widen in fear. “No… I, I was…”
They slapped her hard across the face, silencing her attempts at defending herself. “Don’t deny it! One of your fellow rats has already given you up!” That voice was starting to unnerve me, like nails on a blackboard.
Edwards shook her head.
“What’s that?” the interrogator said. “Your country can’t hear you.” They pulled Edwards by the hair till she faced forward, staring into the camera.
“Yes, you stupid bitch. I’ve been spying on you. And I hope they find you and kill you using the information I’ve given them.
The dark figure let go of Edwards’ hair. “Thank you for your co-operation.”
It was hard to see what was happening, but I could hear Edwards shouting. A dark hand holding something metallic reached around her neck. Her screams became high-pitched and incomprehensible. Then there was a blur of movement, a flash of light, and Edwards went silent. The figure stepped aside, revealing Edwards slumped in the chair, her head flopped against her chest, a steady flow of blood pooling on the floor around her feet.
The dark figure strode towards the camera, eyes covered by dark glasses, face completely hidden by their scarf.
“She is the first to be found guilty,” they said, straight into the camera. “We have one more of your operatives. We will kill him within the hour unless you free our men. There is no bargaining. No conditions. An exchange of lives. It is God’s will.”
The figure held up their right hand and I could see it was covered in blood. They pressed it against the lens of the camera, leaving a red smudge that obscured everything else. And then the video went blank.
I swallowed down the bile that had risen into my throat. “Are we going to make the exchange?” I said.
“Of course not, Tyler. We don’t negotiate with terrorists. But we do know their location, thanks to Edwards, and the air force are going to strike within the hour.”
“But what about the other spy? What will happen to him?”
“We get him back.” Cain smiled and handed me a file. A picture of a square-jawed, sharp-eyed young man looked up at me. The name read Captain Hedges.
“He looks familiar,” I said.
“He should do. He was one of ARES’ finest. I trained him myself. From what little intel we’ve got, they’ve tortured him.”
“What can he tell?”
“Mission objectives. Base locations. But it’s not what he can tell them that concerns us as much as what he can tell us.”
“Which is?”
“Whatever he was about to reveal before he was caught. He was only able to transmit a fragment of a message: ‘X73. Attack.’ Our team are trying to decipher it now. Hedges may know what it means. We need that intel.”
“So what do we do?”
“We go in there and we get him. In and out before the air force brings the rain. And you,” Cain said, shoving something into my chest, “are leading the extraction. Get your squad together. We’ve got five minutes.”
The thing in my hands was a black flak jacket. Gone were the ARES letters.
“Zac?”
“Here, sir,” he said, stepping forwards, formality on show once more. “The rest of Thirteen are on standby.”
“OK, right. The squad. Get them. And are Aubrey and Cleo back yet?”
“Still out on their mission,” Zac said.
“I am afraid you will need to put up with my flying instead, sir.”
I turned to see a woman with dark, curled hair tucked neatly under a red beret. She wore bright red lipstick to match, which I was pretty sure couldn’t be regulation. She carried her helmet under an arm and I was able to read her name off the tag on the side. Ladoux. She had been the one on the other end of the mic when Aubrey called for an evac. Her accent was clearer now – a subtle sing-song of French.
“Flying Officer Ladoux reporting for duty, sir.” She pulled off a sharp, textbook salute. Behind her stood three other soldiers: two men and one woman. Like Ladoux, they carried their
They slapped her hard across the face, silencing her attempts at defending herself. “Don’t deny it! One of your fellow rats has already given you up!” That voice was starting to unnerve me, like nails on a blackboard.
Edwards shook her head.
“What’s that?” the interrogator said. “Your country can’t hear you.” They pulled Edwards by the hair till she faced forward, staring into the camera.
“Yes, you stupid bitch. I’ve been spying on you. And I hope they find you and kill you using the information I’ve given them.
The dark figure let go of Edwards’ hair. “Thank you for your co-operation.”
It was hard to see what was happening, but I could hear Edwards shouting. A dark hand holding something metallic reached around her neck. Her screams became high-pitched and incomprehensible. Then there was a blur of movement, a flash of light, and Edwards went silent. The figure stepped aside, revealing Edwards slumped in the chair, her head flopped against her chest, a steady flow of blood pooling on the floor around her feet.
The dark figure strode towards the camera, eyes covered by dark glasses, face completely hidden by their scarf.
“She is the first to be found guilty,” they said, straight into the camera. “We have one more of your operatives. We will kill him within the hour unless you free our men. There is no bargaining. No conditions. An exchange of lives. It is God’s will.”
The figure held up their right hand and I could see it was covered in blood. They pressed it against the lens of the camera, leaving a red smudge that obscured everything else. And then the video went blank.
I swallowed down the bile that had risen into my throat. “Are we going to make the exchange?” I said.
“Of course not, Tyler. We don’t negotiate with terrorists. But we do know their location, thanks to Edwards, and the air force are going to strike within the hour.”
“But what about the other spy? What will happen to him?”
“We get him back.” Cain smiled and handed me a file. A picture of a square-jawed, sharp-eyed young man looked up at me. The name read Captain Hedges.
“He looks familiar,” I said.
“He should do. He was one of ARES’ finest. I trained him myself. From what little intel we’ve got, they’ve tortured him.”
“What can he tell?”
“Mission objectives. Base locations. But it’s not what he can tell them that concerns us as much as what he can tell us.”
“Which is?”
“Whatever he was about to reveal before he was caught. He was only able to transmit a fragment of a message: ‘X73. Attack.’ Our team are trying to decipher it now. Hedges may know what it means. We need that intel.”
“So what do we do?”
“We go in there and we get him. In and out before the air force brings the rain. And you,” Cain said, shoving something into my chest, “are leading the extraction. Get your squad together. We’ve got five minutes.”
The thing in my hands was a black flak jacket. Gone were the ARES letters.
“Zac?”
“Here, sir,” he said, stepping forwards, formality on show once more. “The rest of Thirteen are on standby.”
“OK, right. The squad. Get them. And are Aubrey and Cleo back yet?”
“Still out on their mission,” Zac said.
“I am afraid you will need to put up with my flying instead, sir.”
I turned to see a woman with dark, curled hair tucked neatly under a red beret. She wore bright red lipstick to match, which I was pretty sure couldn’t be regulation. She carried her helmet under an arm and I was able to read her name off the tag on the side. Ladoux. She had been the one on the other end of the mic when Aubrey called for an evac. Her accent was clearer now – a subtle sing-song of French.
“Flying Officer Ladoux reporting for duty, sir.” She pulled off a sharp, textbook salute. Behind her stood three other soldiers: two men and one woman. Like Ladoux, they carried their
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