Authors: Robert Muchamore
It was barely light. I felt a bit delicate, but not bad considering the amount I’d drank the night before. Captain unrolled a map on his desk. It showed about a hundred miles around camp, with major geographical features and roads. He’d added hundreds of his own markings, showing minor roads, footpaths, military installations and good spots for ambushes. ‘So, any decisions yet?’ Captain asked. I nodded, ‘Looks like we’re getting married.’ ‘Thought you might,’ Captain grinned. ‘Welcome to the family… Anyway, I reckon Grandma lived
about here.’ Captain tapped an area on the map. Sami nodded, ‘That’s right, just after the bend in the road.’ ‘Like I expected, there’s a big lake three kilometres into the bush. That’s where you’ll find your fisherman, if he’s still around. Desi’s going to drop you off. You’ll have to walk the last ten kilometres, though. I still reckon it’s dodgy sending a vehicle down that road. You’ll probably have to search quite a big area to have any chance of finding Adam, so we’ll pick you up tomorrow at sundown.’
‘Oh shit,’ Desi shouted. ‘Never seen a roadblock down here before.’
When we planned an ambush, we always did it just around a corner, or past the top of a hill, so you were right on top before you spotted it. The army used the same strategy placing roadblocks. It was only fifty metres ahead. ‘Shoot or run?’ Desi asked, slowing the Nissan to a crawl. Sami was in the front of the Nissan next to him. ‘There’s a line of spikes in the road.’ Sami said. ‘But there’s only a couple of guys standing there. I say
we take them out.’ ‘Could be more in the trees,’ Desi said. ‘It’s just conscripts,’ Sami said. Desi nodded, ‘You’re the boss.’ He stopped about fifteen metres short of the spikes and wound down the window. A soldier stepped
into the road. ‘Come forward,’ the soldier shouted, gesturing with his hand. Desi leaned out and acted like he couldn’t hear.
‘Pardon?’ Sami turned to me, ‘You get in the bushes. We’ll lure them out.’ I crept out the back door and sprinted into the trees. The soldier caught sight of me and started
shouting at Desi. ‘Hey hey,’ The soldier shouted edgily. ‘What are you playing at?’ ‘Pardon?’ Desi shouted again. Three more soldiers heard the shouting and came out of a tent beside the spikes. When the soldier was about five metres short of the Nissan, Desi fired his AK47. A couple of rounds hit the soldier in the stomach. Desi reversed the Nissan around the corner, out of sight. Meanwhile, I’d scrambled through the bushes, positioning myself so the soldier who’d been shot was directly in front of me. He was squirming on the ground, hands over his guts and coughing blood out of his mouth.
The other three soldiers ran to help their stricken colleague. None of them had seen me get out and the one on the ground was in too much pain to warn them. I was worried there might be more soldiers in hiding, but there wasn’t much I could do if there was.
The three leaned over their colleague. They looked hopelessly at one another, with no clue how to give treatment. It felt unfair, killing them from such close range. I pulled the trigger. A couple of rounds hit one soldier in the back. Then my AK went quiet. I frantically pulled the trigger a couple more times, but all I got was a hollow clunk.
Time really does go slow when you’re scared. I watched the bloke I shot fall on top of the one Desi shot. The other two were turning towards me, clicking their M16s onto automatic fire.
I ducked down and crawled into the thick undergrowth, knowing I was in some deep shit. I took my revolver from it’s holster. It wasn’t going to be much help though: a revolver versus two M16s is like a bicycle going head to head with a tank. Bullets started whooshing through the branches around me.
Desi and Sami had jumped out of the Nissan and were moving towards the scene, expecting me to have made a neater job of things. They started shooting as soon as they realised it had all gone pear shaped.
I got my ankle tangled up in a creeper. One soldier was crashing through the leaves coming towards me. Desi took out the other one, who was still in the road.
I fired a couple of panicked shots at the moving branches. My enemy toppled forwards, collapsing a few metres away. I took a proper aim and shot him a couple more times to finish him off. Sami and Desi shot up the corpses, making sure we didn’t get any nasty surprises.
