‘It’s a good portrait, isn’t it? Taken just a few weeks before—’
Kovic reached to shake Garrison’s hand and the two men’s eyes met for the first time.
Kovic struggled to work out what was going on in that head. Maybe he would find out.
Two stewards appeared with trays: eggs, bacon, toast and hash browns. Suddenly Kovic realised how long it was since he had eaten an actual meal.
‘I figured you’d be hungry.’
Garrison gestured for him to sit. They both wired into the food.
‘Did the Marines make it out okay?’
Garrison tried to answer promptly, but without chewing at the same time.
‘They brought out a whole boatload of Chinese nationals with them.’ He shot Kovic a glance. ‘One of the advantages of seaborne evac.’
‘They could have come out on the chopper. They had the option. But we might not have made it off the roof if they hadn’t covered our exit.’
Garrison chuckled. ‘Well after the mess you made of landing it I guess they made the right decision.’
‘They said they couldn’t figure out why there was no airborne exfil.’
Garrison nodded, his mouth full. He made no attempt to explain or justify it.
‘How are the others? Is Jin Jié—?’
Garrison swallowed and took a swig of coffee.
‘Alive? Sure. He’s doing okay. They cleaned up his wounds, gave him some blood. His – er – wife’s keeping an eye on him.’
Kovic flashed him a look.
‘Well that’s who she’s claiming she is but she’s being pretty tight lipped with us. MSS, I assume. I wouldn’t want to cross swords with her. You – er, think she’s got some other agenda going there?’
Kovic shrugged.
‘Well, I wouldn’t fancy Jin Jié’s chances without her watching his back. He’s going to need some good people around him if he’s ever going to be a credible alternative to Chang.’
Garrison pushed his plate away and put his knife and fork neatly together, fixing Kovic with his tired grey eyes.
‘After my son – after Tommy was killed, I’ll be honest, Kovic, I wanted you dead. I wanted someone to pay; a life for a life.’ He shook his head.
‘Sir, I—’
Garrison raised a hand.
‘Now you’re sitting right here in front of me – boy, am I glad you made it out.’
‘Thank you, sir. Thank you for changing your mind. I don’t need to tell you that Tommy was a fine Marine.’
‘You know he’d been thinking about going over to the dark side.’
‘Sir?’
‘The CIA. You made quite an impression.’
Kovic held his gaze until Garrison glanced at the portrait once more and let out a long sigh.
‘Do you ever ask yourself what the fuck we’re doing – what all this is for?’
It felt like a relief to hear his own doubts echoed.
‘The past few days – more than ever.’
Garrison got up from the table and took a step towards the porthole.
‘It’s happening. They’re gonna get their war.’
‘Shouldn’t you be on the bridge, sir? I mean, it’s good of you to give me breakfast, but—’
‘Kovic, I’ve been here a hundred times before. You can sit up there in the big chair, being important, barking orders and generally making a noise – but there’s a whole mess of guys out there who know just what to do.’
‘What happens next?’
‘Chang seems to have come to some agreement with the Russians. We expect an engagement anytime in the next twenty-four hours.’
He refilled their cups and leaned forward.
‘I wanted this time with you before we go our separate ways.’ His face brightened, though there was still a faraway look in his eyes. ‘So it’s game over for you. You’re all done.’
Kovic drained his coffee.
‘How do you mean, sir?’
‘There’s an Osprey due in at 1400 from Guam. Seems like they’re giving you the VIP treatment.’
There was an odd expression on Garrison’s face as he pushed the printout towards him.
‘A nice stretch of R&R, maybe a gratitude posting to some fine, civilised place like Paris or Rome, promotion maybe?’
Kovic felt a strange sensation moving through his gut as he studied the message. He put it down on the table and passed it back.
‘It says for your eyes only, sir.’
Garrison raised an eyebrow.
‘Does it now? I must have overlooked that.’
‘And it’s from the CIA’s Inspector General’s office.’
Garrison said nothing. Kovic put his fork down and pushed his chair back a little.
‘Did it surprise you, sir, that the exfil request was denied?’
They both knew the answer. Garrison’s face reddened. Kovic feared for a moment he was going to have a heart attack.
‘Cutler was a goddamn traitor. And that bastard Metzger. When they did a deal with Chang they signed my men’s death certificates.’
Kovic looked at the document again. ‘And when I blew the whistle on them, I signed my own.’
‘Commander to bridge. Commander to bridge.’
The message blared out from a speaker on the wall.
Garrison was on his feet.
‘Looks like this is it. Wanna tag along?’
‘Thanks, sir, but I should get round to see the others.’
Garrison nodded and was gone.
78
Jin Jié was sitting up in his bed sipping a can of root beer. Hannah was beside him staring into space. She also had been given a set of khakis to wear, which only served to enhance her air of businesslike sexiness. They both looked up as he approached.
