ACV's 1 Operation Black Gold Read Online Free Page B

their backs and dived vertically through the clouds, levelling out two thousand feet below their intended targets.  Throttles were slammed forward and the five miles that separated them were quickly eaten away.
     
    ‘Three minutes to target.’  Red One’s engineer announced.
    ‘Red Three, roger.’
    ‘Blue One, roger, where the hell are they, over?’
    ‘Red One, keep your eyes peeled on that cloud….’  A ribbon of fire laced across the fuselage of Red Three.  ‘Shit’, he pulled back hard on his stick.  The G3 lanced skywards in a half roll; he pulled the stick backwards and went inverted.  Both his Wingmen were out of it.  The intercept aircraft had peeled off in different directions.
     
    ‘There’s the snake on the left boss.’
    ‘I see him.’  The target was forgotten.  The self-styled mongoose decided to add another cobra to the seven stencilled beneath his cockpit, he kicked his rudder hard over.
     
    ‘George, George that last one’s trying to get inside us.’
    George threw his head round and a glint of sunlight bounced off the G3’s canopy.  ‘Oh shit Don, that last bastard’s after my balls.’
    ‘On my way.’
     
    Derek was almost turned backwards in his seat.  ‘He’s almost on us man, you’d better do something!’
    ‘You just sit back and play with your box of tricks and leave the driving to me.’  George started throwing the cobra around the sky.  The more agile G3 followed easily, gaining with every turn.
     
    Don shoved his throttle home.  The thrust slammed him back in his seat.  Ahead he could see a ripple of fire from the G3 nose cannon and a twinkling of light from the Cobra’s wing tip as he threw himself out of the line of fire.  ‘George when I give the word, bank hard to port.’
    ‘Be fucking quick about it then, this guy’s good.’
    Don lined up on his sister ship; it would be a long shot at maximum deflection.  ‘Get ready George.’
    ‘Hurry up man.’
    ‘Now.’  The cobra flashed out of his sights.  Don fired and the G3 ran right into it.  It reared up like a small boy cracked along the back of the legs with a stick.  Don flashed underneath turning quickly, in case he wasn’t too badly damage, but he need not have worried.  Red One was well on his way to joining his comrades. 
     
    ‘Reform George, Reform; splash 6 bandits.’  Don grinned into his mask; all three men whooped their delight.  ‘All right lads let’s settle down switching frequencies now.’  Click.  ‘Hello control this is India Sierra one two, all targets engaged and destroyed, no further signs of enemy activity, over.’
     
    ‘Control, roger out to you, hello all stations end ex end ex.  Control of all DDA will be returned in five seconds, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1.  Mark all stations DDA, report over.’
    ‘Red One OK over.’
    ‘Red Two...’  All the aircraft that were destroyed or damaged during the fight reported in safely.
    ‘Control, all flights return to base for full exercise debriefs.’
    ‘Red One, roger out to you, all stations climb to ten thousand and reform on me.’  It took a full five minutes for them all to reform without radar, Don, shepherded in Blue Three last. 
    Red One had been watching his birds’ reform, ‘regain formation Blue Three, well done.’
    ‘Thank you leader.’
     
    Blue Three regained formation and Red One turned his attention to the enemy fighter.  ‘Is that you over there Filer?’
    ‘Yes sir it’s me.’
    ‘That’s the third time this year you’ve shot me down.’
    ‘Yes sir.’
    ‘I believe I now owe you a bottle of Malt Whisky.’
    ‘Yes sir a bottle of Glenmorangie would go down nicely.’
    ‘Three times, I must be getting old.’
    ‘No sir, I’m just getting a little better.’
    ‘Well done Filer, and your wing man, he put up a good fight.’
    ‘Thank you sir.’
    The combatants separated and returned to their own fields.
     
     
     

CHAPTER 5
     
    When I got off the train at Edinburgh Waverly