Free Crossfire by Andy McNab Page A

'Stay
here!'
    I tried to gain ground and catch up with him
but it wasn't long before my boots were sinking
into calf-deep puddles of sewage.
    The Rifleman lay prone on the ground. Sniper
fire cracked off above us. The rest of the patrol
was now engaged in a contact inside the warren.
As long as they kept the fire going I could get
Pete and the Rifleman – if he was still alive – back
into cover.
    Pete was bent over the body. I fell on my
knees next to him. Sewage splashed up
my Osprey.
    Pete must have spotted Terry through the
viewfinder. The boy groaned.
    'Pete, he's OK, he's alive. Come on, let's get
him up.'
    Terry had taken a couple of rounds into his
front plate. The force would have knocked him to
the ground, but he wasn't injured, just bruised.
He lay there in shock at still being alive. 'Fuck . . .
fuck . . .'
    For Pete it was relief.
    'Get up, both of you. Come on!'
    I grabbed Pete as a scream from the snipers
told us to get out of the killing ground. They
cracked a couple of rounds over our heads.
    I looked up towards the warren as a body
dropped just metres away. His AK hit the ground
before he did.
    More bodies poured from the darkness. They
weren't firing.
    'Run! They're going to lift us!'
    Pete and Terry were on their feet. I pushed
them on through the stinking mud as the snipers
tried to cover us.
    It was too late.
    An arm appeared from behind me. Then I felt
hot breath on my neck and a head against my
shoulders. He tightened the armlock, and the
world was full of grunts and stale tobacco. His
weight was dragging me down. The Velcro of my
PRR ear pad ripped away and fell to the ground.
    Other bodies swarmed over Pete and Terry but
they were going down fighting. There was
nothing I could do for them until I was free.
    The screams, gunfire and Warrior engines
receded into the background as I jerked left and
right, pushing my head back to nut him, anything
to get the fucker off me.
    My knees buckled. I fell to the ground and he
collapsed on top of me. I kicked, pushed,
punched, anything to get him off so Barney –
anyone – could take a shot.
    I kicked out but this boy was massive and he
kept hold. Wet with shit, his hair slapped against
my face. We tumbled into a shallow ditch. I made
a grab for his head and tried to butt him.
    We rolled over and over in the shit puddles. I
saw the stars, and the next thing I knew my face
was in the mud. I tried to keep my mouth shut,
but I had to breathe. It was like holding your
mouth and nose as a kid after taking a
deep breath, then carrying on until it becomes
unbearable and keeping on going a few seconds
past that.
    I felt a stabbing pain in my eyes and ears. I felt
pressure in my chest and throat. I thrashed and
bucked, but only succeeded in burrowing my
head further into the slime.
    My body was telling me to breathe, but it
wouldn't let me inhale water. I jerked and convulsed
like a madman. After ten or fifteen
seconds more I felt like I was in a vice that was
being gradually tightened across my breastbone
and spinal column. Water seeped into my lungs,
my body was a mass of pain and I knew I was
dying.
    I didn't even sense the other body appearing
above us, or jumping down into the ditch, or the
boot that must have come in fast and hard and
smacked against the Iraqi's head. All I heard was
a bone-crunching thud, then the man crushing
me spasmed and relaxed. Next thing I knew, his
weight was pulled off me. My lungs roared as I
filled them with air.
    Another kick barrelled into my assailant as I
gulped and coughed.
    The boot was Pete's. I could see him through
the blur of mud and shit that covered my face.
And then I heard the loud bang as he followed
up with just one round from Terry's weapon into
the Iraqi's head.
    'Staying down there all night, mate?'
    His free hand was outstretched. He hauled me
to my feet.
    Sniper rounds whistled overhead, thudding
into the warren. I fought for breath and spat shit
from my mouth.
    A few metres away, Terry was kicking another
dead