Read Bad Soldier: Danny Black Thriller 4 for Free Online

crouching migrants, but none of them complained. As he moved, he saw that the central section of the boat, behind the wheelhouse, was not covered with bodies. There was a large rectangular hole cut out of the deck, leading down into the hull. Danny scanned the faces of the five men still standing. He didn’t recognise any of them from the photos of the IS targets, but that wasn’t a reason not to suspect them. ‘Get to the ground!’ he shouted at them, keeping the barrel of his weapon firmly fixed in their direction. ‘Get on the ground – now!’
    Three of the migrants fell to their knees. The remaining two still looked eager to jump, but their mates started yanking at their clothes. Seconds later they’d hit the deck too, but were still only kneeling. Danny got close, then forced a couple of them on to the ground with his foot. The remaining three followed suit.
    He looked around the boat. Tony and Caitlin were by the wheelhouse, pointing their weapons up at two figures inside, controlling the boat. Spud was eight metres from Danny, on the edge of the open section at the centre of the boat. He also had his weapon engaged, pointing down into the hull.
    ‘Someone’s getting their fucking money’s worth,’ he called to Danny.
    Danny checked the immediate vicinity to identify any particular threats. Now every migrant was cringing, terrified, on the floor. He stepped across the mass of bodies, towards Spud’s position. As he drew within a metre of the open section, and the beam of his torch joined Spud’s, he could see why his mate had such a disgusted look on his face. The hull of the boat was even more crowded than the deck. Danny estimated that there were another hundred people down here, and as he looked closer he could see that they were all . . .
    ‘Kids,’ Spud muttered.
    The children’s faces looked up, terrified, blinking against the torchlight. None of them spoke. They were pressed so closely together, it was impossible to see any of them below the shoulder. But what clothes Danny could make out were nothing but dirty old rags. A horrible stench of sweat and shit rose from the hull. Danny had to force himself not to gag. He caught sight of one kid with a nasty cut on the side of his face, which had obviously turned septic. For a moment, the image of his own child flashed in front of his eyes. He hardened himself against that thought. If he showed any sign of weakness, there would be men on this ship who would take advantage. And the brutal truth was that, even heavily armed, their four-man unit would struggle against so many people if they decided to riot.
    ‘If we see anyone on their feet,’ he shouted above the noise of the waves and the rain hitting the deck, ‘we shoot.’ He didn’t know how many of them would understand English, but they’d sure as hell understand the intent behind his words.
    He looked up to see that Tony had entered the wheelhouse and was in the process of forcibly ejecting the two men inside, who tumbled down the steps and landed in a heap on top of two other migrants. From the corner of his eye, he could see the two Marine RIBs circling. But the greater part of his attention was now on the Enterprise . It was very close now – thirty metres max – and facing into the wind to stabilise itself. It dwarfed the migrant boat entirely.
    Tony’s voice came across Danny’s earpiece. ‘ Black, Spud, cover the migrants. Anyone kicks up a fuss, give them something to think about. Me and Caitlin will get the boat alongside the Enterprise.’
    ‘Roger that,’ Danny replied. He turned to Spud. ‘Stay here and cover the foredeck. I’ll head aft.’
    Spud nodded. He seemed to drag his gaze away from the kids in the hold as he moved his attention to the migrants on deck. He turned his body threateningly with the turn of his weapon and covered the teeming mass of desperate men and women.
    Danny could hear the occasional sob as, rain dripping down his face, he moved aft along