by Dan Fletcher
“What exactly are the GSU’s responsibilities?” there wasn’t a trace of sarcasm in Dewitt’s voice, even though he obviously knew the answer to the question.
Maliki stared at him, “Very similar to the DSS really, in that we are involved in counter terrorism and intelligence gathering. But we are a little bit more proactive.” He glanced over at the professor who shrank visibly.
“In what way Commander?”
“We are essentially a paramilitary unit who respond to any threat on national security,” Maliki smiled. “Be that from home or abroad.”
“Isn’t that a bit like combining the CIA with the Marines?” Dewitt raised an eyebrow as if the idea was preposterous.
“You’ve got it Colonel, we find that it makes more sense to keep everything under one roof. Cut out the middle man so to speak.” Maliki turned to Professor Mutungi and adopted a serious expression, “And how are things going with the Committee Professor?”
Mutungi took off his spectacles and used a handkerchief to clean them. His hands were shaking and he was sweating profusely.
“I was just telling the Ambassador that we don’t seem to be making any progress at all. Without the right to arrest people or seize records we’re beating our heads against a brick wall.”
Maliki shook his head, “So often our hands are tied by legislation Professor. If there’s anything I can do to help then please let me know.”
Professor Mutungi replaced his glasses, “I’m sure that you’re already doing more than enough. But thanks for the offer, Commander.”
“Have you heard anything about the baby elephant that was rescued in the Maasai Mara?”
The question came from Minister Kamotho. A short, stocky Kikuyu with a barrel chest, wide nose and brushed back white hair that had receded in the middle. One of the party’s powerbrokers, the minister represented the provinces from outside the rift valley. Lately he had been stirring up trouble, calling for a free party system before the election. He was a great public speaker and people were starting to listen. As far as Maliki was concerned Kamotho was walking a fine line between life and death.
“Only what I’ve read in the paper Minister. By all accounts it seems like she had a lucky escape.”
Kamotho looked surprised, “I thought you would know what was going on. Doesn’t the GSU still run the KWS?”
“Not any more, Minister,” Maliki’s lip twitched. “We still supply instructors and help with training but the day to day operations were handed over to the Service a few years ago.”
“I see.” For a moment Maliki thought that he was going to be probed further but the Minister dismissed the subject with a wave of his hand and turned to Bushnell, “Getting back to the car park situation, Ambassador, I’ll have a word with the President of the Cooperative Bank and see if they’re willing to sell you the spaces.”
Bushnell and the Minister continued to discuss what the going rate was in Nairobi for parking and how total ownership of the car park basement under the embassy would increase security. Apparently some of the bank employees using it were making life difficult for the Marines and local security personnel. Refusing to let them search their vehicles and driving through the checkpoint without stopping.
Maliki noticed that Dewitt was watching him the whole time, “Excuse me Ambassador, gentleman, there’s someone I need to talk to. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Maliki had learned all he needed to. It was obviously Professor Mutungi who was leaking information from the Committee. With Konde missing he was scared and seeking help from the Ambassador. The Professor probably thought that by bringing Bushnell into the loop he would be protected. He wouldn’t, Maliki would take him down to the basement if and when the time was right. Maybe he would throw Mutungi and the Minister of Trade in the same cell.
Maliki had other business to take care of besides keeping tabs on the Professor and Ambassador Bushnell. He was hoping to catch Wei, who was attending the function as the Chinese representative. Maliki spotted him going out through the patio doors onto the terrace and followed him.
A few small groups and the odd couple were on the terrace, champagne and conversation flowing, the odd smoker taking advantage of the respite, including Wei. When Maliki got outside he was putting away a packet of Marlboros and lighting one up.
“Where’s my $50,000!”
Wei spat the cigarette out as he spun around from the marble balustrade.
“I didn’t know that you were going to be here,” Wei glanced over Maliki’s shoulder nervously as if looking for a way out.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Maliki could tell by the lack of hesitation that Wei was telling the truth, “The bloody transfer was short by fifty thousand.”
Wei looked confused, “Must be something to do with the exchange rate. I’ll check with the buyer.”
Maliki glared at him. Did Wei really think he was that stupid? There was no way the rate could have dropped by that amount.
“Make sure you tell him that I expect the money in my account on Monday at the latest. Otherwise I’m holding you personally responsible.”
Wei’s hand was shaking as he took out another cigarette, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that you get your money.”
Maliki’s face started to spasm, “It’s not me that should be worried Counsellor!”
He spun on his heel and headed for the front entrance. As Maliki made his way through the throng of people inside he felt the hairs go up on the back of his neck. He stopped and leant against the pillar next to the door. Maliki lifted his heel as if trying to remove something and glanced back. As he expected it was Dewitt that was watching him.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Near Keekorok, Maasai Mara
August 17th, 1996
The lamp shattered the darkness, illuminating the rhino and the base of the outcrop in an arc of white light. David reacted instantly and let off a single round. Amidst the noise of the retort there was the sound of breaking glass. The light went out before it hit the ground.
