit. If you have anything on his whereabouts send them through. We leave at sunrise tomorrow,” as he cut the connection.

“General Forest, why did you not tell him about Cooper and what is this all about Joe and Kia?” asked the President.

“Kia is one of the best operators we have ever used and I know I need to get her back on board with Wade. So I intend to use the vice president information as her bargaining tool. What happened was Kia and Joe went to Australia. Kia threatened and inflicted some punishment on the female pilot who is travelling with Wade. It appears that Wade cares for this woman. When he caught them trying to get information out of her, of his whereabouts, he erupted. Two of our operatives were killed, and Kia and Joe were bound, gagged and left in a closet. I would assume their treatment of the female pilot has made him quite bitter toward them both,” replied Forest.

“Thank you General, keep us informed,” as the President hung up.

The General called Kia and Plant in and went through what had happened. When he was finished he remarked, “I want you on the first plane to Turkey. You need to catch up with Wade. Kia you need to patch this up and then explain the Cooper part.”

51

Istanbul

After spending the day recuperating, and as it approached 2100 hours, Wade and Crystal asked to speak with the Admiral. A naval seaman escorted them to the control tower.

“Mister Ross, Flight Lieutenant Carters. What can I do for you both?” asked Admiral Plower.

“Admiral, regarding the flight to the states. We now need to get to Turkey instead. In particular, Incurlik and I was hoping we could leave first up tomorrow,” stated Wade.

“I can organise that but it won’t be the most comfortable flight. Anything else I can help you with?”

“That’s all, thanks Admiral. We really appreciate the hospitality,” he replied as they turned and left.

0600 the next morning they boarded an E-2C Hawkeye for the seven hour flight to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.

Arriving at the airbase Wade immediately made arrangements to get to Istanbul. Flight command had them on a flight three hours later. They arrived at Istanbul commercial hangers 1700 hours local time.

Leaving the airport Wade got the taxi driver to take them to the Port of Haydarpasa. As the old terminal buildings came into view, he stopped the driver, paid him; they got out and waited until he was out of view.

It was starting to get very cold and dark. Crystal was wondering why they would come to such a place at this time of day. They had their caps on, their heads down as they started towards the river.

After walking for about ten minutes they came upon a beautiful sight of the lights of the European side of Istanbul. Crystal was awe struck by the sheer beauty of the lights, buildings, clear sky, the river and all its traffic.

“This is beautiful. Is that part of Istanbul?” she asked, pointing across the river, oblivious to where they were walking.

“Yes, that’s the western side. It’s called the European side and where we are here is the eastern side and called the Asian side. This waterway is the Bosphorous, which links the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and is used as a borderline separating the two. This is one of the largest and most densely populated cities on earth. An extremely easy place to get lost with or without intention,” Wade replied as they continued along the terminal road.

“Where are we going?”

“To find someone who can help get this resolved once and for all,” he replied with slight annoyance in his voice.

Realising that now was not a good time to push the point Crystal remained quite as they continued. She noticed how he was always concentrating on his surroundings. He continually checked parked vehicles, down alleyways, behind buildings and the slightest unusual sound seemed to cause him to slightly hesitate.

After walking in what seemed like circles, for over an hour, they arrived at a small doorway that was an entrance to a bar. Gently pushing Crystal back against the wall he whispered, “Wait here.”

Opening the door and walking in through a further two doors Wade was met by a long narrow room with a bar on his left. There was five bar staff, over one hundred patrons, standing or sitting, drinking or eating and music playing in the background. The unusual part was the patrons and staff were not Turkish or of Arab descent.

Trying to keep himself inconspicuous he walked through the crowd checking all the faces. He came across a fifty plus year old man, of average build, short military style black hair and no real distinguishable features who was talking to a younger attractive, sandy hair woman. Nodding slightly to the man he turned and walked out.

As he exited the front door he gently grabbed Crystal by the hand, led her across the road and they waited in an alley. Looking at her he nodded to remain quite. They both watched the entrance door.

Five minutes later the man and woman walked out the door checked both ways up and down the street, hesitated, and then crossed to the alley. Seeing Wade, the man nodded and continued down the alley. Wade led Crystal and they followed. Arriving at the end, the man leant against the wall and slid sideways to his left and appeared to disappear behind the wall. The woman followed suit and Wade nodded to Crystal to do the same.

After going sideways, about four metres, an area opened up behind them to which a steel clad door had been opened. Leading Crystal into the building, the door was closed behind them. A light was turned on, at which time the man leant over embraced Wade and slapped him on the back.

“It’s so good to see you,” said the man as they continued slapping and hugging.

“You to,” replied Wade as the woman stepped in and hugged and kissed him.

“Wade, I have missed you so much, thank god your back,” she said continuing to hug him.

Crystal looked around and noticed there were at least another ten men in the room. All incredibly fit and strong. All with the look that Wade seems to have.

“Thanks guys,” Wade said as he started walking through the room, shaking hands, slapping backs and continually greeting them all. Getting to the largest man, as they shook hands, “Okay Wade … no more waiting. Who is this gorgeous specimen you have brought with you?” he said as he pointed at Crystal.

“Sorry. Yes, everybody this is Flight Lieutenant Crystal Carters,” replied Wade as he walked toward her. “Crystal these are the guys … and Chrissie … who I work with.”

Standing next to Crystal he looked at her and continued, “I would also like to introduce you to the one man who has taught and helped me more than anyone alive. Colonel Jacob Wine, Crystal Carters,” he said as they shook hands.

“Lovely to meet you Colonel,” replied Crystal.

Suddenly the room erupted as the remaining men all cheered and yelled with one shouting, “She’s gorgeous, has a great voice and is a yank. Wade what next.”

Thrusting his hands in the air Wade shouted, “Alright you lot, pipe up. I’m sure Crystal doesn’t need to be embarrassed by this. For the record she was my pilot when we got shot down over Sierra Leone, so be nice to her.”

Crystal was amazed how when he spoke they all responded as if to disobey would put their life in danger. She was starting to see the amount of respect he commanded everywhere he went and yet he seemed oblivious to it.

Wine turned, looked at a screen, turned back to the group and said, “We leave in one hour.” Before he had finished speaking the group had already started to move.

The Colonel led Wade and Crystal into a small side office and got them to take a seat. Closing the door, the Colonel started, “Well you’ve been busy. Have you thought about what you intend to do next?”

“I was told by Forest that Smithwright is mixed up with this Doksal character. Apparently a signal was sent by Smithwright from somewhere in Turkey. I assume the facility in the Kimberley, was part of the operation, hence the association with uranium. So I believe I need to find this Doksal. Your thoughts?” asked Wade.

“It appears you have not been fully informed. This whole saga involves a third person a Daniel Cooper,” replied Wine.

“You don’t mean US Vice President Daniel Cooper do you?” asked Crystal.

“The one and same,” replied Wine. “We are unclear if he is a willing recipient or if he is being blackmailed. We do believe that an alias operating under the name of Bryan Scott is in fact Cooper but this hasn’t been confirmed. We also believe that Smithwright is here in Istanbul, probably with Doksal. There was a lot of Grey Wolves activity a few weeks ago but for some reason that has waned and the airwaves have been manic since you left Djibouti. Finally, we have a last known address of Doksal. That is a quick summation of where we see things at.”

“Are we heading to Doksal’s address?” asked Wade.

“Correct. You might want to gear up. We leave in fifty four minutes,” replied the Colonel as he stood to leave. “Is Crystal coming with us?”

“Yes. She’ll stay with you,” replied Wade.

The Colonel nodded in agreeance as he walked out the door.

“I know. You would like to know what is going on and who these guys are … right?” Wade asked.

Crystal just nodded.

“Colonel Wine is ex British SAS and was my commanding officer when I was on transfer from Australia to Britain. I was also with him in Kosovo and due to a disastrous deployment in which we only just got out alive we seemed to develop a relationship that has lasted. All the other guys out there are ex Special Forces from various places around the world and we operate under a silent guild. We don’t work for anyone but we indirectly work for everybody. The Colonel has contacts at the top level of most major military departments around the world and we get paid, usually by governments, to do the work they won’t or don’t want to be associated with. Every one of these guys has been handpicked and is completely self-sufficient,” said Wade pausing to watch Crystal’s response. With none forthcoming he continued.

“To explain why we’re here. I arrived in Turkey trying to break into the Grey Wolves. But it all went pear shaped when they killed my family. We have a mission to infiltrate the Grey Wolves, a Turkish styled mafia, find out who is running it and terminate them. I played my cards to get at one of the senior chiefs at the CIA who we know is part of this operation. His name is Marcus Smithwright. As you heard before, a spanner has been thrown into this with the US Vice President probably now involved.” Pausing again he watched as Crystal only smiled. “Tonight we intend to do some reconnaissance on the place we believe Doksal is at, the third person in this triangle. Unfortunately to get there we need to go by water. As I told you before that waterway out there, the Bosphorous is incredibly busy, day and night and the water flow is tremendous. So getting there will be tricky; as we need to go in underwater.”

“Thank you for telling me but I feel you wouldn’t normally tell anybody. Why me and why now?” asked Crystal.

“Let’s just say I trust you and now was as good a time as any,” he replied smiling as he stood to leave. “Come on. We need to get ready.”

“What do you want me to do?” she asked.

“Most of us will be going in underwater but a couple will be in observation posts, on buildings and the like. The Colonel, you and Chrissie will be in a Zodiac and will keep amongst the shipping lanes,” Wade answered as he led her out the door.

Walking across the room Chrissie came up to Crystal and said, “Here put this wet suit on, tie your hair back and put some camouflage cream on your hands and face. Can you fire a weapon?”

“Yes,” replied Crystal.

“Good. Here is a Glock 9mm, strap it to your right leg, and here is a Heckler and Koch 9mm MP5k, keep it hidden,” Chrissie said as she handed the weapons to Crystal and then walked away.

Once she was ready and Chrissie had helped with her cam cream, Crystal stood and watched this well-oiled machine operate. She was amazed how everything was happening and nobody was saying a word.

When it was five minutes before they were due to leave Wade called everybody’s attention.

