Bad Soldier: Danny Black Thriller 4 (5 page)

‘I don’t think our targets will risk doing anything to identify themselves once we board that boat. Most of the migrants fucking hate IS – it’s them they’re running from, and if they suspect they’ve got a couple among them, they’ll most likely send them for a swim. But if our guys
do
make a move, we shoot to wound. You got that, Black?’

Danny gave him a dark look, then a curt nod. Tony liked to put it around that Danny was a loose cannon, but now wasn’t the time to bite back . . .

There was a noisy slap and a jolt as the RIB hit the water. They were hit with a cloud of spray, and the boat lurched forward immediately as the Marine lowered the outboard.

The rough sea state had barely affected the
Enterprise
, but the tiny RIB was immediately showered by the crest of a wave, before falling several feet into a valley of seawater. They were drenched in seconds. Danny gripped the side firmly, trusting that the Marine at the helm was well used to manoeuvring vessels in these conditions. He was right. The RIB didn’t veer from its course. Each time the horizon bobbed into view, the lights of the migrant boat grew closer. In just a couple of minutes, it was fifty metres distant. The two RIBs with the Marine support unit were circling it.

‘Approach the rear of the boat,’ Tony shouted over the crashing of the waves. The Marine at the helm nodded, and they ploughed relentlessly through the rough seas towards the migrant ship.

Moments later, they were alongside it. It was being badly tossed and jolted by the waves, but Danny could see that it was massively overcrowded. At a glance, he estimated ninety to 100 migrants on an old tug that was no more than twenty metres in length. Its wheelhouse, painted in blue and white, seemed unnaturally tall and narrow. The name
Ocean Star
had been painted on the side, but most of the letters had eroded away. There was a boarding ladder at the rear, and the Marine manoeuvred the RIB towards it.

Spud grabbed the slats of the ladder. As he pulled himself out of the RIB and started to scramble up it, Danny engaged his weapon to offer covering fire if it turned out to be necessary. It didn’t. Spud disappeared over the side of the migrant vessel, and over the noise of the sea Danny could hear him barking instructions, though he couldn’t make out the individual words. Moments later, Tony was halfway up the ladder, followed closely by Caitlin. Only when they had safely boarded did Danny leave the RIB. The slats of the ladder were wet and slippery. The boat yawed with the movement of the sea. But his grip was firm. Seconds later he had boarded.

Narrow beams of light shone across the deck from the torches fitted to each unit member’s rifle, illuminating the pelting rain, which had doubled in intensity in the last couple of minutes. By the light of those torches, Danny could see that in the few seconds they had been on the boat, Spud, Tony and Caitlin had been busy. Almost all the migrants on board had hit the deck. They were now lying on their fronts with their hands on the backs of their heads. They were all very poorly dressed in old shorts and tracksuit bottoms. A few lucky ones had hooded tops to keep them warm, but every garment was soaked by the rain. Many of the passengers had no shoes. The sea air was failing to blow away a nasty stench of unwashed bodies.

Three men on the steps that led up to the wheelhouse were still standing, but that was only because there was no room on deck for them to lie down. Tony was stalking towards them, weapon engaged, barking at them to get on their knees. They obviously didn’t understand him, and looked confused and frightened. Towards the foredeck, fifteen metres from Danny’s position, were five more migrants, also standing. To Danny’s eye, they were more of a problem. They were talking quickly and looking out to sea, as though discussing whether or not to jump.

Danny surged forward. It was impossible not to step on the arms and legs of some of the crouching migrants, but none of them complained. As he moved, he saw that the central section of the boat, behind the wheelhouse, was not covered with bodies. There was a large rectangular hole cut out of the deck, leading down into the hull. Danny scanned the faces of the five men still standing. He didn’t recognise any of them from the photos of the IS targets, but that wasn’t a reason not to suspect them. ‘Get to the ground!’ he shouted at them, keeping the barrel of his weapon firmly fixed in their direction. ‘Get on the ground – now!’

Three of the migrants fell to their knees. The remaining two still looked eager to jump, but their mates started yanking at their clothes. Seconds later they’d hit the deck too, but were still only kneeling. Danny got close, then forced a couple of them on to the ground with his foot. The remaining three followed suit.

