by Steve Reeder
The men in the barn stared at each other; tension etched on every face, no-one saying anything, until Uys finally broke the silence. “We’ve got to go! We must get going before they come here!”
The others looked at each other, gauging what each was thinking until Reece shook his head. “No way. We need to go find out what happened to them. They may be alive and need our help.”
“Fuck you, Reece,” Uys screamed at him. “They’re dead and so will we be if don’t move.”
Cole looked at De Kock. “Well, Robbie, the CO put you in charge, so what do we do?”
Robbie de Kock looked around at the men. He knew where Eric Uys stood. “What do you guys think?” he asked.
“There is nothing to think about, man! We’ve got to leave!” Uys shouted.
“Hey, screw you, Uys,” Reece replied, “We don’t - ”
He was cut off as Uys grabbed him and threw him across the barn, starting after him, rage and terror clearly visible on his broad face. Cole and Pretorius quickly grabbed the big farmer’s son, holding him back, knowing that he could physically tear the smaller man apart. Pretorius was the only one who could even hope to physically handle the big man.
“Eric! Calm down,” Cole told him. “Just think about this for a second. You know that we can’t just leave them, don’t you?”
“If we don’t leave now then we will die too,” sobbed Uys. “I know you guys think I’m a coward, but,” he sobbed several times, “I can’t help it, I don’t want to die like De Bruin did.” He sank to the ground and, as the damn of despair burst, he wept. “Oh jeez, I can still feel him on me all the time. Blood and hair and brains, and, oh fuck I can’t take it anymore!”
De Kock waved the others away and squatted down beside Uys. He began to talk quietly to him. Cole and Pretorius went and helped the shaken Reece to his feet, and then the three of them left the barn to find Danny Evans.
Evans shook his head at the news. “I had a bad feeling about this all along. So what are we going to do now?”
“It’s Robbie’s decision,” Cole told him. “Fourie put him in charge. But a lot will depend on how he can handle Uys.”
“I say we go find the Colonel and then kill those pricks while we’re at it!” Pretorius said, spitting out his words.
Reece nodded his agreement.
Cole shrugged, “I wonder what went wrong?”
Nobody had an answer for him.
Ten minutes later De Kock came out and found the others staring down the road towards the distant town. “Any sign of activity?” he asked.
Reece shook his head. “Not a soul,” he replied quietly. “And you know what that probably means don’t you?”
“Fourie and Le Roux are dead. Otherwise the Angolans would probably know about us and where we are,” De Kock suggested.
“Santos must be dead too,” Cole added.
“So what’s the answer then, Robbie? Do we go and find them, or do we head for the boarder as fast as we can?” Reece asked.
“Eric has agreed that we should make sure that the Colonel and the other two are dead before we leave, or make some attempt to rescue them if they’re not.”
“Will he be OK?” Pretorius asked. “I don’t want the big guy with me if he’s going to crack up when the shit hits the fan.”
“Eric will be fine,” De Kock assured the others. “And I’ve been thinking about a plan of action.” He laid it out for them step by step and then judged their reactions to his thinking.
“OK, Robbie,” Cole said finally. “You’re in charge, so let’s do it.”
De Kock shook his head. “No, Charlie. I know, in fact we all know, that you’re the best leader here, or maybe even Sean is, corporal stripes or not. No, I say you take command of this operation until we get back to Ruacana.”
Pretorius looked for a moment like he was going to argue the point, but finally nodded. Evans made no comment but was happy to follow Cole’s lead.
The buffel rumbled into life as the sun sank below the horizon. Evans was at the wheel because Cole had decided that he needed Reece back in an infantry role. Tracking their way back around the farm, Evans found the dirt road that would re-join the main road just as it lead into town, allowing them to stay out of sight almost to the edge of the town.
On the back of the vehicle Charlie Cole and the others had smeared their faces and hands with camouflage grease, knowing that white faces would show up too easily in the darkened streets of the Angolan town.
