Episode Seven
Zahir Sharq was all alone as he sat in the interrogation room, having nothing to do but look at his surroundings as he waited for someone to come through the door. But nothing had happened for the last ten minutes, with only the shadows of the two guards on the other side being visible to him.
The room itself was very scarce with no windows, only two chairs and a table for furniture. The paint job was very basic as well, with a gray-ish blue which had been adequately applied to the walls.
But it didn't look like it had been long since it was added to the walls, as though the room had only been painted a few days ago. This led the Afghan to look at the floor and notice a large dried stain in the corner to his left.
'What's that..?' He started to think, only to be cut off as Col. Grant was let into the room by one of it's guards, carrying a laptop in her hands.
"So, Mr. Sharq..." she said while sitting down at the other side of the table only to notice his attention was not on her, so she looked in said direction and saw the stain.
"...ah, yes. Before my unit and I borrowed this area of the base for our operation, it was previously loaned out to the Americans..." she started to explain, while the Afghan kept his stare away from her.
"...and I believe that they used it as their own little slice of Guantanamo Bay."
This brought the Politician's eyes back to her own, which made her smirk ever so slightly.
"So, I guess you've heard of that place." she added, bringing a stoic and steeled expression to his face.
"Club Gitmo? Why, of course. It's the place where the Americans tortured hundreds of my countrymen." He replied, earning a mirrored look from Eleanor.
"That's true. So I have to ask myself, why have you been working with them? Considering how they've treated your Afghan brothers."
"You will not get anything out of me, Colonel." Sharq replied with a relaxed tone, making the Section-20 leader sigh in return.
"Seriously? You want to do this the long and drawn out way?" She said back before activating the laptop, which brought a slight smirk to the prisoner's face.
"I have nothing but time, Colonel..." he started to reply, only to be cut off as Grant showed him the footage of his video-chat with the US politician.
"This is you agreeing to hand over Gerald Baxter and my agent John Porter to US Liaison Frank Arlington." She stated in a matter-of-fact tone, which gained nothing more than a calm and collected look from Sharq.
"So, Yusef betrayed me in more ways than one." He answered with a slight undertone of venom in his voice, earning disbelieving stare from the Colonel.
"That's ironic..." She started to say, making him give her a questioning look back.
"…since you betrayed his confidence by agreeing to give him over to the US. That was only after manipulating him in his unstable frame of mind to join your little insurgency and have him use his hacking skills to further your own goals. Am I missing anything here?" the Colonel then questioned, only for the Afghan to remain silent.
"I guess your silence is because you believe that Arlington will get you out of here. But I have bad news for you, since it is more likely that he will abandon you instead. I mean, t is well documented how after the USA had helped certain middle eastern countries in the past, that they then left them to clean up the mess…" she continued, before stopping for one moment and looking directly at him from across the desk with a curious expression.
"…didn't that happen to Afghanistan too?"
This made Zahir's eyes meet hers as he looked over at her, but still he remained tight-lipped and crossed his arms in defiance, though with barely disguised look of anger on his face. So the Section-20 commander simply smirked confidently and stood up, before walking over to the stained floor in the corner of the room.
"You can keep this up for as long as you want, Mr. Sharq. But I know how to get you talking." She said while looking down at the stained corner, making him glance over to her silently and then at the floor.
"If you don't start cooperating with us, then I will be forced to let you go."
This made Sharq's eyes widen a little as he chuckled at that comment.
"Really? That is your play, Colonel?" Sharq replied with a disbelieving tone to his voice, while his interrogator remained stoic and just returned to her chair.
"I do not think that you understand me. Because after I release you from this place, I will let it slip to your brothers in the Taliban how you were working with their hated enemy. How you wanted to be like them and how the US would help you take over from them and make the country more like their enemy's."
This brought a look of realisation to Zahir's face as he listened to the Colonel, who then started to walk around the desk and him.
"You see, I only needed a moment to gauge what kind of a man you are, and I've put that together with what Sgt. Porter told me about your dealings with the Taliban. You were one of them once, but in recent years had come to despise how they had been ruling the country and thought that you could do better…" she continued to theorise while circling the prisoner, like a shark with it's prey.
