Battleground cr-6

by Chris Ryan

  Ben looked at Ricki in panic. The SAS man had removed his NV goggles and was now examining the entrance to the ledge. ‘We need to get to her,’ he said.

  Ben followed his gaze. The cliff above the ledge was overhanging — it would be impossible to stand up there. Between them and Aarya was a large chunk of debris. It looked like it had fallen from the overhanging cliff, preventing her from shuffling backwards. The ledge itself was incredibly narrow. Too narrow, it was immediately obvious, for Ricki’s bulk. But Ben was smaller. Thinner. ‘I reckon I can get down there,’ he said quietly.

  Ricki’s lips went thin. He clearly didn’t like the idea.

  ‘Come on, Ricki,’ Ben said impatiently. ‘It’s obvious, isn’t it? You’ll never get down there. You’re too big. And we can’t just hang around, waiting for the bomb to go off.’

  A short, tense silence.

  ‘All right, Ben,’ Ricki said quietly, so that Aarya wouldn’t hear. ‘When you get there, you’ll have to de-fuse that thing. You need to listen to me carefully and not panic, all right?’

  ‘All right.’ He raised his voice. ‘Aarya, I’m coming!’ Quiet again. ‘Wish me luck.’

  ‘Luck doesn’t come into it, Ben,’ Ricki instructed. ‘Be careful. Don’t make any movement you’re not sure of. It’s a hell of a long way down…’

  Ben nodded. He got down onto all fours and gingerly eased his way onto the ledge.

  The first few metres were the most difficult and he had to twist his body onto his side in order to keep firmly on the ledge. He knocked a few stones over the edge, but never heard them hit the bottom. It was too far down. The moon shimmered on the water down below; the distance made his stomach turn. He crept slowly along the ledge, not wanting to make large sudden movements that might cause him to lose his balance.

  ‘You’re doing good, Ben,’ Ricki called.

  Ben was out of breath already. It was a huge relief when the ledge widened out slightly, but now there was another obstacle: the boulder. It wasn’t all that big, but as Ben curled his fingers underneath it, he could tell that it was very heavy. ‘I’m nearly there, Aarya,’ he called.

  ‘Be careful, Ben!’

  He heaved at the boulder once more. It toppled slightly, but not enough to roll it over the edge. He was going to have to use every bit of force he could muster.

  Ricki’s voice. ‘Stay in control, Ben. Use just the strength in your arms. If you put your whole body behind it, you’ll go over with the rock.’

  ‘Great,’ Ben muttered to himself. ‘Thanks.’

  He gripped the boulder again, took a deep breath, then strained as hard as he could. The muscles in his arms burned; his face contorted into a grimace and he heard a groan of exertion escape his throat.

  The rock moved; but as it did, Ben felt his balance go. He pressed himself up against the wall of the cliff, caught his breath again and continued pushing the rock.

  That final surge was what it needed. The rock teetered on the edge for a moment, then fell into the darkness below. Again, no sound as it hit the bottom. Ben’s breath came in short bursts, but he knew this was no time to take a breather. Doing what he could to master his fear, he continued to shuffle along the ledge until he came to Aarya. She was lying on her front, with one foot hanging precariously over the edge. It pointed out at an angle and looked to Ben as if it was broken. Her whole body trembled.

  ‘Aarya, I’m here.’

  ‘Ben,’ she breathed. ‘I cannot move.’

  ‘Don’t even try,’ Ben warned her. He raised his voice. ‘Ricki!’ he called. ‘I’m there. What do I do?’

  ‘Can you get to the bomb?’ Ricki’s voice sounded unnervingly distant.

  Ben looked up. ‘Yeah,’ he called. ‘I think so.’ Slowly, carefully, he pushed himself up to his knees, doing his best not to think about the drop below. Manoeuvring himself along Aarya’s good leg, he got his hands on the suitcase.

  Ricki’s voice: ‘You need to find the detonator.’

  ‘What does that look like?’ he called back.

  ‘I can’t tell you. But you’ll know it when you see it. There’ll be some kind of timer mechanism…’

  Ben frowned. It wasn’t a whole lot to go on.

  Aarya spoke. Her voice was thin and terrified. ‘Hurry, Ben. I saw him do it. He set the clock for twenty minutes. There isn’t much time left.’

