by Andy McNab
A figure stood up in front of Liam, weapon raised. Liam yelled out, kept charging, managed to drop him with his last remaining rounds. Then his weapon was empty. All that he had left now for sure was the bayonet and his sidearm.
Another Taliban fighter popped up from behind some bushes, but Liam was racing into him even as the man’s weapon was raised. He didn’t have time to switch to his sidearm. That was seconds lost that were better used with what he was doing now.
Liam screamed, went for it, readied himself for the moment when he’d have to drive the bayonet home, but as he drew close, the Taliban fighter faltered. He fired his weapon from the hip, missing badly, then the weapon jammed. And that was all the excuse he needed. Before Liam was on him, the fighter turned tail and ran.
Liam gave chase, screaming and yelling after him still, but the man could seriously shift and was soon gone, dropping his weapon as he went. Turning back, Liam charged back into the fray, only to find to his utter astonishment that it was already finished.
The smoke cleared and the battlefield became visible.
It was over.
Liam looked around, saw bodies next to weapons. All Taliban.
Clint came over, his eyes still wild from the charge.
‘Casualties?’
‘None,’ said Clint. ‘No idea how, but we’re all still here.’
‘What happened?’
‘They scarpered,’ Clint said. ‘We all saw a few, but they bolted when we turned up. We had enough ammo to deal with any that still wanted a scrap, and a few did – the ones clearly wired on drugs or something – because they just didn’t care, pretty much ran at us as we fired. But it’s over, mate, job done.’
Ade joined them, sweat and dust running down his face. ‘They fucking shat themselves, Scott,’ he said. ‘You’re a nutter, but it worked.’
Liam still had adrenaline racing through him. His hands were shaking. ‘No one used their bayonet then?’
Ade and Clint shook their heads.
‘No need,’ said Clint. ‘It was enough seeing us charge them. Either that or Ade’s pug-ugly face sent them scarpering.’
A cry from behind Liam had him zip round. Just metres away was a Taliban fighter, weapon raised and pointed at him. Somehow they’d either missed him, or he’d managed to stay hidden.
The world went into slow motion. Liam dropped his rifle, knowing it was empty, went for his sidearm. He saw Clint and Ade raise their own weapons. Then shots rang out before any of them got a shot off, and the man stalled, sagged to his knees, then fell dead.
Liam looked round to see Zaman with his weapon pointing at where the Taliban fighter had been standing.
In the distance, black dots appeared on the horizon: medevac.
22
‘Where’s Harding?’
Liam, knackered, grubby, and focusing only on getting rehydrated, was with Lieutenant Steers back at the patrol base. He didn’t mind admitting to himself that over the past few hours there had been moments when he’d wondered if he’d ever see it again. It wasn’t exactly home, but it still felt good to be there and necking a mug of tea.
‘Hitched a ride with the medevac,’ said the lieutenant. ‘I’m not sure Sunter was all that pleased to have the company.’
‘What about Miller and Cowell?’
‘Miller has a shoulder wound,’ said Steers. ‘Lost a lot of blood, but stable. He’s had worse, trust me. As for Cowell, he’s lucky to be alive. His body armour is completely ruined, but it stopped him getting torn apart. All he’s suffered is bruises. Some real whoppers too.’
‘And the ANA casualties?’
‘As you know, one was unfortunately KIA. The other, I have been informed, is already being operated on.’
Liam looked around as the lads all got themselves settled after the patrol. They were muddy, covered in cuts and bruises and dust, and looked more dead than alive, if he was being honest.
‘I’m amazed more of us weren’t hit,’ said Liam. ‘It was an ambush. We were royally fucked from the off.’
‘Your actions saved the situation, Scott. Be under no illusion that it was anything else, like luck.’
‘It was all we had left,’ said Liam. ‘Ammunition was low, and we couldn’t risk the Taliban getting more reinforcements.’
‘Air support?’
‘Tally were too close,’ Liam said. ‘They’d closed in so fast that any air assault would’ve taken us with them.’
Zaman walked past, offered a smile, nothing more.
‘He saved my life,’ said Liam. ‘We’d missed one. Shah took him out before I got slotted.’
