Hostile Territory (A Spider Shepherd short story) Read Online Free Page B

above our pay grade. Anyway, mercenaries have been a fact of life in Sierra Leone for centuries. Slave traders used them, so did Western traders, but so too did tribal chiefs. The Mende tribe would rent themselves out to anyone, black or white, for a few pounds of tobacco, though they took their real rewards in the plunder they stole and the women they raped, and they grew so powerful that they were beyond the control of any government or army. The situation hasn’t changed, just the identity of those doing the raping and plundering.’
    ‘Hell’s bells,’ Jimbo said. ‘What a pit of vipers. So why would HMG use these bastards in the first place?’
    ‘Because they thought they were our bastards, of course,’ said Jock.
    ‘Little did they know,’ said Jimbo.
    Parker’s expression didn’t change. ‘Arguing about the rights and wrongs is pointless. We have to deal with the situation as it is, not as it was or as we’d wish it to be, and in the here and now there are two major problems to deal with. The RUF rebels remain in control of much of the country and continue to threaten the government, but we now also have another rogue element, the mercenaries. They are now in control of the richest diamond mine in the country and since they must know that their position will become untenable in the medium to long-term, we must assume that they are planning a fast exit, taking a fortune in diamonds with them.’ He paused, looking around the circle of faces. ‘So, assuming that you have no current designated tasks and that you’re free to take on targets of opportunity should they arise, there are a couple of ways in which you might be able to assist. As I said, the rebels comfortably outgun the SLA and they also have access to enough weaponry to discourage the ECOMOG troops from taking them on, but we have intelligence about a large RUF arms dump in the interior of the country. It is well protected, both by rebel troops and by natural features - it’s located on a large, low-lying island surrounded by a swamp. We don’t have the air assets available to take it out and nor do the Operational Squadron have the resources to attack it. They have their hands full with their own tasks, but if your patrol could find a way to do so, you would be rendering an invaluable service to the Sierra Leonean population as well as your country’s interests.’
    ‘How reliable is this intel?’ Shepherd said.
    Parker held Shepherd’s look. ‘It’s blue chip: humint, backed by surveillance and signals intelligence.’
    Shepherd shrugged. ‘Give us what you have and we’ll take a look at it. You mentioned a couple of ways we could help. What’s the other?’
    ‘The other would be to help us retrieve the situation in relation to the mercenaries,’ Parker said.
    ‘You mean clear up the mess you left,’ Jock growled.
     ‘If you prefer, but that will be a more complex task because the mercenaries have heavy weapons and know how to use them, and we have very little intelligence on how they’ve deployed them yet, so let’s leave that one in abeyance for the moment.’
    ‘Is this going to be official or off the books?’ asked Jock.
    ‘A bit of both,’ said Parker. ‘Obviously my bosses know that I’m making this approach but equally obviously they won’t want your involvement made public.’
    ‘Bloody typical,’ said Jock.
    ‘Assuming we do pitch in, you may be able to offer a little reciprocal help,’ said Shepherd. ‘Quid pro quo, if you like. The village of Biramayo was destroyed by the rebels a couple of weeks ago. The only survivors are a group of children, boys and girls, mostly about eight to twelve years old. We were operating in their area and rescued them from the rebels. We’d like to get them some help either from HMG or from one of the aid agencies.’
    Parker looked pained. ‘We can’t become involved in any humanitarian missions,’ he said. ‘Our resources are already stretched much too thin, but I