“Quiet. We leave in five. Bassa, Morrie, Stub your vehicles are out back. The Colonel, Chrissie and Crystal have the Zodiac under pier six, second set of ladders. Bart, Throb and Stewie you go with the Colonel and he drops you at 2015, one thousand metres up stream. Remember the current is running out and goes dead at 2230. The rest of us, you know your launch point. We enter the water at 2000 hours and you have forty minutes to get across. This operation is silent. Those in the water headsets on at 2045 channel two. The rest of you headsets at 2000 hours. All weapons silent and on my mark set watches … now! Any questions? … Right let’s go.”

Everybody grabbed their equipment and weapons and they filed out the door. As they were leaving Wine turned to Crystal and said, “My dear, you must be something special for Wade to talk and care about you like he does, so it is now my responsibility to make sure you remain safe. When we get to the Zodiac I want you up the front with me, don’t say a word unless I say so and keep your head down, no matter what happens.”

They all left the building and headed off in various directions dressed in a variety of different Turkish garb to hide their appearances.

The Colonel, Chrissie, Crystal and the three divers crossed the road, ducked around behind some old containers, that had been left to rust, and keeping to the shadows made their way along the creaking, broken boards of what was left of the wharf. They crept along for five minutes until they came to pier six, the second last pier closest to the giant terminal that protruded out into the Bosphorous. Using the old rusty wall sheets as camouflage they found the second set of ladders and scampered down to the waiting Zodiac.

The Zodiac was matt dark green in colour with a silenced two hundred horse power outboard motor. It was capable of carrying nine fully laden soldiers; so the three divers, the two women and with the Colonel driving provided ample room for all to keep down and hidden.

As they made their way up the waterway, keeping as close as possible to the eastern shoreline, the three divers commenced putting on their flippers, wetsuit hoods, scuba tanks, face masks, gloves, checking their weapons and each other’s equipment. Crystal was still fascinated how quickly and silently they did this even though they were half lying on the floor why the boat was bouncing over the waves. Chrissie took point at the stern of the boat and was continually moving her head and weapon checking for any unwelcome company.

The Colonel had the boat going as quickly as he could control it; as they swerved in and out of pylons, narrowly missing small fishing boats tied up for the night, running against old stone walls that served as a retaining structure probably built a century ago. Crystal was gripping the rope, that runs all-round the inside of the Zodiac, when suddenly the boat stopped as quickly as it was previously going.

One of the divers, Stewie, grabbed hold of a pylon as they waited for the water to settle. After thirty seconds with the Colonel continually looking up and down stream, he nodded, Stewie let go and the boat shot off directly across the Bosphorous.

The sky was pitch black, the water was extremely hard to see and Crystal noticed that all those on the boat did not seem concerned. The Bosphorous is a waterway that never sleeps; and there is just as much water traffic at night as during the day. The point where the Colonel had decided to cross was sixteen hundred metres from shore to shore and there were eight boats at various stages of crossing their path. The Colonel’s control of the Zodiac was exemplary as they swerved in front of and behind the massive ships.

Crystal was about to scream as the Colonel aimed the boat directly at the stone block wall. He seemed to be heading on a collision course when instantly the three divers sat up on to the inflated sides of the Zodiac. The Colonel at the last moment swung the boat to the left and as the Zodiac engine was screaming for traction the three divers fell over the side. Gaining thrust again the boat leapt forward and headed south along the western side of the Bosphorous.

Gaining her composure Crystal realised this was a planned manoeuvre as they now headed at the same break neck speed along the opposite bank. Slowing down, they came under an overhanging building. The Colonel nodded to Chrissie who pulled out a length of black rope tied to a grappling hook, then slipped over her head a set of night vision glasses. Now drifting Crystal watched, as Chrissie seemed to be looking for something up against the stone wall. She spotted her prize, swung the hook and deftly let it fly through the air. She then started pulling the rope. Once the boat was hard against the stone wall, and they had stopped moving, the Colonel and Chrissie grabbed their weapons and got down as low as they could in the boat. Crystal followed suit.

The container ship, passing them, was over two hundred metres long, thirty metres high and didn’t seem out of place with all the other huge ocean going vessels that were on the Bosphorous. Crystal noticed how Chrissie seemed anxious and highly alert when suddenly two gigantic floodlights beamed down from the deck. Before anybody on the Zodiac had time to react machine gun fire was hitting the water all around them. The huge amount of rounds being fired kept their heads down when suddenly the shooting stopped and a voice came over a loudspeaker. “Put down you weapons. Stand with your palms forward and hands above your head. If not the next shots won’t deliberately miss.”

As they put down their weapons and stood; an IRB, Inflatable Rescue Boat, pulled alongside. Four heavily armed and balaclava clad men, pulled them on board and made them lie on the floor. They each had their hands zipped tied behind their back, headsets removed and a hood placed over their heads.

52

Istanbul

Wade and his team had split up into pairs as they made their way independently to the rendezvous point. Dressed in the street clothes that covered their wetsuits and pushing old street carts or battered prams, that carried their weapons and scuba gear, they deliberately tried to look like street people.

Arriving at the Semsi Pasa Mosque they removed the streets clothes and donned their scuba gear. At exactly 2000 hours, six black clad figures entered the Bosphorous. Wade and his men knew that the swim of eighteen hundred metres was both tough and extremely treacherous, due to the speed of the water flow and the size and number of ships.

The first part of the swim was reasonable with the boats pushing against the current and being forced to travel slower and therefore the consequent wake was less of concern. The eastern side of the waterway, at this point, was quite shallow and the water was not flowing as quickly. The divers covered the first half in less than twenty minutes.

Approaching halfway with all six divers swimming on the fins of the man in front, at twenty metres underwater, in the pitch black, a sudden surge of water caused them to be tumbled and thrown around making them disoriented and now not in contact with each other. Each man was trained for this type of event and they knew they would waste precious time and air looking for each other.

Checking the feel of the current and knowing it needed to be hitting him directly on his right hand side, Wade turned and started swimming. By now the ships were coming with the current and were using their propellers to slow down. This in turn churned the water and made current direction incredibly difficult. The further he swam the faster the water got and the harder he had to fight to keep a straight line.

Bringing his GPS up to his mask and illuminating the face Wade was concentrating so hard on checking his coordinates he did not feel the sudden change in pressure until the bow of the ship was less than two metres above him. Wade instantly knew he would get sucked into the vacuum under the ship and driven down its length to be minced by the huge propellers unless he got far enough away not to be in the suction zone. Kicking with his super sized flippers and pulling as hard as he could; he headed straight to the bottom. Kicking and kicking he knew he was slowly gaining some distance but he could still feel the suction. He also knew that the area around the propellers was harder to escape than under the ship and that area would be approaching fast. With his arms and legs, now starting to lactate, and knowing he couldn’t keep up this intensity for much longer; he finally felt the aggressively churned water of the propellers dissipate.

He waited thirty seconds for the ship to pass, gathered his wits and continued toward the western shore. Arriving he saw that four of the guys had made it and they were only waiting for Jackson. Checking his watch, they still had three minutes. Jackson was probably the weakest swimmer of the group, so they waited with their heads just below water level.

Jackson is the smallest member of the group and also the best explosives man. A black American, ex Delta Force, strong as an ox and nerves of steel. Wade liked Jackson as he felt they were not dissimilar in their mannerisms. They were both quiet, kept to themselves, strong ancestry beliefs and they both excelled in their trades.

Wade knew that once the three minutes had ticked by the group would leave and Jackson would be on his own. Exiting the water and removing their gear they heard somebody approaching from downstream. Getting into ambush mode Wade saw the shiny bald head of Jackson and smiled.

“What are you doing? You could have got killed?” asked Sammy, the big South African, ex Recces, South African Special Forces Brigade, as he clamped a hand on Jackson’s head.

“I’m more worried about those bloody ships than I am about you,” laughed Jackson.

“Quiet, you two,” whispered Wade, “Come on, let’s go.”

They had arrived at the northern foreshore, adjacent to Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts. The Intel had been that Doksal and Smithwright had taken over a room on the top floor, facing the Bosphorous and were using the university as a cover for their transmissions.

Two men scaled the front face wall, whilst two came up the back wall and Wade and Jackson entered through the lower foyer. Disabling cameras as they went; they slowly got to the nominated room, second from the end on the left, noted on the door as the Data Room.

Checking all were ready, night vision glasses on, weapons silent, they burst into the room and to their surprise the room was empty. Searching they found nothing. The room had been professionally wiped clean.

Leaving a man posted Wade instructed them to get back to the river immediately. They arrived, got their gear on, silently dropped back into the water and made their way downstream to the rendezvous point with the Colonel. This time they stayed on the surface and kept hard against the foreshore, ducking under pontoons, fishing boats and using walkways and overhanging structures as cover.

On their approach they saw the Zodiac, tied to the pylon at the required location, but it appeared empty. Going underwater and fanning out, they synchronised their strike and as they surged onto the boat they knew something had gone wrong. They immediately started a clandestine search of the surrounding area as two of the men used the Zodiac to check along the foreshore.

Forty five minutes later Wade ordered them all back to the Zodiac.They needed to get out of the area and back to their base. One of the men found the H&K 9mm MP5k that Crystal had been carrying thrown up under the forward area of the Zodiac. Wade decided she had done this to warn them they had been taken and not left of their own accord.

Once back at the base Wade asked Sammy to search the airwaves on the frequency that the headsets were set at, on the hope that a signal might come through.

53

Istanbul

Kia and Plant knew they would need to avoid Incurlik if they intended to get into Turkey unnoticed. Plant called ahead and asked one of his station operatives to meet them at the international private jet terminal and to ensure he was in an unmarked vehicle.

On the ground and heading back to the CIA station headquarters, Plant and Kia sitting in the backseat of the darkened window Suburban, Plant asked his co-worker, “Do we have any word on Wade Ross, Smithwright, Doksal or Vice President Cooper?”

“We haven’t seen or heard anything on Ross or Cooper. We can’t confirm but there is word out that Doksal is back in town and has an injured guy with him. The Wolves are definitely agitated and quite a few of their operations have had an increase in security. One of our informants was told ‘the boss is pissed and everybody needs to get things moving faster as somebody is going to pay for this’. We’ve also heard of a shipment of weapons that got busted last night, trying to come in through the wharfs from Djibouti. They estimate the street value at about seventeen million dollars so this will hurt,” replied the agent.

