Deadfall: Agent 21 (20 page)

The humiliated East Side Boys started filing towards the exit. Without their warlike clothes and their weapons, they were just skin and bones. As they got closer to the exit, they started running. They clearly wanted to be out of there.

And that suited Zak just fine.

He felt himself relaxing. Gabs had lowered her gun. She had walked over to the trembling Smiler and had one hand lightly on his shoulder as she checked he was OK. Raf was heading over to the gate to relieve the unconscious guards of their clothes too. Latifah, however, was still a picture of anxiety. She tugged on Zak’s sleeve. ‘We can’t wait,’ she said urgently. ‘We have to follow Señor Martinez.’

Zak blinked. ‘Why?’ he asked. ‘What’s happening?’

Latifah’s lip wobbled. She looked like she was about to cry.

Zak listened, stunned, to what she had to say next.

Zak, Raf and Gabs stared at Latifah in astonishment.

‘They’re trying to do
what
?’ Gabs exclaimed.

‘I . . . I’m
sorry
I didn’t tell you everything. I was just worried that you might leave the children in the camp in your hurry to go after Señor Martinez.’

‘Forget about that now,’ said Zak. He was standing in a group with Raf, Gabs and Latifah. Latifah seemed to be more comfortable talking with someone more her own age, so it was up to Zak to lead the conversation. ‘Let me get this straight. Cruz and Sudiq have more than a hundred heavily armed East Side Boys, and they want to bring down the president of The Gambia. Then they’re going to install Sudiq in his place. I mean, is that even possible?’

‘It depends what sort of army he has with him,’ Gabs said. ‘The situation in The Gambia is fluid at the moment. It’s just left the Commonwealth, and they’ve got a history of sudden regime change.’

‘I think there are at least one hundred East Side Boys,’ said Latifah. ‘All armed.’

Raf looked grim. ‘You can do a lot with a hundred armed thugs. There have been coups in bigger African states than The Gambia, using fewer men than that.’

‘And in the meantime,’ Zak continued, ‘they’re going to mastermind some sort of atrocity against a tourist target in Banjul, to scare westerners out of the place.’

‘You forgot about Malcolm,’ Raf butted in helpfully.

‘Right. And they’ve got Malcolm, who they’re going to use to disable all communications in the capital.’

Latifah nodded silently. ‘Does he really know how to do that?’ she asked.

‘You bet he does.’ Zak turned to his Guardian Angels. ‘We
have
to warn someone.’

‘Pass the phone,’ Raf scowled. ‘I’ll call 999.’

They stared at each other.

‘What sort of a head start does he have on us?’ Gabs asked.

‘Three hours,’ Latifah said. ‘Maybe four.’

Gabs cursed. ‘We could do with that helicopter,’ she muttered.

‘If the East Side Boys we just scared away were going to join them, there must be more boats down by the river,’ Zak said.

‘If we’re going to go, we need to go now,’ Raf added. He looked around at the other children. ‘
They
can’t come with us. Latifah, you need to stay here with them. We’ll leave you a weapon and I’ll show you how to use it. If any of those East Side Boys come back, you’ll need to defend yourself. As soon as we get to Banjul, we’ll get word to someone that you’re here. Can you look after these children?’

Latifah nodded.

Raf looked over at Smiler, who was sitting on the ground hugging his knees. He lowered his voice. ‘We should take
him
with us, though. He has the marks on his face and Cruz is expecting him. If we need to get close to Cruz, that could be useful.’

‘Don’t you think he’s gone through enough?’ Zak asked.

‘It doesn’t matter. This thing’s bigger than any of us. We’ll need to throw everything we have at it. We’ll need to take the coffin full of money too. How much did you say was in there, Latifah?’

‘Two million, three hundred and forty-six
thousand, six hundred and twenty-five US dollars.’ Latifah recited the number like it was imprinted on her brain.

‘That’s a lot of dough, even for Cruz. He won’t want to lose it. The money and the kid could be our ticket to get in to see him, wherever he is. But we need to get moving. Gabs, spend fifteen minutes with the kids. Calm them down. I need to show Latifah her way round this AK-47.’ Raf turned to Zak. ‘Speak to Smiler,’ he said. ‘We need him on side.’

‘We’re asking a lot,’ Zak said.

‘Then you’d better be persuasive. Let’s get moving everyone. Time’s running out, and Cruz sure as hell isn’t going to wait for us.’