"...by using your experience and knowledge gained overseas in the western countries, with the very people that your own would label as 'infidels'. This of course, explains your choice of expensive suits, which is not how native Afghans dress..." she added while gesturing to his clothing, though the Politician remained quiet and listened with an increasingly worried expression.
"...so you first reinvented yourself as the Taliban's version of a foreign secretary, to help them get their hands on weapons and resources. But secretly, you made plans for yourself to usurp them and take over the group, so that you can reclaim the country for yourself. But to do this, you would require allies and resources. So you made contact with Frank Arlington and have been trying to gain US support, promising to bring Afghanistan into line with what they wanted, even though the reality really is only as far as your own goals will allow." Eleanor continued, before stopping at the guy's right and looking down at him with a knowing look.
"Of course, this is just my theory after putting together all the facts at hand. Though, I am very certain that it is completely true and that once the Taliban hear this, they will find you and execute you in front of the masses." The Section-20 Commander then finished before looking down at Sharq, noting the now worried and thoughtful look on his face.
"So..." she then started to say, before folding the laptop up and carrying toward the door, only to stop as the guard outside opened it for her.
"...I'm going to give you some time to weigh your options here. I sincerely hope you make he right decision." Grant then finished as she gave the prisoner one last look, before leaving him to sit in that room alone once more as the door was closed behind her.
"So, Colonel, how did it go?" Porter asked, almost surprising the woman, though she hid it extremely well beneath her cool and collected demeanor, as he waited on her side of the door.
"Well, Sergeant. As you said, Sharq was certainly not going to cooperate willingly. So, I just gave him an ultimatum and am now leaving him to stew for a while."
"I hope it works, Colonel." The soldier replied, gaining a confident look back from his superior.
"I think it will, John, considering how he looked when I left. Now please, join Sinclair, Stonebridge and myself at the operations table." She said back while gesturing to the center of the Crib where the others were standing, with Porter then following her there.
-_/-\\_-
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the base. General Danvers sat at his desk in his office and was looking over various reports, only to have his attention caught by a knock on the door.
"Come in." He called out, before the door opened and an American officer entered the room.
"General Danvers, Captain James Lynch, Military Intelligence." The new arrival said whilst saluting, which made Danvers acknowledge him in return as he sat there.
"Captain, may I ask why I was not already informed of your arrival?"
"Please forgive the secrecy, General, but it was by my superior's order that your men at the gate not announce my arrival." Lynch replied, earning a sceptical expression from the base commander.
"That was rather unorthodox, Captain. And who is your Superior?"
I've come with a message from Brigadier General Donald Harrison at Bagram Airfield, since we took notice of the fact that your communications are currently down." The younger man replied while taking an envelope out of his pocket.
"I see. So, what is this about." The General then asked as he noticed the item in the other's hand.
"We have come into possession of Intel that Taliban are likely to attack this base in the near future, and General Harrison thinks that some defence drills should be conducted to ensure you're ready for such an attack...starting now." the American answered, gaining a shocked look from the base Commander in return, having read the letter while listening.
"The General wants us to start running drills with all of our on-base forces and equipment? If this Intel is correct, why not send us some reinforcements along with yourself?"
"General Harrison believes that if the US miltary was to take any action like that, it could alert the Taliban to the fact that we knew, and they would start looking for the leak in their ranks. But since we do not know the exact time of this attack, we should not waste any more time just talking about it." Lynch answered back in a 'matter-of-fact' tone, while Danvers shook his head in response.
"This is highly irregular, Captain, and I am having hard time believing any of it. If our communications were up, I would simply call Harrison about this, to double check your claim."
"Please, General, don't blame the messenger. But if you require some credence to this whole thing, the request does come with General Harrison's signature." The younger soldier replied, earning a reluctant nod from the Brit as he looked back down at the letter.
"Yes, I can see that. Okay..., I will give the order. But as soon as our comms are back up, I will be on the phone to your superior about this. You're dismissed, Captain." The General then said with a slither of disdain to his voice, making the American salute him once more.
"General." He replied before turning around and leaving the room, before the older man picked up the receiver of his phone and began making calls.
