Scavenger Hunt

by Barry Buckingham

  They drove for about a hundred kilometres, passing burnt out tanks, and lorries, cars, and dead animals. They passed a village that had been raised to the ground, the locals that had stayed sleeping in make-shift tents.

  Because of the roads, it took nearly three hours but at last, the lake the meeting point near came into view. As they turned off the main road, onto a small track that ran down a shallow valley, Anshu asked them to pull over.

  “OK. I can go no further."

  “Why?” Harry asked, suspicion written across his face.

  “OK. I have only dealt with these people over the phone and that’s why I’m still alive. My face is unknown to them.”

  “Okay old friend," Harry smiled. "We’ll pick you up on the way back.”

  Anshu got out and walked off towards a mound of rocks a little way up the slope to their left.

  Dave took the Rover forward, negotiating the broken road expertly. Some of the potholes were as big as the vehicle they were in, but the Rover handled it well.

  As they approached the house they were feeling very nervous.

  "Get the weapons ready and put them on the dashboard, just in case," Bob cautioned.

  “Shall I drive all the way up to the house?”

  “No. Stop about five hundred metres short, we’ll walk the rest.”

  Dave nodded and pulled over just off the track, behind a small copse of trees.

  “Goats!” Harry cursed. "Bloody goats all around the place. I can’t wait to get back to good old Blighty, just so I don’t have to look at any more bloody goats!” He got out and threw a few small stones at them and was very quickly shouted at by a young shepherd boy. The lad started swearing at Harry in pretty good English.

  “Where the hell did he come from?” Harry frowned.

  “Probably having a shit in a hole, mate,” Bob mused.

  They started to walk up the track to the house, when Bob said, “Contact, top left window.”

  “Got it,” Dave and Harry nodded. Harry moved off to Bob's right, whilst Dave dropped back ten metres, covering the rear.

  As they continued, scouring the surrounding area, a man came to the front door with a rifle in his hands. He started waving it at the three of them. "Stop!" he shouted, as three more men joined him out of the house, then two from round the sides.

  “I don’t like the look of this, Bob,” Harry said, nervously.

  “Just stay calm, Harry. Dave, got your scope?”

  “Yep. AK forty sevens and one of them have a sword or something, hanging from his waist.”

  “Okay, stay calm, but be ready to fight our way out of here!” Bob said, looking at the terrain around them. "We'll go up the slope to our right if it kicks off."

  Two of the men walked towards them, stopping a hundred metres short. One of them shouted, "Harry?"

  “That’s me.”

  “You come with me!” the man said.

  “All of us?” Harry shouted back.

  The man turned to the other man with him, he then turned back, and said, “Okay, but you leave your weapons.”

  “No deal!" Bob shouted.

  “Then we are finished here.”

  Bob paused for a second and looked at the other two, they were shaking their heads.

  "Okay, but we walk behind you," Bob said.

  “What the hell are you doing? We’re not going in there without backup! It'll be suicide! "

  “They’ve only seen the rifles, Dave. We keep our sidearm. Harry, have you got the grenades?”

  “Yep.”

  “Okay. If things get hot, we rock,” Bob smiled.

  Dave and Harry frowned as they placed their weapons down.

  They made their way, cautiously, to the door, being met by an older man. He had an orange beard and wore a pair of big, black-rimmed glasses which made his eyes look huge.

  “Hello, come in please," he greeted. He then asked, "Tea?”

  “No thank you,” Harry replied, looking around, noticing two more men in the darkness. "What has Anshu told you?”

  “That you have keys to a dirty bomb. Is this true?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you have them on you now?”

  “No.”

  “I see. Who owns the keys?”

  "We do," said Bob.

  The three of them started to glance around, they felt uneasy. Suddenly a rifle was pushed into Harry’s back… there was a pause… and then all hell broke loose.

