Morgan caught the look. ‘I’d like you gentlemen to meet my daughter, Angie, and my wife, Suzanne.’ He looked slowly from Jones to Cahn. ‘Should any man interfere with them in any way, he loses his life.’ He grinned. ‘And not too fast.’ Cahn winced inwardly. Morgan’s tone had been light-hearted but the words were clear enough.
After the announcements people stood around chatting for a while, but eventually, when the others had dispersed, the two recruits were alone. Jones and Cahn stood outside the command building breathing in a combination of cigarette smoke and the damp air.
‘I don’t like it,’ Jones muttered. He’d done his homework before signing up and knew about the Colonel’s reputation, but after the meeting he’d learnt a few more things from the regulars. Now he wasn’t so sure. ‘The guy’s a madman.’
Cahn knew he was referring to Morgan. ‘Yeah, but he pays good.’
‘Still don’t like it. He refused to sign the personal protection clause.’
‘Well, if I get shot through the spine I don’t want anyone carrying me out,’ Cahn said. ‘I’m in it for a good time, not a long time.’
‘I’ll stay for a year or two,’ Jones said. ‘I need the cash.’
Angie wandered past and waved.
‘Hey, kid,’ Cahn called to her.
‘My name’s Angie,’ she said walking over to them.
‘What’re you doing on this base? This ain’t no place for a kid.’
‘I work here.’
Cahn snorted. ‘Yeah, sure. What d’ya do?’
Pushing back her long dark hair she said, ‘I’m one of the Colonel’s snipers amongst other things.’
‘You? You couldn’t even lift a rifle. And even if you fired it a little thing like you would shatter your shoulder.’
‘Well, I can’t shoot the M107 from my shoulder easily, but we normally fix and mount it in position when I’m using it. Mostly for taking out vehicles or other material. It’s very accurate. When we do fire from the shoulder we use an AK. It’s not that heavy and it’s fine for closer work but no good for my stuff. I can fire it easily though. I have it properly seated against my shoulder, and it’s got less of a kick than a twelve-gauge. More of a push. I’ve never broken my shoulder firing one or even got bruised. Even our M40A1 isn’t that heavy. Just under fifteen pounds. We’ve got a couple of military-version Russian SVDs which are light and accurate too.’
‘Yeah, I don’t mind the Dragonov,’ Cahn said. ‘They’ve got a good range on ’em.’
‘Accurate out to a thousand yards or more,’ Angie noted. ‘And useful when we need a semi-auto. But multiple shots help the enemy find you. For my sniper work I like the Remington 700 bolt action rifle in .308 NATO the best. The ammo is universal. The recoil is manageable and it’s easy for me to carry. I’ve even got the dies and press for it, and reload the cartridges myself. The recoil’s a bit more than the AK but not much.’
‘So can you hit a barn door at ten yards then?’ Cahn asked.
‘I’ve been brought up with guns.’ She eyed him steadily. ‘You?’
‘I know my shit. You’ll all be glad I’m here.’ His eyes fell on her hip holster. ‘What’s your sidearm?’ She took it out and held it for him to see without letting him touch it. ‘A Lady Colt. Present from my dad.’
‘A .45,’ Cahn noted. ‘And you fire that without breaking your hand?’
‘I fired my first .45 Colt when I was eight,’ Jones cut in. ‘Didn’t break my wrist, but the noise when it went off made me gun-shy of it afterwards.’ ‘You didn’t like the noise, and now your deal is explosives,’ Cahn said laughing. ‘Kind of funny really.’
‘I like the noise of a .45,’ Angie said. ‘That’s why I wanted one. I thought about trying a .44 Magnum once for the noise, but I watched a guy here fire one and found the revolver about fifteen feet behind him. Left a bruise on his forehead. I like my .45, and I can even fire it one-handed,’ she added. ‘Left and right. Can’t show you here though. It’s not allowed.’
‘Why would you want to?’ Jones asked.
She grinned. ‘Saw it on a movie. It looked really cool.’
‘You realize movies aren’t real, don’t you?’ Cahn asked with a grin.
‘Seems that way. I can’t hit much with one hand, but I like trying.’ As she put her gun away she added a little more quietly, ‘And yes, I get a sore wrist.
So, what do you think of our place?’
She’d addressed Cahn, but Jones answered. ‘Never thought I’d sign on with a warlord.’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘The Colonel’s a merc!’
‘I ain’t never seen a merc destroy a village with all the civvies still in it.’
‘Well, unfortunately the rebels put their bases in amongst the civilians deliberately. My dad tries to stop it and sometimes killing is the only way. We do humanitarian things too, you know. We once built an airstrip for a village so the Red Cross could get supplies in.’
‘You sure have a taste for big things, girlie,’ Cahn said. ‘Big guns, big words. What else do you like big?’ He dropped his cigarette butt on the ground. ‘Wanta know something, kid? There ain’t nothin’ humanitarian ’bout it. It’s called strategy. Getting the locals onside.’
‘What would you know?’ she asked before walking away.
When Angie was out of earshot Jones said, ‘He’s even teaching his daughter the trade. Has to be a nut, eh?’
‘Sure he is, but a smart one.’
‘Crazy! His little girl? The man’s a total wack.’
‘What’s your problem anyway? You knew his rep before you signed up.’
Jones shrugged. ‘One outfit I worked for used child soldiers. In Africa. Those local kids were value. You fill ’em up with cocaine, give ’em names like Killer, and Dark Shadow, and they feel important and do anything. We used to put ’em in the front line all the time. But what sort of man keeps his own wife and child on a military base?’ he asked, drawing back on his cigarette.
‘All I care about is he pays good. Much more than any other place I’ve ever worked.’
‘Money’s not much use if you’re dead,’ Jones commented. ‘I really don’t like the PP clause not being in the contract. You could sprain an ankle, and your own men will turn round and butcher you.’
‘Doubt it. Did you hear the story ’bout their guy with the bullet through the spine? They carried him for miles to get him out. Lot of good it did the poor bastard too. Anyway, I never work for anyone I haven’t researched thoroughly, and from what I’ve heard, the Colonel’s a top strategist. Hardly ever loses a man. Be safer than the last crowd we worked for, and far more lucrative. Probably more interesting too.’
‘Yeah, if you like killing people.’
Cahn smiled. He’d heard Morgan’s military encounters were particularly savage and bloody, but for him that was all part of the appeal. ‘I’ll do anything as long as it pays good.’