The Siege Of Apuao Grande

by John Muir

CHAPTER 43

  PRELUDE - DAY TWO

  APUAO GRANDE

  The Libyans knew they had about three hours to make landfall, and hide, before sunrise. They approached Little Apuao from the north. As soon as its shape was discernible in the dark, they circled wide to the east to avoid any watching eyes from the barrio on the smaller island. Once past the barrio they cut back quickly to approach the larger Apuao Grande from the north-east. Any observers on Apuao Grande should think it was just another fisherman leaving from Little Apuao.

  They intended to approach the bigger Island under the high rocky exposed north-eastern part of the ridge. The Libyans knew this part of the shoreline was too rocky for the ridge defenders to suspect any landing in that direction. Besides, those on the ridge would expect such an approach would be seen by those defenders on the north of Little Apuao.

  Mohammed and Ali had guessed correctly that Heidi would withdraw the machine gun from Little Apuao and concentrate her forces on the main Island. The Arabs used the emergency oars to paddle their banca the last 400 metres to the rocky shoreline to avoid using the noisy outboard motor.

  After taking cover among the rocks for a few minutes to ensure no alarm was raised, and nobody had seen their approach, they made their way up the rocky face. Skirting below and to the side of the ridge, they entered the rain forest from the north. Keeping 10 metres between them, they headed along an overgrown path toward where Ali estimated the pump-house trail would be. He had walked through onto the main path before he realised it and quickly beat a hasty retreat back onto the lesser trail. Pulling his three companions back 30 metres or so, he began to discuss his plan.

  ----------

  AFP contact or not, Heidi knew she had stayed long enough. At the end of the day she would organise those of her reduced group to pull out. She was still undecided what her own personal decision would be. After the others left, all the management team could emerge from the forest and "free" the prisoners. There was still all of today to get through yet. Firstly she had to snap Helmut out of his trance and then locate the four members of the missing group. Dawn was not far away. She had to solve each problem one at a time.

  Her extra regular made himself inconspicuous as he watched Heidi's actions.

  Heidi looked at Helmut in frustration. The water she had poured over him only made him blink. He continued sitting in his water-drenched chair, staring out the window. Heidi knew she needed him.

  If he was like this at the end of the operation, it would be difficult to explain away. Their only chance of escape was to emerge from the bush as innocent victims of the takeover. If he recovered in front of the wrong people his blabbering could compromise and endanger everyone. She knew she could not take that risk.

  Heidi drew her pistol and looked at it. Her little aid, Domingo, looked at her, eyes wide, and began to move forward. Heidi nodded in the negative and he moved back to his original position, teeth and mouth clamped shut.

  The other guard was nervously transferring glances between all the parties. He knew Domingo would do nothing to stop anything this woman planned to do.

  Heidi moved behind Helmut and the armchair. Lifting her pistol level with the back of Helmut's head she took three steps back.

  "We can take him with us!" yelled Domingo. "He will be safe."

  Heidi did not respond. Again she took careful aim. The sound of the pistol shot made them all except Heidi, jump. Helmut fell forward from the armchair on to the floor.

  Domingo and the guard ran forward. Heidi sensed rather than saw their movement and held up a hand indicating them to stay back. Fearfully they obeyed. Heidi moved around the armchair to where Helmut lay. Putting the pistol on the armchair, she crouched down beside Helmut and lifted his head onto her lap.

  In the silence following, Domingo and the guard could hear rapid loud and heavy breathing. Domingo could see Heidi, but no part of Helmut. The armchair and Heidi's torso were blocking his view. He could see Heidi stroking the hidden head on her lap.

  Shocked, Domingo looked down at his feet, closed his eyes, and nodded his head backward and forward. He listened to the heavy breathing for what seemed an eternity but was probably only seconds. After a time he noticed a change in the breathing. It became jerky and broken. Soft shallow sobs started. Domingo started to feel guilty about his feeling of angst toward Heidi. He knew she was upset about what she had had to do.

  The sobs got louder and longer. Domingo jerked his head up quickly as he realised the sounds were too deep in tone to be coming from Heidi. "My God," he panted. "You've only wounded him."

