Agent 21: Reloaded: Book 2 Read online

  In a matter of minutes the building had been cleared, the five terrorists killed and the remaining eight hostages rescued. The assault commander reported that he had control, and command was formally handed back to the police.

  * * *

  On this occasion, this had all been just an exercise – but as always, the assault had been realistic in every detail, and had been excellent training. Just another day for the Regiment, as members of the SAS refer to themselves. And exactly the kind of task we could at any time be called upon to perform, efficiently and explosively. Practice was essential.

  ‘Well done, everybody,’ the OC told us. ‘That was pretty good.’

  We packed our kit into the vehicles and set out for SAS headquarters in Hereford. But on the way events took an unexpected turn.

  It was 2 August 1990, and on the news we heard that Saddam Hussein, the tyrannical leader of Iraq, had just invaded Kuwait, a small country on his southern border.

  ‘So what?’ said one of the guys scornfully. ‘Saddam’s an idiot.’

  ‘Don’t be too sure of it,’ said someone else. ‘It’ll make big trouble, and we’ll probably find ourselves out there.’

  He was right. Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait was the opening salvo of the 1990–1991 Gulf War. I don’t think any of us realized just how this news would change our lives.

  * * *

  For the next two months, nobody knew what was going to happen. The leaders of different governments around the world got together to discuss the situation and the UN Security Council called for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait – and gave them a deadline. When the Iraqis did not leave Kuwait, a war was inevitable. In total thirty-four countries joined together in a coalition to oppose Saddam Hussein. These countries included not only the USA and Great Britain but also Arab countries in the Middle East region, like Egypt and Syria.

  ‘A’ and ‘D’ Squadron went out to the Gulf for build-up training; but me and my mates in ‘B’ Squadron were told we wouldn’t be going, as it was our turn to take over what are known in the SAS as team tasks – assignments for which small teams of men are needed in various parts of the world.

  The SAS is made up of four squadrons – A, B, D and G. Each squadron is made up of four troops – Air Troop, Mountain Troop, Boat Troop and Mobility Troop. There should be sixteen men in each troop, but because it is so difficult to get into the SAS, there are often as few as eight.

  Rumours started to fly. Some people said we might become sky-marshals on civilian flights to the Middle East. It would mean pretending to be normal passengers, but in fact carrying weapons to deal with any terrorist who might attempt a hijack. The idea seemed quite likely – on the SP team we’d done lots of assaults on and inside aircraft, so we knew what to do.

  But then, a week before Christmas, we were dragged into the briefing room at Hereford and told that half of ‘B’ Squadron was going to deploy to the Middle East after all.

  That meant me.

  About the Author

  • Joined the SAS in 1984, serving in military hot zones across the world.

  • Expert in overt and covert operations in war zones, including Northern Ireland, Africa, the Middle East and other classified territories.

  • Commander of the Sniper squad within the anti-terrorist team.

  • Part of an 8-man patrol on the Bravo Two Zero Gulf War mission in Iraq.

  • The mission was compromised. 3 fellow soldiers died, and 4 more were captured as POWs. Ryan was the only person to defy the enemy, evading capture and escaping to Syria on foot over a distance of 300 kilometres.

  • His ordeal made history as the longest escape and evasion by an SAS trooper, for which he was awarded the Military Medal.

  • His books are dedicated to the men and women who risk their lives fighting for the armed forces.

  Available by Chris Ryan and published by Random House Children’s Books:

  Got Away

  AGENT 21 series

  Agent 21

  Agent 21: Reloaded

  CODE RED series

  Flash Flood

  Wildfire

  Outbreak

  Vortex

  Twister

  Battleground

  ALPHA FORCE series

  Survival

  Rat-Catcher

  Desert Pursuit

  Hostage

  Red Centre

  Hunted

  Blood Money

  Fault Line

  Black Gold

  Untouchable

  Published by the Random House Group for adult readers:

  NON-FICTION

  The One That Got Away

  Chris Ryan’s SAS Fitness Book

  Chris Ryan’s Ultimate Survival Guide

  Fight to Win: Deadly Skills of the Elite Forces

  FICTION

  Stand By, Stand By

  Zero Option

  The Kremlin Device

  Tenth Man Down

  Hit List

  The Watchman

  Land of Fire

  Greed

  The Increment

  Blackout

  Ultimate Weapon

  Strike Back

  Firefight

  Who Dares Wins

  One Good Turn (Adult Quick Read for World Book Day 2008)

  PRAISE FOR CHRIS RYAN:

  ‘Gripping from the off’

  Sun

  ‘SAS hero Chris Ryan sets a cracking pace’

  Lovereading

  ‘Fast-paced action thriller

  that hits all the right spots’

  The Bookseller

  ‘Chris Ryan proves, once again,

  that he is a master of suspense’

  Waterstones Books Quarterly

  www.totallyrandombooks.co.uk

  AGENT 21: RELOADED

  AN RHCB DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 409 02660 0

  Published in Great Britain by RHCB Digital,

  an imprint of Random House Children’s Books

  A Random House Group Company

  This ebook edition published 2012

  Copyright © Chris Ryan, 2012

  First Published in Great Britain

  Doubleday Childrens 2012

  The right of Chris Ryan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN’S BOOKS

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  Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at: www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm

  THE RANDOM HOUSE GROUP Limited Reg. No. 954009

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

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Agent 21: Briefing Document

  1. Stranger Danger

  2. Dead Men Can’t Hurt You

  3. Galileo

  4. Black Wolf

  5. Antisocial Behaviour

  6. In-country

  7. Night Fishing

  8. A Midnight Visit

  9. A Shot in the Dark

  10. Russian Roulette

  11. El Capitán

  12. Advance to Contact

  13. Do Not Escape

  14. In the Dark

  15. Waterboard

  16. Mayday

  17. Sweetie


  18. RV

  19. Fear Him

  20. Positive ID

  21. Not by Strength, by Guile

  22. Endgame

  23. Lift Off

  24. Revenge

  About the Author

  Also by Chris Ryan

  Praise for Chris Ryan

  Copyright