Death in the Desert

by Jim Eldridge

  The two men did as they were told. One of the soldiers kept his gun pointed firmly at the prisoners, while the other produced a key and unlocked the door of the cage where Two Moons lay.

  ‘Put your hands on your heads and walk out in single file,’ ordered the soldier with the rifle.

  Mitch and Gaz shuffled out of the cage.

  The soldier with the rifle now turned his attention to the other cage, the one that held Nelson, Omari and Tug.

  ‘You lot,’ he commanded brusquely, ‘hands on heads and get away from the door.’

  The three men complied, moving back, away from the cage door.

  ‘Right, get in there with them,’ the soldier snapped at Mitch and Gaz.

  The two prisoners hesitated.

  ‘Do it!’ barked the soldier. ‘Or one of you gets a bullet in the leg! And, believe me, I hate drug dealers just as much of the rest of the lads, so don’t give me the chance!’

  Mitch and Gaz shuffled into the other cage to join their fellow prisoners. As soon as they were in, the soldier slammed the door shut and locked it.

  ‘Right,’ he said to the other soldier. ‘Keep your eye on this lot.’

  With that, he stepped into the second cage and walked warily across to where Two Moons lay. He stood over him, rifle aimed, and waited. Two Moons just lay there, mouth and eyes open in an unblinking stare.

  The soldier hesitated, then he jabbed the barrel of his rifle down into Two Moons’ chest. As he did so, Two Moons suddenly came to life. He grabbed the rifle barrel with both hands and shoved it back upwards so the butt caught the soldier under the chin. As the soldier began to collapse, Two Moons was up, pushing him towards the edge of the cage. When the soldier hit the bars, Tug reached through and grabbed him round the neck.

  Two Moons now had the rifle in his hands and he aimed it at the other soldier, who looked back at him, stunned.

  ‘Don’t try anything,’ Two Moons warned him. ‘If I see your finger tighten on the trigger, I’ll shoot you dead. If you call out, your friend here gets his neck broken. If you play it sensible, you and your buddy live.’

  The soldier stood, shocked, his rifle aimed at Two Moons.

  ‘I really don’t want to kill you, but I will if I have to,’ said Two Moons. ‘All we want to do is get out of here. So throw your gun down on the ground.’

  The soldier hesitated, undecided. While this was happening, Nelson reached through the bars of the cage and felt the pockets of the soldier Tug had in a stranglehold. He pulled out the key to the cage door.

  ‘Got it,’ he said.

  ‘See?’ said Two Moons. ‘There’s no way you can deal with all of us. Drop the gun.’

  Nelson now had the door of the cage open and the rest of the men spilled out. Tug released the semi-conscious soldier and he slid down to the ground.

  Nelson moved nearer to the soldier with the gun. ‘Drop the gun and get in the cage,’ he said, ‘and no harm will come to you. Like my friend says, if we were going to kill you, you’d be dead by now. We just want to do this the easy way.’

  The soldier hesitated. The prisoners had now fanned out so that even if he shot one of them, the others would be able to jump him. It was game over, and they could tell from his face that he knew it. He sighed, and dropped his rifle.

  Nelson moved forwards, scooped it up and pointed it at him. ‘Join your friend inside the cage,’ he said.

  The soldier did as he was told.

  ‘Tie and gag ’em,’ instructed Nelson.

  Mitch stepped into the cage to join Two Moons, and the pair used the soldiers’ belts and socks to bind and gag them. That done, they left the cage and locked the door.

  ‘OK,’ said Nelson. ‘Let’s go find us some wheels.’

  20

  With Nelson in the lead, the men slipped out of the building that housed the makeshift jail. They immediately took cover behind stacks of boxes that were piled up nearby. Fortunately for them there was little activity inside the base: the majority of the soldiers were in the mess, and most of the patrols were at the outer perimeter, keeping watch on the surrounding desert.

  ‘Three vehicles would be good,’ said Nelson. ‘Tug, Mitch and Gaz, see what you can find. We’ll stay here. If too many of us start wandering around we’re sure to get caught.’

  Tug nodded and he, Gaz and Mitch slipped out from behind the boxes.

  ‘Look for anything with keys in,’ said Tug.

  They scanned the camp. All seemed quiet.

  ‘I think I see where they’ve parked everything up,’ whispered Mitch. ‘Over there, near the desert crawlers.’

