al-basrah, basran

september, 2019
 < what can i get you ? >

< two kabobs. >

< shukran. >

TWO SEDANS AND A G-WAGON.

MOBILE 1 HAS EYES ON TARGETS. DRIVER PLUS 1 IN THE G-WAGON.

GUY IN A RED SHIRT PULLING SECURITY.

ONE MORE GUNMAN. YELLOW SHIRT. POSTED ON THE FRONT DOOR.

TARGET IS SEATED IN THE CAFE.

GREEN SIDE. TABLE FOR TWO.

ONE BODYGUARD...

ONE GUEST. THE MONEY IS IN PLAY.

YOU HAVE THE BALL.

 * SEND *

PICK UP AT SERVICE ENTRANCE. we’re up.

STANDBY TO RECEIVE IN 5 MICS.
 which plate ?

take it out, now.

do it...
for your trouble.

leave.
 smoke the guard and let ’ s
get this guy bagged up.

it ’s him.
 this is token. package secured. ready
for pick up at the service entrance.

ROGER, ALL CLEAR. COME OUT.

coming out.
how is it that we are at ground zero, in
a city heralded as the mecca of the new
middle eastern free economic zone...
 yet the network coverage
YET THE
goes NETWORK
from full bars to
zero every other block.
COVERAGE GOES FROM
FULL BARS TO ZERO
EVERY OTHER BLOCK?

every regime change has a

silver lining, dude. is this your
first time in sunny basran ?

not my first rodeo, that’s a hell of a

but my first time here stint with starfleet.
with cold harbor. how are you getting 401k
long have you boys and medical or are you
been with the company? still contractors ?

10 years on and off. contractors. no one

here is salary.

did contractor status get

you out of being dog chipped
with blue force trackers?

everyone gets chipped here.

 is that because of a k&r threat? after 10 years
of working with the company, there’s probably
some serious bounties on your heads.

not so much kidnap & ransom, but you

never know when you’ll turn up on
someone’s most wanted list. like you said,
you can make a lot of enemies in 10 years
and there’s a lot of local enterprise in
basran looking to make a name for itself
with the iranians...

it’s a growth sector. maybe we’ll expand.

nice. do you get a pass on the

chemical and psychiatric stuff ?

one of the few perks of contracting, is we
get exempted from all the chemical therapy
and resistance conditioning. instead we get
random, no-notice polygraphs. though it’s
probably got more to do with saving money
than any kind of security measure.
i still don’t know whether to take that
as a compliment or insult. i mean fuck
drinking their kool aid, but the random
polys are a total pain in the ass.
 you’re not on secure channels ?

* ZZZZZZZZZZ *

* RING

what ’s up buddy ?

cellular may not be secure but it ’s easy to hide

in the sheer density of traffic. the iranians and
their flunkies aren’t exactly the nsa...

if anything, encrypted comms stand out

like a sore thumb in this environment. we
keep the lingo generic enough that even if
someone lands on it, the chatter just
sounds like white guys talking oil.
so tell me about this new client. have you
worked with al-sistani’s people before ?

no direct interaction, but

al-sistani has been on
iran’s shit list for a
in 09, before status of forces. while. quds force are
still running all of
basran’s internal security
teams and they’ve rolled
up several of al-sistani’s
people in the process of
settling scores.
whole different ball game
then. anything more recent ?

iran has a lot riding on this place.

they’re not the only ones. i don’t

know about you, but the issuing bank
on my paycheck is based in riyad.
* CLiCK *

check this shit out, we’re up for a random poly. again! hmmmm ?

shocker.
 grinch here, was fucking the last
TL’s old lady. when the TL found
out, he didn’t take too kindly to it
and as a parting gift, when he
rotated out of country, he put us
on the shit list, so we get polys.
every week. thanks again for that.

dude, she was all over me! and it’s not

like they didn ’t get fucking divorced a
week later. by the way, thanks for selling
me out to the new guy, dick.