Outside, Captain Lynch started walking away from the building and it's guards, before discreetly tapping the small com-link in his ear.
"This is Alpha-One. Everyone, what's your sit-rep?" He then said quietly, before a number of voices began speaking into his ear.
"This is Beta. We are positioned outside the north section the Section-20 building. No one suspects anything, yet."
"This is Ceta. We too are in position on the western side of the target."
"Delta here. We're covering the south of the building.
"Alpha here. We're ready on the eastern side, waiting for you to join us."
This earned a nod from Alpha-One as he took a turn behind one of the nearby tents, making his way through the area.
"Very good, I'll be there momentarily. We then just have to wait for the British to move their troops into position for the fake drill, then we'll detonate the C4 planted 200 yards away and let them take the bait before, and only before then making our attack on Section-20." He explained, while members of the British army started to rush around him as they heard and carried out their General's orders.
"Remember, we are to kill everyone in there. There can be no survivors."
"Understood."
Back at the Crib, everyone was standing around the operations table as both Stonebridge and Porter finished off the debrief.
"Thank you, Gentlemen. That is everything, correct?" Grant asked as she looked over at both soldiers, from Porter to Stonebridge.
"Yes, Ma'am." The younger man replied, earning a nod from his friend.
"That's right, Colonel."
I must admit, that was quite the mission report you gave us, Porter. You have definitely been through an ordeal." Sinclair added in a dry manner, bringing the former SAS Operative's attention to him.
"I would agree with that, Major, except that this experience has become just another Tuesday for me here at Section-20, since this shit normally happens. But Colonel Grant has told me that will not be the case under her command and I have no reason to not believe her…" he explained before giving the leader a trusting look, gaining a nod back.
"…so, I am here to help get this Arlington bloke and earn some payback for Danni and Layla."
"I can get behind that." Stonebridge added, earning a knowing nod from Sinclair as they all looked at each.
"I am glad that we are all on board with that, because…" Eleanor then began to say, only to stop as the sounds of moving machinery outside caught her attention.
"Major Sinclair, what's going on out there?" she asked, which made her second in command look over at their communications station.
"Sirs, it appears that the base is undergoing a defence drill. They're moving all of their heavy artillery out to the base's perimeter." the young woman manning that station said, bringing a questioning look to Grant's face in return.
"That doesn't sound right. Danvers would have given me a heads up if such maneuverers were to be undertaken while we were here." She said, while the major had gone over to the comm-station and was looking at the subordinate's monitor.
"According to this, it was suddenly given the go ahead due to the persistence of our American allies." He stated, which made the Colonel shake her head as she reached for the nearby phone as Stonebridge and Porter watched.
"Something isn't right here. I'm going to give the General a call…"
But before the Section-20 Commander could finish her sentence or do any of what she had just said, Lt. Brady entered the command centre with two of their MDs and Sgt. Richmond in tow.
"Colonel, Major, we have found the Saboteur." The young officer stated as everyone looked at the handcuffed Sergeant, who did not look happy as she was held by the other two soldiers either side of her.
"Sgt. Richmond?" Grant replied with a disbelieving tone, echoing the looks of Sinclair and Stonebridge as Porter just looked on with a puzzled expression.
"Colonel, I didn't…" the young lady began to reply, before being cut off by the Lieutenant.
"We found her in the Server rooms with the very device we've been searching for." Brady explained.
"That's circumstantial evidence, Lieutenant." Sinclair replied in a surprised and disbelieving tone, before he turned to Grant.
"Colonel, I have worked with Sgt. Richmond for a number of years now and in that time, she has proven herself to be nothing but loyal and truly exceptional. I do not believe for one moment that she is capable of being the saboteur." He added, making his superior nod back as she looked between Julia and Brady with a thoughtful expression.
"I agree, Major. After all, you recommended Richmond for this Section and I gave her a full back ground check as well..." she started to say, only to turn her attention to the Lieutenant.
"..., Brady, you have made a serious allegation against a fellow soldier. I hope that you have some evidence to back that claim."