  Bob pushed Harry over to the wall, just as the man fired. As Harry was falling he pulled his handgun out and shot the one who tried to shoot him. He rolled over to the table, pulling it down as cover. Dave shot the other man just as the door smashed open. The six from outside rushed in, firing blindly.

  Dave and Bob shuffled over and joined Harry.

  “These guys are fricking amateurs,” Dave thought, peering at them. “They wouldn't be able to hit the arse on an elephant if it was on the end of their rifle!”

  They waited for a gap in the shooting before they returned fire.

  A moment later and it went very quiet.

  Dave and Harry looked at Bob. He nodded for them to check the house while he grabbed the old man.

  A few minutes later, Dave shouted through, “All clear!” as they joined Bob back in the main room.

  Bob had sat the old man on a chair and now had his handgun pushed into the old man’s mouth. His finger twitched over the trigger as he scowled at him. He spat, “Now that was bloody silly!"

  The old man’s eyes bulged as they flicked between Bob and the others. He tried to swallow but the muzzle of the weapon was hot and was burning the inside of his mouth. He gagged as he tried to pull back.

  “Old man!” Bob said through gritted teeth, trying hard not to pull the trigger. “Where’s the bomb?” He withdrew his weapon and the old man started babbling in his own language. Bob punched him in the gut and he folded over and fell on the floor.

  “Speak in English, or I’ll shoot you and leave you here with the others.”

  The old man looked over at them lying dead, then said, panting, “It is in Baghdad. I will take you there.”

  “You’ve used your last life up,” Bob warned him, lifting him back up to the seat. “One more trick like that and I shoot you, understand?”

  The old man nodded, sweat running down his face.

  “Out the back way, guys. I’ll go first,” Bob said, pushing the old man out in front of him. He held him in front of the open door for a second before following.

  “You’re coming for a little ride,” he said, pushing the old man down the track towards their transport. “If you’re good, we’ll let you go, if you’re not, I’ll have great pleasure telling everyone how you’ve been helping the Americans fight the Taliban. Got it?”

  The old guy nodded, this time, though, his eyes were filled with terror.

  41

  The UAV circling overhead was relaying the video, via a live feed, back to the Americans and the English. They watched with bated breath as the team walked up to the house.

  The American general picked up the phone and waited for it to be answered. “Bring the teams up to immediate readiness," he ordered.

  “Bring the teams up to immediate readiness. Aye-aye, sir," came the reply.

  Putting the phone down, he looked around the table, “Gentlemen, it just got interesting.”

  The ten-man team had been dropped off at Al Dhafra Air Base, just outside Abu Dhabi and were now located in a Hardened Aircraft Shelter on the far side of the airfield. They were checking their equipment, sitting around talking about the mission ahead when the tannoy crackled into life, they immediately stopped what they were doing and listened to the announcement.

  “Recovery team to immediate readiness.”

  The team commander said, “Okay, let’s do this.”

  The customary battle cry went out again and they got their kit on. They walked over to the RAF Chinook helicopter that was parked up in the corner, waiting for them.<
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  42

  Bob, Harry and Dave worked their way back to their vehicle, picking up the rest of their weapons on the way. They put the old man in the back with Harry, who now had his handgun out and was pushing it against the old man’s stomach.

  Anshu didn’t look that pleased that they had one of the men from the meeting with them. As he approached the car, he covered his head and sat facing the front.

  After a few moments, Anshu said, keeping his face hidden, “OK. I heard gunfire?”

  Harry growled, “You set us up you bastard!”

  “OK. No, no, my friend. I did not know this would happen,” he pleaded.

  “Why should we believe you? That’s why you wanted to get out, isn’t it?” Harry continued.

  “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted him!” Dave spat, pulling his handgun round and pointing it at Anshu.

  “OK. You have to trust me. I didn’t know this would happen.”

  The old man looked at him in silence.

  Taking the track that went around the western point of the lake, they cut across and joined the main road into Ramadi, all the time, Bob keeping Anshu in his sights. The old man started chanting prayers, when suddenly Anshu turned, shouting at him to shut up.

