PRIMAL Vengeance (3) Read online

  A war for resources is raging in Southern Sudan. Tribal warriors, Janjaweed raiders and foreign mercenaries struggle for power over the oil-rich lands. Corporate greed fuels the conflict as oil companies scramble to secure vital resources. In the name of profit, villages burn, children starve and refugees are slaughtered.

  When PRIMAL operatives interdict an arms shipment bound for Khartoum they find themselves snared in a battle to save a fledgling nation. Bishop and Mirza wage a guerilla campaign challenging Chinese influence in the region. The response is brutal and the PRIMAL team find themselves pitched against a capable and well-resourced adversary. The conflict drags them from Sudan to Shanghai, then back to Abu Dhabi before vengeance is finally realized.

  About the author

  Jack Silkstone is a writer with a background in Military Intelligence, Counter-Intelligence and Special Operations.

  [email protected]

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  Endorsements

  "If you like Tom Clancy, you'll like PRIMAL. It bristles with authenticity because the guy who wrote it used to do it for real." - Matthew Reilly, author of ICE STATION, SCARECROW and THE FIVE GREATEST WARRIORS

  Acknowledgements

  PRIMAL Vengeance is dedicated to the Intelligence Analysts, 2s, Deltas, 18Foxes, Three Letter Agency LOs, Bears, Spies, and others who work endless hours to ensure that operators are at the right place at the right time. You are appreciated.

  PRIMAL Vengeance

  By Jack Silkstone

  Copyright 2012 Jack Silkstone. All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

  Warning: this story is intended for mature audiences and contains violence and profanity.

  Prologue

  Extract from 'In 2 Sudans, Familiarity with Path to War'

  By JOSH KRON

  Published: May 10, 2012, New York Times

  South Sudan's years of conflict were meant to be over when it won its independence from Sudan last July after generations of fighting with the people of the north. But the jubilation quickly faded, and now, not even a year later, after weeks of pointed barbs and border skirmishes, this vast and vastly underdeveloped country is once again mobilizing for war — and asking some of the poorest people on earth to pay for it, with whatever they have at hand.

  Sudan and South Sudan have yet to resolve a number of prickly and vital issues, not least of which is how to demarcate a border of more than 1,000 miles and share billions of dollars of oil revenue. Border clashes escalated in late March, killing hundreds, and strategic oil fields have switched hands...

  ..."When we took arms against Khartoum, there was no salary, there was no food, there was no water," said Gabriel Bol Duth..."We fought them because we wanted freedom."

  Chapter 1

  Map of the Republic of Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan

  Khartoum, Sudan, 2012

  Garang's hands were sweating, despite the cool air that flowed from the air-conditioning vent behind his head. He was more at home in the African bush than here in the boardroom of a major petroleum corporation. Not to mention that the PETROCON building was situated in downtown Khartoum; the heart of enemy territory and a thousand miles from his adopted home in South Sudan. It had been years since the civil war between Sudan and South Sudan had officially ended, but deep wounds heal slowly.

  Garang's job now was to keep his tribal chief safe, and surrounded by hostile Sudanese forces, it was no wonder his palms were sweating. He wiped them against his olive drab combat fatigues and returned his attention to the two men at the negotiating table.

  "This is a good deal; we both know it. You would be a fool not to agree," the Sudanese Oil Minister addressed the chief sitting opposite him. Garang had noticed that every time the man finished a sentence he licked his lips, almost as if he could taste the crude oil he coveted so desperately.

  The chief leaned forward and pushed a pile of legal documents back towards the fat politician. "You want my people to sign their lands across to your Chinese masters for only four percent? We are not simpletons that can be swayed with a handful of beads, Omar. We are a proud people. The Dinka lands belong to the Dinka and that is final."

  Omar slapped his thick hands against the table, upsetting a glass of water and spilling its contents across the table's surface. "You are a fool! You either take this deal or we take the lands from you."

  "Your threats are idle," the chief replied calmly. "You couldn't take our lands in two decades of civil war and—"

  The politician slammed his hands against the table again. "Look around you, old man." He gestured towards the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that overlooked the bustling city. From thirty-six floors up people looked like ants. "You're a long way from your grass huts. Times have changed and your shitty little tribe has been left behind. Now I have the power. I have the money. This is a new era and your people will not survive unless they submit. Sign the papers and I promise, you will spend your final years a wealthy man."

  He paused, squinting across at Garang. "What about you, boy? Do you want your people to live in squalor or do you want to be a part of this?"

  Garang swallowed, wiping his hands against his pants as he rallied the courage to speak. Before he opened his mouth his chief spoke for him. "There is no Dinka who will sign your worthless papers, Omar." The elder was dressed like Garang, olive fatigues tucked into battered combat boots. He was lean, dark skin drawn and leathery, a veteran African warrior. "We will fight to the last man to keep our lands."

  Omar remained seated. "Yes, you'll get your fight soon enough. Before too long I will have more tanks and artillery to pound your pathetic tribe into the dust." He pushed his own chair back and pried himself from its clutches. "Your women will spend their final days being stuffed with Janjaweed cocks."

