4. Gray Retribution

by Alan McDermott

  A wail broke up the conversation and Vick padded upstairs to attend to their daughter, while Gray turned on the TV and switched over to the news channel. His eyes began to droop as the anchor rehashed the same stories he’d seen earlier in the day, and by the time Vick returned he was fast asleep.

  Rather than try to get him upstairs, she arranged the cushions and gently laid him down on his back before covering him with a patchwork throw. As she sat and caressed his hair, she hoped that Tom was telling the truth. After just over a year together, it finally looked like things were settling down and they could begin to enjoy a normal life together, just the three of them. No more adventures or excitement except of their own making, which was all a family could ask for.

  After ten minutes, she kissed him on the forehead and went up to bed, hoping the gnawing sensation in her stomach was due to a disagreement with her dinner rather than a warning of trouble to come.

  Chapter Twelve

  Tuesday 8 October 2013

  ‘That’s right, keep coming . . . ’

  The darkness was shattered as gunfire erupted from the jungle and the four men on the narrow track immediately took hits. One took a leg shot but managed to dive into cover and scramble away, while the other three were confirmed kills.

  ‘Too early,’ Smart cursed quietly, and when the injured man took the full force of the improvised Claymore mine that had been hidden under a pile of dead leaves, he knew the ambush had been a complete disaster.

  The team of six emerged from the undergrowth and began prancing around the dead, taunting them and laughing. Smart looked at Sonny Baines, who shook his head, both of them knowing what was about to happen.

  The dancing was cut short as more fire burst through the trees, from the very positions the men had left. All six registered hits and the screaming from their web belts signalled an end to the exercise. Smart and Sonny left their position and strode over to offer their critique.

  ‘The odds of anyone sending an attacking force of four men is a gazillion to one, which means you just took out a scout party. What you did afterwards was completely unnecessary, not to mention fatal. All you succeeded in doing is alerting your enemy to your position.’

  ‘But what if there had only been four of them?’ one of the men argued.

  ‘That’s why we told you to spread out. If there’s just four, you let them through and those at the far end of the trap can take them out. Silently, if possible.’

  The soldier who’d been hit with the Claymore struggled onto the footpath, a round of laughter greeting his appearance. Thankfully, the training mine contained white powder rather than the standard ball bearings. As he dusted himself off, Smart considered how to explain why the trainees’ ambush had gone pear-shaped.

  It wasn’t as though the Malundians didn’t know the basics. They’d gone over and over it again in the classroom. Perhaps it was the mobilisation to the border and the prospect of actual combat that had made the men forget the basics. If so, that wouldn’t be good news. The whole point of training was to make their actions second nature, so that when they went into battle they’d be able to keep their heads in a firefight.

  To get to that stage, however, took a lot longer than the week they’d had so far, and Smart hoped the deployment to the border would be purely precautionary.

  If it weren’t, a lot of these men were going to die.

  He called in the rest of the soldiers and arranged them in a semicircle in a clearing.

  ‘You guys were chosen because you’re the elite fifty troops in Malundi, hand-picked to become the most effective unit in the region.’ Smart looked at their faces and saw pride, and in a few places arrogance. That would soon change.

  ‘You’re fit, you’re strong, and you’re all fighters, but you don’t listen, and that’s going to get you killed.’

  One soldier started to protest and Smart threw his hands up in frustration.

  ‘There you go again,’ he said. ‘I’m trying to tell you how to stay alive and you don’t want to hear it. You’d rather add your own perspective and do things your way.’

  The soldier took the hint and held his tongue.

  ‘Gentlemen, we moved our training down here because of the tensions between Malundi and Kingata. It might turn out to be nothing, but we can’t take that chance. You need to start focusing, and more importantly, listening.’

  Smart spent another few minutes trying to instil a sense of urgency into the men before he chose another six soldiers to lay the next ambush. He gave Carl Levine the location of the next checkpoint, which lay three miles away, and told him that his small team would lay up somewhere along the route.

