Bodyguard: Ambush (Book 3) (38 page)

The dishevelled group of sister, brother,
bodyguard and Batwa girl trekked slowly across the blisteringly hot savannah, keeping a
clear distance from Dead Man’s Hill as they negotiated their roundabout route to
the lodge. Unnerved by the sheer brutality and savage swiftness of the leopard attack,
their eyes constantly darted from bush to tree to scrub, alert for the slightest sign of
danger.

‘I think it’s poetic
justice,’ Amber declared as they passed safely through a thicket. ‘The
hunter killed by the hunted.’

Connor was inclined to agree. He held his
father’s knife close, having no intention to fall prey to the next predator they
encountered – whether that be lion, hippo, hyena, snake or rebel soldier. ‘The
Wolf deserved what was coming, that’s for sure,’ he said. ‘But we must
remember, he did help us in our time of need.’

‘I suppose so,’ said Amber
reluctantly. ‘Of course, he then tried to kill us.’

‘Seems like everything in this country
is trying to kill us!’ remarked Henri with a weary laugh.

He limped ahead of
Connor, the welts from his beating still causing him serious discomfort. Although Henri
didn’t complain, the sight of his suffering stirred up a tight knot of anger in
Connor’s belly. The cruelty inflicted by Blaze on a defenceless boy deserved
retribution. And Connor hoped that the rebel had got his come-uppance at the hands of
the government troops.

He wondered if the battle was over by now,
with General Pascal either captured or dead. At the time the fighting had been too
chaotic to see who had the upper hand, but the government soldiers had secured the
advantage of surprise and it seemed highly unlikely the rebels would survive the
attack.

Zuzu suddenly signed with the flat of her
hand to get down. The four of them crouched behind a bush as an open-topped jeep crested
the rise ahead. The vehicle drove hard and fast in their direction.

‘Should we run?’ suggested
Henri, his voice tight with fear.

Connor shook his head. ‘They’ll
see us if we do.’

The guttural roar of the diesel engine drew
closer. Connor peered through a gap in the bush as the 4×4 skidded to a halt a
stone’s throw away from where they were hiding.

The driver stood up in his seat and scanned
the terrain with his binoculars. ‘Damn it!’ he swore.

‘It’s
Gunner
,’
hissed Amber in shocked delight.

Connor put a hand on her shoulder,
preventing her from rising. She frowned in confusion. Connor shook his head and put a
finger to his lips. After all they’d been through, he was wary of anyone they
encountered in
the park – especially an
unexplained survivor of the ambush.

‘Connor! Amber!’ shouted the
ranger, his tone urgent.

When no one appeared, Gunner shook his head
in frustration and put the jeep into gear. At the very last second, Connor decided that
answering the ranger was worth the risk. They were tired, hungry and hurting, and far
from the lodge. They couldn’t afford to miss a genuine chance of rescue. As Gunner
was about to drive off, he stepped out from behind the bush and called to him.

Gunner’s craggy face broke into a
relieved smile. ‘Connor! Thank God you’re alive. I’ve been looking for
you everywhere. Where’s Amber and Henri?’

‘How did you escape the ambush?’
Connor questioned, his knife behind his back.

‘By the skin of my teeth,’
Gunner replied, grinning. ‘I hid in an aardvark burrow. But it was a close call.
Are Amber and Henri with you?’

Connor ignored the question and asked his
own. ‘Why did you and Buju stop the safari convoy?’

Gunner’s eyes narrowed at the surprise
line of questioning. ‘Buju spotted a landmine. We were trying to establish if it
was from the war or recently laid when the attack happened. Now tell me, are the Barbier
children alive or not? Their parents are sick with worry.’

Amber stood up with Henri in astonished
disbelief. ‘They’re
alive
?’

‘Yes!’ Gunner replied, hurriedly
clambering out of the
jeep to greet them,
his glee turning to a mild look of surprise as Zuzu also emerged from behind the
bush.

‘But we saw their Land Rover crash and
burn,’ said Connor, still cautious.

‘I did too. So, while the rebels were
slaughtering the presidential guard, I left my burrow and pulled them free.’
Gunner stared gravely at Amber and Henri, the siblings clasping hands. ‘I’ll
be honest; your parents weren’t in a good state. But they could just about walk.
It took us all night and most of the next day to reach the nearest medical centre. The
good news is they’re recovering fast. But their major concern was for you two. So
I promised on my life to find you. And here you are!’

Turning to Connor, Gunner half-raised his
hands in surrender and smiled. ‘Now, Connor, are you going to put that knife of
yours away or not? I’ve no wish to get stabbed trying to rescue you.’

After a moment’s deliberation, Connor
decided to give Gunner the benefit of the doubt, at least for now. He produced his
father’s knife from behind his back and sheathed it.