* t l - t e a m le a d e r

it doesn’t sound like they had a very

healthy relationship to begin with.

they were going through kind of a

rough patch at the time. but i
figure, they’re both happier now.
thanks to me of course.

a merc doctor ruth ?

you know it. check out my youtube

channel and like my facebook page.
we ’re here.
papers and id. roll down your windows.

open the gate!

 welcome! welcome! it is good of
you to come today! pull up to the
garage and i will show you inside.

very good. very good. this way please.

 be seeing you.

looks clear. you want

company for this?
i can take this from here. all yours, dude. you got bars? full bars and 5G.

we’re on speed dial if this goes all

nisour square on you. otherwise, give
us a heads up when you’re wrapping.
 mr. bowlin, welcome.

mr. jaf, a pleasure sir.

MOBILE 1 - BASE. STATUS?

mobile 1 is on-site. all parties present.

meeting is just getting spun up.

SUPPORT STAFF? ample.

YOU NEED ADDITIONAL PAX? no, we’re good. copy that, out.
jet, did you copy last?

copy direct.
 one of those days ?

divorce is a never ending fuck you.

good times.

what about you? as of yesterday, you were

wheeels up, out of here at 0600 today and
i was going to start rolling with jet.

yeah, not so much. check this out. last

night i get an email that the client is
cutting the per diem by 30% and dumping
the bonus clause entirely.
 nice...
i just vomited in my mouth.
how’s your start-up with
flea going ? he still living
on your dime with russian
hookers in dubai ?
pretty much. but i’ve got bills to pay
and considering how much i fucking
hate karachi, plan b was to extend my
stay here in sunny basran as a
contract “fedayeen” for the saudis.
besides, what would you do without
me ? i’m your therapist and best
friend, all in one bad-ass package.
you’ll get used to it.
i ’m an acquired taste.
flea is closing in on a pipeline deal in
baghdad. he’s looking at office space in
kuwait city now, so we can wine and dine
these ministry of oil guys without
having to pick up russian hookers and a
suite at the burj in dubai every time
they want to have a meeting.
kuwait city ? not sure if have you buddy, it’s the middle east. someone
noticed, but this isn’t exactly the is always killing someone. what are
safest neighborhood to be opening a you going to do?
new business in ?

this is where the oil is.

the man we are looking for is an iranian
national, azhar al-fahradi. he was an advisor to
muqtada al-sadr for years, planning jaish al
mahdi operations against coalition forces and
later he led iraqi national forces against the
“islamic state” terrorists when they began
operations inside iraq in 2014.

two years ago, just before basran was

granted autuonomous status, al-fahradi
was sent with a detachment of iranian
quds force operatives to act as haaris
aziz personal guard. within weeks of
their arrival, any critic of the islamic
supreme council was brutally killed.
when autonomy came, there was only aziz
and the other iranian puppets to rule.

when the ayatollah al-sistani returned to basra

from exile, the people of basran rejoiced.
however, basran’s “counter terrorism” forces,
run by al-fahradi, began targeting supporters of
the ayatollah. to date, they have launched direct
attacks against more than a dozen residences
and mosques that support the aytaolollah.
 this isn’t the first time
the iranians have targeted
the al-sistani...

but this latest campaign represents

a significant escaltion. it is the
first time in many years that the
iranians have openly attacked us.

there is no doubt in anyone’s minds that the

iranians are pulling the strings of the islamic
supreme council and that aziz is little more than but despite that, the ayatollah cannot risk
one of their puppets same as maliki was before him... an esclation to full blown civil war.

the ayatollah loves his people. the shi’a

suffered greatly at saddam’s hands. then it
was al qaeda and now, the iranians. basran is
an opportunity for a true shi’a nation. we
cannot let it be hijacked and turned into
another lebanon by those jackals in tehran.
to that end, our hands cannot be
seen in any retalitory actions. we
need a third party to represent
our interests, in any manner
necessary, with extreme prejudice.
al-fahradi must be captured or
killed. ideally, i would like him
captured as we maintain multiple
sites throughout basran where i believe that can be
he could be held indefinitely and arranged mr. jaf.
debriefed at our convenience.

this would be an excellent way to begin our

relationship with your company, mr bowlin. but
make no mistake, al-fahradi is highly valued by
both the aziz government as well as the iranians
and he is protected accordingly. any action
against him must remain highly confidential.
of course, mr jaf. matters such
as these are always kept in the
strictest of confidence...
that is good. this request does not fall
under the usual activities undertaken by
our organization. in the past, the
ayatollah has frowned upon the use of
such methods and employing a third
party to conduct such activity is deeply
unsettling to him.
and cold harbor maintains
assets to discretely resolve
these exact kinds of situations.
but the presence of the iranian quds
force agents and their influence at the
highest levels of the aziz government,
does not bode well for our future or
that of the shi’a people.
thank you for your time today mr.
jaf. i will be in touch within 24 hours
to give you an update on al-fahradi’s
whereabouts and condition.
you good to go, boss? jet, mobile 1...

call me j.r.