He looked around the boat. Tony and Caitlin were by the wheelhouse, pointing their weapons up at two figures inside, controlling the boat. Spud was eight metres from Danny, on the edge of the open section at the centre of the boat. He also had his weapon engaged, pointing down into the hull.

‘Someone’s getting their fucking money’s worth,’ he called to Danny.

Danny checked the immediate vicinity to identify any particular threats. Now every migrant was cringing, terrified, on the floor. He stepped across the mass of bodies, towards Spud’s position. As he drew within a metre of the open section, and the beam of his torch joined Spud’s, he could see why his mate had such a disgusted look on his face. The hull of the boat was even more crowded than the deck. Danny estimated that there were another hundred people down here, and as he looked closer he could see that they were all . . .

‘Kids,’ Spud muttered.

The children’s faces looked up, terrified, blinking against the torchlight. None of them spoke. They were pressed so closely together, it was impossible to see any of them below the shoulder. But what clothes Danny could make out were nothing but dirty old rags. A horrible stench of sweat and shit rose from the hull. Danny had to force himself not to gag. He caught sight of one kid with a nasty cut on the side of his face, which had obviously turned septic. For a moment, the image of his own child flashed in front of his eyes. He hardened himself against that thought. If he showed any sign of weakness, there would be men on this ship who would take advantage. And the brutal truth was that, even heavily armed, their four-man unit would struggle against so many people if they decided to riot.

‘If we see anyone on their feet,’ he shouted above the noise of the waves and the rain hitting the deck, ‘we shoot.’ He didn’t know how many of them would understand English, but they’d sure as hell understand the intent behind his words.

He looked up to see that Tony had entered the wheelhouse and was in the process of forcibly ejecting the two men inside, who tumbled down the steps and landed in a heap on top of two other migrants. From the corner of his eye, he could see the two Marine RIBs circling. But the greater part of his attention was now on the
Enterprise
. It was very close now – thirty metres max – and facing into the wind to stabilise itself. It dwarfed the migrant boat entirely.

Tony’s voice came across Danny’s earpiece. ‘
Black, Spud, cover the migrants. Anyone kicks up a fuss, give them something to think about. Me and Caitlin will get the boat alongside the
Enterprise.’

‘Roger that,’ Danny replied. He turned to Spud. ‘Stay here and cover the foredeck. I’ll head aft.’

Spud nodded. He seemed to drag his gaze away from the kids in the hold as he moved his attention to the migrants on deck. He turned his body threateningly with the turn of his weapon and covered the teeming mass of desperate men and women.

Danny could hear the occasional sob as, rain dripping down his face, he moved aft along the deck. He cut them from his mind and focussed on what was important. Tony was in the wheelhouse and had already started to manoeuvre the boat alongside the
Enterprise
. Caitlin stood imperiously on the steps to the wheelhouse, covering the starboard side of the boat. As Danny continued aft, he found himself trying to pick out faces among the crouching migrants, the images from the photos they’d been studying clear in his mind. So far, he couldn’t identify Santa or Rudolph. And nobody was acting particularly suspiciously. If the two IS suspects were on board, they were keeping a low profile, just as Tony had predicted.

Within two minutes, the
Ocean Star
was alongside the
Enterprise
, facing into the wind just as the larger ship was. The naval crew on the
Enterprise
threw ropes down on the smaller boat. Tony and Caitlin moved to the port side of the boat, grabbed the ropes and started tying them firmly to the railings. Danny sensed the migrants getting restless, so he barked out a further warning to be silent, and panned the barrel of his weapon threateningly over them. On the edge of his vision, he was aware of some safety netting being lowered from the
Enterprise
. Tony and Caitlin clipped it to the railings so it covered a five-metre-wide section, ready to catch anyone who should fall as the migrants cross-decked. The naval crew unfurled a rope ladder with wooden slats. Tony tugged hard on it to check it was secure. He nodded with satisfaction. They were ready to get the migrants on to the ship.