  ‘Give us an hour’s start,’ Smart said, and he set off, followed by the others, Sonny taking up the rear. They’d managed to cover less than a kilometre when Jeff Campbell’s voice came over the headset and Smart ordered the team to stop. Sonny Baines was also hearing the same message, and he trotted up from the rear of the formation to get Smart’s take on the situation.

  ‘Roger that,’ Smart said into his throat mic, and gathered the men together. He dropped to one knee and pulled out his field map.

  ‘In the last thirty minutes, two border posts have been attacked. Reports number the enemy in excess of three thousand.’ He indicated their current location, and drew a vertical line either side. ‘They’re heading north in a flanking movement, and if their two forces manage to join up, we’ll be cut off. Not only us, but garrisons here, here and here.’

  He marked the locations of the other Malundi troops in the area, all of which lay inside a semicircle created by the advancing army.

  ‘They have a large convoy of vehicles, though most are infantry, and the majority of those are in civilian clothing. Their mechanised troops are expected to get behind us within a couple of hours, so we can expect them to start pressing soon after that.’

  ‘Doesn’t give us much time,’ Sonny noted, and Smart agreed. According to Campbell, the orders that had come over the net were for the trainers to lead their charges north at a clip, joining up with the other Malundi troops on the way, and attack the motorised advance party before the infantry caught up, punching their way through any defences. Once they reached the capital, they were to set up a defensive perimeter.

  Unfortunately, that would leave a couple of villages in the south at the mercy of the advancing force. They shared the news with the troops, who were also less than eager to leave civilians in harm’s way. One of them had family in the local area and wasn’t about to run in the opposite direction.

  ‘We must go south and protect our people,’ he said, to the approval of the others.

  ‘That’s not our decision to make,’ Smart reminded them. ‘Let’s get back to the others and see what Sergeant Okeke has in mind.’

  They jogged back and found the rest of the unit involved in an animated discussion. Campbell and Levine were clearly keeping out of it, sharing a bottle of water between them while watching impassively from the sidelines.

  Sonny and Smart joined them, and Sonny asked if there’d been any further updates.

  ‘The other garrisons are already clearing out,’ Campbell said, ‘and we’d better start moving soon, too. Johnny wants to follow orders and move north, but most of them are more interested in protecting their families in the region.’

  ‘What’s your call?’ Levine asked.

  ‘That’s an easy one,’ Smart said. ‘We’re here as non-combatants, and if the head of the armed forces says we go north, we go north. We didn’t come here to run their army, we came to make a few quid.’

  ‘And if these guys want to head south?’ Sonny asked.

  Smart thought about it for a few moments, then shrugged. ‘Then I guess we let them.’

  ‘And you’re happy with that decision?’ Campbell asked.

  ‘Not really,’ Smart admitted, ‘but our rules of engagement are clear, and if we ignore them, the shit flies Tom’s way, not ours.’

  Though the four men w
ere officially equals within the team, Smart was the de facto leader based on both age and experience. Whenever a big decision had to be made, each of them got a vote, but despite this, Smart’s was usually the deciding one.

  Johnny came over and sat down among them.

  ‘We’ve come to a compromise,’ he said. ‘We will go south and collect the people from the villages, then take them north. Once we fight our way through the enemy ranks, we’ll escort them to safety.’

  ‘There isn’t time,’ Smart said, consulting the map. ‘They crossed the border less than forty minutes ago, which means they could be at the first of the villages in the next hour. We’re still an hour and a half away, and we don’t know how fast they’re travelling.’

  ‘We have to try, Mister Len.’

  ‘Sorry, it’s just too risky. Even if we get to the village first, we won’t be able to outrun them. We’ll have women, children and the elderly to look after, and that will slow us right down. They’d have us surrounded in minutes, and apart from the blank ammunition we’ve only got one clip of live ammo each.’