Zak’s Guardian Angels strode off to attend to their business, so he hurried up to Smiler. ‘You OK, mate?’ he asked.

Smiler nodded, but he didn’t look OK. The wounds on his cheeks were inflamed and sore, but it was the haunted look on his face that gave him such a dejected air. Zak wondered what was going through Smiler’s head. Would he have shot those children if Zak hadn’t stopped him? Had he been on the point of no return?

‘What’s your real name?’ Zak asked. ‘I mean, you’re not really called Smiler, right?’

Smiler shrugged. ‘My name is Kofi. But I prefer Smiler. It’s what my parents called me.’

Zak put one hand on his shoulder. ‘You did a very brave thing back there, Smiler,’ he said. ‘Thank you.’

Smiler didn’t reply, but Zak thought he perhaps looked a little better.

Zak drew a deep breath. ‘We want you to come with us,’ he said. ‘I can’t guarantee you’ll be safe, and we know we can’t force you into it. We can leave you here if you want.’

Smiler glanced down at his shoes.

‘The truth is,’ Zak continued, ‘I was hoping you could help us. Sudiq and Señor Martinez, they’ve got my friend. He didn’t want to be involved in this any more than you do. But sometimes . . .’ He gave a little shrug. ‘Sometimes, you don’t have the choice, right?’

Smiler raised his head and looked straight at him.

‘I’m giving you the choice now, though,’ Zak said quietly. ‘You can stay here where it’s safe – well, saf
er
– or you can help us stop them killing a
lot
of people. It’s up to you.’

There was a moment of silence.

‘Did Sudiq really kill your mother and father, like Señor Martinez said?’ Smiler asked.

Zak nodded.

‘So you have no family, like me?’

Zak thought about that for a second. ‘Oh, I have family all right,’ he said finally. He pointed at Raf and Gabs. ‘They’re right here.’

‘The East Side Boys said they would be my family,’ said Smiler. ‘At first I thought that would be a good thing. But I’ve changed my mind.’ A hint of steel entered his expression. ‘If
you
can choose your family, so can I.’ He paused. ‘If I come with you, might I die?’

Zak hesitated. Then he nodded. ‘It’s a risk we’ll all be taking.’

Smiler looked at the ground. ‘It doesn’t matter anyway. I don’t have much to live for. I’ll do whatever you ask. Sudiq and Señor Martinez are bad men. I see that now. They need to be stopped. What will I have to do?’

‘I don’t know yet. It depends what we find when we get to Banjul. For now, can you show me where the money is?’

Smiler nodded and got to his feet. ‘Follow me.’

He led Zak to one of the iron-roofed huts. The camp looked different in the daylight, and it was only once they’d entered the hut itself that Zak realized this was where Cruz had stuffed him into his own coffin. He banished that memory with a shudder, and focused on another coffin in the
middle of the room.

The lid was leaning against the box. It was carved with a horrific image: a gruesome face with eyes that wept blood. The coffin itself was stuffed with cash: thick wads of hundred-dollar bills. Zak was surprised at how little room just over two and a quarter million dollars took up. He reckoned he could fit it all into a couple of large carrier bags if he wanted to. Or, at a push, into the rucksack he had over his shoulder.

He stared at it. Then he turned to Smiler.

‘Go back to the others,’ he said. ‘Wait for me there. If anyone asks where I am, tell them I’m sealing the coffin, then checking the other East Side Boys have dispersed before we leave.’

Smiler glanced first at the money, then back up at Zak. ‘Is that
really
what you’re doing?’ he asked.

Zak gave him a piercing look. He didn’t reply.

‘Do you know what the picture on the lid means?’ Smiler asked.

Zak shook his head.

‘In the Vodun religion, it means death. Nobody will open that coffin, once it is sealed. People will not talk about Vodun, but they believe it.’ He paused. ‘
I
believe it.’

‘It’s just a picture.’

‘Maybe. Maybe not.’

Zak breathed in deeply. It had suddenly grown a little colder in the hut, and he didn’t like it. ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next few hours, Smiler,’ he said. ‘But whatever comes, you need to trust me. Can you do that?’

Smiler nodded, and Zak felt a quiet pang of guilt. He was pulling the wool over this boy’s eyes, and over the eyes of his Guardian Angels too.

But something told him he was about to make the right call.

At least, he
hoped
he was.

Their farewell to Latifah had been quick and abrupt. It needed to be. Half of Zak felt anxious leaving her in charge of those vulnerable kids. The other half told him that she’d proved herself to be pretty capable so far. Maybe they’d be OK.
Maybe
.

