Rob and I shook hands. There was more gunfire from a few blocks away. Rob racked back the cocking handle and made ready the AK, his right thumb pushing the safety catch on the right-hand side of the weapon all the way up. ‘Tell me I’m not right. There’s got to be a better way. There’s no rich kids out there tonight fighting this war. It’s all soft cunts like me and you were fifteen or sixteen years ago. See yer soon. I’ll call by, see if you find Mahatma.’ He turned and disappeared into the lobby.
Jerry came over as the brawlers were pulled apart. ‘Any luck?’
‘Fuck all.’
‘I see that Pete guy’s doing his bit for international relations. They’re Serbs, apparently. Know what it was about?’
‘Maybe he tried his special-forces chat-up line on them and they didn’t like it.’
He was waiting for the punch line. ‘And?’
‘“Please give us a fuck. I’m special forces. I’ll be in and out before you know it.”’
At that moment Lats broke free from the dogooders and charged at the Serbs again. ‘Actually,’ I said, ‘I think he’s pissed off with them because he’s got daughters of his own.’
‘Slavers?’ Jerry knew the score. ‘They’re not wasting any time, are they?’
‘Nope, let’s hope he goes apeshit and kills them, eh?’
He headed for reception to shop for toothpaste and stuff and I went to watch a blizzard on CNN.
39
Friday, 10 October
I turned over in the single bed, still more asleep than awake. The balcony door was open and I could hear the odd vehicle on the move. It was still dark, but a bird down in the garden hadn’t cottoned on. I checked Baby-G– 06:31.
I dozed a few more minutes, then began to hear a new yet familiar sound, the rhythmic slap-slap-slap of running feet. They went a short distance, stopped for several seconds, then started again. I threw off the hairy nylon blanket and went and turned on CNN; the picture was still shit, but at least the sound was good. According to the world weather round-up it was a scorcher in Sydney.
I went into the bathroom and twisted the tap. There was a gurgle and some water spluttered out, a bit brown at first, then clearer, but a long way from hot. I put a glass under the cold tap, drank, then filled it again. I’d never been one for only drinking bottled water when you got to these places: the sooner your gut got used to the real stuff the better.
After turning the room light off, I scratched my arse and head, as you do of a morning, and padded out on to the balcony with my second glass. It was chilly outside, but the sun was just peeping over the horizon. Soon there was enough light to make out Connor in the empty swimming-pool getting some in.
Adiesel generator sparked up nearby, startling a small flock of birds out of their tree. I followed their line of flight out over the Tigris and a couple of boats that chugged their way upstream. At first I thought the dull bang off to my right was the generator backfiring. Then I saw a flash of light and a small plume of grey-blue smoke rising from a pair of burnt-out tower blocks three or four hundred metres away.
I ran back into my room just as the RPG thudded into one of the floors below. A split second later there was an explosion, and the whole building shuddered.
I fell to the floor and covered my head, braced for a second hit. I thought it had come, but it was just the bathroom mirror falling off the wall and shattering. Plaster dust trickled from the joists above me.
Another round hit the building, and this time it was a lot closer. There was a loud thud and the floor beneath me trembled. My ears rang.
Still naked, I jumped up and ran into the corridor. The middle of the building seemed the best place to be: for all I knew, they were attacking from both sides. I couldn’t go down the fire escape and the lift was a no-no. Everyone would be trying to jam into it, and a power-cut was almost inevitable.
There was another explosion and the lights flickered. A bunch of other guests rushed past me, shouting at no one in particular, just panicking big-time.
Another RPG punched into our side of the hotel. A woman screamed above the din. Two men stumbled and fell and the people behind them just kept scrambling over each other, trying to get away, if only they could work out where to.
I banged on Jerry’s door. ‘Jerry, for fuck’s sake!’
A heavy machine-gun sparked up on the opposite side of the hotel. Then the tank thundered a round into something out there.
The door swung open. Jerry was naked, dazed. I could smell waccy baccy.
More people swarmed out into the corridor, leaving their doors open behind them. The lifts weren’t going anywhere; some hammered the buttons and scrabbled at the doors, others made a run for the fire escape.
‘It’s safer out here,’ I yelled. ‘Come on, fuck the clothes!’
There was a sustained rattle of machine-gun fire, then another RPG round thumped into the building.
‘Fuck me.’ Jerry fell into the corridor. ‘We came here to get a story, not be fucking part of one.’ He ran back into his room.
‘What are you doing? Get away from the outside wall!’
He reappeared with his camera in his hand, and started shooting the confusion in the corridor.
There was a sudden silence. The seconds ticked by. People were holding their breath. Still nothing. Audible sighs of relief, then excited chatter.
Jerry nodded at the open doors opposite. ‘Let’s check that side of the building.’
‘And get shot by the fucking troops? They’ll be sparked up. Just stay here. Let them contain the area. You’ll get plenty of pictures soon enough.’
It had gone in one ear and out the other. Jerry shot across the corridor. Next thing I knew, he was hanging over the balcony, pointing his camera in the direction of the tank.
There was a sob to my left. A young Iraqi, naked, dazed and covered with blood, was coming down the corridor, staggering under the weight of the young woman in his arms. I could see shards of glass sticking out all over her. Her arm swayed in time with his steps. They got closer. I recognized them. They’d only been married about twelve hours.
40
He looked down at his bride and couldn’t stop sobbing. There was a huge rip in her face. Her cheek had been split almost as far as her ear, making her mouth twice its original size. I couldn’t tell if she was dead or alive.
I pushed him into my room.
He resisted. He didn’t know what I was saying. I grabbed hold of the woman.
Jerry was still hanging over the balcony. ‘Get in here – I need you!’
The husband screamed and tried to prise her off me as I backed into my room.
I put her down on the carpet, shouting at him, ’The lights, get the fucking lights on!’
Of course he didn’t understand. I jumped up and pushed him out of the way. He fell on his arse on the bed as Jerry came in. I pushed him towards the husband. ‘Shut this fucker up!’
The main lights didn’t come on. I hit the bedside lamp. It didn’t do much, but it was better than nothing.
I knelt down beside her, my face nearly touching the bloody mess that was hers. I couldn’t feel any breath on my skin. Her chest wasn’t moving. I lifted one of her eyelids. No pupil reaction. Nothing anywhere to show she was
