‘Major,’ Thierry shouted. ‘Are you all right?’
He was standing just to their left with his rifle still raised. After a moment’s hesitation, he ran forward and pulled the deadweight of the Captain off Jean-Luc.
Jean-Luc stood up with his legs wide, trying to steady himself. He knew enough about abdominal wounds not to pull the knife from his body, but could feel that the blade had gone deep into his stomach. Too deep. As he stood there, swaying slightly, he knew that now it was only a matter of time.
‘Major!’ Thierry shouted.
‘Yes, I’m OK,’ Jean-Luc whispered, resting his arm on Thierry’s shoulder. ‘Thank you.’
As they staggered back towards the helicopter, Jean-Luc could see the black hilt of the knife protruding above the line of his webbing. It felt surreal, such a small thing, yet there it was. And now, without proper medical attention, there was nothing more that could be done.
Reaching up to his breast pocket, he pulled out a cigarette. The tobacco was crushed flat, but it still lit and he drew down deeply on it.
‘Bring the GPMG back from the edge,’ Jean-Luc ordered. ‘And stack up the last of the ammo.’
As Thierry moved off, Jean-Luc gripped the knife hilt. He had seen many men die of stomach wounds before; watched as they writhed in pain, begging for it to end quickly. Whatever happened, he couldn’t let Bear see him that way. After all he had put her through, he was not going to let her see him like that.
Shutting his eyes, he yanked the blade out of his stomach, gasping as blood spurted out, soaking down into the fabric of his trousers. He let the knife drop from his hand and stared at it for several seconds, only looking up again as Thierry returned.
‘The attacks have stopped,’ he said. ‘I saw gunfire farther over to the west, down past the edge of the volcano. What the hell’s going on, Major? Why are they retreating?’
‘It’s the Mai-Mai. Devlin’s finally got them here. The LRA are regrouping,’ Jean-Luc managed, staring out towards the outline of the forest. They heard the sound of rifle fire intensifying, rattling out in bursts from one side then the next. There was the whoosh of another RPG, followed by an explosion.
Jean-Luc offered Thierry a drag of his cigarette.
‘The Mai-Mai should keep them occupied for …’ he said, then stopped as behind them they heard a shout from higher up the slope. It was a woman’s voice.
They saw two figures clambering down the last of the rocks towards them, then a moment later Bear burst on to the flat ground with Luca trailing behind. She rushed forward with her unlaced boots flapping open, and without breaking stride ran into her father’s arms. Jean-Luc wrapped his arms around her body, hugging her to him.
‘Papa,’ she whispered.
Chapter 36
THIERRY STRAPPED HIMSELF into the pilot’s seat of the helicopter and immediately began prepping them for take off. His hands moved over the switches in a steady rhythm while behind him Luca clambered on board, listening while the engine changed pitch and the rotors began to quicken. They whipped up dust from the ground in a wide radius. Arm in arm, Jean-Luc and Bear hurried towards the cabin, the tops of their heads pressed together. Jean-Luc was gently pushing her forward with each stride and, as she ducked under the rotors and came into the light, Luca could see that she was crying.
‘Mais je ne comprends pas,’ But I don’t understand, she pleaded, turning to face her father straight on. ‘Pourquoi tu ne viens pas maintenant?’ Why won’t you come now?
Jean-Luc hugged her close, kissing the top of her head and brushing her hair back from her eyes.
‘Je dois rester et attendre les autres mineurs.’ I have to stay and wait for the other miners. It’s OK, bébé. You go and I’ll catch up.’
‘Please, Papa. Don’t do this now,’ Bear begged, her forehead creasing in confusion. ‘Quelqu’un d’autre peut faire çela. Viens avec moi.’ Someone else can do that. Come with me.
Jean-Luc gave a faint smile. ‘But no one else is left,’ he said, then raising his right hand, he gently stroked her cheek, knowing that it was the last time he would ever see his daughter. He saw that his fingers had left a thin trail of blood down the side of her face.
