Jackal's Dance

by Beverley Harper

  Philip returned to Walter. ‘Time to go.’

  ‘I can’t,’ the German rasped.

  ‘You have to,’ Philip said firmly. ‘Come on, Walter. Just a few more metres then you can lie down.’

  One by one, they reluctantly rose to their feet. Fletch moved forward to help James who, now they’d stopped, had nothing else to think of but his pain and was weeping. Fletch crouched next to the American. ‘I’ll carry you.’

  ‘No. Help me up. I’ll manage.’

  Chester put out a hand to Kalila, pulling her up. Fletch did the same for James. The rest had already turned, ready to move off. Kalila’s eyes suddenly widened and she gave a little scream. Chester spun around. Fletch also turned and found himself staring at Ace. He opened his mouth to call a warning. The .45 copper jacket bullet smashed squarely into his chest, flinging the student backwards into James. The sudden deafening noise stunned everybody. Ace’s men stepped out of the surrounding bush and simply snatched the machine guns. It was as their leader had predicted. Easy.

  Tully heard the shot. ‘A couple of clicks,’ he guessed out loud.

  The sergeant agreed. ‘No more than that. Dead ahead.’

  ‘Pistol. Heavy. Probably a .45. Odd. I’d have put money on our friends being at the boundary fence.’

  ‘Could it be poachers?’

  ‘With a hand gun? Do me a favour.’ Tully shook his head. ‘That’s UNITA alright. For some reason they’ve stopped well short of where I expected. At least we know Mr Ntesa is wide awake. That shot could have been to scare off an animal. Lucky it was them and not us.’

  No-one had forgotten the lions.

  ‘Sergeant, spread your men in line of sight on either side of the track and proceed north. I’ll stay with the spoor. Keep alert and shoot to kill anyone who refuses to identify themselves immediately. And I mean immediately. Okay. Let’s go.’

  Fletch hadn’t moved. James, who had also fallen, cradled him in his arms, the American’s mouth moving but no words coming out. Then Fletch groaned and Caitlin, with no thought for her own safety, sprang forward. ‘Fletch!’

  Ace lifted a lazy arm and back-handed the ranger, knocking her off her feet and sending her sprawling into the dirt.

  Dazed, shocked, but beside herself with fury, Caitlin raised hate-glittering eyes to the rebel leader. Unaware of blood dripping from a split lip, uncaring of the consequences, she rose, swaying slightly, and spat into Ace’s face.

  With a smirk, Ace punched her in the stomach, doubling Caitlin over.

  In agony, tears of pain running down her face, she straightened. ‘Fuck you, you slimy maggot bastard,’ she gritted.

  Ace turned away, wiping his face. The girl could wait.

  Caitlin took a step towards him but Dan, who like the others had been immobilised with shock, pulled her back and held her. ‘Steady,’ he whispered.

  She took a shuddering breath. ‘Fletch.’

  Dan tightened his arms. ‘Hold on.’

  Caitlin buried her face into his neck and Dan turned her and pulled her closer, holding on with a grim need to protect her from herself. He felt her sag as rage became grief.

  Ace approached the fallen Fletch and kicked out viciously at James who still had the student in his arms. His boot crunched bone and James shrieked with agony.

  Chester moved in quickly and helped James up. There was no telling what the terrorist would do next.

  Ace squatted next to Fletch, assessing him with professional interest. Still breathing. Pink lung blood bubbled from the wound. He’d be lucky to see out the night. How convenient. Ace had planned to kill this one anyway.

  Paralysis was leaving the stricken hostages. Several women sobbed loudly. Ace regained his feet and faced them. ‘Get over there with the rest,’ he grated in Portuguese.

  Chester pulled Kalila with him. James followed, holding his arm. Ace’s kick had caught him on the elbow and the pain was terrible. The whole group froze again as a cruel smile spread over the rebel leader’s face. They knew that shooting Fletch wasn’t the end of their punishment.

  At a word from Ace, one man stepped up to the hostages and grabbed Sean by the shoulder, shoving him roughly towards the leader.

  ‘No!’ It burst from Thea. ‘Please, no. Don’t take him from me.’

  Sean’s words reached her. ‘Be brave, my darling. I love you.’

