Burning Angels

Without a word, the two of them began to move silently away. No words needed to be spoken. Had Narov not accomplished her mission, she’d have told him. But what the hell had she brought one of the tusks for?

Suddenly, gunshots split the night. PCHTHEW! PCHTHEW! PCHTHEW!

Jaeger and Narov froze. That was three rounds from an AK, and they’d been fired from the direction of the tusk pile. No doubt Narov’s handiwork had been discovered.

‘Warning shots,’ Jaeger mouthed. ‘Sounding the alarm.’

There was a series of irate yells, as figures woke all across the camp. Jaeger and Narov sank lower into the water, faces pressed tight into the mud. All they could do was keep utterly still and try to work out what was happening by hearing alone.

Voices cried out and boots pounded across the terrain. Weapons could be heard being made ready. The poachers yelled and screamed confusedly. Jaeger sensed a figure appear on the bank just a few metres away from where they were hiding.

Momentarily, the gunman’s eyes scanned the water, and Jaeger felt his gaze sweep across them. He braced himself for a cry of alarm; for gunfire; for the bite of bullets slicing into flesh and bone.

Then a voice — a commanding voice — yelled out: ‘No one’s in that shit pit, you idiot! Get searching — out there!’

The figure turned and dashed towards the open bush. Jaeger sensed the focus of the search melting away, as the poachers spread out to comb the surrounding terrain. It was sticking to this fetid, disease-ridden stretch of water that had saved them.

They moved off at a slow crawl, until finally they reached the point from which they’d started. Having checked that it was clear of poachers, they pulled themselves on to dry land, retrieving their backpacks from where they’d stashed them.

For a brief moment Narov paused. She pulled out her knife and proceeded to rinse its blade in the water.

‘One of them had to die. I took that,’ she gestured at the tusk, ‘as cover. To make it look like theft.’

Jaeger nodded. ‘Smart thinking.’

They could hear the odd yell, and an occasional burst of gunfire, echoing out of the darkness. The search seemed to have moved east and south, away from the waterhole. The poachers were clearly spooked, and chasing after ghosts and shadows.

Jaeger and Narov left the lone tusk hidden in the shallows and set off through the bush. They had a long trek ahead of them, and the dehydration was really starting to bite now. But there was one priority even more pressing than water.

When he figured they’d gone far enough to be safe from detection, Jaeger called a halt. ‘I need a pee. Plus we should check for leeches.’

Narov nodded.

It was not the place to stand on ceremony. Jaeger turned away from her and dropped his trousers. Sure enough, his groin was a dark mass of writhing bodies.

He had always hated bloody leeches. Literally. Even more than bats, they were his least favourite animal. After a good hour feasting on his blood, each of the fat black bodies was engorged to several times its normal length. He prised them off one by one and flicked them away, each leaving a stream of blood oozing down his leg.

Groin done, he pulled off his shirt and did a repeat performance with neck and torso. The leeches injected an anticoagulant that kept the blood running for a while: by the time he was done, his body was a bloodied mess.

Narov turned away from him and dropped her own pants.

‘Need a hand?’ Jaeger asked jokingly.

She snorted. ‘In your dreams. I’m surrounded by leeches, you included.’

He shrugged. ‘Fine. Bleed away.’

Once the de-leeching was done, they each took a moment to clean their gun. It was crucial to do so, for mud and moisture would have got into the working parts. Then they set out due east, moving at a fast walk.

They had no water or food remaining, but there should be plenty in the ruins of the helicopter.

That was if they ever made it back there.

53

Jaeger and Narov passed the hip flask back and forth between them. It had been a bonus finding that amongst the wreckage of the HIP. Though Narov rarely drank, they were both exhausted, and in need of the whisky for the psychological boost.

They’d made it back by close to midnight, to discover the place utterly deserted. Even the baby elephant was gone, which was good news. At least hopefully they’d saved one animal. They’d emptied the HIP of water, sodas and food, sating both their thirst and their hunger.

That done, Jaeger had made some calls on his Thuraya. The first was to Katavi, and he had been elated to speak to Konig. The reserve’s chief conservationist was made of strong stuff, that much was clear. He’d regained consciousness and was back on the case.

Jaeger had explained the basics of what he and Narov were up to. He’d asked for a flight to come in and pick them up, and Konig had promised to be airborne by first light. Jaeger had also warned him to expect a delivery of cargo on the next flight in, and told him not to open the crates when they arrived.