Synopsis
The United Kingdom is feeling the effects of a thirty-year civil war. It is isolated from the rest of the world.
A tyrannical government, known as The Protectorate, is dominating the scattered and unruly people. In the year 2047, a group of mercenaries are sent into the heart of The Protectorate, the fortress city of Birmingham, to discover their secrets and assassinate their lead research scientist who has been experimenting in the field of nanotechnology.
The team enlist the help of a defector in order to gain access to the city, but their plans go awry and they are forced to flee with The Protectorate’s soldiers, known to many as ‘The Trackers’, hot on their tail. To make matters worse, one of the team betrays them.
News of the revolutionary nanotechnology, which has the power to enhance the human body’s senses and its ability to heal, has reached the United World Government, who have secretly hired the traitor to steal the technology. A three-way game of cat-and-mouse ensues as the survivors, the traitor, and ‘The Trackers’ pursue each other across the city and try to thwart each other’s plans. As the reason for the outbreak of war in 2017 becomes more apparent, destroying the nanotechnology becomes even more imperative, and one of the mercenaries realises a shocking truth about himself which will forever change his future.
Sample from Chapter One
Alpha team looked at each other, their faces showed their feelings about the mission. Some were excited, some were nervous and wary.
As the Hercules tore through the night sky, getting ever closer to their destination, they made their final equipment checks. They had some of the best weaponry available to them; silenced pistols, sniper rifles, scopes fitted with night vision, PDAs, wireless short range communication devices to enable them to speak to each other, compact explosive devices, and some personal equipment of their own which they always carried on a mission. They stowed all of it away into their pockets, harnesses and a small backpack they each had. Now they just had to enjoy the ride for a little while longer.
Foxx just stared at the floor in front of him.
“You okay, Foxx?” Quisling asked him.
“Yeah,,” he replied. “I’m just tired.”
“I said you should’ve gotten some sleep this afternoon.”
Foxx had been awake for over eighteen hours, since 6 am. the previous day.
“I’m not physically tired, Quisling. You know me; I can go a night without sleep on a mission quite easily. It’s the adrenalin, I get a rush from it,” he said.
“What is it then?” Quisling asked.
“It’s just another mission. Always another mission. When’s it all going to end? You and I have come a long way together; we were brought up by SWORD, trained by them. Don’t you just want a normal life now?”
Quisling looked thoughtful. “Definitely.”
“I just want this to finally be the mission that ends them all. The one that finally starts the downfall of The Protectorate, and buys us our freedom.”
“Oh I’m sure it will be Foxx,” Quisling told him confidently.
Paulson had been listening to their conversation.
“Why us, captain? And why me?” he asked.
Foxx now sat up to appear positive to the young rookie. While the other men were in their mid-twenties, he was just nineteen. This was Paulson’s first mission, so he had no idea why the General thought he was one of the best.
“Well Paulson, we’ve seen some pretty rough things in our careers as enemies of The Protectorate. I’ve been involved in, on average, one mission a week since I was sixteen and led them since I was twenty. Quisling has been with me on every one, and survived interrogation by those filthy Trackers. Miller’s the best sniper there is, he’s made some incredible shots from unbelievable distances. And Ford, well, he’s good to have around in a fight.”
“But not good to have a fight with, the very well-built and all-round hard man.” Ford said.
“Listen,” Foxx reassured Paulson, “we know you’re new to a mission, but we’ve got you covered. Besides, you’re the best at what you do and we need you.”
Paulson felt a sense of satisfaction at being needed by these experienced soldiers. He knew Foxx was right; he was very good at what he did.
As the turbulence from the air shook the plane a little, a red light came on.
“Two minutes!” Miller shouted.
They all put their parachutes on their backs, pulled a helmet over their heads and put a mask and goggles on. They needed the oxygen mask due to the high altitude of their jump. To dodge any radar that The Protectorate may have used, Alpha team were going to perform a HALO jump, meaning high altitude low opening. They were to jump out of the Hercules at an altitude of 30,000 feet, and open their chutes near to the ground, facilitating a stealthy insertion to Birmingham. In order to gain the required altitude the plane had first headed south east towards London and had then circled back towards Birmingham. They all sat poised on the bench, eagerly waiting for the time to come. The clock on the wall had been ticking slowly, and now read 12:33. Suddenly the ramp on the C-130 started to lower.
“Wait for it men,” was Foxx’s order.
They all stood up and anxiously remained just in front of the ramp. The green light came on.
“Go, go, go!” Foxx shouted, and they did not delay one second. They piled out of the plane and dived into the dark night sky. The heavens were visible above them, and below was a mass of white cloud, which was hurtling towards them rapidly. They fell through the heap of water vapour like a rock through thin ice, speeding up until they had reached terminal velocity. With the ground racing towards them, their automatic parachute activation devices started beeping, and suddenly they were all pulled back up into the air as their chutes opened. They had just enough time to steer themselves towards the large green space that was Edgbaston Park, they avoided the trees and the pool, and they landed safely.
In the trees on the far side of the park, three men observed the landing through night vision goggles.
Their faces were concealed by balaclavas, and one turned to the others and said, “He’s here. Begin the preparations.”
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