  Next to the crawlers some Snatch Land Rovers were lined up in a neat row. The men moved swiftly and silently along the wall towards them, keeping to the shadows. Suddenly, as they neared the parked vehicles, they heard the sound of boots approaching. Swiftly, the three of them dropped and rolled under the vehicles.

  Mitch looked out and saw eight pairs of boots marching towards them, all hitting the ground with regular precision. It was a patrol. The approaching soldiers reached the vehicles and stopped.

  ‘Right, squad! Standard search!’ barked the patrol leader.

  Mitch’s heart sank. They were bound to be discovered. Eight against three, and the eight soldiers were all armed.

  ‘Fall out, Rogers, Baker, Moran!’ continued the patrol leader.

  Mitch saw three pairs of boots separate from the rest, then the other five soldiers of the patrol marched off elsewhere. At least that had cut the immediate opposition down to three; but any commotion would bring the rest of the patrol running back.

  ‘Standard search!’ repeated one of the soldiers bitterly, obviously fed up. ‘What a waste of time!’

  ‘It’s got to be done, Rog,’ said another. ‘I mean, say the Taliban had slipped in and were here.’

  ‘There are patrols all over the outside of the base,’ said Rog. ‘How they gonna get in? It’s a waste of time!’

  ‘The sooner we get it done, the sooner we can finish and get ourselves a cuppa,’ said a third voice. ‘I’ll start with this one. You two work your way along the line.’

  Mitch looked across at Tug, lying beneath the vehicle next to him, and mimed throwing a punch. Tug gave a thumbs up to show he understood.

  Mitch heard the sounds of boots scuffling as the three soldiers moved between the vehicles, checking for any movement. Mitch could tell they had done this so often before, and always found nothing, that they didn’t expect anything this time. Good, he thought. So long as they’re not alert. A tense soldier expecting trouble is liable to start shooting first and ask questions afterwards.

  The soldier nearest to Mitch stopped and dropped to his knees. Mitch could hear his uniform rustle as he bent lower, and then a face appeared in the space between the bottom of the vehicle and the ground.

  Wompf!

  Mitch’s fist lashed out, connecting with the soldier’s chin. There was no time for the soldier to cry out: the punch knocked him out instantly. The sounds of scuffling nearby told Mitch that Gaz and Tug had dealt with their soldiers the same way.

  The three men rolled out from under the vehicles. Gaz picked up a fallen rifle. ‘Weapons as well!’ he said, grinning happily. ‘I wondered what we were going to do with just two rifles.’

  ‘Come on,’ said Tug urgently. ‘Let’s move!’

  They searched the row of vehicles, and found that just two had keys in their ignition.

  ‘Either someone’s been careless, or they’re kept like that for an emergency get away,’ muttered Mitch.

  ‘Right now, an emergency get away is exactly what we’re after,’ said Tug. ‘OK, Mitch, go and fetch the others.’

  Mitch ran off, keeping to the shadows, and returned to Nelson, Two Moons and Omari, who were still hiding behind the stacks of boxes. ‘We’ve got just two vehicles,’ he told them.

  ‘Better than nothing,’ said Nelson. ‘Let’s go.’

  They hurried to the Land Rovers and scrambled in: Nelso
n, Tug and Omari in one; Mitch, Gaz and Two Moons in the other.

  They started up the vehicles and then rolled them forwards, heading for the main gate of the base.

  Two soldiers were standing on duty, and they turned at the sound of their approach. One of the soldiers stepped into the gateway, his hand held up for the vehicles to stop. Gaz, who was driving the lead Land Rover, slowed down.

  ‘What are you doing?’ hissed Two Moons. ‘Floor it!’

  ‘In a moment,’ said Gaz. ‘When we’re near enough. Right now he’d have time to get a shot in.’

  Gaz slowed the vehicle down. Behind him Nelson also slowed. Then, just as they were about to stop, Gaz accelerated. The 4x4 leapt forwards, engine racing. The soldier, startled, threw himself to one side as the Land Rover tore through the gates out into the desert, with Nelson’s vehicle following close behind.

  Gunfire opened up from behind them and bullets bounced off the vehicles’ armour. Both Gaz and Nelson slammed down on the accelerators, heading out into the desert as fast as they could.

