Mission

by Amy Andrews

  Holly was too exhausted to say anything. The rush of adrenaline as they had slid down the mountain and the days of hard exertion had really taken their toll. She drifted off to sleep, only to be woken a few minutes later by a stinging sensation on her abdomen.

  Half-asleep, she rubbed the spot and the pain intensified. She lifted her shirt up and her hand came into contact with some slimy sort of bug. It took all her willpower not to scream.

  ‘Richard,’ she whispered, trying not to sound as frantic as she felt.

  ‘Hmm?’

  ‘There’s something crawling on my tummy,’ she whispered frantically.

  Richard flicked his torch on and shone it on her stomach. Three fat leeches were having a feed. He noticed her lying rigid with her eyes closed and smiled to himself. ‘It’s just a leech, it won’t hurt you,’ he murmured.

  Holly opened her eyes and looked into his amused face. ‘I don’t care, Richard. Get it off,’ she snarled.

  ‘What is it with you and leeches, Pollyanna?’ he teased. ‘You seem to attract them somehow.’

  Holly couldn’t believe he was choosing now to show his sense of humour and his human side. Or that he had even made a reference to that meeting before he had left for Africa and had become a changed man. Not now, Richard, not when she was muddy and soaked through and had a leech feeding off her stomach!

  ‘Richard! Get it off!’

  ‘Them, actually,’ he said, ‘there’s three.’

  ‘Three? Three?’ Oh, God! She was covered with leeches! ‘Richard! Do something!’ She tried to keep her voice low but the desperate note gave it a squeaky quality.

  Richard chuckled and shuffled down so he was closer to her abdomen. How many times had he rescued her from creepy-crawlies? He set about removing them.

  ‘Make sure you throw them far way,’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘I don’t want them visiting me again.’

  Richard chuckled again and threw the poor creatures a good distance away.

  ‘Ow! I cant believe how much they hurt,’ said Holly, inspecting the reddened areas where they had attached themselves to her skin.

  ‘Oh, poor Holly,’ he teased. ‘Leech magnet.’ His head was level with her stomach and he brought his face down and kissed each red area playfully. She had the flattest stomach. She was so petite. He placed a hand against her abdomen and was amazed to see that it nearly spanned her waist.

  She placed her hand on his head as he ministered to her wounds to push him away but was mesmerised by the sight of his head against her belly. His salt-and-pepper hair against her white skin. Her hand stilled and his spiky military cut felt good beneath her touch.

  Richard wasn’t quite sure what possessed him but as he felt her hand in his hair he knew he shouldn’t have started it. He glanced up at her and their gazes locked. He felt heat slam into him, white hot. She was so beautiful. If they weren’t in this jungle, if she wasn’t so young, if he didn’t have a million reasons not to…

  He pulled her shirt down abruptly and moved back until he was sitting totally upright against the trunk.

  ‘Richard?’ she asked quietly, her belly still burning from his gentle kisses.

  ‘Go to sleep Holly.’

  She sighed and turned on her side, cuddling into Tundol’s body. Great advice, Richard. Now, tell me how.

  CHAPTER TEN

  RICHARD woke as a glint of sunlight pierced his shut lids. He looked at his watch. Six a.m. The rain had stopped for now. At least his uniform might have a chance to dry out. He looked down at the fabric that covered his body and regarded its muddy, tattered state.

  This uniform had always made him proud, made him feel good about himself, that he was making a contribution. If he hadn’t been so dog tired and strung out, he knew he’d be ashamed of its dishevelled state.

  He glanced at his two companions. Holly was still sleeping on her side, her arm hugging Tundol close. He remembered how he’d kissed her stomach last night and felt the heat kick in again. What was it about this woman? No one had ever got under his skin this much. Not even his fiancée. He’d spent a lifetime protecting it with layers of armour. How had she managed to pierce them?

