Carter glowered at the Six officer but just about managed to bite his tongue.

  Don’t give them the satisfaction. They’re trying to needle you, that’s all.

  Keep a level head.

  Hardcastle had been silent throughout the briefing. Now he leaned forward and shot Carter a look so hard you could have crushed rocks with it.

  ‘This is far from the only disconcerting aspect to this mission, Geordie,’ he said.

  Carter frowned. ‘Not sure what you mean, boss.’

  ‘Aren’t you?’ Hardcastle snorted. ‘Let me lay it out for you, then. We’ve got a CIA agent dead on a runway in Tajikistan with a gunshot wound to the head. We’ve got two American contractors working as pilots, who were also found dead on the same runway. We’ve got a badly damaged private jet, not to mention the body of a former Coalition interpreter who appears to have been shot in the head at point-blank range. One of our most valuable assets in-country. Last seen in your company, I understand.’

  Carter felt his face flushing with anger. ‘You’re not suggesting I had anything to do with the guy’s death. I told you, Hakimi killed him. I saw it happen.’

  ‘Perhaps all of that is true,’ Lebrun replied diplomatically. ‘But you must admit, it’s not a good look. There’s a trail of destruction that seems to have followed you from Afghanistan to Tajikistan.’

  ‘I was just doing my job,’ Carter hit back. ‘I had no choice.’

  ‘Your job?’ Hardcastle repeated tetchily. ‘You were given orders to locate Vann and bring him in, Geordie. Now he’s missing, and you’ve fed us a highly colourful tale of Vann going rogue and getting involved in the heroin trade.’

  ‘It’s all true, boss. Every word of it.’ Carter struggled to keep the rage out of his voice.

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Hardcastle thundered. ‘I know David Vann very well. I know his character. Are you trying to tell me that a highly regarded former member of the SAS is now a drug smuggler? Do you think I’m fucking thick, Geordie?’

  He stared defiantly at Carter, almost daring him to respond. Carter looked back at his CO. And suddenly understood what was happening.

  This is a bloody stitch-up. They’re trying to cover their tracks. Vann’s going to be rehabilitated. Orders from above, probably.

  They don’t want a public scandal blowing up in their faces.

  ‘Well?’ Hardcastle snapped.

  ‘No, boss,’ he muttered.

  ‘There’s also the question of the portable nuclear bombs,’ Gregory put in. ‘The, ah, backpack nukes, as you refer to them in your statement, I believe.’

  Carter nodded. ‘Aye, what about them?’

  ‘You’re not seriously suggesting these things exist, are you? This is a nonsense story, man. Fantasy material. Belongs on a conspiracy website.’

  ‘If you don’t believe me, ask the Company,’ Carter said. ‘They’ll have removed the nukes from the jet by now.’

  Gregory smoothed his Tory-blue tie and flashed a thin smile. ‘We have asked them already. They have assured us that no such weapons were discovered at the airfield. We’ve also independently contacted some of our Russian sources to clarify whether such bombs were developed during the Cold War. They have confirmed to us privately that they cannot. They are adamant that they would know about it, if indeed the Soviets had ever embarked on such a programme.’

  Carter knew at once what had happened. As soon as the alarm had been raised the Americans had swept into the airfield and seized the bombs, disposing of the evidence before anyone else could get hold of them. Langley would have quietly disposed of the nukes and shared only the very sanitised version of events with their friends at MI6.

  ‘You can cover up this shit as much as you want,’ Carter said. ‘But I know what I saw. I know what was there. If you’re worried about me spilling my guts, forget it. As far as I’m concerned, it stays with me.’

  ‘Absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, old chap.’

  ‘Any more questions?’ Lebrun looked round the room. Then he laced his fingers and offered Carter an insincere smile. ‘I think we’re just about done here. You’re free to leave, Carter.’

  ‘What about my next posting, boss?’ Carter directed the question to his CO. Who looked at him with his expression contorted into a scowl.

  ‘You’ve got two years left,’ Hardcastle said. ‘I was minded to send you on another posting overseas to see out your contract, but now I hear that you battered the son of some general in Chile. So you can bloody well forget about anything like that. No, you’ll be seeing out your contract at home.’

  There was a wicked gleam in the CO’s eyes. Carter felt his heart sink. He shook his head furiously. ‘What am I supposed to do for the next two years, then?’

  ‘Sit in the pub, for all I care. Get pissed and tell old war stories. Hang out at the local bookies. Learn a new language. Honestly, I couldn’t give two shits what you do. But you won’t be setting foot in the camp ever again. I don’t want you anywhere near this fucking place, d’you hear? No roll call, no turning up unannounced.’

  Carter’s mouth hung open. He stared at his CO in stunned silence. ‘What for?’

  ‘You’re a liability,’ Hardcastle said icily. ‘We sent you out to do a straightforward search-and-rescue op, and you turned it into a bloodbath. Moreover, you’ve provided knowingly untruthful statements in an attempt to mask your incompetence by slandering Vann and Ramsey. This is totally unacceptable behaviour.’

  This was all part of the big Six cover-up, Carter realised bitterly.

  Keep me out of the Hereford loop. Blackball me. Trash my reputation. Make sure no one at Hereford wants to touch me with a barge pole. That way, if I ever go public with my claims, they’ll brand me an embittered fantasist with zero credibility.

