Andy McNab: Deep Black

'Roger that, we have you, we have you.'

'I'm the only one. Follow the right-hand treeline. You see a body lying about twenty-five metres from the front of the house?'

'Yep. Roger that. We have a body. We have a body getting dragged out. That's three guys, three guys dragging out a body.' He paused. 'Target now free of the treeline, on the metalled road. Stand by, Nick. Here they come.'

I ran into the forest, then threw myself to the ground as two explosions rocked the front of the building. The shockwaves were soaked up by the buildings and the woods, but the ground trembled beneath me.

Then another, this time closer. Inside the compound.

The pressure wave pushed through the forest, bringing gallons of water down on me. My ears started ringing as I waited to hear a more distant hit on the vehicle.

Seconds later, it came, and another two seconds after that.

I hoped Nuhanovic was able to see a blur of red in the distant sky as the first Hellfire kicked off. He wouldn't understand the significance, but it would mean a fuck of a lot to me.

I got back on my feet and turned to head deeper into the forest. I switched off the Thuraya. Best conserve power till I got to the wagon and called George to confirm the slaver was dead.

Not that he would give a shit about that, now. But I would.