“Has anybody heard of any increase in diamond trade recently?” asked Kia.

“Why diamonds?” replied the agent.

“Could you just find out please?” said Kia ignoring the question.

“Joe, do we know where Doksal is hanging out?” asked Kia.

Looking at the agent as he spoke, Plant asked, “We believe he’s at the Mimar Sinan University don’t we?”

“Correct.”

“Alright can we organise a team and we’ll meet them there?” asked Kia.

It was 0745 on a cold and wet morning as Kia and Plant climbed out of the heated Suburban. The CIA team was already there kitted and ready to go as Plant ordered them to proceed. They stormed through the front foyer, up the two flights of stairs and smashed down the Data Room door, to which they found the same as Wade and his team.

Kia walked around the deserted room and after a few minutes of looking she turned to Plant and said, “Wade’s already been here.”

“How do you know that?” he asked.

“I just know. I also know he will have somebody watching us.”

“I thought he works alone!” remarked a surprised Plant.

Ignoring the comment Kia said, “We need to find something to get Wade to contact us.”

“Like what?” asked a completely confused Plant.

“I know. Delete all the data and contacts on your cell phone. Leave your number on the screen,” she replied as she turned to walk out the door. “Leave it here, on the first table.”

Plant commenced doing as Kia asked. He saw her studying the surrounding buildings and looking across the waterway. Placing the phone, closing the door and replacing the ‘Do Not Enter’ security tape, he approached her.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“They’re watching and I was hoping I might have caught a glimpse but no luck especially with the rain,” she replied as they headed for the Suburban.

54

Istanbul

Wade picked up the phone and thought for the fifth time, ‘should he call?’ He knew he needed the resources that Kia and Plant had access to but his instinct was telling him not to do it. He knew the longer he went without getting a lead on where Crystal, Chrissie and the Colonel were, the worse it got.

Looking around the room he watched the men who had put their life on the line so many times for the Colonel and every last one of them would not hesitate in doing it again. As they all worked feverishly to get their gear ready after the night’s activity, he couldn’t help but admire the dedication that goes into being a Special Forces operative. He was looking down at the cell phone as Jackson approached and asked, “Hey buddy, what’s up?”

Wade was startled by Jackson’s remark. Looking up he smiled at the amiable American who he genuinely considered a friend.

“Did you hear Baker brought back a cell phone from the room at the uni?” asked Wade.

“Yeah I did. What’s the problem?”

“The phone has only one number on it. It’s for a guy I’ve met at the CIA. He’s working with Kia.”

“Hell … you mean Kia as in Mossad Kia?”

“Same one … but on top of that, they got to Crystal when we were in Darwin. Kia was roughing her up when I walked in. Now I don’t really know how I feel … but we need them for Intel to find the Colonel,” replied Wade.

“Buddy, I know she is one dangerous piece of work but how about you contact her, set up a meeting and we can scope her out prior.”

As Wade was about to answer, Sammy yelled from the other side of the room. The big South African had a huge voice to match his physique. When he bellowed everybody sat up and listened.

“I’ve just picked up a beacon blip from one of the headsets. It only happened once and I think it might have been as they smashed it,” he stated concentrating hard on his headset and the screen to his front.

They all gathered around. Wade asked, “Did you get a location?”

“Yes, north west of here at a place called Karaburun, Bodrum Cove on the Black Sea. Co-ordinates 38*38*N and 26*31*E. Satellite shows a fairly standard beachside hotel with no apparent sentries,” replied Sammy.

“Okay. We need to think the Colonel and the girls are probably in this hotel. We can’t travel up the Bosphorous or along the coast of the Black Sea at this time of day, so we leave in the vehicles in twenty minutes. We’ll probably go in tonight and from the land but take your diving gear as well. We need smoke canisters and close contact weapons. Bassa, Morrie, Stub sniper detail. Stewie, you and I are going to walk in the front door so we need Turk garb,” ordered Wade as they all headed to their respective tasks.

“Jacko … I think I will call Joe and Kia. I want you to be the contact, okay?” said Wade.

Jackson nodded. They wandered off to the spare room to get their gear.

55

Karaburun

Crystal was so cold she wanted to scream. But she knew any noise would inflict the wraith of her abductors. Sitting on the cold bare wet concrete floor, with her boots removed, hands zip tied behind her back and a hood over her head, she wasn’t sure if she was alone. Every time she had made a noise somebody would appear and she was either kicked or hit with what felt like the butt of a rifle. She hadn’t heard doors open or close and she felt the cold winds and heard the noise of the ocean.

Trying hard to stop shaking she heard the sound of someone approaching. Desperately curling into a ball, to protect herself, she heard somebody was being dragged. Without warning a person crashed down on top of her. Then a second person fell on top of them both. The feet shuffled away. A loud bang followed as a door was slammed shut and a lock engaged.

“Chrissie … Crystal is that you?” asked the Colonel.

“Yes sir, it’s me Chrissie.”

“I’m here too Colonel,” replied Crystal.

“Thank god. How are you both?”

“Fine sir,” answered a cold stammering Chrissie who was trying to keep her composure.

“What did they do to you?” asked the Colonel again.

“Sir, they just kept hitting me. Wanting to know who I worked for. Why I was with you. I told them nothing and then I must have got knocked unconscious. The next thing I remember was landing here,” replied Chrissie.

“What about you Crystal?” questioned the Colonel.

“Sir, I’ve only been here. I’ve been asked nothing. At one time they came and took my boots and socks and then I felt water coming in. Not much water only what you can feel on the floor. Every time I made a noise somebody seemed to appear from nowhere and hit me. Otherwise I’m just cold,” remarked Crystal taking heart from Chrissie’s response.

“Good. Now we need to get to our feet. We have to get off the walls and try to conserve as much energy as possible. If we stay lying or touching the cold concrete our bodies are only working harder. Anytime you hear anybody coming don’t say a word … I know it’s hard not to want to curl up in a ball on the floor but stay standing,” spoke the Colonel as they all got to their feet.

“Okay, Chrissie. I’m going to put my head near your hands. I want you to see if you can grab this hood,” ordered the Colonel.

Squatting down behind her back he kept moving around until she was able to get a grip. With her holding the hood he bent further down and felt the hood slide off.

Using the same technique eventually they all had their hoods removed.

Their cell was an old storage room in the basement of a sixteenth century castle. The castle had since been demolished and a modern four storey, ocean facing, holiday apartment had been built over the original foundations. The developer had decided it was easier and cheaper not to remove the old foundations and thus the basement remained.

The room had no windows and only one door that was an old steel structure. The walls were boulder size flat cut stone; the ceiling was a new concrete floor. The room was incredibly large at eight metres by eight metres and there was five centimetres of freezing water covering the floor.

The Colonel saw Crystal looking at their feet and he remarked, “They remove your shoes and socks so that you get cold faster. When you start to get cold they can break you down easier. It is an old torture technique.”

The Colonel was about to continue when they heard voices coming from outside the door.

“That Colonel knows what’s going on but I do not have the time to try and get it out of him. I have ordered my people to increase security at all the facilities. I need to get another Australian plant operational immediately … do you two even remotely understand the consequences of what has happened? Our prototype was in that Australian facility,” yelled Doksal in his highly accented English. “We’ve been put back about two years by whoever did this to us and I guarantee I will find them and they will pay. Cooper you can bloody well start using some of that clout you have and get your US intelligence involved. Tell them the explosions in Australia and Djibouti were terrorist attacks. You need them to help us track down these bastards. That will keep them off our tail and will make our attackers back down a bit.”

“Why the hell don’t you listen. This is the work of one man, Wade Ross,” remarked Smithwright.

“For somebody who is supposed to be incredibly intelligent you make some ridiculous statements. No way could one man do all this. So you worry about the CIA. Cooper you make sure the money is ready, plenty of it and start using your US mates to help us. I’m leaving for Australia now as my people have come up with an alternative area for a facility. This time I want the whole operation together,” yelled Doksal.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea to have it all together, especially in Australia. They have some very sophisticated border controls and I thought we agreed it was best for the weapons to come out of a third world country,” questioned Vice President Cooper.

“Let me worry about what and how things happen. You two concentrate on your part,” screamed Doksal who was by now incredibly agitated. “Smithwright, my men will take you and the Colonel to the market. Cooper, I can see you like the brunette so you take her. I’ll take the feisty blond. I think she could be good bargaining power if needed.”

A moment later Doksal’s men entered the room. When they saw the hoods had been removed they immediately went into a frenzy of beatings. Eventually they put the hoods back on and dragged them out.

56

Karaburun

The group of nine men arrived in Karaburun, late afternoon, in two small white vans. The trip had taken two and half hours and they were all very keen to get out of the confines of the vehicles. Approaching from the south, they commenced their surveillance. Using a hilltop, overlooking the hotel, they were able to watch the surrounding areas and out into the Black Sea.

It was one hour before sunset when they decided they would attack the facility from the three land sides. The observation point gave perfect coverage of the hotel and all its exit points. They decided only one man would be required for sniper cover and they would use four two man assault teams. Wade and Stewie would enter from the southern main entrance. The remaining three teams would scale the building and work from the top floor down. As the building was a hotel and had civilian occupants they decided to launch their attack at 0100. They would disconnect the power supply and everybody would use night vision glasses.

The weather had deteriorated to a cold, wet, bleak winters evening. They all spread out to find a place to hole up and hopefully keep warmer and drier until 0100.

Wade and Stewie had decided they would do a reconnaissance of the hotel to help ascertain where the Colonel and the girls were kept. This would aid in limiting the amount of time they would need to be in the building.

Entering through a cleaning room they found cleaning staff uniforms. After covering all the floors and finding no sign of the Colonel or the girls, they decided something was amiss with the original data. Leaving the hotel and arriving back at the observation point, Wade was the first to speak as he touched his finger to the activation switch on the side of his headset.

“Sammy, you there?”

There was a slight pause and then he came on the line, “Yeah man, what’s up?” the big South African moaned away.

