WAR: Intrusion (20 page)

At that moment, Helen joined them. “Before we leave, I’m going to check your wounds,” she told Tony. Without giving him time to answer, she marched into the clinic.

Tony gave Lachlan a look of amusement. “Have you been giving the doctor lessons on being a hard-assed leader?”

“No. I think it comes naturally to surgeons.” It was another aspect he found sexy about her, but he shoved his interest away, knowing good and well nothing could come from it. No matter that a part of him wished things could be different. Wished they could manage a single conversation where one of them didn’t end up hurt or angry.

Lachlan motioned toward the interior of the clinic and told Tony, “Go on, then.”

While Helen cleaned and re-bandaged Tony’s wounds, Lachlan checked in with Kris. Another storm was brewing, but Kris reported that Marcus believed he could beat it. He expected to land at the airfield at fifteen hundred hours.

Lachlan ended the short call, then refreshed the basic supplies in his rucksack. By then, Helen had finished and was ready to go.

“I’m driving,” Lachlan said, holding out his hand for the keys.

“Why? Don’t you trust a female driver? Or is it that you still don’t trust me?”

Before Lachlan could figure out a way to respond that wouldn’t further annoy her, Tony jumped in. “The Commander didn’t mean any personal affront, Dr. Kirk. We’re trained in defensive driving, so we prefer to be in control rather than trust a civilian without similar training. Besides,” Tony gave Lachlan a sidelong glance as he added with a wink, “the Scotsman here gets cranky if he’s not the one behind the wheel.”

“How is that different from his normal attitude?” Helen muttered under her breath.

Tony snorted in amusement and Lachlan elbowed him in the side.

“All right,” Helen conceded. She handed Lachlan the keys. “You can drive.”

“Thank you, lass.”

The doctor’s attitude toward him might have thawed slightly, but she kept her silence as they drove. Several times Lachlan almost prompted her to share the thoughts that had her frowning at the rapidly drying road. But given their history, it was safer if he just didn’t speak.

A few minutes after they turned onto the paved road that would take them to the regional capital, Helen broke her silence. “What’s that?” She pointed to their left, toward the far end of the narrow flood plain that bisected the jungle.

Lachlan easily identified the rapidly approaching black dot. “Helicopter.”

“I thought you said your team wasn’t picking us up until this afternoon.”

As the helicopter drew closer, Lachlan saw that it was a Soviet Mil Mi-17 with rocket pods. “That’s not ours. See how the symbol on the nose and tail have been X’d out and replaced with a black and yellow insignia? The rebels have stolen a government gunship.” He pressed the accelerator, but he knew they’d never make it to the protective covering of the jungle before the helicopter arrived.

The helicopter raced toward them. Bullets chewed up the road beside the SUV and shattered the back passenger window.

Helen screamed and ducked.

The helo roared over their heads and disappeared.

“Lachlan,” Helen said. “They’re heading for the village!”

Lachlan cursed and spun the SUV in a one-eighty, then sped back the direction they’d come. Depending on the type of missiles the rebels carried, and if there was additional armament inside the helicopter, there might not be anything left of the clinic or the villages by the time he and Helen returned. He tossed her his sat phone. “Hit speed dial three. That will ring Tony. And put the phone on speaker.”

Once his teammate was on the line, Lachlan explained about the approaching helicopter.

“Do I have time to notify the villagers?” Tony asked.

“No. The ETA is perhaps five minutes.” Lachlan glanced at Helen. “Dr. Kirk, is there an emergency alarm system for warning the villages?”

“I’m afraid not. There’s only a bell that rings at my bungalow if a patient shows up at the clinic in the middle of the night with a medical emergency. But here’s David’s cell phone number. I don’t have signal right now, but maybe you’ll have better luck.” She read Tony the numbers.

Lachlan pushed the SUV as fast as it would go. This was the first time the rebels had moved their fight into the skies. It gave them tactical capabilities no one had expected.

“Mr. Jacobs, there’s a safe room under the clinic where you can hide,” Helen offered.

“Ah, yes, I know, doctor,” Tony said. “We found the room the other day.”

