‘Thank you for coming so swiftly,’ said Kebila, rising and gesturing Anastasia to a seat. ‘What Captain Mariner tells me you experienced may be of the greatest importance. I have sent a man to the orphanage to ask Esan and Ado to join us. I expect your stories to match what Captain Mariner has told me and when they do, I will use this information as the basis of my strategy.’
When Esan and Ado arrived mere moments later, they confirmed that someone had been secretly watching them from the jungle close to where they were completing their route march. On this side of the river, therefore. And no — they had never experienced this feeling before, they explained to Richard, who got the question in a moment or so before Ivan. And, no — no one local had ever spied on them. It was not in the nature of the local farmers or the townspeople, all of whom called and whistled when the Amazons ran by, they explained to Ivan, who nodded and said that Russians were the same. Open. Honest.
Sexist, thought Richard. Antediluvian.
So, by the time the six of them had finished their conference, Kebila’s mind was made up. It was his mission to set up camp here and then to seek and destroy the Army of Christ. But the army, it seemed, had come to him. Chance had given him the opportunity of completing his mission more quickly than he could ever have dreamed. All he had to do was get enough of his men ashore and he could send out the first patrols tonight.
‘I can call for air support from dawn,’ he said. ‘I can have planes within half an hour, attack helicopters within one hour and troop transports within two, if I need more boots on the ground.’ He looked at Richard and Ivan. ‘We have the Chegdu Jian sevens which can get up there at twice the speed of sound. They are armed with a range of weaponry effective against troops and light armour on the ground. We have the Hip and Hind attack helicopters with gattlings and hellfires. And the Eurocopter Super Puma transports. All armed, fuelled and ready to go!’ He rubbed his hands in anticipation. ‘With any luck, we could have settled things with Odem within a day or two.’
‘And in the meantime,’ said Ivan quietly, ‘while you’re looking after our main worry here, we can take the second Zubr and head straight upstream in the morning. You could have your mission finished within days. And, if Odem and his army are down here fighting with you, then there’s nothing between us and Lac Dudo — so we could get our mission completed in record time as well!’
Decline
But it wasn’t quite as easy as that. In spite of the care with which the plans had been drawn back in Granville Harbour, there was no way Kebila was able to move his entire command ashore swiftly enough to get his camp set up overnight. No more than Ivan and Mako could move the Russians out of their cramped quarters to fill the spaces left by Kebila’s troops. On the other hand, Richard and Robin had come packed and dressed for bush work, even if some of Robin’s underwear was more suited to bedroom work, and even though at least two items had already come ashore with Anastasia. Richard’s main interest in the long term might be the lake, but Robin’s more immediate concern — and therefore his own — was for the safety of Anastasia, her colleagues and the orphans they were guarding against the Army of Christ.
The Mariners’ kit followed Robin’s shirt and jeans off the hovercraft pretty quickly, therefore, and they were moved into the orphanage’s cramped but comfortable guest room, to which the clothing was returned almost immediately as Anastasia dressed in her own attire. No sooner had Robin settled in than she was off, making the acquaintance of the orphanage staff and as many of the children as she could find on whom to practise her increasingly fluent Matadi. Richard only caught one distant view of her, already at the refectory’s high table, talking animatedly between mouthfuls of modest supper.
The truth of the matter, thought Richard as he strode through the ordered chaos in the orphanage’s great square playground, was that it was going to take another full day at least to get the rest of Kebila’s men as well sorted out as Robin and he were. It was fortunate that the expanse of the orphanage’s central area opened on to fallow fields which allowed Kebila’s men to set up camp in the very area that might be most exposed to sneak attack. But erecting the tents and getting the men fed and organized was slow work, even if the Russians were catered for by the teams aboard the hovercraft.
And the situation was exacerbated by the fact that Kebila was as good as his word, thought Richard, as he went past the inner perimeter, chewing on the last of a Kyinkyinga — a meat and vegetable kebab dusted with peanut powder then wrapped in flat bread — which he had grabbed in passing when it became clear that he and Robin were not going to share their usual dinner a deux. The first squad of men who had come into the open area at the heart of the orphanage in the early darkness did not stop to help set up camp. They were fed first — and then focused on unpacking arms and equipment and preparing to go out into the jungle immediately. Anastasia, Ado and Esan agreed to guide them to the point where they had felt themselves being secretly observed. And, for no reason other than that he was on hand and at a loose end, Richard decided that he would go with them as well.
The patrol was led by one of Kebila’s most trusted men, Sergeant Tchaba. Tchaba knew and respected Anastasia, Ado and Esan. He knew Richard also — and so was willing to take him along. But the sergeant blamed Richard for the fact that he had a false foot — though, to be fair, Richard had done no more than borrow the sergeant’s lucky boots at an unlucky time — and their relationship was one of professional respect rather than mutual admiration, therefore.
‘You can come, Captain Mariner,’ growled Tchaba. ‘But you stay low, remain quiet and do what I tell you. And you don’t get a gun.’
‘That’s fine, Sergeant,’ said Richard equably. ‘If anything violent happens I’ll get my head down and keep out of your way.’
‘It’s all right, Richard,’ whispered Anastasia. ‘Ado, Esan and I will look after you.’ The three of them held up the guns they had come into the compound carrying. Richard recognized them. He had given them to Anastasia some time ago in the face of the earlier attack by the murderous Army of Christ the Infant, under the now deceased General Moses Nlong. It was Anastasia’s shot, indeed, which had dispatched the general in the end.
‘Ado and Esan, you know where we’re going and you know the jungle better than the rest of us. You take point,’ rasped Tchaba. He handed each member of the patrol night-vision goggles and checked everyone’s weapon. ‘These goggles are dual function,’ he explained quietly as he did so. ‘Setting one — here — is enhanced light. It works by picking up what light there is in the environment — and there is almost always some — and amplifying it. Setting two is simple infrared. It picks up and enhances heat. Setting one gives you wide vision in green. Setting two gives you specific ranges of vision in red. We use setting one for general work. Setting two if we suspect heat sources nearby. It’s particularly useful for tracking enemies in the jungle. Or any animals large enough to pose a threat. OK?’ They all nodded, though the sergeant had obviously only been briefing the newcomers rather than his experienced squad. They put on the goggles. They tried both settings. They gave a general thumbs-up for Ready. ‘Lead on, Ado,’ said Tchaba at last.
Anastasia fell in beside Richard and they all headed off into the darkness. The goggles took a bit of getting used to, as did the requirement for absolute silence. But the hand signals were pretty standard and the vocabulary limited. Stop. Go. Right. Left. Down. Up. That just about covered it, thought Richard. Other than that, there was just the discomfort of the goggles on his face and the way they seemed to channel the perspiration down his cheeks like tears. Anastasia’s proximity had a strange effect upon him. As they crept into the weird, night-vision world, in the heart of the tight phalanx of glowing figures, he began to replay that odd conversation he had overheard as he approached Max’s room in search of restorative vodka for the warlike woman at his side.