David switched his aim to the leader of the group and shot him through the thigh. The man went down clutching his leg, howling in agony. One of them started shooting wildly at David’s position. He ducked for cover as the bullets ricocheted off the rocks around him. That was when Damo and Rashid opened up on them from the flank. The two poachers still standing dropped to the ground and started returning fire in short controlled bursts.
The flash of light and that many guns going off all around them sent the rhino into a blind panic. Knowing that they were trapped against the rocks the two bulls instinctively headed away from the outcrop. Two tonnes of angry bone and muscle was charging straight at the prostrate poachers.
There was a lot of shouting and flailing limbs as they tried to avoid the stampeding rhino. The poacher who David had shot in the leg dragged himself to his feet and hopped out of the way just in time before collapsing onto his side. The man who had been holding the lamp wasn’t so lucky. He was on the ground and didn’t seem to be moving at all. David guessed that the bullet must have passed through the glass and done him some serious damage. The larger rhino ran through the poacher like a bulldozer, lifting the man up with its horn and flicking him to one side as if he was a rag doll.
The two that were still mobile made a dash for the river, taking it in turns to crouch and give each other covering fire. They were good, concentrating their volleys to keep Damo and Rashid pinned down behind a boulder. Between bursts the rangers were shooting back at them from around the sides of the rock.
David aimed for the shoulder of the man on the left, who was now around four hundred meters away. He hesitated, from this distance there was a chance that the bullet would drop and hit a vital organ. There was a flash from the muzzle of his AK47 as the poacher fired at Damo and Rashid. David let out a long slow breath and squeezed the trigger gently.
There was a yelp as th
e man dropped his weapon and was thrown onto his back. Seconds later he scrambled to his feet holding the injured shoulder. He turned and ran for the riverbank, screaming at his colleague for help. The other poacher was well ahead and had no intention of stopping. He was gone, swallowed up by the bushes along the river.
David focussed the cross hairs between the injured man’s shoulder blades and took up the slack with his finger. But it would have been an execution. He released the pressure on the trigger and watched as the poacher slipped away into the darkness.
He checked below him to make sure that the remaining poacher was no longer a threat, but Damo and Rashid had it covered. They were walking over to the unarmed man with their machine guns trained on him.
“Hands where I can see them!” he heard Damo shout.
“Don’t shoot,” the man waved his free arm feebly. The other was trapped under his body. His high pitched voice filled with pain, “Please, don’t shoot.”
David thumbed on the safety and pushed himself up to a kneeling position. His heart was beating ten to the dozen. Slowed down by his heightened senses, the firefight that had seemed to last for ages was actually over in less than a couple of minutes.
Climbing down the slope to the others, David’s legs and arms started to tremble as the adrenalin began to decompose in his bloodstream. He felt drained, like he had just done ten rounds with Mike Tyson. By the time he got to the bottom the poacher was propped up against a rock with his hands handcuffed behind his back. He was a young Maasai in his late teens.
As David knelt in front of him Damo glanced up from the field dressing he was applying to the man’s thigh and shook his head. The poacher’s bloodstained trouser leg was slit open to allow access. Damo pulled the bandage tight and tied it in a knot. The teenager’s scream threatened to burst David’s eardrums.
“What kind of shape is he in?”
“Not good,” Damo shook his head. “I’ve stemmed the flow but he’s already lost a lot of blood. It looks like the bullet must have severed the femoral artery. If we don’t get him to a hospital soon he’ll lose the leg. He might not even make it.”
“Have you given him anything for the pain?”
“I was just about to,” Damo reached into the open backpack on the ground beside him.
“Don’t,” instructed David. “Not yet, I want to talk to him first.”
Damo’s raised his eyebrows in protest but he withdrew his hand from the bag.
“Do you speak English?” the youth didn’t respond, he had his eyes closed and was whimpering to himself. David switched to Swahili, “Can you hear me?”
The boy’s head rolled back and his eyelids flicked open. He was clearly in a lot of pain and it took a while for him to focus on David’s face.
“Good,” at least he was responsive. “You must know that you’re seriously hurt. If we don’t get you to a doctor soon then you’re going to bleed to death.” Being so skinny that probably wouldn’t take very long. David waited for his words to sink in.
“Are you going to let me die?” the boy’s voice was a hoarse whisper with what sounded like acceptance in his tone.
David needed him to believe that he was serious, “That depends on what you tell me and whether I think it’s the truth or not. If you lie to me then I’ll leave you here for the hyenas. Do you understand?”
The poacher’s eyes widened at the prospect and then he nodded. David could feel Damo’s accusing glare but ignored him.
“OK,” David leant closer so that their faces were only a few inches apart. The boy’s breathing was shallow and ragged.
“Let’s start with your name. What is it?”
“Koinet,” his eyes closed and then opened again, struggling to remain conscious.
“Who do you work for Koinet?”
“Nobody,” he shook his head slowly. “I work for myself.” He turned his head to the side and looked away.
“So you’re in charge?”
No answer. David grabbed hold of his jaw and twisted the boy’s head to face him.
“Listen Koinet I’m not messing around!” he spat the words. “If you lie to me again then I will leave you here to die. Now I’m only going to ask you this one more time. Who’s your boss?”
