Time of the Assassins (17 page)

'Are we going with Mr Laidlaw's plan then?' Tambese asked after a lengthy silence.
'It's worth a try,' Graham replied. 'But we can't go in there blind. We'll have to check it out first.'
'Agreed,' Laidlaw replied then looked at Tambese again. 'Can you get a copy of the plans of the sewers for the area around the prison?'
'Not without arousing suspicion,' Tambese answered. 'I only managed to get a plan of Branco because I remembered there was one at our headquarters in Habane. Plans for the sewers will be kept at the city hall, and that's closed.'
'We need the plans,' Laidlaw said, looking at each face in turn. 'We can't do anything without them.'
'Which only leaves one option,' Graham concluded. 'Break into the city hall and get them.'
'We'd never get past the roadblocks,' Sabrina said.
'Added to which there's a curfew in the city from six at night to six in the morning,' Moredi told them.
'That only leaves us with one alternative. We'll have to bring in the resistance movement. I'll call Matthew Okoye. Excuse me,' Tambese said then got to his feet and walked to the door.
'Surely you can contact the resistance movement without involving Okoye?' Graham called out after him.
'Not really. He's their leader,' Tambese replied then left the room.
Simon Nhlapo scrambled behind the wheel of the ambulance and started the engine as his partner, Joe Vuli, jumped into the passenger seat beside him. He switched on the siren then sped down the driveway and swung the ambulance out into the deserted street. He had been a paramedic for eighteen years at the Kondese National Hospital. Well, that was its new name. It had been the Margaret Mobuto Hospital, named after Alphonse Mobuto's wife who had died four years after it was opened in i9yz. But Jamel Mobuto had ordered the name to be changed within days of his father's death - just as the Alphonse Mobuto Hospital became the Habane National Hospital.
Nhlapo wasn't a political man but, like many of the Swahilis in and around Kondese, he saw a future for Zimbala under Jamel Mobuto. That's why he couldn't understand why the government had let Ngune and his butchers take control of Kondese. He remembered well the days when Kondese was alive with activity at
night. Now the streets were deserted, save for the patrolling gangs of Ngune's vigilantes who toured the city centre in search of anyone foolish enough to violate the curfew. Punishment was immediate execution. Even the police force had been disbanded by Massenga and now the only vehicles seen on the road after the curfew were those belonging to the besiegers, and they had to have special passes affixed to their windscreens - and, of course, the ambulances.
There had been an initial fear at the hospital that Ngune would install his own puppet doctors but he had assured the administrator that he had no intention of interfering with the running of the hospital, as long as the staff abided by his rules. Many did, out of fear; but others, like Vuli and himself, had joined the resistance movement as soon as the Security Police overran Kondese. It was the first time he had ever been involved in an underground movement. But he felt the time had come to make a stand against the brutality of Ngune and his Security Police. If Ngune seized power the country would again be in the hands of a corrupt dictator. Nothing would have changed. He had to be stopped. But Nhlapo also knew the penalty if he was ever caught as a resistance fighter. That had been spelled out clearly at their first rally. He would be taken to Branco where they would torture then execute him. Dozens had already died at the hands of Ngune's men since they returned to Kondese. It was as if they had never left. The rumours that the army were preparing to move in to liberate the city had been rife for the last three weeks. But so far, nothing. And the people of Kondese were becoming desperate...
He trod on the brake pedal as they reached the first of the numerous roadblocks that lined the city streets. It consisted of a sheet of rolled barbed wire that lay the width of the road. Four men stood beside it, all in jeans and T-shirts, and all armed with kalashnikov assault rifles. One of the men approached the driver's side of the ambulance, the kalashnikov clenched tightly in his right hand.
'Where are you going?' he demanded.
'There's been an accident on the M3,' Nhlapo replied. 'A car went off the road.'
The man nodded, having already received word of the call-out by the controller at the hospital. The ambulance was searched for any weapons or contraband that the crew may be trying to smuggle past the roadblock but nothing was found.
Satisfied, the man returned to the driver's window. 'You'll be given a free passage through to the last roadblock on the outskirts of the city.'
'I know the drill by now,' Nhlapo retorted tersely.
The man nodded to his colleagues and the barricade was pulled back until there was just enough room for the ambulance to get through. Nhlapo engaged the gears and sped off. They passed another four roadblocks, each time being waved through by an armed guard. They were stopped, as expected, at the last one on the edge of the city. Again the ambulance was searched before being allowed to continue.
