Battleground

by Chris Ryan

  Amir’s head lolled. He kept walking backwards towards the edge of the cliff as blood continued to pump from his wounded shoulder. He said something in his own language: it was little more than a whisper, but it sounded strangely evil.

  ‘The bomb,’ Ricki repeated. ‘Where is it?’

  Amir’s eyes flashed. He looked at Ben with a tooth-filled grin, but there was no pleasure or humour in that smile. None whatsoever. He continued to stagger backwards.

  Ricki stepped forward. Amir was at the edge of the cliff now. He had stopped walking back because there was nowhere else to go. Only thin air, and it was clear where that would lead.

  ‘Tell me where it is,’ Ricki persisted. ‘It’s your only chance.’ He continued to walk towards Amir, his gun pointed at the man’s head.

  ‘Chance?’ Amir rasped. ‘I do not believe in chance. Everything happens for a reason. That is why I am here. The bomb will explode any minute, and my rewards will be in paradise.’

  His grin grew wider. More manic. His white eye bulged as he looked from Ben to Ricki and then back again. ‘You will die now,’ he announced. ‘And so will your friend – if she has not done so already.’

  ‘Where is she?’ Ben yelled.

  But too late.

  Amir made no noise as he stepped backwards, his eyes shining with fervour. One minute he was there; the next he wasn’t, like a magician who had made himself disappear.

  Ricki and Ben ran to the edge of the cliff. Teetering on the brink, they stared down into the void below. Ben had no idea what Ricki could see with the aid of his night-vision; all he knew was that he himself could see nothing but darkness.

  Seconds passed. Amir did not scream as he fell. He went to his death without a sound.

  There was a moment of utter silence.

  And then, from nowhere, Ben thought he heard the sound of a girl shouting.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  ‘Aarya!’ he whispered.

  Her voice was faint. Weak. It seemed to drift around them, floating in the night air like a ghost. Ben couldn’t tell which direction it came from, nor could he tell what she was shouting.

  ‘Get to the bike,’ Ricki said, his voice clipped and urgent. ‘We’ll try and follow his footsteps back from there.’

  They ran. All thoughts of landmines had disappeared from Ben’s head with the new urgency of the situation. Aarya was nearby and she was their only hope – their only link to the bomb.

  The twisted metal of the motorbike was still smoking from the impact of Ricki’s rounds against the engine. The two of them stood by it and listened hard, trying to tune in their ears to the sound of Aarya’s voice.

  Nothing. Ben looked around, desperately trying to see where the shout might have come from; but he was just staring blindly into the night. Ricki had a different strategy. He was staring at the ground, his knees bent and his back arched, like someone on the trail of a wild animal.

  ‘Over here,’ he said suddenly.

  ‘What?’ Ben asked.

  ‘The ground, it’s been disturbed. Look: indentations. Footprints. He came from that way.’ Ricky pointed away from the bike back towards the dam. ‘Come on,’ he instructed.

  They moved swiftly. Occasionally Ricki stopped to examine the ground, searching for a displacement of the earth before carrying on. But he never stopped for long. Soon they came to what looked like a crack in the ground, a deep ravine that led downwards and towards the edge of the cliff.

  ‘Quick,’ Ricki said. They climbed down into the ravine and the SAS man took the lead. He clambered expertly down the V-shaped crack, stopping only to check that Ben was all right and still close behind him. Ben heard his own breath heavily in his ears. His heart was thumping, his senses on high alert.

  ‘Stop!’ he said suddenly. Ricki looked at him. Out of the silence, they heard the voice once more. Louder this time, but little more than a wail. ‘It’s her,’ Ben said. ‘It’s Aarya. I know it is.’

  They hurried down the ravine.

  The river. There, below them. The ravine had emerged right on the cliff face, and Ben felt a moment of wooziness as he looked out over the water so far below. The dam itself was less than a hundred metres away. He and Ricki looked at each other, and as they did so, Ben felt a sudden sense of desolation. There was nothing here. No sign of—

  Suddenly the air around them was shattered by the sound of a girl’s voice. Aarya’s voice. Wailing. Close. Incredibly close. Ben looked to his right. A tiny ledge. And at the end of the ledge . . .

  ‘Aarya!’