SEND IT.

teeing off. customer is ready for delivery.

COPY THAT.
 yes ?

* zzzzz *

where ?!!
 * ZZZZZ *

did you find the people you were looking for ?

YES AND THANKS TO YOU, THEY HAVE BEEN REUNITED

WITH THEIR LOVED ONES. HOW DID YOU FIND THEM?
WAS IT OUR MUTUAL FRIEND FROM BEFORE?
yes and he is very interested in a
full-time position if one is available.

THERE ARE ALWAYS OPPORTUNITIES

WITHIN OUR COMPANY FOR DEDICATED
AND INDUSTRIOUS MEN OF SUCH TALENT.
for your time...

de nada.
excellent. i’ll leave you his resume.
contact me to set up the meet.

LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.

 base, mobile 1 has taken delivery.

COPY, MOBILE 1. RETURN TO BASE.

roger that.

back to the manor ?

back to the manor .

you got it.

mobile 1 is here.

two going up.

 two on deck.

it ’s them. copy that.

 this is our boy...

...marwan shammari. he dimed out

al-fahradi to us two weeks ago
and he gave us the quds force
officers jet bagged last night.

he ’s former iraqi national guard, but got a posting

with the basran fpf when this place was granted
autonomous status. he started at the bottom of
the food chain, working a swing gate until someone
realized his spoke english, arabic and farsi fluently.

fpf - federal protection forces, basran’s secret service.

and now he’s a jumper ? doesn’t

seem to match the profile.

from there he was promoted into

their mobile security program and did
psd work, until 2 months ago, when he
was promoted again. this time into
the fpf counter intelligence corps.

psd - personal security detail

khaliq made the love connection on this guy
and so far he’s 10/10 on all his assets. so bring
him in, we’ll sit him down and see what he’s got.
he’s not exactly america’s most wanted, but he
has handed us two very juicy targets so far.
i figure at the bare minimum, he’s disgruntled.

or a member for life.

and that ’s why you guys get the big bucks.

 initial pick up is at venue grey 1-13. 1-13 is right on the
edge of the basra souk, so make contact and walk
him to grey 1-23 with some basic sdr ’s along the way.
if he’s clear, initiate the pick up at your convenience.
feel free to handle him however you want. he may
have fed us some good intel but he ’s not vetted.

full data packet is loaded onto

your phones, but the pick up
site is in protected terrirotry.

the client owns all the militia check-

points and patrols, so no one is going
to be gunning for you out of the box...

but the iranians are outv there.

with four of their “a” guys down
in 2 weeks they have to be
getting itchy trigger fingers.
 so what if this goes all bay of pigs on us ?

we have spun up safe rooms and fresh

vehicles at sites bradbury and flat iron,
but i would prefer it if we don’t turn
this into another cuban missile crisis.

so, what are the odds that this hajj is

playing both ends against the middle ?

50/50.
 you driving ? i ’m driving .

get in already. you’re letting all the air con out.

 something on your mind ?

what do you think about this new case officer ?

he’s not bad for a wheel gun guy.

at a minimum, he seems to know
how to talk with the hajj and
get some action out of them.
true enough. how many of
these have we done this
week ? three ? four ?

something like that. besides, did

you hear about that tool bag
jet and rocket got paired with ?

no...
 oh fuck man, so check this out. yesterday, their case officer
gives them a routine pick up on an existing source. no
problem, right ? three variants later, their asset is a no show.
they have no comms, so they call it in. case officer whigs the
fuck out. she wants to burn all the safe rooms, extract
everyone of her sources and make a run for the border.

