Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 10 by Wings of Fire (v1.1) Read Free Book Online Page B

Idris the Second,
is even worse than Muammar Qadhafi. Idris, whose real name is Zuwayy, has
reorganized the Muslim Brotherhood, the group of Muslim fanatics that seeks to
make every Arabic-speaking nation in the world a theocracy— governed and
steered by strict fundamentalist doctrine. Libya , Sudan , and Yemen are solidly in his hip pocket; Palestine , Lebanon , Syria , Iraq , Saudi Arabia , and Jordan are leaning toward him; Kuwait , Bahrain , Qatar , the United Arab Emirates , Oman , and Egypt so far oppose him.”
                 “And
the Muslim Brotherhood has been linked with the assassination of President
Salaam of Egypt and his wife,” Hal Briggs added. “Sounds like recruitment by
intimidation to me. Join—or else.”
                 “It
looks like Zuwayy’s going further than just assassination,” Martindale said.
“Sergeant Wohl?”
                 “Intelligence
experts suspect that Libya has imported surface-to-surface missiles from
someone—China, Pakistan, Russia, we don’t know for sure yet—and has set up
several bases from which to stage attacks into Egypt to destroy their military
forces,” Wohl went on. “The rumor is, the missiles have chemical, biological,
and nuclear warheads, as well as conventional high-explosives. We have been
tasked to find those missiles, identify them, and destroy them if possible.”
                 “‘Intelligence
experts’?” Patrick asked suspiciously. “Who might they be, sir? I know we’re
not getting any cooperation from U.S. agencies.”
                 Kevin
Martindale looked at Patrick with a mixture of irritation and surprise in his
features. “A group hired by the Central African Petroleum Partners,” Martindale
replied uneasily.
                 “You
mean the oil consortium with a stake in the Egyptian oil fields?”
                 “Do
you have a problem working for them, General?” Martindale asked.
                 “Sir,
I want to head off trouble as much as anyone,” Patrick said. “And I certainly
don’t like Zuwayy any more than I liked Qadhafi and the terrorist organizations
they sponsor. But I don’t like the idea of being a hired gun for an oil cartel,
either.”
                 “Would
you like them better if I told you we would be getting our first paychecks out
of this?” Martindale asked. “That’s the difference between this mission and all
the others—we are given a target, but we’re also well compensated for our
services.”
                 Patrick
fell silent, but the eagerness was evident in Hal Briggs’s and Paul McLanahan’s
eyes. The reason was clear: They had the most to lose and the most to gain out
of this. Martindale, Patrick, and Chris Wohl all had government pensions
waiting for them; in addition, Patrick was a vice president of Sky Masters
Inc., for which he was very well paid. But Hal Briggs resigned his Air Force
commission well before retirement age, and Paul McLanahan had only a small
disability check from the Sacramento Police Department, where he was a sworn
officer for only a few weeks before being retired with a one-hundred-percent
disability. Neither of them had earned any money in many months, and had been
relying on gifts from Martindale and Patrick.
                 “How
much are we talkin’ about here, Mr. President?” Hal asked.
                 “I
accepted a twenty-million-dollar contract for our services, plus a bonus for
complete destruction of all known missile installations,” Martindale replied.
“I will pay every man in this room twenty-five thousand dollars a day,
beginning as soon as you accept this mission.”
                 “Per ...day ...?”
                 “Our
support team members will earn ten thousand dollars . .. and yes, that’s per
day, tax free,” Martindale went on. “The Night Stalkers will pay Sky Masters
Inc. full retail