by David Nees
At first light, the soldiers woke everyone up. They were heating water. When hot, they mixed in some manioc paste and made bowls of the softened starch. It had little nutritional value but provided calories which would be needed for the day’s hiking.
Then it was up and moving. They were now using a faint trail that Yvette assumed was from previous hikes by the rebel soldiers. That made the walking easier. When they veered off from the trail, the lead men used their machetes to cut some clearance for the others behind them.
Sweat poured off Yvette’s brow. She noticed the others growing tired. Marie’s head was bent, and she was softly whimpering.
“Reichard,” Yvette said in a soft voice. He turned around as they were walking.
She nodded towards Marie. “Ask if we can stop and have some water. She may collapse at any moment.”
He nodded. “Commander,” he called out.
The leader looked back at him with a scowl.
“S'il vous plaît. Can we stop for some water? Some of our group may pass out. It will slow you down.”
The man looked at Reichard and then the rest of the staff. He turned towards the front and commanded the men to stop.
The hostages sat down without having to be instructed, glad to give their feet and legs a rest. Yvette sat next to Marie.
“Ҫa va?” How are you?
“Bien,” she nodded her head. Yvette wasn’t convinced.
“We will be okay,” she said under breath. Just stay calm. They won’t hurt us. It would bring too much condemnation to them. It would also force the army to increase its operations against them. They’re just going to use us for some advantage—leverage or ransom.”
“But the soldiers…they may harm us? We’re the only women in the group.”
Yvette could see the fear in her eyes. Yvette shared her concern but didn’t allow herself to give into it. They were powerless at this point.
“They dare not do that. It would ruin anything they want to accomplish.”
“But people just disappear. They never find them. We’ve heard the stories.”
There was a growing panic in her voice. Yvette decided any hope was better than none, even if it might be a false hope.
“Remember Roland from the previous nights?”
Marie nodded.
“I sent him a text message when we were captured. We were still in cell range. He’s coming.”
Marie looked at her friend, her eyes wide. “What does that mean?”
“I told you what he did to the four men in the alley?”
Marie nodded.
“He’s a trained fighter. I think all of them are. They are going to come for us. They are already on our trail.”
“How do you know?”
“I know who Roland is, what he can do. And I know how he feels about me.”
At that moment, the leader shouted for everyone to get up. They started off again through the forest.
*
The next morning Dan and the others set out with their trackers. They came to a dense part of the forest where one could easily see the cut marks of a machete where a path had been made. Muko studied the cuttings. He gestured to Santu, who went up to talk with him. The tracker showed him the cut foliage, talking rapidly and with much excitement. Santu came back to Dan.
“He thinks we are only two days behind the men. He thinks elephants move better through the forest than these men do. They cut and hack their way along, leaving a large trail and using up much energy. Easier to go around and under rather than cut the way through.”
“Tell him to go faster when we can. We need to close the distance. Does he know where they are headed?”
Santu went back to the lead tracker and spoke for some minutes before returning.
“There is a compound deep in the forest. It is where these men with their guns come from. He thinks it is where they are headed. He will be sure later as he follows the trail.”
“Bien. We will need to sneak up on the camp when we get close.”
“He wants to know if you are going to kill the men when you get to their camp.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No. They take the women from his tribe, use them and sell them. They cause much damage to the forest. When they are around the game flees and his people go hungry. He will be happy if you kill them.”
Dan smiled.
“We’ll try to make him happy,” Roland said.
“You want to start an international incident before we complete our mission?” Dan asked, turning to Roland.
“Shit. They’re rebels and kidnappers. And we’re in the boonies. We kill them. No one will know about it for months. They may only know about it because the raids and killings will go down, if not stop.” He spit on the ground and took a swig of water. “We’ll be doing people a favor. Good riddance, I say.”
“We’re going to rescue the hostages the way we carry out any op. Quietly. Undercover. No fanfare. We still have our mission to carry out.”
Dan stared hard at Roland. “Keep that in mind.”
“Wooo hooo,” the lead tracker made a sound. It seemed to Dan to be a multi-purpose sound with many meanings. Everyone got up and set out. This time the pace was faster. Dan and the others had to work even harder to keep up with the three diminutive men, who, though smaller and carrying large packs, moved tirelessly through the trees.
Later that day they came across the remains of a pygmy camp. The trackers stopped and put down their packs. They disappeared into the woods and came back a few minutes later with some leaves and fruit. They laid the leaves down on the ground near the remains of the communal fire pit. Then they stepped back and began a singsong chant while stamping their feet rhythmically. When they finished, they picked up their packs and spears and set out with their rapid steps.
“What was that?” Marcus asked as they pushed ahead to keep the little men in sight.
