Marker eased forward on the throttle and they pulled out into the estuary. A hundred yards and they could see the short-sea trader gliding out of the river mouth, showing all the correct lights for a vessel under steam. It looked like a freighter in search of a cargo, not a ship on loan to the SBS for transporting babies for sale, political prisoners and foreign-devil trespassers back to Hong Kong.
Ten minutes more and Marker was manoeuvring the launch alongside as Rosalie grasped for the rope ladder which Finn had thrown down.
‘Can you make it?’ he asked.
‘I think so,’ she said. The exhaustion born of shock seemed to be fading like a nightmare, leaving only fragments of irrelevant despair.
He watched her go up, her movements surer with each rung, and then followed, leaving the launch to drift with the tide. Scrambling across the rail, he asked Finn how Dubery was.
‘He’ll make it,’ was the answer.
‘Thank Christ. Where’s Rob?’
Finn grinned. ‘On the bridge, of course. He’s always wanted to be a captain.’
‘He’s welcome. Go and tell him to keep up the good work. I’m . . .’ He gestured towards Rosalie, who was leaning against the rail, looking out to sea.
Finn smiled and disappeared through the doorway.
Marker walked over to her. ‘Do you want to go inside?’ he asked.
‘I want to be held,’ she said.
He held her, feeling the warmth of her body through the thin cloth, the warm breeze flicking her still-wet hair across his face. Over her shoulder, in the far distance, he could see the faint yellow glow of Hong Kong’s gaudy halo hanging in the southern sky.
OTHER AVAILABLE TITLES IN THIS SERIES
MARINE A SBS: Terrorism on the North Sea
MARINE B SBS: The Aegean Campaign
MARINE C SBS: The Florida Run
MARINE D SBS: Windswept
MARINE E SBS: The Hong Kong Gambit
MARINE F SBS: Royal Target
MARINE I SBS: Escape From Azerbaijan
MARINE J SBS: The East African Mission
MARINE K SBS: Gold Rush
MARINE L SBS: Raiders From The Sea
OTHER TITLES IN SERIES FROM 22 BOOKS
SOLDIER A SAS: Behind Iraqi Lines
SOLDIER B SAS: Heroes of the South Atlantic
SOLDIER C SAS: Secret War in Arabia
SOLDIER D SAS: The Colombian Cocaine War
SOLDIER E SAS: Sniper Fire in Belfast
SOLDIER F SAS: Guerrillas in the Jungle
SOLDIER G SAS: The Desert Raiders
SOLDIER H SAS: The Headhunters of Borneo
SOLDIER I SAS: Eighteen Years in the Elite Force
SOLDIER J SAS: Counter-insurgency in Aden
SOLDIER K SAS: Mission to Argentina
SOLDIER L SAS: The Embassy Siege
SOLDIER M SAS: Invisible Enemy in Kazakhstan
SOLDIER N SAS: The Gambian Bluff
SOLDIER P SAS: Night Fighters in France
SOLDIER Q SAS: Kidnap the Emperor!
SOLDIER R SAS: Death on Gibraltar
SOLDIER S SAS: The Samarkand Hijack
SOLDIER T SAS: War on the Streets
SOLDIER U SAS: Bandit Country
SOLDIER V SAS: Into Vietnam
SOLDIER W SAS: Guatemala – Journey into Evil
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 1: Valin’s Raiders
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 2: The Korean Contract
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 3: The Vatican Assignment
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 4: Operation Nicaragua
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 5: Action in the Arctic
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 6: The Khmer Hit
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 7: Blue on Blue
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 8: Target the Death-dealer
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 9: The Berlin Alternative
MERCENARY 10: The Blue-eyed Boy
MERCENARY 11: Oliver’s Army
First published in Great Britain in 1996 by 22 Books, Invicta House, Sir Thomas Longley Road, Rochester, Kent
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ISBN: 1-898125-63-5
PDF ebook ISBN: 978-1-4728-1661-0
ePub ISBN: 978-1-4728-1662-7
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