‘I’m sorry, Beatrice,’ he whispered into her ear. ‘I am so sorry for everything.’
‘Papa!’ Bear cried, the tears running freely down her cheeks. ‘Please, Papa, stop this! Get on board the helicopter.’
‘Not this time,’ Jean-Luc said, his voice cracking slightly. ‘Je t’ai toujours aimé, ma petite.’ I have always loved you.
Pushing her up into the cabin, he gestured at Luca to take hold of her and stop her from climbing back out.
‘Fly low and get to Goma,’ he ordered Thierry. ‘Contact Dr Samuels from Médecins Sans Frontières in Kigali and get them to bring their Sikorsky. It’s the only helicopter big enough around here to carry out all the miners. The Mai-Mai should tie up these bastards for a good few hours, and Laurent should be able to cover them during the extraction.’
In the front seat of the helicopter, Thierry twisted round so that he could see Jean-Luc.
‘Copy that, Major.’
‘Now go!’
Thierry switched back to the cockpit and brought up the throttle. The sound of the engines drowned out Bear’s screams as she fought against Luca’s grip. Her whole body arched as she tried to break free, while just to one side of the helicopter Jean-Luc stayed stock-still, not attempting to move back or try to shield his eyes from the blast of the rotors, as slowly the helicopter drew up from the ground and started to bank round. It hung there for a split second longer, before the nose dropped forward and Thierry pitched them headlong into the night.
As the sound of the rotors subsided, Jean-Luc continued to stare. He stayed like that long after the helicopter had disappeared from view, until finally his knees gave out from under him and he dropped to the ground. He sank back so that he was sitting with his legs outstretched in front of him, listening while his breath started to slow, coming in heavy, drawn-out gasps. Already, he knew he had done the right thing. Bear should never have to see him like this.
He stared out across the dark silhouettes of the forest. The trees were only just distinguishable in the faint moonlight and he watched as the high branches bent and swayed in the evening breeze, listening to the soft rustle of leaves. The drums had moved off, farther to the west, and the sound of machine-gun fire was lessening.
For the longest time he stayed like that, letting his eyes drift over the endless forest, and marvelling at the sight of it. It stretched on and on, infinite and perfect.
This was the Africa he knew.
‘We can’t have made more than three miles,’ Luca shouted into the mic. ‘Head due south from the mine.’
Thierry nodded, his eyes moving across to the GPS on the screen and minutely realigning their course. He stared at the fuel gauge, shocked at just how little was left in their tanks, and dropped their speed a fraction. They would be coming into Goma on the very last of their reserves.
‘We have fuel to circle for twelve minutes,’ he said into the radio. ‘No more. After that, I don’t care what happens, we are leaving.’
‘Don’t worry, he’ll hear us,’ Luca replied. ‘You just look for the red smoke.’
Thierry nodded again, blinking several times as he tried to force himself to stay alert. Now that the battle was over and the last of the adrenalin had ebbed away, he felt absolutely exhausted. As he raised his right hand to rub the skin at the corners of his eyes, he could smell the bitter stench of cordite on his fingers, while his left ear was still ringing from firing so many rounds. From experience, he knew that it would only take a couple of days for him to be back to normal physically, but for the rest it sometimes took weeks.
Behind him in the cabin, Luca turned back to where Bear was sitting with her arms clamped tight across her body. Her hair tumbled around her face, obscuring her eyes, and she was rocking backwards and forwards.
Sittin
g on the bench next to her, Luca put his arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her against him. He could feel the soft tremors in her body and for several minutes they stayed like that, staring blankly towards the open door and watching the forest move past beneath them. Eventually, Bear turned her face towards him.
‘He’s not coming back, is he?’
Luca slowly shook his head.
‘I’m sorry, Bear,’ he whispered.
‘Why do I care?’ she asked, sniffing loudly. ‘I haven’t seen him in nine years so why the hell do I care now?’