  The sobs became a loud and wailing cry. He rushed to the back of the couch to see what was happening. He saw Heidi stroking Helmut's forehead and hair. Helmut's face was turned upward, tears streaming down his face. He was mumbling something in German and Heidi was responding softly to his words.

  Domingo could not see any blood, then, saw a small bullet hole in the front wall under the window. He felt himself frowning, then as he realised what had happened he felt his whole body relax.

  "I thought you'd shot him," he said.

  Heidi looked up and frowned in response.

  Domingo turned around and began to laugh hysterically. His companion looked at him as though he too had gone mad. Then he spoke with him in Tagalog to tell what he guessed had happened.

  Heidi knew that although she had broken Helmut's trance, it might take a long time before Helmut would be back to normal, if ever. She just hoped the discharge of the pistol past his right ear had not damaged the ear drum.

  ----------

  Despite feeling tired and being wrapped in a sheet against the rain forest bugs, T.A. could not sleep. He did not want to disturb Pater's sleep and so contented himself with his own thoughts.

  He had been thinking of Malou and wondering what her true thoughts were about him. He thought about Pater's comments about her roving eye. He knew that Pater, a man of few words, was a man whose words should be heeded. He remembered that Gunther too had made a similar comment to him. At the time he passed it off as Gunther's envy. Malou had confided to Di that the good looking Filipino would contact her when she went back to Cebu. Gunther passed the confidence on to T.A. during one of his semi-intoxicated stupors. T.A. had again passed that off as alcohol tainted talk.

  Still, all the other signs had been there, he had simply chosen to ignore them. He had justified Malou's behaviour as explainable by cultural differences rather than trusting his instincts. He had even asked her why she did not even show as much affection to him as many of the "paid" women did to their partners. She responded by saying that she did not want to act like a "paid" woman. T.A. knew now that was merely an excuse.

  He began thinking about how he would feel if she was not with him. She had never been the only option in his future plans. After all, the main reason he came to the Philippines this time was to check out how he truly felt and to hopefully discover how she truly felt. That was what he was now discovering.

  There had always been nagging doubts about her sincerity, and therefore her honesty in what she was saying. He had never been able to rationalise what it was. It was the asides of others that had highlighted the suspicions he had suppressed. Perhaps his lack of real concern was a reflection of his true feelings.

  If he accepted the facts; Malou and he had no future together. But how would she react? Past indications were that it would be either total indifference, or at the other extreme, a violent and screaming one. There never seemed to be any middle ground with Malou.

  Sounds of nearby twigs snapping brought his mind back to the present. He froze; keeping his eyes closed and wondered if Pater had heard the same sounds. A hand clamped over his mouth. T.A. did not panic. He guessed it was Pater making sure he did not call out. Opening his eyes he could see enough of the outline to confirm his thoughts. T.A. nodded his head to indicate that he was alert and aware of what was happening. Pater's free hand crossed his mouth to indicate silence.

  T.A. had no intent
ion of making a sound or moving. He was sorely tempted to reach for the nearby M16.

  Subdued voices drifted to his ears. T.A. could see the frown forming on Pater's face and wondered what it was for. T.A. could not make out what language the trespassers were using, but the voices did not sound like Filipinos.

  After a few minutes, the voices stopped and sounds of people moving away carried to their ears. Pater kept his hands raised for silence.

  Minutes ticked away. T.A. wondered why Pater was still suspicious. It was possible that the voices could be those of rescuers.

  The sound of voices began again. T.A. was pleased Pater's senses were correct. Pater leaned forward and put his mouth down to T. A.'s ear.

  "Arabic," he whispered.

  T.A. realised his face reflected his curiosity. Pater leaned forward to his ear again.

  "Two still here, two or more have gone on."

  T.A. scratched his ear where Pater had whispered. Pater saw him and pursed his lips as though giving him a kiss, then winked. Despite the danger they were in, Pater still had his warped sense of humour. T.A. put his head down to control his laughter.

  Pater slowly reached past T.A. and gingerly picked up the baseball bat. He pushed it into T.A.'s right hand, then, indicated to T.A. to get out from the sheet, which he did carefully. As soon as his legs were clear, Pater removed the diving knife from the sheath and pushed it into T. A.'s left hand. Then nodding in the negative, he had obviously had a change of mind. He took the knife out of T.A's hand and replaced it into the sheath.