“Are you sure of those co-ords you took?” asked Wade.

“One hundred percent, why?”

“Okay then. Everybody needs to get back here … ASAP,” Wade replied as the lines went dead.

Ten minutes later they were all gathered and Wade explained what he and Stewie had discovered.

Sean, the big redheaded New Zealander, nick named ‘Kiwi’ asked, “Is there any chance they could be in some basement or maybe below the building? Remember when we went into that building in Mexico City? The cartel turned out to be in an old underground fortress that the building had been built over and nobody even knew existed.”

“Good point,” replied Wade as he turned to Stewie, “Do you remember seeing anything that looked like an access to below?”

With Stewie nodding no, Kiwi spoke again, “Give me an hour. I’ll go down to the water and check out the north side.” Four minutes later, with his diving gear on, he was gone.

All eight men had been in far worse conditions then what they were currently enduring but ninety minutes later, when Kiwi returned, they were glad to have the opportunity to move and gather in a group to hear his summation.

“There is definitely an area below the building. It would no doubt be where they are kept. It’s the base of an old building and this new one has been built on top; same as Mexico. There are two entrances from the sea side. The first would cater for small boats and has a deck, about three metres long, running along the southern edge. The deck is about a metre above water level and at the east end a set of old open timber stairs lead up from it. There is one light hanging about half way down the stairs. The whole area will be as slippery as glass as there is a lot of mould and growth on the timbers. I saw two guards, on the deck, both brandishing silenced AK47’s. I heard them talk to another who must’ve been at the top of the stairs. The second entrance is about sixty metres east of the first and definitely hasn’t been used for a while. It’s a set of old concrete or maybe even stone stairs that lead from the water up to an old steel grated door. There were no lights and I heard nobody in the stairwell. The door was reasonably easy to open and it leads to a forty metre plus corridor. There was one hanging light globe, about two thirds of the way along. No doors and I saw no surveillance or cameras in the corridor. When I got to the end door I was about to open it when I heard plenty of voices and they are definitely guards. I would have a guess at maybe twenty or more,” Kiwi stated as he began to remove his wetsuit.

They all started discussing options and eventually decided that Kiwi, Stewie and Jacko would use the boat entrance and come in underwater. Bassa, Morrie and Throb would abseil over the side and use the water steps entrance, Sammy was sniper, Wade would enter through the cleaner’s area and try to locate the access to the lower area, whilst Bart would cut the power. Wade decided they would use gas and unfortunately for the Colonel and the girls they would then have to go through the suffering process until the effects of the gas wore off. All weapons to be silenced, night vision glasses and headsets were required.

They all left for their respective waiting positions as the rain got heavier and became more windswept off the sea.

By 0100 the temperature was approaching freezing point as they moved out. Giving the water team ten minutes start and Bart three minutes start. Wade picked up his gear, checked his headset, chambered a round into his weapon and started down from the observation point.

At exactly 0100 he walked through the cleaner’s door and the building plummeted into darkness. He heard the gas cylinders explode and the sound of the silenced weapons fire. Wade had earlier decided the mostly likely place for the lower level access would be in the kitchen. He and Bart had made a beeline for the kitchen entrance.

The only distinguishable light in the kitchen was the LED’s coming from the fridges and the green exit sign that had lit up since the power had gone off.

Walking through the kitchen both men caught a glimpse of the smoke coming from under one of the movable benches. Pushing it aside they saw the access hatch. Donning their gas masks they opened the hatch to be instantly confronted with four men desperately trying to get up the ladder.

In the dark, with smoke engulfing the room and ladder, the four Turks had no chance as Wade and Bart picked them off.

Climbing down the ladder Wade spoke into his headset, “Whiskey 1 and 2 coming down the ladder from the kitchen. Four tangos down. Sitrep?” ordered Wade.

“Roger that. Whiskey 4 to your three o’clock. Five tangos down. Room clear,” replied Kiwi.

“Whiskey 3, pinned down at the end of the corridor. Five tangos down. Unknown number toward deck area,” replied Throb as they all heard the distinctive sound of silenced automatic gunfire.

“Whiskey 3, stay put. We’re there in two zero!” Wade commanded as he saw Team 4 directly to his right. “Alright a two, one, two … let’s go.”

The five men leapt forward in a leapfrog formation as they charged through the door heading toward Team 3.

Two minutes later they had finished off the remaining Turks, had all teamed up and had swept the entire area.

Bart switched the power back on. It was then the team saw there were twenty two of Doksal’s men who had been killed but no sign of the Colonel or the girls. Gathering as much Intel as they could find, ten minutes later they were in the vehicles heading back to their Istanbul base.

57

Istanbul

The trip back had been a very silent affair with everybody disappointed the mission had proven fruitless. Arriving at the base the men all set about cleaning and preparing their gear.

Wade and Jackson had taken the information they had gathered and were scanning it through the Colonel’s information reader.

The reader, a CIA device that Forest had obtained for Colonel Wine. It enabled an item to be scanned across its tracking screen or into its USB port. The computer is then able to decipher the information, check for infra-red data, add to the current store information and then provide an analysis.

Jackson had been scanning pages of notebooks, pieces of paper, plugging in USB sticks and tracking CD’s, whilst Wade had been reading about all the activities the Grey Wolves were up to. After twenty minutes of reading about prostitution rackets, drug deliveries, arms deals and the hundreds of names associated with these activities, the computer, which had been preprogrammed to pick up certain selected data, flashed the name ‘Wine’.

Wade noted that the name was associated with the covered markets of Istanbul, the Grand Bazaar. The data was sketchy but it mentioned hessian, the names Rat 2 and Wine and the word cell.

Wade walked to the door of the spare room. He looked out to the men who were finishing off cleaning their weapons and stowing their gear but he also noticed that they were very quiet.

The one obvious thing about a group of Special Forces operatives is when they are not in operation mode, and they are all together, there is normally a lot of noise and banter.

Wade sensed they were disappointed with not locating and rescuing the Colonel and Chrissie. He decided that this was not the right time to expect them to go on another possible ‘wild goose chase’.

Turning back to Jackson he said, “Can you keep going through this Intel while I check out the market?”

“No problem. Do you want me to come?”

“No, I’ll be right. See you soon.”

Crossing the open area of their base, he bent down, picked up his short barrelled rifle just as Kiwi asked, “What’s happening? We’re we going?”

“No, you guys stay here, get some rest. I’m going to check out some Intel,” replied Wade as he looked at the others throughout the room.

The Grand Bazaar is a very large complex in central Istanbul. It covers sixty one streets and over three thousand shops and averages four hundred thousand visitors a day. The original market was started over five hundred and fifty years ago. Throughout time the market operators had tampered with many parts of the building, as they removed columns and altered walls to gain more space. Wade was aware of this and knew this could be used to his advantage if he required a diversion.

It was 0530 as he arrived at the Bayezid II Mosque, the western entrance to the Grand Bazaar. The weather had not improved; it was still dark, wet and cold. He was surprised to see how many people had already congregated at the entrance and were flooding into the marketplace. There were market operators bringing in their goods for the day, shoppers trying to get the early morning bargains and those who just enjoyed being up early.

Even though the Grand Bazaar is large Wade knew the market had been set up so all operators with the same products are kept together. As long as you know what product you are looking for, navigating the never ending streets can be quite easy. Wade had been thinking, on the drive over, of all the products that involved hessian and all he could come up with was bags. Entering the market, he passed the produce stands, the jewellery and gold areas and eventually came upon the clothing accessories. An area of the market that was fairly deserted with only a few operators at their stalls and they were mainly sitting around drinking coffee and talking amongst themselves. Dressed in his Turkish street garb they were oblivious to his presence. At the very end of the street and about to change direction, he saw a small Afghani man gathering up hessian bags and shoving them into a box. The box was marked with a red cross and was clearly for use by the ‘Red Cross’ institution.

As Wade approached, the man turned and said, “Kapali, Kapali,” gesturing for Wade to get out. Wade knew he was telling him that he was closed. As he turned to leave he caught a glimpse of the AK47 leaning beside the curtain. The man saw that Wade had seen the rifle and immediately became agitated as he tried to push Wade out of the stall. Standing his ground Wade looked at the rifle again and then back at the man just as the man produced a Ka-Bar 12 inch hunting knife. Knowing now he had found the place he was looking for, he stepped back as the man lashed with the knife from left to right. The razor sharp double bladed knife skimmed past his chest. He leant back just enough to avoid contact and as the man’s arm passed, Wade crashed down with his elbow and smashed the man’s arm; at the same time, he bought his right knee up in contact with the man’s face and shattered his nose and cheekbone.

Stepping over the man, he bent down picked up the knife and entered through the curtains. He heard voices and the sound of somebody being hit. The inside of the shop storage area was filled with ‘Red Cross’ stamped boxes, all sealed, and labeled ready to be shipped to Djibouti City. Slowly entering further into the facility he came across children’s clothing that had been ripped into rags and piles of assorted military weapons in various stages of assembly. The rags where used for the packaging and wrapping of the weapons and the hessian was to disguise the transportation of the weapons inside the boxes. Entering still further the voices became louder, and more sustained, and the access became more constricted with the piles of boxes multiplying.

Standing behind four large boxes, precariously balancing on one another, he snuck a glance around the corner. A single fluorescent light bulb hung from the ceiling as the only form of lighting. A guard stood with an AK47 slung over his left shoulder and he appeared completely bored with proceedings. The guard had his back to Wade and was watching Smithwright, who had his head bandaged and was struggling to stay standing. Opposite Smithwright were three unarmed men who had surrounded a fourth seated. Wade could not see the seated man but knew it was the Colonel.

Smithwright was trying to instruct the Turkish guards to start moving the boxes but to no avail as the guards completely ignored him.

“Come on you morons, we need to get these boxes loaded and gone,” he was saying as he tried to yell through bandages and a broken jaw. “We have over two hundred boxes that have to get to the ship before lunchtime. There must be twenty of you lot, so let’s move.” With no response forthcoming from the guards he left the room.

