by Dan Fletcher
Although fairly solitary animals it was a myth that rhino were completely unsociable. These were a pair of elder bulls who were obviously very comfortable with each other’s company. It was written in the way they stayed close and mimicked one another’s movements. Maybe that would change when the rains came and the mating season began. If they came at all, David scanned the horizon, not a single cloud could be seen in any direction.
Once it got dark they found a place to set up camp on top of the granite outcrop. A spot where the stone gave way to a patch of dirt a few meters across and almost level. They agreed to take the watch in three-hour stints so that each man would get a reasonable night’s sleep. David agreed to do the graveyard shift, Rashid the first, leaving Damo with the early hours of the morning.
A fire would have given their position away so they were forced to eat cold rations under the moonlight. Damo was unusually quiet as they munched on corned beef sandwiches and bars of chocolate.
David waited until Rashid went to take a leak, “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” Damo dropped the hand holding the chocolate into his lap.
“Come on I know you better than that, you’ve hardly spoken a word all day.”
“I didn’t want to say anything in front of the others, but this is crazy.” Damo looked over at him, “There are only three of us. What do you expect to happen if we find the poachers? We’ll be heavily outnumbered.”
David shook his head, “I don’t think so. I’m guessing that they won’t be using many men. The horns only weigh thirty kilos each and can be carried easily by one man. That’s two men and possibly a couple of men for back up and to take turns carrying the load. I doubt there’ll be more than four, whoever is running the show won’t want to share the profits.”
“What do you mean, running the show’?”
“Just a figure of speech,” he shrugged. “Someone’s got to be in charge.” The decision not to tell Damo about his suspicions regarding Deputy Director Tanui had been a difficult one.
“Why do I get the feeling that there’s something you’re not telling me?” Damo was still staring at him.
David met his friend’s gaze, “Such as?”
“Like where you’re getting the location of the rhino from for starters?”
“I’m sorry I can’t tell you that,” David had promised Scott the strictest confidence. “But as you can see it comes from a reliable source.”
“OK then, play it your way,” grunted Damo. “Do headquarters even know that we’re out here?”
David looked away, “No, sorry we’re on our own on this one.”
“That’s what I thought.” Damo lowered his voice, “Don’t you think the others deserve to know what they’re letting themselves in for?”
He had considered telling them and giving them a choice, but only for a split second, it was far too risky. Even if none of them were involved ‘loose lips sink ships’, wasn’t that Lord Kitchener’s catchphrase? David couldn’t take the chance that one of them might speak to the wrong person.
“They’re not doing anything that they didn’t sign up for.” He could hear Rashid climbing back up the slope. “I’ll let everybody know what’s going on when the time is right but for now you’re just going to have to trust me.”
“I sure hope that you know what you’re doing.”
David lay back on his bedroll and stared up at the stars, “So do I Damo, so do I.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Near Keekorok, Maasai Mara
August 16th, 1996
Scott was ten minutes late but finally the constant hiss of static was broken.
“Crow’s nest here, are you there, Eagle Scout? Over,” Scott sounded flustered.
David pressed the button on the side of the handset wishing that he hadn’t let Scott choose the call signs, “Eagle Scout here, I read you loud and clear Crow’s Nest. What’s the latest?”
“I’ve only got one new girl for you, co-ordinates are...” Spencer reeled off the latitude and longitude. “Crow’s Nest over and out.”
As agreed he kept the transmission short, only giving him details of rhino that were close to the border with Tanzania. Apart from tonight’s delay in his broadcast David’s fears about Scott’s reliability seemed to have been unjustified. He and his team of environmentalists were proving to be quite an asset.
He handed the bulky headphones and square shaped microphone back to Rashid, “Thanks, it’s all yours.” David tried to stifle a yawn but couldn’t, “I’m off to try and get some sleep. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Yes sir,” always keen to impress the twenty-one year old seemed so young. David realised that taking over his father’s responsibilities had aged him way beyond his years.
The drawback of sitting around waiting was that it gave him far too much time to think. Sometimes about his predicament or his family, but embarrassingly a lot of his thoughts seemed to focus on Caitlyn and what Scott had said to him back at the lodge. David shook his head and pushed the image of her soft red lips to the back of his mind.
Damo was already asleep when he got back to their natural hide in the rocks. David slipped into his sleeping bag as quietly as possible. He could hear the rhino foraging below the outcrop that they had returned to each evening. They were more active once it got dark and cooled down, spending a lot of the daytime sleeping. David found it amusing hearing them snore whilst standing up.
After three uncomfortable days and nights hiding and watching them David was beginning to realise that his plan might not work. Without knowing when and where the poachers were going to strike he probably had as much chance of winning the national sweepstakes. But as long as they carried on grazing near to the river the two bulls were prime targets. He decided to stay with them for now. If they moved away from the border he would think about switching to one of the other rhino. There had been no transmissions from Bravo squad so Chege must have found the female and her calf.
