“Opium. That’s what this is about. No wonder they were
bogged down with too many contacts. They’ve been running around the country
buying up ‘base’,” referring to the second stage of heroin. The opium gum is
boiled first with lime then with ammonia to separate the morphine then
re-boiled and filtered until it turns into a brown paste which is sun-dried
into bricks.
Mickey had the sat’ phone in his hand and was talking to someone relaying
information about the GPS coordinates reading them off the Bird’s control unit.
He repeated three times “Negative eyes on Monarch ”. Then he said
“standby,” dropped his phone hand down by his side and watched as the scene
unfolded on the control screen.
Mickey asked, “Any sign of a guy with a limp? Or somebody that looks like
the boss?”
“The guy talking to Bone must be the boss, but he’s standing on
his own. He doesn’t have a posse of bodyguards. Can’t be Abu Ukasha ,” he concluded.
Then the person Ledge was watching walked back to the group of figures
now finished packing plastic bags into the vehicles and he did not have
a limp.
“Definitely not Abu Ukasha ,” Ledge announced.
Mickey raised the phone and confirmed his earlier advice and rang off.
“Who were you talking to,” asked Bill.
“Network control. They are patched into everything that’s going on.
They’ll add this location to a watch list so that it gets checked every time
there’s a satellite or a drone overflying it, in case there’s activity that
leads to actionable intelligence.”
Ledge warned, “They’re on the move.”
Bill and Mickey peered over Ledge’s shoulder to watch as the flatbed
truck and two pickups, now full of the figures, circled out of the compound and
drove away.
“What do you want to do, Bill?” asked Mickey.
Bill paused for a moment, then said, “Mickey, call it in to your control
and see if they can pick up these guys as they go back up the road towards
Jalalabad, by whatever means.” As an afterthought, and as a justification he
added, “There’s no way we could follow them without being spotted.”
As Mickey was making the call the headlights of the convoy they had just
watched appeared in the distance and they watched as they went past, thankful
of the approaching gloom and the cam nets masking their position.
They continued to watch the walled compound for another 30 minutes. Ledge
had to glide the Bird almost back to their position and fire it up out of mute
so he could regain height and repeat the gliding/circling manoeuvre. It was
clear from the campfire that had been lit in the centre of the compound and the
lack of any movement that Bone was settling in for the night
Ledge brought the ‘Bird’ in for a bumpy landing behind them and Mickey
ran out to recover it. Ledge said, “We’ll have to refuel it, if we are going to
put it up again?” it was a question to Bill.
Bill declined saying that it looks like they are not going anywhere and
that they would be able to see them move on the tracker if they did, so there
was not likely to be any value in continuing to surveil them with the Bird.
Ledge pushed in the aerial and handed it over to Mickey who stowed it away.
“Right,” said Bill, “We need to sit tight and wait for them to move. Bone isn’t going anywhere without his drugs and as long as the transponder keeps
working, we don’t need to get close enough to expose ourselves. He will have
deployed sentries. We need to do the same.”
Ledge rummaged around in the ‘mobile armoury’ and brought out night
vision binoculars, it was starting to get quite dark, as well as a FLIR
infrared device. He said, “Whoever is on lookout, these will allow us to see in
the dark, not that I expect anyone to be moving about out here in the dark.”
“OK,” concluded Bill. “We’ll check the tracker every half hour. I’ll take
the first stag. You two get some rest. Three hour stags; you
next, Ledge.” They settled in and Bill
bogged down with too many contacts. They’ve been running around the country
buying up ‘base’,” referring to the second stage of heroin. The opium gum is
boiled first with lime then with ammonia to separate the morphine then
re-boiled and filtered until it turns into a brown paste which is sun-dried
into bricks.
Mickey had the sat’ phone in his hand and was talking to someone relaying
information about the GPS coordinates reading them off the Bird’s control unit.
He repeated three times “Negative eyes on Monarch ”. Then he said
“standby,” dropped his phone hand down by his side and watched as the scene
unfolded on the control screen.
Mickey asked, “Any sign of a guy with a limp? Or somebody that looks like
the boss?”
“The guy talking to Bone must be the boss, but he’s standing on
his own. He doesn’t have a posse of bodyguards. Can’t be Abu Ukasha ,” he concluded.
Then the person Ledge was watching walked back to the group of figures
now finished packing plastic bags into the vehicles and he did not have
a limp.
“Definitely not Abu Ukasha ,” Ledge announced.
Mickey raised the phone and confirmed his earlier advice and rang off.
“Who were you talking to,” asked Bill.
“Network control. They are patched into everything that’s going on.
They’ll add this location to a watch list so that it gets checked every time
there’s a satellite or a drone overflying it, in case there’s activity that
leads to actionable intelligence.”
Ledge warned, “They’re on the move.”
Bill and Mickey peered over Ledge’s shoulder to watch as the flatbed
truck and two pickups, now full of the figures, circled out of the compound and
drove away.
“What do you want to do, Bill?” asked Mickey.
Bill paused for a moment, then said, “Mickey, call it in to your control
and see if they can pick up these guys as they go back up the road towards
Jalalabad, by whatever means.” As an afterthought, and as a justification he
added, “There’s no way we could follow them without being spotted.”
As Mickey was making the call the headlights of the convoy they had just
watched appeared in the distance and they watched as they went past, thankful
of the approaching gloom and the cam nets masking their position.
They continued to watch the walled compound for another 30 minutes. Ledge
had to glide the Bird almost back to their position and fire it up out of mute
so he could regain height and repeat the gliding/circling manoeuvre. It was
clear from the campfire that had been lit in the centre of the compound and the
lack of any movement that Bone was settling in for the night
Ledge brought the ‘Bird’ in for a bumpy landing behind them and Mickey
ran out to recover it. Ledge said, “We’ll have to refuel it, if we are going to
put it up again?” it was a question to Bill.
Bill declined saying that it looks like they are not going anywhere and
that they would be able to see them move on the tracker if they did, so there
was not likely to be any value in continuing to surveil them with the Bird.
Ledge pushed in the aerial and handed it over to Mickey who stowed it away.
“Right,” said Bill, “We need to sit tight and wait for them to move. Bone isn’t going anywhere without his drugs and as long as the transponder keeps
working, we don’t need to get close enough to expose ourselves. He will have
deployed sentries. We need to do the same.”
Ledge rummaged around in the ‘mobile armoury’ and brought out night
vision binoculars, it was starting to get quite dark, as well as a FLIR
infrared device. He said, “Whoever is on lookout, these will allow us to see in
the dark, not that I expect anyone to be moving about out here in the dark.”
“OK,” concluded Bill. “We’ll check the tracker every half hour. I’ll take
the first stag. You two get some rest. Three hour stags; you
next, Ledge.” They settled in and Bill
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