Death in the Desert Read online

  ‘We could be arrested,’ pointed out Tug.

  ‘Worse, we could get killed by rival drug dealers,’ said Benny.

  ‘True,’ agreed Nelson. ‘It’s a chance we have to take.’

  ‘And in my opinion, it’s worth it,’ added Omari. ‘If we can put a stop to this conflict we’ll save thousands of lives. American, British, Afghan.’ He gave a rueful smile. ‘I’m American, but I’m also an Afghan. I’m doing this to save people on both sides.’

  Nelson looked at the men.

  ‘Well, that’s the plan. Any questions?’

  ‘Just one,’ said Mitch. To Omari he said, ‘If this guy Al Haq is your uncle, why do you need us as your bodyguards?’

  ‘Because my uncle controls the mountain area in the north of Kajaki, but to get there means travelling from Kandahar across forty miles of country controlled by other Taliban warlords, most of them much more hard line than my uncle. And although the Taliban tolerate my uncle because they still see him as an ally, they would do anything to stop him if they thought he was negotiating with the Coalition.’

  It was a fair answer, thought Mitch, but something was still nagging him.

  ‘OK, that’s it, guys,’ said Nelson. ‘My next move is to take Mr Omari to the stores and get him kitted out. If he’s going to be travelling with us, he’s got to look the part.’

  ‘I don’t think I’d be any good with weapons,’ responded Omari uncertainly.

  Nelson grinned at him. ‘Don’t worry. No weapons, just a uniform.’

  With that Nelson and Omari left, and the soldiers got up from their chairs.

  ‘Me, a drug dealer?’ Tug said, chuckling. ‘Whatever would my father say if he found out?’

  Two Moons looked at Mitch and saw the concerned expression on his face. ‘You look worried,’ he commented.

  ‘Aren’t you?’ asked Mitch. ‘Think about it. This guy we’re going in with is a nephew of a Taliban warlord. Doesn’t that make you think?’

  ‘About what?’

  ‘About where his loyalties lie?’

  ‘You think Omari is planning to sell us out?’ asked Gaz.

  ‘It crossed my mind,’ said Mitch.

  Gaz laughed. ‘You are one paranoid guy, Mitch,’ he said. ‘The Taliban don’t need him to deliver us to them. There are thousands of British and Yank soldiers already there for them to pick up.’

  ‘Yeah, but not a special-forces colonel and his unit.’

  Two Moons grinned and slapped Mitch on the shoulder. ‘Trust me, this guy Omari’s all right,’ he said confidently. ‘I’ve got a nose for this kind of thing, and it’s kept me alive so far.’

  ‘You were in Afghanistan, Tug,’ said Gaz. ‘What are the Taliban like as an enemy?’

  ‘Fanatical,’ answered Tug, frowning. ‘At least, the hard-line ones are. They’ll fight to the death.’

  4

  As their plane circled over Kandahar Airport, Mitch looked out of the window at the landscape below. From the sky it was just a vast expanse of sand, dust and rocks stretching as far as the eye could see, and it was difficult to imagine anyone surviving in this terrain, let alone making a living.

  ‘Military outposts,’ pointed out Gaz. Below they could just make out some encampments and vehicles, their colours blending in with the desert.

  ‘It’s a hard life out here for those guys,’ murmured Tug. ‘But trust me, it’s even harder behind enemy lines.’

  Because they were on a military flight, there were no serious security checks, which meant they were able to bring in their own weapons. Mitch, Gaz and Tug had the British army’s standard assault rifle, the SA80. Nelson, Benny and Two Moons preferred the more compact Heckler & Koch G36C.

  In addition to their assault rifles, each man carried his preferred close-combat weapons, well hidden. Beneath his uniform, Mitch had a knife strapped to the lower part of each leg, and a H&K Mark 23 pistol inside his combat jacket, within easy reach.

  A short time after landing they found themselves inside the airport building.

  ‘You got any contacts here you want to get in touch with?’ Nelson asked Omari.

  ‘No,’ said Omari. ‘Just my uncle in Kajaki.’

  ‘OK, then,’ said Nelson. ‘Let’s go get our vehicles. Time to get this show on the road.’

  ‘One moment, Colonel,’ murmured Mitch. ‘I think we might have company.’