  There was a figure huddled in the darkness. Ben’s eyes penetrated the gloom. It was her all right. He couldn’t see her face, but he could see the outline of the suitcase bomb, cylindrical on her back as she was pressed down underneath it.

  ‘Ben?’ Her voice sounded impossibly weak. ‘How did you find me?’ And then, ‘Amir, he’s—’

  ‘Don’t worry about Amir,’ Ben called. ‘He’s . . . he’s been dealt with, OK?’

  ‘But the bomb,’ Aarya gasped. ‘It is going to go off.’

  Ben looked at Ricki in panic. The SAS man had removed his NV goggles and was now examining the entrance to the ledge. ‘We need to get to her,’ he said.

  Ben followed his gaze. The cliff above the ledge was overhanging – it would be impossible to stand up there. Between them and Aarya was a large chunk of debris. It looked like it had fallen from the overhanging cliff, preventing her from shuffling backwards. The ledge itself was incredibly narrow. Too narrow, it was immediately obvious, for Ricki’s bulk. But Ben was smaller. Thinner. ‘I reckon I can get down there,’ he said quietly.

  Ricki’s lips went thin. He clearly didn’t like the idea.

  ‘Come on, Ricki,’ Ben said impatiently. ‘It’s obvious, isn’t it? You’ll never get down there. You’re too big. And we can’t just hang around, waiting for the bomb to go off.’

  A short, tense silence.

  ‘All right, Ben,’ Ricki said quietly, so that Aarya wouldn’t hear. ‘When you get there, you’ll have to de-fuse that thing. You need to listen to me carefully and not panic, all right?’

  ‘All right.’ He raised his voice. ‘Aarya, I’m coming!’ Quiet again. ‘Wish me luck.’

  ‘Luck doesn’t come into it, Ben,’ Ricki instructed. ‘Be careful. Don’t make any movement you’re not sure of. It’s a hell of a long way down . . .’

  Ben nodded. He got down onto all fours and gingerly eased his way onto the ledge.

  The first few metres were the most difficult and he had to twist his body onto his side in order to keep firmly on the ledge. He knocked a few stones over the edge, but never heard them hit the bottom. It was too far down. The moon shimmered on the water down below; the distance made his stomach turn. He crept slowly along the ledge, not wanting to make large sudden movements that might cause him to lose his balance.

  ‘You’re doing good, Ben,’ Ricki called.

  Ben was out of breath already. It was a huge relief when the ledge widened out slightly, but now there was another obstacle: the boulder. It wasn’t all that big, but as Ben curled his fingers underneath it, he could tell that it was very heavy. ‘I’m nearly there, Aarya,’ he called.

  ‘Be careful, Ben!’

  He heaved at the boulder once more. It toppled slightly, but not enough to roll it over the edge. He was going to have to use every bit of force he could muster.

  Ricki’s voice. ‘Stay in control, Ben. Use just the strength in your arms. If you put your whole body behind it, you’ll go over with the rock.’

  ‘Great,’ Ben muttered to himself. ‘Thanks.’

  He gripped the boulder again, took a deep breath, then strained as hard as he could. The muscles in his arms burned; his face contorted into a grimace and he heard a groan of exertion escape his throat.

  The rock moved; but as it did, Ben felt his balance go. He pressed himself up against the wall of the cliff, caught his breath again and continued pushing the rock.

  That final surge
was what it needed. The rock teetered on the edge for a moment, then fell into the darkness below. Again, no sound as it hit the bottom. Ben’s breath came in short bursts, but he knew this was no time to take a breather. Doing what he could to master his fear, he continued to shuffle along the ledge until he came to Aarya. She was lying on her front, with one foot hanging precariously over the edge. It pointed out at an angle and looked to Ben as if it was broken. Her whole body trembled.

  ‘Aarya, I’m here.’

  ‘Ben,’ she breathed. ‘I cannot move.’

  ‘Don’t even try,’ Ben warned her. He raised his voice. ‘Ricki!’ he called. ‘I’m there. What do I do?’

  ‘Can you get to the bomb?’ Ricki’s voice sounded unnervingly distant.

  Ben looked up. ‘Yeah,’ he called. ‘I think so.’ Slowly, carefully, he pushed himself up to his knees, doing his best not to think about the drop below. Manoeuvring himself along Aarya’s good leg, he got his hands on the suitcase.