Screwing the suppressor on to the end of his AR15 and putting the knife between his teeth, Wade turned the corner, took three steps and fired a double tap into the first guard. At the same time, using his Parkour skills, he leapt half way up the right side wall, double tapping the second and third guards. The art of Parkour is to use momentum to keep moving, so bending his knees he pushed off the wall and on to the left side of the corridor. The different position enabled him to get a shot at the fourth guard.

Landing back on the floor he ran over, cut the binds holding the Colonel, and headed for the archway Smithwright had left through.

“Wade … wait,” whispered the Colonel as he removed the bindings and got out of the chair. “I know what you’re thinking but let’s keep him alive for now … plus there are about fifteen to twenty of them out back.”

Turning back to the Colonel, Wade said, “I have some C4, do you want to take this joint out?”

Nodding in agreeance, Wade than started placing charges on the boxes as the Colonel stood guard. Two minutes later with all charges laid and as they were about to go looking for Smithwright, he walked through the archway. The Colonel had his back to him and when Smithwright saw what had happened he turned to run. Wade grabbed the knife and threw a perfectly arced throw that lodged in his right shoulder. Falling to the floor he tried to scream, but was muffled by the bandages, as Wade reached down and removed the knife.

With blood gushing everywhere Wade dragged him to his feet. The Colonel grabbed some rags and they headed for the market entry. Smithwright had by now lapsed into unconsciousness. Wade was half dragging and half carrying him as the Colonel was attempting to stem the blood flow.

They entered the produce area and the number of shoppers had increased quite substantially and eventually somebody noticed the blood. Wade reached into his pocket, looked across at the Colonel, nodded and detonated the charges. The noise and ensuing panic was the perfect cover and enabled them to get out of the market area and into their car.

With Smithwright lying on the back seat while Wine bandaged his wound Wade turned to the Colonel and said, “We arrived at Karaburun but they had already moved you and the girls.”

“Don’t worry about that … but thanks for getting me out of here.”

“Where are Crystal and Chrissie?” asked a concerned Wade.

The Colonel explained how Crystal had been taken with Vice President Cooper and he was unsure where they gone and what Cooper’s intentions were. Chrissie had been taken with Doksal to Australia but once again the details were sketchy.

By the time they arrived back at the base they had decided that Sammy was the best man to interrogate Smithwright and it was time for them to contact Forest to arrange their next strategy. Wine agreed they needed the resources of the CIA and Wade needed to forget about what happened between him and Kia.

58

Istanbul

“Good morning Colonel, what can I do for you?” asked Forest anxious to ascertain where things were at and the whereabouts of Wade.

“Morning General. I’m here with Wade and we feel we need to bring you up to speed and ask for your assistance with resources.”

“Okay but first, where are you?”

“We’re in Turkey and I would prefer not to give our exact location.”

“Understood. Go on,” replied the General.

Wine gave a detailed explanation of what had happened with Wade filling in the remainder. When they were finished the General asked what they intended to do now and what they wanted from him.

“Can you use your Intel contacts to ascertain the whereabouts of Doksal and Cooper? We know Doksal is somewhere in or on route to Australia. We would guess somewhere in the Kimberley or Northern Territory region. Wade and another of our team are leaving for Darwin. The remainder of us need to get out of Turkey ASAP. We will be ready to leave in three hours. If you can get back to us before then, excellent,” said Wine. “Also, what do you want done with Smithwright?”

Gesturing to an aide to join him Forest continued, “I will get my people on to the Intel on Doksal and Cooper immediately. Wade we have a jet that will be ready to take you but I need you to contact Kia and Joe, as they will be going with you. Colonel you tell me when and where and we’ll be ready. I’ll send somebody to pick up Smithwright.”

“General, negative to that last point. Wade will have Smithwright with him when he gets to the airport. We’ll call back in three hours,” replied Wine as the line went dead.

Forest immediately barked orders for his people to get to work as well as instructing his aide to get Kia on the phone.

Two minutes later, “Yes sir,” replied Kia.

“I’ve just been speaking with Wade and Colonel Wine. I’ve instructed Wade to call you. They are somewhere in Turkey. I would imagine Istanbul as we’ve just heard that a major section of the Grand Bazaar has been destroyed, by an explosion, and this seems like Wade’s work. He intends to leave for Australia in three hours. I want you both on that flight. They’ve got Smithwright and he’ll be with Wade at the airport. I’ve arranged for a section operative to bring him back to Langley. If you don’t hear from Wade make sure you’re with him when he leaves. You’re to make sure nothing happens to Vice President Cooper, as I’m still not convinced he’s voluntarily involved. Any questions?”

“How much do we tell Wade if he won’t cooperate with us?” asked Plant.

“Joe, my major objective is to get rid of the Grey Wolves and if possible absolve Vice President Cooper of any wrongdoing. Wade is doing a very good job of eliminating the Grey Wolves, or anyone associated with them, that he comes in contact with so if he won’t cooperate just help him any way you can. It would also be good to get him back on side.”

“Sir, we’ve picked up Intel that a known associate of Doksal has deposited an extremely large amount of cash into an account of a Bryan Scott, the Australian geologist that Professor Bart told us about,” stated Kia.

“How much and what do we know about this Bryan Scott?”

“It was ninety five million dollars into a Swiss account. Other than that nothing more than what Professor Bart told us.”

‘Something about all this seems wrong’ thought Forest. “Send through what you’ve got and we’ll chase from this end. You both concentrate on staying with Wade.”

59

Istanbul

Extracting information is a difficult process that normally requires patience from the one doing the extracting. Sammy was the least patient member of the team but he was also the most successful at getting answers. Many believed it was because of his years as part of the Recces and the numerous times he would have had to obtain information from the black Africans.

He had been in the room, with Smithwright for less than thirty minutes, when he walked out and started to explain what he had discovered.

“He has already contacted his team at Langley to deploy operatives in Turkey, Libya, Afghanistan and Greece. He has used the argument the Somali terrorists are collaborating with a Russian billionaire oil oligarch to provide the Russian with weapons. He is hoping that the information will take the trail away from him, Doksal and Cooper. The first deployment of thirty operatives, are expected here, in Turkey, approximately midnight tonight and they will come in through Incurlik. They will disperse to Istanbul and the Turkish Greek border. Cooper has also used his position to take interest away from the explosions in Australia and Djibouti. He also said that Doksal was heading to an island off the coast of Australia to meet up with his men and he had Chrissie with him. He didn’t know where Cooper was going but thought it would probably be Australia, as Cooper doesn’t trust Doksal. Cooper has Crystal with him and would be travelling on his private jet with his own bodyguards. The weapons Wade and the Colonel destroyed at the market were bound for Sierra Leone and they had already been paid, in diamonds … that was all I got before he passed out.”

Wade looked at Sammy and smiled, “You’re amazing. How the hell did you get all that in less than thirty minutes?”

“Tricks of the trade … my Aussie mate,” replied Sammy as the rest of the team got into a gabble.

The group than discussed the information that Sammy had extracted. Wine decided that Wade would take Jackson with him, on the CIA jet Forest had offered, and they would target on locating Doksal. Kiwi, Stewie and Sammy would go with them but would get the jet to drop them off in Denpasar. Wade had arranged for Stefan to pick them up and take them to the Australian mainland undetected. The Colonel was hoping by this time they would have located Cooper and then Kiwi and his team would focus on him. Half of the remaining team would take the vehicles and equipment and leave across the Turkish Greek border and make their way back to England; with the other half going into Afghanistan and attaching to a British SAS unit and making their way back to England with them.

At exactly three hours after Wine had told Forest he would call back, the connection was established.

“General, do you have anything for us?” asked Wine.

“Colonel, we have established that Doksal is headed for Darwin. The logged flight path for Cooper is also Darwin but a private jet, like what Cooper owns, means they could change their intentions at any time. Our sources on the ground, in Darwin, inform us that Doksal’s men are quite busy in the harbour area preparing boats and loading cargo. The Intel is still quite limited but it appears they are getting ready to leave. We have estimated from the size of the boat and fuel they have taken on that the trip is to be about twenty four to thirty six hours and they would probably average about twenty five to thirty knots,” replied Forest.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Colonel, I realize that you would not normally divulge your intentions or your plans but in this case I have been talking with the NSC and POTUS and unfortunately you will need to fill us in on what is happening.”

“Negative to that, General. I don’t answer to your government and even if I did I could never divulge operational information. I appreciate your help but you just have to trust us. Out.”

Wine turned to the group and said, “We leave in five. This position is now compromised.”

With a flurry of activity, five minutes later their base looked like nobody had ever been there and they all headed for their respective destinations.

As they made their way, to the airport, through the Istanbul morning traffic Wine turned to Wade and asked, “You know this area better than anyone where do you think they are headed?”

“The estimate of twenty four to thirty six hours at those speeds would make you think the Tiwi Islands are too close and therefore it could be Groote Eylandt or the Wessel Islands. I would imagine Groote Eylandt is too flat and inhabited for what Doksal would want so my guess would be the Wessel Islands and probably in the Marchinbar Island area. This area is quite rocky and has cliffs along the east coast and going on what they built in the Kimberley this would be exactly what Doksal would want.”

The group remained silent for the remainder of the trip and arrived at the private jet area of Istanbul International Airport, one hour later. Driving their white, unmarked, blackened window, van directly into the hangar Wade was stunned to see Kia and Plant standing beside the steps of the CIA Citation X.

Exiting the vehicle Kiwi, Jacko, Stewie and Sammy removed their equipment and started to load it onto the jet. Meanwhile Wade and Wine approached Kia and Plant when Kia was the first to speak.

“Wade I know we are the last people you want to see but please believe me we are here to help.”

Wade glared at both of them as the Colonel stepped in front of him.

“Colonel Wine and you must be Kia and Joe?” asked the Colonel as he put out his hand to shake.

“Yes sir,” they replied as they both shook hands.

“Wade has told me the story about what happened and unfortunately for you I agree with his actions. I also realise this is your jet and we have been offered transport. I’m assuming you are going with the team and if so I would recommend you keep right out of our way. Is that clear?”

“Yes sir but please let me explain,” asked an agitated Kia.

“I realise you are Mossad and probably have a very good reason for your actions but in our Special Forces world no one ever does that too his fellow team members and then expects to be forgiven. If Wade wants to forgive you, that’s his choice. Right now I would imagine you would be better off keeping out of his way.”

