For several seconds Carter couldn’t speak. He struggled to breathe. Felt as if someone had been piling stone slabs on his chest. The throbbing between his temples returned with a vengeance.
‘You can’t,’ he said at last. ‘You bloody can’t. Christ, you’re talking about setting off nukes on a densely populated island. It’s fucking madness.’
Even as the words left his mouth, Carter could hardly believe it was true. Then he saw the arrogant expression in Ramsey’s eyes, and he knew the American was deadly serious.
Ramsey said, ‘I’ll tell you what’s madness. Doing nothing while our enemies in the East gain strength. And don’t give me any of that crap about sanctions and aid packages. We both know that’s nonsense. Political virtue-signalling. Gestures of support without having to commit serious manpower. Shine the colours of a country’s flag on the wall of a public building, add an icon to your social media profile. Tell your followers you stand with the people of Ukraine against tyranny. You can’t manufacture victory out of a meme.
‘We’ve been weak for too long,’ Ramsey continued. ‘We squandered the peace dividend at the end of the Cold War. We indulged ourselves, contributed to our own our moral and spiritual decline, while all the time our enemies grew stronger. You have no idea how much time I spent arguing that we needed to prepare for the next great war, that the Chinese needed to be destroyed. That Armageddon was coming. But nobody wanted to know. Heads in the damn sand. All the pointy heads knew best. Thought we were invincible. Now China smells weakness. They believe we’re afraid, you see. They think we don’t want to go down into the trenches. Well, some of us are ready for the fight. We’re ready to make a stand. To do what must be done.’
Carter fought to ignore the growing pressure in his ears. He was dazed. Disorientated. ‘Does the Company know about this? Six?’
Ramsey chuckled. ‘Take a wild guess.’
‘But you must have had help. Something this big.’
‘There are people sympathetic to our point of view,’ Ramsey conceded. ‘People inside the Establishment who have grown tired of pretending to look the other way instead of countering Chinese aggression. True believers.’
‘People like Mullins, you mean.’
‘He’s one of them. There are others, too. In the Pentagon and elsewhere. Decent God-fearing men and women who understand what is at stake.’ He gave a lopsided smile. ‘We’re something of an endangered species these days. But you probably know all about that, being a soldier.’
Carter was still stalling for time. He couldn’t see any way out of his predicament. Ramsey had the Glock 17 aimed at him. Vann stood another metre away, a similar-looking pistol tucked into a holster clipped to his belt. There was another door to the rear of the unit, ten metres back from the box truck. Carter briefly considered knocking down Ramsey and making a run for it. But no. He’d never reach the door in time. Vann would drop him long before he could make his escape.
‘What makes you think the Chinese will even invade?’ he challenged. ‘It could be another bluff.’
‘Like Ukraine, you mean?’ Ramsey snorted derisively. ‘The Russia analysts kept telling us that the Kremlin wasn’t serious about invading their neighbours. The cost would be too great, they said. It would be economic and political suicide. Then they went ahead and did it anyway. Yesterday the experts were right. Today they’re wrong. We’re living in a new world, son. The old rules don’t apply anymore. All bets are off.’
‘We wouldn’t let them take Taiwan,’ Carter insisted. ‘There’d be a global backlash. We’d have to act.’
Ramsey shook his head. ‘I know the president. Better than pretty much anyone, in fact. He’s a callous sonofabitch. Nothing like the decent family-man image he projected on the campaign trail. The Russians could drop a tactical nuke on Latvia or Estonia, hell, even Germany, and our guy wouldn’t lift a goddamn finger. Believe me, when the bombs start falling on Taipei, he won’t dare respond militarily. So it’s down to us.
‘If we can inflict fifty per cent casualties on the Chinese forces, it would spell the end for the invasion. Not even the Communist Party could absorb losses that big. Troops would be withdrawn. The Chinese president would have to resign. The next leader would be anxious not to repeat the same mistake as their predecessors. We’d tame Beijing for a generation, maybe longer.’
Carter looked at him in dismay. ‘You’re talking about killing hundreds of thousands of people.’
‘This is the only way to win. This is about nothing less than the survival of the Christian world.’
Bloody hell, Carter thought. This guy is starting to sound like a TV evangelist.
‘God spoke to me, you know,’ Ramsey carried on, softly. ‘He came to me in a vision. Told me that this was the great mission of my life. I had been chosen, He said. To stop the menace from the East from destroying our way of life.’
He spoke in an eerily calm voice. Detached. Carter listened in dismay as he continued.
