horsemen as they watched the 4x4s come to a stop in their midst. The Janjaweed had trucks of their own, though they were the antithesis of the military vehicles in terms of sophistication - half a dozen ‘technicals’, elderly pickups stripped to the bone with machine guns affixed to mounts welded into the rear beds.
Zamal was the first out of the Humvees, the waiting horsemen now joined by a man whom Nina assumed to be the group’s leader. White headscarf, mirrored sunglasses, AK-47 over his shoulder and a machete across his back . . . and a face of cold, merciless stone. After a minute of discussion, Zamal gestured for the vehicles’ other occupants to emerge.
Nina was even more reluctant than before to do so, but had little choice. ‘This is Hamed,’ said Zamal of the Janjaweed leader. ‘He and his men will escort us to where we are going tomorrow. But tonight we are their guests. We are invited to share their shelter.’
‘Thank him for his generosity,’ said Callum, sarcasm creeping into his voice. Nina could see why; the collection of shabby, patched-up tents looked anything but inviting. ‘But we brought our own tents. Thank God,’ he added under his breath.
‘He also invites us to join them for their evening meal. Hamed has just returned from a successful mission, and wants us to share in the celebrations. Especially you, Dr Wilde. He is particularly keen for you to join him.’ Behind Zamal, Hamed’s face showed expression for the first time: a sadistic lust.
‘I’d rather sit in the Humvee’s trunk and eat dog food,’ she said.
Zamal smirked. ‘It can be arranged.’
To Nina’s surprise, Vogler came to her defence. ‘It would be best if Dr Wilde were kept apart from our . . . hosts. To avoid any unfortunate incidents.’ The two Covenant leaders stared at each other, an unspoken challenge.
‘A shame,’ said Zamal after a moment. ‘The Janjaweed will be disappointed not to have the pleasure of her company.’
‘I don’t want to be a part of
‘Nor do I,’ Vogler told her. He issued orders to his men. They unpacked large quick-erect tents, kicking aside stones and deadwood in the wide circle formed by the parked Humvees to make space for the dome-shaped shelters.
Zamal turned back to Hamed, apparently telling him that he would be having one guest fewer for dinner. The Janjaweed leader scowled, before launching into a discussion of something else . . . but his eyes never wavered from Nina.
Despite the heat, she shivered.
‘Well, shit,’ muttered Chase, scanning the firelit encampment through the rifle scope.
‘What is it?’ Sophia asked from beside him. It was night; they lay just below the crest of a low dune, observing the activity in the distance.
‘It’s not just the Janjaweed. I don’t think they could afford five new Humvees.’
After returning to the Land Cruiser and driving to a safe distance from the ravaged refugee camp, they had waited to see in which direction the Janjaweed left. With a certain inevitability, they had gone northwest - the direction in which Chase and Sophia needed to head.
Chase had waited longer to give the horsemen time to open up the gap between them, then followed on a parallel course, hoping to skirt round them before night fell. But then he saw more smoke silhouetted against the dying light of the dusk sky - ahead of them. A Janjaweed camp. They would have patrols watching the desert, so the Land Cruiser’s lights would be spotted from miles away if he tried to drive round it - and driving without lights in this terrain was a recipe for disaster.
‘The Covenant?’
‘It’s not tourists, that’s for bloody sure.’ He panned across the camp, seeing horses, pickup trucks, tents, far too many armed men for his liking . . . and a familiar face. ‘Ay up,’ he muttered. ‘It’s the Covenant all right. There’s Zamal - and he’s talking to that rapist fucker from the refugee camp.’
‘Well, that’s marvellous,’ said Sophia. ‘You know what Nina’s done, don’t you? She’s given the Covenant the directions to bloody Eden!’
‘She can’t have done,’ Chase said defensively. ‘She didn’t know. Not accurately enough.’
‘She didn’t need to. She saw the general location in Antarctica. If we could figure it out from modern maps, so could they.’
‘She wouldn’t have helped them,’ he insisted.
‘Then they tortured it out of her, if that makes you feel any better. But it doesn’t change the fact that they’re here. Even if they don’t know the exact location, they’ve got enough manpower to search the desert until they find it. Damn it!’
‘We can still beat ’em,’ said Chase, continuing to scan the encampment. More Janjaweed men, pushing the number to over fifty, sitting in groups round the fires; Covenant troopers in desert camo; dome tents inside the circle formed by the Humvees—
‘Buggeration and fuckery,’ he whispered.
‘What?’
He adjusted the focus, picking out some very familiar red hair through the half-open flap of one tent. ‘They’ve got Nina.’
‘She’s
‘They must need her to work out where Eden is.’ He shifted the sights, pinpointing her exact position.
‘Or,’ Sophia countered, ‘she made a deal with them. Her life for the location of Eden.’
Chase glared at her. ‘She’d never do that.’
‘Are you sure? For all she knows, you’re dead. She might have thought she had nothing else left.’
‘Bullshit,’ Chase snapped, looking back through the sight. There were a couple of Covenant men patrolling inside the circle of Humvees . . . and more Janjaweed on the outside, the two sides regarding each other with clear mutual suspicion. He surveyed the camp’s perimeter. Away from the fires, everything was in flickering shadow.
He sat up and handed the rifle to the surprised Sophia. ‘Here.’
‘You’re giving me a gun?’ she asked, as if expecting some trick.
‘Yeah. I need you to cover me.’ He had donned his black leather jacket when the temperature fell after nightfall; now he removed it and gave it to Sophia as well. For what he was planning, he couldn’t allow the creak of leather to give him away.
‘Why?’
‘’Cause I’m going to rescue Nina.’
‘From
‘Not for long.’ He drew the Browning. ‘I’m going to get a knife from the truck, then I’m going in.’
Sophia shook her head. ‘Do you seriously think you can just stroll in there, get Nina and walk back out without anyone noticing?’
‘No. I don’t.’ He flicked off the automatic’s safety. ‘Let’s start the violence.’
32
Chase crept across the sand, hunched low. He had watched the camp from the dune long enough to get an idea of the routes of any patrols - and their attitudes to their job.
Both were sloppy. There were only two men strolling the perimeter, clearly bored and annoyed at missing out on the loud, macho camaraderie going on round the fires. They didn’t expect anyone else to be out here. Even obvious hiding places - behind rocks, among gnarled and scrubby bushes - were being ignored.
Their loss.
Chase dropped into a dip, lying flat as he heard plodding footsteps pass. Raising his head, he saw one of the guards heading away, spending more time looking longingly towards the fires than into the darkness of the desert. Nobody in the direction the man had just come. He crawled along the shallow ditch until he reached a long-dead bush, and lay behind it. The nearest tent was about fifty feet away, a pair of horses tethered beside it.
One of the Janjaweed came round the tent - and walked towards Chase.
Chase very slowly lifted his gun. Even in the low light the man would be able to pick out sudden
