Read Online Bodyguard: Ransom (Book 2) by Chris Bradford - Free Book Online Page A

Go-bags,’ he said.
    Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Amir produced two black and fluorescent-yellow backpacks and laid them with due ceremony on the table. ‘I’ve customized them specifically for Operation Gemini.’
    ‘Well, no one’s going to lose these in a hurry!’ remarked Ling, eyeing the lurid yellow dubiously.
    ‘That’s the point,’ said Amir. ‘Ultra-reflective strips on the front and shoulder straps for maximum visibility at sea. A high-powered LED beacon for emergencies.’ Amir indicated a tiny plastic dome beside the top grab handle. ‘And these bags even have a mini-SART sewn into the lining!’
    Amir looked up expectantly, waiting for them to share in his enthusiasm. Connor and Ling exchanged bemused glances. Amir rolled his eyes.
    ‘Don’t you two know anything? SART? Search-and-rescue transponder.’ He pointed to a slightly fatter right-hand seam with an activation tag. ‘The slim tube inside contains a small, battery-powered receiver and transmitter that operates on the 9-GHz frequency.’
    ‘You’ve still lost us, I’m afraid,’ admitted Connor.
    ‘That frequency, 9 GHz, is the frequency … of X-band radar … on a ship,’ Amir said slowly, as if explaining to two nursery kids. ‘If you get into difficulties at sea, the transponder sends out a locating signal. Usually these gizmos are on life rafts and about the size of a two-litre water bottle. Bugsy, however, has managed to miniaturize it. The downside is the battery only has an eight-hour lifespan and its range is less than five nautical miles. Still, it could make all the difference in a search-and-rescue operation.’
    Amir unclipped the top section of the backpack and began to unroll the opening.
    ‘No zips mean no leakage,’ he said, justifying the unusual roll-top design. ‘This means the Go-bags are one hundred per cent waterproof and fully submersible. As long as you aren’t carrying rocks, they’ll even float!’
    Amir patted the Go-bags proudly as if they were his favoured pets.
    ‘Do they have a foldout liquid body-armour panel like before?’ Connor asked.
    Amir’s expression fell a little. ‘Unfortunately not,’ he admitted. ‘We couldn’t fit an additional panel inside. But the back section itself
is
bulletproof.’
    ‘That’s good,’ said Connor. He didn’t wish to dampen Amir’s spirits, but the foldout panel had been a key factor in saving his and his Principal’s life during his first mission. A single panel, while still useful, would barely cover him, let alone his Principal.
    Amir reached into the bags and produced a pair of mobile phones enclosed in bright orange neoprene covers.
    ‘Your smartphones, upgraded to the newest operating system and virus-protection software.’ He arched an eyebrow in Connor’s direction. ‘No danger of Cell-Finity bugs this time.’
    ‘Glad to hear it,’ said Connor as he weighed the phone in his hand and examined the unusual cover. ‘A bit bulky, isn’t it?’
    ‘It was a trade-off,’ said Amir, shrugging apologetically. ‘We’ve waterproofed the phone with a spray-on microlayer, but to produce a buoyant cover we had to compromise on size.’
    ‘I suppose it’s better than losing it at the bottom of the sea,’ said Ling cheerily.
    Connor pressed his thumb to the screen, triggering the fingerprint security system. He examined the display of apps:
Advanced Mapping, Tracker, Face Recognition, Mission Status, Threat Level, SOS
 … ‘I’m glad to see your SOS app is still on here.’
    ‘Of course,’ Amir beamed. ‘Version two. Improved battery life. Also, it allows for short message transfer as well as location data.’
    Amir dug out the rest of the Go-bag’s contents.
    ‘You’ll have all your usual gear: med-kits, earpieces with built-in mic for covert communication with one another, prepaid credit cards –’
    ‘Now that’s more like it,’ grinned Ling, snatching up a card. ‘Shopping time!’
    ‘You’ll need expert