Desert Pursuit by Chris Ryan Read Free Book Online Page A

on his own,’ said Hex as a tiny girl with a gap-toothed smile scurried into the compound and headed straight for Khalid. ‘He’ll have the munchkin for company.’
    The others laughed and gave Khalid a casual wave before heading off into the camp. If they had known what was going to happen in the deserted compound that night, they would not have left his side.

E IGHT
    ‘There’s no sign of life,’ said Alex as they strolled back to the compound at dawn the next morning. ‘I would’ve thought he’d be up and raring to go by now.’
    ‘Khalid slept in!’ crowed Amber. ‘All that garbage about “I rise with the sun, always,” and he’s still snoring under the truck. What a fraud! Come on, you guys, let’s sneak up on him.’
    ‘He might not be there,’ said Paulo. ‘Maybe he has gone to get some breakfast.’
    ‘No.’ Li shook her head. ‘He wouldn’t risk leaving the Unimog even for a minute in case we left without him.’
    ‘That’s true,’ said Hex. ‘He wouldn’t.’ He came to a halt and frowned at the dark bulk of the Unimog. ‘Something’s wrong,’ he said flatly.
    The others stopped too and looked at one another uneasily. When Hex had a bad feeling about a situation, he was usually proved right and they had heard enough tales about bandits and fundamentalist groups to put them instantly on their guard. A loud, metallic crash made them all jump. It was coming from the far side of the Unimog.
    ‘Split up,’ whispered Alex, and Alpha Force melted away into the early dawn light. Paulo and Li dodged to the right, behind a stack of pallets, while Amber, Hex and Alex headed left, using a line of lorries for cover. The metallic crash came again and they all instinctively ducked to the ground. Seconds later they were up again, slipping between the rows of vehicles like shadows.
    Minutes later, Alex, Amber and Hex flattened themselves against the side of a truck that was parallel with the Unimog. Alex eased round the back of the truck until he had the Unimog in view. It was facing them head on, about ten metres away across the stony, hard-packed ground. The far side of the Unimog was in view, but it was deserted. So what had been making the metallic crash? As he watched, a gust of desert wind blustered across the compound and one of the Unimog’s cab doors swung open, slamming against the side of the vehicle. The wind died and the door slowly swung back until it was nearly, but not quite, closed.
    Alex felt his heart sink. Khalid would never leave the door slamming against the side of the Unimog like that. Hex was right: there was something wrong. He went into a crouch and peered under the vehicle. He could see no sign of a body lying underneath, but the ground below the vehicle was still full of shadows. Alex eased back up and tried to scan the inside of the cab but the windscreen reflected the low sun back into his eyes. There was only one thing for it. He was going to have to get closer.
    Alex waited until he could see that Paulo and Li were in position behind the last truck in the row opposite. He motioned them to stay there, then turned to Amber and Hex. ‘I’m going in,’ he whispered. ‘Hex, watch my back. OK?’
    Hex nodded, his green eyes steady and determined, and Alex immediately felt better. Hex might not have much to say on the subject of friendship, but Alex knew he would never abandon a mate.
    Alex turned to Amber. ‘You’re our back-up, Amber. If things turn bad, I want you to get out of here and bring some help.’
    ‘Get help. You got it,’ whispered Amber, looking into his eyes with an equal mixture of fear and determination.
    Alex nodded to them both, then he took a deep breath and raced across the open ground towards the Unimog at a crouching run. As he reached the swinging cab door, he rolled past it to make himself less of a target, then came to his feet again and flattened himself against the big front wheel of the vehicle. Nothing moved inside the cab, so he