‘It’s right there in the Bible, you know. Book of Revelations. You should read it. China is the Devil incarnate. God has chosen a few of us as His righteous soldiers, to prevent the forces of evil from being unleashed on our land. This right here,’ he added, waving his gun at the nukes. ‘This is the wrath of the Lord.’
His face was a picture of serenity. The guy was fucking insane, Carter realised. He really thinks the big bloke upstairs is telling him to detonate a load of bombs for the greater good.
Ramsey was so wrapped up in his own twisted orthodoxy Carter knew he didn’t stand a chance of getting through to him. He switched his appeal to Vann.
‘This is murder, Dave. Mass murder.’
Vann shrugged. ‘It is what it is, mate.’
‘Are you telling me you’re happy to go along with this shite?’
‘It’s China,’ Vann said. ‘Totalitarian dictatorship. Frankly I couldn’t give a toss what happens over there. Makes no difference to me.’
‘Then why are you working with Ramsey?’
‘Money, Geordie. Plain and simple. Bill offered me top dollar to help out with the smuggling side of the operation. Two million, plus half the heroin stash to flog once we get out of here.’
Carter swivelled his eyes back to Ramsey. ‘You’re getting paid for this?’
‘Of course. An operation as big as this requires substantial investment.’ He smiled again. ‘Thankfully, our friends back home have been generous. Very generous indeed. They understand that we’re fighting a war against the enemies of Christ.’
Ramsey glanced at his watch. The guy was beginning to lose interest. Which was bad news, Carter realised. He was running out of time.
‘What about the other two lads? The ones I saw leaving this place just now? Are they in on it as well?’
Ramsey shook his head. ‘They’re ex-Delta. Door-kickers. Hired guns, brought in for a specific operation. They’re in the dark. Me and David, we’re the ones calling the shots.’
Carter looked towards his old mucker. ‘You can’t do this. This isn’t right. Surely you can see that?’
Which drew a throated laugh from Vann.
‘I was shat on by the Regiment, Geordie. I’m a long way past giving a toss about right and wrong.’
Carter tried again. ‘Two million dollars won’t be any good to you. Not if you’ve got to spend the rest of your life on the run.’
‘It won’t come to that,’ Ramsey interjected. ‘We’ve covered our tracks. No fingerprints. No one will link the nukes to us.’
Carter shook his head fiercely. ‘You can’t trust this bloke,’ he said to Vann. ‘He’s already double-crossed the Tajiks. What makes you think he won’t do the same to you?’
‘I’ll take my chances,’ Vann replied flatly. ‘Bill and his mates have promised to take care of me. An appointment with one of the big arms manufacturers. Good money. Big house somewhere in the country. A lot better than seeing out my days in Hereford, waiting for the phone to ring. That’s for fucking sure.’
Ramsey cleared his throat and said, irritably, ‘We’ve wasted enough time. Let’s wrap things up. We’re in the air in fifty minutes.’ He nodded at Vann. ‘Kill him.’
Vann did a double take. ‘Wait. Who said anything about slotting him?’
‘He’s your problem,’ Ramsey replied. ‘You failed to take care of him before, across the border. This is your mess. Time to clear it up.’
Carter felt the blood draining from his head to his feet.
‘Don’t,’ he said. ‘Jesus, Dave. Don’t do it.’
There was the slightest flicker of hesitation in Vann’s expression. A struggle played out on his face. Inner torment. Caught between his loyalty to an old Blade and his orders. He turned to Ramsey.
‘We could tie him up instead. Slap a pair of plasticuffs on him and dump him in the office. We’ll be in the air long before anyone rescues him. Less messy.’
Ramsey said, ‘Can’t do it. This asshole could cause a lot of trouble for us down the line. For you as well. Sorry, son, but he needs to die. That’s just the way it is.’
Vann still hesitated.
‘Don’t do this, mate,’ Carter pleaded. ‘For fuck’s sake, we’re both Regiment.’
Vann’s face hardened. A cold look clouded his faded eyes. ‘I fucking told you, Geordie. I told you to stay away, didn’t I? But you didn’t listen.’
He sounded like a guy trying to silence the voices raging in his head. Tamping down the doubts.
‘Get on with it, man,’ Ramsey ranted impatiently. ‘Drop him. Don’t you want to get paid?’
Vann still hesitated.
Carter stood rooted to the spot, the breath freezing in his veins.
He was out of options. No escape.
Then he heard the throated roar of a car engine.