PRIMAL Vengeance (3) (13 page)

       As Mirza prepared the men, Bishop and Garang reviewed the village's defences. The SFF had already constructed the basics; machine gun pits sited on the high ground covered the main approaches. Eventually Bishop would get them to dig alternate locations. More important was improving their early warning capability. They deployed a number of the more sophisticated acoustic and optical sensors capable of detecting movement out to the horizon. The high ground around the village provided a perfect vantage point for the solar-powered devices.

       "Will this thing be able to detect a helicopter?" Garang asked as he helped clear an area amongst the rocks for a UGSs.

       "Definitely. The acoustic sensor will pick up any vehicle sounds and slew the hi-res camera to get visual," Bishop explained as he snapped the pole-mounted sensors into the briefcase-sized base station.

       "Impressive, but I think I will still rely on eye balls."

       "That's smart. Nothing is as reliable as well trained men."

       They finished installing the device and started the short trek that would take them down the ridgeline and back into the village.

       "So what brought you to Africa?" asked Bishop as they walked.

       "My father was born here. He moved to America when I was a little boy."

       "Whereabouts?"

       "I grew up in Detroit but never really fitted in. After school I joined the Army. Did a tour in Iraq then got home and didn't know what to do next."

       "Yeah, I know what that's like."

       "I saw a show on Discovery Channel about what was happening here. My father always wanted to come back but he died when I was in Iraq. He told me stories about this land, the people, the wealth. It was only a matter of time until I left the US and returned to help my people claim what is rightfully theirs."

       "So now you've got a cause—and a beautiful woman."

       "Ha! Jess, she's a dreamer and that's all. Women like her are easy come and easy go."

       "Fair enough. You're committed to the cause and that's what counts in my book."

       "Yes I am." He paused as they reached the bottom of the hill. "One thing I haven't asked you, Aden. Once this is over and we have won, will the CIA be able to facilitate meetings with the oil companies?"

       "When we have defeated the Janjaweed we will have set the conditions. It will be up to your government to negotiate but rest assured you will not have to look for the oil companies; they will come, hat in hand."

       Garang contemplated Bishop's words in silence as they followed a goat track through the grassland at the edge of the village.

       "More fighters have joined us." Garang nodded towards two old four-wheel drives parked at the edge of the village. "Word of our CIA friends has spread!" He strode ahead to meet the new arrivals.

       Bishop's brow furrowed. In the last day another ten men had arrived, swelling the SFF ranks to nearly forty warriors and six vehicles. His primary concern was how easy it would be for an enemy spy to slip in with these new men and report to the Janjaweed before they were ready.

       His iPRIMAL buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out activating the alert on the screen. It was one of the sensors located ten kilometers to the north! The 'plant' had detected vehicles and gunfire. He scrolled through the images; they showed two white UN vehicles crossing a creek. Windows on both vehicles were shattered.

       Another alert buzzed in! More gunfire. The image showed two heavily armed Janjaweed jeeps.

       He checked the digital map; the UN vehicles were heading south. Whoever was chasing them was not far behind. Within the next twenty minutes they would be forced to cross a river only five kilometers from the SFF camp. Perfect opportunity for a snap ambush.

       He sprinted into the village. "Mirza, mount up! Garang, we've got Janjaweed to the north."

       The SFF leader snapped out a few commands and men clad in their new chest rigs and carrying their new weapons sprinted towards their vehicles. A PKM machine gun mount had already been welded to the roll bar of the Hilux the PRIMAL men had delivered.

       Bishop briefed them using a stick to draw a diagram in the dust. He and Mirza would lead in the Wildcat with Jonjo riding shotgun and Mirza manning the .50 cal machine gun. Garang and a team of his best fighters would bring up the rear in the Hilux. Jess would be with them; the UN patrol looked like it was shot up pretty bad.

       Once the quick briefing was complete Bishop gave a nod to the SFF leader.

       "Mount up!" Garang ordered and his men ran for the Hilux throwing tins of ammunition into the tray. Jess and her medical kit were bundled into the back.

