Chapter 4

We walked at a fast pace, after an hour we stopped and took swigs of water from our bottles, and then MC checked his GPS. Then we walked on. Half an hour later we stopped again. I could smell smoke. Not any sort of smoke but cigarette smoke. We hunkered down behind a fallen tree and shed our Bergan’s. I lay my sniper rifle down. MC slipped under the tree and took a look see. I radioed Chalky to tell him we had contact with the enemy.

MC came back seconds later...

“One man, armed fifty meters off to the right” he whispered, “Looks like he is on stag!”

Stag was the army term for guard duty.

“Leave it to me,” I said and slipped my rifle off my shoulder and unsheathed my Fairbairn Sykes Commando Knife. I crawled under the tree and made my way toward the man. He was dressed in the traditional Shalwar kameez. He had a belt on with a knife on the left side and a water bottle on the right. He had an AK47 on its strap over his shoulder. He was a big, young lad.

He was more interested in this cigarette than looking around. I checked the ground as I worked my way toward him, stepping on a twig would give the game away.

I was behind him in seconds, I stood up and clamped my hand over his mouth, then I yanked his head back and my knife ripped his throat open. The knife was razor sharp and it cut through his skin like butter.

He struggled for a few seconds as the life drained from him. Once he had stopped struggling, I dragged him into a small stand of trees and laid him down. I searched him quickly. He has no radio or coms equipment of any kind. He had two more mags for the AK, so I took them as well.

He had a wallet; I pocketed that and stripped the AK47 off his arm and the knife from his belt. He had no other weapons. I hid him under a pile of old branches. Then after making sure I had not been seen, I ran back over to where MC was covering me with his H&K.

“One down, nineteen to go” he smiled. He watched as I put the two mags in my Bergan, the AK47 had a folding stock and it went into the Bergan as well.

“Shall I radio it in?” I asked.

“Yes mate “he nodded.

“One tango down in the woods above the manor,” I said into my throat mic.

“Good Work Rosie” Chalky said, “Was he armed mate?”

“Yes boss, AK47, we are moving further in now” I replied.

“Gotcha, let us know when to start our drive in,” he said.

“Will do mate,” I replied.

I glanced at MC, he was swigging from his water bottle, I took mine off my belt and took a long swig.

When we were both ready, we moved off. I took the lead and kept an eye out for other guards. We did not see any. Half an hour later we were on a ridge overlooking the mansion house and its outbuildings, to be fair it was more like a farm.

There were two barns and a stable block. To one side of the stables were two cars and a minibus. Two men were standing outside one of the barns, neither of them was armed. They were drinking from tea mugs and smoking.

They were dressed in the perahan tunban which is the standard traditional uniform dress for Taliban warriors consisting of a tunic shirt, pants, and an optional head covering. The battle dress of the Taliban warrior was not great camouflage in the Scottish forest. But it would make it easier for us to target them.

Another guy walked out of the stables a phone in his hand, he was dressed the same. They were talking animatedly.

“I think they know something is up,” MC said.

“I think that you might be right mate.” I replied.

“Shall we get the transit moving?” he said.

“I think so but give me ten minutes to move around to that stand of trees” I replied.

We both look across at a stand of trees and rocks on the other side of the valley.

“Is ten minutes enough time?” MC asked as he shrugged off his Bergan and began getting his gear sorted.

“Yes mate,” I said and looked over again, “I think so.”

“Okay good luck, see you on the other side “he said, and we bumped fists.

I headed off back the way we had come, walking rather than running, but walking faster than the normal walking pace. I followed a deer path; I stopped before any junctions and also made sure I was hidden from view.

After ten minutes I heard MC calling the Boss and Big Baz on to the plot. It would take them fifteen minutes to cover the distance we had walked.

Five minutes later I was creeping into the stand of trees overlooking the right-hand barn. I made sure I was alone and then found a good shooting spot.

The three guys we had seen talking earlier had gone into either the stables or one of the barns.

I got my Heckler & Koch M110A1 sniper rifle out of its case and put the spare mags within easy reach. I used the scope to have a good look around the camp. I did not see any more guys in stag duty that did not mean they were not out there though.

“We are one mile out!” Chalky said on the radio.

“Roger that I am on the hill on the roadside,” MC said.

“Roger that, I am on the hill on the far side of the camp” I replied.

“Roger that, we will be with you in ten minutes,” Chalky said.

