Justice, p.14
Justice,
p.14
There was something ominous about the word ‘yet’, and Max found he didn’t want to continue the conversation. Fortunately there was a distraction: the sound of another helicopter arriving. It was a Sea King, smaller than the Chinooks. The pilot deftly set it down in the clearing.
‘That’s our lift,’ Hector said. ‘The SAS squadron will take it from here.’
‘Hector, I’d …’
‘What?’
‘I’d like to do something for Roland. Get him away from all this. Can’t we, I don’t know, take him with us?’
Hector gave him a long look. ‘You think you haven’t done something for him already?’
‘But –’
‘Think how many lives you’ve changed for the better today,’ Hector said. ‘You’ll have to learn to let that be enough.’ He gave Max a piercing look. ‘Anyway, what makes you think Roland would want to leave his home. Valley House would be as strange to him as this place is to you.’
‘I guess, but …’
‘No buts, Max. We’re a special forces unit, not an orphanage. Get used to it.’
Hector walked towards the Sea King and Max followed, slightly reluctantly. The other cadets approached from different directions. Max watched them carefully. Lukas seldom smiled, and now was no exception, but Max could tell from his body language that the tension he had been carrying for the last two days had left him. Abby’s brow was furrowed, her expression sharp – a reminder that behind the wisecracks she was as serious and professional as the rest of them. Lili walked rather than ran, apparently as calm as she always was, no matter what was going on around her. And Sami: brave, trusting Sami. He was small, but he walked tall across the clearing, with the confidence of a young man who knew he had made good choices. Risky choices, Max thought. But good. And effective.
Halfway to the Sea King, Max stopped. Roland stood by one of the Chinooks, watching the cadets as they approached the Sea King. Their eyes met. Roland inclined his head and, across the clearing, he mouthed, ‘Thank you.’
Max nodded and raised one hand in farewell. Roland turned and continued to help the younger kids. Max jogged towards the Sea King. The other cadets were already climbing inside with Hector, Woody and Angel.
A profound tiredness crashed over him as the chopper powered up. Dawn was breaking, and as they rose above the treetops he could see the vast Congo rainforest stretching to the horizon, gently bathed in the glowing light of the rising sun.
‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’ Abby said.
‘Yeah,’ Max replied. ‘Beautiful.’ But he didn’t enjoy the sight for long. Within seconds, he had fallen asleep.
Chris Ryan
Chris Ryan was born in Newcastle.
In 1984 he joined 22 SAS. After completing the year-long Alpine Guides Course, he was the troop guide for B Squadron Mountain Troop. He completed three tours with the anti-terrorist team, serving as an assaulter, sniper and finally Sniper Team Commander.
Chris was part of the SAS eight-man patrol chosen for the famous Bravo Two Zero mission during the 1991 Gulf War. He was the only member of the unit to escape from Iraq, where three of his colleagues were killed and four captured. This was the longest escape and evasion in the history of the SAS, and for this he was awarded the Military Medal. Chris wrote about his experiences in his book The One That Got Away, which was adapted for screen and became an immediate bestseller.
Since then he has written four other books of non-fiction, over twenty bestselling novels and three series of children’s books. Chris’s novels have gone on to inspire the Sky One series Strike Back.
In addition to his books, Chris has presented a number of very successful TV programmes including Hunting Chris Ryan, How Not to Die and Chris Ryan’s Elite Police.
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First published in Great Britain in 2019 by
HOT KEY BOOKS
80–81 Wimpole St, London W1G 9RE
www.hotkeybooks.com
Copyright © Chris Ryan, 2019
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
The right of Chris Ryan to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 9781471407857
This eBook was produced using Atomik ePublisher
Hot Key Books is an imprint of Bonnier Zaffre Ltd,
part of Bonnier Books UK
www.bonnierbooks.co.uk
Chris Ryan, Justice
