Alone and Unafraid (American Praetorians Book 3) by Peter Nealen Read Free Book Online Page A

with better pay and support.  Collins had been ready to turn us over to the I raqi Army to keep us from stumbling across his little Project, and his advisors had fought with Salafist groups to take Basra.  Fuck them.
    “How much does Langley know about this Project?” I asked Renton.
    “Enough to be pissing their pants,” he said.  “The seventh floor is in full CYA mode.  This is worse than Iran-Contra by an order of magnitude.  If it gets out, heads are going to roll.”
    “Is that why we’re being hired?” I asked.
    He smirked.  “No, that would presume I work for Langley.  I haven’t worked for them in years.  And no, I’m not going to read you in on who sent me yet, either.”
    “I take it none of the other companies are read in on this aspect of the mission?” I ventured.
    Renton shook his head.  “They know nothing about it.  They shouldn’t even know about the existence of the Project, and I would strongly advise against letting any of it slip.”  He raised an eyebrow.  “You guys managed to do a lot behind Liberty Petroleum’s back; I’m confident that you can be sneaky enough bastards to pull this off.
    “Now, about Black…”
     
    Half an hour later, Renton, Haas, and I came out of Black’s cell.  “I think he’s sincere about his desire to put the Project behind him,” Renton said.  “I’m not telling you to trust him; hell, I’m not telling you how to accomplish any of this.  But I think you should consider using him as an asset.”
    “Would you trust him?” Haas asked.
    “Trust him?  No.  Would I use him anyway?”  Renton nodded.  “Absolutely.  In this business you can’t afford to trust assets.  That doesn’t necessarily mean you let him know with every waking breath that you don’t trust him; it just means you keep your eyes open and never turn your back on him.”
    He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of phones.  They looked like burners—cheap, off the shelf phones from one of the local telecom kiosks that had cropped up in Iraq even during the war.  They were everywhere in Basra, even with the violence going on.  “These are programmed with numbers to contact me.  Don’t worry, any calls are run through multiple blinds, so there won’t be any traces run through these.   It’s going to seem like it’s taking a long time to connect; that’s just because of the security measures.  If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me.  If you lose or have to ditch the phones, the same numbers will still work, the same way.”
    He turned grim.  “Gents, get out of Basra.  I don’t know how much time you’ve got, but the noose is tightening.  Al Khazraji might help you, but I’m pretty sure al Zubayri will turn on you, and Al Hakim will sell you down the river in a heartbeat if he thinks it will save his skin and his little fiefdom.  Cut yourselves away and get the hell out.”
    I glanced at Haas.  He nodded fractionally.  He believed Renton, anyway.  I’d have to have a longer talk about it later, but for the moment, that would do.
    “What about you?” I asked Renton.
    He got that slight smirk on his face again.  “I’m going to disappear again.  I almost want to use that old cliché, ‘I was never here,’ but that hardly seems necessary under the circumstances, does it?”
    “Plus it’s kinda stale,” I said.  “We’ll be in touch.”
    As it turned out, we had less time than even Renton suspected.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
    I didn’t go back to sleep after Renton left.  Something about the urgency of his warning to get clear of Basra and Al Hakim had infected all of us.  We all made sure our kit was packed for a fast breakout if necessary.  Mike, Eddie, Jim, and I met in our little ops room to discuss our options.
    We hadn’ t gotten very far before we were interrupted again, this time by Hassan.  “Mister Jeff,” he said, “Hussein Ali is here.  He wants to talk to you.”
    I was a