Read Online Redback by Lindy Cameron - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lindy Cameron
Tags: thriller
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confined, dark, light and cluttered and dark .
Scott turned away from the nearest dead-end and headed for the only obvious way out.
Man! Forget the bald gaijin on blades. Sumo-sized Yakuza dudes are gonna get you here, you moron.
And then, 50 feet from the neon-lit safety of a crowded wet Tokyo street, they did just that.
A strong hand grabbed him by the scruff of his suede jacket and yanked him backwards through a
doorway, into the very dark, and onto his arse.
Chapter Nine
Kingston Club, London
Tuesday 12.10 pm
This is exactly what I'm talking about,' Edward 'Teddy' Drake announced waving at
the muted television. 'This situation in the Pacific is a perfect example of how a truly
international, highly-mobile armed force, given the right mandate, could be deployed to rescue
hostages or take out insurgents.'
The breaking news banner: Laui Island, 36 hostages, 9th day, PRA rebels, high-level meeting in
New Zealand was streaming across the bottom of the screen. The attention of Britain's new
Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee had been caught by the promo for an impending live
update.
Drake turned to his companions in the Club's Tudor Room. 'A multi-national force with
international jurisdiction could deal with specific terrorist threats like that one, wherever they
occur.'
'You mean like NATO?' Ministerial Advisor Peter Ebrey said.
'No. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is not really much use in the South Pacific, Peter.'
'He said like NATO, Teddy, and you know bloody well what he means,' said Richard Thorpe.
As head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, better known as MI6, Thorpe was technically
Edward Drake's subordinate, but there no disrespect in his tone. The two men had been friends for 30
years - in as much as spies from rival departments could ever make that claim. Besides, here in the
exclusive Kingston Club, position held no sway, especially a position that was only a week old. And
while both Thorpe and Drake had been contenders, the latter's confirmation as JIC Chairman had been
a forgone conclusion. He'd been 'acting' in the top job since his predecessor's strange and untimely
death.
'But who would actually sign up for this international force?'
'Any country, you know, that we approve. Oh, now here's an idea,' Drake said. 'This force could
be open for direct recruitment.'
'Isn't that how the French Foreign Legion works?' said Adam Lyall, the only American in the
group. 'Great idea, Teddy, let's train jilted criminals to fight terrorists.'
Drake smiled and shook his head at the visiting US Deputy Secretary of State. 'I meant direct
recruitment from other armed forces, not straight off the street, Adam.'
'So, back to Peter's question,' Lyall said. 'Who would agree to have their own jurisdiction
trampled by an armed force that could arbitrarily cross borders on the pretext of routing out a few
terrorists?'
'You Americans do that kind of trampling all the time,' Thorpe said and allowed himself a brief
laugh.
'Well yeah,' Lyall agreed, 'but, just like you guys, we cross those borders in secret, at night.
And we try to do it without noticeably compromising anyone's sovereignty or hurting anyone's damn
feelings.'
'What about the United Nations?' It was Ebrey again.
Lyall and Thorpe exchanged amused glances. 'He is young,' Thorpe observed.
Ebrey ignored the dig, 'I just don't get why you're trying to reinvent the wheel.'
'You are aware that we're just shooting the breeze here, Peter?' Thorpe said.
'Speak for yourself, Richard. I'm serious about this,' Drake stated. 'Ever since those Titan
Guards luckily, but accidentally, saved the Australian, Indian and Canadian Prime Ministers from
being snipered at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting last year, I've been mulling over the
creation of an international kind of SAS troop or police force.'
'But why create a new army,' Ebrey said. 'Isn't that what the UN peacekeeping forces already
do?'
'Only in their wet dreams,'
Scott turned away from the nearest dead-end and headed for the only obvious way out.
Man! Forget the bald gaijin on blades. Sumo-sized Yakuza dudes are gonna get you here, you moron.
And then, 50 feet from the neon-lit safety of a crowded wet Tokyo street, they did just that.
A strong hand grabbed him by the scruff of his suede jacket and yanked him backwards through a
doorway, into the very dark, and onto his arse.
Chapter Nine
Kingston Club, London
Tuesday 12.10 pm
This is exactly what I'm talking about,' Edward 'Teddy' Drake announced waving at
the muted television. 'This situation in the Pacific is a perfect example of how a truly
international, highly-mobile armed force, given the right mandate, could be deployed to rescue
hostages or take out insurgents.'
The breaking news banner: Laui Island, 36 hostages, 9th day, PRA rebels, high-level meeting in
New Zealand was streaming across the bottom of the screen. The attention of Britain's new
Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee had been caught by the promo for an impending live
update.
Drake turned to his companions in the Club's Tudor Room. 'A multi-national force with
international jurisdiction could deal with specific terrorist threats like that one, wherever they
occur.'
'You mean like NATO?' Ministerial Advisor Peter Ebrey said.
'No. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is not really much use in the South Pacific, Peter.'
'He said like NATO, Teddy, and you know bloody well what he means,' said Richard Thorpe.
As head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, better known as MI6, Thorpe was technically
Edward Drake's subordinate, but there no disrespect in his tone. The two men had been friends for 30
years - in as much as spies from rival departments could ever make that claim. Besides, here in the
exclusive Kingston Club, position held no sway, especially a position that was only a week old. And
while both Thorpe and Drake had been contenders, the latter's confirmation as JIC Chairman had been
a forgone conclusion. He'd been 'acting' in the top job since his predecessor's strange and untimely
death.
'But who would actually sign up for this international force?'
'Any country, you know, that we approve. Oh, now here's an idea,' Drake said. 'This force could
be open for direct recruitment.'
'Isn't that how the French Foreign Legion works?' said Adam Lyall, the only American in the
group. 'Great idea, Teddy, let's train jilted criminals to fight terrorists.'
Drake smiled and shook his head at the visiting US Deputy Secretary of State. 'I meant direct
recruitment from other armed forces, not straight off the street, Adam.'
'So, back to Peter's question,' Lyall said. 'Who would agree to have their own jurisdiction
trampled by an armed force that could arbitrarily cross borders on the pretext of routing out a few
terrorists?'
'You Americans do that kind of trampling all the time,' Thorpe said and allowed himself a brief
laugh.
'Well yeah,' Lyall agreed, 'but, just like you guys, we cross those borders in secret, at night.
And we try to do it without noticeably compromising anyone's sovereignty or hurting anyone's damn
feelings.'
'What about the United Nations?' It was Ebrey again.
Lyall and Thorpe exchanged amused glances. 'He is young,' Thorpe observed.
Ebrey ignored the dig, 'I just don't get why you're trying to reinvent the wheel.'
'You are aware that we're just shooting the breeze here, Peter?' Thorpe said.
'Speak for yourself, Richard. I'm serious about this,' Drake stated. 'Ever since those Titan
Guards luckily, but accidentally, saved the Australian, Indian and Canadian Prime Ministers from
being snipered at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting last year, I've been mulling over the
creation of an international kind of SAS troop or police force.'
'But why create a new army,' Ebrey said. 'Isn't that what the UN peacekeeping forces already
do?'
'Only in their wet dreams,'
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