She shut her eyes. Nothing seemed to make sense any more. Why did her father stay behind like that? After going through so much to get her out of the mine, why would he leave her now? Bear closed her eyes, feeling her chest tighten. It was as if a weight were pressing down on her; a massive, immovable weight that she could no longer support.
‘I just don’t understand.’
‘All I know is that he risked everything to get you out of there,’ Luca said.
‘So why leave me now?’
‘I don’t know, but I can only guess that he had his reasons.’
As Luca said the words, the helicopter suddenly banked to the right. He looked up to see Thierry craning forward in his seat as he tried to peer down into the forest below.
‘Visual on the smoke,’ he shouted triumphantly.
Clambering towards the open door, Luca peered out into the darkness. The helicopter started to descend in a wide arc, circling down on a point somewhere beneath them. As they dropped lower, the forest seemed to rise up around them. Luca watched the leaves and branches shake from the downdraft of the rotors, before pulling back from the edge and clipping his abseiling harness into the winch. He was searching for the controls when Bear suddenly stood up and flipped back a small panel on the rear wall of the cabin.
‘I’ll lower you in,’ she said.
‘Thanks,’ Luca replied. He could still see the pain in her eyes, but with it was a look of steely determination.
‘Just make sure you bring me in slow on the last bit,’ Luca said, before moving out to the edge of the cabin and sinking his weight into his harness. Just below, he could see a faint column of smoke steadily rising up through the trees.
‘Go get him,’ Bear said, and pressing the winch button, sent him winding downwards.
Luca raised his hands to protect his face as he ripped down through the branches. Breaking through the upper layers of the canopy, he sped towards the ground before landing heavily in the mud. He unclipped himself from the winch and ran forward, frantically searching for the source of the smoke.
‘Luca!’
He could hear his name being called above the sound of the rotors, and crashed headlong through the bush, but it was so hard to see. There was nothing but clouds of red smoke and the twisted silhouettes of the undergrowth.
‘Luca!’
Then he saw him. Just ahead was a large, overhanging bush and underneath was Joshua. He was lying on one side with his body propped up on his elbows, and as their eyes met, Joshua’s head dropped forward on to his chest in sheer, exhausted relief. Luca scrambled across to him and grabbed him by his shoulders, hugging him tight.
‘You son-of-a-bitch,’ Luca managed. ‘You made it!’
Joshua didn’t reply, but an exhausted smile crossed his lips. After all the waiting and doubt, it was finally over and he let his whole body slump against his friend’s.
‘I didn’t think you were coming back,’ he whispered. ‘I was just waiting …’
He stopped, tilting his head up, and Luca watched as his smile slowly faded. He suddenly looked terrified. The hours of waiting had taken their toll and Joshua reached out a hand, gripping on to Luca’s wrist.
‘It’s over, mate,’ Luca said, squeezing his hand. ‘It’s all over.’
The look in Joshua’s eyes was scaring him and he forced himself to smile. ‘Now get up, because this is the last time I’m rescuing you today.’
A ghost of a smile passed across Joshua’s lips. Luca hauled him up and together they shuffled back towards the winch line. With each step, Joshua’s right leg scraped across the sodden ground and, as they rounded a clump of bushes, he suddenly turned towards Luca.
‘Did you get the others out? The other miners, I mean.’
Luca nodded, grimacing as he slipped down on one knee in the mud.
‘I left a static line up to the roof and showed them how to use prussics.’
Just ahead of them, Luca could see the winch line cutting down through the trees, while directly above they heard the steady boom of the helicopter.
‘We’ve got to get hold of MONUC,’ Joshua shouted. ‘Get them over to the mine.’
‘It’s all in hand,’ Luca shouted. ‘Now for once in your life, stop worrying about other people and let’s get out of here.’
Joshua nodded, gripping Luca’s shoulders as he clicked down on the radio and Bear started the winch. They were effortlessly drawn up into the air, both of them hunching over as the branches raked their backs and faces. Up they went, past the tops of the trees and on towards the dull green fuselage of the helicopter hovering just above. They could see Bear leaning out with her hair streaming wildly around her.