  Benny nodded. ‘The guy in the purple suit and his pals. They started eyeing us when we walked through the gate.’

  As casually as they could, the others turned to look.

  Nelson grinned.

  ‘Looks like our cover story has worked,’ he said. ‘Anyone make a guess who they are?’

  ‘I’m guessing they ain’t plain-clothes police,’ muttered Two Moons.

  ‘And they’re not Taliban,’ murmured Omari. ‘Not in those suits.’

  ‘So, it’s the opposition,’ Nelson said, nodding. ‘OK, I think this is where we send a message to them and anyone else who might be watching us. Who fancies being the bait?’

  ‘Me,’ volunteered Mitch. In a louder tone, he said, ‘I need to take a leak.’ He handed his rifle to Nelson. ‘I don’t want this getting in the way.’

  With that, Mitch headed for the toilet. The men in suits followed. The door to the toilet crashed open behind Mitch and two of the men grabbed him roughly by the arms, while the third jammed the door shut. It was then that Mitch noticed with a shock that there was another door to the toilet, from the outside.

  The man in the purple suit produced a pistol, which he pressed to Mitch’s head.

  ‘Try and call for help and I’ll kill you now,’ he threatened.

  He ran his hands expertly over Mitch’s uniform and found the H&K Mark 23. Finding no other guns strapped to Mitch’s thighs, he didn’t look further.

  The man in the purple suit nodded and the two men holding Mitch pushed him towards the other door. He was forced outside into the bright sun.

  ‘You will walk along with us, without causing a scene,’ ordered the man in the purple suit.

  ‘How?’ demanded Mitch. ‘I’ve got two guys holding my arms like I’m under arrest.’

  The man didn’t answer. Instead, he said, ‘If you attempt to escape, I will shoot you.’

  ‘Where are we going?’ asked Mitch.

  The man smiled. ‘My boss wishes to talk to you,’ he said. ‘He’s waiting for us in the car park.’

  Like hell he is, thought Mitch. They were taking him somewhere quiet to kill him. Then they’d dump his body as a warning to the other ‘drug dealers’ to stay off their patch. He wondered where Nelson and the other guys were. Surely they would have tried the door to the toilet and found it jammed? They should have busted their way in by now. But it looked like he was going to have to do this on his own. He weighed up the situation and came up with a plan. The question was: when to act?

  Mitch looked towards the car park. He’d better make his move here, before they got too far away from the main building. Here, he still had a chance. Once they were in the car park he was as good as dead.

  Mitch suddenly stopped and jerked backwards, bringing the two men on each side swinging round in front of him. He headbutted the one on the right and then brought his knee up hard towards the groin of the one on the left. But the man obviously saw it coming, because he blocked Mitch’s knee with his thigh and then lashed out, aiming a punch at Mitch’s jaw. Mitch jerked back and the man’s fist just missed him. Mitch was aware of the man in the purple suit waving the pistol to the right and left, trying to get a clear shot at Mitch.

  The man Mitch had headbutted staggered back to his feet and pulled a pistol from inside his jacket. The other man pulled out a handgun.

  ‘Three against one. Naughty naughty!’ said a voice behind them.

  The men turned, as did Mitch. Nelson, Tug and Gaz stood there, rifles aimed.

  ‘Drop the hardware,’ ordered Nelson.

  The man in the purple suit glared back at him.
/>
  ‘If you shoot, your own man will die,’ he said.

  ‘And so will you,’ said Nelson. ‘And if we start shooting, these babies have got a lot more firepower than those pop guns you’re holding. So drop them.’

  The man in the purple suit hesitated, then threw his pistol on the ground. The other two did the same. Mitch picked up the three guns, and then recovered his own Mark 23.

  ‘You took your time coming,’ Mitch complained.

  ‘We wanted to see where they were taking you,’ said Nelson.

  ‘Somewhere they could kill me,’ said Mitch.

  ‘Yes, that’s what we thought.’

  ‘How did you know the toilet had two doors?’ asked Mitch.

  ‘I’ve been here before, remember,’ Tug replied. ‘Local knowledge always comes in useful.’

  Gaz looked at the three men, who were now nervous and fidgety. ‘What shall we do with them?’ he asked. ‘Shoot ’em?’