  ‘We should call Tom before we do anything,’ Sonny said, and Smart agreed, despite the late hour. He pulled out the satellite phone and put it on speaker. Gray answered on the second ring. Smart apologised for the timing and gave him the condensed version of recent events, as well as their current predicament.

  ‘What do you suggest, Tom?’

  ‘Len, my only concern is getting you guys out of there. In fact, I should have done it a few days ago.’

  ‘Appreciated,’ Levine said, ‘but if you were here . . . ?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter. I’m not there, and you can’t go into a battle with thirty rounds each. Get back to base, arm yourselves, and get out of the area as quickly as possible.’

  ‘One sec,’ Sonny said. ‘Len told us about the contracts collapsing. How’s it going to look if word gets round that we run at the first sign of trouble?’

  ‘That’s my problem,’ said Gray, ‘not yours.’

  ‘I disagree,’ Campbell said. ‘If your contracts run out, we’re out of a job, too.’

  ‘But at least you’re alive, right? What would your family want, Carl?’

  Levine thought for a moment. ‘Sadly, it should be noted that whether we go north, south, east or west, we’re still going to have to fight our way through their lines. Personally, I’d feel a lot better saving more than just my own arse.’

  Levine’s words suddenly made their decision a lot easier, and one by one, they nodded in silent agreement. They’d all joined the armed forces to make a difference, and while that hadn’t always been the case, this was an opportunity to make up for it, despite no longer wearing the uniform.

  ‘We’re going to try and save the villagers,’ Smart said.

  They waited for Gray’s reply.

  It was a long time coming.

  ‘How long will it take to get them to safety and make your way to the airstrip?’

  Smart worked it out as an hour and a half to get there, twice as long to get back to their current position, and another ten hours to the landing strip.

  ‘If we can avoid contact, we should be there by five in the afternoon. If we run into trouble . . . ’

  ‘I’ll have a plane on standby waiting to lift you out. Call me when you’re an hour from the airfield and I’ll send it in.’

  ‘Thanks, Tom. Talk to you later.’

  Smart ended the call and gathered everyone around. He could see the men were eager to get going, and as time was precious he kept the speech to a minimum.

  ‘There are two villages in harm’s way, and we’re going to try and get everyone out before the enemy arrives. I need fifteen volunteers to head back to the camp, pick up our heavy weapons and grab as much ammunition as they can carry. Sonny, you’ll be leading them. The rest of us will use the sentinels to distract the enemy while we guide the civilians out of the area.’

  A number of hands went up and Sonny chose a team to help him fetch the ordnance. He told them to hand over their magazines, which they left with Smart; then, after confirming the coordinates of the rendezvous point, he led his team north at a pace comfortable enough for a five-mile run.

  Campbell distributed the live ammunition Sonny’s group had left behind while Smart gave one last pep talk.

  ‘We’re going in with little ammunition, so I want all rifles on semi-automatic.’ He used his right forefinger to flick the selector on his AK-47 to the down position and waited until everyone followed his lead.

  ‘We’re hoping to avoid any contact with the enemy, so no-one shoots until I do. Is that understood?’

  He got nods from the men, but wasn’t convinced that they would maintain discipline.

  ‘Pick your targets and use single shots. We don’t know the enemy numbers, so conserve your rounds.’

  More nods.

  He told them the next step was to remove their electronic webbing and the laser apparatus from their rifles. The equipment was expensive, but they didn’t have time to hide it properly, so it was thrown into a pile at the base of a tree and covered with some vegetation.

  Campbell settled in at the rear position while Smart and Levine took point. They formulated a series of plans as they led the men south, hoping that Plan A—grab the civilians and run—was the only one they’d need.

  ‘Still reckon we’re too old for this shit?’ Smart asked.

  ‘We’ll find out soon enough.’

