Bad Soldier: Danny Black Thriller 4 by Chris Ryan Page A

missed them.’
    He looked at Caitlin, clearly wanting backup. He didn’t get it. Caitlin gave him a hard stare. For a moment, Tony’s eyes tightened. He bore a fleeting look of genuine madness.
    Caitlin took a step away from him, towards Danny and Spud. ‘You’re out of order, Tony,’ she said.
    Silence. Tony gave her a death stare, but she just jutted her chin out.
    Then Tony shrugged. The death stare gave way to an expression of nonchalance. ‘Those stinking migrants would have died a shitty death anyway. Rough seas like this, they wouldn’t have made it through the night.’
    ‘Is that all you’ve got to say about it?’ Caitlin flared.
    ‘Tony,’ Danny cut in. ‘Get the prisoners to the SF room. Caitlin, go with him.’ And when Caitlin looked momentarily uncertain about being alone with Tony, he added: ‘Take a couple of Marines with you.’
    ‘ I’m the one giving the instructions,’ Tony spat back. But then he looked at Spud and Caitlin, who had flanked Danny and were mutinously staring him down. It was very obvious that the balance of power had just shifted.
    There was a tense silence. Danny and Tony locked gazes. Tony broke away first. He grabbed Rudolph roughly and started dragging him across the deck. ‘Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid,’ Danny told Caitlin. She gave him a sour look, then grabbed Santa and followed Tony.
    The ship’s captain was storming down from the bridge through the rain towards them ‘Did you sink that boat?’ he demanded. ‘It was full of children . . .’
    Danny avoided the question. ‘I need a secure line to Hereford. Private room. Can you sort it?’
    The captain paused, his face livid. Then he nodded. ‘There’s a radio room off the bridge. Follow me.’
    As they entered the bridge, Danny felt the hard stares of the ship’s crew on them. The sinking of the Ocean Star had obviously shocked them, and Danny could tell they held the SAS crew responsible. Danny shut it out. He and Spud stood to one side of the bridge while the captain took his radio operator into an adjoining room. Two minutes later he reappeared and nodded at them.
    ‘It’s all set up,’ he said tersely. His opinion of the Regiment unit was clearly in line with his crew’s.
    Danny and Spud strode into the adjoining room. It was small – five metres by five – with two chairs and a table for the comms equipment. Danny turned to the captain. ‘Encrypted?’
    The captain nodded.
    ‘We’ll call you if we need you,’ Danny said. The captain’s cheek twitched, but he took the hint and left the room. Danny turned to Spud. ‘Guard the door,’ he said. ‘I’ll make the call.’
    Spud hesitated for a moment, but then left the room, closing the door behind him.
    Danny grabbed the radio. ‘This is unit Charlie Alpha Zero,’ he said.
    There was a hiss. ‘ Go ahead Charlie Alpha Zero. This is Hereford. ’
    Danny recognised the voice of their ops officer, Ray Hammond. ‘OK, boss,’ he said. ‘How about telling us what’s going on?’
    ‘ Have you acquired the targets? ’
    ‘Roger that. We also seem to have sent a boatful of migrants to the bottom of the Med.’
    A pause.
    ‘ Is Tony there? ’
    ‘Negative. He’s watching Santa and Rudolph with Caitlin. Boss, we’ve got a situation—’
    ‘ Are there any survivors on the Ocean Star?’
    Danny sniffed. ‘No. Was it Tony?’
    Another pause.
    ‘ I don’t know what you’re talking about, Black. Ships sink. Happens every day. ’
    ‘You think I wasn’t up to carrying out an order?’
    Danny fell silent. If his suspicions were correct, what he’d just witnessed was a borderline war crime. Sure, the Regiment was expected to carry out some dark operations. Danny had done it himself. But there were a hundred kids on that boat. Would he have carried out that order? Maybe not. Would Tony? Without question.
    Did he want Tony on the team? No way.
    Danny took a moment to gather his thoughts. ‘We’ve got a problem.’
    ‘