  At the mention of the fearsome Arab militias the doors at the end of the conference room opened and a fourth man entered. He crossed the room to stand behind the Sudanese politician.

  "You probably already know of Sagrib," Omar said.

  At the mention of his name the man's lips peeled back to reveal a mouth almost devoid of teeth. Then he laughed, a revolting cackling sound not unlike the bark of a hyena.

  The Dinkas knew the man only by reputation. The leader of Omar's private Janjaweed army was renowned for his brutal acts of violence. He was dressed in desert combat fatigues and had cloth wrapped around his head, the tan material draped over his shoulder. A gold Rolex adorned his wrist, hacked from the arm of one of his countless victims.

  The Dinka chief ignored Sagrib and looked the Oil Minister squarely in the eye. "Your Chinese masters can give you all the weapons they want, Omar. Your forces will never defeat the Dinka while you continue to send pigs to fight us."

  Sagrib turned his head slightly, angling his mirrored Ray-Bans towards the chief. Garang kept his mouth shut. He was starting to regret volunteering to protect the old man.

  It was Omar who broke the silence. "You and your people are all alone. No UN, no Americans, no helicopters, and no tanks. I will ask one last time, sign the papers and your people will have a chance to live." He waddled across to a side table, retrieved a manila envelope and threw it on the t
able.

  "What about you, boy? I hear you were born in America. I'm sure you understand the value of this contract." He leaned across the table. "Get the old man to sign it and I will make you rich."

  Garang paused for a second, his eyes drawn to the envelope.

  The elder Dinka pulled him back. "This meeting is over." The chief's voice had a slight tremor. "Garang, we are leaving."

  "You're making a very big mistake, gentlemen," Omar said as the pair retreated to the boardroom doors and into the path of a heavily armed security detail.

  Garang spun on his heel. "What is this?" he yelled, pointing his finger at Omar. "You promised us safe passage!"

  Omar shook his head. "You are too trusting, but you will learn. This will be an important lesson for you." He turned to Sagrib. "Kill the old man and make an example out of the boy."

  The Janjaweed mercenary nodded, snapping an order at the guards, "Take them to the basement!"

  It took only minutes for the guards to cuff the two men and move them into the elevator to the lower levels of the building. There, amongst the PETROCON vans, they forced the Dinka tribal leader to his knees.

  Garang struggled against the guards who held him. One of them drove a baton into his stomach, doubling him over. His legs turned to jelly as he gasped for air but he was held up, forced to watch.

  Sagrib stood over the Dinka chief, a rusty bush saw in one hand. With the other he grabbed a fistful of hair, wrenching the man's head back.

  The old man looked up at the mercenary with hate in his eyes. "You can kill me, but you cannot kill all of us. Mark my words. Dinka warriors will bury you in the carcass of a pig."

  "No, they will die like you. Like fucking lambs to slaughter." Sagrib brought the saw up against the man's throat and hacked it back and forth. The rusty blade chewed deep into the flesh and the chief gasped involuntary as the jagged teeth tore through his jugular and windpipe. Crimson blood spewed out of the horrific wound as Sagrib sawed through the spine, laughing like a mad man as the tribal elder gurgled.

  Garang screamed and thrashed against the men holding him. The baton returned, smashing his legs out from under him. The guards beat him savagely while Sagrib continued to hack at the once-proud elder's head.

  The old man died without so much as a whimper. The last thing Garang saw before he succumbed to unconsciousness was Sagrib holding the severed head aloft, his uniform drenched in blood, toothless mouth grinning.

  ***

  They found Garang on the outskirts of Khartoum, badly beaten and dumped in a pile of trash. Next to him was the chief's head, the body missing. Garang screamed in pain as they loaded him into the truck. None of them wanted to touch the severed head of their chief. Eventually it was a young warrior named Jonjo who rallied the courage to take the head and wrap it in a sheet. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he placed it in the passenger seat of the truck.

  They drove south, trying to avoid the potholes in the old highway, as every jolt caused Garang to moan in pain. Jonjo was not sure the American would survive the long journey. He was not sure if any of them would make it home. If Omar had rescinded their safe passage and the Sudanese Army found them, they would all be dead.

  Chapter 2

  AW609 'Dragonfly'

  Pirate Alley, Gulf of Aden

  The 'Tian Hai' churned its way through the lukewarm waters of the Gulf of Aden, heading north, bound for the Sudan. Sitting low in the water the heavily laden cargo ship made a steady fourteen knots, slowly working its way through the region known as Pirate Alley.

  High above the water on the ship's bridge a cigarette glowed faintly in the darkness. A shower of ash disappeared in the wind as the butt was stubbed out on the handrail and tossed into the inky black water. The Chinese security contractor pulled night vision goggles down over his eyes, a copy of the US designed PVS-7, and scanned the horizon.

  He was on the look out for pirates, Somali criminals intent on seizing the ship and her cargo. Already the 'Tian Hai' security detail had fought off two attempts to board the freighter. The pirates hadn't fared well, but the sharks had.

  The guard almost wished for pirates as he mechanically scanned his zone of responsibility. The ambient light from the new moon struggled to penetrate the low cloud base and through his goggles he could barely see past the end of the ship, over 200 meters to his front. He lifted the goggles and reached for the packet of cigarettes tucked into a pouch on his assault rig.