“They presented some gifts to the spirits of anyone who remains in the village. They praised them and asked for their protection. They said they were helping these white men. The whites wanted to kill the evil men who harmed the forest and had taken the people who tried to protect it.”
He looked at Dan. “It’s good that he said those things.”
Dan nodded. “Not sure what I think about all of that, but I welcome all the help we can get.”
“If the spirits of the forest are protecting you, you will be successful. Even the leopard obeys these spirits and will not harm you.”
“The leopard. You mention the animal a lot. It must be very dangerous.”
Santu spoke with his head down as they hiked along what was no trail. “You never hear him. You never see him…and then you are dead. Gone in the night. Taken the way a spirit takes you. Only a few men have ever heard a leopard and lived. Those men are special, ones with special powers.”
“And you believe this?” Marcus asked.
Santu worked to catch his breath. The pace was harder on him than the three men who regularly trained for this kind of activity.
“We are in the forest. The world of the city does not apply here. The forest has its own rules, its own way. It is not a matter of believing or not. It is a matter of adjusting to the realities of where you are.”
The conversation dwindled as the pace continued. When they reached an older trail, the tracker increased their pace. Now it was easy to see the path. Dan had the sense they were closing in on the kidnappers.
Chapter 33
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A fter a two-day trek, the rebels arrived at their camp. It consisted of a small collection of buildings and shacks. There was a large one which looked to be a mess hall or meeting room. Next to it was a building which looked like sleeping quarters. Across from these two was a well-built house with a porch. To the side, behind the mess hall and sleeping quarters, were two smaller buildings. Yvette could not discern their use. They were without windows and had solid doors that were locked. Except
for the house with a porch which had walls in rough-sawn lumber, they were all made with wooden poles chinked with what looked like a mix of mud and straw. They were raised a foot or two off of the ground.
Looking through an open door, Yvette could see the floors were planked in rough-sawn wood. The roofs were all made of thatch over pole frames. All the materials looked like they came from the cleared area and surrounding forest.
To the rear of the porch house was a pen for goats and chickens. Inside the fence were two stout shelters. Yvette assumed they put the livestock in there each night to protect them from nocturnal predators.
After they arrived in the compound, the leader lined up the captives in front of the building with the porch. Then he went up on the porch, two steps above the ground, and knocked on the door.
“Entrer,” a voice inside called out. The man disappeared inside. A few minutes later he came out carrying a chair followed by a wiry, angular man. He wore a camouflage uniform, pants and shirt. His shirt had epaulets with three stars on them. There was a large, leather belt around his waist with a holster carrying a semi-automatic pistol. He wore a similar beret as the soldiers, but with a medallion pinned on it.
The man sat down and stared at the NGO staff. His face was thin with jutting cheekbones. Yvette noticed a scar on his neck. His eyes were dark with a brown tobacco-like color surrounding his black irises. They were cold, almost alien. She shuddered and put her arm around Marie, who was beginning to shake. He looked down on them through heavily lidded eyes that projected a deadly menace.
“I know who you are,” the man said. His voice was thick, oddly out of place to his thin frame. You come into my forest to count my gorillas. I let you do this, but now you are in my way. It would be better for you to go to the west and count the gorillas there. Count the elephants, okapi, chimpanzees. Count whatever you want.”
He paused for a moment.
“But you count where I have to operate. The forest gives us much. Underneath it there is much more that it gives. Materials we need. You don’t understand. You come from comfortable worlds. Worlds where life is easy, and one doesn’t have to struggle. Here only the strong survive.”
He leaned forward.
“And to be strong, we need the minerals and the money they bring.”
He sat back.
“You can play at doing things that you think will protect our country. But who gives you the right to say how we should develop it? Who gives you the right to say how I should use these resources? Centuries ago, you killed off all your wild animals in Europe to make way for your cities and farms. To make your life comfortable. Now you want to stop me from doing the same?”
He wagged his finger.
“Non, non. You will not get in my way. Instead, you will be exchanged for a sizeable amount of money. If not, you will disappear.”
He stood up.
“Lock them in the holding building and bring me the leader of this foolish group.”
Then he went back inside. The soldiers pushed the group towards the farther building with no windows. Now Yvette understood the use of one of them. It was a jail of sorts.
The soldiers shoved them inside. Reichard called out for some water as they shut the door. They heard the padlock click. Inside it was dark with light showing only through a few slits in the wattle used to fill the cracks in the poles.
As their eyes adjusted to the dark, everyone tried to comfort one another. Their two guides were close to panicking. They were expendable. The brutal economics of the situation were clear to them. They were worth nothing. The government and the other nations would only be interested in the six whites. They were the prize. The guides could only hope to be allowed to share the same fate. It was clear to Yvette they were going to be compliant and not draw attention to themselves.