then, out of nowhere, the hajj calls in and is like, “where the
fuck are you guys? i’ve been standing out here for hours.”
turns out the case officer had her variants screwed up and
while jet and rocket were playing delta ninja secret agent, he
was pounding turkish coffees and kabobs.

priceless. sounds like another “flies remind me again, why we don’t

no shit bud, it ’s kobayashi
on eyeballs” red dot special. don’t dump this place for a nice
maru meets “girls gone
they screen these fucking people at cushy psd gig in pakistan ?
wild” in fucking basra.
all before sending them in-country ?

devil you know bud. here, if this goes south, we’re 30

minutes across the border to kuwait. a gig goes
south in pakistan, it’s 50/50 the client is the one
that burned you, and then, assuming you kill your
way out of whatever shit deal you have been dealt,
it’s long walk to the border through indian country.
 “if you save your breath, i feel
a man like you can manage it.”

haha fucker.

we’re here. that him ?

< hello ? >

that ’s him .

cross the street, head

to the intersection and
make a right. i’ll call you
again when you get there.
JET, DOES HE HAVE A TAIL?
< i am here! where are-->

no. but he’s real fucking antsy.

* RING *

calm down. there’s an alley between the

tailor and the auto parts shop. head down
the alley. a car is waiting to pick you up.
go! go! go!

GO.

dinner for one.

COPY, ROOM 2501.

copy, 2501. out.

i said, calm down.

 mr. shammari, thank you for coming to see
us today. mr. khaliq has spoken very highly
of both your capabilities and patriotism.

your assistance to date has led to the

capture of several foreign nationals
conducting acts of espionage in basran--

foreign nationals ! hah ! listen to

yourself talk ! mr. khaliq told me only
that i would be meeting with agents of
the ayatollah. seeing you, i am wondering
if he has wasted both of our time. you americans are little
more than tourists. you
fucked my country in ‘91
and then you fucked us
again when you left in 2011.
how long before you cut
and run this time?

mr. shammari, look at me

for a moment. i am not a
young man. i was here in ‘91
and again in ’03. my men are
no different. in fact, in
the past decade, they have
probably spent more time
in your country than in the
united states...
we could be making top dollar in so mr. shammari, there are two ways
pakistan or kurdistan for services this conversation can continue.
rendered but instead, we’re here,
on our own dime, working for the
man our government should have
been backing from day one.

and the other ?

in the first, we reach an understanding,

grounded in mutual respect, that helps
us to rid your country of the iranians
and their puppets.
mr. shammari, we do not you have proven that you have
represent a puppet. i am in access to information that could
need of information that can be critical to both the ayatollah’s
directly contribute to the influence and survival in basran.
security and influence of the naturally, we would like to develop
ayatollah al-sistani in basran. our relationship further.
you know better than anyone
the interests being stacked
against him. the iranians, the
islamic supreme council and
their many agents all have
much to gain from diminishing
the ayatollah’s influence.

we can provide a wide range of

capable people to assist you in
this endeavor from reconaissance
to security to finances.

so, mr. shammari, what is it that

you’ve come here to talk about ?
 i can assure you mr. shammari, if
we were unable to protect our
people or their families, we would
not be here today. we have exfil
teams stationed in the city for
emergency extractions. in such
cases, a new identity, housing and
money is provided to start a new
and comfortable life in a neutral
third country.

and my family ? what assurances

can you offer if i am discovered ?

now that i trust i have addressed all of

your concerns, please mr. shammari,
what have you come to talk about ?

i am a detail leader in the basran

federal protection forces. i have
been with the fpf since the days
when iraq was one country. i grew
up under the ba’thists and saw
them fall by your hand. i then
watched as my country was torn
apart by civil war until one nation
became three. but from those
ashes, after so many years of
darkness, the shi’a finally have
secured a place in the middle east.