Nhlapo drove the short distance to join the M3- It was eerie and deserted. The resistance movement had shot out most of the lights to give them the cover they had needed to launch a series of lightning strikes on
rebel patrols in the area. The gutted remains of rebel vehicles on the side of the road were testament to the success of the mission. Over thirty rebels had been killed in the ambushes before Ngune pulled his men back to within the confines of the city. He had immediately reinforced the roadblocks on the edge of the city with both men and weapons to repel any attempt by the resistance movement to retake Kondese, but a succession of arrests and summary executions in the last fortnight had left the resistance movement disjointed and demoralized. They couldn't launch an offensive on Kondese without the backing of the government forces. And they seemed determined to wait for Ngune to make the first move...
Vuli pointed to a figure in the distance who was frantically waving a white handkerchief to attract their attention. Nhlapo switched off the siren as he neared the man then pulled over onto the side of the road, bringing the ambulance to a halt a few feet in front of him.
'Did you call the hospital?' Nhlapo asked after he had jumped out of the ambulance.
'Yes,' Tambese replied, pocketing the handkerchief.
'This is such a treacherous stretch of road,' Nhlapo said.
'Especially at night,' Tambese added.
'Or in the rain,' Vuli said, completing the password they had agreed with Okoye when he had called them earlier at the hospital. They didn't know Tambese's name and he didn't know theirs. It was a precaution in case any of them were arrested by the Security Police. That way the damage would be minimal.
'What's the plan?' Nhlapo asked.
'You get us past the roadblocks. That's all you need to know.'
'How many are you?'
'Three,' Tambese replied then put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.
Laidlaw was the first to appear. He was carrying a doctor's black bag which Okoye's wife had lent him. She had a surgery in the city. Vuli gasped in shock when Graham and Sabrina emerged from the undergrowth behind him. Okoye's wife had spent over an hour making them up to look as though they had been involved in a car crash. Their faces and clothes were splattered with sheep's blood and both had discoloured 'bruises' on their faces which she had carefully shaded with an eyebrow pencil.
'It's make-up,' Tambese reassured Vuli and Nhlapo.
'It's very realistic,' said Vuli.
'That's the general idea,' Tambese told him. 'We have to get them through the roadblocks.'
Graham crossed to where Laidlaw was standing. 'You know what to do?'
Laidlaw bit back his anger and nodded. Take the car back to the farmhouse and wait for your call. I still say I could be of some use - '
'No!' Graham cut in quickly. 'We've been through this before, Russ. I need someone I can trust at the farmhouse to call New York in case something should go wrong.'
'Moredi's there,' Laidlaw shot back.
'He doesn't know Sabrina and I work for
UN A CO. You do. If you haven't heard from us by daybreak, call the number I gave you.'
'And speak to a guy called C.W. Yeah, I know.'
'Ready, Mr Graham?' Tambese asked.
Graham nodded.
Laidlaw handed the doctor's bag to Tambese then looked back at Graham. 'You watch yourself, you hear?'
'Yeah,' Graham muttered then walked over to the ambulance.
'What about this?' Sabrina asked, indicating the holdall she was carrying. It contained the three Berettas, three silenced Uzis, the spare ammunition clips and the holsters that Tambese had drawn from the barracks in Habane. Okoye had made the necessary arrangements to have the sniper rifle, silencer and blowtorch left for them near the city hall by a member of the resistance movement.
Graham looked at Tambese. 'Well, where do we put it?'
'We can't put it in the ambulance like that,' Tambese replied. 'They'd be sure to see it.'
'What do you suggest?' Sabrina asked.
Tambese clambered into the back of the ambulance. 'Pass me the holdall.'
Sabrina handed it to him. He unzipped it and tipped the contents out onto one of the stretcher beds. Then, pulling back the top sheets on both stretcher beds, he carefully laid the weapons, holsters and clips down the centre of the two mattresses before remaking the beds again.
'So we'll be lying on them?' Graham said.
Tambese nodded.
'It's the first place they'll look,' Graham shot back.
'Had you been locals, yes,' Tambese replied. 'But you're foreigners. And you're posing as journalists. Those things can make a lot of difference right now.'
Graham scrambled into the back of the ambulance and sat on one of the beds. 'Why should they make a difference?'