  Pater leaned forward again to whisper.

  "Later."

  T.A. knew from Pater's actions that Pater did not have enough confidence in him to successfully undertake whatever action he had initially planned. T.A. was both pleased and disappointed at the same time.

  A few minutes later, T.A. heard the remaining intruders move off.

  ----------

  MT. KANLAON, NEGROS

  Looking at the written record of the radio reports showed most of the groups that were able to contact "Tour Organiser" had pulled out. AFP responses to the takeovers had varied widely, but most groups had inflicted some casualties on the different arms of the AFP.

  Tiredness had caused some diminution in the responses that still came through. Though reports had dwindled to a trickle as resorts were abandoned, radio reports had increased. Overall, Warvic was smugly very pleased with the results.

  Suraido Arompak though had become progressively quieter. No doubt considering what explanation he would have to provide to his Muslim colleagues. If the reason for the change in the original plan was not well presented or well argued, then the old schisms would worsen. Fragmentation into different personality led groups would be greater than those existing before. His personal situation was grave. He thought about his chances of physical and political survival and did not like the answers. He knew early in the operation that he had been duped in the real purpose of the mission. But he had acquiesced in that knowledge and done nothing to report it to his Muslim allies. That did not include the problems he would find himself in with the Libyans.

  It would be difficult to convince them of the advantages of the alternate mission of withdrawals from resorts as was undertaken. He had many more hours to think about it. He might feel different later. Perhaps his earlier thought about it being the first time all Muslims had united might still be the best way to put his argument.

  Warvic had given the signal to be ready to break camp at a moment's notice. She wanted her return to Mindanao to be during the day. The outward appearance of their bancas was the same as those of any night-time fishermen. It was unlikely they would attract any abnormal attention. They would need a few hours to get to the coast.

  ----------

  NORTH OF APUAO GRANDE

  Captain de Mesa's little flotilla were nearing the northern side of Little Apuao. His stomach muscles were tightening in direct relation to the approaching nearness of the island. Thankfully the sea was flat, he was not a mariner. Sea travel on anything other than a flat sea always caused him to vomit, even if he had no food to bring up.

  The flotilla, led by the P.C.F. (Patrol Craft-Fast), slowed. Then they stopped, about 600 metres north of the smaller island. De Mesa pulled his banca alongside the P.C.F. The young naval Lieutenant and de Mesa consulted briefly and made minor adjustments to their earlier plans. After casual salutes, each proceeded to go about the business they were to undertake.

  De Mesa waved to his own three men seconded to the P.C.F. Two were already lying flat on the cramped forw'd deck, weapons ready. The third was near the stern. De Mesa watched the P.C.F. pull forward slowly. The twin diesel engines, though still barely using power, were loud in the otherwise still of the night. Diesel fumes drifted over him and the wake caused his banca to roll. The combination of fumes and the rolling sensation made him dry reach. Within seconds, the other soldiers in his banca were following suit, some bringing up the remains of their last meal.

  The P.C.F. did a lazy semi-circle, and headed north to disguise the direction of its approach to Apuao Grande.

  De Mesa waited until he saw it change course twice more before heading south to make its first fast run past the beach of the resort. When he saw them begin the southerly course he indicated to his men to check their weapons and nodded to the shanghaied banca drivers. It was still about 30 minutes to dawn. The eastern horizon had begun almost imperceptibly to lighten.

  The bows of the four small bancas rose with the surge of their motors. De Mesa sat in the bow of his banca feeling exposed, waiting to spot any tell-tale flashes from weapons firing at their approach.

  ----------

  Heidi's feelings about Helmut's mental return to the real world were mixed. They were now sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table. Heidi had kept the topics of conversation light, but found it a struggle. Neither their common experiences, nor their unusual up-bringing gave any easy or light-hearted subjects for discussion. Helmut, by choice, had always been a man of few words, so the task was difficult. At least he was responding to her trivial questions and offering suggestions where Heidi had expected them to be given. Heidi sensed a profound change deep within Helmut's psyche had altered his perspective of the reason they were here. She wondered how much she could rely on him if the circumstances required any violent response.

