“Geordie hasn’t been the same since his last contact six months ago, Boss” said White.
“I know, he’s off this mission and I’m going to have to send him for…”
“Evaluation” finished Andrews.
“Something like that. Now, back to the mission at hand.”
Captain John Taylor explains that the third man in the video is in fact a former SAS Soldier, Robert Sharpe, now working as a Private Security Contractor or Security Consultant and at the time of his abduction was working for the disgraced fame-hunting, now captured, journalist as his Personal Security Adviser or PSA.
“So, if we time the mission according to the threats of London then we have 108 hours until Rob’s head is due to leave his body – that’s four and a half days, gentlemen” said Taylor.
“From a standing start that’s do-able but pretty tight. What’s the plan, Captain?” said Lee.
“We fly out to Iraq tomorrow at 1300hrs. We’ll land at the Al Assad Airbase in the Western Province of the country. From there we will travel by vehicle to the Iraq/Syria border where the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are at the front lines with ISIS, fighting a bloody battle. We’ll get all the Intel we can from them and move on to where our current intelligence tells us the hostages are being held. Simple really” said Taylor with a raise of his eyebrows.
“Simple as ever, Boss. So another operation with the odds stacked against us, what fun” said White.
“That’s what we’re paid the big bucks for, mate!” said Corporal William West.
The soldiers in the room laugh as one.
“Okay, that’s it for now. We’ll meet here again tomorrow at 11:00 for a full mission briefing. Dismiss yourselves and prepare for a hard fight. Also, though I’m sure you don’t need reminding, make sure you all have your Death Letters ready and written. Dismissed.”
The SAS men stood, nodded at their commander and began to leave the briefing room.
“Ah, before you leave make sure you incorporate counter-sniper training into your regimes today” said Taylor.
“Captain?” said Henry Lee - the troop’s specialist sniper.
“There’s a nasty bastard out there fighting for ISIS, a merc, a sniper, he’s good, real good and he’s inflicting massive damage on the FSA and our Kurdish Peshmerga friends – they have been asking us for help to fight him for weeks. Finally we have the opportunity to help them.”
“Does this sniper have a name?” asked Lee.
“He does, he does indeed. They call him Ash'abah, which literally translates in English to The Ghost.”
Sniper Lee nods his head respectfully to his Captain and turns to leave the room. Mark Andrews walks beside him and put his arm on his friend’s shoulder and smiles.
“So, my friend, it shall be the Shadow versus the Ghost - A sniper fight in Syria.”
Chapter Three – Slaughter
Aleppo, Syria.
One hundred and fifty captured Free Syrian Army soldiers are lined up in ten rows of 15 men each standing in nothing but their underwear. They are forced to the ground and made to kneel head first into the dirt.
Dozens of Islamic State men dressed in all black combat clothing, wielding AK 47 assault rifles and other small arms stand behind the nearly naked prisoners.
“Allahu Akbar” “Allahu Akbar” “Allahu Akbar.”
The unmistakable whip of an AK 47 round rings out, and then another and another.
The prisoners’ heads start to explode from the impact of the 7.62 rounds of ammunition crashing into their skulls from point blank distance. The bullets smash through the front of their faces throwing teeth, skin and brain matter onto the ground. Blood soaks the floor and sprays into the air around the slaughtered men. Seconds later and a cacophony of mixed weapons being fired fills the air: 9MMs, handguns, rifles and revolvers go off, sending the 150 captured soldiers to their brutal, barbaric, death.
“Allahu Akbar” “Allahu Akbar” “Allahu Akbar”
Seconds later and another human annihilation carried out in the name of a God is over. The Islamic State doing its work and showing just how great its version of the All Powerful truly is.
All the ISIS men, leaders and brainwashed followers alike, chant in an almost trance-like fervour, caught up in bloodlust and the evil that attaches itself to such vile action. The wicked energy fills the air, hanging around like clouds during a storm, soaking the men further in hate, pain, blood and violence. The men are far gone, never to be normal again – their only hope to be killed by their enemy.
All except two ISIS men, two hired guns, chant and wave their hands in the air and celebrate the slaughter. One is old and strong with greying hair, dark eyes and sharp features. The many scars on his face tell of a life lived at war and in battle. A much younger man stands next to him, thin, wiry and in his teens; his features still pure and adolescent yet his eyes hard and distant. Neither man chants or jumps up and down.
“This is wrong. The actions of weak men” said the older man.
“But why, the Koran says that non-believers should die and they are our enemies” the younger man replied.
“They were our enemies. Now they are dead. Killed while kneeling in their underpants. Unarmed and defenceless.”
“Killed, that is all I care about. My enemies must all die. I don’t care how.”
