‘MONUC,’ Mordecai repeat, the disgust clear in his voice. ‘Those muzungos will be the first to die. They are gutless and divided, too scared even to leave their compounds.’ He leaned forward in his chair and Xie watched as his eyes suddenly changed, burning with a hateful energy that transformed his entire face. There was a terrible certainty in those eyes, as if something had been put in motion that could never be stopped.
‘Every single foreigner who occupies our soil will feel our cleansing fires; every man, woman and child will burn. For over a hundred and fifty years, the West has throttled us, killed and enslaved our people, then spat on us with aid. But now, our time has come and, I promise you, the cleansing will be felt far and wide.’
Standing up from his chair, he moved out from the shadow and into the daylight. The brilliant light made his white suit glow. It looked incongruous against the black rock and muddy greens of the forest. When Mordecai finally turned back to them and spoke, his voice had faded to a monotone, as if recounting events long past.
‘Once in Kinshasa, I will carve up the Congo as I see fit. God has given us riches; from copper to gold, diamonds to uranium. It is all right here, just beneath our feet. Either you come in now or get in line with every other nation soon to be begging at my door.’
Xie looked across at Jian, but the General ignored him.
‘What price are you offering?’
‘You pay the entire sum for the mine. Everything up front.’
‘That’s three billion dollars …’
‘It’s nothing,’ Mordecai interrupted. ‘Nothing when you include all that you steal from my country already. You know what I am talking about, don’t you, General?’
Jian remained silent, knowing full well that the Guild backed an entire raft of illegal mining concessions in the Congo, ranging from small-scale open-cast mining to major extractions of tin and diamonds. Already that year, nearly a billion dollars’ worth of illegal tin had passed through Lubumbashi in unmarked trucks to be sold out of Zambia, while nearly as much in uncut diamonds had passed the border into Uganda. There were other such schemes too. Many others.
‘You pay everything up front and I’ll legitimise those claims. If not, I will cut off the hand that steals from my people.’
Jian’s expression remained fixed. The current president, Kabila, wasn’t strong enough to enforce any regulation, but someone like Mordecai would be able to put a stranglehold on all of the Guild’s illegal mining activities, selling off the concessions to the highest bidder and driving prices through the roof.
By signing the deal and getting in early, he could secure an incredible coup for the Guild. And the price was only what they were paying for this single mine already, a fraction of the true value of all those other mining contracts. A deal like this would see his influence in the Guild soar. He would be at the centre of it all, liaising between Mordecai as the new leader of the Congo, and on the other side the mining companies in China, desperate for access to the minerals.
Jian slowly turned towards Xie.
‘Get the extra money immediately,’ he said in Mandarin. ‘I want the deal finalised today.’
Xie looked up, eyebrows arching slightly, but didn’t respond. Something was wrong about all of this. He was sure of it. They were being used to serve some other purpose, but what it was exactly he couldn’t quite see. And Mordecai had been holding something back about the fire coltan. He had licked his lips every time he even mentioned the words.
‘Did you hear what I said?’ Jian asked, staring at Xie impatiently.
He blinked. ‘You will have to refer back to Beijing,’ he said, speaking low and uncharacteristically fast. ‘You don’t have the authority to make this kind of decision.’
Jian’s whole body went rigid as he tried to control his anger, his eyes darkening to jet black. He slowly massaged his temples, trying to stop himself from lashing out across the table at this infuriating weasel of a man. His pulse beat faster, amplifying the pain in his head, until it felt as if his brain had somehow swollen, pressing unbearably against his skull. The pain! It was endless! He had to get this deal done. Get it finished so he could finally be free from the whole thing.
Jian’s voice lowered to a hiss. ‘Don’t you ever question me again, you little shit. I am running this operation. Not you.’
A strange, almost pained, smile appeared on Xie’s lips.
‘I am quite sure you are not intimidated by me, but remember who I represent.’