but now,
that promise
is betrayed.
can you identify these
quds force officers by
known aliases or posting?
three new internal security
units, staffed entirely with
quds force and quds force
trained men, were formed 2
months ago. since then, they
have targeted individuals and
organizations that aziz or
the iranians could not buy.
irgc - islamic revolutionary guard corp
over the past months, all of the
senior leadership within the basran
directorate of intelligence and
federal protection forces have
been replaced by iranian quds force
officers. now, many of our daily
missions involve escorting quds
force officers to meet with
government officials. meetings
where they are buying out the
leaders of our own government!
are there any other
government agencies
taken over by the
iranians ?
some of them are former jaish
al-mhadi militia but most are
from the army or national
are these men drawn from guard. all of them have been
trained military units or are trained by the irgc* at the
they drawn from militia special revolutionary guard and quds
groups the iranians have been force camps inside iran.
using since oif ?
 we have deployed to support
you’ve worked with these who were these operations
their missions against enemies
groups directly ? targeting specifically?
of the al-hakim governement.

known supporters of
the ayatollah al-sistani
and muqtada al-sadr.

you are surprised ? despite their

history together, the iranians have
had little use for muqtada since
that the aziz government took
power. he was a useful proxy
against the american military, but
now he challenges their authority
with his sermons. they have sent
him a clear message. so far, it
appears he has been cowed...

this is very interesting

information mr shammari.
very interesting indeed.

...
mr. shammari, i’m aware that such i don’t do this for money, mister.
information comes with a price--

call them “operating costs” then.

and i believe we can come

to an understanding if
you are amenable.

i deal in solutions to
problems with dollar
amounts attached to them.

i trust that is an acceptable this is your operational

operating budget ? phone. it has one number
programmed into it. mine.
you can reach us anytime on it, but we will want to speak at
least 2 times a week. do not use this phone to call your
girlfriend or family or order pizza. this is a business line only.

yes...yes. this is fine.

we will give you a new phone every

time we meet and take the old one
away. is this arrangement acceptable ?

peace be with you mr. shammari.

i look forward to our next conversation.

these mene will drop you off in the city.
we will pick you up from this same
location at our next face to face
meeting should we require one.

gentlemen.
 SCRIPT
JON CHANG
STORY
JON CHANG AND KANE SMITH
ART & COLOR
JOSH TAYLOR
LETTERING
JON CHANG
LEAD EDITOR
DAVYYD PATTINSON
BLACK POWDER \\ RED EARTH LOGO DESIGN BY
JON CHANG
SPECIAL THANKS TO
ECHELON SOFTWARE CREW
COPYRIGHT
2011 & 2014 ECHELON SOFTWARE, INC. All RIGHTS RESERVED
www
BLACKPOWDERREDEARTH.com
APPENDIX AND NOTES
PAGE 1
Basran is a breakaway fictional nation that encapsulates the Shi'a diaspora within today's Iraq. In the world of BPRE, Iraq has
disintegrated into 3 separate nations: Basran, Kurdistan and the New Islamic State.

PAGE 4
When observing a target structure, sides of the buildings are color-coded consistently throughout an objective area:
WHITE--direction of assault side; GREEN--right side; BLACK--rear side; RED--left side and BLUE--roof.

P8
TOKEN is adding an Ipecac analog to the food to induce nausea in the target. The thinking here is to force the target’s body
guards to respond urgently to a situation they might not be trained to deal with. Off their game, they are more likely to make
mistakes and create an opening for TOKEN and GRINCH to snatch the HVT(High Value Target).

P17
Al-Basrah is the capital of Basran and the center of the nation’s new Free Economic Zone. Free economic zones provide a
venue for multinational companies to set up shop and do business while either being absolved entirely from paying tax or
taxed a token amount, to stimulate local economic development. Sometimes called Free Ports, al-Basrah is perfectly situated
as hub for ships and goods to flow into and out of the region. However, like the Free Economic Zones in Iran, half the services
in the city barely work unless you are in a “green area”.

P18
The jargon gets a bit thick here, but is a fairly accurate reflection of multiple conversations I have sat in on while researching
this title. The reference to "Star Fleet" is a common one. It can mean a lot of things, but in this case, it means the company
paying the bills - Cold Harbor.

Dog Chips or Blue Force Tracker micro-chips were fictional at time of writing(2009) but I would be surprised if someone was
not fielding something like it today. The idea is no different than microchipping a pet, except the chip would hijack any
nearby phone to geo-locate itself on a ping from an operations center like a souped up Recco® Rescue System worn by
skiers in the mountains. Of course none of that is expressed in the book, but that was what was going through my mind at
the time.