  He shook his head. It didn’t matter. Nothing was more important at the moment than getting them back to Abeil safe and sound. Time to stop daydreaming about milky-white, petal-soft skin and how much he had yearned to lay his head against her abdomen and shut his eyes. Reconnaissance. That’s what he needed to be doing.

  He pushed himself away from the tree and ignored the parts of him that ached. In fact, he ached just about everywhere so it was an almost impossible task. But with over half of his mission accomplished, he could grin and bear it.

  He walked a short distance away, his senses alert. He looked back up the mountain and saw the route they had travelled so unconventionally last night. It had definitely followed the course of a narrow track. He looked beyond the quagmire where they had landed and tracked the pathway further down as it disappeared into the trees.

  Where did these side tracks lead to? Were they short cuts to the camps? If they followed this path, would it lead them to the bottom camp or just get them helplessly lost? One thing was for sure—they had to keep heading down if they wanted to get off this mountain.

  Richard woke his fellow escapees. Holly regarded him warily, obviously still feeling a little awkward from last night. He wished he could erase what had happened. Go back to the precise moment he’d taken total leave of his senses and take another path. But he couldn’t. If she wasn’t adult enough to let it be, that was her problem. He was back in control of his body and last night didn’t register a blip on his horizon.

  ‘Let’s eat and then move out.’ He spoke in a low rumble.

  Holly felt stiffness in all her joints and she winced as she sat up and leaned back against the tree. Between stiff muscles, a sore back, a bruised butt, leech bites and Richard’s kisses, she hurt all over.

  ‘Let me look,’ Richard said, when he noticed her grimacing.

  She flinched from him as he tried to pull her shirt up at the back and he ignored it. Large surface abrasions all over her back stood out against her pale skin. Some of the areas had obviously bled and dry blood had crusted in some areas. There were the beginnings of several small purplish-black bruises also.

  ‘It’s OK,’ she said, shrugging him away.

  ‘Your back bore the brunt of the slide,’ he said.

  ‘It’s OK,’ she repeated. Her back was sore but not more than anywhere else. ‘Yours must be just as bad,’ she commented, remembering he had taken the same trip as her. She went to lift his shirt but he pulled away.

  ‘It’s fine,’ he said tersely.

  Don’t touch me. Yeah. He was coming across loud and clear and her heart broke a little. How was she ever going to reach him? How was she ever going to convince him to let her love him?

  They ate another sparse breakfast in silence and moved out shortly after. Richard didn’t like travelling by day. OK, the canopy muted the light, but they were still going to be more visible than if they had the cover of night. If they could find and then skirt the last camp, he’d pull them up for a rest and continue the rest of the journey in the dark that night.

  They followed the track that had collapsed under their feet last night and swept them down the mountain in a torrent of mud and water. Richard crept from tree to tree, trying to keep the track in sight so he could assess their whereabouts. It meandered down through the forest and, as Richard had suspected, led them to the bottom camp.

  They could smell the woodsmoke of the communal fire and Richard guessed they were quite near. He went deeper into the forest to avoid detection as they gave the inhabited area a wide berth. But just when they thought they’d passed the dangerous bit, they were proved wrong.

  Richard and Holly looked up as they heard a shout behind them. They’d been spotted!

  ‘Follow me. Run,’ Richard snapped.

  Holly felt adrenaline rush through her system an
d despite every ache and pain she surged forward, Tundol in tow, keeping Richard’s back in sight, mimicking his actions as he ducked and weaved between the trees.

  She realised he wasn’t running as fast as he could, that he was trying to keep to a slower pace so he wouldn’t lose her and she was grateful. She was about as scared now as she had been any time in the last five days, and she knew if anyone could get them out of this, Richard could.

  A couple of gunshots reverberated around the forest and she heard bullets whizzing past her ears. OK. Scratch that. Now she was scared. More scared than any time in the period of their captivity.

  Richard knew they had to create as much distance between them and their hunters as possible, so he ran hard and expected Holly and Tundol to keep up. He tried not to run blindly. They were going to need to know where they were should they manage to shake their pursuers.

