Free Spider Shepherd: SAS: #2 by Stephen Leather Page B

than Akrotiri any day of the week.’
    ‘Anyone hurt?’ Shepherd said.
    ‘Just me,’ Geordie said, examining a deep cut in the side of his hand. ‘Bloody hell, it’s through to the bone. Some of those little bastards had khukris!’
    ‘Well you’re the patrol medic, aren’t you,’ Jock said, showing not a trace of sympathy. ‘Physician heal thy bloody self, as Shakespeare once said.’
    ‘In fact that quote comes from the Bible, you ignorant Scots git,’ Geordie said. ‘ And anyway, I’ve got a better idea. It’s a two-handed job, so I’ll tell you what to do while you bloody suture it up for me.’
    While Jock patched Geordie up, Shepherd turned to Gul. ‘What was that about?’
    ‘I don’t know. Street violence like that is almost unknown here. Perhaps they just saw a group of Westerners and thought they’d rob you.’
    ‘They didn’t seem like they had robbery on their minds,’ said Shepherd. ‘And they can’t have been targeting us deliberately because nobody knew we were in town. Besides, they seemed to be focusing on you, which suggests that you were their target.’
    ‘He’s right, Gul,’ Jimbo said. ‘They’d followed us from the market area and tried to set up an ambush. It was planned.’
    Gul brushed their concerns away. ‘Well, if they were targeting me, it was probably just a case of mistaken identity. Don’t worry about it.’
    The following day, Shepherd was coming back from his morning run, chest heaving with the effort required in the thin air, when he saw the Military Attaché striding towards their quarters with a face like thunder. ‘Get your men together,’ he said, ignoring Shepherd’s greeting. When they were all assembled, he let rip. ‘I told you to keep your distance from Gul, but I now discover that not only did you ignore my request but you were also involved in an ugly street brawl with him last night.’
    ‘News travels fast,’ Shepherd said. ‘ But we were attacked without provocation. What do you expect us to do, let them cut us to pieces?’
    ‘You should not have been with Gul. As I expressly warned you, it’s an implicit message of British support for his political candidacy, which is not at all the message we wish to send. The Nepalese government is furious and the ambassador has already been summoned to receive a bollocking in person.’
    ‘So what about our attackers?’ asked Shepherd. ‘What’s being done to trace them? They shouldn’t be too hard to find because they’ll be nursing a few broken noses and black eyes.’
    Jenner gave an impatient shake of his head. ‘The Nepalese authorities are keeping a tight lid on the whole affair, because they’re terrified about the detrimental effect that reports of street violence might have on the tourist trade.’ He paused. ‘So, the sooner you four are on the Herc back to Cyprus, the happier I’ll be, and meanwhile I would be grateful if you could avoid making any further waves around here.’
    ‘So the next time we’re attacked, you’d just like us to lie back and take it, would you?’
    Jenner’s eyes hardened. ‘No, I’d like you to make sure there isn’t a next time. And do not see Gul again, that’s an order.’
    ‘Tough,’ Jock said. ‘You’re not part of our chain of command, so we don’t take orders from you, and we’re seeing Gul this afternoon in Pokhara.’
    After their frosty confrontation with Jenner, Shepherd used the Diplomatic Service telegram secure signals system to speak to Jamie, the Ops Officer, back in Hereford and obtain permission to go west.
    They then borrowed the MA’s Landrover - without his knowledge, for he’d now left Kathmandu with the Gurkha recruiters. They loaded their operational kit into the Landrover, stocked up with food from the market and then set off for Pokhara. That chilly December afternoon found them on a sports field alongside a spectacular river gorge on the outskirts of Pokhara.
    A group of five hundred young Nepalis, all dressed