  ‘Where’s the timer?’

  ‘You need to… you need to unstrap the back,’ she whispered. ‘You will see…’

  Taking deep breaths and being careful to keep his balance, Ben examined the bomb. There was indeed one big strap, tightly buckled. He worked away at the buckle with his fingertips. It was tight and difficult to loosen, especially as his hands were now trembling with nerves; but after what seemed like ages, he managed it.

  A flap of material. He lifted it. And then he saw the panel. The very sight made him sick to his core.

  00.01.01

  00.01.00

  00.00.59

  ‘RICKI!’ he roared. ‘I’VE GOT THE TIMER. THERE’S LESS THAN A MINUTE LEFT!’ He heard his voice echo across the river.

  Less than a minute left…

  Less than a minute left…

  ‘Tell me what you see,’ Ricki barked.

  Ben could barely get the words out. ‘A panel,’ he shouted. ‘Red numbers, counting down.’

  00.00.48

  ‘Some kind of dial. And underneath the numbers there’s what looks like… like two batteries. Wires coming from the batteries leading to two terminals on the timer.’

  00.00.41

  ‘I think that’s what’s powering the detonator,’ he screamed. ‘Shall I pull them?’

  ‘No!’ Ricki’s voice was firm with just a hint of panic. ‘These things are sometimes booby-trapped. If you pull the wires, it could make the whole thing blow…’

  ‘Then what am I going to do?’

  00.00.32

  00.00.31

  ‘Can you see anything else?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘Can you get to the underside of the bomb?’

  ‘No!’ Ben shouted. ‘It’s strapped to Aarya. She can’t move. If I try to roll them, they’ll both go over the side. Ricki, there’s less than twenty seconds to go!’

  00.00.19

  00.00.18

  Silence from the SAS man.

  ‘Ricki, what am I going to do?’

  00.00.11

  He felt his fingers twitching towards the wires. ‘What am I going to do?’ he repeated.

  ‘OK, Ben. You haven’t got any choice. Pull the wires. Now!’

  00.00.07

  00.00.06

  Ben’s blood ran cold. If you pull the wires, it could make the whole thing blow… His fingers and thumbs felt thick and unwieldy. Clumsy. He tried to grab the wires, but his hands were shaking.

  ‘Ben!’ Aarya wept. ‘What is happening.’

  00.00.03

  There was no time to reply. His fumbling fingers managed to grab the wires. He closed his eyes, thoughts of booby traps, explosions and mushroom clouds flashing through his mind.

  And then he pulled, his eyes clenched shut, his breath held.

  Ben didn’t know if it would be the last thing he ever did.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Silence.

  Ben unclenched his eyes. The bomb was still there. Aarya was still there. He was still there. And the timer panel was blank. He felt a surge of relief. ‘It’s OK, Aarya,’ he whispered. ‘We’ve done it.’ He was almost laughing with relief.

  She didn’t reply.

  Ricki shouted. ‘Ben, what’s happening!’

  ‘The timer’s stopped,’ Ben yelled back. ‘I think it’s de-fused. I think we’ve done it.’

  ‘Can you crawl back?’

  Ben turned his attention back to Aarya. ‘Can you hear me?’ He shook her gently. ‘Aarya, can you hear me?’

  No response.

  ‘Something’s wrong with Aarya,’ he shouted. ‘She’s not respond
ing. I can see she’s breathing, but… I think she’s passed out.’

  ‘Can you crawl back?’ The SAS man repeated his question.

  ‘I’m not leaving her. What if she gains consciousness and doesn’t realize where she is? What if she topples over the edge?’

  A pause.

  ‘All right, Ben. Stay there. We need air support to winch the bomb up. I’m going back up to where I can get radio contact with Matt, see what we can sort out.’

  Ben nodded, even though there was nobody to see him do it.

  ‘Don’t let the bomb fall, Ben. The impact could… just don’t let it fall, OK?’

  ‘Right,’ Ben breathed. He clutched Aarya and the bomb firmly. ‘Hurry up,’ he shouted. ‘Aarya needs help.’

  Ricki didn’t reply. Ben heard him scrambling away from the cliff edge, and then all was silent once more.