  21

  They drove for half an hour, constantly checking the mirrors, expecting to be chased. But nothing appeared.

  ‘I guess they’re not following us in case it’s a trap,’ said Mitch.

  ‘Makes sense,’ said Two Moons. ‘We renegades can be sneaky people!’

  ‘It might be a good idea to pull over,’ said Gaz. ‘Meet up and see what the plan is.’ He slowed down and pulled the Land Rover to a halt. The second vehicle pulled up behind them, and Nelson, Tug and Omari joined them.

  ‘Good work,’ Tug complimented Gaz. ‘Nice driving.’

  ‘I think we ought to stay here until we can see where we’re going,’ Nelson proposed. ‘If we see anyone coming after us we can take off, but I don’t think they will. Not until daylight.’

  As dawn rose the next morning, the two vehicles were already rolling. They now had black scarves tied to their aerials to identify the unit to Al Haq’s forces, as Omari had arranged with his uncle.

  ‘I wonder how Benny’s doing?’ murmured Gaz.

  ‘The medics at Camp Bastion are the best you can get,’ said Mitch. ‘If anyone can pull him through, they can.’

  ‘They may be able to pull him through, but what state will he be in after getting a bullet in the head?’

  ‘Depends where they hit him,’ said Mitch.

  ‘Trouble is, there ain’t many places inside the skull except the brain,’ Two Moons pointed out.

  At this thought, they fell silent. They all knew the implications: Benny was a soldier. Damage to the brain would put him out of action permanently.

  Mitch drove on. After an hour they reached the edge of the desert where it joined the mountains, a towering and forbidding range of peaks and rocks carved by the wind and sand into weird shapes. Breaking the silence, Two Moons voiced another concern: ‘This business of Al Haq increasing his attacks on the Coalition troops,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what you fellas think, but despite what Omari says, these attacks don’t square with the idea of Al Haq wanting to talk peace.’

  ‘No, they don’t,’ agreed Mitch, frowning. ‘It’s been worrying me, too. We just need to be extra careful, I guess. I wonder what Nelson thinks about it.’

  They eased round a bend and Tug began to slow the lead vehicle. A wreck of a car had been left across the road.

  Mitch slowed the second vehicle round the bend, and then pulled to a halt as he saw Omari, Nelson and Tug standing by the beaten-up vehicle blocking their way. They saw Nelson gesturing for them to get out. They joined the others on the road.

  ‘What now?’ asked Mitch.

  ‘Either it’s an ambush, or we’ve arrived,’ muttered Nelson.

  ‘This is where we wait,’ said Omari. ‘But leave the talking to me.’

  They didn’t have to wait long. Armed men appeared from behind the rocks, moving slowly and cautiously towards them, automatic rifles ready for action. The men wore the black turbans and scarves of the Taliban.

  ‘No sudden moves,’ ordered Nelson. ‘Let Omari handle this.’

  Omari stepped forward towards the Taliban fighters, holding his hands above his head to show he was unarmed. As the men of Delta Unit watched, he began to engage in conversation with the Taliban, involving plenty of arm waving and gesturing at the two Land Rovers.

  Finally, Omari headed back towards the cars. ‘We’re expected,’ he said. ‘We get back in our vehicles and follow them.’

  Some of the Taliban fighters had gone to the battered vehicle. They got into it, started it up, and manoeuvred it into a position ready to roll. Then they were off.

  ‘Looks like we’re finally entering the lion’s den,’ commented Gaz.

  22

  The convoy drove about two miles along the main mountain road, then turned on to a narrow track heading deeper into the mountains. The track went up and up until they turned off again on to a twisting, bumpy, rock-strewn path with steep drops on one side.

  ‘This is one road I wouldn’t want to drive on at night,’ commented Mitch.

  They were now high in the mountains, the sand of the desert behind them, bare rocks surrounding them. Finally they came to a plateau, and Mitch could see large cave entrances in the rocks. He expected the lead car to pull up, but to his surprise it drove on into one of the caves. The first Land Rover followed it, and Mitch rolled their vehicle in behind.

  The Taliban vehicle stopped and the fighters got out.

  ‘This is our stop,’ said Nelson’s voice over the radio.

  As the Delta Unit soldiers climbed out of their 4x4s, carrying their rifles, Omari hurried to them and held up his hands in a warning sign. ‘No weapons!’ he said.