For a moment, Liam and the lieutenant stood in silence. Around them, the soldiers did their best to sort themselves out, but they looked like zombies, an army of the undead trying to figure out what they were supposed to be doing.
‘Everyone will need to be TRiM-ed,’ said Steers. ‘I’ll sort a programme out so that everyone’s covered. After what you’ve all just gone through, a chance to have a chinwag about it seems rather necessary.’ He thanked Liam again for his actions, and walked off. Liam caught sight of Cowell and headed over to check on him.
‘How you feeling?’
‘Sore,’ said Cowell, and pointed at the bruises on his chest. He was black and blue. ‘Harper’s checked me over. Did a thorough job too. Best medic I’ve worked with. You lot are lucky to have her here to sort you out.’
Liam said nothing, didn’t need to. But it was nice to hear Cowell’s respect for Nicky voiced.
‘She’s amazed I’ve not cracked a rib,’ continued Cowell. ‘Fucking well hurts like I have, though. Can hardly move.’
‘Looks like we’re going to be out of action for a while,’ said Liam. ‘We’re men down, you can’t move. Not exactly a workable patrol.’
‘We’ll make do,’ said the corporal. ‘Either more men will be sent out, or we’ll be reassigned. But you’re right, I can’t move. Not a bloody muscle.’ He tried to lie down, but couldn’t make it, the pain creasing his face. Liam gave him a hand, helping him to lie and rest on his back.
‘Thanks,’ said Cowell.
‘No problem,’ said Liam.
‘No,’ said Cowell, ‘I mean about today. You did good out there, Scott.’
Liam didn’t know what to say, stayed quiet.
‘You showed initiative, leadership, and above all, balls. A bayonet charge? You mad bastard.’ Cowell chuckled, but the laugh was cut off with pain.
‘I didn’t see much option,’ said Liam. He started to speak again but Cowell held up a hand to stop him.
‘What other option was there?’ he said. ‘Ammunition was gone, they were closing in, air support wasn’t viable, and you couldn’t exactly wait around for the quick reaction force. You did what you had to do and came out the other side.’ He looked up, stared Liam in the eye. ‘I got you wrong, Scott,’ he said. ‘And I’m big enough to admit it.’
Liam said nothing. There was nothing he could say – it was time to shut up and listen.
‘I gave you a lot of shit at first,’ the corporal told him. ‘Figured you might be a glory-boy, medal-chasing.’
‘I’m not—’ started Liam, but Cowell cut him off.
‘Like I said, I was wrong, Scott,’ he said. ‘And that was some serious soldiering there.’ He paused, then his expression changed; eyes twinkling, he added, ‘Gleaming!’
The corporal closed his eyes and Liam – a bit embarrassed – went back to his own bed. Sitting down, the exhaustion hit him with the weight of a Chieftain tank. He’d had some days in his life, but this one had forced him to learn the hard way a little more about just what he was capable of.
Lying back, still too tired to change, he closed his eyes and sleep took over a heartbeat later.
Up in the sangar again, with Neil, Liam stared out across the Afghanistan landscape, though today he found his mind drifting back to home, looking forward to seeing at least a little rain again, hell – even a road busy with traffic.
&nb
sp; A few days had passed since the ambush and life in the compound had resumed its usual routine. It didn’t matter how exciting and dangerous things got, there was still a job to do.
News had come back that Miller and Ade were on the mend, and both sent their heartfelt apologies for not being able to join in for the rest of the tour. The ANA soldier was making good progress too.
As one of Cowell’s fire team, Neil had been close to the corporal when he’d been hit. ‘I thought X-Factor was gone,’ he said, holding his sunglasses in his hands to check his own reflection, adjust his fringe. ‘Took a hell of a pounding. Must be a hard bastard to come back from that.’
‘He’ll be in agony for weeks,’ said Liam. ‘The bruises are huge.’
He stared out into the countryside and found himself wishing to be home, not because he hated his job, but because he wanted to see some green. That would be nice, he thought. A few fields, a tree. Out here, all was the colour of sand and dried mud. The plants that survived were hardy. It was not a lush countryside by any means, and sometimes it was hard on the eye.