Uys sat, steely-faced and determined, staring at the dark country-side. He was resigned to his impending death and had become strangely calm now that he had accepted his fate. The others checked and re-checked their weapons. No-one had any illusions about the next couple of hours. Men were going to die – several already had – and each of them knew that it could be his turn next. Reece examined his own feelings and wondered why he felt no fear, but rather a heady rush of excitement that left him grinning insanely at the others. Charlie Cole was cool as he always was under pressure; confident in his role as leader. No-one was sure what Pretorius was feeling. Danny Evans handled the heavy vehicle skilfully and said nothing. He knew that the others were going into action without him. He admired them for it, but felt no urge to join them: Susan was waiting in Durban for him and he was determined to live long enough to marry her.
“Over there, Danny,” Cole said finally, pointing, “Park the buffel behind those rocks.” Evans followed instructions and killed the engine as soon as the buffel was out of sight of anyone travelling on the dirt road. Cole pointed to the south and said to the others, “That high-ground, where the moon is coming up is our second RV point. If anything goes wrong Danny, take the buffel there and wait for us on the southern side. If we don’t show up by dawn, make your own decisions. Everyone got that?” He made sure that everyone understood. “OK then. Sean, you lead off on the left of the road and Paul you take the right. Robbie, you follow Sean, I’ll be behind Paul and Eric you bring up the rear with the LMG.” He looked around at the faces of the men. “If there is a contact then Eric, you back off and find some high-ground to our left. You’ll have to cover us best you can while we sort out what to do next.” He waited for Uys’ nod of understanding. “OK, let’s go.”
Fifteen minutes later Sean Reece stopped suddenly and held up his hand. Pretorius to his right, and the men behind him, stopped and sank to their haunches. A short while later Cole crossed to where Reece had stopped and squatted besides him. The small town of Luene lay bathed in the bright moonlight before them. From their elevated position they had a clear view of the town. It wasn’t much to look at. There were only three real streets and the centre street was just an extension of the main road that ran through the town. The main road was only four blocks long. On each side, a narrow and much pot-holed road ran parallel to the main street. Only one street light was working. The tallest building in the town was at the far end of the main street and the three levels were lighted. There was activity visible inside. Cole scanned the rest of the town. Nothing moved and the streets were devoid of humans, but two scrawny mongrels were sniffing around a pile of rubbish in the middle of one of the side roads. On the left side of the town, and therefore slightly closer to from where the South African soldiers watched, was a mass of tin shanties, some with weak candle-light showing from empty windows. On the far side there were a handful of more shanties, all huddled together, with some supporting each other in a disorganised manner. A haze of smog hung over the entire town. To their right the road left the town and disappeared behind the bulk of high-ground that they were on. The terrain was dry and mostly barren. It hadn’t rained in weeks and there was not a cloud in the sky to block out the bright moon.
“Every man’s dream home, isn’t it?” Reece whispered.
“It’d be first on my list all right,” Cole replied. “Why the hell would the Colonel be meeting anyone in a place like this?”
“I guess we’d better go ask him.”
“I can’t sa
y that I have much hope of finding him alive, Sean.”
“So do we wait for the guys in that building to go to sleep, or do we take a chance on there not being too many of them?”
Before Cole could answer Reece, the lights on the top floor went out. A minute later four heavily armed black men left the building. They got into a fairly new- looking Toyota Landcruiser and drove down the main street away from the South Africans, eventually disappearing from sight as the ground dipped away to the west. Reece and Cole listened to the fading engine noise. When it finally died Cole said, “They must have a camp, or somewhere to stay, about five kilometres from the town, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I guess that would be about right. No-one wants an army right on the edge of their town. The big question is how many are left in that building, and where are Fourie and the other two, if they are still alive?”
“Ideally we could wait and watch throughout the day tomorrow, but that’s out of the question now, so let’s give them an hour. By then we should have some idea if there are any more men in there,” Cole said.
“I think that you and I should go have a look now. Time is crucial. We could cross the main road down there in the dip, and then creep up the side road on the far side where there are less shacks. If we can get to the back of that building then we stand a chance of getting in a window, or even a back entrance.”
