New Guard (CHERUB) - Robert Muchamore Page 0,60

back in the UK.

Before heading out, James sighted a set of scales under a sickbed. He hooked them out with his foot and stepped on. 74.5 kilograms clothed was comfortably inside the target he needed to fly, so he allowed himself a slight grin as he crossed the hallway to the planning office.

Capstick sat at a computer, scanning through a fifty-page Echelon chatter report. Tovah had her feet up on the map table, playing Monument Valley on her Galaxy Note.

‘So, what’s the verdict?’ James asked. ‘Are we good to go without Kerry?’

Tovah sat straight as she spoke. ‘Sickness or injury were always possible, which is why we built redundancy into our plans. Six is better than five, but we’ll be OK, as long as we don’t lose anyone else.’

James looked at Capstick. ‘McEwen weighs over seventy-five kg, but you’d be OK.’

Capstick smiled and shook his head. ‘Did my share when I was in Aussie SAS. I’ve got three young kids and a wife who’d flip if she found out I’d gone on a mission in Syria. And you’re not poaching my assistants either. I’ve got twelve kids starting basic training in three days, and we’re way behind with the prep work because we’ve been out here helping you lot.’

‘You don’t have to tell your wife,’ Tovah pointed out, making Capstick shake his head and laugh.

‘Done enough death-defying stuff for one lifetime,’ he said firmly.

‘Fair enough,’ James smirked. ‘So what’s our configuration?’

Tovah looked serious. ‘We’ll go in with four planes, plus a spare for emergency. Kerry wasn’t topping the flight rankings so the pilot roster stays the same. I’ll pilot, obviously. Lauren tops the pilot training ranking by some distance, so she’ll pilot, as will you and Bruce. Kyle as first backup, which means we now have three empty seats for our two hostages. The other thing to bear in mind is, at the range we’re flying, the microlights can take a maximum of one-fifty kilos for two passengers. Yuen and Sachs are big fellows, so one will fly with me since I’m lightest. Since you’re heaviest, James, you’ll now fly back with an empty seat.’

James scowled. ‘So all that dieting was for nothing?’

Tovah laughed. ‘Kerry told me you’ve got a six-pack for the first time in years.’

‘Bloody watermelon!’ James moaned. ‘I never want to see another slice …’

Tovah looked at Capstick, who was clicking through the electronic chatter report from Echelon monitoring. ‘So we’re trained up and Kerry’s absence is a blow, but not a critical one. Question is, do we strike as planned?’

Capstick scrolled to a report summary on his laptop screen, and began reading aloud. ‘No direct communications related to Sachs and Yuen detected for twenty-six days—’

‘No surprise,’ Tovah interrupted. ‘All Islamic State groups use strong encryption.’

Capstick nodded. ‘Which is why they’ve been monitoring routine Internet and phone traffic in areas close to IS oil wells. Electronic chatter indicates that a well twenty kilometres east of Al Hakasah was out of operation for several days last month. There’s even a report of a Facebook message from someone presumed to work at the well saying Back to work tomorrow. Chinaman came and fixed the console. Which quite probably refers to Kam Yuen.’

Tovah smiled. ‘Every bit of electronic chatter indicates that Sachs and Yuen are alive.’

Capstick nodded. ‘UN estimates four million dollars’ worth of black oil is being smuggled out of northern Syria every week. Guys who can keep pumps working are too valuable to kill.’

‘Is there any indication of the kind of security detail Sachs and Yuen are travelling with?’ James asked.

‘Nothing,’ Capstick sighed. ‘They’re probably travelling in some kind of lightly armoured convoy. Three to six armed guards. Anything more elaborate would make them conspicuous.’

‘What about response time?’ James asked. ‘If a well stops working right now, how long until Yuen and Sachs reach the scene?’

‘On average, we have one to three days from first chatter indicating that a well has gone out of production, to the arrival of the engineers,’ Capstick said. ‘Obviously, Sachs and Yuen can only be in one place at a time, so if two go wrong at once …’

James nodded. ‘Presumably they’ll try and fix the biggest well first. We’re targeting big wells to improve our chances. Speaking of targets, Tovah?’

Tovah leaned across the map. ‘The well at Tall Tamar is my suggested target,’ she began, as she tapped a spot. ‘It’s a big well eighty kilometres south of the Turkish border. It’s in the heart of IS-held territory, which means the military