It didn’t matter. They’d brought the fight to him, caught Reed and his men off guard. It was time to switch things up and put them on the defensive. Reed moved away from the shooter, heading around the building to catch him from behind. That meant running into the open toward whoever else was out there, friend or foe. In this mess, friendly fire could take him down just as easily.
Can’t worry about that. The fires had taken hold now, several buildings engulfed in roaring flames sending thick, dark smoke into the air. Only a few rifle shots sounded as he moved, all of them from across the compound. Reed had nearly made it around the front wall when movement caught his eye. He dropped down and went still, staring into the darkness.
A figure moved across from him. One man, scarcely a shadow in the darkness. Orange light danced across the apparition as he crept toward Reed’s cabin. It could be one of his men, wearing a t-shirt and long pants. Or was it an intruder? He couldn’t tell, not with smoke blocking any moonlight. If Reed didn’t keep moving, the man around the building would have the drop on him. Reed started to – wait. He stopped again.
He only has one arm. The man cradled a rifle with his other, full arm. Reed lifted his pistol and took aim. A long shot, harder in the dark. A thought nagged at him, a sense of familiarity he couldn’t place. More gunshots rattled across the compound, and as Reed touched the trigger it hit him.
The police station. There had been a one-armed man sitting outside Chief Ereng’s office.
It couldn’t be a coincidence. Had this guy seen Reed in Nixon’s office and decided to attack his compound? Why? Reed aimed lower, zeroing in on the one good arm. Hit that shoulder and he’d be out of commission but alive. Then they could talk. Reed fired, his aim true. The man twisted around as his rifle flew away. Then Fate laughed at Reed and his plan: the window beside the man exploded, taking part of the man’s head with it. He dropped in a charred heap, any answers he carried gone to the great beyond.
A bullet whizzed by Reed’s ear and he dove, landing just beyond the front porch, rolling as another shot smacked beside his face. The man he’d been stalking had come up on him from behind as Reed was distracted. This man brought his rifle to bear, and all Reed could do was keep rolling toward the house.
The man’s gun boomed, and splinters flew as a porch support pillar stopped the shot. Reed lifted his pistol and fired wildly. The gunman stumbled, dropping his rifle. Before he could recover, Reed made it around the front side of the building, hopping up and racing toward his cabin. If he could get to Sarah, they could make a move together, find Paul and the others. Reed raced across the porch, knowing the shooter could fire at any moment.
Another gunshot boomed. Reed cringed and fell down, but no bullets hit him. He didn’t feel a thing, and when he looked the shooter was falling to the ground. Reed turned to see Sarah standing just outside his cabin door, a rifle tucked to her shoulder and the gun aimed at his assailant as a second shot cracked the air, assuring the intruder wouldn’t get up.
Reed scrambled toward her. Fire consumed half the buildings he passed, though his cabin was still untouched. Reed pulled Sarah back into the cabin, moving to the gun safe to grab a new rifle. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine.” They went to a side door, searching for targets. “I think the intruders are down,” Sarah said. “Where’s the radio?”
“Good call.” He picked up the device and called out, looking for any response.
Paul answered. “I am here, boss.”
“Sarah and I are in my cabin. Do you see any other shooters?”
“No.” Paul gave a brief rundown of what he knew. All but one of their team was accounted for, the single casualty the employee Reed had seen when the shooting started.
“We’ll come to you,” Reed said. “Sarah’s already called for the cops and fire department. They should be here any minute.” Reed turned to Sarah, who didn’t say anything. She just stood behind him and kept her gun up, alert for any moving targets.
Reed headed outside with a shotgun leading the way. Burning structures cracked and popped, flames leaping from half the buildings in his compound. There was nothing he could do to save them now. Paul appeared from the hazy darkness, gun up and two other men following behind him.
“We shot four,” he said. “How many did you see?”
“Two,” Reed said. “I got one, and Sarah took the other before he shot me. I’d be dead if it weren’t for her.”
“That should be all of them,” Paul said. “We checked around each building. Unless they can survive an inferno, we are safe.”
Reed lowered his shotgun. Orange light cast a glow over everything around him, his business turning to nothing but ash. He didn’t know Sarah was beside him until she touched his shoulder.
“It will be okay,” she said. “You’ll get through this.”
He didn’t respond. He couldn’t, not now. Yes, they were only buildings. Wood and steel; it could all be replaced. Except they were more than that, more than she knew. This was everything he’d worked for, destroyed. Whoever did this had killed his men. They’d likely dealt Kimble Safaris a fatal blow, one from which Reed knew it would be nearly impossible to recover.
He would have to rebuild his life, he knew, one without death and destruction at its core. Reed shook his head as red lights flashed on the horizon and sirens filled the air.
Chapter 13
Outside Mwanza, Tanzania
As night turned to day, the unreliable streetlights in this part of town switched off, and two men inside Juma Cheyo’s headquarters started moving. A half-dozen men filed out like ants in a farm. Their vehicle rumbled as it left the city with Juma Cheyo riding shotgun and Paul driving beside him. Paul had become his go-to tracker, one of the few who knew his way around the savanna.