  Tom Gray eased on his trousers and T-shirt and crept out of the bedroom and down the stairs to his office, all the time cursing himself for not pulling the guys out sooner. He made a cup of coffee while the laptop booted up and the first page he visited showed him a map of Malundi. Much of the area between his team’s last location and the ‘airport’—in truth, no more than a dirt strip cut into the jungle with one building serving as immigration and air traffic control—was dense jungle. A road ran up from the south, but he knew Len would avoid that at all costs. Thankfully there were no rivers to cross, and the terrain was largely flat all the way, so it shouldn’t prove too difficult for anyone in the party.

  Even though it was barely two in the morning, he knew one man who would be wide awake. The Malundi defence minister, the man he’d personally negotiated the contract with, would no doubt be overseeing the mobilisation of his armed forces to counter the threat.

  He pulled up the man’s details and placed the call.

  ‘Minister, this is Tom Gray.’

  ‘Mr Gray, I’m sorry, you’ve caught me at a bad time—’

  ‘I know, sir. My men are in the south of the country and told me about recent events. I was wondering if you had any updates.’

  ‘In that case, I have, Mr Gray. Your men have disobeyed orders. Instead of heading north to protect the capital, they have taken our best troops south to engage the enemy.’

  ‘From what I understand, minister, a large number of civilians are in the path of the enemy and my team has joined up with your troops to rescue them. They felt they could do that and still make it to the capital before—’

  ‘I don’t care what they think, Mr Gray, they had orders. My men had orders. They don’t have the big picture, and now they are going to be cut off and annihilated. Of the three companies in the area, one has already been wiped out, Mr Gray. We lost over two hundred men. The other two managed to get out in time, but they were pursued and have taken heavy casualties.’

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that, sir.’

  ‘Don’t be, Mr Gray. Be sorry for your friends. We estimate a thousand men already lie between them and the capital, with another four thousand moving up from the border. I’m afraid they stand no chance.’

  ‘Aren’t you going to send anyone to help them?’

  ‘No, Mr Gray, we are not. Your men are gone, and with them went any further need for your services. Good day.’

  Gray almost slammed down the phone, but realising how early it was, he placed it back in the cradle with a shaking hand,
not wanting to wake his wife and daughter.

  His friends might be heading into danger, but they certainly weren’t gone. He’d put one of them up against fifty any day of the week, but the numbers the minister had mentioned meant it wasn’t looking favourable. Malundi’s armed forces had only six thousand serving members, which meant they were currently looking at an equal fight, but if the enemy ranks had swelled by sixty per cent in an hour, they could soon be vastly outnumbered.

  His friends certainly were, and the scale of the problem was growing all the time, though they might not know it.

  Gray called Smart’s satellite phone and got a whispered response.

  ‘Smart here.’

  ‘Len, it looks like the cavalry won’t be coming any time soon. The Malundians are pulling everyone out of the area, so you’re on your own for now.’

  ‘Yeah, we got the same message from the top brass, though not so eloquently put.’

  At least spirits were up, Gray thought, despite the enormity of the battle ahead. He shared the minister’s update with his friend, who confirmed that the enemy numbers had already been relayed to them.

  ‘For the record, I’d have done exactly the same thing,’ Gray said.

  ‘I know, and you’d swap with any one of us. Now get off the line, you soppy sod. I’ve got to save the batteries and we’re getting close.’

  Gray managed a smile and wished his friend the best of luck, asking him to get in touch again when they were on their way out.

  While making a fresh coffee, he thought about Len’s words. Even though he’d spoken them in jest, Smart was right. Gray would gladly have traded places with any of them right now, but that wasn’t going to happen.

  What he could do, he decided, was try to offer a helping hand.

  It was still far too early to rouse Andrew Harvey from his sleep, so he made a mental note to call him just before sunrise. He knew his friend would be unable to provide any direct help, but perhaps he’d be able to get word to the foreign secretary’s office. If they knew British nationals were in the firing line, they might be able to exert some pressure on the Malundi government to send reinforcements.