  "The cigarette will give away your position. Do not smoke again!" a voice spoke in Mandarin.

  The contractor snapped his head around to see Yang step out of the shadows and into the faint glow cast by the ship's navigation lights. He was a slim figure dressed in black combat fatigues and baseball cap. His only weapon was a sidearm on his hip.

  "Yes, sir." The guard's hands flashed back to the QBZ-97 assault rifle slung across his chest.

  "Have you checked your sectors?"

  "Yes, they are all clear."

  "Are they?" Yang nodded into the darkness.

  The guard flipped his goggles down and scanned the horizon. At the very edge of the sensor's range he could just make out the faint glow of a fishing boat. The vessel was heading away from them. He flipped the goggles up and turned back to Yang.

  "Sir, how...?"

  The man had disappeared back into the shadows.

  ***

  Ten nautical miles ahead of the 'Tian Hai' an unusual looking aircraft hovered above the ocean. In the darkness it resembled a giant dragonfly, loitering on the surface of a pond as it searched for prey.

  The AW609 was a civilian version of the US armed forces V-22 Osprey. Like its military cousin, it relied on a pair of giant propellers for conventional flight that when swiveled skyward allowed it to hover like a helicopter. The tilt-rotor had the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft, yet unlike a seaplane it could support water operations in the heaviest of seas.

  The grey tilt-rotor hovered a few meters above the swell, the downward wash of the twin blades whipping the surface into a frenzy of spray and froth. It rotated slowly until its nose faced into the wind. The door on the left side slid open revealing a faint green glow from the cabin.

  A black clad figure appeared, quickly scanned the surface and pushed a large bundle out into the ocean below. A number of smaller bundles followed before the man dropped from the aircraft and disappeared into the water. He was followed by a second man who splashed into the ocean beside him.

  With a roar the tilt-rotor climbed away into the dark sky, leaving the two men alone in the Indian Ocean, nearly 100 nautical miles from shore.

  "Beautiful night for a swim, mate," the first man said cheerfully as he treaded water, holding onto the side of the large bundle he had pushed from the aircraft.

  "It is nice, Bish, but I think I'd prefer a boat ride," Mirza replied from the other side of the bundle.

  "Probably need a boat then. Get clear, I'll inflate."

  "Roger." The former Indian Special Forces soldier pushed off the bundle and bobbed in the black water.

  Bishop tore open a velcro panel on the side of the package. With one hand bracing against the rubber he pulled hard on a plastic handle. There was a pop and a hiss as it split open and unfolded slowly. The hissing continued until it took the form of a small inflatable boat.

  Both men climbed into the compact rubber craft, dragging the various dry bags in behind them. They worked quickly, preparing their personal equipment. The pair pulled on body armor over their wet suits and donned lightweight helmets. Everything was black, from their gloves and ropes to the suppressed MP7 submachine guns that hung from slings attached to their armor. Mission success was dependant on stealth.

  "Rubber Ducky, this is Dragonfly," the pilot of the tilt-rotor checked in, his English accent broadcasting through the men's earpieces.

  "Ducky here, go ahead."

  "How's the water, chaps?"

  "Surprisingly cool for this time of year."

  "Told you to
go the five mil over the three mil. Rookie error, boys."

  Bishop laughed. Their pilot was also the PRIMAL team's equipment specialist and resident technician. He had helped them set up for the mission and had recommended thicker wetsuits.

  "This is Africa, Mitch, not some shitty beach off Scotland. We'll be fine."

  Mirza interjected, "I hate to interrupt, gentlemen, but we have a ship to catch."

  Bishop laughed again. "Yeah, Mitch, now where the hell is she?"

  "OK, I have the 'Tian Hai' on scope. She's eight nautical miles from your location to the southeast and closing."

  "Cheers, Mitch, we're ready to roll."

  "Roger, chaps, I'll be in a loiter here, keeping an eye on things. Drop me a bell when you need exfil."

  "Too easy. Bishop out."

  Bishop activated the data link on his iPRIMAL, the combat interface on his forearm wirelessly communicated through the satellite radio attached to his back. Through the touch-screen he could access information being beamed from Dragonfly, or from PRIMAL headquarters over 11,000 kilometers away. Scrolling through the available feeds he found the one he was looking for and activated it with a tap. On the screen he could now see the radar image from the tilt-rotor. It showed their own location and that of their target, the cargo ship 'Tian Hai'.

  Mirza activated the electric drive motor and the two men lay low in the boat while it skimmed through the water at ten knots. The small vessel sat a mere two feet above the water and there was no chance the navigational radar suite on the 'Tian Hai' could detect its approach.

  The combat interface on Bishop's forearm vibrated, letting him know they were eight kilometers out from the target. He retrieved a long cylinder from one of the dry bags and propped it against the inflated wall of the boat. Flicking off a safety bail in the middle of the tube he pressed a rubber switch. There was a loud thud, followed by a snap as the modified Switchblade drone shot out of the tube, flying into the darkness with a whirr.