"Ma'am, you sent the two of us to search the base for the device, to look in the places where it would most likely be located. We both took two other soldiers with us, so not to raise suspicion with the base's personnel. My escorts and I had completed our search of the west side of the building where the Comms Hub is located, so we went over to the east side go help the Sergeant with her search of it..." the younger man explained, while the woman in question just gave him a disgusted look in return.
"...when we arrived at her location, we found Richmond kneeling between two of the server hubs with the device in question and from where we were standing, it looked as though she was making adjustments to it..."
"That still doesn't prove that Richmond is the saboteur." The major cut him off, not flinching one bit in his belief of his subordinate. But Brady remained the same in his posture and look as well, sighing a little before speaking again.
Major, the Sergeant was alone when we found her." Brady then said, making both Sinclair and Grant's eyes widen a little as they turned their attention to Richmond.
"Sergeant, how do you explain this?" The latter asked, a slight break in her voice could be heard as she spoke.
"I thought it would be more efficient and less time consuming if the three of us split up and searched the area alone, since there were no base personnel around at that time..." Julia began to explain, before looking around the room with a confused look.
"...in fact, they should be back by now."
This made Grant shake her head and look down at the table for a second, before turning her attention to everyone once more.
"Look, we don't have time for this..." she began to say as she looked over at Brady.
"Lieutenant, where is the device now?"
"It's still in the Comms Hub. I was going to go back and deactivate it." The younger man replied, earning a nod back from the Colonel as she pointed to the soldier left of Richmond.
"Good. You go with him, while you..." she continued, moving her attention to the other soldier on the Sergeant's other side.
"...take Richmond into my office."
"Yes, Ma'am." The three men said in unison, before starting to split up.
"Wait..." Grant then said, making them stop once again.
"...Maj. Sinclair will go with you to ensure that this scrambler is deactivated and brought back here."
This brought a surprised look to the Lieutenant's face, but he remained professional as he saluted his superior.
"Yes, Ma'am." He replied before leaving with the other soldier and the Major, with the latter giving Richmond an assuring look as he left.
"Come with me." Grant then said to Richmond and her guard, before Stonebridge then spoke up.
"Colonel, what should we do in the meantime?" He asked while gesturing to Porter and himself.
"Take a small break, Gentlemen, but don't go too far." She answered before walking to her office with the others.
This made the older soldier look over at his comrade and pat him on the shoulder.
"Come on, I could use some air." He said, earning a nod from Michael who picked up two bottles of mineral water from a nearby table as he followed the other outside.
"Now that is eerie." The latter stated as the pair saw how different the atmosphere was in the now empty base, earning a contemplative smirk from Porter as they stood next to some containers near the entrance, with the younger man handing his friend one of the bottles.
"I like it. It makes a change to have some peace and quiet for a moment…." He started to reply, only to stop and take a drink.
"…, though I'm looking forward to getting back out there and taking down this Arlington guy." He added, making Michael gesture back with a smile.
"I'll drink to that." He said before taking a swig of his own drink, before something caught the older man's attention.
I thought that all the base personnel were doing the defence exercise?" John then casually asked, which gained his friend's attention.
"Yeah, why?" He said back while turning to look in the same direction, only for the former SAS soldier to subtly gesture to stop.
"No, mate, don't look this way. I see two soldiers hiding in between two cargo containers directly a head of me." He explained before taking another drink, making Michael mirror him as he looked in another direction.
"Yeah, I have two at my twelve o'clock over here as well, hiding behind one of the makeshift buildings. And they're armed." He said in a calm and unassuming tone, reflecting his demeanour as he feigned ignorance as he looked into the distance.
"Let's just play it cool and see what they do." Porter then said, earning a nod from Stonebridge as they both took a drink from their bottles simultaneously.
"But then, the younger man's attention was caught by a sudden reflection of light coming from one of the two soldiers he spotted.
"Get down!" he the exclaimed while grabbing his friend and diving behind the containers as the four soldiers opened fire on their location, though the only sounds that could be heard were the bullets hitting the door of their building behind them and their cover.
"They're using silencers." Stonebridge said as the gunfire whistled over their heads and impacted the door behind them, earning a nod back from Porter as they stayed low to the ground behind their cover.
