PRIMAL Vengeance

Chapter 31



Kaljak Village, Abyei District



"What's the time over there, team?" Vance's voice filled the cabin of the PRIMAL aircraft, even though he and Chua were sitting in one of the PRIMAL conference rooms in the Bunker nearly 7,000 kilometers away. Dragonfly was still on the ground in Kaljak with Mitch, Bishop, and Mirza sitting in the cabin, using the aircraft's comms package to establish the video conference with their HQ.

"Just after 1700," replied Bishop as he unwrapped a protein bar.

"So by my calculations it's been forty-eight hours since I've heard from you. Too busy to drop me a line and tell me what the f*ck is going on?"

"Sorry about that, Vance, but we've had some issues at this end," he said between mouthfuls. "After the defensive operations we bugged out to Kaljak and since then we've been trying to get things sorted."

"No problem with that. What I don't like is getting my blue force info from my intel guy. Chua's got enough on his plate trying to track down this Yang f*cker without having the ops staff leaning over his shoulder every five minutes."

"Yeah, OK, I get it. We'll keep you up to date."

"Damn straight you will. Just because you're always going in all guns blazing doesn't mean you can't find five minutes to dial home."

"Hey, I wasn't the one blazing away. This time it was Mitch that saved the day," replied Bishop. He grinned as the PRIMAL pilot leaned out of the camera view and started shaking his bearded head making a chopping motion with his hand.

Vance raised his voice. "How the hell did he do that? Pretty damn sure I told him to keep that bird the f*ck out of trouble."

"All good," Bishop backpedalled. "He just got the villagers out on time. Meant that Mirza and I could unleash hell on the Janjitards."

"Hmmm, why is it I think you're spinning me more shit than a Senator at a congressional hearing?"

"Scout's honor," said Bishop.

"I suppose you're not going to sell them out, are you, Mirza?"

"I would prefer not to be placed in that position, Vance."

"Well, the watchies here are telling me Dragonfly's running green across the board, so you can't have run it that close to the edge."

"Course not, boss," added Mitch. "Babied her all the way." Vance did not need to know about the bullet holes or emergency repairs he had done.

"Moving right along, Chua and I saw the feed from the refinery. Looks like they're building up for another push."

"Yep, too big for us to deal with," Bishop added. "We'd be playing whack-a-mole for a full month trying to deal with those bastards."

"My thoughts exactly, Aden," added Chua. "My team thinks there are at least 2-300 new fighters at the PETROCON facility. We've also hacked the Saudi Air Traffic Control system. PETROCON has four of their tail numbers clearing Saudi airspace in the next seventy-two hours. They're shipping in a ton of gear."

"Puts the SFF up shit creek without a paddle. How long will it take the Janjaweed to build up?" asked Bishop.

"Depends on a few factors. Firstly, if they're keen they can move in over the next twenty-four using what weapons they have. However, I think it's more likely they'll wait for all the gear. Give them a few days to break it out and knock over basic training and you've got a week."

"Not a lot of time," said Bishop. "And no hope of the UN bolstering their forces to counter them?"

"Nope, the Chinese vetoed the last call for an increase in troop numbers. Current forces are insufficient."

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Mirza interrupted. "What about this Omar character that keeps coming up? The Janjaweed commander we questioned said he worked for him and Garang thinks that he's the man behind the whole campaign. Chua, you also mentioned him during our initial briefing."

"Excellent point, Mirza. My source in Khartoum tells me that Omar is running an independent operation. He's got the unsanctioned support of the government as they cannot afford to be publicly associated with his actions."

"So Omar's running his own government-endorsed black ops with support from PETROCON," said Bishop.

"That's my assessment. I'm about to launch an op into China to follow up on the PETROCON side of the house. We're stretched pretty thin at the moment but I think Saneh can handle it."

Bishop raised an eyebrow at the mention of the Iranian operative's name. "More than capable."

"So what would happen if we took this clown Omar out?" asked Mitch.

"It would build on our current strategy," said Vance. "The Janjaweed build-up would be disrupted, buying us more time. And it would send a clear message to the corrupt fatcats in PETROCON headquarters."

"So what are we waiting for?" asked Bishop.

"I've already put a target pack together on his office building, Chinese built of course. Not the most detailed pack but you'll get the basic layout."

"Garang's been inside," added Mirza. "He was with the Dinka chief when he was beheaded. Should be able to give us an idea where to find Omar's office."

Bishop nodded. "And let's not discount ambushing the prick on his way to work. Our time frames are tight but we can still get creative." He glanced at his watch. "If we punch out now, we can be in Khartoum by mid-morning tomorrow. I reckon we should go by road. That frees up Mitch to fly in more kit for the SFF."

The pilot nodded in agreement.

"Mirza and I will roll into town, recon the key locations and come up with a plan," continued Bishop.

"Mission approved," confirmed Vance. "Chua and I will be working it from this end. Do you have all the gear you need?"

"I've got full assault rigs on board along with some other bits and pieces that the lads might find a use for," said Mitch.

"OK, it's a wrap. Oh, one other thing, Bish. What happened to that Janjaweed motherf*cker you captured?"

"He's hanging around with the locals, and I mean that in the most literal sense possible."