Cole gave the idea some thought before agreeing. “If we can get to that gully on the far side of the road, then we can move under-cover almost to that building. We’ll only be in the open for forty metres or so, and then only to those three shacks, and they look like they are asleep already. Robbie and Paul can position themselves at the end of the street behind those rocks over there, and if we get into trouble they’ll be close enough to help. They can cover us as we move back out again. Agreed?”
“Sounds like a plan to me, Charlie,” Reece said. “But are we sure that we will find anything in that particular building?”
“Well it’s the only one with any lights on and those four guys who came out of it were well-dressed and well-armed. I can’t see them being members of the local council, can you?”
“No, I guess not.” Reece replied. “I still don’t think that we’re going to find any of our guys alive.”
“Maybe not, but those guys were in that building at this hour for a reason.”
Moving carefully, Cole waved De Kock and the other two closer, and then explained the plan. Above them the moon was rising brighter than the South African troops would have wanted.
Uys back-tracked fifty metres until he was safely out of sight from the town. He circled around to the left and worked his way down the slope until he could position himself on a small ledge, behind a mass of small bushes overlooking the town. He set up the light machine gun and loaded a five-hundred round belt of ammunition. Once he was ready he looked back up the hill and nodded.
“Uys looks remarkably calm all of a sudden,” Reece commented.
“Ja, he does, doesn’t he?” De Kock said. “Maybe he’s over his problems.”
“Or he’s just finally gone insane,” Pretorius said darkly. “But so long as he does his job tonight, I’m OK with that.”
“I’m just amazed that anyone can carry four five hundred-round belts of ammo,” Robbie said, shaking his head. “I bet he carries complete bales of hay around his dad’s farm all by himself just for fun.”
Cole led off, followed closely by Reece, and several minutes later by the other two. Carefully they worked their way down the slope and into the dip where they were out of sight of the town. Cole and Reece carried on until they disappeared into the gully. De Kock also crossed the road, but Pretorius stayed on the near side. They gave Cole and Reece five minutes before moving closer to the town; one on each side of the road. Once they were within fifty metres of the first building, De Kock pointed at a group of rocks in front of Pretorius. De Kock scowled at him, but hunkered down behind the rocks anyway. De Kock chose a low ridge of earth not far away, and did the same. They both had an uninterrupted view down the main street and the uncared-for buildings. The ground was dry and criss-crossed with paths leading from the shacks into town and to the road heading away from town towards farms. Here and there a hardy thorn bush survived. Every bush was covered in old plastic carry-bags and other assorted litter.
“What a dump,” Pretorius muttered to himself as he opened the bi-pod of the R4 rifle and checked his aim down the street. “If that’s a real bank then I’m glad my money’s elsewhere.” He thought for a minute and added with a grin to himself, “If I had any money.”
Now that they were closer they could hear music and laughter coming from one of the run-down single story buildings on the right side of the main street. The entrance was probably from the side street that they would be walking up. Cole and Reece would have to pass it before they could get to the target. De Kock checked the sights on his rifle, set the range to two hundred metres, and quietly prayed for Reece and Cole’s safe return.
The gully that the two South African soldiers crept down was as deep as ten feet in some places, and only four feet in others, forcing the two of them to crawl several times. Reece eventually stopped and slowly lifted his head above the rim of the gully. They were as close to the edge of town as they could get without leaving the cover of the gully. He looked back at Cole who was shaking his head at the levels of rubbish that had been thrown into the gully. “I can see a light coming from that place three blocks up. Pretty sure that’s where the music is coming from too,” he told Cole.
“Yeah, well we’ll just have to take our chances. Can you see what street the entrance is on?”
“Not from here. It might even be on the side street. Let’s do one block at a time covering each other leapfrog style.” Cole smiled at Reece’s leap-frog description, although he knew what Reece meant; one man covering the second as he advanced a block ahead and taking over the covering role while the first man advanced past him and continuing in this manner up till they reached a pre-selected spot. “I’ll take the right side of the street and you on the left. OK with you?”
“Sure, after you. Age before beauty?” Reece suggested with a grin.