"They want to take us out without everyone else realising it." He replied.
"Then that combat drill the base is performing has been faked. We need to get back in there and warn the others." The younger man said back.
"The way these guys are attacking us, one pair must be firing on our position while the other reloads..." the former SAS operative deduced, which was exactly what the enemy were doing from their vantage points.
"...and vice versa. So what...?" Michael started to say, only to be cut off the sound of the door behind them opening. Both men looked back to see another Section-20 soldier come out.
"Get down!" They shouted at their colleague, but they beaten by their attackers who opened fire on him, their barrage of bullets ripping through his body as blood splattered against the door and the floor behind him.
"Damn it!" Stonebridge exclaimed as the guard fell to the ground, dropping his assault rifle as Porter then smacked his shoulder.
"Follow my lead." He stated before crawling along the floor to the now dead body and grabbing the weapon, while his younger friend followed suit and equipped his fallen comrade's side arm.
"They've stopped firing." Michael then said, having noticed that the attack had stopped.
"They're coming, get ready." John replied as both men rolled onto their backs and looked toward their previous cover with weapons ready, just as two soldiers appeared.
"Fire!" He then exclaimed while pulling the trigger, firing a bullet directly through the man's head as his former SBS operative did the same and put three bullets into his target's chest.
"They're still alive, take cover!" The other attackers called out as Porter and Stonebridge got to their feet.
"We need to get back to the crib, let's go." Porter then said before firing another burst of gunfire towards the remaining attackers, ensuring they stayed back.
"After you." His partner replied as he held the door open, letting the older man in as he quickly checked area and then followed.
Meanwhile, back in the crib. Grant came out of the 2nd interrogation room with a puzzled look on her face, earning a mirrored look from the guard standing her, as well as everyone else.
"Was that gunfire?" She asked the others, before being cut off as several masked soldiers jumped through the windows all around them and started gunning down the Section-20 operatives.
The Colonel instinctively threw herself to the ground to evade them as the guard and the rest of her people around either did the same thing or were killed where they stood.
"What the he...?!" Eleanor muttered as she saw the soldier lying dead at her feet, before looking up to see one of the attackers standing over her with their weapon aimed at her head.
But before he could pull the trigger, Richmond tackled him to the floor, grabbing his side arm and unloading a few bullets into him as she kicked over his rifle to her superior.
"Thanks, Sergeant." Grant replied as she and the other woman opened fire on the enemy, earning a quick nod in return.
"Ma'am."
But the pair found themselves quickly taking cover behind a desk as they were outnumbered by the attackers, with the remaining Mercs focusing on the two of them as everyone else was either injured or dead.
"We need to…" Grant started to say, before noticing one of the enemies approaching the interrogation room across the room from them.
"Can't let them kill our only lead." She then finished, gesturing to Richmond what was about to happen. So both women readied their weapons and tried to fire back, only to be pushed back down at the continuing onslaught of bullets.
"We're pinned down here, Colonel." The Sergeant replied with anger underlining her words, earning a nod from the Secton-20 leader.
"Did that guy have any grenades?" Eleanor then asked while gesturing back to the body behind them, making the younger woman shake her head in response.
"No, he does not, Ma'am. And we are too far from our weapons locker to get our own." Julia answered, which only made the Colonel's face look more focused and determined as she took a breath.
"Then I guess, we'll do it with what we have. On three." She said back, gaining a knowing nod from Richmond as the enemies slowly started to approach them whilst continuing to fire at their position.
"One….two…" Grant then began to say as she and her subordinate looked at each other as their readied their weapons.
"…three!"
Both ladies then dived to either side of the table and opened fire on their aggressors, taking down two of the enemies as blood splattered out from their bullet ridden torsos. But the other remaining Mercs quickly recovered and changed their tactics accordingly, making both Section-20 comrades take cover once more, only this time further apart from each other.
'Okay, now we need some help.' The Colonel then thought with a desperation starting to crack her look of resolve.
Then, as if someone had heard her, Porter and Stonebridge burst into the room and opened fire on the enemies, making them dive behind nearby cover. But two of them were not fast enough as they took hits to the head and chest respectively, with the former's helmet not being enough to stop the bullet from shredding up the inside of his head.