Kovic nodded at the root beer.
‘I see you’re sampling the local delicacies.’
Jin Jié raised his can.
‘I always loved this stuff.’
He put out his hand. ‘Kovic – how do I begin to thank you?’
Kovic took it in his. It felt damp and fleshy.
‘No need. It was a great pleasure to fuck with Chang’s grand plan. Now you’ll be the thorn in his side that he can’t get his hands on. You need to get fully well so you can muster the opposition.’
‘So you think the forces of progress will prevail?’
Kovic shrugged. How the fuck did he know? And as for Jin Jié’s chances – well he never got what Hannah and all the rest saw in him. He was waiting eagerly for an answer. He glanced over at Hannah.
‘I never speculate about the future. I leave that to the fortune-tellers and the politicians. Plus I seem to have made a career out of telling people stuff they didn’t want to hear.’
Hannah turned to Jin Jié and got to her feet.
‘You must rest now.’
Jin Jié sighed.
‘I suppose so. Don’t go far, will you.’
Hannah took Kovic’s arm and propelled him out of the room.
On deck the wind swirled around them. A Super Hornet screamed overhead. It was a crisp clear day.
‘Where were you? I thought you’d disappeared.’
‘Catching up on a little sleep. Anyhow, I thought you’d be glad to see the back of me after the last few days.’
She gave him one of her thunderous looks that said otherwise. A couple of ratings jogged past and gave her the eye. Kovic stepped closer.
‘Don’t you think you should have some security around you?’
She pursed her lips and hissed at him.
‘Jin Jié seems to be on the mend.’
‘Oh, he’s going to be fine. You almost certainly saved his life digging that shrapnel out of him. The surgeon said it had grazed the subclavian artery. Any more aggravation, it would have ruptured and he’d have bled out.’
Another aircraft screamed overhead.
‘He wants me with him; he’s asked me to be his second in command.’
Her face gave
nothing away.
‘Is that – solely a day job?’
She pulled him close. She smelled heavenly.
‘Is there somewhere on here we can be alone – just for a while?’
79
Kovic checked the time: 13.48. She was looking at him, her beautiful dark eyes full of sadness. In less than fifteen minutes an Osprey would arrive to take him away.
She reached up to him.
‘What will you do now?’
‘Eh – I’ll get back to you on that.’
He held her for a second, then rose and reached for his clothes.
Outside the cabin the air was thick with the sounds of the carrier moving to battle stations.
‘Let’s go on deck. See what’s happening.’
They had only gone a few metres when Recker shouted up to them from below. He was in full kit, about to deploy.
They descended the stairs. Irish and Pac joined him, also kitted up.
‘What’s happening?’
‘The Titan’s been hit. There’s a whole bunch of intel that we can’t let fall into Chang’s hands. We’re gonna RHIB over and claim it before the ship goes down.’
As he spoke, Kovic saw the Osprey descending, its rotors tilted in preparation to land.
He looked at Hannah, trying to smile at him through the tears. He looked at Irish and Pac, then Recker who was carrying a spare kit. Then he noticed Garrison on the balcony of the bridge, looking down at them.
Garrison caught his eye, then gave him a nod.
Recker held out the kit.
‘We should get going, sir. Commander’s orders.’
The Osprey was down, its doors opening.
Kovic grinned at the Marines.
‘Then what are we waiting for?’
Acknowledgements
For invaluable specialised advice, Brad Auerbach, Rita Auerbach and Dean Morris in America, James Thorniley in Shanghai and Karen Stirgwolt in Dulwich.
For such diligent and enthusiastic copy-editing, Julian Flanders, and proof-reading by Jane Selley.
For all round support, Sophie Doyle.
For making it happen, Jon Wood and Jo Gledhill, the team at Orion and my wonderful agent Mark Lucas.
For inventing such a fertile universe to work from and giving me the freedom to play with it, my thanks and respect to the creators of Battlefield – DICE and EA.
And lastly, thanks to my wife Stephanie who read, re-read and never held back.
About the Author
Peter Grimsdale is an award-winning TV producer and screenwriter whose work has appeared on all the main TV channels. He is the author of three previous novels, Perfect Night, Just Watch Me and (with Andy McNab) Battlefield 3: The Russian. He is married to author Stephanie Calman.
Also by Peter Grimsdale
Battlefield 3: The Russian (with Andy McNab)
Perfect Night
Just Watch Me
Copyright
AN ORION EBOOK
First published in Great Britain in 2013 by Orion Books.
This ebook first published in 2013 by Orion Books.
Battlefield 4 © 2013 Electronic Arts Inc.
Battlefield 4 and the DICE logo are trademarks of EA Digital Illusions CE AB.
EA and the EA logo are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc.
All characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978 1 4091 4887 6
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Battlefield 4: Countdown to War Page 29