'Because I'll tell the rebels that you were attacked by government troops outside Kondese. They're sure to see the potential of a major publicity coup if they were to get you the best possible medical care. And that would mean giving the ambulance a free passage to the hospital. It would be too good an opportunity for them to miss.'
'And if they don't fall for it?' Graham asked.
'Then we're in trouble,' Tambese replied, reaching out a hand to help Sabrina into the back of the ambulance. He told Vuli in Swahili to leave all the talking to him. He also told him to knock on the glass partition when they neared the first of the roadblocks. Vuli nodded then closed the back doors and climbed back into the cab.
Nhlapo started up the engine then wiped a drop of sweat from his face. 'God help us if they find those guns.'
Vuli glanced at Nhlapo and shook his head slowly. 'Not even He could help us then.'
Nhlapo swallowed nervously and did a U-turn before heading back towards Kondese.
Vuli rapped loudly on the glass partition when the roadblock came into view. Nhlapo instinctively touched the brake pedal when one of the rebels stepped out into the road to wave down the ambulance. Vuli patted Nhlapo's arm reassuringly then reached for the clipboard on the dashboard. It contained details of the 'accident' which Vuli had copied down, almost word for word, from the summary Tambese had compiled before leaving the farmhouse. Ngune had insisted that the ambulance service make a report of any incident that took them beyond the roadblocks on the edge of the city. That was considered no-man's land by the rebels. It was certainly a major victory for the resistance movement. And it was only the beginning, Vuli told himself...
The ambulance stopped a few feet in front of the convoluted tangle of barbed wire spread across the road. A battle-scarred M4i Walker Bulldog tank stood in the shadows beside a looted corner shop. A man wearing a faded Adidas T-shirt sat on the turret, a kalashnikov rifle beside him. Vuli also noticed the front portion of a Ferret armoured car which was partially hidden up a sidestreet. He knew from a former soldier who was now with the resistance movement that both vehicles were obsolete, and there was a feeling that the M4is dotted about the city didn't have the necessary parts to be used in conflict. They were merely a bluff. But they were all well guarded and all attempts by the resistance movement to capture one had ended in failure.
The man who had flagged down the ambulance rapped on the passenger window, disturbing Vuli's thoughts. Vuli opened the window.
'Out, both of you,' the man ordered.
Vuli and Nhlapo climbed out and another rebel immediately set about checking for any weapons that may have been picked up when the ambulance was out of their jurisidiction.
'Report!' The man clicked his fingers and held out his hand towards Vuli. 'Give it to me.'
Vuli handed the clipboard to the man.
'Americans?' the man said, looking up at Vuli.
Vuli nodded. 'Journalists.'
'Open the back,' the man ordered.
Nhlapo walked round to the back of the ambulance and opened the doors. He had to check his surprise. Graham had an oxygen mask over his face and Sabrina, who lay with head lolled to one side, had a drip attached to her arm with a strip of plaster.
The man looked from Graham to Sabrina then met Tambese's cold stare. 'Who are you?'
'Dr Moka,' Tambese retorted. 'I live close to where their car left the road. I was the first on the scene.'
'They are Americans?'
'Journalists. Both from New York.'
'Are their injuries serious?'
Tambese nodded grimly. 'They were shot at by a government patrol. One of the bullets struck the woman. She was driving. She told me that much before she lost consciousness. It seems as if he struck his head on the windscreen when the car hit the tree. He's badly concussed. They both need urgent medical attention at the hospital.'
'After we have searched the ambulance,' came the
ziy
sharp reply as if the man felt his authority was being undermined in front of his colleagues.
'The woman is haemorrhaging,' Tambese snapped and indicated the bag of blood connected to the drip. 'She could die if she doesn't undergo surgery within the next hour. And if she does you can be sure I'll hold you personally responsible. Your Colonel Ngune would be crucified by the international press. I doubt he'd thank you for it, do you?'
A look of fear had spread across the man's face at the mention of Ngune. He looked at Sabrina then spoke in a whispered tone to his colleagues who were congregated around the back of the ambulance.
'What's the problem?' Tambese thundered. 'I need to get this woman to the hospital now!'
The man's eyes flickered around the inside of the ambulance then he snatched the clipboard from Vuli's hand and signed the accident report. Tambese sighed deeply. That was the clearance they needed.