“You do not care because you are still young – you begin to care as you get older. Thankfully neither of us fired upon those men, so our dreams will not be haunted by their faces for the rest of our lives on this earth, unlike all the other men here who are now doomed to never sleep well again. Their minds haunted by those they have unjustly slaughtered.”
“So you are saying that they should not have been killed, then? And how can you say that after all the men you have killed, all of the men we have killed together?”
“We kill men in battle, during battle, before battle and after battle. When they are fully aware that they are at war and fighting an enemy, unseen or not. That is why I sleep well at night. That is why you should sleep well at night and that is what I wish for you, Ali – that you may live a decent life at war. I wish that you may kill as many men as we have seen killed here today, and more, but not like this, never like this.”
At this Ali fell silent and as if reading his thoughts Aarzam continued..
“At night you see the faces of the men you have killed through your scope. This is normal, and at first it will haunt you. But that is why I brought you here today to see this. You see, Ali, we are warriors – you are my grandson and I am the grandson of a fighter before, it is the way of our family. Even my name means War, as we are always at war and we will always kill our enemy. But it is how we do that which is important. There is no glory in killing an unarmed, bound and broken man. Remember today and remember how those men died and as you get older you will be able to identify that you have given your enemies much more glorious and honourable deaths – this will, eventually, give you peace.”
The two mercenaries remained motionless and silent. Ali thinks about his grandfather’s words.
‘But how will I find peace when I have already killed so many, not even 16 years old and I have killed more men, and women, than I can remember. And I see their faces, every night before I sleep and in my dreams. Staring at me, taunting me, calling me their killer, their executioner and I never know what to say to them.’
Once again the old man speaks as if he had heard Ali’s thoughts.
“Tell them that you gave them an honourable death, tell them that they knew they were at war and if they could have killed you first they would have. Tell them that you gave them a quick death unlike these men, here today, killed naked in the dirt, shot from behind and slaughtered like cattle” said Aarzam.
“But they didn’t even know that I was there, grandfather” said Ali, tears swelling in his eyes.
“And that is why they call you Ash'abah.”
Chapter Four – Snipers Sight
Mark Andre
ws looks down the scope of his Israel Weapons Industries, or IWI, DAN.338 Lapua Magnum Bolt Action Sniper Rifle. Possibly the new weapon of choice for SAS Snipers – currently in the testing phase as the Regiment looks to replace the L96A1 sniper rifle that it has been using successfully for over 14 years. The DAN.338 is the most accurate and powerful sniper rifle the Regiment has ever used – capable of penetrating armour, stopping a moving vehicle and effecting an enemy kill shot to the head from over a mile away.
The scope’s crosshairs hover over a Burka covered Muslim woman who has just stepped out of a simple white walled apartment building. She walks towards a vehicle check point manned by a group of American soldiers.
“Notice how she’s not swinging her arms?” said Sniper Lee, acting as Andrew’s spotter.
“She must be carrying something.”
“Indeed, but what, my friend? A cake, some juice for the nice American soldiers?”
Mark studies the woman as she walks towards his allies and examines the folds of her clothes. Then he sees it – barely perceptible to the human eye he notices the barrel of an AK74U protruding from the bottom of her dress.
“She is carrying a weapon. See the barrel at the bottom of her robes.”
The woman is now less then 10 metres from the roadblock.
“You know what to do, Mark, if you wait any longer she’ll be in range to start firing on those soldiers. Tick tock.”
Mark Andrews closes his eyes and takes the shot, the silenced weapon fires one round and Mark feels the kick in his shoulder.
A second later he opens them and sees the scene on the projector has now paused. The bullet hole indicator two centimeters off target . He has missed.
“Lights” said Sniper Lee.
Mark Andrews and Sergeant Henry Lee are on the most modern range of the Joint Sniper Training Establishment (JSTE) or 'Sniper School' in Sennybridge in Wales.
The state of the art video shooting range is only three months old. The lights are switched on and the video is turned off.
The two men stand and put their equipment on a table in front of them – Andrews puts down the rifle and Lee puts down his binoculars.
“Closing your eyes before you fire is not sniper 101, is it, Mark?” said Lee with a raised left eyebrow.
“Well I guess that’s why I’m your spotter and you’re the sniper then, Henry, aye.”
“Still, you should have killed her, you should have been sure of the kill. Remember the snipers’ code, Mark: One Shot, One Kill.”
“Come on, mate. Relax, it’s just a training exercise and it looked more like an American Sniper movie than something that would actually happen.”
“Actually it did happen. In Iraq a few years ago and because there was no over-watch two US marines were killed that day. All of our training scenarios are taken from actual real life case studies. So, old chap, your inability to kill the enemy just cost the lives of two of our allies.”