I stumbled into the road, holding up my revolver in case anyone jumped out of hiding, but it seemed like we’d got the lot. ‘Looks clear,’ Sami said. ‘What happened Killer? Are you OK?’ ‘Bit rattled,’ I said. ‘My rifle jammed.’ Desi was shaking his head and whistling through his teeth, ‘That always happens at the worst
moments.’ ‘I don’t know why it jammed,’ I said. ‘Give us a look,’ Sami said. I handed the rifle over. She took off the magazine and looked inside the gun. ‘Come here,’ Sami said, sounding a bit annoyed. She held the gun up to my face. ‘What’s that Killer?’ She snapped. ‘Oh,’ I said. ‘It looks like a touch of rust got inside.’ Her fist smashed into my nose. I wasn’t expecting it, so it hit me square on. ‘Idiot,’ she shouted. Sami might have been a girl, but she didn’t punch like one. I cupped my hands over my face and
watched my blood pouring into them. ‘What was that for?’ I asked. ‘Because you’re a total moron.’ Sami grabbed my arm, twisted me around and kneed me in the guts. Then she shoved me backwards
onto the ground and threw the gun in the dirt, a few centimetres from my face. ‘Look at the state of it,’ she shouted. ‘It’s a disgrace.’ She stood right over me. I was half expecting her boot in my face, but I didn’t get it. ‘When did you last clean that heap of shit?’ I sat up, holding my stomach and groaning. ‘I cleaned it after we grabbed the money,’ I said. She put her hands on her hips. ‘That’s over two weeks ago. With that amount of corrosion, you’re lucky it didn’t blow off your hand.’ I started standing up. I hurt in about five different places. ‘I didn’t know we were going out today,’ I said. ‘I never got a chance to clean it.’ ‘You had time to get drunk though.’
‘I’m sorry. OK?’ ‘What use is sorry when you’re dead? We could have all been killed because of you.’ My nose dripped a trail of red dots onto the road. I bent over to pick up the rifle, but Sami kicked it
away. ‘Don’t bother with it,’ Sami shouted. ‘Chuck it in the trees. You’ll never clean that mess up. Take yourself one of the M16s and any other stuff the soldiers have got, then drag the bodies into the bushes. I’ll move the spikes.’ ‘All right, I know I messed up, Sami. You don’t have to be a total bitch about it.’ ‘Don’t push your luck Killer,’ Sami shouted, backing away from me. ‘One more word out of that mouth and I’m gonna kick every tooth out of your stupid head.’
Sami was fitter and tougher than me. Usually she compensated, by taking some of my weight and going slower than she could; but I’d pissed her off and she was in no mood to coddle me. My nose was stuffed with congealed blood, my pack was heavier than usual because we were staying out overnight; plus there was the hangover and the fact it was unbelievably hot. Most days you thought it couldn’t get any hotter, but the man upstairs always seemed to find another notch on the thermostat.
After an hour walking at Sami’s pace, I got a massive stitch down my side and I had to stop. She walked back to me. ‘Get up,’ she shouted. ‘I thought you loved me,’ I gasped. ‘Love isn’t an excuse to let you get away with being an idiot. If Captain finds out what state your gun
was in, he’ll have you whipped.’ ‘Are you going to tell him?’ ‘I should, but I’m too much of a softie,’ Sami said. ‘Count yourself lucky that all I’m doing is making
you work up a little sweat.’ ‘I’ve got a stitch,’ I said. ‘Please give us five minutes break.’ Sami threw down her pack and took a slug out of her water bottle. ‘Two minutes,’ She said. Sami wasn’t even out of breath.
The lake was about a kilometre across and three long. We knew the size from the map, but we hadn’t counted on the wall of tangled vegetation that made getting near the water almost impossible.
We walked slowly, keeping our eyes peeled for a hut or pathway. It soon got monotonous. Sami gave up being annoyed with me and we walked close together. I was sweat drenched, insect bitten and my ankles howled for a rest.
The whole scheme seemed hopeless. Half an hour before dark, we found a small clearing and gave up. We pitched a lightweight tent that had been taken off a dead mercenary, kicked off our boots and opened up some canned meat. It smelled slightly better than dog food, but the chunks were set in the same kind of clear jelly and the heat had turned it into warm, greasy, sludge. We could have foraged for something tastier, but we’d been on our feet for eight hours and didn’t have the strength. I could only swallow by closing my eyes and pretending it was something else. A couple of times I actually retched. ‘We’re never going to find him like this,’ Sami said. ‘It sucks,’ I said miserably. ‘We’ve got all day tomorrow, but it doesn’t look good.’ ‘We need a different strategy,’ Sami said. ‘We can’t just look. We’ve got to attract their attention.’ ‘How?’ ‘Build a big fire,’ Sami said. ‘They should see the smoke and flames, even in the dark. That’s gonna put them on alert. Then we’ll go around the lake, stopping every few hundred metres and shouting your brother’s name.’
It sounded like a good plan. I looked at Sami and a shiver went up my back when I realised how brilliant she was and how I couldn’t imagine a day without her.
