Burning Angels

‘Listen carefully,’ he announced, his voice laced with a sinister quiet. ‘I am going to let you live so that you can go give your pals a warning. You tell them from me.’ He jerked a thumb in the direction of the Lebanese man’s corpse. ‘That is what will happen to you — all of you — if one more elephant dies.’

Jaeger ordered the man to his feet and marched him down the corridor, to where Narov was standing guard at the entranceway.

He shoved the sorry figure at her. ‘This is the guy who has orchestrated the slaughter of several hundred of God’s most beautiful creatures.’

Narov turned her cold eyes on him. ‘He is the elephant killer? This man?’

Jaeger nodded. ‘He is. And we’re taking him with us, at least for part of the way.’

Narov drew her knife. ‘One breath out of place — the slightest excuse — and I will carve your guts out.’

Jaeger stepped back inside and made for the building’s kitchen. There was a stove of sorts: a burner ring attached to a gas bottle. He reached down and turned the gas to the ‘on’ position. It hissed reassuringly. Then he stepped outside, grabbed the lighted storm lantern and placed it midway along the building’s hallway.

As he hurried from the building into the darkness, a thought struck him. He was well aware that their recent actions had been way outside the strict rule of law. He wondered why it didn’t bother him. But after witnessing the elephant slaughter, the boundaries between right and wrong had become irrevocably blurred.

He tried to figure out if this was a good thing, or whether it was a reflection of how his moral compass was being led astray. Morality had become a blur in so many ways. Or maybe it was all crystal clear. In a sense he’d never seen with such clarity. If he listened to his heart, buried deep under the pain that was his constant companion, he had few doubts that what he’d done was right.

If you joined forces with the devil and targeted the defenceless — as the poaching gangs had — then you had to expect retribution.

57

Jaeger reached forward and powered down the SpyChest camera. He, Narov and Konig were seated in the privacy of Konig’s bungalow. They’d just watched Georges Hanna’s confession, from bloody beginning to bloody end.

‘So there is it,’ Jaeger remarked, handing the camera to Konig. ‘You’ve got it all. What you do with it is your decision. But either way, that’s one African poaching cartel closed down for good.’

Konig shook his head in astonishment. ‘You weren’t kidding — you nailed the entire network. That’s a game-changer in terms of conservation. Plus it’ll help the local communities involved in the wildlife here to thrive.’

Jaeger smiled. ‘You opened the door; we just oiled the hinges.’

‘Falk, you played a key part,’ Narov added. ‘And to perfection.’

In a way Konig had played a key role. He’d guarded Jaeger and Narov’s back, keeping watch over their getaway vehicle. And as they’d driven away from the scene, the gas-filled building had erupted into a ball of flame, incinerating all evidence in its wake.

Konig scooped up the SpyChest gratefully. ‘This — it will change everything.’ He eyed them for a second. ‘But I feel as if there must be some way I can repay you. This — it is not your war. Your battle.’

Now was the time. ‘You know, there is one thing,’ Jaeger ventured. ‘The BV222. The warplane beneath the mountain. We’d like to see inside it.’

Konig’s face dropped. He shook his head. ‘Ah, this… this is not possible.’ A pause. ‘You know, I have just taken a call from the boss. Herr Kammler. From time to time he checks in. I had to report to him your… transgression. Straying into his domain beneath the mountain. He wasn’t best pleased.’

‘Did he ask if you’d arrested us?’ Jaeger queried.

‘He did. I told him it was impossible. How do I arrest two foreign nationals for doing something that isn’t a crime? And especially when they are paying guests of the lodge. It was plainly ridiculous.’

‘How did he react?’

Konig shrugged. ‘As always. Very angry. Ranted and raved for a while.’

‘And then?’

‘And then I told him you had hatched a plan to take out the poaching gang; that you were fellow wildlife lovers. True conservationists. At which stage he seemed to relax a little. But he reiterated: the BV222 is off limits to all but himself and… one or two others.’

Jaeger fixed Konig with an inquisitorial look. ‘Which others, Falk? Who are they?’

Konig averted his eyes. ‘Ah… just some people. It doesn’t matter who.’

‘You have access to that warplane, don’t you, Falk?’ Narov queried. ‘Of course you do.’

Konig shrugged. ‘Okay, yes, I do. Or at least I have had. In the past.’

‘So you can fix a brief visit for us?’ she pressed. ‘Quid pro quo and all that.’

By way of an answer, Falk reached forward and pulled something from his desk. It was an old shoebox. He hesitated for a second, before handing it to Narov.