P20
There generally aren't a lot of jobs for young people in countries experiencing an ongoing civil war. Kidnap and Ransom has
become a full-time business for many in South America and now that business is coming to the Middle East. It is also is a no
brainer way to demonstrate that capability to a prospective employer regime that needs people who can do exactly that to
their enemies.

The chemical and psychological conditioning is another fictional element, but I believe it will be with us soon. The idea is that
through specific hypnotic suggestion and a diet of drugs, a person could be conditioned to resist interrogation or even
conversation about a specific topic without their body physically shutting down and preventing that person from even
considering the subject.

P21
Ayatollah Al-Sistani is one of the most influential imams in Shi'a Islam. He remains mostly apolitical, but has encouraged the
Shi'a people to vote, resist violence and use politics rather than terrorism to take their place at the head of the Iraqi
government. This position has put him at odds with both the US objectives in the region and the Iranian leadership in Tehran
several times since the US invasion in 2003.
APPENDIX AND NOTES (cont’d)
For Iran, Iraq represents a strategic buffer zone against the Sunni nations that funded Saddam’s war against Iran in the 80's.
Much like Afghanistan for the Pakistanis, Iran will tolerate some chaos to have a location where they can threaten Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia and Jordan via direct land access. Naturally, those nations do not want Iran to have so much influence, if not
direct control of Iraq, hence TOKEN's comment about his paycheck coming from Riyad. This is why the Saudi Intelligence
Service has retained Cold Harbor to enter the country under the auspices of a start up oil company bidding on well develop-
ment work in the region. As of today, almost 60% of Iraq's oil wealth is in territory controlled by the Shi'a.

P24
GRINCH doesn't crack the windows on his hardskin car as it would defeat the purpose of having an up armored car in case
one of the men working the check point was a suicide bomber, just waiting for the right target.

P28
A nod to one of my favorite shows, The Prisoner.

P29
Nissour Square is the location where a Blackwater TST was ambushed by multiple Jaish al Mahdi gunmen in police
uniforms. They initiated the ambush by knowingly directing non-combatants into a intersection blocked off by a Blackwater
TST Quick Response Force, who were clearing the way for another motorcade that had been hit in another ambush minutes
earlier. The reference here is just a fancy way of saying, "In case this goes bad."

P33
The situation GRINCH outlines is not uncommon. A company bids a contract, wins it and then upon realizing they underbid
the contract, they cut everyone’s wages but their own. Shocking.

P36
This is mostly back story about the region and is indicative of how the Iranians have done business in Iraq to date. If
opposition is Sunni, they kill them outright. If opposition is Shi'a, their operatives try to frame it up as a Sunni attack or better
yet, leak information to Sunni terrorist groups to do the hit themselves.

P37
The reference to Lebanon refers to the civil war that tore the country apart in the late 70's and early 80's. Lebanon became a
place where terror groups could fight war by proxy and test out new techniques for ethnic cleansing, kidnapping and car
bombs.

P38
JAF wants the Quds Force officer Al-Fahradi because he needs to question him and be able to present as much irrefutable
proof to his Ayatollah that the Iranians are deliberately attempting to destroy their organization.

P45
This source pick up is an expedient way to facilitate a check-in from an asset that minimizes risk to all parties as it is both
mobile and innocuous. Using a fresh burner phone also insures that it would be extremely difficult to detect and intercept.

P47-48
We wanted to convey a sense of the layers of security that would be in place guarding a location such as a safe house. Cold
Harbor works out of hotels and rented apartments as it allows them to constantly change locations, change cars and conduct
other tradecraft activities without arousing suspicion.
APPENDIX AND NOTES (cont’d)
P49
Security is all about mitigating risk. Working up a target profile on a meet is standard procedure as it gives the operator
insight into the behaviors and motivations of the people they will have under their control.

P51
A route plan is something the operators generally put together while doing advance work for a move. In this case, I had their
Team Leader brief them as TOKEN and GRINCH had just got back from doing the move with Khaliq on page 45.

An SDR is a Surveillance Detection Route. Fairly basic technique to confirm one is not being followed.