‘Course,’ Sami said. ‘That’s not the only attention we’ll get. We’re only a few kilometres from where we killed three soldiers and burned down Grandma’s house.’ ‘You reckon the army will come out here in the dark?’ ‘Depends,’ Sami said. ‘Not if it’s just conscripts. But after we ripped off the money, there’s probably all
kinds of psychos around here looking for us.’ ‘You want to risk it?’ I asked. ‘I don’t think were gonna find Adam any other way.’ The sense of hope reenergized me. We gathered dry timber, racing to get as much as possible before it
turned dark. We got a huge pile together and some fresh wood to throw on once the fire was established. We took a breather while the sun set, kissing for the first time since my gun jammed. ‘Sorry I punched you,’ Sami said, nibbling on my earlobe. ‘I did nearly get the three of us killed. Thanks for not telling Captain.’ ‘I couldn’t really,’ Sami laughed. ‘You’re too soft. I bet you’d cry after two licks.’ ‘I’m tougher than you think.’ ‘I kicked your arse easy enough this morning,’ Sami giggled. ‘That’s because I was being a gentleman and I didn’t want to hurt you back,’ I said, struggling to keep a
straight face. ‘Whatever you say, macho man… Anyway, we better start looking for baby brother before you get over
tired and start whining for your Mommy.’ Sami flicked her lighter under some kindling. We soon had a massive blaze going. I stood as near to the
lake as I could and started screaming: ‘ADAM PASCAL. ADAM PASCAL. IT’S ME, JAKE.’ It echoed over the still water. ‘COME TO THE FIRE.’ Once we put the damp branches and leaves over the flames, a thick plume of smoke rose into the sky.
We began circling the lake. The smoke was visible in the moonlight when we looked back. ‘ADAM PASCAL.’ After about ten minutes, my throat started getting raw and Sami took over shouting duties. ‘ADAM PASCAL.’ At first, I thought the noise was just Sami’s echo. Then something came back stronger. ‘WHOOOOOUUUU.’ ‘You hear that?’ I asked. Sami nodded at me, then shouted, ‘IS THAT ADAM?’ The second time we heard it, we worked it out: ‘WHO ARE YOU?’ ‘I’M SAMI,’ she shouted back. ‘I’M JAKE’S FRIEND.’ I shot my revolver into the air. A burst of automatic fire ripped back at us across the lake. ‘SEE YOU NEAR THE FIRE,’ the man’s voice shouted back. It was a total buzz. I gave Sami a quick kiss and we ran back towards the fire. ‘Better be careful,’ Sami said. ‘Just in case it’s a trap.’ We hid in bushes near to the fire and waited about ten minutes before the next shout came. ‘CAN YOU HEAR ME?’ I recognised Adam’s voice. ‘HEY MIDGET,’ I shouted back. ‘ARE YOU OK?’
‘GOOD… YOU?’ He can’t have been more that thirty meters away. I couldn’t stop myself from crying. ‘FINE. BILLY SAYS I SHOULD ASK YOU A QUESTION, IN CASE IT’S NOT REALLY YOU,’ Adam shouted. ‘GO ON.’ ‘WHAT TEAM DO YOU SUPPORT?’ ‘ARSENAL. I’LL ASK YOU ONE BACK… WHAT’S YOUR GIRLFRIEND’S NAME?’ ‘MARIAH ISN’T MY GIRLFRIEND,’ Adam shouted back furiously. ‘I ONLY WENT TO HER
STUPID PARTY BECAUSE MUM MADE ME.’ I stepped out of the bushes with my hands in the air and walked towards the fire. Adam ran out of the dark. He was wearing trainers and a pair of shorts made out of leopard skin. I picked him up and hugged him. We both had massive grins and tears running everywhere. ‘Billy said the army must have killed you.’ ‘I thought the same about you,’ I sobbed. ‘Are you OK?’ It felt so amazing. His little fingers holding onto my back. The smell of his breath. The funny little double shake and sniffle he always did when he cried. You don’t realise how much you love your family until you get pulled apart.
A handsome fellow emerged from the bush. He looked about thirty, with capped white teeth and a square jaw.
‘You must be Billy,’ I said, taking one arm off Adam and grasping his hand. ‘We’ve got Grandma back at our camp.’ ‘I thought she’d died in the fire.’ Billy smiled. ‘That’s good news. She’s such a sweet little thing.’ ‘Thanks for looking after my brother. He looks in great shape.’ I wasn’t flattering him. Adam usually existed on a diet of Skittles, Happy Meals and Gameboy
Advance. Mum drove him everywhere. Fish, fruit and daily exercise had slimmed him down quite a bit. ‘He tells so many stories about your exploits,’ Billy said. ‘I feel like I know you already, Jake.’ I turned around and looked for Sami. She was tiptoeing with her hands behind her back, like a little
girl who’d done something bad. ‘Hello Billy,’ Sami said. ‘I remember your show.’ Billy waggled his finger and showed us his lines of perfect teeth. ‘But the question is,’ Billy said dramatically. ‘How much do
you
think it’s worth?’ Sami stared at the ground, grinning. She looked like she was about to wet her knickers. ‘Oh my god,’ She squealed, jumping daintily into the air. ‘I can’t believe I’m standing in front of Billy Mango.’