  At this, the three men shuddered and started to back away, but were stopped by Nelson’s menacing scowl. ‘Not this time,’ Nelson said. ‘They’re not worth it.’ He moved right up close to the man in the purple suit, and added in a threatening tone, ‘But if we run into you again you won’t be so lucky. Comprende, amigo?’

  The man gulped nervously and nodded.

  ‘Good,’ Nelson said, smiling. He gestured with his rifle. ‘Get!’ he snapped.

  The three men hesitated, obviously wondering if they would be shot anyway. They began to move away, slowly at first, and then faster, almost breaking into a run.

  Nelson, Gaz and Tug relaxed their rifles.

  Tug grinned. ‘I believe we’ve just backed up our cover story.’

  5

  They rejoined Benny, Two Moons and Omari in a military car pound a short walk away from the airport building.

  ‘Everything OK?’ asked Two Moons.

  Nelson nodded. ‘Mitch led them outside and we had a word with them,’ he said. ‘I don’t think they’ll come after us again.’

  ‘The main thing is our cover story worked,’ said Benny. ‘If it stuck with those dealers, hopefully the Taliban believe it too.’

  Mitch and the others looked at the three Humvees in front of them. Each vehicle was painted in camouflage colours and bore the scars and marks of hard wear, with dents in the bodywork and chips in the paintwork.

  ‘Tried and tested transport,’ announced Nelson proudly.

  ‘They look like wrecks,’ commented Two Moons.

  ‘Looks aren’t everything,’ said Nelson. ‘These babies have got armour plating on the body, and underneath. All the windows have bulletproof glass. Four-wheel drive. Six gears. Everything beneath the hood is top notch. There’s also a heap of artillery for you in the trunk of the vehicle on your left.’

  The soldiers opened the rear of the third Humvee, and lifted the lid off a large metal box. Inside was a bigger selection of weapons than they already carried. More SA80 assault rifles. H&K G36s and 53s. Bushmaster M16s. Daniel Cobray sub-machine guns. Pistols. Knives. A rocket launcher with grenades. A mortar and shells. Semtex explosive. Detonators and timers. It was a whole arsenal. There was also body armour for each of the men.

  The boot of the second vehicle contained bundles of clothes. ‘Just in case we have to go undercover as locals,’ explained Nelson. ‘OK, order of travel: Me and Omari will take the lead because he knows the route. Tug and Benny in the next car. Mitch, Gaz and Two Moons bringing up the rear. OK?’

  The men nodded.

  ‘Good. Saddle up and let’s go. And keep your eyes peeled. These things have got sensors for picking up and neutralising any roadside bombs, but they won’t tell you when a bullet or a rocket is on its way.’

  They left the airport in convoy. In the third vehicle Gaz took first turn at the wheel. Mitch sat next to him, with Two Moons in the rear, both with assault rifles resting on their laps, ready to use at the first sign of trouble.

  The word ‘road’ hardly described what they were driving on. It was a surface of sand worn down in parts to rock by the military traffic that had passed over it.

  ‘Just like home,’ murmured Two Moons, looking out of the window.

  ‘Come on!’ said Mitch, grinning. ‘Even Arizona isn’t this bare.’

  ‘Delta One to convoy. Everyone OK back there?’ came Nelson’s voice over their radio.

  ‘Delta Two fine,’ came Tug’s voice.

  Gaz pressed the com switch. ‘Delta Three fine,’ he said.

  They rumbled on.

  ‘Either of you guys know much about this Kajaki place we’re going to?’ asked Two Moons.

  ‘I’ve got a friend, Jimmy, who did a tour of duty here with the Northumbrians six months ago,’ said Gaz. ‘According to Jimmy, Kajaki is very much Taliban territory.’

  ‘Then I guess the chance that we’ll run into either Taliban or Coalition forces on the way is pretty high,’ said Mitch.

  Two Moons grunted sourly. ‘At the speed this heap is going we’ll be lucky to run into anything,’ he said. ‘Even a tortoise could get out of our way in time.’

  The three Humvees continued across the desert and then began a slow climb as the road moved to higher ground, twisting and turning around low mountains. There had been no sign of any other people. No villages or houses, just bare desert.

  They kept their distance from Tug and Benny’s vehicle, but even then the dust from the car in front swirled around them. They had just slowed down to take a bend in the road when Mitch felt the ground beneath the car begin to shake and heard a loud rumbling. Through the dust Mitch saw a huge boulder bounce down the steep slope to their right, making straight for them.