A head appeared at the top of the steps up into the sangar. It was Cowell, and for once he didn’t look like he was there to chew them up over something. He made his way slowly up to join Liam and Neil.
‘Quiet, is it?’
Liam nodded. ‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘I think they’ve bugged out completely after what happened. No surprise really – they took a beating.’
‘Can’t blame them, can you?’ Cowell replied. ‘A bunch of mad bastards charge you with spears, you’re bound to think twice about coming back to have a go.’
Liam smiled and Neil laughed.
‘Can’t see it becoming generally accepted practice, though,’ said Neil. ‘You know, every patrol doing a bayonet charge, that kind of thing. Fun though it is, clearly.’
Cowell moved forward between Neil and Liam. It was clear that he was still in pain. ‘Quite a country really, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘Not sure I’d book a two-week break here, though, know what I mean?’
‘I’ve seen worse places,’ said Neil. ‘Honestly, if you ever get the chance to visit my home town, Swindon – don’t. It’s a shit hole.’
‘Good advice,’ said Liam, then turned to Cowell. ‘So why did you join up?’ he asked. ‘Carter’s here because apparently the army begged him to join, right?’
‘Too right,’ said Neil.
With a laugh, Cowell said, ‘It was all I ever wanted to do. Never thought of anything else.’
‘Really?’ asked Liam.
‘Totally,’ said Cowell. ‘As a kid, it was all I thought about, joining up. Couldn’t wait to hit sixteen and get on with it. And that’s what I did.’
‘Any plans to leave, then?’
‘Not yet,’ said Cowell. ‘Not sure what I’d do if I—’
By the time Liam heard the distant rifle crack, it was already too late, cutting the corporal off mid-sentence. The round, with hellish accuracy, smashed into Cowell’s face, just below his right eye, shattering his cheekbone. It then continued through his head, taking a large part of it with it as it exited, finally coming to a stop in the sandbags at the back of the sangar.
Cowell, dead on his feet, dropped like liquid. There was no grace about it, no muscles to stop him smashing into the ground in one big pile of violent death.
Liam and Neil, momentarily stunned by what had happened, stared at Cowell. Not five seconds ago he’d been speaking. Now he was gone.
They were on their weapons, scanning the ground immediately, Neil with his sniper rifle, Liam with the Sharpshooter.
‘Eleven o’clock,’ said Liam. ‘Possible contact.’
Neil swung his weapon. ‘Confirmed. I have two.’
‘One dicker, one shooter,’ said Liam. ‘Out at four-twenty metres. You take the dicker. On your mark.’
Liam breathed in, then relaxed, finger on the trigger. He squeezed, just enough, waiting for Neil.
‘Now.’
Liam and Neil both squeezed their triggers. The rifles fired almost simultaneously.
Liam saw the dicker kicked up into the air as Neil’s round took him in the chest. His own round crashed into the skull of the shooter.
They both chambered another round.
‘Kill confirmed,’ said Neil.
‘Confirmed,’ said Liam.
Silence.
Neither Liam nor Neil moved. At their feet, Cowell’s body lay still.
‘Carter? Scott? What the hell was that? What are you shooting at?’
It was Steers, but when he saw Cowell he stopped dead.
‘Oh, fuck.’
‘Sniper,’ said Liam. ‘And a dicker.’
‘Where?’
Neil motioned with a sideways nod of his head. ‘Just over four hundred metres out, sir,’ he said. ‘And they’re not going anywhere.’
‘Imminent threat to life, sir,’ said Liam. ‘We had to take the shot.’
The lieutenant, Liam noticed, looked grey, all colour drained from his face. ‘I’ll get Nicky,’ he said, ‘and radio this in.’ Then he was gone.
‘So the whole multiple is being pulled back?’
Liam was with Clint and Nicky, each of them nursing a mug of tea.
‘Yes,’ said Liam, answering Clint’s question. ‘We’re four men down. So we’re back to Bastion. After that, I haven’t a clue.’
With half of their tour still to do, they were all uncertain about what would happen next.