  Ricki’s voice: ‘You need to find the detonator.’

  ‘What does that look like?’ he called back.

  ‘I can’t tell you. But you’ll know it when you see it. There’ll be some kind of timer mechanism . . .’

  Ben frowned. It wasn’t a whole lot to go on.

  Aarya spoke. Her voice was thin and terrified. ‘Hurry, Ben. I saw him do it. He set the clock for twenty minutes. There isn’t much time left.’

  ‘Where’s the timer?’

  ‘You need to . . . you need to unstrap the back,’ she whispered. ‘You will see . . .’

  Taking deep breaths and being careful to keep his balance, Ben examined the bomb. There was indeed one big strap, tightly buckled. He worked away at the buckle with his fingertips. It was tight and difficult to loosen, especially as his hands were now trembling with nerves; but after what seemed like ages, he managed it.

  A flap of material. He lifted it. And then he saw the panel. The very sight made him sick to his core.

  00.01.01

  00.01.00

  00.00.59

  ‘RICKI!’ he roared. ‘I’VE GOT THE TIMER. THERE’S LESS THAN A MINUTE LEFT!’ He heard his voice echo across the river.

  Less than a minute left . . .

  Less than a minute left . . .

  ‘Tell me what you see,’ Ricki barked.

  Ben could barely get the words out. ‘A panel,’ he shouted. ‘Red numbers, counting down.’

  00.00.48

  ‘Some kind of dial. And underneath the numbers there’s what looks like . . . like two batteries. Wires coming from the batteries leading to two terminals on the timer.’

  00.00.41

  ‘I think that’s what’s powering the detonator,’ he screamed. ‘Shall I pull them?’

  ‘No!’ Ricki’s voice was firm with just a hint of panic. ‘These things are sometimes booby-trapped. If you pull the wires, it could make the whole thing blow . . .’

  ‘Then what am I going to do?’

  00.00.32

  00.00.31

  ‘Can you see anything else?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘Can you get to the underside of the bomb?’

  ‘No!’ Ben shouted. ‘It’s strapped to Aarya. She can’t move. If I try to roll them, they’ll both go over the side. Ricki, there’s less than twenty seconds to go!’

  00.00.19

  00.00.18

  Silence from the SAS man.

  ‘Ricki, what am I going to do?’

  00.00.11

  He felt his fingers twitching towards the wires. ‘What am I going to do?’ he repeated.

  ‘OK, Ben. You haven’t got any choice. Pull the wires. Now!’

  00.00.07

  00.00.06

  Ben’s blood ran cold. If you pull the wires, it could make the whole thing blow . . . His fingers and thumbs felt thick and unwieldy. Clumsy. He tried to grab the wires, but his hands were shaking.

  ‘Ben!’ Aarya wept. ‘What is happening.’

  00.00.03

  There was no time to reply. His fumbling fingers managed to grab the wires. He closed his eyes, thoughts of booby traps, explosions and mushroom clouds flashing through his mind.

  And then he pulled, his eyes clenched shut, his breath held.

  Ben didn’t know if it would be the last thing he ever did.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Silence.

  Ben unclenched his eyes. The bomb was still there. Aarya was still there. He was still there. And the timer panel was blank. He felt a surge of relief. ‘It’s OK, Aarya,’ he whispered. ‘We’ve done it.’ He was almost laughing with relief.

  She didn’t reply.

  Ricki shouted. ‘Ben, what’s happening!’

  ‘The timer’s stopped,’ Ben yelled back. ‘I think it’s de-fused. I think we’ve done it.’

  ‘Can you crawl back?’

  Ben turned his attention back to Aarya. ‘Can you hear me?’ He shook her gently. ‘Aarya, can you hear me?’

  No response.

  ‘Something’s wrong with Aarya,’ he shouted. ‘She’s not responding. I can see she’s breathing, but . . . I think she’s passed out.’

  ‘Can you crawl back?’ The SAS man repeated his question.

  ‘I’m not leaving her. What if she gains consciousness and doesn’t realize where she is? What if she topples over the edge?’

  A pause.

  ‘All right, Ben. Stay there. We need air support to winch the bomb up. I’m going back up to where I can get radio contact with Matt, see what we can sort out.’