Cole nodded, and climbing out of the gully, he jogged across to the corner of the nearest building, noting that it was a bank with most of the windows broken. Reece waited, scanning the shacks on the right. There was no movement or any sign that Cole had been spotted. Swiftly Reece followed and crossed to the right side of the street, flattening himself against the building. They both squatted in darkened doorways and watched. After they were sure their presence had not been spotted, Cole moved stealthily along the broken sidewalk to the end of the first block. He stopped and peered around the corner towards the main street and then along the other way. Nothing moved. He raised his hand and waved Reece forward. Reece repeated what Cole had done on the opposite side of the street. This time it was Reece who crossed the side road and then crept along to the end of the second block. Still there was no sign of life other than the music and occasional laughter coming from the building that made up most of the block that Cole now walked along.
Suddenly a door opened. Cole had reached the entrance to the building. He took two rapid steps backwards, diving into a darkened area not twenty feet from the entrance. Reece froze, hoping that the three Angolan soldiers who emerged from the building would not see him, but knowing that any movement would almost certainly attract their attention. A young African woman wearing nothing but one stocking waved at the three soldiers. To Cole’s relief, she shut the door behind them. The Angolans were not armed, but that made little difference. If Reece had to open fire, then every soldier within five kilometres would know that they were there. The three black men turned left, away from Cole, and staggered drunkenly to the corner of the building where they stopped because the shortest of them needed to have a piss against the building. One of the others turned his head and looked straight at Reece and frowned, his expression thoug
htful. Cole slipped the safety off and, with a minimum of movement; he shifted his aim to cover the three men. If they spotted Reece, they would be dead. The South Africans would have to move very quickly to find Fourie and the others, and get out before more troops arrived. The Angolan was still peering in Reece’s direction. He took a half step into the road towards the South African. Cole began to squeeze the trigger. Suddenly there was laughter from the man buttoning up his trousers. The other two broke into roars of laughter at something he had said. Finally they moved off around the corner. Whatever had caught the attention of the soldier was apparently forgotten. Cole eased the pressure on the trigger and slipped the safety catch on again. He was sweating profusely.
On the opposite corner Reece grinned and gave Cole the thumbs-up. Cole jogged past the entrance to the building, poked his head around the corner to make sure the road was clear before dashing across to the next block. He was within fifty metres of the target now. Everything was quiet again. He waved Reece across to the building opposite his position. Reece stopped in a doorway across the street from Cole and tried the door. It was unlocked. He poked his head inside and found that the building was empty, except for some rubbish on the floor. Someone had used the far side of the entrance as a toilet.
Across the street, Cole hugged the wall below one of the ground-floor windows of the target building. Light still spilled from it, causing a rectangular pattern in the road. The building was old and had obviously been built by the Portuguese many years ago. The walls were made of stone from which the paint had long since peeled off. Carefully Cole raised his head until he could see inside. The room that he was looking into was small but crammed with two scarred desks, and a number of worn office-chairs. The floor was wooden and bare of any carpets. To his right was a half open door, and against the far wall stood a small, battered filing cabinet with one of the drawers missing. Lowering his head, he looked around to find Reece. For a moment he could not work out where Reece was until Reece gave a low whistle. Cole looked up and spotted Reece on the roof. Reece held up two fingers to his eyes and then pointed them across the street. Cole understood. Reece would keep watch while he entered the building. He gave Reece a thumbs-up and pointed up at the second floor window. Reece shook his head indicating that there was no-one in sight. Cole pointed to the window above and to the right and Reece held up three fingers. Three men in the room, Cole thought. He wished that he could see for himself, or at least ask Reece what they were doing. He pulled at the window and it opened with a slight creaking noise. If there had been burglar-bars, they had been removed some time ago. He took a deep breath, pulled himself up and onto the window ledge, and slid inside. Squatting below the window, he listened intently for any sign that he had been heard. Nothing stirred other than a quiet laugh and some muttering that he could hear coming from the floor above. Nervously, he checked his weapon again, this time leaving the safety catch off and the selector-lever set to automatic.