P52
"If this goes all Bay of Pigs on us," is of course a reference to the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion where the US Government left a
sponsored invasion force without promised air cover, leaving them to be slaughtered or captured by the communist
government they were in Cuba to overthrow. Just like the reference to Nissour Square, it is just a way of saying, "In case this
goes bad." JR's response about the Cuban Missile Crisis is him being a bit of a smart ass, since both operators are being
very professional and cautious about the mission they are about to go on and JR likes to bust their balls.

P54
"Wheel Gun Guy" comes from a story I was told about there being three types of guys in the business. "The Wheel Gun Guy"
is old school, he carries a wheel gun(revolver) because a cylinder will never jam and all this new technique and training is
just ninja kung fu grip shit. That, and he probably only fucks in missionary position. There's the "1911 Guy" who believes that
the 1911 handgun is the perfect gun because the amount of attention and care a 1911 needs, the ergonomics are just right
and plastic guns, aka Glocks, are bullshit. This guy may occasionally venture out of missionary into doggie style but don’t
hold your breath. Finally, there's the "Glock Guy", who carries a Glock because he wants a lot of bullets in reliable package
that will always go bang. This guy embraces new tech and will try anything at least once. Kinky!

P55
OK, the shop jargon is a little thick here but I'll try to make it short. Variants are different locations on a map where a move
can be routed through. I was told this exact story by a couple of mobile security officers who were at ground zero when all
hell broke loose after an important source missed a pick up in a somewhat sketchy area. Turned out, the handler of this
source wasn't keeping up with the latest location data packages and she sent the source to the wrong pick up site. Pick up
variants change constantly based on conditions and atmospherics in different places at any given time - for example, maybe
there’s an anti-government protest happening on street A today so it is not viable location for a pick up.

“Flies on eyeballs red dot special” is a reference to enthusiastic hires with little/no field experience. The “flies on eyeballs
guy” is a reference to Cofer Black, former Director of the CIA Counterterrorist Center who went on to work for Blackwater
USA and it’s subsidiaries.

“Kobayashi Maru” is the test in Star Trek that all captains must take before they can command their own ship. It is a no-win
test that gauges a potential captain’s response in a lose-lose situation. “Girls Gone Wild” was a direct to video series in the
90's that featured drunk college girls shedding their clothing for cash. Basically, the whole event they are commenting on is a
farce.

P56
My homage to "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly".
APPENDIX AND NOTES (cont’d)
P59
The event in the 90's Shammari is referring to occurred at the end of Desert Storm, when the US Government incited the
Shi'a and Kurds to revolt against Saddam in Iraq. Like the Bay of Pigs, the US Forces in the area did nothing to support these
uprisings, leading to thousands being gassed, executed in mass graves or gunned down by helicopter gunships. Ever since,
there has been a deep skepticism of US promises and intentions that exists even today among the Shi'a over that betrayal.

P60-66
This entire conversation was relayed to me by a former Iraqi turned US citizen who had become an asset hunting down AQ
and Baathist leadership. This is pretty much how the conversation went the day he was recruited as an informant by the
Americans.

AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thanks for picking up version 1.1 of Black Powder \\ Red Earth Chapter 1.

When I started writing BPRE in 2005, my goal was to tell a story that was almost documentary in nature rather than a more
traditional work of fiction where characters have a pronounced arc and there was a clearly defined villain that would be the
focus of the protagonists efforts. At the time, pretty much every tale of modern warfare I had read, played or watched ended
with it all being the work of Russian Separatists and there was a race to stop the nuke. BPRE would have none of that.

BPRE was developed over several years through hundreds of interviews with people working in Iraq, watching footage
captured from Contour and GoPro cameras and learning about the regional geo-politics. Many of those people became
friends. Some of them aren’t with us anymore. In many ways, BPRE is their story more than it is my own. I hope I was able to
do it some justice.

I can say without doubt, I was very influenced by the short films of Neill Blomkamp, the writing of Cormac McCarthy and Neal
Asher. I have just concluded my work on the second story arc in the BPRE universe and am now embarking on a much
larger story that is parallel to this one.

I hope you’ll continue to enjoy the series for years to come.

Jon Chang