Having trekked through the jungle for two days, it was easy to follow the beaten path that led from the camp through the vegetation to the river. The river bank itself was covered in high mangroves, but there was a small clearing, only about ten metres deep, which formed a mini-shore where two wooden boats were beached.

They were ramshackle, to say the least, but ready to be used. Each had a ten-horsepower outboard motor and a spare jerry can of fuel. They were
wooden, and had once been painted white, but now the paint was mostly peeled off. They looked watertight, though, and each was big enough for eight people – or four people and a coffin, which meant that Zak, Gabs, Raf and Smiler would only need one of them.

‘I never knew two million, three hundred and forty-six thousand, six hundred and twenty-five dollars could weigh so much,’ Raf said sarcastically. They were carrying the coffin awkwardly on their shoulders, like pallbearers at a funeral. Slowly, they lowered it down onto the beach. Gabs examined the two boats, before selecting the one on the left and stealing the second fuel can from its partner. Zak rubbed his painful shoulder. Then, at a nod from Raf, he took one end of the coffin and placed it lengthways inside the boat. He found himself averting his eyes from the picture on the top.

‘Let’s get this boat in the water,’ Raf said. Zak nodded. Together, they pushed the stern of the vessel and the hull slid across the marshy bank and into the still waters of the river. Raf stood, feet immersed, holding the boat. Zak looked back at Smiler. He hadn’t moved, but was staring at the boat itself with obvious anxiety.

‘It’s just a picture, mate,’ Zak said quietly.

Smiler gave him a piercing look. ‘It’s not the
picture that I’m worried about,’ he said. Then he pushed past Zak, jogged down the bank and scampered into the boat where Gabs was already sitting. Zak followed and climbed in after him. Still holding the hull, Raf waded out another couple of metres, then hurled himself into the boat. It rocked ominously, but stayed upright as Raf cranked up the outboard motor, then lowered it gently into the shallow water. The boat sped off from the shore. As the water became deeper, he let the motor sink to its full depth. Within a minute, they were roaring up this broad lazy river with water spraying all around them.

They travelled in silence. Raf was fully focused on steering the boat, Smiler stared nervously at the engraving on the coffin, and Gabs and Zak scanned the river and its banks. They were the only people in sight, and there wasn’t much sign of wildlife either. Now and then a bird rose from the dense mangroves on either side of them. Occasionally, Zak saw something break the surface of the water ahead. A fish, or something else? Zak couldn’t tell, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

After so long in the jungle, it felt strange to be under open skies. Zak couldn’t help feeling weirdly exposed. The mangroves could hide all manner of threats – he couldn’t help imagining images of naked
East Side Boys crouching in the bushes, waiting to attack him – but Zak had to remind himself that they’d have other things on their minds. Moreover, Cruz didn’t
know
he was being pursued.

Cruz
. He found that his lip was curling at the thought of him. There was a time when Zak had thought he could save his former friend. Turn him back into the kid he used to be. But as they sped upriver, he realized he no longer thought that. Cruz was too far gone. His actions had long been those of a mad man. And a
bad
man. It had taken a long time for Zak to accept it. Now he knew they had to do whatever it took to stop him. And to stop Sudiq.

Sudiq
. The expression on Zak’s face grew fiercer. He looked at the AK-47 that Gabs was still carrying. Then he looked at the coffin.

Zak had never killed a man. He’d always done whatever he could to avoid it. But if Sudiq was here, now, what would he do?

He didn’t know.

Molly Middleton was enjoying her holiday, and didn’t want it to be over. She knew that her mum and dad didn’t have much money. She also knew that the cost of the plane tickets to The Gambia had been expensive, and so had the hotel room that she was sharing with them. She knew that it might be a long time before they went on holiday again. So she was determined to make the most of her last day.

After breakfast, the three of them had walked down to the pool. Mum had laid down on a sun bed where she was staring at the screen of her pink mobile phone. Probably playing
Angry Birds
, Molly thought. Dad had got into the water with her and played for a bit. Now he was drying off in the sun,
flicking through his book on bird-watching. Dad was a keen ornithologist. That was one of the reasons they’d come here – so he could spot birds that were rare in other parts of the world. Molly stayed in the water. The pool was very crowded with lots of people splashing around and squealing. That wasn’t Molly’s style. She was happy just to bob around, avoiding the noisy kids, and watching what was going on around her.