  Then he applied a bit of strategy. He could still hear the rebels chasing them but they had dropped back so he decided to slow and backtrack towards the camp and try to outfox them. After all, the rebels wouldn’t be expecting that.

  Holly and Tundol followed his movements. He could hear her harsh breathing and knew he was asking a lot of them. But this game wasn’t over by a long shot, and he’d be damned if he’d just throw in the towel while he had breath left in his body.

  Richard could see the shelters of the bottom camp now. He was getting closer. Maybe they should hide around here somewhere until the men pursuing them had run a good distance in the other direction.

  Richard looked frantically around for somewhere good to hide, but couldn’t find anywhere that would give them the protection they needed. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. His lungs heaved in his chest, dragging in oxygen, out of breath from their sprint through the humid, seething jungle.

  And then it came to him. The camp! The perfect place to hide. Right under their enemies’ noses! He whispered his idea to Holly and saw shock and doubt flit across her face.

  ‘Trust me,’ he whispered.

  Holly followed him, with Tundol holding her hand tight. Trust him. But don’t touch him. Don’t love him. He asked too much of her—didn’t he know that?

  Richard chose the shelter that backed almost directly onto the jungle. It would be easiest to enter without being seen and would make their exit just as unnoticeable—hopefully. They just needed an hour. One hour to hide somewhere while the rebels searched the jungle. Then they could leave and head in another direction.

  He looked in through the slats and it appeared to be empty. They entered quickly and he crossed his fingers that the occupants wouldn’t return for a while. He stood by the door while Holly and Tundol sat on the low bed. She opened her mouth to speak to him but he shook his head vehemently and pressed two fingers to his lips. They had to observe total silence!

  Holly didn’t quite understand his reasoning for bringing them right into the heart of the enemy. She shook herself mentally. Listen to her! The enemy. She was thinking like a soldier now. Like Richard. Whatever had happened to her beliefs about the freedom fighters? Being abducted, that’s what. And being confronted with their treatment of Tuti and Tundol.

  Whatever Richard’s reasoning, she trusted that he knew what he was doing. He was the big tough-guy soldier after all and he had kept them alive thus far. She had freaked at a few leeches. Out of the two of them, she’d have to say he was totally in his element.

  And then it struck her. He was. This was what Richard did. This was what he was good at. Standing watch at the door in his less-than-perfect greens, he was every inch the soldier. She remembered his comments about the army being his family and she had to admit he looked right at home. Had he been right all along? Was their no room for her in his family?

  She saw Richard freeze suddenly and then heard approaching chatter. She gathered Tundol to her side and pulled him up with her to stand beside Richard and behind the door.

  The door opened and Holly shut her eyes. Was this it? The door shut and Holly opened her eyes again at the gasp that left their unwanted visitors’ lips. Two sets of eyes stared at her, at them. Two familiar sets of eyes. It was Mila and Kia. The baby Holly had delivered was sleeping at Mila’s breast.

  Nobody moved for a few seconds. Holly felt sure they all must be able to hear her pounding heart. What was going to happen now? But then Kia smiled at them and Mila grinned and the two women turned to each other and spoke in their language. Holly let out a breath.

  Richard let one out, too. The women they had helped a few short days ago were pleased to see them. They seemed safe for the moment but how long would it last? Had saving Mila’s baby and probably Mila herself counteracted the loyalty these women felt for the rebel cause and for their menfolk? He doubted it.

  Richard heard the trail bike again and they all froze as the bike drove into the central camp area. Mila and Kia talked together again and Mila gave the baby to her mother, who put him in a sling-style apparatus attached to her front and ran out the back into the jungle. Kia smiled at them and nodded.

  Richard glanced through the slatted wood and noticed John getting off the bike. A small crowd gathered around him and soon the rebels that had chased them entered the camp, looking despondent and weary.

  John yelled at them. He ranted and waved his arms around furiously. He addressed an older man in particular and Holly blinked when he slapped the grey-haired elder across the face. Kia’s lips flattened into a slit and her forehead furrowed into a frown. She muttered under her breath.