“Yes sir, we understand,” she replied as she turned to climb the steps with Plant heading further into the hangar.

Once out of earshot the Colonel spoke, “I know how you probably feel, but right now you need to call on the spirits that guide you so well and concentrate on your mission. This is not going to be easy for you son … you are a better man than anybody I have ever known and I know you will do what’s right. Good luck!” exclaimed the Colonel as he patted Wade on the back.

Wine turned back to the van as Sammy dropped the unconscious and nearly half dead Smithwright at Plant’s feet. “He’s your problem now and I’d recommend you throw him out half way back.”

Plant could hardly recognise his boss who was dressed in a Turkish robe and had all his bandages removed. His face was bruised and beaten, with blood coming from his nose, mouth and above his eyes. He had missing front teeth and was struggling to breathe. His hands were also covered in dirt and blood with three finger nails missing and four fingers bent in such a manner that Plant knew they had been broken. He could only imagine what his body would be like under the robes but he really couldn’t care less.

He looked up to see Sammy and Wade climb the steps as the jet powered up and started to move out onto the runway.

They had been in the air for three hours and the team had been searching Intel, going over maps of northern Australia, cleaning and preparing their gear when the secured line lit up. Kia answered, “Kia here.”

“Kia. General Forest and I’m with President Markham, General Razen and Secretary of State Bysmith. I assume Wade is with you?”

“I’m here General,” replied a guarded Wade.

“Wade we would like to be brought up to date with what is happening and what you and your team’s intentions are,” asked an annoyed Forest.

“That’s well and good General but as Colonel Wine told you we do not divulge operational information.”

“Wade, General Razen. Normally I would get very annoyed and command people to answer these questions but in this instance I am prepared to let it go as I trust what you are doing and your results thus far have been exceptional. I would ask that you let us help as President Markham is in quite a difficult position with his vice president being involved.”

“I appreciate that General and I’m not trying to be difficult. But I’m genuinely developing my plan as I go and the less people who know what’s going on the better it is for everybody. I would ask if there has been any development on Doksal and Cooper’s destinations?” enquired Wade.

“Wade, we are convinced Doksal and Cooper will both be landing in Darwin and it appears Doksal has a seaplane booked for immediate departure upon his arrival. Cooper has a luxury suite booked at the Crowne Plaza. We have also been informed of a major deposit; by a known associate of Doksal, into an account of a Bryan Scott, an Australian geologist. We have no further information on Scott,” answered Forest.

“How far ahead of us will they land and can we get an eye in the sky to watch where this seaplane goes?” asked Wade.

“Cooper will land in four hours and Doksal will be a further five hours behind him. I have already organised for our satellites to monitor,” replied Forest.

“Thanks. I’ll advise as soon as something further eventuates,” remarked Wade as he cut the connection.

Wade called the team together and explained that there was now a change of plan. They would all go to Darwin and he had decided they would all go to the hotel and pay Cooper a visit unless further Intel, about Doksal, came in before they landed. He explained how they would arrive in ten hours with Doksal one hour ahead of them and Cooper six hours ahead. He asked Jackson to contact Stefan and get him to head back towards Darwin but to contact them when he was three to four hours out. He told the team that they would need to blend in to the Darwin community so he advised on tropical wear.

As the team headed off to prepare and get some sleep Wade watched as Kia approached and sat in the luxurious armchair directly opposite him.

“Wade, I know you’re pissed with me and I am sorry for what happened to Crystal but can we at least work together?” she asked.

Wade sat and stared at Kia as he thought about what Wine had said. He eventually replied “Kia I have known you for a long time and I considered you a friend but you didn’t need to go to those lengths in Darwin.”

“I accept that and as I said I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want you to apologise to me; you need to apologise to Crystal when we get her back ... why did you react with so much intensity?” asked a quizzical Wade.

Bowing her head and not looking at Wade Kia started, “I can only say that when I saw you get off the plane with Crystal, in Turkey, and I saw how beautiful she was and how contented you seemed to be with her, I guess I was jealous. I felt we had something that bonded us and I felt this woman was going to drive a wedge between us. I truly didn’t mean to cause a rift between us but I guess I did want to hurt her. Sorry,” she replied as she looked up with tears welling in her eyes.

“Thanks for telling me,” he responded as he stood up, walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Kia, no one will ever take away what we have … no one.” With that he turned and went back to his team.

60

Darwin

The plane touched down and taxied into the large hangar at Darwin International Airport. It was 1500 hours local time, with humidity approaching one hundred percent and mid-thirties temperature. The team exited and they started sweating profusely as their clothes were instantly attached to the bodies.

Jacko spoke first, “Welcome to Wade’s paradise; where everybody will die of dehydration, sunstroke or a bloody great saltwater croc will eat you,” he joked as they all started to laugh.

“All right you motley crew. We leave in five in those two vans,” said Wade, smiling, as he pointed at two dilapidated looking tradesmen’s work vehicles. “Remember at this time of day and in this heat, no one is going to be taking the slightest bit of notice of you. So move slow like the locals, and don’t stand in the sun as that is a dead giveaway that you’re a tourist.”

They boarded their vehicles and were leaving the airport gates ten minutes after touching down. Wade thought about how, whenever he is with the CIA, everything seemed to just flow; like going through customs, organising flights, moving their gear around and asking for Intel. He knew this was a great help and time saver to the team and he promised himself the next time he saw the General he would offer his thanks on behalf of the team.

The Crowne Plaza is a twelve storey, exclusive hotel located in the heart of Darwin and overlooking the harbour. The CIA had already accessed the hotel mainframe and it showed Cooper had booked the entire top floor and was in room 1202. The hotel had one central set of lifts, with fire escape stairs at the east and west ends. Sammy and Jacko would take the eastern stairs with Kiwi and Stewie the western. Kia and Wade would use the central lifts and Kia would go in first as a distraction. They expected Cooper to have guards posted on the floor and as they were still not convinced of his involvement the decision was to use stun guns not live rounds, when they met Cooper.

Wade entered the front foyer carrying a large sports bag. He and Kia were dressed as if they had just come off the squash courts. Kia had removed her bra and the sweating clearly defined her breasts. As the lift doors closed Wade reached up, removed the lift access panel and climbed into the area above the lift car. With the panel loosely sitting over the opening he removed the custom made Stryker crossbow from his bag, the tipless arrows and the blowpipe.

The lift door opened and Kia was immediately confronted by a big burly American stating that the floor was off limits. Looking into the lift car, realising she was alone and with his eyes transfixed on her breasts, she coaxed him to enter. Not taking his eyes of her chest or short skirt he stepped into range and out of view of the other guards. Kia lashed out with her knee and brought it up into his groin. As he started to buckle over she used her right elbow on the back of his neck to shatter his spine and clamped her left hand over his mouth. As the guard fell to the lift floor Wade dropped from the ceiling above. Turning off the lift car lights and dropping onto his front he slowly looked out into the corridor to pinpoint the other guards. There was one with his back to Wade wandering toward the far end whilst another stood, completely uninterested, against the wall beside the door of Cooper’s room.

Slowly bringing the blowpipe to his lips and the crossbow into sighting, he waited until the wandering guard had reached his furthest point. With a sharp burst of air, the deadly dart flew across the thirty metre distance and lodged into the neck of the guard against the wall. The guard would not even realise what had happened with the poison immediately paralysing his nervous system. Within twenty seconds it reaches his heart and causes an unsustainable heart attack, one minute later he is dead. As soon as the dart had left the tube Wade dropped the blowpipe from his mouth and fired a single shot from the crossbow. With deadly accuracy it entered the side of the second guards head and shattered his brain.

Whispering into his headset he told the team to go. Five seconds later six people were storming across the corridor toward the door beside the darted guard. With the team spread out and covering all arcs of fire, Sammy kicked in the door as Wade and Jacko burst through covering their respective one hundred and eighty degree arcs.

After checking all the rooms, they deduced that nobody had ever been there. They dragged the three guards into the room and checked all their belongings but found nothing.

“Let’s go. Time to go meet up with Stefan and try and work out where Doksal has gone,” replied Wade. They hastily left the room and headed for the western fire escape.

Back in the vans Wade made contact with Stefan who advised he was at least another six to seven hours from Darwin. Wade told him to keep his radio handy and that the team was organising a parachute drop and for him to pick them up.

At 1800 hours they were all standing by a chartered fixed wing aircraft, with all their gear and ready to board when Kia received a call from Forest.

“Kia we have reason to believe that the seaplane, with Doksal on board, is headed for the Wessel Island group. We’ve taken satellite imagery of the island and there is definitely an increase in activity. We’ve arranged for a more sophisticated satellite to provide a further update but that will not arrive until the next time around, about another twelve hours,” said Forest.

“Thank you, sir. Wade is here and would like a word,” replied Kia as she handed the phone to him.

Wade took the phone and started to walk away from the team and the plane. “General I need to know if you are by yourself.”

“I am Wade. Why?”

“I wouldn’t normally do this but Colonel Wine felt comfortable with talking to you so I will too. There is something about what is happening that I have not been able to put my finger on. On our flight over here Kia came to me and apologised for what happened with Crystal at the hotel. Normally I wouldn’t have considered it any more but when we arrived at the Crowne Plaza, and Cooper was not there, I saw it in her eyes. She was genuinely disappointed and frustrated and that along with her tears when she apologised all points to something out of the ordinary. I know Kia as well if not better than most people and every time she plans something it is backfiring on her. She is one of the most skilled and organised operatives I have ever worked with and for this to be happening means there is a leak in your system. I have gone back over everything that has happened since this whole mission started and the only common denominators are you, me and her … General somebody who you deal with is pre warning of our movements and I believe the President is involved.”

“Wade that is a fairly substantial accusation. Why would the President want to do this?” asked a slightly confused Forest.

“That’s where this gets interesting. The name Bryan Scott has been bothering us so I contacted some people I know. After some analysis and searching it turns out Bryan Scott is a diversion name for Ryan Cotterill who happens to be the President’s son in law. We also found his business has no ability to make money yet returns substantial profits. After a bit more delving it turns out he has an association with Professor Bart, his second uncle.”