  “Anshu, is that you?" the old man said, frowning. "You help these dogs?”

  Without warning, Anshu pulled a handgun from his clothing and hit the old man around the head, he went out like a light. Bob grabbed him. Holding the pistol to Anshu's head, he growled, “Do anything like that again and I’ll kill you! We need him to tell us where the bomb is.”

  Anshu was stunned. “OK. But he’ll lead you into a trap," he grimaced, trying to pull away from the muzzle.

  “You mean like the one you just led us into!" Harry spat.

  “OK. Like I said, I didn’t know they’d do this.”

  “Bollocks!" Bob said, anger written all over his face. "You set this whole thing up.”

  “OK. Harry, my old friend," Anshu pleaded. "Tell them I would not do this.”

  “You set us up, you bastard!" Harry cursed. "That’s why you got out when you did."

  “OK. No. I did not know this,” he pleaded again, fear and uncertainty spreading across his face.

  "I haven't trusted this guy since we first met him," Dave said.

  "Harry. If he tries anything like this again, shoot him!" Bob sneered.

  "With pleasure," Harry nodded.

  Anshu sat the rest of the journey in silence, Harry’s handgun pushed up against his chest.

  Dave drove into Baghdad and found a back street he knew from the last time he was there. Back on old turf, he thought.

  After they parked up, Anshu said, “OK. You must trust me.”

  “We don’t have to trust shit,” Bob growled.

  “OK. I’ll get food and water. You will see you can trust me. Wait here, please,” he begged.

  “You ain’t going anywhere!" Harry growled, grabbing him and making him flinch.

  “Let him go,” Bob said.

  Harry looked at Bob and then at Dave. He sneered at Anshu and took his handgun away from his chest. Anshu relaxed a moment too soon because Harry then pushed it against his temple, and said, "I'll put a bullet in your head, chest and groin if I think you've double-crossed us!"

  Anshu’s face went white with fear as he stared into Harry’s eyes.

  The three of them watched as he scurried off. Dave looked at Bob, but he cut in before he could say anything.

  “We’ll drive around the corner, park up and take up positions on the roof over there," he pointed. "We’ll watch him when he comes back. Harry, follow him, but stay well back.”

  Harry nodded, checked his sidearm and set off.

  They made sure the old man was secure, then took up their positions on the roof.

  Twenty minutes later, they spotted Anshu - he was half-walking, half-running. He had a bag over his shoulder, which looked pretty heavy.

  "Harry's fifty metres behind," Dave said.

  "Got him," Bob replied.

  Harry spotted them on the roof, he signalled that everything was good.

  Back in the rover, Anshu was given the task of tasting each bit of food first, then drinking some water from each bottle. The old man moaned, Bob and Dave looked over at him as he was rubbing the side of his head. Harry ignored him and just watched Anshu.

  "He won't do that again," Bob said, passing the old man a bottle of water. "Drink!"

  The old man looked at Anshu, then at Bob.

  "Thank you," he nodded.

  Bob wasn't sure whether he was thanking him or Anshu.

  Bob allowed the old man to drink before asking, "Where's the bomb?”

  It took a few minutes for him to get his senses back, but then he said, “It’s in a house, with a safe, in a hidden room. We haven’t moved it because it is poisonous.”

  They sat looking at each other. Dave could tell they were all thinking the same thing. “The same bloody house!”

  “Exactly where?” Bob said, cautiously.

  The old man told them, as Bob, Dave and Harry sat, not believing what they were hearing.

  “It’s under the safe. The safe was put over a hole with the case beneath it.”

  They couldn’t believe their ears. They were right on top of it when they blew the safe.

  “Shit! We could have set it off,” Harry gasped.

  "Yeah, but we didn’t, so don’t think about it," Bob said.

  “Shit!” Harry said again. Dave joined in, saying the same.

  After a few minutes, they got out of the car and headed towards the house. Bob went point, then Anshu, the old man, then Harry, with Dave bringing up the rear.