‘We’ll probably all be just reassigned,’ said Nicky. ‘Join another multiple to see out the rest of the tour.’
‘Any plans after that?’ Liam asked.
Nicky put her mug down. ‘I’m an army brat,’ she said. ‘This is all I know.’
‘Cowboy?’
‘I’ve got my family and my business back home,’ he said. ‘And I’m TA, so it’s different to you lot. I do this as extra.’
‘Which strikes me as completely mental,’ said Liam.
Clint fired the question back at Liam. ‘What about you? You’re the newest to this. Any thoughts?’
‘I want to go career,’ said Liam, the words out of his mouth before he’d really even had a chance to think about what he was saying.
‘You need to try and grow a beard first, surely,’ said Clint, ‘before you go making any adult decisions.’
As their laughter died, another figure joined them. It was Zaman. Liam asked him to sit, but immediately knew something was bothering him.
‘What’s up?’
‘I have found out how it all happened,’ said Zaman. ‘The ambush.’
Liam, Clint and Nicky leaned in.
‘I will tell the lieutenant, but you are my friend and I wanted to tell you first, Scott. And you saved everyone’s lives by your brave actions. It seems only fair.’
Liam simply allowed Zaman to keep speaking.
‘The soldier who shot Cowell, like me, he also has a brother in the Taliban. But unlike me, where I do not share their beliefs, he did. It was he who set it up.’
‘How?’ asked Clint.
‘He was able to get information out to his brother,’ said Zaman. ‘There are always ways, and no amount of checking can ever stop it.’
‘So he told them where we would be?’
Zaman nodded. ‘The weapons cache was simply to give the Taliban a chance to observe you, watch you react to a small attack from a sniper, count your numbers. The second was to capture and kill.’
‘Capture?’ said Nicky.
Zaman said, ‘Yes. It was all planned. They would have paraded the largest taking of soldier prisoners on the TV screens. It would have been a major blow to everything you and the ANA are doing to help our country know peace.’
‘And if they’d taken prisoners?’ asked Nicky. ‘Then what?’
‘It would have been as I’m sure you already know,’ said Zaman. He stood up. ‘I will say goodbye now, Scott,’ he said. ‘It has been good to work with you.’
Liam stood up. He’d lea
rned a lot from Zaman, not just about Afghanistan, but about himself.
‘And with you, Shah. Thank you. What will you do now?’
‘Continue my work,’ Zaman replied. ‘And look forward to peace. To see my brother again, that would also be good, but . . .’ His voice faded and Liam spotted a look of sorrow in his eyes.
‘I hope that happens,’ said Liam. ‘I really do, Shah.’
‘Mersi mamoon,’ said Zaman. ‘Thank you, Scott. And you will continue with your Dari, yes?’
‘Man say mikonam ke yad begiram,’ said Liam: ‘Yes, I will try.’
Zaman smiled. ‘Bezoodi shoma ra behinam, Liam,’ he said, bowing a little, then left.
‘What did he say?’ asked Nicky.
‘He said see you soon,’ said Liam.
‘Doubt there’s much chance of that,’ she said.
‘You never know,’ said Liam, watching as Zaman walked away. ‘You just never know.’
Real coffee was one thing, but iced coffee, now that was something else. Liam, now back at Camp Bastion, having arrived a day earlier in the back of a Chinook, enjoyed every single drop as he drained his cup. Then, without hesitation, he got up from his table and went to order another. Caffeine and ice, he thought – what could be better?
He sat down again with his second coffee and took his first sip. God, he’d missed this!
‘Excuse me?’
Liam looked up over his drink to see three soldiers.
‘These seats taken?’
‘No,’ said Liam. ‘Help yourself.’
The soldiers nodded a thank you and took their seats. Liam noticed then from the way they looked that they must have only just arrived. They looked too clean and too keen to be anything else.
‘Tour just started?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ said one of the soldiers. ‘I’m guessing that you’ve been out here a while.’
‘Second tour,’ said Liam. ‘Things got a bit noisy, if you know what I mean, so I’m back here waiting to be redeployed.’