  This is the end of my Regiment career.

  Lebrun said, ‘One more thing.’

  Carter turned to the MI6 man and waited for him to continue. Lebrun looked him hard in the eye and smiled coldly.

  ‘If any of these, ah, outrageous rumours should ever reach the public domain, we will hold you personally responsible,’ he said. ‘At that point, we’ll tell the Americans who killed Ramsey. We wouldn’t want you to face a murder charge. Would we . . .?’

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  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 team 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, for which he was awarded the Military Medal. Chris wrote about his experiences in his book The One That Got Away, which became an immediate bestseller. Since then he has written over fifty books and presented a number of very successful TV programmes.

  To hear more about Chris Ryan’s books, sign up to his Readers’ Club at bit.ly/ChrisRyanClub

  You can also follow him on social media:

  Twitter: @exSASChrisRyan

  Instagram: @exsaschrisryan

  Facebook: ChrisRyanBooks

  Also by Chris Ryan

  Manhunter

  If you enjoyed Outcast,

  why not join the

  CHRIS RYAN READERS’ CLUB?

  When you sign up, you’ll receive an exclusive Q & A with Chris Ryan, plus information about upcoming books and access to exclusive material.

  To join, simply visit:

  bit.ly/ChrisRyanClub

  Keep reading for a letter from the author . . .

  Hello!

  Thank you for picking up Outcast.

  In the years since I began writing fiction, the nature of modern warfare has changed dramatically. During the long conflicts in the Middle East, the guys in 22 SAS conducted a lot of door-kicking operations, going out on multiple raids each night to apprehend targets and working closely with their American counterparts in Delta Force and SEAL Team Six. Now the West is facing a new threat from authoritarian regimes equipped with vast military resources and skilled in the arts of disinformation. The spectre of nuclear catastrophe has become a possibility once more, as recent events in Ukraine have sadly shown.

  One of the reasons I wanted to write Outcast is to illustrate what role the Regiment might have in this new dynamic. Despite their differences, both Carter and Vann operate in the ‘grey space’ of the battlefield: training up foreign resistance forces, securing the passage of weaponry into war zones, gathering intelligence on the strength and disposition of enemy forces and extracting key figures from hotspots. This kind of work is going to be increasingly important for the SAS going forward. But it also brings new risks for the guys involved. What if a soldier goes missing, or gets captured? How would the British government react to that situation? Those questions gave me the initial idea for Outcast. Ultimately, this is a story about the potential consequences of sending in men to operate alone behind enemy lines, without support.

  If you would like to hear more about my books, you can visit bit.ly/ChrisRyanClub where you can become part of the Chris Ryan Readers’ Club. It only takes a few moments to sign up, and there are no catches or costs.

  Bonnier Books UK will keep your data private and confidential, and it will never be passed on to a third party. We won’t spam you with loads of emails, just get in touch now and again with news about my books, and you can unsubscribe any time you want.

  And if you would like to get involved in a wider conversation about my books, please do review Outcast on Amazon, on Goodreads, on any other e-store, on your own blog and social media accounts, or talk about it with friends, family or reader groups! Sharing your thoughts helps other readers, and I always enjoy hearing about what people experience from my writing.

  Thank you again for reading Outcast.

  All the best,

  Chris Ryan

  If you enjoyed Outcast, then don’t miss . . .

  When foreign governments act like gangsters, a new kind of SAS is needed . . .

  In London, assassins carry out a deadly chemical weapons attack at the royal wedding. All the signs point to a Kremlin-sanctioned hit. Their victim: a notorious mobster.

  ‘The Cell’ is a shadowy unit within the SAS, dedicated to fighting global organised crime. In a world where the Russian government is the real mob, it’s the job of the Cell to defend British interests at home and abroad. Only the elite are selected; only the very best will survive. For SAS staff sergeant Josh Bowman, whose young family was brutally murdered by an Albanian crime gang, it’s a chance for revenge – and to bury his secret opioid addiction.

  But the Russians have only just begun. When the Cell uncovers a sinister plot against a British-backed tyrant in Africa, they are quickly drawn into a deadly race against time. Soon they find themselves fighting a terrifying enemy in a brutal fight to the death.

  Outnumbered, outgunned and with no military support, Bowman and his comrades are all that stand between Moscow and ultimate victory . . .

  Available now

  First published in the UK in 2022 by Zaffre

  This ebook edition published in 2022 by

  ZAFFRE

  An imprint of Bonnier Books UK

  4th Floor, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square, London WC1B 4DA

  Owned by Bonnier Books

  Sveavägen 56, Stockholm, Sweden

  Copyright © Chris Ryan, 2022

  Cover design by headdesign.co.uk

  Cover images: Model © Trevillion Images,

  background © Getty Images

  The moral right of Chris Ryan to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright,

  Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN: 978-1-83877-763-0

  Hardback ISBN: 978-1-83877-726-5

  This book was typeset by IDSUK (Data Connection) Ltd

  This ebook was created by IDSUK (Data Connection) Ltd

  Zaffre is an imprint of Bonnier Books UK

  www.bonnierbooks.co.uk

 

 

  Chris Ryan, Outcast

 

 

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