“Like I said, that’s why you’re the sniper and I’m the spotter. And is that the reason you asked me to have a shot - to be able to give me a bollocking for not killing a woman?”
“No, I wanted to make it abundantly clear to you what being a sniper and part of a sniper element means - making difficult decisions under the most strenuous and sometimes utterly boring conditions.”
“Well, it worked, I now know that I am not capable of killing a woman.”
“Yeah, maybe not a fictional one on a training video but once we put our boots on the ground in Syria and you start to feel bullets zing past your head that are fully intent on blowing it wide open you may start to think differently. And once you have seen the aftermath of an IED and the scattered limbs of your brothers you won’t care if your enemy is man, woman or even child. And yes, all of the above plant IEDs intent on blowing us to smithereens.”
“We’ll see. To be honest though I’m not sure I’m cut out for this sort of thing.”
“Of course you are, your weapons and close combat training evaluation reports have been outstanding. And your psychometric test results indicate that you’re more of a fighter than you think, or like to admit.”
“I do prefer it up close and personal, it comes more naturally to me.”
“Then we’ll make the perfect team because as you know I prefer it at a distance. Now put your doubts to one side and have faith in our commander. Captain Taylor had to pull a lot of considerably heavy strings to get approval to get you out on an operation so return the favour and put some faith in him by trusting his judgment” said Lee.
“Do you?”
“Trust his judgment? Abso-bloody-fucking-lutely, matey. If we get this right we’ll be unstoppable. What enemy will be able to counter a sniper element that can always stay two steps ahead because the spotter sees the future?”
*****
The sniper’s scope scans the rooftops surrounding the local bazaar. At the centre of the market place a British army general addresses a small crowd of men, women and children. It’s a hearts and minds mission in Afghanistan and either side of the high ranking commander stand his men, his soldiers, some of whom are assigned specifically as his bodyguards. This is the scene now playing out for Mark Andrews as he makes another attempt at successfully simulating being a sharpshooter on the video shooting range. Sniper Lee is once again by his side acting as his spotter and tutor.
“Remember your breathing, Mark. Breath is life and the life of a sniper brings death. In through your nose and then slowly, carefully, thoughtfully out through your mouth. Your aim will only be as steady as your breathing” said Sniper Lee.
“They say that you can actually stop your heart from beating, is that true or just another ‘shadow’ rumour?” asked Andrews.
“I slow my breath and I control my nervous system, whether or not my heart stops I do not know or care, I only care that my shot is perfect and for me to achieve perfection I need to switch my body off.”
“That’s impressive, Henry.”
“It’s not impressive, it’s necessary. Now focus, Mark. I want you to treat this simulation as if it were real.”
“Okay, what am I looking for?”
“Bad guys.”
“Haha, funny mate, but how do I find them, there must be dozens of places they can hide and snipe from.”
“Perhaps, but only a few places with the adequate line of sight to the general. Start with the rooftops and look for our enemies’ profiles against the blue sky, something we like to call their ‘Skyline.’”
Mark Andrews moves his DAN.338 scope along the roof tops of the buildings, slowly, painstakingly slowly, looking for the figures of the enemy.
“You’re looking in the wrong place, Mark. And you have to move faster. Also remember to never close your one eye – keep both open and keep in mind your peripheral vision. Look at both your reticle and the scene before you as one. Start again, realign your target area. Look at where the general is standing and begin your search again.”
Andrews takes a deep breath, not to aid his vision or aim, but out of anger and frustration. The two men had been going through different firing drills all afternoon but he is struggling to get his counter-sniping search routine right. He finds it hard to think like a soldier.
His thoughts clear once more as he surveys the scene. He moves his cross hairs over the general’s face and pauses to read his lips. He makes out the words “we” and “work together” as well as “rebuild” and “nation”. He moves the scope out away from the general and over the crowd of onlookers. He pauses over the cart of a fruit seller and sees a young boy take a bite of an apple and walk into the crowd. He continues to move the scope towards the rooftop directly overlooking the general’s speech. His breathing is slow and steady now, he feels his heart beat slowly and methodically, his vision is perfectly balanced between focusing on his scope’s cross-hairs and as much of his peripheral sight as reasonable. He’s finally focused, he has finally found his Sniper’s Sight .
A window in the corn
er of the market square, diagonal to the hearts and minds mission, two floors up opens loudly as the wooden shutters hit the sides of the building.
Mark quickly swings his scope towards the direction of the noise but then as quickly changes direction back towards where the general is standing – he searches through the crowd and finds his target. He takes his shot. He misses.
“Pause it there” said Sniper Lee.
SAS Para-Ops: MEGA SET - SAS Para-Ops Books #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 & #6 Page 17