Tenth Man Down gs-4

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Tenth Man Down gs-4 Page 37

by Chris Ryan


  From behind us, a drift of cold evening air came blowing over the long, smooth slopes of the Beacons.

  ‘Brrrrrrh!’ I went, giving a violent shudder and jumping to my feet.

  Tim stared at me in consternation. ‘What’s the matter, Dad?’

  ‘That wind on the back of my neck. Like I said, ever since our session when the little kid died, it’s given me the jankers.’

  Still the boy was watching me. ‘Dad,’ he went. ‘Are you dying?’

  ‘What a question!’ I forced myself to make a joke of it. But all I could say was, ‘I don’t know. I don’t think so. But I’m not sure. The doctors don’t know, either. I got myself a bad dose of radiation, right enough. But so far it hasn’t done the damage they expected. They’re giving me a fifty-fifty chance.’

  ‘Was it that medicine Jason gave you?’

  ‘That’s going to save me? How do I know? Maybe it’s helped.’ I picked up my day-sack and slipped it on to my back. Long, purple shadows were stretching out over the folds in the mountains. Dusk was seeping into the valleys.

  Looking down at the boy, I was disconcerted to see tears in his eyes.

  ‘Come on,’ I said, sweeping him up in my arms and sitting him on my left hip. ‘On the way home we’re going to drop in at Tesco’s and get some things for a good fry-up, because I’m definitely not planning to snuff it today.’

  ‘But Dad,’ he persisted. ‘Didn’t you say the German woman was the ninth white person to die because of the spell?’

  ‘If you leave out the two South Africans in the Beechcraft, yes.’

  ‘Then I hope you’re not going to be the tenth man down.’

  GLOSSARY

  Basha — Sleeping shelter

  Bergen — Rucksack

  BG — Bodyguard (noun or verb)

  Blue-on-blue — Accidental strike on own forces

  Bwangi — Hello

  Casevac — Casualty evacuation

  Choka — Piss off

  Comms — Communications

  CTR — Close target reconnaissance

  DA — Defence attaché

  DOP — Drop-off point

  DPMs — Disruptive pattern material camouflage garments

  DZ — Drop zone

  ERV — Emergency rendezvous

  ETA — Estimated time of arrival

  Exvil — Exfiltration

  Fiti — Sorcerer

  Go-away bird — Grey lourie

  GPS — Global positioning system, navigation aid

  Gympi — General-purpose machine gun

  Head-shed — Headquarters

  ID — Identity, identify

  Ima! — Stop!

  Incoming — Incoming fire

  Juju — Spell cast by witch doctor

  Kremlin — SAS headquarters

  LUP — Lying-up point

  LZ — Landing zone

  Magellan — Brand-name of GPS

  MRE — Meals ready to eat

  NBC — Nuclear, biological and chemical

  ND — Negligent (accidental) discharge of weapon

  Nshima — Maize meal

  OP — Observation point

  Pinkie — 110 Land Rover adapted for SAS

  PNGs — Passive night goggles

  QRF — Quick-reaction force

  RTU — Return to unit

  Rupert — Officer

  Satcom — Satellite telephone system

  SEAL — Sea, Air and Land — American special forces unit

  Shamouli — Parachute flare

  Shreddies — Army-issue underpants

  Sin’ganga — Witch doctor

  SOP — Standard operating procedure

  Stag — Sentry duty

  U/S — Unserviceable

  Zikomo — Thank you

  319 — VHF radio

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