  ‘I love you too,’ she cried.

  Sean was forced to his knees in front of Ace, who opened the canvas holster at his hip and stepped up to the ranger.

  ‘Tell him to look at me,’ he ordered Chester. ‘I want him to see what’s coming.’

  ‘For God’s sake!’ Chester shouted. ‘You can’t do that.’

  ‘Tell him.’

  Quietly, with revulsion in every word, Chester translated. ‘He wants you to look at him.’

  Sean’s head remained bent. ‘Fuck him.’

  ‘Do as he says. He can make it much worse.’

  ‘Fuck him.’

  Ace bunched his fist and punched Sean on the side of the head. Sean had sensed the blow coming and braced himself against it. If he had to die like this, he’d be damned if he’d give the bastard the satisfaction of caving in. The punch rocked him, but he remained on his knees.

  ‘Tell him to look at me or I’ll shoot him in the leg.’

  Chester translated. Philip reached Thea just as her knees turned to jelly. She clung to him, fear and grief wild in her eyes as she was unable to tear them away from the dreadful scene in front of her.

  Sean kept his head bent.

  Weeuugh . . . weeuugh . . . weeuugh.

  The terrorists looked around, eyeing each other nervously. What was that?

  The rangers and students knew. Eyes met eyes. The message was identical. This could be our last chance.

  Weeuugh . . . weeuugh . . . weeuugh.

  Jackal, lots of them. Working together in the interest of a meal. Tormenting its rightful owner, a kill of some kind. At least one larger predator would be close at hand. Leopard. Or lion. If it were the latter, there’d be more than one.

  The night filled with noise. Weeuugh . . . weeuugh . . . weeuugh.

  Savage snarls responded to the jackals’ challenge.

  Lion.

  Ace was uneasy. The sounds were very close. He’d never heard anything like it. Amplified by the still night air, the noise chased everything out of the rebel leader’s mind but for a need to get away. Sean was hauled roughly to his feet and shoved backwards. Ace barked an order and his men moved quickly, prodding their captives hard in their anxiety. The fierce sounds were everywhere. Ace came closer to panic than he’d ever been. Herding the exhausted hostages forward, he headed north.

  They moved reluctantly, their aching limbs protesting. All had drawn to someone, needing contact, but surging through them all was something else. Flanked on both sides by the terrorists, an unspoken message, a communal and powerful rage, was fanned by the need to survive. They acted without conscious thought.

  Troy disengaged Angela’s hand.

  Dan dropped his arm from Gayle’s waist.

  Philip and Billy eased their grip on Walter.

  Sean did likewise with Thea.

  Chester marked a man to his right.

  Caitlin moved from Jutta’s side.

  Felicity, Kalila and James separated.

  All the hostages subtly shifted position, giving each other room to move. They were of one accord, responding to a single instinct. Tired and scared they may be but the thought that there would be no other chance filled bodies and minds with a strength born of desperation.

  One of the soldiers lost his nerve. Giving a high cry of terror, he turned away and tried to run. Ace whipped out his pistol and shot him in the back. The UNITA rebel went down like a sack of potatoes.

  And then there were nine. Dan, who had targeted the man as his, focused on another.

  Ace stopped suddenly. Ahead, in a clearing, the drama of an African night momentarily rendered him both physica
lly and mentally incapacitated. The sight he saw chilled him from head to toe. His men froze in horror. None of them had seen lion up close before. In their country, food that the animal needed had long ago been eaten by humans.

  The king and queens of beasts, in all their spine-chilling splendour, defended their kill. Jackals, literally dozens of them, danced and leapt, bounding forward on stiff legs, darting perilously close to danger before flinging themselves out of reach. The pride of feeding lions surrounding the dead zebra had no chance to eat. Ears flattened and mouths drawn back into snarls, they twisted one way and then the other to protect what was rightfully theirs. Each time a jackal danced in, ear-splitting roars of defiance added to their more deadly teeth and claw defence.

  The terrorists came close to using their machine guns yet hesitated, uncertain of the retribution it may bring upon them. The unfolding display only metres away completely unnerved them. For the moment their attention was diverted from their hostages.

  There would never be a better time.