As they reached the top of the winch, she grabbed on to them, swinging them inside the cabin and releasing some slack. They came crashing down on the floor in a heap of arms and legs, with Bear reaching out a hand to steady Joshua. Before she even had time to get him to a seat, Thierry had swung the helicopter round and started for Goma.
‘You OK?’ Bear shouted, helping Joshua back on to the rear bench and giving him a headset. Joshua nodded, sitting down heavily. Only then did she see how haunted he looked. In the dull lights of the cabin, his face looked ashen, his cheeks hollow and stretched, dazed by fear. It was a look Bear knew only too well.
‘It’s all over now,’ she said, reaching out towards him. Joshua gripped her hand, still trying to come to terms with the fact that the ordeal was over. After so many months held in the mine, it felt impossible that he was finally free from Mordecai, and from the endless forest.
On the other side of the cabin, Luca sat hunched against the side of the cabin, his head in his hands. Now that it was all over, his body seemed to have shut down, and his eyes were already starting to close. He had been strung out for day after day, pushing himself beyond anything he had thought possible, and now there was simply nothing left to give. As his head dropped from his hands, jerking him awake, Joshua called across to him.
‘Luca, you said the other miners were OK. What’s happening?’
He looked up wearily and pointed towards Thierry. ‘The pilot’s already put a call into Médecins Sans Frontières in Uganda. They’re going to get some big helicopter to come and rescue the others.’
‘But what about the LRA?’
‘The main part of Mordecai’s army is marching south and Bear’s father pretty much dealt with the ones who remained at the mine. And now the Mai-Mai are also there, finishing them off.’
‘The Mai-Mai? What the hell are they doing involved in all this?’ Joshua whispered, barely able to believe that the LRA at the mine had been defeated.
‘Who the hell knows?’
‘And what about the fire coltan? Has anyone got the message out?’
Luca shook his head. ‘First, we get you to a hospital. Then, we’ll deal with all that.’
‘No,’ his friend said, fighting the tiredness in his own voice. ‘I can wait, but that stuff can’t. We need to find out where it was being shipped and warn the people involved. We’ve got to stop it ever getting out on to the open market.’
‘We can trace it through my company,’ Bear offered, but as she spoke Thierry’s voice cut in on the radio.
‘Two days ago, we delivered some Chinese general to the LRA base. The Major said that he was the guy in charge of all the shipments we’ve been running.’
‘So who is he?’ Joshua asked.
‘I don
’t know, but I do know that we picked him up from one of the old colonial houses down by the lake.’
‘Can you get us there?’
Thierry nodded. The old Belgian residences lined the shores of Lake Kivu and were less than a kilometre from the airport. Even without checking his instruments, he knew they would have enough fuel to make it.
‘I can get you there, but by now I reckon those guys must be long gone.’
Chapter 37
THREE NISSAN PATROL 4x4s followed the old dirt road beside the shore of Lake Kivu. They drove in tight convoy, their headlights blazing the way as they snaked down the potholed road and past the lines of old mansions tucked into the hillside. The cars drove slowly, taking care not to jostle the passenger sitting in the rear seat of the middle vehicle, surrounded by a handpicked squad of PLA Special Forces.
As they passed the first in the line of mansions, Kai Long Pi turned his gaze out through the window, resting his old head against the glass. Most of the houses visible were little more than shells with broken-down walls and glassless windows, while black-eyed vines had reclaimed the once-cultivated lawns. Farther along, he could see the soft glow of lights from a huge house built on a peninsula jutting out into the lake. It was the only one still inhabited.
Kai adjusted the angle of his right leg. As he moved, the doctor sitting in the passenger seat next to him immediately reached across to do it for him, but Kai slapped his hands away. The movement caused the thin oxygen tube running up to his nostrils to come loose, flapping over his cheek, and Kai jerked to one side testily as he tried to realign it. The tube was only installed when he was travelling and it was the one part of his medical treatment that infuriated him.
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