  Ben nodded, even though there was nobody to see him do it.

  ‘Don’t let the bomb fall, Ben. The impact could . . . just don’t let it fall, OK?’

  ‘Right,’ Ben breathed. He clutched Aarya and the bomb firmly. ‘Hurry up,’ he shouted. ‘Aarya needs help.’

  Ricki didn’t reply. Ben heard him scrambling away from the cliff edge, and then all was silent once more.

  Time stood still. Ben’s whole body had started to shiver – not through cold, but through fear. The bomb might have been de-fused, but he felt that even if he was prepared to leave Aarya, he could never get back along this ledge. Shuffling backwards was too precarious and there was simply not enough room to turn round.

  Every now and then he called Aarya’s name. There was still no response and so he held her and the bomb firmly on the ledge. And then he simply waited, trying not to think about the danger he was in.

  Ben was alone with his thoughts. He remembered the distress call when they were in the Black Hawk and his blood ran cold. He didn’t know if he was more sickened by the thought of his mother in danger, or by the uncomfortable truth that he had all but forgotten about her in the frenzy of the past few hours. Now the gravity of her situation came crashing in on him again. Every cell in his body wanted to go to her rescue; he wanted to howl with frustration and helplessness that he couldn’t.

  ‘Come on,’ he whispered to himself. ‘Come on . . .’

  Ben had no idea how long he had been on that ledge when he heard it – the distant beating of a helicopter’s blades. He turned his head and looked down at the river. Sure enough, flying high over the water he saw the silhouette of a chopper pass in front of the moon. The noise grew louder and louder – Ben couldn’t see the outline of the helicopter now, but could sense its bulk as it passed. He restrained the urge to shout, knowing how useless that would be; but then the sound of the rotary blades passed and grew quieter, and he found himself yelling into the void. ‘Here! Over here!’

  The helicopter carried on, over the dam and out of sight. Ben cursed. How could they just pass him by? Taking deep breaths, he tried to get a hold of his anger. Losing it wouldn’t serve any purpose up here.

  And it was just as he reached that decision that he heard the noise of the chopper once more.

  It was returning over the dam, slower this time, and with searchlights beaming from its side. Ben could barely look at them for fear of dazzling himself, but he could see that
the beams were focused on the cliff tops and he could well imagine side gunners with their heavy weaponry keeping watch for enemy combatants on the ground. The chopper drew closer; one of the searchlights was moving over the cliff face. It picked out Ben and Aarya, and he had to cover his eyes with one arm as they adjusted to the sudden brightness. He raised his free arm and started to wave.

  Suddenly he was aware of movement from Aarya. ‘Stay still,’ he screamed, moving his arms so that he could hold her firmly. His voice was almost lost under the sound of the chopper. ‘Stay still!’

  The helicopter performed a couple of fly-pasts, then rose up above the cliff until it was almost directly on top of Ben and Aarya and the two of them were plunged once more into darkness. Thirty seconds passed. A minute. And then, almost magically, Ben saw a figure appear in mid-air by the ledge, suspended only by what looked like a treacherously thin rope.

  It was Ricki.

  He had something in his hands, a bundle of fabric, rope and metal. Holding them out towards Ben, he yelled, ‘Take these. Don’t drop them.’

  Ben stretched out his arm. His fingertips barely reached, but he managed to get some kind of hold on the bundle and pull it towards him. ‘What is it?’ he shouted.

  ‘Harnesses,’ Ricki replied, his voice hoarse over the noise of the chopper. ‘You both need to wear them. Put them on like pants, then tighten them up. Quickly, Ben – we need to get you out of here.’

  Ben untangled the harnesses. He rested one on top of the bomb, using it like a table; the other he slid up Aarya’s legs. She shouted in pain when he moved her broken foot, but Ben didn’t have time to be gentle. It was difficult attaching Aarya’s harness while keeping himself pressed against the wall. Awkward. His fingers felt clumsy as he tightened the straps between the bomb and her body, but eventually he felt confident that it was on properly. Only then did he turn his attention to his own harness.

  He held his breath as he wriggled to get it on. There was barely any room to move; when he did, it was with great care. Pulling the harness up his legs, he tightened it as firmly round his own waist as he had round Aarya’s. Then he turned to Ricki, who was still suspended in mid-air, watching them.