‘Nicholas?’
5
Her blonde hair was a mess. Her face was washed out and knackered. But she still looked great to me.
‘I called. I tried but …’ I leant over and kissed her on the cheek. ‘You OK?’
She looked me up and down. ‘Are you, more to the point?’
‘Fine. I’ll tell you later.’
I sat down on the steel chair beside her and took her hand in mine.
Things were strained. Or maybe it was just me.
‘Where did you get hit?’
‘Left-hand side. Lower gut. It came from nowhere. There were bursts in the distance. There was an air raid, but nothing too close. Then down I went. The crew were fantastic. They got me here and I had surgery. No organs hit. But it hurts and I can’t be moved just yet.’
The family opposite started to wail and cry. Medical staff came rushing down the ward.
‘What’s wrong, Anna? Why can’t you be moved? It hit nerves on your spine or something? Your legs? Can you move them?’
She was welling up. She bit her lower lip to try and control it.
‘They said it’s the wound track, Nicholas. The round passed through but … very close to my womb.’
I looked at her, waiting for more.
Her hands were now gripping mine.
‘They need to make sure the baby isn’t damaged.’ Tears ran down her cheeks. ‘I’m three months pregnant, Nicholas …’
It was like I’d pulled ten Gs in a fast jet. My arse pushed down into the seat. My whole body felt like I was getting rammed through the floor.
‘Everything’s OK, Nicholas. I just have to rest, and get checked out again in a few days. It’s just that until I get the all-clear I can’t move.’
The family the other side of the partition were led away down the hall. I heard a trolley rattle into the room.
‘That’s good. That’s good …’
She kissed my cheek. Her breath was rancid. I was sure she’d thought the same when I kissed her. Her hands brought my head onto her chest. ‘I was so worried about you.’ She stroked my hair.
Eventually I summoned up the courage to put a hand on her stomach, so gently it was hardly touching. I moved it carefully, like I was expecting something to be there apart from the wound dressing. What the fuck did I know?
‘Nicholas, I’ve been really worried about how you’d take the news. I wasn’t sure how you’d react. We haven’t been together for long and—’
‘Why did you stay out here in this condition?’
‘My grandmother gave birth to all her children while working in the wheat fields.’ She tried to laugh. ‘Stupid, I know. But I guess it was because I knew this had to be my last foreign job.’ She managed a lopsided smile. ‘I’ve got responsibilities now …’
I grinned back. ‘Sounds like I have too.’
I thought of Mong, of Tracy and of Stefan. Maybe it was the end of an era after all. A new one had just begun.
She held my face in her hands and I kept on staring at her and smiling.
Then she looked at me more seriously. ‘Have you finished
I pulled a guilty face. ‘I’ve got to tell you — these classics are doing my head in. I keep telling everybody who asks me that I’m reading it, but you know what? I’m even having trouble with the cheat notes.’
She kissed my head and then gave it a big slap.
I stood and held her close, until long after the old woman was wheeled away and another casualty was brought in to replace her.
About the Author
Andy McNab joined the infantry as a boy soldier. In 1984 he was ‘badged’ as a member of 22 SAS Regiment and was involved in both covert and overt special operations worldwide.
During the Gulf War he commanded Bravo Two Zero, a patrol that, in the words of his commanding officer, ‘will remain in regimental history for ever’. Awarded both the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) and Military Medal (MM) during his military career, McNab was the British Army’s most highly decorated serving soldier when he finally left the SAS in February 1993. He wrote about his experiences in three books: the phenomenal bestseller
He is the author of the bestselling Nick Stone thrillers. Besides his writing work, he lectures to security and intelligence agencies in both the USA and UK. He is a patron of the Help for Heroes campaign.
