Hunted (7 page)

She reached the others and dropped to her knees, lowering the medical kit to the ground. 'Doctor's here,' she said briskly. She brought out the bottle of antiseptic and a pad of cotton wool. 'Who's first?' Her mouth split into a grin of pure sadism.

'There's your uncle,' said Li.

From their seated position, John Middleton looked even taller than he actually was. He grinned at them. 'I've got your results. Out of forty teams that started, only twenty completed. So you've already done well to be sitting here in this tent. And . . .' He paused.

Five faces looked back at him. They were hanging on his every word.

'Spit it out, Uncle,' said Amber. 'It's been a long day.'

'You made no mistakes at the checkpoints, no mistakes in navigation, you got time penalties in the abseiling and hiking phase but I'm working on the judges about that because of the mitigating circumstances . . . you were first in the final sprint and . . . third overall . . .'

His voice was drowned in the cheer that followed. Water bowls went flying as the five all grabbed each other in a gigantic, boisterous hug. 'Oh,' added John Middleton, 'and you were voted friendliest team in the race.'

'That must have been you, Li,' said Paulo. 'You'll bat your eyelashes at anything--' His words became a splutter as Li upended the one surviving water bowl over his head.

'It can't have been you, Amber,' Hex was saying. 'You've been like a bear with a sore head.'

'I still beat you to the finish,' retorted Amber, picking up her crutch and poking him in the ribs. Hex grabbed it and yanked hard, and she fell over on top of him with a shriek, then rolled onto her back laughing.

'Listen, guys,' said John Middleton, 'I've got to go and see to something. But you should take this up properly. There are teams that do this semi-professionally. You'd be world class in no time.' His voice was serious.

Amber propped herself up on one elbow, frowning. 'But Uncle, that's not what Alpha Force is about.'

'Yeah,' said Alex. 'How would that help anyone?'

John Middleton spread his hands as though what he was about to say was a great revelation. 'Raising money for charity. You could do a lot of good like that. Think about it.' He looked at his watch. 'I've got to dash. See you later.' He raised his hand in a wave as he moved away.

Amber watched him go and let out an exasperated sigh. 'That's typical of my uncle. Now he's going to be finding us nice safe competitions instead of proper work. I don't want to be an athlete; I want to solve real problems.'

Alex lay flat beside her and closed his eyes. 'Then we do what we always do. We find our own missions.'

'Hear, hear,' said Hex, prodding his blister. Li and Paulo murmured in agreement.

'Team Alpha Force?' called a voice. A figure wearing a steward's T-shirt was picking his way through the bodies towards them.

'Over here,' Li replied, putting her hand up.

The steward hopped over a few pairs of outstretched legs and held out a piece of paper. 'Message for you. And by the way, congratulations.'

'Thanks,' they chorused.

Li opened the note. It was a printout of an e-mail. She read it out. '"I have just visited my daughter in hospital, where she is making good progress. I would very much like to meet the brave team who rescued her. This is an open invitation to them to join me for a few days at Teak Lodge, my small conservation reserve in the north-eastern corner of the Luangwa National Park, so that I can thank them in person. Sincerely, Joe Chandler."'

Paulo's eyes lit up. 'Cool,' he said enthusiastically.

'That'll do nicely,' grinned Amber.

'Just as long as they have some nice soft beds!' said Paulo. 'I could sleep for a month.'

5
BIG GAME

A few days later John Middleton came down the steps of the hotel and folded his tall body into the back of the cab. He had business to get back to in New York, and Amber and the others were waving him off on his way to the airport.

'By the way' he said, 'two sports equipment firms are interested in sponsoring Team Alpha Force in this year's Eco Challenge in Patagonia. It'd be right on your doorstep, Paulo.'

Paulo felt he should say something appreciative. But if he sounded too keen he might upset Amber. 'Patagonia's nice,' he said.

'What did you tell them?' Amber asked her uncle.

'I said you'd think about it, of course.' He pulled the door closed. 'Have fun at the game reserve and don't feed the lions.'

As the taxi pulled away, Amber folded her arms crossly. 'I said he wouldn't let this go. He's like one of those pushy parents who want to put their kids on the stage.'

Hex poked her in the ribs. 'I don't think anyone would want to put
you
on the stage.'

Amber gave him a steely look. 'Your parents clearly abandoned you to be brought up by computers in a darkened room.'

'Hey, guys,' said Paulo. He was looking towards the end of the drive. A dusty open-topped Jeep had pulled over to let John Middleton's taxi pass. 'Do you think this is Joe Chandler?'

As the Jeep came closer, they saw the driver was a powerfully built jet-black African. 'Not quite Tessa's colouring,' quipped Li.

Alex was looking at the steel bars that formed a skeleton roof on the Jeep. The underside of the vehicle was also reinforced. 'Interesting,' he said. 'The last time I saw accessories like that, they were on a Land Rover my dad had been driving around a minefield.'

'So how is Tessa?' Paulo asked the question but it was the first thing everybody had wanted to know. The introductions had been made and they were on their way, speeding along a dual carriageway with the breeze in their faces. Four of them sat in the back, with Alex in the front passenger seat.

Their driver was one of Joe Chandler's rangers, Patrick Nabwalya. He had the kind of rugged features that suggested a lifetime spent out of doors and made his age impossible to guess. The Jeep also looked well worn: the steering wheel was bent out of shape like a tin can that had been stood on.

'Tessa's much better and Joe's been able to bring her home,' said Patrick, 'but she'll be out of action for a while. The wound's infected and she's on massive doses of antibiotic. If you hadn't done what you did, she wouldn't be here at all.'

'She's a very brave girl,' said Paulo.