As their bodies fell to the ground, both Sergeants took cover behind the nearby computer servers, giving one of their number the chance to head on to the prisoner.
"Good timing, Sergeants. We need some cover." Grant then shouted as the gunfire continued, gaining a nod from Porter and Stonebridge.
"And you shall have it." John called back, while Michael gave Richmond a knowing look.
"We have some friends behind us." He said with a gesture, gaining a nod from Julia who turned her attention to the doorway they had come from. And a second later two more soldiers appeared, only to be surprised as she shot them both dead in quick succession.
"Thanks." The young man replied, before he and his partner opened fire on the attackers once more, making them duck behind their cover again.
This gave Eleanor and Julia the chance they needed as they both bolted for the interrogation room, but as one of the enemies turned his attention to the Colonel, the younger woman stopped and blew him away before he could get a shot off.
The Sergeant then quickly dived behind cover once more, before the now dead enemy's comrade turned his attention to her and opened fire.
"Got ya." Porter then said as he fired a bullet right through that man's throat, spraying red across the nearby floor as dying man dropped his gun and clutched at the gushing wound whilst gasping for air as he choked on his own blood.
As that was happening, Sharq's heartrate suddenly spiked as he found himself at the mercy of one of the Mercs who had entered his cell and aimed his weapon at his head.
"Please, I can be of use to Arlington. Take me with you!" he screamed out in desperation and fear, but it all fell on deaf ears as the faceless soldier readied his weapon and started to pull back the trigger. So the Afghan could only close his eyes and grit his teeth as he waited for the gun to fire.
BANG!
'What?!' Zahir then thought with a mixture of confusion and relief as nothing happened after the big bang, so he opened his eyes to see the enemy lying dead and Colonel Grant standing before him.
"Looks like the Taliban will be the least of your worries if you don't work with us." She said with a knowing look as the gunfire stopped outside.
"All clear!" Stonebridge could be heard calling out as Porter entered the room and gave the prisoner a similar looking smirk, as he had heard what the Colonel had said.
"Yeah, Sharq. Having the Taliban and the US chasing you is no way to live, believe me." He added, gaining a subtle nod from Eleanor as she maintained her stare at Zahir, who now had a thougtful look on his face.
"So, I'll leave you to think about that some more. Give us a shout when you have made up your mind." She then said, before looking back at Porter as Michael and Julia stood in the doorway.
"Alright, let's go."
The four of them then left the Afghan Politician alone with the corpse lying just away from him, making him sigh as he looked on at it.
"All hostiles are down, Ma'am." Stonebridge reported, earning a nod from the Commander as they reentered the Crib's command center.
"And we have four injured personnel, everyone else is..." Julia began to report with a regretful tone, only for Grant to cut her off midsentence.
"Contact the General and have him send over medics..." She said to the Sergeant, before turning her attention to Porter and Stonebridge.
"...though I think he and the base personnel may have heard the gunfire already."
The pair nodded, only for the former to look back with a thoughtful expression.
"Do you think this Arlington is responsible for this attack?"
"Yes, I do, Sergeant. I would just like to know how he managed to get the US military to attack one of it's allies." she replied with curious tone, before a familiar voice spoke up behind them.
"Why don't we ask him?"
This made the survivors turn around to see Sinclair standing in the doorway with Brady, who had a gunshot in his left leg as the former had him a gun point.
"Lt. Brady?" Eleanor asked out loud, whilst the Major kept his handgun trained on the younger officer.
"We had entered the server building when we heard gunfire, which made both this man and the guard draw their weapons on me. But I disarmed and killed the guard, before making sure that this traitor was no longer a threat." He said, gaining an appreciative smile from Richmond.
"Well then, Major, please take Brady into the other interrogation room..." Grant then began to say, before giving the others a knowing smirk.
"...time to get some answers."
A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed Chapter Five and I want to thank you for reading it, since it is greatly appreciated. :)
Next Chapter: As Section 20 starts closing in on Frank Arlington, he sets his plan B in motion with the help of Howser and his Trojan Inc. PMC.