Helen sputtered and glared at Lachlan. Ignoring her outrage, he told Tony, “Call David then get yourself to safety, mate. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Right,” Tony answered before ending the call.

“Since your phone is on satellite, let me see if I can get through to David,” Helen said. “The cellular reception has always been spotty out here and I still don’t have signal.” She punched in some numbers and stared anxiously out the windscreen. “No answer.”

Lachlan nodded. “Maybe the villagers will evacuate in time. It’s possible Rebel Tracker Radio discovered the theft of the helicopter and has sent out a warning.” The underground radio station had an extensive network of informants. Any citizen could phone, text, or email a warning of rebel activity to the station’s alert team. Despite the substantial reward offered by the rebels for information on RTR, the people involved remained so well camouflaged that even WAR wasn’t entirely certain of their identities.

“I hope so,” Helen replied. “But as far as I know, RTR doesn’t broadcast in this country yet.”

“Doesn’t matter. If they learn of a threat, they’ll find a way to get the word out. I’ve witnessed both television and radio broadcasts being hijacked by RTR alerts.”

“Okay. Good.”

Whether or not anyone in the village had their television or radio turned on was another issue.

“Can’t you go any faster?” Helen asked.

“My foot has the accelerator pressed to the floor, doctor,” Lachlan answered. He checked the speedometer and petrol gauge and cursed. “Our fuel tank must have been hit. We’ve lost nearly all of our—”

The engine sputtered and died. Lachlan steered the vehicle over to the side of the road.

Lachlan opened his door and walked to the rear of the vehicle. “Aye, I was right. Bullets punctured the petrol tank. Grab your gear. We’ll have to walk.” He pulled his rucksack from the back seat.

“Wait,” he said when Helen picked up her medical bag. “Put it in my pack. It’s far too awkward for you to carry through the jungle.”

With a grateful nod, she passed him the bulky medical bag. It barely fit, but he managed to pull the drawstring closed.

Helen had taken advantage of having her hands free by snapping photos of the broken window and the bullet holes. “In case anyone questions what happened.”

He nodded in approval and he shrugged into his rucksack.

“No… Lachlan, your back,” she protested.

The pressure of the pack against his shrapnel wounds was tolerable. “I’ll live.” He slid their water bottles into the exterior pockets of his rucksack, then gave the interior of the vehicle one last check. “Ready?”

She nodded.

“All right.” As he walked down the road toward the intersection with the village road, he heard a muffled explosion off to his left.

“What was that?”

“Most likely the helicopter fired one of its missiles.”

“Oh, God, we have to hurry. People might be hurt.” She broke into a jog.

Lachlan caught her arm and pulled her down to a brisk walk. “Easy, doctor. I understand your urgency, but you’re not used to trekking over the land. You’re going to tire yourself out before we even reach the intersection. Then what good will you be to the villagers?”

Her anguished eyes met his. Poor lass, she’d been through so much tragedy these past few days. He wished he could reassure her that things would get better, but he doubted the helicopter was the only prong of today’s attack. “Is there a walking path through the jungle that we might use to cut our travel time?”

“Yes.” She pursed her lips as she studied the place where the flood plain gave way to jungle. “I’m not good at estimating distances, but there is a trail somewhere between here and the intersection. The villagers use the path when they’re moving goats to market so the animals’ hooves don’t create deep indentations on the dirt road. Given the recent storms, it might be rough going.” She shrugged. “So I don’t know if it will save us that much time.”

“We’ll decide when we spot it.” He paused as the sound of another explosion rolled over the jungle.

Helen pulled out her mobile phone. “Still no signal.”

He passed her his phone. A moment later, she shook her head. “I’m getting one of those prerecorded messages from the phone carrier.” She slapped the phone against her thigh in frustration.

“Don’t anticipate trouble, doctor. Focus on our immediate task. We can’t help anyone until we arrive safely.”

She nodded, but the tension didn’t leave her body.

Fifteen minutes later, they heard the sound of lorries approaching from the direction of the regional capital. Helen spun around, hope in her eyes. “Maybe we can catch a ride. It might even be the police.”

Lachlan herded her across the road and into the jungle on the side away from the village.