  The old man was jabbering something as they walked, and Harry and Dave could tell this was winding Anshu up. Every couple-a-hundred metres, Anshu would turn and raise his hand at the old man. He would say something, the old man would look down and Anshu would carry on walking.

  “Something ain’t right!” Dave thought, looking at them.

  When they got to what was left of the house, Harry whistled, "Looks like it’s taken a bit more of a beating since we were last here."

  They could work out where they'd entered the last time. Just. The door they used and where they took cover was vaguely recognisable, but they couldn’t see the safe.

  They dug around for a few minutes before Dave called, "Found it!"

  The safe was buried under the remains of what was left of the wall and the roof.

  The old man started to back off, Dave looked at him. "It won’t go off unless the keys are in it," he said.

  The old man shouted something in his own tongue, Dave looked at Anshu, “What did the old man say?”

  “OK. He said it is poison!”

  Dave looked over at Bob and Harry, they just shrugged.

  Dave started to clear the rubble away, with Harry and Bob coming over to help. They cleared enough to see all four sides down to the floor it was on. Suddenly, bits of concrete starting pinging up around them.

  “Sniper. Get down!” Bob shouted.

  Not that they needed telling. They jumped down behind the rubble and waited for the shooting to stop. The old man went running and started to climb over the safe but the person shooting spotted him and he got hit in the chest and dropped like a stone, landing on top of it.

  As he lay, his breathing becoming shallower, then stopping, his blood running down the sides of the safe, pooling at the bottom, Dave thought “Great. That’s going to stink later!”

  “Well at least no one can see it now,” Harry chirped.

  Then, “Safe. Two o’clock. Roof. Hundred and Fifty metres,” Dave said.

  There was a pause before Bob said, “Got him.” He shuffled around for a second and peered through the sights on his rifle. Harry and Bob watched as he went still and controlled his breathing. His rifle cracked once, and they saw a person fall forward and over the side of the building.

  “Like being at the fun fair," Bob smi
rked. "We’ll wait till it gets dark, then get the safe up.”

  Harry looked over at Anshu and saw him lying flat on the floor. The first thing he thought was, “I hope the little bastard is dead,” but then he saw him move as if he was trying to crawl away. He asked, “Anshu, are you okay?”

  “OK. Yes, my friend!" he whispered back.

  “I’m not your friend!” Harry said through gritted teeth.

  As the temperature started to drop again, Dave felt his nose starting to sting. Once the buildings around had melted together in the dark, they started to dig around the safe. After ten minutes, Dave was sweating like a pig on heat, his shirt was drenched and he could feel it starting to chill in the night air as it stuck to the scars on his back.

  They threw the old man’s body over the wall of the next house along, they didn’t bother digging a grave but did cover it with an old sack they picked up off the floor.

  “The bastard would have left us to rot back at the lake anyway!” Harry sneered.

  “You always were the sensitive one, Harry,” Bob said, smiling.

  “Wait,” Harry said. “The bomb.”

  Bob and Dave looked at him.

  “The old man kept saying it was poison, right? Remember John? He was on the other team when he found the safe. Didn’t he get sick? Ended up getting shipped back to the U.K. with a sickness they couldn’t identify. I think I’ve worked out what it was.”

  It dawned on them what Harry was on about, radiation poisoning.

  “Shit. How close can we get, Harry?” Bob asked.

  “We’re already too frigging close!" he said, staring at the safe.

  Anshu didn’t know what was going on but could tell something was up.

  “We need to get a Geiger counter," Harry said, concern written all over his face.

  “Where the hell are we going to get one of those in a shithole like this?” Dave cursed.

  Bob looked up and mouthed the word, “Shit!” He looked back at Harry and Dave, "There! That’s where," he said, pointing up.

  43

  Eleven thousand kilometres away, the General picked up the phone.

  “Launch the team now!” he waited for the reply.

  “Launch the team now. Aye-aye, sir.”