Read Online Echo Six: Black Ops 8 - ISIS Killing Fields by Eric Meyer - Free Book Online

but he couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice, and he threw up a salute. “Admiral Brooks!”
    The man returned the salute. The Vice Admiral in charge of NATFOR, NATO Special Forces, was not tall. He was a fireplug of a man, with short, graying hair and a hard, intense face. Despite his lack of stature, or maybe because of it, he burned with restless energy, carrying the responsibility for NATFOR on his hard shoulders. His dark eyes had the intensity of a laser as he’d stared back at Talley.
    “Yeah, I thought I’d come and check things out. I gather from your voice it was a tough one, Commander.”
    “It was tough, yes, Sir.”
    “Any losses?”
    “None, they all came back. Admiral. A clean sweep, we got an ISIS war party out for scalps. Around thirty men, all dead.”
    “With some help.” His voice was dry.
    “With some help, yeah. The gunships did good.”
    “I hear you, Talley. However, I came here to deal with Charlie Platoon. They’ve got more than a few problems. I came to see how things are panning out. NATO has a lot of commitments worldwide, and I don’t want to see any of my units being wasted on a stupid skirmish with local bad boys.”
    “It was ISIS out there, Admiral, operating inside Iraq. That sounds like an escalation to me.”
    "Yeah, I hear you." Brooks looked tired, and it was clear his mind was elsewhere. Finally, he looked up, “See anything else while you were out there?”
    In that moment it all clicked in Talley’s head. It wasn’t just a problem with Charlie Platoon. It was something else, something big.
    “No, Sir, nothing else. What should we have seen?”
    Brooks sucked in his breath, as he weighed up how much to give away. “Did you see any Russians?”
    “Russians?” For a moment, he was lost for words, “Sir, what would Russians be doing out here?”
    “They’re involved, you know that.”
    “Yes, Sir, the whole world knows they’re involved. But it’s an air campaign, they’re sending over fighter bombers to prop up Assad’s regime in Syria.”
    “Which is just across the border,” Brooks pointed out.
    “Yessir, that’s true, but there’re no signs the Russians are trying to muscle in inside Iraq. Are there?”
    The Admiral paused for a moment, and then his keen eyes rested on Talley. “Not yet. But it’s not the fighter-bombers that worry us. It’s…” Talley waited, “ground troops.”
    “Ground troops? That’s impossible.”
    Brooks’ smile was cold. “Is it? According to the Chairman of Russia’s defense committee, Russian volunteer units, thousands of men, could be on their way to Syria, maybe tens of thousands. He made it quite clear, as volunteers, they’d be legally entitled to fight for Assad, assuming he’s extended an invitation, which we believe he has. Then there’re the Cubans.”
    Talley stared his disbelief. “You’re kidding me, Sir.”
    “Nope. We understand they’ve sent several hundred tank troops to fight alongside Assad. The war in Syria is spreading, Commander, escalating fast. Our task is quite simply to make sure it doesn’t spread over the border.”
    He grimaced. “You’d better tell ISIS. They don’t seem to understand how to play by the rules.”
    Brooks stared back at him. “ISIS, yeah. That’s the big problem. If we could hit them real hard, and undermine their command structures, the need for the Russians to involve themselves would go away.” His eyes bored into Talley, “Now you know the extent of the problem, I have new orders for you. You and your men will patrol the border with Syria for the next three months. The mission is this, to prevent ISIS getting through, and to harass and attack the enemy wherever you find him. Locate them, get in fast, and kill them all. Wipe the bastards out, and we can all go home. Any questions?”
    The action they’d fought earlier came to mind. “Yessir. How do you expect us to get to the border?”
    The hard eyes narrowed. “What do you mean,