‘You are nothing more than a parasite. I will run this deal as I like. Don’t even think you have a voice here.’
Jian stared at him a moment longer then straightened in his chair. He had been the one to build the Goma Project. And he would be the one to control it.
‘You have a deal,’ he said to Mordecai, his gaze deliberately excluding Xie. ‘We will make the payment as agreed and then wire the second tranche of the money when we return to Beijing.’
Mordecai shook his head, waving his finger slowly. ‘We don’t have the luxury of time. We leave this camp tomorrow evening and the money needs to be in our hands by then. If not, I will consider the many other options available to me. We already have many requests for delegations.’
‘You will have the money by then,’ Jian replied curtly. ‘You just stick to your side of the bargain.’
‘We have trusted each other for this long. I see no reason to change things now.’
Xie remained seated with his arms folded across his chest while he watched Jian reach down to the metal Pelican case at his feet.
‘Where do we do this?’
Mordecai raised an arm, indicating that he should follow. Leaving Xie seated, they walked back towards the stairway. At the movement, both bodyguards came out from the back of the cave and positioned themselves between Mordecai and Jian.
The steps led over the top of the cave entrance and further back against the side of the volcano to where a military green hut had been built on to the rockface and covered in a mesh of camouflage netting. Outside, large circular satellite dishes were angled up to the sky, along with a collection of radio antennae, while inside the shack itself two men were sitting in front of a bank of radio equipment and computers.
‘The miracle of technology,’ Mordecai said. ‘I could run a small government from here.’
Both men leaped to their feet at the sound of his voice, saluting as they retreated against the side wall. At Mordecai’s gesture they quickly cleared a space for Jian on the low trestle table and he rested his Pelican case on top. Clicking open the latches, he unfolded the two halves to reveal a pristine silver laptop nestling inside a layer of protective foam. As he booted it up, the hard drive whirred softly and came to life with a flicker of its screen. In just a few seconds, Jian was directly connected to the outside world through the BNS satellites already in place. Leaning over the computer, he keyed in the first of the passwords to initiate the fund transfer.
‘Track it,’ Mordecai ordered the nearest operator. The minutes passed, the dry heat inside the shack insufferable. Jian could feel his military fatigues clinging to his skin, but he stayed absolutely motionless while the transfer took place. This moment signified a vast new tap of resources for the Guild, and through his work here China would have exclusive access to Africa’s most abundant country. This was one of the pivotal moments in his life. No time to suffer Xie’s lack of vision or courage.
Jian went through the next stage of the security clearances, carefully entering the twelve-digit code from memory. A few seconds later, the video-conferencing icon glowed, indicating an incoming call, and the face of a Chinese man in a smart suit came into view.
‘Code in, please,’ he asked in Mandarin.
‘Red. Alpha. Chongquing. November,’ Jian intoned, his enunciation given with military precision.
‘Confirmed. Thank you, General.’
The face disappeared and Jian closed the lid of his laptop. A few seconds later, the nearest operator turned back to Mo
rdecai and nodded. The funds had cleared.
‘The mine is yours,’ Mordecai said with a slight nod of his head.
With that, he led Jian out of the shack. Just as they were about to descend the steps again, Mordecai paused, looking at the collar line of Jian’s shirt. In the full light of day, he could clearly see the flakes of dried skin and where the flesh was starting to swell beneath.
As Jian followed him down the pathway, his fingers wrapped around the leather strap of his necklace. He could feel the natural warmth of the Heart of Fire pressing against his skin and held it between his thumb and forefinger, gently rubbing it back and forth. With so much stress and the maddening headaches he was plagued with, he found the sensation strangely soothing. He was still fingering the stone when they reached the entrance to the cave and found Xie staring out at the view.
Passing the line of trees on their way back to the clearing, they saw that the multitude of LRA soldiers had disappeared, leaving only the mercenaries standing by their helicopters. The last of the fire coltan had already been stowed on board. Xie was the first to clamber inside as the rotors began their slow swoop.
