Free Kill Zone (A Spider Shepherd Short Story) by Stephen Leather Page A

version of the ubiquitous AK47, and it was an unusual weapon for
an Afghan to be carrying.
    As Shepherd and
Geordie walked over, the Afghan turned to look at them. He had the hook-nosed profile,
sun and wind-burned skin, and dark beard and hair of a typical Afghan, but he
had a distinguishing feature that Shepherd noticed at once - though his right
eye was hazel, the pupil of his left one was a strange, milky white, almost
opalescent colour.
    Todd was
haranguing two armed guards at the entrance who appeared to be refusing to
allow the Captain and the Afghan into the compound. ‘I’ll have you on a charge
for this, I’m warning you!’ said Todd.
    ‘What’s the
problem, Captain?’ Geordie said.
    ‘This guard is
refusing to let us into the compound,’ Todd said, flicking his hair from his
eyes.
    Geordie grinned. ‘That’s
probably because you’ve got an armed and unknown Afghan with you,’ he
said.   He didn’t call the officer
‘sir.’   That was the SAS way. No saluting
and no honorifics, though the Major was always referred to as ‘Boss’.
    ‘This man is
Ahmad Khan, a Surrendered Enemy Personnel,’ said the Captain.
    ‘Well, that
doesn’t carry too much weight in these parts,’ said Geordie. ‘I can tell you
from my own experience that SEPs are like junkies - they’re only with you long
enough to get their next fix: cash, weapons, whatever, and then they’re gone
again. With respect, Captain, no experienced guy would trust an SEP as far as
he could throw him.’
    Todd glared at the
medic. ‘This man has vital intelligence I need to put before the Boss and I am
not going to exclude him from the compound just because of your prejudice
against SEPs and perhaps Afghans in general.’
    Shepherd could
see that Geordie was close to giving the officer a piece of his mind, and while
he preferred not to get involved, he figured that he should at least try to
defuse the situation.   ‘It’s not
about prejudice,’ he said, choosing his words carefully. ‘It’s based on bitter
experience. We’ve had more than our fair share of green on blue attacks out
here.’   He pointed at the Afghan’s
rifle. ‘One: He’s carrying a loaded AK74. Only the top guys in the Taliban
carry them. So he’s not some tribesman picking up a few extra dollars for
fighting the faranji invaders, he’s one of their leaders. Two: This is a secure
compound. Not even a Brit would get in here without being vetted or vouched
for, and yet you’re trying to bring an armed Taliban fighter in here.’
    Geordie pointed a
finger at the officer. ‘The thing is, Captain, you’re not only jeopardising the
safety of everyone here, but you’d better watch your own back, because I’d take
odds that he’d rub you out if he thought he could get away with it.’
    ‘Your comments
are noted,’ Todd said, barely keeping the fury from his voice. ‘Now step aside,
the OC needs to hear what he has to say.’
    The two guards
– both paratroopers – stood their ground, their weapons in the
ready position.
    ‘With the
greatest of respect, Captain, they’re not going to let you in while your SEP
has a loaded weapon,’ said Shepherd. ‘But if he unloads his weapon and leaves
the magazine and his ammunition belt with the guards, he can probably be
allowed into the compound. He can pick them up again on his way out.’
    Ahmad Khan looked
to Todd for guidance, then shrugged and began unloading his AK 74, but he
glared at Shepherd, clearly unhappy.
    ‘Do you speak
English?’ Geordie asked the Afghan.
    ‘Enough,’ said
the man, handing his ammunition belt and magazine to one of the paratroopers.
    ‘What’s your name?’
    ‘Ahmad Khan.’
    ‘Well, Ahmad
Khan, you’d better be on your best behaviour while you’re here because we’ll be
watching you.’
    The Afghan
smiled. ‘Do I scare you, soldier? Is that it?’ He nodded slowly. ‘Yes, I can
see the fear in your eyes.’ He chuckled.
    ‘You don’t scare
me, mate,’ said Geordie.