“What are you doing? We need to flag them down.” She struggled against his hold.

“And what if it’s a group of rebels moving in to finish wiping out the village?” He nudged her to sit down on a fallen tree. With the thick foliage from the surrounding bushes, she’d be hidden from sight from the road. “Stay here and remain silent while I check it out.” He slipped out of his rucksack, lowered himself to his hands and knees, then crawled forward.

A convoy of lorries painted black with the yellow insignia of the rebels rolled down the road. The men wore armbands identifying them as belonging to two separate factions of the rebellion, both of which were known for their scorched-earth policies. As the convoy passed by, Lachlan counted half a dozen RPG launchers, four mounted machine guns, and three dozen soldiers.

Once they’d passed, he returned to the SUV. “Call Tony back. Tell him a convoy of heavily armed rebel lorries is headed his way. Then try David again.”

A minute later, Helen shook her head. “No answer on either line. I expect Jacobs is already underground, but I’m really worried about the villagers.”

“Aye.” He hoped Tony had gotten through to David, because the villagers stood no chance of surviving an attack by such a heavily armed force.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE
VILLAGE WAS on fire. Helen could smell the smoke even before the jungle to either side of the goat track thinned enough to show the cloud rising above the trees. Worse, the sound of gunfire and the occasional aggressive shout indicated that the rebels were still there

Worry for the villagers ate at Helen. If, as Lachlan had suggested, last night they’d been celebrating the news that the explosives weren’t live, then many of the villagers would be hungover today. Not moving quickly or thinking clearly. And with Jacobs in the underground room out of reach of the satellite signal, she had no way of knowing if he’d managed to get a warning through.

“Isn’t there anything you can do?” she asked Lachlan. “After all, you’re trained in this sort of thing.”

“What would you have me do, doctor? Sneak up and start shooting the rebels? I thought you didn’t approve of violence.”

“I don’t. But… Those are my friends they’re attacking. There must be some way to stop them.”

“Sorry.” Lachlan shook his head. “I only brought the one pistol. Our mission was to find the stolen weapons, not take on a platoon of rebels. Even if I’d brought Tony’s assault rifle and killed several rebels, that would only direct the attention of their teammates to us.”

Helen hated being helpless again. Yet she didn’t know the first thing about military tactics. If Lachlan said there was nothing to be done, she had to assume he was right. Still, she hurried forward as fast as she could while navigating the water-filled divots left on the trail by the frequent passage of goats.

Lachlan had called his boss during their trek. The helicopter that had been scheduled to pick them up was now on standby, unable to land unless they could guarantee the security of the airfield. His boss had also relayed the information that the government’s other aircraft had been damaged during an attack on the regional capital. Until the government managed to mobilize troops from the other regions of the country, no one would be riding to the villagers’ rescue.

Which left her and Lachlan. A Scotsman who appeared more at ease in the jungle than she was.

She sighed and trudged on. They’d been sticking to the grassy edges of this wide path where possible, but hadn’t completely been able to avoid the mud. Helen’s legs ached from the effort to pick up her feet. She was drenched in sweat from the humidity and from the increased temperature as the sun rose higher in the sky. Insects buzzed around her face despite the insect repellent she’d reapplied twice already. She’d even spotted a few green mambas slithering out of their way, although she’d lost the ability to be afraid of a mere reptile.

She followed Lachlan around another wide puddle, wishing the water were pure enough to drink. She’d been rationing her water since they struck out on foot, but ignoring the gnawing thirst was becoming more difficult.

It’s not far now.

Holding tight to that thought, she swiped sweat off her forehead with her bandana. A few minutes later, she spotted the back of her bungalow ahead and to their right. Anticipating the simple joy of drinking her fill of water, then pouring it over her head, she picked up her pace. Only to slam to a stop at the edge of the jungle.

Smoke poured out of the shattered windows of her bungalow. Bullet holes dotted the walls.

There go my life possessions.

At least we’re alive.

“I’m sorry, lass.” Lachlan put a hand on her shoulder.

Helen let herself enjoy the comfort of his touch a moment, then shook herself out of her stupor. “We have to check on the clinic.” She started to move out, but Lachlan stopped her.