       As Bishop made to climb up into the Wildcat, Garang grabbed him by the arm. "Is it him?" he said with a crazed look.

       "I couldn't tell. I doubt it. More likely to be one of his patrols."

       Bishop swung into the seat of the supercharged Land Rover and turned the ignition. Glancing in the mirror to make sure the Hilux was behind him he gunned the engine and dropped the clutch sending the vehicle racing down the track.

Chapter 21

Abyei District, South Sudan

       "UN call sign, this is a friendly call sign. Do you read me?" Bishop keyed the transmit button on the steering wheel of the Wildcat as he fought to keep the four-wheel drive on the sandy track. He checked the mirror; the Hilux was still keeping pace.

       "Unknown call sign, this is Victor 44. Identify yourself," a European accent broadcast over the UHF channel. Bishop could make out yelling and gunshots in the background.

       "Victor 44, we are friendlies located to your southwest. We are moving to establish a security position at the river crossing to your due south. Please confirm you are in a position to make it that far."

       There was a pause as Victor 44 considered their predicament. "We've got no idea who you are, but if you can get these bastards off our tail we would be very grateful,
ja
."

       "Victor 44, can do. You just get here alive."

       "We will try!"

       The track Bishop was following hit the main route below the river crossing. He spun the wheel sending the Wildcat sliding around the corner. The big V8 roared and the tires gripped the dirt sending them racing the few hundred meters up the track to the river crossing.

       The dirt road was little more than a pair of sandy wheel ruts that snaked through the grass and down into the shallow waterway. Larger trees and shrubs dotted the banks, providing concealment for the ambushers. Bishop turned the Wildcat off the track and parked it so that Mirza would have a clear line of fire. He dismounted, flagging down the Hilux.

       "Garang, you and your men position on the other side of the track. Cover the river crossing. Wait for the fifty cal to open up and then hit 'em with everything you've got."

       The SFF leader nodded, directing his driver to mirror the position of the Wildcat.

       Jess jumped from the back of the vehicle and Bishop jogged over to her.

       "Jess, you need to be prepared to treat any casualties."

       "Of course." She pulled her medical backpack from the tray of the Hilux. Bishop drew his
PX4
from its belt holster and handed it to the doctor. "You know how to use one of these?" He expected her to shake her head.

       "Sure do." She took the pistol, thumbed the safety off and pulled the slide back to check that a round was chambered.

       "I'm not saying you'll need it. But if you're out here in the thick of it you need to carry."

       "Garang never let me have a gun. 'Only men are warriors. Women look after children and the animals,'" she mimicked.

       "Garang doesn't get out much. The deadliest operative I know is a woman."

       Jess gave him a curious look, stuffed the pistol in her cargo pants and shouldered the heavy medical pack. Bishop watched her for a few seconds as she started off down the track at a trot.

       Heavy machine gun fire broke the serenity of the African bush. In the distance there was a loud explosion and a thin stream of smoke rose into the air.

       Garang's four men fanned out across the bank, seeking cover amongst the vegetation that lined the river. A fifth soldier manned the PKM machine gun mounted on the back of the Hilux. They all focused their sights on where the track entered the river on the far bank.

       The Wildcat was also parked behind bushes, hiding the whole vehicle except for Mirza manning the machine gun. He cleared and reloaded the fifty cal, checking to make sure the rounds would feed correctly. Jonjo was breaking branches off the surrounding trees and placing them on the Wildcat's roof to aid in the concealment.

       Bishop took a position on the flank. "Mirza, hit the lead vehicle as it slows for the creek."

       "Roger!"

       The scream of a diesel engine at maximum revs filled the air as the first UN Landcruiser drove down the track and splashed into the river crossing. Close behind it was a second white four-wheel drive.

       As the second UN vehicle hit the shallow water, two heavily armed jeeps appeared behind them and Janjaweed gunners opened fire with long automatic bursts. Heavy caliber rounds lashed the crossing, bullets snapped through the vegetation and kicked up dirt. A round tore one of the wing mirrors from the SFF Hilux. The PKM gunner dived over the side of the truck as another bullet punched through the windscreen.