Juma turned to Paul. He’d better not be out drinking all night. His poaching team had to stay focused. “Do you know where elephants and rhinos are?”
Paul eyes stayed on the road as he swerved to dodge the city’s worst potholes. “They are creatures of habit. There are only so many places they move close to Mwanza.” He described how he could guess where Juma’s other team had gone to poach elephants based on how elephants traveled when living close to a city.
Juma watched the empty streets roll by. “You have led hunts before.” Paul nodded. “Have you ever had a team go this long without contact?”
“I have not,” Paul said. “But it depends on how far you are willing to go to get what you want.”
“How many elephants can they expect to find around Mwanza on a mission like this?”
“Not enough to keep them away this long. If what you tell me is true, the men went far enough to avoid the police. They did not go far enough to get to the big herds.”
Juma clenched his fists. How incredible that Fate had given him Paul. “Do you know of anyone else who can track like you? I must know if you are the only man left who can do this. Your skills are too valuable to my success.”
“Others may say they do. Listen to them if you like, but I do not believe it.”
Juma nodded. The black skies over the dark savanna began to lighten now, stars fading as dawn crept over the horizon. “We work together now, all of us. I need men like you, who can do what is needed. And men who help me will be rewarded.”
“What rewards?” Paul asked.
Darkness hid the grin tugging at his lips. Every man wanted something. “What do you want? Is it the jewelry, the girls?”
“I am interested in more than that,” Paul said. “I hear whispers of the gold mine.”
“The mine?” Juma tried and failed to keep the surprise from his words. “You want gold?”
“No. I do not want gold. I want to be a leader you can count on.” Blue now tinged the sky, the sun not far behind as they raced over battered roads, civilization lost in the rearview mirrors. “I will prove to you I can handle the poaching operation. This is how you will get money to use to keep control. I will teach othe
rs how to lead, men who will help you make more money. I want to be part of the team that handles the gold mine. I will make you money on both sides, and you will expand your power.”
Juma liked the sound of that. Then the discussion with Leda not long ago flashed into his mind. She would not like what Paul proposed. Not one bit, not when he suspected Leda wanted him to get out, to take her and go. He shook his head. Deal with that later.
“I like you, Paul. You look to the future.” Ambition was good. Except when it threatened him. “You must know one thing. You and I are strong men who look to the future. But there is only room for one Juma Cheyo.” He turned to face Paul. “If you ever forget that, I will kill you.”
Paul didn’t flinch. “Of course, Mr. Cheyo. You are the boss.”
Juma pulled a cigarette from his pocket and cracked the window. “We will talk about the gold mine tonight, and you will have a place there. Before that, we must have more ivory and rhino horn. I need you to make this happen.”
“The way to do that is to find the other team,” Paul said, which made sense. “Two teams will bring in twice as many animals. Let us hope the men are even now on their way back after a successful hunt.”
The cigarette glowed. “Do you think they are out there, Paul? Tell me the truth.”
Paul didn’t mince words. “I am worried. There is no reason they should not be back by now, unless they traveled a great distance to find elephants. Supplies are needed to do that, and they should have made us aware. The savanna will kill you if you are not prepared.”
Good points. Juma fell silent as growing sunlight chased away another African night. Less than an hour later, they found the answer to his missing hunting party. A cyclone of winged scavengers whirled above them. Easily a dozen vultures marked the slaughter; men’s bodies, or what was left of them, lay strewn about the dirt.
Their vehicle rumbled to a halt beside the carnage. Juma jumped out, shouting as they walked the area. “Do you see any ivory? Where do the tracks lead?” Prints ran through the dirt, the wide, earth-shaking tread only elephants made.
“No elephants are around here now,” Paul said. “The shooting has scared them off, to where I cannot tell.” Spent shell casings sparkled on the ground; one bullet-riddled vehicle sat half-submerged in the shallow river.
“Who would dare do this?” Juma asked. It wasn’t the dead men that tightened his chest. It was the uncertainty. This made no sense. All of his competition had died in the warehouse fight. There should be no one left to challenge him. “How could anyone find them?”
“It cannot be other trackers. If it was, there would be dead elephants too.” He leaned toward Juma and spoke softly. “I do not see Ray’s body.”
No, there wasn’t any sign of the man. Juma filed that away; he’d deal with it later. “Who out here is capable of killing my men?”
“It could be men with the task force who want to keep the elephants safe.” Paul shrugged and spread his arms out wide. “Policemen and soldiers in a group to protect animals from poaching.”
Juma’s temper began to rise. He stomped around the killing ground. “No one knew these men would be here.”
“Forget about these men. They served you well. Soon more men will die, and you cannot let that stop you. I will get you more ivory, but that will not happen by staying here.”
In that moment, Juma made a decision. He chose to believe Paul, in part because he liked the bold young man, but mostly because, in truth, he had few options.
“We bury them here,” Juma said. “Under that tree. Do not mark the graves.”
The corpses were laid under the dark earth and then the men left. As they drove in silence back toward the city, a single thought buzzed through Juma’s head. Someone had known how to find his men. He needed to ask around about the task force. All evidence pointed to Paul being right, that no one should have known about this. His heart beat faster.