“My god … do you realise what this means?” asked an amazed Forest.

“General, I don’t claim to understand how your command system works in Washington but I need you to not let anybody, including POTUS, know of anything we are doing. We believe the President is probably not directly involved but only trying to protect his son in law. We’ll take care of Doksal but I need Intel on where Cooper is ASAP!”

“Understood, anything else?”

“I’m going to get Kia to head back. I believe she should start going over Smithwright’s documents. Also we are only to use encrypted phones!” Wade remarked as the phone went dead.

Turning back to the group Wade started to explain. “You guys take this flight and contact Stefan when you’re airborne. He’ll be waiting for you with his coordinates. Once on board you need to get to the eastern side of Marchinbar Island. Intel has it that Doksal and an expected party of about forty is on the island and armed. They won’t be expecting anybody but we need to get Chrissie back and no survivors. Stefan has more gear and ammo on board. If I get any further Intel, before you arrive, I will send through otherwise this is now a silent mission. Kia is heading back to the states and I’m staying here. Right let’s go,” he commanded as the four men nodded in agreeance and climbed on board the aircraft.

As the plane taxied down the runway Kia asked, “Why are you sending me back? You know I can be more help here.”

“Actually you’ll be more help in Washington because that’s where the biggest problem is and you are the only one we can trust,” he said with a smile as he turned to leave and Kia made her way to the CIA hangar.

61

Darwin

The heat of the day had gone and the balmy evening with the cooling sea breeze had arrived. Wade stood outside his mother’s house and thought about his life, past and present. He knew she would want him to move on and plan for his future. Ever since he left home he always thought of his family being here while he worked all over the world and then he would return to the peace and tranquility of home.

This life was shattered but as time passed he was coming to terms with them gone and he knew he owed that to Crystal. He felt he had many friends throughout the world and he was thankful for that. He also knew he had one love and it was imperative he found and saved her.

Walking through the rooms of his mother’s home he closed his eyes and concentrated on talking with the spirits. He felt his mother and sister’s presence. He noticed how they were smiling and happy and now was the time for him to be happy. He felt the Dreaming and all that goes with the endless parts of it, and the more he thought about it the happier he felt.

After many hours he left his mother’s home. He knew that would be the last time he would ever go there as the next part of his life’s journey had started and he was content with that.

He found himself a hotel room on the outskirts of Darwin and after a late night meal he decided to go for a run. He needed to clear his mind and nothing worked as well, for him, as hard brutal exercise. Leaving just before midnight Wade headed south into the red bull dust desert. Using the stars as both his light and guide he ran until the sun started to rise on the eastern horizon. It had been a hard run but he felt invigorated and fresh. After showering and breakfast he decided he would head to the area of central Darwin where in his younger days he would practice Parkour.

There are no rules to Parkour only an accepted etiquette and as Wade arrived he noticed two teenage boys and a woman in her mid-twenties following each other around the buildings. Without a word being said he ran off after them and tagged on behind. The group of four went about all forms of climbing, tumbling, jumping, vaulting for thirty minutes until the woman stopped and the others followed suit.

Standing there sweating profusely, gasping for air the woman looked at Wade and was the first to speak, “Hi, haven’t seen you here before. You seem to know what you’re doing … the names Maggie and this is Andy and Warwick.”

“Hi. Wade, good to meet you and thanks for letting me tag along.”

“Hey man they were some pretty sweet moves you did. Where did you learn that?” asked Warwick as he swished the long blond unkempt hair out from under his baseball cap.

“Actually just taught myself but have also been able to run with some French groups and that really helps.”

“How cool would that be?” stated Andy as he looked across at Warwick.

“Where you from Wade?” asked Maggie.

“Originally Darwin but move around the world now,” replied Wade.

“Are you here on holidays?” she asked again.

“Actually no. I’m here looking for somebody.”

“Hey that sounds great. Are you a detective?” asked Andy all excited at the thought of being involved in a mystery.

“No just trying to find some rich guy who flew here yesterday in his private jet.”

“Maggie you should be able to help with that,” stated Warwick as he looked across to her.

“Maggie is an air traffic controller at Darwin airport,” continued Warwick as he turned back to Wade.

“I guess … do you know anything about the plane or what time it was supposed to arrive?” she asked.

Looking a little surprised Wade replied, “It’s a Gulfstream G650 and would have arrived around 0900 yesterday morning.”

“That’s interesting … I came on duty at 8am yesterday and we had a Gulfstream booked to land at 0830 but ten minutes prior to landing they informed us of a change of flight plan and were diverting to a private airfield,” said Maggie as she sat thinking about the whole event.

“You wouldn’t know which airfield?” asked Wade.

“From memory I think it was property called ‘Ruby’, near Tree Point,” she replied.

Getting to his feet Wade walked over shook their hands and said, “Thanks for the run and Maggie thanks for the help … I owe you.” With that he left.

Driving back to the hotel he called Forest, “Can you find out anything you know on a property called ‘Ruby’ located east of Darwin.”

62

Marchinbar Island

The flight and boat ride to Marchinbar Island had them arrive 0300 on the west coast. After the six hundred metre trek across the rugged terrain the team was in position and undertaking reconnaissance of the Doksal camp by 0330.

They decided Stewie would take sniper and position himself at the most southern point of Doksal’s camp, where the area was the steepest and the least likely for them to retreat from. Stefan had stationed his boat two kilometres north and four hundred metres off shore and he would control any attempts at exiting via the ocean plus would act as backup to Kiwi. Sammy and Jacko would come in from the west, still quite dense but flatter. Sammy would cover Jacko while he planted explosives. Kiwi had the most difficult role but he also carried the most firepower.

The group had decided to pick off as many as they could silently while Jacko concentrated on his explosives. Once ready they would engage a full on fire fight. They all knew they needed this finished before the sun rose and gave away their positions.

All went to plan and by 0430 with the first rays of light starting to peak on the eastern horizon, they had finished laying their explosives and had already taken out four of Doksal’s men. During this time Stewie had picked up movement beside one of the water tanks. Kiwi arrived to find Chrissie and a guard. Chrissie had been lead out to use a toilet and while the guard waited Kiwi had no problems in picking him off with a silenced double tap. With Chrissie grabbing the guards AK47 and spare magazines they headed back to Kiwi’s mission point.

Jacko activated his remote, which in turn detonated eighteen concurrent explosions and raised a large plume of sand dust. The team put a deluge of rounds into the compound. After sixty seconds they ceased fire and waited.

Over the next ten minutes, as the dust settled, they picked off the remaining survivors and slowly made their way to the fringes of the camp. With Stewie and Stefan using their scopes to watch for any movement; the others made their way through the buildings ensuring the mission was completed. They destroyed a communications room, confiscated any ammunition or weapons they found and photographed bodies for confirmation of Doksal’s death.

Using an IRB, found at the camp foreshore, they made their way out to Stefan and started the journey back to Darwin.

The team were cleaning their gear and discussing the mission when the encrypted sat phone rang and Kiwi answered.

“How did it go?” asked Wade.

“All done and they were exactly where you thought they would be. Jacko’s gear was a treat and we brought back some of their weapons we found. Doksal’s taken out and no tangos left,” he replied.

“Excellent … what about Chrissie?” asked a slightly concerned Wade.

“Yeah, forgot to mention … no only joking, she’s here and all good.”

“You know sometimes I could throttle you. Anyway can you tell Stefan to head for Tree Point? Call me when you’re an hour out,” Wade responded as he disconnected the call.

63

Darwin

Searching on the Internet Wade found where ‘Ruby’ was located. Packing his gear, checking his weapons he headed out the door knowing this was the start of what could be the most difficult part of this mission.

The drive from the southern outskirts of Darwin to ‘Ruby’ took two hours. As he approached he realised that whoever owned this property was extremely wealthy and had employed the best security money could buy.

Entering from the southern side he found a surveillance position that gave him a full view of the property. He had been watching for thirty minutes when his encrypted phone rang.

“Wade. General Forest. I have details on the property ‘Ruby’ you asked about. It appears you have definitely come across a likely suspect. A Mister Joseph Wy, one of the wealthiest men in Asia, a big time gambler and a believed gunrunner, owns the property. The property is located north east of Darwin on the northern side of a reserve called Tree Point Conservation Area. Satellite imagery shows an extremely large property with one large building overlooking the Timor Sea and two smaller buildings, which appear to be staff quarters. There is a private landing strip, which has a large hangar at the western end and beside that a smaller building facing the ocean, with train tracks into the water. We assume a launching for watercraft, as the tidal range is enormous in this area. The perimeter has a seven foot razor wire topped chain wire fence with guard dogs. Outside the fence are large areas of salt water crocodile infested mangroves. All in all, I would say somebody who is trying to hide something and wants no visitors.”

“Thanks General. I’m actually looking at it right now and it’s exactly as you said,” stated Wade.

“I know you won’t tell me what your intentions are but is there anything we can do from here?”

“Yes, I need to know where Ryan Cotterill is and anything you can tell me on these weapons that Cooper and his team are developing.”

“Right. What about manpower?” asked the General again.

“My team will be here soon and I don’t want or need anybody else. Thanks anyway,” replied Wade as he cut the call.

Ninety minutes later Kiwi called that they were approximately an hour east of Tree Point.

“What’s the plan, buddy?” asked Kiwi.

Wade explained the property layout, how the guards appeared to operate, their movements and all the likely problems they could encounter.

The plan was that Stefan and Chrissie would stay about one kilometre out, in the Timor Sea, northwest of ‘Ruby’ and pose as a holiday couple on their boat.

Sammy and Jacko would come in underwater and use the rail tracks to gain access to the building at the water’s edge. Wade had noticed that nobody appeared to go near this building and this could aid them in getting to the hangar. Sammy would act as backup and would add to the deterrent, they might require, from salt water crocodiles. Wade explained that during the heat of the day the crocodiles tended to stay more around the mangroves and tributaries and move around less. He advised if they keep underwater there would be less chance of detection due to less splashing of the surface water. He suggested they should carry electric probes. Sammy had no fear of most things on earth but the concept of meeting a saltwater crocodile three to four metres underwater was not something he was looking forward to.