       The UN vehicles miraculously finished crossing the narrow waterway as the first of the Janjaweed jeeps slowed down and entered the water after them. Mirza lined up the red-dot sight on his heavy machine gun and depressed the butterfly trigger.

       The big gun roared, sending a stream of 12.7mm
Raufoss
rounds slamming into the first jeep. It shuddered under the impact as the high explosive incendiary bullets shredded the occupants, rending limbs from bodies. The driver's head exploded as the rounds blasted through him into the torso of the gunner. The four men sitting in the back were blended into mince as the SFF weapons joined the fight. An RPG screamed from the bank, detonating as it hit the bonnet. The vehicle's fuel tank exploded, consuming the jeep in a ball of fire.

       The driver of the second Janjaweed vehicle reacted instinctively, wrenching the steering wheel sideways to avoid the slaughter in front of him. The jeep bounced in the wheel ruts, the front wheels jammed in and it flipped, sliding on its side for a few meters.

       His immediate reaction kept the six-man crew alive. The driver and co-driver, the gunner and the three men in the back all got clear of the vehicle before Mirza could hit it with the fifty cal.

       "Switch targets!" Garang screamed at his men as they continued to pour automatic fire into the first burning jeep. "Switch targets!" He jumped up onto the Hilux and pumped the action on the PKM. He unleashed a long burst into the flipped jeep. The thud of Mirza's heavy .50 cal joined the angry rattle of the lighter weapon as Mirza concentrated his own fire on the jeep. It exploded into a ball of fire as the exposed fuel tanks ignited.

       The Janjaweed were not as ill-disciplined as the SFF fighters. They quickly realized their predicament and made for the concealment of the thick vegetation that lined the creek line. The men ran low and fast, dashing for cover.

       Bishop spotted them from his position at the flank of the ambush. He dropped one with a snap shot from his AK before they disappeared into the bushes.

       "Tangos right flank!" he bellowed as the Janjaweed took up fire positions amongst the vegetation and started to fire back. He returned a burst from his AK and scrambled for cover.

       Mirza tried to swing the heavy machine gun around to engage but it was too late. The Janjaweed had pushed to the edge of the water and were under the depression of the barrel.

       It was Jonjo who responded first. From his position near Bishop, he lobbed a grenade across the water. It exploded in the bushes, wounding two of the Janjaweed and creating a distraction.

       Jonjo sprinted to a better position, ignoring the bullets cracking through the air. He lay prone and fired methodically, his suppressed AK spitting rounds into the remaining Arab raiders. Bishop started firing controlled bursts from a knee, covering Jonjo's movement and adding to the weight of fire smashing the far bank.

       Mirza ripped his AK from the rack, jumped down from the Wildcat and bolted forward, joining them.

       Bishop, Mirza, and Jonjo blasted away for another full minute before all movement on the other side of the river ceased.

       "Cover me," ordered Mirza as he waded into the shallow water, AK in his shoulder. Jonjo joined him, both steadily wading across the water, weapons ready. At the other side they patrolled the riverbank, looking for someone to take prisoner. There was no-one left alive. Jonjo checked the bodies, stripped weapons and ammunition from them, throwing it in a pile.

       "Good work." Mirza placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.

       "None of them are him."

       "Sagrib? We didn't think he would be here. Not enough men."

       "We need to kill him, Mirza. He is evil."

       "We'll get him, Jonjo, don't you worry about that."

       Jonjo nodded to himself, trusting Mirza's words. He reloaded his AK104 and looked thoughtfully at one of the dead Janjaweed, the man's face splattered across the ground from a headshot.

       "How is the new AK?" Mirza asked.

       "Amazing. Sight is so accurate." Youthful excitement overcame his disappointment at not killing Sagrib. He shouldered the rifle again, practising looking through the advanced optic.

       "OK, let's go back," Mirza said. "We need to help Bishop and the doctor." He turned back to the water.