Just before boarding, Jian paused, turning back towards Mordecai.
‘The money will be transferred tomorrow. Mark my words.’
‘Then you will have the rights to it all,’ Mordecai answered, smiling. He raised his arms high as if embracing the whole world.
As Jian went to shake his hand, Mordecai stared, unmoving, at the General’s outstretched palm, as if it were some kind of personal affront. Then, quite suddenly, he reached forward, shook it, and gave him a reassuring smile before indicating that Jian should get on board. The helicopters then rose in unison and, with a roar of engines, sped off in formation, skimming low across the tops of the trees.
For several minutes after they had gone, Mordecai stayed still. Just as his bodyguards began to exchange nervous glances, he slowly raised his hand up to his face and sniffed. The smell of the foreigner’s hand was still there; the sharp, almost surgical cleanliness mixed with undertones of some expensive cologne.
Muzungos. They all smelled the same – Westerners and Orientals. They were like a cancer across this land but, starting tomorrow, he would rid the Congo of their stench.
Their fires would burn bright indeed.
Chapter 24
BEAR AND LUCA had been on the move for the entire morning, trudging through the dense undergrowth. The rain from the previous night had dulled to a drizzle, but the clouds still looked heavy and ready to burst, making the humidity soar. It was breathless and hot, and both of them felt weak from it.
They had reached a narrow river and now stood on its bank, staring up at the side of the volcano. They could already feel the heat radiating from it and see where the rock had been stained a dirty yellow by the clouds of sulphur venting off its sides. Higher still, only a handful of stunted, ash-coloured trees managed to cling to the sloping surface, leading their eyes towards the bulging column of smoke rising out of the crater and melting into a low bank of cloud.
Moving closer to the river, they crouched down near a bed of reeds. The water looked so exposed that neither of them wanted to risk going out into the open. They had become so used to the trees and the undergrowth that it felt like the slightest break from cover would bring down the roar of the helicopters.
‘There’s no other way,’ Luca said finally. ‘We’re going to have to swim for it. You think your shoulder will be OK?’
Bear nodded before glancing up at the sky again.
‘We’ll be out in the open the whole time. If a chopper passes overhead, it’ll pick us up immediately.’
‘I know,’ Luca said, nodding slowly. ‘But we’re just going to have to chance it.’
She shook her head. ‘This is a bad idea. We should stay this side of the river and keep to the cover of the trees.’
‘We’ve got to get closer if we’re to stand a chance of finding those tunnels. And it’s either that, or wait for the patrol to catch up with us.’
Bear remained silent, staring out across the water. They had heard the drums again earlier that morning. Despite the rain liquefying the ground and all that they had done to cover their tracks, somehow the LRA had found them again. It was almost impossible to understand how. The soldiers must have kept going the entire night without a single break and were still gaining on them as the morning drew on. It was inhuman.
Finally turning back from the water, Bear shook her head.
‘C’est une vraie mauvaise idée,’ This is a really bad idea, she grumbled to herself, before kneeling down and untying her laces.
As Luca stood up and slung his boots over his shoulder, their eyes met. Neither of them had even acknowledged what had happened the previous night and now the whole thing seemed so out of context, so pathetically inappropriate. What the hell had she been thinking, having sex like that?
‘Ready?’ Luca asked.
Bear walked past him, wading into the water and plunging in. They broke into front crawl, trying to keep their heads above the surface. The river was tepid and filthy, the rainwater from the previous evening washing mud from the banks into its main channel.
They had to work hard, gasping in mouthfuls of air as the current pulled them downstream. It was far stronger than either of them had anticipated and when they finally crawled out on to the opposite bank, they had almost rounded the far bend in the river, nearly a hundred metres on from where they had first started.