Stewie and Kiwi would get dropped off four to six kilometres north and make their way through the mangroves and tributaries.

Wade knew everybody in the team had vast experience in these conditions but he still stressed the importance of being vigil. He reiterated about keeping away from likely female crocodile nesting areas and watching for the telltale signs of how the other animals seem to quiet down when crocodiles were on the move.

Wade had observed a sniper location point three hundred metres east of the boundary fence atop a large Boab tree. Stewie would take sniper with Kiwi and Wade infiltrating. They decided that everybody would be in position and ready to go by late afternoon.

With one hour until they were to be ready Wade’s patience got the better of him and he decided he would pay Cooper a visit.

Using his trusted knife, he removed links of the chain wire fence, enough to crawl through. Utilising skills he had mastered while training with the Nepalese Ghurkas, the world’s best trained soldiers at non-detection, he made his way from the fence to the first staff quarter building.

As he came up behind the building he heard the familiar sound of a helicopter approaching. Checking the building was empty, he set about placing C4 explosives around its perimeter.

Due to the remoteness of the property he knew that the helicopter would attract the attention of everybody there. Having made his way to the second staff quarters he found the same situation and placed more explosives. Radioing, to the team, the location of the explosives and the frequency to activate the detonation, he quickly explained to Jacko that he was heading to the main building and they should be ready to move ASAP. He told him that if he didn’t call back within forty five minutes he was to detonate.

As the helicopter came into its final approach Wade peered around the building and noticed there were two guards on the roof and a guard with a dog on a lead at each end of the building. The guards, with dogs, started to walk toward the back of the building, closer to the helicopter and away from him. When they were out of view and the roof guards were distracted by the helicopter he stood and sprinted the two hundred metres across the lush lawns, knowing at any time a guard could turn and he would have no protection or cover. Taking the front steps three at a time he threw himself against the wall adjacent to the front door. Slowly opening the door, he entered constantly looking for CCTV or a surveillance system.

The building was huge and reminded Wade of the book, Gone with the Wind. Directly ahead was the largest, widest set of stairs that he could have ever imagined. Off to each side was a room with a corridor leading behind the stairs. Above the stairs was a chandelier that was at least four metres wide. The whole building had been made to look as though it was from the American Civil War era and everything inside the building was white.

The first room to the left was a dining room with a fully set dining table capable of seating forty two people. The room to the right was a seating room with large couches and chairs spread throughout. At the far end was a bar and a young Asian male was preparing for the evening. A quick silenced double tap and then Wade hid the body in the large walk-in fridge behind the bar. Making his way down the corridor he found two more rooms that were used for food and beverage storage. The end of the corridor led into a commercial size kitchen, where four Asian chefs were frantically preparing meals. Wade shot the first two, closest to him, with silenced double taps but the third was a lot quicker and got down behind the stoves. The fourth tried to run across the end of the kitchen to the rear exit. Wade’s first shot was to his leg which caused him to fall. As the chef tried to stand the second shot was to the side of the head. The time it had taken to finish off the fourth chef had enabled the third to manoeuvre along the stoves and Bain Maries.

The third chef unexpectedly leapt out from behind the counter, across the top and his foot struck the side of Wade’s head. The blow sent Wade sliding across the floor and he knew this guy was an experienced martial artist. Dropping his weapon and pack he rolled out of contact range, leapt to his feet and assumed his martial arts stance. Wade and the chef traded blows and kicks with both men scoring many direct hits. The chef had kicked Wade in the side of his ribs and sent him crashing into the stainless steel bench. Lying on the bench trying to get his composure Wade heard the chef approaching. He knew from the style of martial arts he was using that the next blow would be a killer punch to the back of the neck. With all his senses heightened he lay motionless and waited until the very last split second, at which time he rolled to his side. Unable to stop his punch the chef’s fist smashed into the steel bench with the force of the blow breaking most of the bones in his hand and dislocating his elbow and shoulder. Wade spun around and struck a Tiger Claw punch into the chef’s throat killing him instantly.

Getting to his feet he hid the bodies, collected his gear and made his way back out into the corridor. The last door was solid cored, steel framed and as he opened it he was confronted with rows of television screens across desks and on the walls. The windowless room had been soundproofed and the noise from the screens plus the air conditioning whining away enabled Wade to easily sneak up behind the seated guard and disable him. Standing looking at the screens Wade started to take in all he was observing.

One screen showed a view of the runway and he saw the helicopter, with the blades coming to the final throes of their rotation and an elderly Asian man and two very attractive younger women exiting the side doors. He deduced from all the activity directed at the helicopter that this must be the owner. The next screen showed a view of inside the hangar and he saw Cooper’s private jet and another smaller jet with three maintenance workers feverishly preparing them for departure. The third screen showed an aviation gas bowser to the north of the hangar. The balance of screens, across the desk, showed other parts of the property but he saw no further personnel. The first screen on the wall showed Cooper sitting in front of a camera and he had nine further screens with various men listening to him. The men were of assorted nationalities and all were intently listening and watching what Cooper had to say. Adjusting the volume, he tuned into Coopers conversation.

“Gentlemen. I know you are all very busy men and I don’t intend to waste any time so later on this afternoon we will show you the power of this mechanism by taking out a group of the local indigenous people. I have organised a demonstration of how we will kill about sixty of these locals as they try to run and drive away with only one man and a rifle. I’m sure you will be impressed and then we will take out an aircraft over a busy airport with only one shot. We will record the events and send through to your respective offices. If you are still interested in a purchase lodge thirty million in the account that will be sent through and we’ll organise dispatch of the weapons,” remarked Cooper with a slight sneer on his face.

Wade saw that the furthest screen had Crystal curled up on the floor of what looked like a bedroom. Studying the sun direction, he knew it was a westerly facing upstairs room. Relaying the information he had found to the team he told them to go in two minutes. Running up the stairs he rounded the corner at the top to be confronted by a corridor that was over one hundred and fifty metres long. The doors down both sides seemed to go on forever and he knew that he would not have the time to check every room. Whilst he was standing there trying to decide which was the best way to attack this problem suddenly a door, three down on his left, came open and a woman walked out carrying a large syringe. Waiting until she had walked further down the hall and entered another room he raced to the room she had exited, cautiously opened the door, looked into the room and leading with his stub nose rifle, entered.

Crystal was lying on the floor and was so delighted to see him she was about to scream when Wade covered her mouth.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine I just can’t walk,” she replied.

Looking at her legs Wade could not understand what the problem was. Realising his confusion Crystal explained, “They keep giving me some form of injection and I can’t use my legs, they feel like jelly.”

Wade knew they needed to get out of here so he went to pick her up.

“Wait,” she said as she grabbed for the vial sitting on the bedside table. “This is some form of antidote that they give me when they need me to move but it also knocks me out.”

“Alright, for us to get out of here I’m going to carry you in a fireman carry but I’ll need you to carry this pistol and you’ll have to watch behind. I’ll not be able to see or hear much back there so don’t hesitate and shoot to kill,” he stated as he picked her up and she nodded in agreeance.

Opening the door, he checked all clear and started for the stairs. Having taken only five steps Crystal shouted, “Wade behind you.”

Wade immediately dropped to the floor at the same time spun around and fired two shots into the American bodyguard as the guard returned fire. The two shots killed the American instantly but one of the guard’s shots ricocheted off the wall and struck Wade in the upper left arm. Leaving Crystal lying on the floor he raced to the door from where the guard had come only to find Cooper standing from his chair. With all the screens watching what was happening Wade shot Cooper between the eyes. Instantly the screens went dead and Wade frantically searched for the hard drive. Finding the USB he slipped it in his pocket and headed for the door as the rifle fell out of his left hand. Looking down he saw all the blood and knew he was running out of time. Picking up the rifle, in his right hand, he concentrated on staying focused as he bounced off the walls of the corridor.

The blood loss was causing him to become dizzy and as he approached Crystal he crashed on the floor beside her. Crystal immediately saw his arm and ripped her tee shirt off and was tearing it into strips as the familiar faces of Sammy and Jacko came around the corner.

“Crystal you didn’t have to take your top off for me,” remarked a smiling Sammy.

Crystal was so happy to see them she nearly cried. She heard explosions and gunfire going off outside. Jacko was applying a tourniquet and had revived Wade. Sammy picked up Crystal and they headed for the boat. Leaving the main building they met Kiwi, who had laid more explosives and seemed very content with destroying everything. Stefan brought the boat up to the rail track below the boat shed and they all piled in. Five minutes later, with all on board and four hundred metres into the Timor Sea, the hangar and main building exploded into a huge fireball.

Chrissie was the team recognised medical member so she set to work on helping the others. Checking that the bullet had been a clear straight through shot of Wade’s tricep, she cleaned the wound, covered with a compression bandage and set him up on an intravenous drip to compensate for his blood loss. She gave Crystal an injection of the antidote and let her sleep. Kiwi in his adrenaline raged ordeal had not realised he had major lacerations to the hand and forearm so Chrissie applied field stitches and bandages. The remaining team members had scratches and bruises but nothing they were concerned with or wanted anybody to worry about.

They arrived at Darwin marina six hours later. Wade was stirring as the boat pulled into the wharf. They all looked up to see the familiar figures of Wine and Plant.

“Welcome back lads. I believe a job well done,” the Colonel remarked.

“Thanks sir,” they all replied in unison.

“Alright let’s get all the gear cleaned, stowed, you lot showered, fed and we leave in four hours.”

The Colonel turned to Wade and said, “Are you coming back with us?”

“Not this time … I’ve got things to finish … I’ll catch up … soon,” he replied as they helped him onto the wharf and he gave the USB stick to the Colonel. “General Forest will be very interested to see this,” Wade stated.

Wade walked, with the help of Crystal, to Plant and said, “Thanks … I know it was hard for you. Sorry about that but I couldn’t trust anybody. Thanks for your help. I very much respect your honesty,” he said as he put out his hand to shake.

“Thanks Wade … I appreciate that. Where to for you now?” asked Plant.

Wade and Crystal started to walk away as he turned back to the group and said, “I have spirits I need to talk to and time I need to appreciate.”