Then I got my L119A1/A2 Special Forces Individual Weapon (SFIW) ready with the spare mags also within easy reach. I also had my Glock ready for action. There was not much movement on the camp, I took a Mars bar from my pack and munched it down. Then washed it down with a gulp of water. I was just screwing the cap back onto my water bottle when I heard an engine in the distance.

Ten or so men ran out of the barn to meet it. None were armed or should I say I could not see any weapons.

I had a look around to make sure I was still alone and shouldered my sniper rifle. I was ready for action. The van came around a corner and drove the last few yards into the farmyard.

Two of the men that had come out of the barn pulled handguns out of their robes. One dropped to his knees and aimed at the Transit, Chalky saw him and swung the van, it stopped and I saw Big Baz and Chalky roll out of the passenger door and jump into some sort of brick-built cattle pen.

Both the men with handguns opened fire, at the same time I heard MC firing, his three-round bursts hammering into the barn door.

I raised my rifle, aimed at the guy on his knees. He seemed the most able of the two men. I took a breath, held it, and fired.

All soldiers hold their breath before they pull the trigger. You first take a breath, then exhale a bit, before you hold your breath and shoot. The only difference is that a sniper holds his breath much longer than a shooter with a normal rifle, up to ten seconds.

“Tango down,” I said into my throat mic.

The gunman’s head exploded. I could see men pouring out of the barn, all armed with Aks, some forty-sevens some seventy-fours. Chalky and Baz were taking turns to fire, popping over the top of the cattle pens wall.

All the men from the barn spread out and started to fire on the cattle pen.

I aimed fire, man down, aimed fired, man down, aimed fired, man down. I could hear MC firing down into the farmyard as well. The Taliban were a mixed bunch, some were running around like headless chickens and others were bedded down and talking their time with their shots.

One lad stood up and emptied his Aks mag in one blast, he then turned and ran back toward the barn. MC took him out with two-three rounds bursts.

I kept up my rate of fire, and then the gunfire from the farmyard got louder. I could not see where the firing was coming from. I used the scope on the sniper rifle but I could not see where the rounds were coming from.

“Rosie, there are around a dozen tangoes in the stables, we can’t get a shot off, can you help us out” I heard Big Baz say in my ear.

I swung the snipper rifle around and tried to find a target in the stables. I could not get a bead in anyone, there was a window on the second floor, so I fired. The window shattered, I fired again, and I put three more rounds into the window.

I saw a man with an AK74 looking out of the window, I got my shot off and hit him in the chest. I was not sure if it was a killing shot but it would disable him for sure. Something moved in my field of vision. Another man was peeking around the stable door. I took him out of the game with a headshot.

Then I fired twice more into the shattered window. I might not be getting clean shots but rounds ricocheting around the room would make them panic.

I could hear MC giving the Taliban in the farmyard a hard time. But if only one of us was firing we would be in trouble soon. Two men had crawled out of the barn and were crawling toward the Minibus.

I got one in my sights and put a round into his rib cage, the other man knelt up and fired at me. I got him with a headshot. I turned back to the barn and fired at it; three more rounds flew into the glassless window.

I could see that some of the men that had come out of the barn were trying to outflank MC. They had crouched down and were going up a little pathway to MCs right and I knew it would be in his blind spot.

I got the last man in the group in my sights; it was a long shot. I took my time, I held my breath and fired. Perfect headshot. His mate turned around, looked down at the dead man and then looked up at me. He opened his mouth to shout a warning, and my round went into his mouth and out the back of his head, spraying brain matter all over the heather. The third man on the pathway tried to roll into the heather for cover but my round hit him in the chest.

The two other men that had been trying to outflank MC turned back toward the barn and ran for their lives.

I changed the rifle’s mag and returned to firing into the stables, alternating between the smashed window and the door. I knew that for the mission to succeed we needed to get Chalky and Baz back into the game.

Then I saw Chalky stand and he fired a grenade into the stables, I heard it explode and men ran from the stables, their clothes burning. Both Chalky and Baz stood up and laid down a barrage of rounds.

I changed my magazine and looked over at the farmyard.

I took aim and fired, over and over again.

We were getting some parity now, I could hear Baz and Chalky firing now, the sounds of their weapons different to the crack crack crack of the AK. They were still in the cattle pen but at least they were firing.

I turn my rifle back toward the farmyard and picked a target. Headshot man down. Then I saw a man come out of the stable with an RPG over his shoulder.