  Four more jackal appeared from nowhere, tipping the balance. As one, the lions scrambled up and reluctantly vacated their still warm sustenance. They turned straight towards the terrorists and their captives. Exhausted men and women, knowing it was kill or be killed, sprang into action. It was as if they’d been rehearsing all their lives for this one moment in time.

  Everything happened simultaneously.

  The man Dan had targeted remained frozen with fear, his eyes locked on the advancing lions. Dan grabbed the wavering machine gun and wrenched it from the terrorist’s grasp. The stock swung free, pistol grip settling into his hand, trigger tight under a curling finger. Dan fired. The soldier went down. A line of bullet holes from low in the left leg to his right hip decreeing he wouldn’t get up in a hurry. Dan had shredded the man’s genitalia.

  Philip sprang at the closest terrorist, knocking him to the ground. The Russian-made assault rifle spluttered briefly and died, its magazine empty. Queensberry rules didn’t come into it. Philip dropped a knee into the man’s groin and wrestled the weapon from his hands. He swung the machine gun like a cricket bat. The crack of wood on bone was more satisfying than hitting a six.

  Troy went for Ace. The rebel leader had abandoned his pistol in favour of fire power. Troy was relying on physical strength but found his opponent more than a match. Ace gained the upper hand, slowly forcing the muzzle of his gun to point at the student. An explosion of pain on the side of his head cancelled out any advantage he might have had. So intent had Ace been on the tussle with Troy that he hadn’t been aware of Angela scrabbling frantically at their feet to find his pistol. She put everything she had into that swipe. Ace was unconscious before he hit the ground.

  Sean’s marked man went easily. He had been immobilised with fear at the unfamiliar sight of approaching lion. Sean swept up a dead branch and, in one fluid action, smashed it across the soldier’s face, breaking his jaw.

  Chester swung an arm sideways, the edge of his hand hitting the man next to him on the bridge of his nose. Chester felt bone give way. Blood and tears streamed instantly but the terrorist was disciplined enough to ignore pain and bring his AK to bear on his attacker. The ranger ducked sideways and launched himself, head first, into the man’s face, connecting hard with his already broken nose. Both crashed to the ground. Removing the weapon was child’s play. Chester had been lucky. The soldier’s finger was tight around the trigger but he’d been carrying one of the empty machine guns.

  Caitlin drop-kicked from behind. She was wearing sturdy walking boots with reinforced toes. One connected perfectly with the man’s coccyx. He went down immediately, rolling over with an expression of agony on his face. Caitlin wanted insurance. She reached down, grabbed a handful of bulge, squeezed hard and twisted. After that, he obligingly gave up his gun.

  Oh Christ, oh Christ! was all Felicity had in her head as she jumped onto an unsuspecting back. With hands around the terrorist’s face, she raked her nails across his eyes. The man screamed, dropped his weapon, and fought back, bringing both hands up to grip Felicity’s wrists, lowering one shoulder so he could shake her off. Billy moved in and delivered a vicious punch to the man’s midriff. With that he lost interest in further resistance.

  Josie and Jutta, fear and hatred lending them strength, took on a man together. They weren’t doing very well until James, ignoring the pain of his smashed elbow, courageously joined in. Against three people desperate enough to commit murder, the UNITA rebel didn’t stand a chance. Jutta resorted to biting his face. She became as vicious as a starving animal, sinking her teeth into flesh, locking her jaw and jerking back, attacking again and again. Even after the man dropped, she kept on and on until Josie and James held her back. With his blood smearing her lips and running down her chin, chest heaving and madness in her eyes, Jutta threw her head back and laughed. The sound was more chilling than the lions.

  Kalila, in shock after witnessing the brutal shooting of Fletch, didn’t stop to think. She grabbed at the closest weapon and pulled. She met with resistance. She’d have been in deep trouble if it hadn’t been for Dan.

  The energy of an AK47 on full automatic is such that, when activated by the inexperienced, its muzzle has a tendency to rise as it spews thirty rounds down the barrel at a rate of six-hundred rounds a minute. Dan, with his chosen man already out of the picture, was a fraction slow in releasing the trigger. The hail of bullets continued, puncturing Kalila’s adversary, blowing away his liver and heart. The remaining projectiles flew past Kalila, missing her ear by a fraction.