A half hour later the door was unlocked. The man who had led the kidnapping stood in the doorway when it opened. He looked around the group and motioned to Reichard to come forward. Reichard had been the one to ask the questions, so the man assumed he was the leader. After taking him outside, the door was closed and locked.
Reichard followed the kidnapper to the commandant’s house.
On entering, he was told to sit on a wooden chair. The commander looked at him for a long minute.
“Your name?” His voice still sounded ominous, hinting at violence lurking close to the surface.
“Reichard Chastain”
“You are the leader of this group?”
Reichard nodded.
“Do you know who I am?”
Reichard shook his head.
“That is too bad. If you did, you might not have been so foolish. I am General Joseph Amunazele Mputu. I am the commander of this forest. I am the ruler here.” He leaned forward, his eyes now alight with an angry light. “I am life and death.”
Reichard knew his face betrayed his fear. A satisfied look crept over Mputu’s face. He leaned back in his chair.
“You think you can go wherever you want? In my forest?”
“We were given permission to do our work in the forest. By the government.”
A thin hint of a smile curled the commandant’s lips. “Where is this government? Do you see them? Are they here to help you?” He pointed his finger at his own chest. “Look around. I am the government. This is my forest. Kinshasa cannot help you. The army cannot help you. I am the only one who can help you…or condemn you.”
Reichard suppressed a shudder. “We don’t want to interfere in your politics. We are only interested in protecting the forest and its wildlife. We mean no harm.”
The commander stood up. “What do you know about protecting the forest? We use the forest. It gives us food, wood, plants, and minerals.”
He walked over to a table against the wall and poured himself a cup of coffee, then returned to his desk.
“You want to deprive us of our own resources. Those in Kinshasa live in a big city. They cut away the jungle to make it. Now they think they can lock up all of this?” He waved his arm in a wide arc. “And you help them. You would deprive us of what we need.”
He wagged his finger at Reichard. “Non, non, white man. You will not help to keep us from what we need. You will help me to get what I need. We will see how much your people value you.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Hold you for ransom.” He took out a sheet of paper and pen. “You will tell me who you report to and how you contact them.”
He shoved the pen and paper across the desk. Reichard took it and wrote a name and phone number.
“This is my supervisor. He works in Kinshasa coordinating all the work on the gorillas. The eastern ones and the lowland gorillas in the west.”
“I will call them tomorrow. You will remain locked up. If anyone tries to escape or causes trouble, they will be shot. Is that understood?”
Reichard nodded. “You will keep the two women safe?”
“If they cause no trouble.”
Mputu gestured to a soldier who stepped forward and grabbed Reichard by the arm and marched him back to the others.
Chapter 34
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D an and the group hiked throughout the next day at the rapid pace. The bush pig killed two days before made for one last meal that evening along with the manioc paste. Roland opted for an MRE.
The next day they set out as before, early in the morning.
“We are getting close to the camp,” Santu said after talking with the trackers.
“How can they tell?” Dan asked.
“More signs of coming and going. They also said there would be less game to hunt. The animals will stay away. The men in the camp hunt them.”
“Tell the trackers that we must not be seen or heard. We will have to scout the camp to figure out how we’ll rescue the hostages.”
Santu smiled. “Don’t worry. They will not be seen or heard. They are worried about you white guys. You make more noise than elephants the
y said.”
Dan scowled at Santu. “This is not funny. Have them slow down when they get closer, and then we can go as quietly as they do.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Believe it. We are trained for this.”
The pace remained fast for the rest of the day. That night Santu announced that Muko told him they would arrive at the rebel camp the next evening.
“At last,” Roland said. “Then we can begin operation ‘Kickass’.”
Dan handed a pack of cigarettes to each of the three trackers. “Tell them they can smoke here, but not when we get closer to the rebel camp.”
Santu spoke to the three men, who nodded. They each lit up cigarette and put the rest of the pack carefully in their pocket or personal sling.
“When we’re close, we must set up a camp,” Dan said. “Well hidden. We’ll need at least one day, maybe two, to determine how to rescue the hostages. Got to find the weaknesses in the defenses.”
Santu went over to Muko and spoke to him at length. After, he came back to where Dan and the others were sitting.
“He says he can make a camp that will not be found, but not if you put up your bright tents. He called them covers. You must make huts like they do. They will show you.”
“Here come the mosquito bites,” Marcus said.
“As if we didn’t have enough already,” Roland said.
*
The next morning Reichard was brought to General Mputu’s office. He had a satellite phone on his desk.
“I will place the call. Here is what you say.” He placed a sheet of paper in front of Reichard. If you say anything different from what I’ve written, I will end the call and one of your people will be taken out and beaten. It will be your fault for not doing what I tell you to do.”