  Time stood still. Ben’s whole body had started to shiver — not through cold, but through fear. The bomb might have been de-fused, but he felt that even if he was prepared to leave Aarya, he could never get back along this ledge. Shuffling backwards was too precarious and there was simply not enough room to turn round.

  Every now and then he called Aarya’s name. There was still no response and so he held her and the bomb firmly on the ledge. And then he simply waited, trying not to think about the danger he was in.

  Ben was alone with his thoughts. He remembered the distress call when they were in the Black Hawk and his blood ran cold. He didn’t know if he was more sickened by the thought of his mother in danger, or by the uncomfortable truth that he had all but forgotten about her in the frenzy of the past few hours. Now the gravity of her situation came crashing in on him again. Every cell in his body wanted to go to her rescue; he wanted to howl with frustration and helplessness that he couldn’t.

  ‘Come on,’ he whispered to himself. ‘Come on…’

  Ben had no idea how long he had been on that ledge when he heard it — the distant beating of a helicopter’s blades. He turned his head and looked down at the river. Sure enough, flying high over the water he saw the silhouette of a chopper pass in front of the moon. The noise grew louder and louder — Ben couldn’t see the outline of the helicopter now, but could sense its bulk as it passed. He restrained the urge to shout, knowing how useless that would be; but then the sound of the rotary blades passed and grew quieter, and he found himself yelling into the void. ‘Here! Over here!’

  The helicopter carried on, over the dam and out of sight. Ben cursed. How could they just pass him by? Taking deep breaths, he tried to get a hold of his anger. Losing it wouldn’t serve any purpose up here.

  And it was just as he reached that decision that he heard the noise of the chopper once more.

  It was returning over the dam, slower this time, and with searchlights beaming from its side. Ben could barely look at them for fear of dazzling himself, but he could see that the beams were focused on the cliff tops and he could well imagine side gunners with their heavy weaponry keeping watch for enemy combatants on the ground. The chopper drew closer; one of the searchlights was moving over the cliff face. It picked out Ben and Aarya, and he had to cover his eyes with one arm as they adjusted to the sudden brightness. He raised his free arm and started to wave.

  Suddenly he was aware of movement from Aarya. ‘Stay still,’ he screamed, moving his arms so that he could hold her firmly. His voice was almost lost under the sound of the chopper. ‘Stay still!’

  The helicopter performed a couple of fly-pasts, then rose up above the cliff until it was almost directly on top of Ben and Aarya and the two of them were plunged once more into darkness. Thirty seconds passed. A minute. And then, almost magically, Ben saw a figure appear in mid-air by the ledge, suspended only by what looked like a treacherously thin rope.

  It was Ricki.

  He had something in his hands, a bundle of fabric, rope and metal. Holding them out towards Ben, he yelled, ‘Take these. Don’t drop them.’

  Ben stretched out his arm. His fingertips barely reached, but he managed to get some kind of hold on the bundle and pull it towards him. ‘What is it?’ he shouted.

  ‘Harnesses,’ Ricki replied, his voice hoarse over the noise of the chopper. ‘You both need to wear them. Put them on like pants, then tighten them up. Quickly, Ben — we need to get you out of here.’

  Ben untangled the harnesses. He rested one on top of the bomb, using it like a table; the other he slid up Aarya’s legs. She shouted in pain when he moved her broken foot, but Ben didn’t have time to be gentle. It was difficult attaching Aarya’s harness while keeping himself pressed against the wall. Awkward. His fingers felt clumsy as he tightened the straps between the bomb and her body, but eventually he felt confident that it was on properly. Only then did he turn his attention to his own harness.

  He held his breath as he wriggled to get it on. There was barely any room to move; when he did, it was with great care. Pulling the harness up his legs, he tightened it as firmly round his own waist as he had round Aarya’s. Then he turned to Ricki, who was still suspended in mid-air, watching them.

  ‘What now?’ he called.

  ‘There’s a rope leading from each harness,’ Ricki shouted, ‘with a metal link at the end. Throw them to me, one at a time.’

  Ben located the ropes — the sturdy links had levers on one side that only moved inwards — and did as he was told. The SAS man caught them with ease. Sweat pouring down his face, Ben saw that at the end of the winch rope there were two loops, each with similar metal links. Ricki attached Ben’s rope to one loop and Aarya’s to another. Then he turned his attention back to the two of them.