'Yeah,' said Amber beside him. 'After you told me about her pulling her leg off that stake, I don't think I'll eat for a week.'

'She was in a lot of pain,' said Hex. 'To do that took real guts.'

The road became narrower as they left the town behind. The crash barriers disappeared and on either side was bush - a wide plain of waving grass the colour of sand, studded with thin teak trees and bulging baobabs. Mountains formed indigo shadows on the horizon.

'Sorry about this old truck, by the way,' said Patrick. 'The smart Range Rover's being used to ferry some guests to the airport.' He shifted into four-wheel drive. 'However, that means we can take the scenic route.' He swung the wheel and swerved off the road into the golden grass.

'Hey, good move,' grinned Amber from the back seat.

A cluster of baboons skittered up a baobab tree. One sat in the branches with its long fingers in its mouth as though wondering what to do next.

'So what do you do at Teak Lodge?' Li asked Patrick.

'We're part of a network of game reserves. Our bit's about forty kilometres across. We run safaris and tours for small family groups, and sometimes we have gap year volunteers helping out for a few weeks, but our real work is protecting the elephants. At one time the poachers nearly wiped them out so we tag them with radio markers to track them. Then we know if the numbers are falling.'

'How much poaching is there now?' said Li.

'They used to set up snares all over the place. Now they can get machine guns and ammo on the black market.'

'And mines?' said Alex. 'We seem to be carrying some heavy armouring here.'

'No, the poachers don't set mines. There are grenades all over the place, dating back to the troubles.'

'The rebel insurgences in the seventies and eighties?' said Alex.

'Right.' Patrick nodded. 'Most of the park has been cleared but if you come across a fenced-off area with red tags, don't go in.' He checked the compass on the dashboard and made an adjustment to their course. 'It's mainly safe, though.'

'What about all these man-eating animals?' said Amber.

'They're generally frightened of people and keep their distance. Partly we have the poachers to thank for that. When clients want to see the animals we take them to hides high up in the trees - so they can get close to the animals in safety. But Tessa said you looked like you really know what you're doing with these animals. What's your background?'

It was Alex who replied. 'Oh, this and that. Li and Paulo grew up working with a wide variety of animals; my dad's in security and Hex and Amber are into communications.'

'While we're here we'd love to help out if we can,' said Amber. 'See how it all works; make ourselves useful.'

'Definitely,' said Li. 'We like active holidays.'

Patrick nodded, smiling to himself. 'That's just like Tessa. She's never happier than when she's getting her hands dirty or training for races. Her mother died in the election riots in the eighties so Tessa was kind of brought up by Joe and me and any other rangers who happened to be around. Right from when she was really small she's helped with the animals. Since Joe brought her home from hospital she's been going stir crazy because she can't do anything. We've just had a pool installed and she's really annoyed she can't use it.'

Patrick swerved around a deep rut in the ground, his hands gripping the kink in the steering wheel.

Amber pointed at it. 'What happened to that?' she asked.

'A matriarch elephant charged at Joe,' replied Patrick. 'He only just got away in time.'

Li whistled.

'Hey, you've got a flare pistol in the door,' said Amber. She recognized the telltale shape of the handle sticking out of the pocket. 'What's that for?'

'All sorts of things,' Patrick smiled. 'Scaring animals . . . but mainly it's in case someone gets stuck after dark. Both our vehicles carry them.'

A hundred metres ahead, the ground levelled out and a fence appeared. The Jeep headed along it until it reached the road, where there was a gateway. Two figures in dark green stepped out from behind the fence. Patrick slowed. One of the men carried an AK-47 in the crook of his arm. The other, a small wiry man with the build of a jockey, grinned at Patrick.

The five members of Alpha Force stiffened. 'Poachers?' said Alex quietly to Patrick.

'No, this is the checkpoint for entering the park,' he replied. 'That little guy there is Gaston - he's the other ranger at Teak Lodge.'

The warden waved them on as they drove through. Gaston smiled at them before climbing onto a quad bike parked on the other side of the checkpoint and roaring off into the dust.

'The guy at the checkpoint had a machine gun,' said Alex once they were clear of the gates. 'That's pretty serious protection. Are the poachers heavily armed?'

'Yes. They're shot if they get caught with ivory, so they'll stop at nothing. And just recently they've been getting even more daring. See that bullet hole down in the door beside Amber? That happened three weeks ago - I was out with Gaston and we must have scared them off. It came out of nowhere. We never even saw them.'

Amber leaned down. The hole was about as wide as her finger; she could see through it to the ground below.

Alex pulled their attention away from the door. 'Look at that.' He pointed in front of the Jeep.

A fully grown elephant moved out of the bush. It was enormous, a great grey mass, moving in slow motion.

'It's fantastic,' said Alex. His voice was an awestruck whisper. 'Look at the size of it.'

As if floating on air, ears flapping slowly like pterodactyl wings, the elephant came towards them, growing taller and taller. Patrick slowed.

'She's a mother, look,' whispered Amber. Two younger elephants sheltered under the great grey body.

'But she's got tusks,' said Hex.

'Matriarchs have tusks too,' said Patrick in a hushed voice. 'We've got to be very careful as she's got her babies with her. We'll stop and let her go past.' He halted the vehicle gently. 'No sudden movements. Everyone sit still.'

But the elephant walked right up to the Jeep and stopped in front of it. Her craggy face loomed over them, the tusks nearly as long as the vehicle's bonnet. Her eyes were like black sloes. It was like an immense statue in an ancient tomb coming to life.

The five members of Alpha Force looked to Patrick for a lead; he didn't move a muscle.

The elephant shattered the silence with a trumpet-burst through her trunk. The sound was ear-splitting. The six passengers sat transfixed by the awesome display of animal power.