Read Online Under Fire: (A Dan Taylor thriller) by Rachel Amphlett - Free Book Online

Perhaps you could let me have my orders?’
    Dan frowned and glanced sideways at David.
    The Prime Minister appeared to suppress a smile before speaking. ‘Certainly, David.’ He turned to the men sitting either side of him. ‘Actually gentlemen, this meeting was convened to serve two purposes. Firstly to provide clarification with regard to the last terrorist threat, which was,’ he nodded at David, ‘successfully thwarted by the hasty actions of Mr Ludlow’s team. Secondly, having spoken to both the heads of MI6 and MI5, and the new Minister for Energy, the British Government wishes to build upon that success and provide funding to you, David, to develop the proposal you brought to me some months ago.’
    Porchester frowned and leaned forward on the desk. ‘Excuse me, Prime Minister, but what proposal?’
    The Prime Minister smiled. ‘David – perhaps you’d like to elaborate for the benefit of the Committee?’
    David nodded. ‘After our last result,’ he said, ‘I was able to convince my superiors that a new agency was worthy of funding. After all, we proved the United Kingdom’s energy assets are a major security concern – both from a natural depletion of resources, but also by threats from individuals, organisations and, potentially, other countries.’
    ‘Because our operations last time were almost compromised by a leak within the Ministry, outwardly we’ve been disbanded. Redundancies, people moved out to other agencies – you get the picture. I was then given the task of rebuilding the group – handpicking individuals I could trust. We plan to move our headquarters out of the city centre and away from Government influence. We’ve distanced ourselves completely from the Prime Minister’s office. Occasionally I’ll brief him, but I’ll do that under the auspices of an expert reporting alongside MI5 or MI6 – acting as an advisor to them.’
    ‘Black ops,’ murmured Dan.
    David shook his head. ‘Not quite, but close. On an ‘as needed’ basis. Yes, we will have people in deep cover, but selectively. Often they’ll tend to try to influence behaviour, rather than constantly reporting to us, for us to then take action. Not all those people will be employed by the agency as staff either – we’ll bring in people best suited to address the tasks at hand as consultants. And they’ll be fully culpable for their actions.’
    ‘What’s the designation of this new team?’ asked the Admiral.
    ‘The what?’ Porchester frowned.
    ‘Its name,’ said David, ‘has already been assigned by the Prime Minister. It’s the Energy Protection Group. Suitably innocuous, gentlemen, don’t you think?’
    Dan glanced up and looked at the expressions on the other men’s faces.
    Porchester began to bluster. ‘But… Prime Minister… you can’t just create a new agency using ex-military personnel and members of the public!’
    The Prime Minister smiled. ‘Of course I can. It’s exactly how SOE, MI5 and MI6 were created. A gap in our intelligence capabilities was realised and the necessary funding appropriated to plug that gap. Mr Ludlow’s team has already proven it reacts quickly to situations and, without having to wait for a Parliamentary Committee to approve everything it does, it will be able to better serve this country.’
     ‘However,’ he said, looking at Dan and Mitch. ‘I’ll remind you that if you fail to obey orders and subsequently fail to prevent an attack on this country, you will be held fully accountable. No Committee hearing next time.’
    ‘Agreed,’ said David, and stood up before Dan could interrupt. ‘So, gentlemen – if you’ll excuse us,’ he signalled to Dan and Mitch to stand, ‘we’ll get back to work.’ He shook hands with the Prime Minister who was smiling broadly, turned to the Vice-Admiral, nodded at him, winked at Porchester, and left the room with Dan and Mitch in tow.
    ‘Holy shit,’ said Mitch under his breath as they left the room. ‘We’re under