The broken sleep pattern and limited rations were taking their toll, David felt exhausted and the few pounds he’d put on with fine dining had quickly disappeared. He was also beginning to smell and in dire need of shower. The crocodiles swimming in the river had stopped him jumping in so far, but he was getting close.
He rolled onto his side and squirmed around until he found the small dip in the ground that fitted his hip. David wished that he could sleep like Damo, his friend’s peaceful breathing drifted across to him.
Damo didn’t speak about the clandestine nature of their mission again and had been back to his usual self over the past couple of days. Normally David enjoyed spending time with the good-natured Maasai. Especially out in the bush where Damo’s knowledge of the native plants and wildlife far exceeded his own. He seemed to know the habits and minute detail of every animal and insect to be found in the Mara. But David was too on edge to relax. The longer they were away from base camp the more likely that Deputy Director Tanui would find out.
David lay there thinking about the consequences of his actions should he fail. The most likely result was that he would be out of a job and prosecuted for negligence for endangering his men. Eventually he drifted off into a fitful and troubled sleep.
*****
Someone was shaking his shoulder. David grabbed the hand instinctively, then realising that it was only Rashid, he let go.
“Sorry sir,” Rashid looked shocked and nursed his knuckles. “You were having some sort of nightmare.”
“Don’t you know that you’re not supposed to touch a person when they’re dreaming? I could have hurt you by accident.”
David had read about the case of a Vietnam vet who strangled his own mother to death when she woke him up sleepwalking. Rashid was lucky that it wasn’t his throat David got hold of.
Rashid stopped rubbing his hand, “It won’t happen again sir. It’s time for your watch.”
“Already?” David felt like he hadn’t slept at all. The nightmares were so clear it was like being
awake.
“I’m afraid so, sir,” Rashid stepped back to give him more room. “The rhino have moved around to the south of the rocks.”
“OK, thanks Rashid,” David rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his knuckles. “Go and get some rest, I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yes sir.”
Rashid stepped over Damo and clambered into his temporary bed. David dragged himself out of the sleeping bag and stood up, stretching to ease the aching in his knees and shoulders. He picked up his rifle and slung it over his shoulder. The full moon made the climb to the top of the outcrop easy and David found the place he had sat on his previous watches.
He settled down on the ledge and took out his canteen. David took a short swig and then poured some over his face. The cold water helped to revive him and feel more alert. He swapped the canteen for his binoculars. Switching them to night vision David started to scan the dark foliage along the riverbanks searching for movement. After a few minutes he decided that there was nothing there and lowered the glasses.
By chance they were in a good position strategically speaking. Any poachers would be coming from the direction of the river and there was a wide expanse of open veldt between it and the outcrop. The moon was so bright he would have no difficulty seeing anyone crossing the grassland. Even without his state of the art binoculars.
The rhino were grazing quietly for such huge beasts. But he heard them occasionally as they ripped the leaves from branches and broke the odd twig underfoot.
Each minute passed painfully slowly with nothing to do but watch over the empty escarpment. His mind started to wander again. When Rashid had woken him he was in the middle of reliving the moment of his father’s death in slow motion. He hadn’t been kidding when he said the youngster could have been more seriously injured. The anger he felt always took a while to subside afterwards. Not that it ever went away, it just became bearable. But it was always there under the surface, threatening to boil over at any moment.
Something shone in the moonlight. David raised his binoculars, heart pounding against his ribcage as adrenalin surged through his veins.
They had emerged from between the bushes next to the river and began creeping towards him in single file. David waited for the last one to get well clear of the bushes to make sure that there was nobody else following. There were four of them, just as he’d predicted. They were either poachers or a group of militia taking their AK47s for a midnight stroll across the border. He could make out the curved stock that gave the weapon its nickname of ‘banana gun’ being carried by two of them.
Putting his weight on the balls of his feet and being careful not to make a sound, David got to his feet and slowly made his way down the slope to the others. He went to wake Damo first but somehow the Maasai had sensed his approach. His eyes were already open when David leant over him.
“We’ve got company,” he whispered. “Four bogies heading this way from the river. I’m going back up top for a bird’s eye view,” his sniper rifle would be more use from there. “Take Rashid down to the north side of the outcrop and get ready to move on my signal. Remind him that we need at least one of them alive.”
Maybe it was just youthful exuberance but Rashid had become a little too trigger happy when they stumbled across a similar group of poachers the year before. He laid waste to two of them, emptying a full magazine into their torsos. In Rashid’s favour it was his first assignment and they did shoot at him first.
Damo was already up and waking Rashid as David left the relative safety of their hidden camp amongst the rocks and returned to the ledge. He didn’t need the field glasses to find them this time. They were half way across the veldt, still heading straight towards him and the rhino below.
He knelt down to take the lens caps off and adjust the sights before lying in a prone position and lifting the stock of the Heckler & Koch to his shoulder. He twisted the zoom until they were in focus.