  As they watched the scene, Mila came running towards John and the other men from the jungle behind them. She was flapping her arms excitedly and jabbering away. Richard felt his heart rate slow right down and pound in his chest. His breathing slowed too and he shut his eyes, preparing himself for her betrayal. Had their ministrations meant that little to her? Or was blood truly thicker than water?

  He opened his eyes again in time to see John and the other men turned in the opposite direction. Mila was pointing to the opposite side of the path, where they’d been the night before until they’d crossed over and ended up on the waterslide of a lifetime.

  She jabbered some more, continuing to point down the other side of the mountain. John interrupted her and appeared to be giving orders. He snapped and pointed the same way Mila had then picked up a long stick and appeared to be drawing in the dirt with it. He was laying a trap.

  Ten minutes later the rebel men ran off in the direction Mila had indicated. John got on his bike, turned around and followed his men. Richard breathed and smiled at a beaming Kia who had also been watching. Had Mila just lied to protect them?

  Mila entered the shelter with a huge smile, nodding at her mother and at them. It appeared she had. Richard was eager to move out again. There was no telling how long the men would search in the wrong direction. They needed to get as much of a head start as they could.

  He picked up his pack. Kia left them and Mila placed a hand on his arm. It appeared she wanted him to wait. Richard agreed but knew he couldn’t wait too long.

  Kia returned in a moment with a sack and gave it to Holly with a large grin. Holly opened it and the aroma of cooked food hit her square in the face. She thanked the women profusely. At least they could have a decent meal next time they stopped.

  Kia indicated that they should follow her. Her grandson slept peacefully in his sling. She exited the shelter first, checked both ways for anyone who could be watching and then motioned them out. Mila waved them goodbye and Holly waved back as they followed the girl’s mother back into the jungle.

  Richard was humbled and amazed by the lengths to which Kia was going to help them. She’d sheltered them, hidden them, organised a diversion and was now guiding them to safety. Richard knew that the penalty to her would be high if she was caught collaborating with the escapees. And yet she was doing it anyway.

  Maybe Holly had a point. Maybe you couldn’t paint everyone with the same brush. Maybe they were just people who felt unjustly treated
and were fighting for a little equality. Some chose armed rebellion. But not all. And not all approved of the methods of some of the others.

  She led them to another side track. Abeil,’ Kia said, and pointed down the track.

  The old woman grabbed his hands and Richard felt humbled by her sincerity, feeling a tightness in his chest at the emotion clouding their goodbyes.

  They had crossed each other’s paths only briefly but each had had a profound effect on the other. Kia was a proud mountain woman who looked like she’d been around for the duration of the civil war. Yet still she had put politics and years of hate aside to help someone who had helped her.

  Tundol and Richard set off down the track, leaving Holly to say her goodbyes.

  ‘Thank you,’ said Holly, clutching the older woman’s hands and squeezing them tight. She felt all choked up by Kia’s courage and generosity.

  ‘Thank…you.’ Kia nodded in return, gripping Holly’s hands firmly, and Holly saw tears in the old woman’s eyes. ‘Thank you.’

  Holly stroked the babe’s head for a brief moment and felt honoured to have helped him into the world. For as long as she lived, she would have a connection with this baby. It seemed bizarre and fitting all at once.

  Kia pointed down the track towards Richard’s back. ‘He good man. Make good father.’

  Holy felt tears blur her eyes as she watched Tundol and Richard holding hands. She nodded at the old mountain woman, unable to speak.

  ‘Three boys,’ she said, grinning an almost toothless smile and holding up three fingers. ‘You and him. Three boys.’

  Holly stared at Kia as her words sank in and Kia cackled with laughter at the look on Holly’s face. She looked so old and wise that Holly was tempted to believe her. She kissed Kia on the cheek and set off after Richard and Tundol, her mind boggling with Kia’s prediction.