  ‘Is she awake?’ he shouted.

  ‘Kind of,’ Ben replied. ‘But not really aware.’

  ‘All right, Ben. Listen carefully. You’re both firmly attached. You need to roll her off the ledge, and yourself at the same time. Can you do that?’

  Ben felt himself going white, but he knew he didn’t really have a choice. ‘I’ll try,’ he said.

  ‘Don’t think about it too much,’ Ricki advised. ‘Just do it.’

  Ben clenched his teeth together. He put his arms around Aarya and the suitcase bomb, holding them firmly. He drew a deep breath, counted to three.

  And then he rolled.

  In his mind, the fall happened in slow motion. They fell towards the earth as the rope remained slack; when it tightened it was like a jolt going through Ben’s whole body, followed by a sinking, spongy feeling as the extra weight pulled the chopper downwards slightly. But then he felt them being lifted up, and he saw Ricki grabbing Aarya and the suitcase bomb, making sure it didn’t slip from her back.

  They rose higher, above the level of the cliff and then over firm ground. The rope was winched up — slowly, it seemed to Ben — until finally they were just a metre away from the side door of the chopper.

  ‘Ben!’ It was Matt’s voice. ‘Give me your hand!’

  Ben stretched his arm up and a firm grip seized him. He felt himself being pulled up into the chopper. There were other men here as well as Matt, and a good deal of confusion as Aarya and Ricki were also pulled up into the body of the aircraft, and to safety.

  Numb with exhaustion, it was all Ben could do to sit up. Aarya was lying on the floor of the chopper while Matt and Ricki removed the bomb from her back. Her eyes were open, but her face was racked with pain.

  ‘Her foot,’ Ben shouted over the noise of the aircraft. ‘I think she’s broken it. Be careful.’

  Ricki nodded to show that he had heard as he stowed the suitcase bomb at the back of the chopper.

  ‘We should get her to a doctor,’ Ben insisted.

  ‘Roger that,’ Ricki replied. ‘We’re going to take her back to the base at Kajaki — there’s a medic on stand-by and we can offload the bomb. And then I think we’ve got something else to attend to, haven’t we?’

  And with that, Ben felt the chopper perform a sharp turn and speed back over the dam, accompanied by a group of gri
m-faced but determined soldiers…

  Chapter Twenty-six

  It had been the longest night of Dr Bel Kelland’s life. No question.

  The noise of the attack on the base — the brutal sounds of war — had been bad enough. But she was beginning to think the silence was even worse. The quiet was only occasionally shattered by the noise of a round from the weapons of one of the soldiers who still stood in a protective semicircle around her. All night they had continued firing towards the blown-open gates of the base, single shots that made it clear to the enemy that they were still armed and protected, even if it was only just.

  Bel was optimistic by nature. She tried to look for the positives in everything, even in a dreadful situation like this. She was glad of the cover of darkness. It meant she couldn’t see the dead bodies that she knew littered the floor of the base; and Private Mears had told her that if the enemy were going to attack again, they were more likely to wait until dawn.

  Dawn, however, had never been so fast coming. It was just round the corner now and still they were here. Dug in. Surrounded by enemy. Half expecting an attacking surge and desperate for someone to get them out of this mess. But no one came. The red glow of the burning Apache outside the walls of the base had long since faded away. Now the air was still. Empty.

  ‘How long till dawn?’ Bel asked. It was the only thing she’d said for ages.

  Private Mears’s lips were thin and nervous. ‘It gets light early,’ he said. ‘Less than an hour, I’d say.’

  ‘How much ammo do we have?’ Bel couldn’t believe the way she’d slipped into military slang.

  Mears avoided her question. ‘We’ll be all right.’ He sounded like he was trying to persuade himself as well as her.

  Silence again.

  It was cold. Very cold. A different place to the one that only hours ago had been so burning hot. She shivered as a round whizzed through the air.

  Voices outside the base. Shouting.

  Alarmed, Bel’s eyes searched for Private Mears. He’d heard them too — they all had. ‘What was that?’ she breathed.

  More shouting. Bel couldn’t tell what they were saying, but she knew this: they weren’t speaking English. And as that thought hit her, there was a loud bang. A whizzing sound over the walls of the compound, and then an explosion.