  6

  ‘Look out!’ yelled Mitch.

  ‘Got it!’ Gaz shouted back. He was already ramming his foot on the accelerator to try to speed past the boulder, but it was no good. The boulder smashed into the side of the Humvee, sending it careering off the road and down a steep slope. For a second they looked to be in danger of rolling over, but Gaz managed to steer the vehicle into a slide, churning up huge clouds of dust as he did so.

  Mitch had already switched on the com and shouted: ‘Delta Three. Possible ambush!’

  Gaz slammed his foot on the brakes, but the momentum of the heavy vehicle was against them as they hurtled towards the next ridge, which dropped away down the side of the mountain.

  ‘Abandon ship!’ yelled Gaz.

  All three kicked open their doors. Out of the corner of his eye, Mitch saw Two Moons hurl himself out, and Gaz getting ready to jump, then he launched himself from the armoured car, still keeping a firm grip on his automatic rifle. He hit the ground with a jarring thud and rolled to take the force of the landing, sliding on sand and pebbles before coming up against hard rock.

  The vehicle slid down the slope and disappeared over the edge in a cloud of dust.

  Mitch pushed himself up on to his knees, rifle cradled in his arms ready to fire, eyes alert, searching for any movement that would give the enemy away. Two Moons was also now up, rifle poised for action. He swung from side to side and bobbed up and down as he moved, to stop any sniper getting a clear aim at him.

  Where was Gaz? Mitch couldn’t see him, but the air was still thick with dust and sand. Mitch stood up and headed for the ridge below him, scanning the area in case Gaz was lying injured.

  Two Moons joined him and they looked down. Their vehicle was lying on its side about three hundred feet below, on another section of the mountain track. ‘Any sign of Gaz?’ asked Two Moons urgently.

  Mitch shook his head. ‘Stay here and watch my back,’ he said. ‘I’m going down to the vehicle.’

  As he slid over the ridge and began to climb down the steep slope of sand and pebbles, he heard Nelson’s voice bark in his headset: ‘Situation report?’

  ‘Two Moons and I are OK,’ said Mitch. ‘We got out before the vehicle went over the ridge. It’s at the bottom of the next slope down. No sign of Gaz. I thought he jumped out too, but maybe he got
trapped. I’m going down to see.’

  ‘Be careful!’ said Nelson. ‘Benny and I are coming to you. Tug’s staying with Omari.’

  Mitch continued down the slope, eyes and ears alert, but there was no sign or sound of an enemy. He reached the vehicle, which was lying on its passenger side. The driver’s door was hanging open. Mitch climbed up and looked inside. Gaz wasn’t there.

  He checked the ground around the vehicle. There were marks which led along the track and then disappeared into a cluster of rocks.

  A sound behind Mitch made him whirl round. It was Nelson. He gestured at the vehicle and asked, ‘Gaz?’

  Mitch shook his head. ‘There’s no sign of him.’

  ‘Maybe he managed to get out and is lying somewhere nearby,’ suggested Nelson.

  Again, Mitch shook his head. He pointed to the scuff marks and tracks. ‘There are signs of at least three people here. My guess is that Gaz has been taken prisoner.’

  Nelson frowned. ‘That quickly?’

  ‘They must have had people lying in wait all around here,’ said Mitch. ‘Then the ones nearest Gaz pounced on him, and the rest skedaddled.’

  In their headsets they heard Benny’s voice. ‘The area here seems secure. No hostiles in sight. What’s the situation down there?’

  ‘Gaz is gone,’ replied Nelson. ‘Looks like he’s been taken prisoner.’ He swore, then looked ruefully at the vehicle. ‘I think we’re going to need some help to push this thing back on its wheels.’

  7

  Working together, they managed to push the Humvee upright. Then they towed it back on to the main road using the two other vehicles. Mitch’s mind was racing. Where was Gaz? He couldn’t have been taken far – there hadn’t been much time. But then it only took a few seconds to kidnap someone, and their attackers would know the area inside out.

  Nelson stood surveying the surrounding countryside through binoculars. He could see a small village not too far away. Maybe Gaz had been taken there.

  ‘OK, Mr Omari,’ said Nelson. ‘Who d’you reckon did this? Taliban? Al-Qaeda?’