Stephen Leather - The Hunting

‘If you get a match, we’ll get him hooked up. If you don’t have a match, get blood from someone with O negative. In fact, right now get everyone in the camp who has O negative to start giving blood. Are there any others?’

‘This way,’ said Faaz. He led Raj down the corridor to another room. There were three tables and three camp beds, each of which had a victim lying on them, and Raj cursed when he saw the state the casualties were in. They had all clearly been close to the explosion. One was missing his right arm, another’s face had been completely obliterated, two had gaping chest wounds, one had half a dozen deep gashes across his face and had lost an ear, and another was missing a leg.

‘Do you have any nurses? Anyone with any medical training?’

‘Most of our fighters have had first aid training,’ said Faaz.

‘So the answer is no?’ Raj cursed under his breath. There was a sink by the door and next to it a table with a box of latex gloves and surgical masks. He hung his backpack on a hook and began to wash his hands. ‘You know basic first aid?’ he asked Faaz.

‘Some,’ said Faaz.

‘Wash your hands and get gloves on. I don’t suppose you have any scrubs or surgical gowns?’

Faaz shook his head. ‘We have nothing like that.’

‘Get some clean clothes that we can wear. Even clean T-shirts and trousers will be better than what we’re wearing.’ He looked over at Sid who was standing by the door, still holding his AK-47. ‘Sid, everyone else has to stay outside. And ask around, see if there’s anyone out there who has had medical experience. I’m going to need help, even if it’s just a pair of hands.’

‘I’m on it, bruv,’ said Sid, and he headed back down the corridor.

Raj turned and looked at the casualties. He knew that he would do his best to save them, but he also knew that his best almost certainly wouldn’t be enough.

CHAPTER 14

The Chinook stayed low as it crossed the border into Syria. Syrian radar was patchy at best and virtually non-existent below a hundred feet. The two pilots were wearing night vision goggles and had no problem keeping the massive helicopter on course. The Boeing-made CH-47 Chinook was a workhorse helicopter used by armies around the world. It was capable of carrying loads of up to ten thousand pounds and there was more than enough room in its massive cargo bay for Bell and his team and all their equipment. It was flying at close to its top speed of nearly two hundred miles per hour as it sped across the desert.

Fifty minutes after it had crossed the border, the helicopter slowed to a hover and then landed. The rotors continued to spin as the rear ramp slowly came down. Bell led his men down the ramp to the desert floor, and they switched on their night vision goggles. The goggles gave them a greenish view of the landscape around them as they lined up in their ten groups. They performed a final inspection of their equipment and then Bell gave the order for them to move out.

CHAPTER 15

It was just after midnight when Raj finished working on the final casualty. It was an imam and the man had insisted on being treated last. He had two deep shrapnel cuts on his right arm and a superficial cut by his eye. The cut on his face only needed a dab of antiseptic but the arm wounds required a dozen stitches between them. The imam had refused any anaesthetic, saying that medical supplies were limited and he didn’t want any wasted on him. He was in his seventies but was as hard as nails and didn’t even flinch as Raj closed the wounds. When he’d finished, the imam thanked Raj for his work and suggested that he stay on at the camp. ‘We are in need of a skilled doctor,’ said the imam.

‘I came to Syria to help civilians,’ said Raj.

‘We are all warriors in the cause of Islam,’ said the imam. ‘If we do not fight the infidels, they will wipe us from the earth.’

Raj continued to smile, though he knew that the imam would only have to snap his fingers to end his life. He thanked him for the offer, and said that he would be happy to visit the camp when he was needed. The imam took Raj’s refusal in apparent good grace and left the treatment room.

Sid was standing at the doorway, cradling his Kalashnikov. ‘That’s the lot,’ said Raj, stripping off his bloody latex gloves and dropping them in a bin. ‘Can I go now?’

Sid looked at his watch and grimaced. ‘It’s too late to start driving around the desert without night vision gear,’ he said.

‘Mate, you promised.’ Raj took off his blood-splattered shirt and hung it on a hook on the wall. He removed the baggy trousers he’d been given and put them next to the shirt.

‘And I’m sticking to it,’ said Sid. ‘But not right now. First thing in the morning, right? You can do Fajr prayers with us and then we’ll drive you back.’ He handed him a clean T-shirt and trousers. ‘You can wear these.’

‘You don’t have night vision gear?’ Raj went over to the sink and washed his hands and face, then changed into the clothes that Sid had given him.

Sid laughed. ‘Bruv, we’re short of everything out here.’ He patted Raj on the arm. ‘Look, Doc, you’re knackered, grab some rest in the barracks and we’ll have you back at your hospital first thing tomorrow.’

Raj could see there was no point in arguing with the man. Sid had a point. There was virtually no moon and navigating in the desert at night was asking for trouble. Plus he was dog tired and could do with a few hours’ sleep.

Sid took him out of the treatment block and over to a larger cement block building. He pushed open a door. Inside were ranks of wooden bunk beds and lines of camp beds. Most were occupied, and more men were sleeping on blankets on the floor. Raj wrinkled his nose at the smell of stale sweat and flatulence, but he was so tired he just fell onto a free camp bed and was asleep within seconds.

CHAPTER 16

Bell signalled for his men to come to a halt. In the distance they could just make out the outline of the ISIS training camp. Behind the camp was a hill but they couldn’t see the guards that they knew were stationed there. The rest of the teams waited with Bell as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta teams moved ahead. Their snipers needed to get close enough to be sure of a killing shot.

Twenty minutes after the teams had left, Bell got his first call over the radio. The first sentry had been dispatched. Three more calls came in within the following five minutes. All four sentries were dead. Bell waved for the men to start moving again.

As they got closer to the camp, two teams moved forward, each team splitting into two. They approached the sentry placements that marked the perimeter of the camp, moving slowly but confidently, knowing that their night vision gave them a deadly advantage. The four sentries were killed quickly and efficiently with next to no noise.

The eight men in Hotel and India group moved towards the admin block, which also served as the sleeping quarters for the imams and the senior ISIS officers. Echo, Foxtrot, Golf and Juliett headed towards the barracks, tasers at the ready. Echo and Foxtrot went to the front entrance of the block while Golf and Juliett hurried around to the rear. They entered simultaneously, the men with tasers first, the men with carbines following.

CHAPTER 17

Raj jumped awake. There were figures moving around him in the darkness, and crackling sounds followed by dull thuds. He looked around, blinking, but all he could see were dark silhouettes. To his right there was the crackle of electricity and the sparks provided enough light for him to catch a glimpse of a helmeted soldier thrusting a taser at Faaz. Faaz slumped to the ground. A man leapt off the top of one of the bunk beds and grabbed one of the attackers but he was knocked unconscious with the butt of a carbine.