The poachers had stopped, one of them holding his hand up to the others. David panicked for a second, thinking that they must have been spotted. Then the man took the binoculars from his chest and lifted them to his face, he was scoping for the rhino. At least David hoped it was the rhino. He aimed for the man’s thigh, ready to shoot if they made a run for it. A cool breeze was blowing up from the river but David felt a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead.
The leader lowered his glasses and turned towards the others. He thought he saw one of them nod and then they started to walk again. This time spreading out into a line with a gap of about twenty meters between each man. They looked well drilled and were dressed for the occasion, camouflage gear and combats. David wondered if he might be relying too heavily on the element of surprise.
As they got closer he realised that they were going to try and take the rhino in darkness. One of them was holding a huge flash lamp, the sort you get on the top of a pick-up truck. David adjusted his aim, prepared to take him down as soon as the light went on. There would be chaos when he did, blinding muzzle flashes and gunfire that would send the rhino stampeding through the bush. There was just as much chance of his men or the poachers being trampled to death as being shot.
But it was too late to think of anything else. David concentrated on his breathing and took up the slack with his trigger finger. Any moment now all hell was going to break loose.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
American Ambassador’s Residence, Nairobi
August 16th, 1996
Maliki hated wearing the damn tuxedo but it went with the territory. The shirt’s starched collar bit into his neck and he felt claustrophobic in the suit. He caught a glimpse of himself in the huge gold-leafed mirror above the marble fireplace as he walked past and wished he hadn’t. He looked like a giant bloody penguin, mind you so did most of the men there.
The Friday night function at the American Ambassador’s residence in Muthaiga Road was the last place Maliki wanted to be right now. A very accommodating Russian girl was waiting for him in her apartment downtown expecting his weekly visit. On top of that he’d had to make a $2,500 donation, the cost of the ticket, for the privilege of being there. Not that he would dream of paying the money himself, as usual it was coming out of expenses. The President made sure that Maliki’s budget was unlimited when it came to gathering information.
Restricted to a few hundred elite guests the gala was being held to raise money for ‘ActionAid’, one of the charities that Ambassador Bushnell supported. Something about empowering people in the community. Maliki had been forced to fight his way out of poverty and didn’t see why anybody else deserved a handout.
The Ambassador was talking closely with three other people who were also high up on Maliki’s political watch list. Huddled together with her underneath the crystal chandelier were the Kenyan Minister of Trade Joseph Kamotho, Professor Onesimus Mutungi from the Standing Committee on Human Rights, and Seymour Dewitt the Regional Safety Officer at the American Embassy.
There was something conspiratorial in the way the Professor was leaning towards Bushnell as he spoke. Red seemed to be the Ambassador’s colour, the last few times he had seen her she was wearing it. Today it was the jacket over a flowing white ball gown that diplomatically hid her figure for the occasion. Although not pretty she was a handsome woman with thick wavy hair, full lips and an air of confidence that he guessed some men would find attractive. Not Maliki, he preferred his women to be far more subservient, and much younger. He could feel himself starting to get aroused thinking about what he would do to Katia later.
The Ambassador watched him approach. She said something to Professor Mutungi and the chubby academic backed away from her slightly. An almost imperceptible movement but the significance wasn’t lost on Maliki. He could practically feel his ears burning.
“Ah, good evening Commander Abasi, how good of you to join us,” Ambassador Bushnell smiled pleasantly. “We were just talking about security at the embassy. I’m sure that you already know Minister Kamotho and Profes
sor Mutungi.” Maliki shook both of their hands, the professor’s palm was hot and sweaty. “And this is Seymour Dewitt our RSO, he’s in charge of security at the embassy.”
“I’ve been hearing a lot about you Commander.” The smile didn’t reach Dewitt’s grey hooded eyes, “it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Unlike the others Dewitt’s grip was firm and strong, his straight back, strong jaw line and shortly clipped grey hair betrayed his military background.
“And you, Colonel.”
Dewitt raised an eyebrow at the use of his former title and Maliki smiled. Now they both knew where they stood.
According to the file Maliki had on him, Dewitt had completed two tours in Vietnam with the Marines and risen to the rank of Colonel before joining the Diplomatic Security Service. During his time as a Special Agent for the DSS he had served in Saudi Arabia and Angola before been given the job of security attaché at the embassy. Maliki knew that Dewitt’s post was a cover. He was a spy, trained in counterintelligence.
“Maybe you can help us Commander,” said Bushnell. “We’ve been discussing ways to increase security. Being so close to the street the embassy is a sitting duck as far as bomb attacks go. We were thinking that more of a police presence outside would act as a deterrent.”
“I’m sorry, policing the streets doesn’t really come under the GSU’s remit unless there’s an actual riot in progress,” but then the Ambassador already knew that. “I can have a word with the Police Commissioner if you like and arrange a meeting?”
“Would you?” her eyes gave nothing away. “That would be appreciated, thank you.”