Dundas spat on the ground. ‘Rebels had us pinned down for an hour. Proper ambush tactics. They knew how to fight.’
‘The Russians must have sent them over,’ said Mallet. ‘Bastards know every trick in the book.’
Thriepland cleared his throat and said, ‘I count only four of you. Where’s the other fellow?’
‘Loader’s dead,’ Mallet said.
‘I see.’ Thriepland nodded sombrely. ‘Sorry to hear that. And the rest of you?’
‘Alex took a couple of frags to the shoulder. We’ve got a few nicks and cuts. Nothing major.’
Dundas smiled at Casey. ‘I hear you’re deadly on the old mortar.’
‘Something like that,’ she replied tonelessly. Her expression had a faraway quality.
‘Looks like you fought off half the rebellion,’ said Thriepland. ‘There’ll be some citations coming out of this, I imagine.’ He looked at Mallet, and a sarky tone crept into his stiff voice as he went on. ‘Pity you guys in the Cell can’t be named.’
Bowman stared wordlessly at him.
‘What happens now?’ asked Webb.
‘We’ll stick around here and guard the family,’ Thriepland said. ‘We’ve got orders to wait here until the country is fully secure. Which will take a few days, I expect.’
‘It’ll take us that long to clear all them bodies away,’ Dundas muttered. ‘This is a right bloody mess.’
Bowman said, ‘Why isn’t the president flying straight back? The coup will be over soon enough.’
‘There’s a force coming in from 2 Para,’ Thriepland explained. ‘A long-term training team. We’re due to hand over to them in a couple of days. The president’s refusing to return until the handover is complete.’
‘Probably wants the extra boots on the ground,’ Dundas added.
Webb snorted. ‘Yeah, that fucker will want this place like Fort Knox before he comes in.’
‘So much for caring about the welfare of his family,’ Bowman said. ‘If he was that concerned, he’d be flying back now.’
‘Why aren’t you escorting the family back to the city once the coup has been crushed?’ asked Casey. ‘Why wait here with them?’
‘Orders from the top.’ Thriepland swept a hand through his magnificent hair. ‘The president doesn’t want his family to return to the palace in its current state. I gather there was some heavy fighting there last night.’
‘More like a massacre,’ Mallet said.
Thriepland shrugged. ‘Either way, the president has instructed his family to wait here until his aides and household staff have given the palace a thorough cleaning. He wants it spick and span for their return, apparently.’
Webb laughed weakly. ‘Well, at least they don’t want to rough it.’
Thriepland didn’t look amused.
‘You’ll be leaving soon, I imagine?’ he asked.
Mallet said, ‘That depends on Six. I’ll have to make some calls. We might need to be on-site for a while.’
‘As you wish.’ Thriepland straightened his back. ‘In the meantime, help yourselves to a brew and some food. I suggest you get one of the medics to clean that shoulder up,’ he added to Casey.
Dundas jammed his thick thumbs into his belt and rolled his tongue around his gums.
‘What do you want to do with those prisoners?’ he asked Gregory. ‘They’re your responsibility, not ours.’
‘Colonel Lubowa and I will take care of them.’ Gregory pointed out the head of the Presidential Guard. ‘They’ll be dealt with,’ he added.
‘We’ll need a body bag for Tiny,’ said Mallet. ‘He’s coming home with us.’
‘Of course,’ Thriepland replied. ‘I’ll see to it.’
He moved off, Dundas stalking him and barking orders at the men. Mallet walked away to put in a call to the Voice. Casey went in search of a medic. Gregory beat a path over to Colonel Lubowa. The latter had mustered the handful of surviving men from the Presidential Guard and Mavinda’s platoon. Now they began herding the rebel prisoners towards the back of the stronghold under Gregory’s watchful gaze.
‘What’ll happen to them, do you think?’ Webb asked Bowman as they watched the last of the prisoners disappear from sight.
‘They tried to overthrow the government, mate. The president’s hardly going to let them off with a slap on the wrist.’
‘You think he’ll execute them?’
Bowman considered, then shook his head. ‘Mike would never sanction it. They’ll probably interrogate the ringleaders, then chuck the lot of them in prison.’
‘That’s as good as a death sentence over here anyway,’ said Webb.
A while later, Mallet came back and gathered the team round.
He said, ‘I’ve heard back from Vauxhall. They’re arranging transportation for us now. We’ll be leaving on the same Herc these lads came in on.’
‘When?’ asked Casey.
‘Soon. A few hours. We’re still waiting for clearance. Once we’ve got the green light, I’ll let you know.’
Bowman said, ‘What’s going on with the coup?’
‘SFSG landed about an hour ago. Along with the detachment from the SBS. They’ve recaptured the international airport from the rebels. Moving on to the capital as we speak.’
‘It’ll be over soon, then.’
‘Looks that way. As soon as they’ve taken the broadcasting station, they’ll put out a pre-recorded statement by the president, telling his people that the rebellion has been quelled. Once that message goes out, the game’s up.’
‘The hard core elements won’t give up that easily.’
‘Maybe not,’ Mallet said. ‘But they won’t stand a chance against our guys, now that the Russians have abandoned them.’
The morning wore on. Bowman sat with the others near the steps of the stronghold, sipping boiling-hot coffee, each of them feeling physically and mentally exhausted. They looked at one another, but no one said a word. The mood was sober and quiet. There was no sense of jubilation. Just an overwhelming feeling of relief, tempered by the grief they all felt at the loss of their friend. Bowman saw a couple of men from D Squadron placing Loader in a body bag and thought about the promise he’d made in the basement.
As soon as this op is over, I’ll go clean.
I’ll keep it, he vowed. This time, I won’t slip. No matter how hard it gets.
The team waited. After a while, Gregory wandered off to speak with Colonel Lubowa. Mallet was fielding a constant stream of phone