  It was all over in seconds. ‘Get their other weapons,’ Dan shouted.

  It wasn’t difficult. Ace was unconscious. Two, thanks to Dan, were dead. The rest suffering in various ways from the completely unexpected onslaught.

  When someone thought to look for the lions, they were nowhere to be seen. But the jackals hadn’t moved. Snarling and fighting between themselves, they fed eagerly on the abandoned zebra.

  ‘Better give me that.’ Troy held out his hand for the revolver Angela was still holding.

  She handed it over.

  He put his arms around her. ‘Remind me not to make you mad,’ he said unsteadily as the aftermath of action hit him. ‘That was one hell of a point you made.’

  Dan turned to Kalila and literally hauled her towards him. ‘Jesus! I damned near killed you.’

  The Zulu girl patted his shoulder. ‘It’s okay. You missed.’

  Felicity flung her arms around Billy. ‘Thank you. I was losing that one.’

  He looked down at their victim still doubled up on the ground, both hands pressed against bleeding eyes. Billy flexed his right wrist which had been severely strained by the punch. ‘Believe me, it was only a pleasure.’ He realised suddenly that he felt pretty damned good about himself.

  Philip joined them. ‘Either of you hurt?’

  Felicity released Billy and felt her fingernails. ‘I’ve broken five. Damn! There goes a perfectly good manicure.’ Philip pulled her into his arms and held on while she cried out her shock.

  Caitlin had only one thought – Fletch. She ran back to where he lay. He was conscious and in a lot of pain. Caitlin positioned herself next to him and gently lifted his head into her lap, brushing hair off his forehead. He gave a crooked smile of thanks and closed his eyes.

  James found them. ‘How is he?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ Her voice broke.

  ‘I’ll stay with you.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  The terrorists had been dragged or forced together and were being held under unwavering gun barrels. At Angela’s insistence, Troy had given her back the pistol and the look on her face was one of grim intent. If one so much as twitched, Angela would make sure he regretted it.

  ‘Nice one,’ Sean said, indicating the man with an obviously smashed nose. ‘Did you do that?’

  ‘I most certainly did,’ Chester replied with no attempt at modesty. ‘And I enjoyed it immensely.’

 
; Gayle, Thea and Walter had not taken part in the action. Gayle had protected Thea by pulling her down and out of the way. Walter stood his ground, swaying, barely taking in the furious explosion of energy that had hit everyone simultaneously. His drifting mind hadn’t even registered alarm for Jutta’s safety. But now her maniacal laugh propelled him towards her. In the moonlight, blood glistening darkly against her skin, Walter knew at that moment that no amount of love, care or counselling would ever repair his damaged daughter. Jutta’s mind was in some dark place and her subconscious would never let it out. Perhaps she was better off this way, he thought, holding her close. To live cushioned by madness may well be preferable to the torture of sane memory.

  Ace groaned, opened his eyes and with surprising agility scrambled to all fours, ready to flee. Almost casually, Angela tapped him on the head with the pistol she was holding, nodding with satisfaction when he collapsed again. Her eyes met Troy’s. ‘I could get used to this.’

  He grinned. ‘You do seem remarkably good at it.’

  She shuddered and Troy put one arm around her shoulders.

  Thea stumbled towards the group surrounding the soldiers, searching for Sean. He saw her coming and stepped towards her. She literally fell into his arms, holding on for dear life.

  ‘You okay?’ they asked in unison.

  Silence hit them suddenly, as did the enormity of their success. They’d done it. But, oh God, it had been a close thing. Acting out of blind instinct and desperation, they’d overpowered nine armed and experienced soldiers. Perfectly ordinary men and women placed in an extraordinary situation had acted with bravery and determination none suspected they possessed.

  Eyes turned towards the squabbling jackals. The brave little animals had tackled eight of Africa’s largest predators. They had been the catalyst for success. Watching them now, the group felt a strange sense of bonding as they compared the jackal’s courage with their own. The animals couldn’t have cared less. Carrying morsels of meat, paired couples made off into the night.

  ‘More bloody gunfire.’ Tully was starting to think he was in a war zone.