  The soldiers exchanged concerned looks. ‘No weapons?’ said Tug doubtfully. ‘That’s going to put us at a serious disadvantage.’

  ‘You’re already at a disadvantage,’ Omari pointed out. ‘You’re heavily outnumbered. If we want to get out of here alive, we have to do as Al Haq says.’

  ‘And you believe he’ll keep his word?’ asked Mitch acidly.

  ‘Right now, we don’t have any other option,’ said Omari. ‘And this is what we came here for.’

  ‘Omari’s right,’ said Nelson. ‘Believe me, I don’t like this any more than you guys. But this is what we signed on for. Now we’re here, let’s finish it.’

  Reluctantly, Mitch and the others put their guns back in the Land Rover. They were now surrounded by tribesmen, all armed.

  ‘I guess we walk from here,’ said Two Moons.

  They followed Omari and the armed men further into the cave. It led into a high tunnel, carved out of the rock, with more tunnels leading off to either side.

  ‘This is some cave,’ murmured Gaz. ‘You could hide an army here.’

  ‘Al Haq has,’ said Omari. ‘For many years.’

  ‘And bringing the vehicles inside the caves means nothing is ever spotted from the air,’ commented Mitch. ‘Neat.’

  They walked for what Mitch estimated to be around half a mile, deeper into the mountain and the network of tunnels. Dim light filtered in from holes that had been dug in the ceiling up to the surface. Finally they reached an area that had been carved into a meeting space, with tables and chairs. A bearded man sat on one of the chairs, obviously waiting for them. Armed men stood guard on either side of him.

  Mitch peered at the man and was surprised by how young he looked beneath the beard. Surely this couldn’t be Azma Al Haq? This man looked to be in his early thirties.

  The men of Delta Unit moved to one side to let Omari do the talking.

  As Omari spoke, Tug whispered a brief translation to the others.

  ‘This isn’t Al Haq,’ he said.

  ‘So where is he?’

  ‘That’s what Omari’s asking.’

  They watched and listened as Omari and the man spoke rapidly in Pushtu.

  ‘This isn’t good,’ murmured Tug.

  ‘Why?’ asked Two Moons.

  ‘
It seems the guy in the chair – his name’s Arun – is one of Al Haq’s sons. He just told Omari that he and his men are holding Al Haq somewhere for his own safe keeping.’

  ‘Why?’ Two Moons asked again.

  ‘Because he has become weak. Too weak to be the leader.’

  ‘Let me guess: because he was prepared to talk peace?’ asked Nelson.

  Tug nodded. ‘Omari’s asking if he can see Al Haq and talk to him, but Arun says there is no point. Al Haq is no longer the leader of the tribe. Arun is now the leader, along with his brother Majid.’

  ‘So why did they let us come here?’ asked Gaz.

  ‘They want hostages,’ muttered Mitch.

  Tug nodded ruefully, watching as Omari made an appeal to Arun. Arun’s reply was curt. There was no mistaking the look of shock and despair on Omari’s face. He began talking again, gesturing desperately at the men of Delta Unit as he spoke.

  ‘He’s asking Arun to let us go,’ translated Tug. ‘He’s telling him we came on his word of honour that we would get safe passage … ’

  Arun leapt to his feet and snapped something in angry tones at Omari.

  ‘Let me guess, the guy’s saying, “So what?”’ murmured Two Moons.

  ‘In so many words,’ Tug confirmed. ‘He’s just told Omari that the word of an infidel has no honour here. That Omari had no right to give such a promise.’

  Omari began to argue hotly, but again Arun cut him off with a few sharp words.

  ‘So it looks as if we’re stuck,’ said Two Moons.

  ‘It doesn’t look good,’ Tug agreed, shaking his head sadly.

  Arun shouted at Omari in Pushtu, and then he turned to the men of Delta Unit, gesturing and shouting at them, too.

  ‘He’s telling Omari what he plans to do with us,’ Tug translated.

  ‘Does it include chopping our heads off on camera?’ asked Gaz.

  ‘I think he’s got something else in mind,’ said Tug. ‘Shooting us one by one. But still on camera.’

  Arun barked an order, and his armed guards levelled their rifles at Delta Unit. One of them jabbed Omari in the ribs and gestured to him to join Nelson and the others.