‘
Black
.’ Tony’s voice came over the radio. ‘
Get on to the ship with Caitlin. Me and Spud will take care of things down here.
’

Danny caught a glance from Spud across the boat. Spud wiped the rain from his face, then nodded at Danny as if to say: ‘It’s OK.’

‘
I said, get on to the ship, Black. Now!
’

Caitlin was already halfway up the ladder. Danny lowered his weapon and negotiated his path across the mass of drenched bodies on the deck. By the time he reached Tony, Caitlin had disappeared over the side of the
Enterprise
. Danny didn’t wait for Tony to say anything else. He grabbed a slat on the rope ladder and started to climb. The ladder lurched slightly with the movement of the vessels. No problem for Danny, who’d encountered far worse, but he knew the migrants were going to be very frightened as Tony forced them up. Danny didn’t mind that. Sometimes frightened people were easier to control. But he felt badly for the kids.

As soon as Danny hauled himself over the side of the naval vessel, he immediately saw that the remaining Marines had cordoned off a large area on the aft deck, ready to store the migrants as they embarked. Caitlin was standing at the top of the ladder, holding drenched pictures of the two targets. The ship’s captain was striding towards them, his uniform soaked and his face a thundercloud.

‘I’ve just had a communication from Whitehall,’ he said. ‘All migrants except the two you’re looking for are to be returned to their boat as soon as you’re done, no matter what state they’re in.’

Danny immediately felt himself frowning. ‘There’s kids down there,’ he said tersely. ‘They need medical help.’

The captain drew himself up to his full height. ‘You’ve got
your
orders,’ he fired Danny’s words back at him, ‘I’ve got
mine
.’ He looked over the side of the ship. Danny did the same. A thin, frightened young man was halfway up the ladder. He looked like he wanted to cry. ‘I’m not saying I like it,’ the captain added in a more conciliatory voice.

Me neither, Danny thought. And he muttered to himself: ‘Something’s not right.’

The migrant reached the top of the ladder. Danny firmly grabbed his forearm and helped him over the railings. He had dark skin, a hooked nose and the whites of his eyes had a yellow tint to them. He was looking around nervously. Caitlin grabbed him by the chin and examined his face. Clearly deciding that this was not one of the men they were looking for, she nodded at one of the Marines, who led him at gunpoint towards the far side of the cordoned-off holding area.

By now, a second migrant was cagily climbing up the rope. Moments later, having been checked by Caitlin, he was in the holding area too.

It was slow work. Thirty terrified migrants passed through Caitlin’s checkpoint. Forty. None of them even remotely resembled the photographs of their targets. It started to rain even more heavily. Several migrants slipped as they climbed, but somehow didn’t fall. The deck down below was half-empty. Danny was beginning to wonder if they were on a wild goose chase.

‘Santa,’ Caitlin said sharply.

Danny moved quickly and decisively. Without even looking at the face of the young man Caitlin had just identified, he hooked his left arm tightly round the suspect’s neck and forced him hard to the ground, face down. The man tried to struggle, but he was no match for Danny, who pressed one knee hard into the small of the target’s back, knocking the wind expertly from his lungs. The target went suddenly limp. Danny grabbed a sturdy plastic cable tie from his ops waistcoat and bound the man’s wrists tightly together behind his back. The whole operation had taken less than five seconds. Danny rolled the guy over on to his front to examine his face for the first time. There was no doubt that Caitlin had made the right call. It was the tall guy, the one with the much darker skin who, in the photograph, had been standing by the open-topped technical. Santa had a sour, pained expression, but his attempts to wriggle away from Danny’s firm grasp were pathetic.

Danny called one of the Marines over to him. ‘Hood him, isolate him,’ he said tersely. ‘Keep the fucker quiet.’ The Marine nodded. He was carrying a couple of yellow sponge earplugs, which he shoved into the ear canals of the struggling prisoner, before covering them with a set of sturdy ear defenders. He then pulled a dark hood with a drawstring at the open end from his pack. He pulled it over the target’s head, yanked the drawstring tight and hauled him, staggering, to his feet. The target was now effectively blind, deaf and disorientated – in no position to struggle or run.