A few blocks from their headquarters, Paul leaned over toward him. “Mr. Cheyo, I need to speak with you about my role in this organization. Handling the ivory operation is important to me, and I am grateful for the chance. I told you I am interested in the gold mine.” As they slowed for a traffic light, he turned and looked directly at Juma. “There is another man who can be of use. His name is Manny. I ask you to consider having him join us.”
Juma thought for a moment. Paul hadn’t led him astray yet. And of course he had Leda’s feelings to consider. “If he is a man I can trust, then I will bring him,” he said as they started moving again. “I will tell you about the gold mine. You tell me how Manny can help. The Mwanza mine sells gold to one large mining company, and locally it is run by a single man. I need his profits to support all of my operations.”
“And to take control, you need to remove the local man in charge.”
“Correct.” Either Paul knew more than he let on, or he was a lot quicker than most of Juma’s crew. “Three men need to be removed for me to take control. Then I will make a cash offer to purchase the mine.”
Paul raised an eyebrow. “It is very expensive to buy a gold mine.”
“Yes. Do not worry; I will have the money.”
“So why will the owners sell to you?”
“Either they sell, or they die. If you and Manny can help make that happen, you will be a part of the gold mine’s future.” Perhaps a bigger part than I realized until now.
“I will not let you down, Mr. Cheyo.”
“We make our move tonight. Can you and Manny come with me?”
“Of course.”
They coasted to a stop behind his new base of operations as a man ran outside, waving his arms. “Mr. Cheyo, Ray has been arrested.”
Paul pulled the vehicle into an alley, out of sight, and Juma climbed out. “When?”
“Just before the poaching team left town.”
“What for?” The man shrugged. “Go find out.”
Juma couldn’t shake the feeling that this was more than just bad timing. Ray had a record, but getting arrested right before going on the poaching trip didn’t feel like a coincidence.
“There is another matter,” the man said. He paused. Juma raised an eyebrow and he hurriedly continued. “One of our men has returned. He said you sent him on a secret mission. He is injured. Badly.”
A bolt of ice shot through Juma’s body. “Did he return alone?”
“Only him. No one else.”
Juma hadn’t told anyone else about his plan to take out Reed Kimble. “I want to see him at once.”
The messenger pointed toward the second floor. “We took him up there. His burns are serious.”
Juma rushed inside and pounded up the stairs. Dust fell from the ceiling as he ascended the narrow stairwell to an equally narrow hallway with doors lining the walls. One stood open, and through it Juma saw a frail man lying in a bed. He strode over and shook the man roughly. “I must know what happened at Kimble Safaris. Where is the rest of the team?”
“All dead.”
Lines creased Juma’s forehead. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“What went wrong?”
The man blinked. “The fires did not catch quickly. Reed and his men came out. There was a woman too. They shot us from behind.”
“You let a woman do this to you?”
“This is from the explosion,” the man said, touching the bandages covering most of his body.
“Is Reed Kimble alive?”
The man hesitated. “Yes,” he finally said. “As is the woman. I saw them both as I ran. I could not shoot at them any longer,” he said quickly. “The police arrived. I barely made it away.”
Juma didn’t speak for a long moment. These men, most of them new and none of them very good, had attacked a slumbering camp with one goal: to kill the owner. Instead, Reed Kimble had not only survived, but had taken out every single assailant, save one. “Did you destroy his compound?”
The man nodded, then grimaced. “Many buildings burned. Not all cau
ght fire as we hoped, and Kimble fought back before we could finish the job.”
A silver lining. If Reed Kimble had any sense, he’d stay home and worry about his business. No more time with this anti-poaching team Juma had heard about. Juma touched the injured man’s shoulder. “Heal soon. I will need you.”
He stepped into the hallway and nearly collided with Leda. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
She reached for his hand. “We must talk.” Leading him into an empty room, she waited until he closed the door behind him. “Have you given any thought to what I said?”
Leda’s coffee skin glowed as sunlight fell through the window beside her. The same knowing half-smile he’d loved since they were children came to her lips. Juma savored the moment, breathing in the beauty of everything about her. Then he sighed. “Yes, I have.”
She blinked. “And?”
How to tell her? Leda did not tolerate lies; the soul of a tiger lurked beneath her soft exterior. “I believe you should go without me.” He spoke quickly, before she could cut him off. “I will follow.”
Her eyes flashed. “How soon? The same ‘soon’ as last time?” She let go of his hand and stepped back. “Years ago you said it would not be long before Juma Cheyo was a big man. How did that work out?”
If anyone else had called out his shortcomings, there would have been blood. Only Leda could get away with those words. “It is different now,” he said. “I nearly have—”
“Nothing is different. When you first told me to wait, I did. You wanted to make money for us to leave.”
“It was my only choice,” he said.
“And I waited so long, until the only choice I had was to go with another man. I had to care for my mother. I needed a partner.” Arms crossed, she kicked at the floor. “You want to have me, but not as a partner.”
The Turn Series Box Set Page 45