They slowly worked their way round the volcano’s flank and into a vast moraine field filled with huge black boulders. Here, the heat was more intense; the air hot and dry, tinged with the bitter stench of sulphur. They tried to fight the burning in their throats, but a fine black dust covered everything, making them cough almost continuously. It swirled around their ankles in the slow breeze, clinging to their clothes and skin, and blackening the palms of their hands.
They had been going for almost an hour, passing several narrow tunnels that fed back into the rock along the side of the river. Luca had stopped beside each one, crawling a couple of feet inside before reaching a dead end or the tunnel becoming too narrow for him to continue. He was just crouching down near the opening to a small cave, when Bear suddenly stopped. A hundred yards further on, she could see the dim silhouette of a figure lying on the ground.
‘It’s got to be one of the guards,’ she whispered.
Luca nodded. The figure was lying with its head towards the sun and one knee slightly raised. They waited for a couple of minutes, but there wasn’t the slightest movement.
‘Looks like he’s asleep. We could climb higher and get above him.’
Bear stared at him, her skin darkened by the black dust. It made the whites of her eyes appear brighter, while her once-white vest had blackened to such an extent that it was practically indistinguishable from the rest of her body.
‘This is crazy. What if he wakes up and sounds the alarm?’ she said.
‘We’ll go high and just pass around the top of him. Don’t worry, he won’t see us.’
‘What the hell was I thinking? We should never have crossed the river.’
Luca raised his finger to his lips, indicating for her to lower her voice.
‘Just give me ten minutes.’
He pushed forward, quickly climbing the rocks directly above them. He then worked his way horizontally until he was positioned over the slumbering figure but still hidden behind one of the many boulders. Craning round, he was trying to get a better view when the toe of his right boot dislodged a rock, sending it clattering down the hill. It spun noisily, kicking up puffs of dust with each turn, before plunging into the shallow waters off the riverbank. It had missed the figure by only a few feet.
Breaking cover, Luca skidded downhill until he was standing only ten feet away. With a rock held in his right hand to use as a weapon, he crept closer, trying to see into the man’s face.
‘Putain,’ Shit, Bear breathed, wanting to cry out
and stop him. She watched as he came right up to the man, then saw his hand slowly lower as he pitched the rock back on to the ground.
Bear ran over. In front of Luca’s feet lay a corpse locked in rigor mortis. The face was turned towards them, with the palm of the right hand outstretched as if clasping at something, while a layer of dust covered the man’s open eyes, dimming the dead pupils. Two congealed lines of blood ran down from his nose and the whole left side of his face was hideously deformed. A thick swelling distorted his neck and the side of his cheek, disguising his natural features and making them look somehow twisted and monstrous.
Just to the right of the corpse lay a slab of overhanging rock and beneath it the dark entrance to a tunnel. At some point in the distant past, an old lava flow had burst out of the side of the volcano, leaving a trail of igneous rock that wound down the slope like a dried-up river.
Bear crouched down, staring closer at the man’s face. ‘He looks like a Bantu. Maybe from one of the villages near here. But if he managed to escape, why didn’t he make a break for it? Try and hide out in the jungle or something.’
‘Maybe he was too weak to make it any further,’ Luca replied. The man’s frame looked ravaged from starvation and forced labour. ‘Poor bastard.’
‘What’s that swelling on the side of his face? You ever seen anything like that before?’
Luca shook his head. ‘No, but we met a doctor in Goma who said he’d seen swelling on the bodies dumped in the river. It’s got to be the same thing.’
‘So what the hell is causing it?’
Luca didn’t respond. Until that moment, he had only focused on trying to track down Joshua, not sparing a thought for the kind of condition he might be in if they eventually found him.
‘I wonder if they’re all like that,’ he whispered. ‘The miners, I mean.’
Bear guessed what he was thinking.
‘That doesn’t mean your friend is the same. We don’t even know what’s causing it or what we are dealing with here.’
Luca’s eyes turned to the entrance to the tunnel.
The Secret Chamber Page 20