Secret of the Oil: Prequel to the Donavan Chronicles Read Online Free

then risked a quick look around the corner. As he did, the stone wall next to his head exploded and concrete shards cut a small gash on the right side of his face. He felt blood flowing down his cheek.
    “That’s twice, you bastards!”
    Matt waited until the weapon across the street fired again, glanced around the corner of the building, and this time he saw a flash. Only one shooter. Taking careful aim, he fired. Fired again and then emptied the magazine at the target. He dropped the rifle and whipped out the pistol.
    He could not tell if he had hit the terrorist from this distance, but no more bullets were coming towards him. He ran, zigzagging across the street to reach the safety of a doorway. Still he heard no weapons fire. He stayed close to the wall and inched toward the corner where he had seen the muzzle flash. When he turned the corner, he saw a body lying on the ground only three feet away.
    He took a step toward the prone man, ready to fire. Right then he knew it was a mistake. His training had taught him better than to approach this close. First time in a real situation and he was not using the skills he had acquired in training. He raised the pistol to fire into the prone terrorist.
    Suddenly, the “body” jumped up and knocked the gun away with one hand, at the same time slashing at Matt with a knife in the other. Only his quick reaction saved Matt from having his stomach slit open. As the man's arm went past, Matt grabbed it, twisted, turned it down, and pulled it up behind the assailant. He heard the crack as the shoulder gave way. The man screamed in pain. Matt used the pistol and smashed the butt down on the man’s skull. He fell limp. Matt released his grip, not caring if the terrorist’s head slammed into the asphalt. The bastard had just tried to kill him.
    The approaching sirens were now close, and then two military police jeeps, lights rotating and sirens blaring skidded to a stop beside the truck. A blinding searchlight dazzled him. He dropped his weapon, raised his hand and waited for them to approach.
    It had been over an hour since it all had happened. Now he sat and waited for the general. The door opened and General al-Hassam walked over to Matt and held out his hand. Matt came to his feet, stood at attention, and shook hands with the general. He saw a tall man of about sixty displaying a friendly smile. Matt thought there was something of Omar Sharif, the actor, about him, even the streak of white hair above each ear.
    “Captain, the incident you experienced on the way here was regrettable and I’ll advise Admiral Kidd of your deeds. I commend you for your bravery tonight. How are your wounds?”
    “Okay, sir. No problem. Only small. I’ll be fine.”
    “The admiral chose wisely in picking you for this mission. I would prefer that you do not ask any questions about this event; just erase it from your memory. I’ll find out all I’ll need to know from the terrorist you captured. I’ll tell you that his cousin was one of the terrorists that flew the plane into the Pentagon in 2001. He works with a group headed by a terrorist called Tewfik al-Hanbali. The man you captured got the information on your delivery by bribing one of the guards on the truck. Unfortunately, they both paid for the breach of security. We also are at war with these extremists. I hope I can return the favor to you sometime in the future.”
    Matt nodded. Inside he felt good. He had nabbed a real terrorist who could have contributed to the planning that led to Susan’s death. He suspected that the means of extracting the information from the captive would be extremely unpleasant, but then again the attacker had tried to kill him.
    General al-Hassam spoke again. “I know that you have a receipt for me to sign for the admiral and then you can be on your way back to the States. May I have it?” He signed the receipt and returned it to Matt. “Thank you for your efforts in getting this to me. I’ll have you