Koinet tried to shake his head but David held it in place. He could see the fear in the boy’s eyes.
“You don’t understand! He’ll kill me if he finds out that I said anything.”
David released his hold, “You’re going to die right here if you don’t tell me.”
Koinet looked scared but didn’t speak.
David got to his feet, “It’s your choice Koinet, don’t try to say that I didn’t warn you.”
He turned away from the boy to face Damo. Rashid was stood a few meters behind his friend, watching the river in case any of the other poachers were stupid enough to come back.
“Come on, we better get going. This place stinks. It won’t be long before the scavengers get here. Maybe even lions if they’re hungry.”
“The sooner the better.”
Damo packed away the field kit, shouldered his backpack, and the three rangers set off without a word or a backward glance. It only took about twenty paces for Koinet to change his mind.
“Wait!”
David kept walking.
“Come back!” He started to sob, “Its Gupta you bastard! His name’s Gupta! Just don’t leave me here. Please!”
David touched Damo on the shoulder, “Sounds like he wants to tell us something.” They went back and David crouched next to the whimpering teenager, “Does this Gupta have a first name?”
“Deepak,” the effort of shouting had weakened him, his voice was barely audible. Either that or Koinet was thinking about the consequences of talking to him. “Deepak Gupta.”
“Where can I find this Mr Gupta?”
Koinet made a feeble attempt at pushing himself up into a straighter position. But his arms didn’t have the strength and David didn’t try to give him any assistance. He gave up and collapsed against the rock. His eyes closed for a second and then opened.
“I asked you a question,” David reminded him.
“He comes from Mombasa.” Koinet grimaced in pain. “He’s got a place down there.”
“What’s the address?”
Koinet must have realised that he was running out of bargaining chips, “Get me out of here first, then I’ll tell you where it is.”
“No deal Koinet,” he shook his head. “I’m the one calling the shots here, not you.” David pushed himself up with his rifle, “We’re leaving. You’ve got thirty seconds to decide whether you’re coming with us.”
Defeated and getting closer to death with every passing minute Koinet gave David what he wanted, “It’s on Diani Beach near to Tiwi.”
David smiled, “Now that wasn’t so hard was it?” He took a minute to assess the situation and then looked at Damo, “I guess that he’s earned those painkillers.”
He waited whilst Damo produced a syringe from its packet and injected Koinet. Then he made him drink water from the canteen.
“Give me a hand.” David bent down and hooked his arm under Koinet’s armpit. “It’ll take too long to bring the jeep around. We’ll be quicker on foot.”
He would have to send someone back for the trampled body later. They would have to come soon or there would be nothing left to collect. The threats he’d made earlier to Koinet weren’t completely idle, David could hear a pack of jackals coming their way. By the excited yapping he guessed that they must have already caught the dead poacher’s scent.
Taking an arm each they hoisted Koinet to his feet, his injured leg hanging uselessly above the ground. The teenager held onto their shoulders and between them they half carried and half dragged him the kilometre back to the LandRover. They stopped a few times when he cried out in pain and to catch their breath. The ordeal lasted about thirty minutes and David was exhausted by the time they dropped Koinet onto the rear seat. The boy’s eyes wer
e closed and he didn’t look good. As they packed their kit and weapons into the back of the vehicle David decided to break radio silence.
“Rashid, contact base camp and let them know that we’re coming in with one casualty suffering shock and loss of blood from a bullet wound. We’ll need to get him to the hospital in Narok. Tell them we want a plane to meet us at the airstrip in Keekarok ASAP. ETA ten minutes.”
Koinet was his only witness. The last thing David wanted was the youngster dying on him.
“Do you want me to tell Chege what’s going on?”
He thought about it for a moment, “No, let’s leave them alone for now.” The radio squawking into life at the wrong moment could spell disaster for the other team. David got into the jeep and looked over his shoulder, kicking himself for not asking the question earlier.
“Shit!”
Koinet had passed out from the morphine and loss of blood, his legs were propped up on Damo’s lap.
Rashid jumped into the passenger seat and started fiddling with the radio. David gunned the engine and swung the jeep around so that they were facing the right way. Before Rashid could make the call to base camp the set came alive in a burst of static.
“Alpha this is Bravo, come in, over.”
David hit the brakes and the jeep skidded to a stop. There was panic in Chege’s voice and he could hear the sound of machine guns firing in the background.
“Give me that,” he grabbed the handset out of Rashid’s hand. “Bravo this is Alpha. What’s your status?”
“We’re outnumbered and taking heavy fire, Haji’s dead.” There was a pause as a weapon was discharged close to the microphone. “We need support and we need it fast, over.”
“What are your coordinates,” he snapped his fingers and indicated the glove box. Rashid handed him a pen and David scribbled the numbers down. “OK Bravo, help is on its way, just sit tight until it gets there, over.”
He handed the microphone back to Rashid and checked the map using his pocket torch. The nearest support was the Anti-Poaching Unit in Ngiro-are about fifteen kilometres from Chege’s position.