  She knew she had lost too much time helping Helmut. There had been no time to check the new defensive positions or the hostages. She had to trust Boy and Dandan's abilities to oversee her instructions and use a little nous. There had been no time to check for an explanation on the missing group.

  There was a short sharp buzz from the R/T that Domingo was holding. Domingo quickly moved to Heidi and gave it to her. He remained nearby in case the message was in Tagalog.

  "Yes?" she snapped.

  "Aziz here."

  "What is it?"

  "I'm still on the ridge and I can see what I think is a navy patrol craft."

  "What's it doing?"

  "It's moving at speed and seems to be going to pass by your position very shortly."

  "Hold your fire unless they fire first. Pass the message on to everyone else on the ridge and to Raji and Dandan. Use the R/T. Out."

  Heidi turned to Domingo.

  "Quickly," she said. "Get to the machine gun crew on the beach and tell them not to fire unless fired at. I've got to contact Boy and those at the Spit."

  As Domingo ran out, Heidi buzzed Rico at the Spit. He advised that he could hear the engines. Then she called Lorna at the barrio.

  While Heidi made the calls she kept a close watch on Helmut's reactions. Unprompted, he got out of his chair and picked up his M16 and his mask. "At least that was positive," she thought. But doubts over his resolve to complete set tasks persisted.

  Domingo ran back through the door.

  "Lights off," she snapped at him and he instantly obeyed.

  Immediately the room was plunged into darkness, Heidi realised it wo
uld take a few seconds to see sufficiently to regain her weapon and move out the door.

  "Can you cope?" Heidi asked of Helmut.

  "Ya," he replied, managing to find her in the dark. He had retrieved Heidi's M16 and was handing it to her when they began to hear the deep roar of the P.C.F. engines.

  Sight sufficiently restored, Heidi ran out the already open front door facing the carabao track. Crouching, she ran around the house, close to the wall. After turning the corner she threw herself flat onto the verge above the beach. Helmut, Domingo and the other Filipinos were soon at her side. Helmut had sufficient presence of mind to put his mask on and handed Heidi hers.

  They had barely begun to lie flat when they saw the darkened outline of the P.C.F. moving past at speed. The loud deep roar of the engines made it obvious that the P.C.F. could never make a surprise raid. With the eastern sky beginning to light up behind them, they were backlit; the P.C.F. on the western side of the island was still in greater darkness. Heidi could vaguely see figures on board, but could not tell whether they were looking toward the Island on a reconnaissance mission, or by coincidence, simply passing by. Distance in this light was too difficult to estimate, but the P.C.F. may have been as close as 200 metres.

  She considered their speed indicated they were passing by on a patrol to another destination.

  As soon as the P.C.F. passed to the south-west of the Island, Heidi turned to Domingo.

  "Get one of the missile launchers and a couple of missiles in case they come back. We mightn't get a better chance to use up some of the arsenal."

  "Whoopee!" responded Domingo as he jumped up to get the requested equipment.

  "Helmut, do you want to use it?" asked Heidi.

  "Nein."

  Heidi thought briefly on his negative reply before pulling the R/T from her belt and switched to Channel 3 and buzzed.

  "Aziz here."

  "Can you see what is happening with the P.C.F.?"

  "It stopped west of Canton. I can see it's turning and looks like it's gonna head back past the resort."

  "O. K. Don't fire at it unless you hear us open up from the beach. Do you think you could hit it with a missile from there?"

  "Yes please."

  "Well, get a launcher ready. But no firing unless we open up from the beach."

  "O. K."

  Heidi had just switched off when her R/T buzzed again.

  "Boy here."

  "Where are you?"

  "On the beach verge about 50 metres south of you."

  "Dandan?"

  "Just north of the restaurant."

  "Raji?"

  "Still covering all the prisoners."

  "Tell him to stay there if the shooting starts, and to make all the hostages lie face down."

  "Lorna’s stopping any fishermen leaving the barrio. But some went several hours ago."

  "Be ready. Aziz says they're coming back. Hold your fire until we start."

  "We're ready. Out."

  Heidi noticed Domingo had rejoined her. The new day was starting to have its effect on the available light. The cicadas were starting their day unaware and uncaring of the events about to happen.