‘I don’t blame you for not
trusting me,’ said Gunner, patting Connor on the shoulder. ‘Given the
situation I don’t trust anyone either. That’s why I admitted the Barbiers to
the medical centre under a false name. Now let’s get back to the lodge. Your
friend too. This park is swarming with soldiers and we don’t want her mistaken for
a rebel.’

Amber explained the danger to Zuzu and,
after some
uncertainty on her part, Amber
managed to convince her to climb into the jeep with them. The ranger gunned the engine
and they shot off at high speed.

‘Time is of the essence,’ said
Gunner as he drove straight over some bushes. ‘I’ve a plane on standby to
take us to the capital. There you’ll be reunited with your parents.’

Gunner drove up to the safari lodge’s
rarely used rear entrance, unlocked the gate, closed it behind them, then parked beside
one of the guest suites.

‘Why all the secrecy?’ asked
Connor as the ranger checked the grounds were clear for them to proceed. ‘Surely
the Burundian army is in control of the lodge?’

Gunner responded with a sceptical raise of
an eyebrow. ‘Don’t take anything for granted, Connor, especially in Africa.
The Black Mamba has defeated forces five times his rebel group’s size in the past.
Besides no one knows where you are or even that you’re alive. I want to keep it
that way until you’re safely back with your respective parents. Now grab your
essentials only: passport, travel documents, a change of clothes, and leave the
rest.’

They moved from room to room, quickly
gathering their most important belongings – except Amber, who stuffed a bag full of her
best clothes and jewellery for Zuzu, fulfilling her promise. ‘I don’t
suppose we’ve time for a quick shower?’ she asked, tugging at her dirty
matted hair.

Gunner shook his
head regretfully. ‘Sorry, can’t risk it. That’ll have to wait until
later.’

Next they entered the lodge’s kitchen
through the staff entrance. Some dislodged pans, a crumpled white hat and a pool of
dried blood were the only remaining evidence of the chef’s presence.
Connor’s alert level shot up and he looked uneasily at the ranger.

‘As I said, you can’t take
anything for granted,’ whispered Gunner as he raided the pantry. Then, peering
through a small window in the kitchen’s service door, he led them into the
lounge.

The lavish room was deserted but appeared to
have been the scene of some riotous celebration. The mirror behind the bar had been
shattered. A spray of bullet holes peppered the main wall, several of the rounds having
gone through the tribal shield, knocking the display askew. Connor also noticed the
zebra-skin rug on the parquet floor was stained red – whether from blood or red wine it
was impossible to tell, but there was an ominous dark trail leading from the bar out
into the reception area.

‘Do you think there’s anyone
still here?’ asked Amber nervously.

‘By the looks of it, we’ve
missed the party,’ replied Gunner, plundering the bar for bottles of Coke and
fresh water.

But Connor couldn’t shake the feeling
that they’d been led into a trap, one just waiting to be sprung. ‘So
where’s the army?’

Gunner shrugged. ‘Killing rebels in
the park, I suppose. Now you all look like you need refuelling, and I don’t want
you dropping dead on me before we reach
our final destination,’ he said, popping the tops of the drinks and handing them
out. ‘Wait here while I call in the plane.’

The ranger disappeared into the
lodge’s back office.

As the four of them glugged on sugary Coke
and greedily tucked into the chocolate bars, bananas and the other snacks Gunner had
gathered, Connor strode over to the bay windows overlooking the veranda and the plain
beyond. Despite his fatigue, it was clear they weren’t out of the danger zone yet
and he needed to maintain a Code Orange level of alertness. Peering through the glass,
he surveyed the lodge’s grounds, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of
approaching rebels. There was no movement in the bush. In fact it looked almost too
still. Then he spotted the body of a government soldier lying by the electric fence,
half-obscured in the grass. ‘Amber, we need to g–’

‘My word, it’s a miracle!’
exclaimed a voice in accented English.

Connor spun to see the bulging figure of
Minister Feruzi standing in the doorway.

‘I’d heard you’d escaped
the ambush,’ said the Minister for Trade and Tourism, smiling profusely and
waddling over to the bar like a hippo heading for its watering-hole. ‘But I would
never have believed it until I saw you with my own eyes.’

‘Did you know one of your soldiers is
lying dead out there?’ said Connor, pointing to the electric fence at the
lodge’s boundary.

‘Oh yes! Minister Rawasa has returned
to the capital
and I’ve been left here
to pick up the pieces,’ he replied with a what-can-you-do shrug. ‘But, joy
of joys, we have good news at last! You’re all safe and sound.’

His gaze fell upon Zuzu standing with them
at the bar, his nose turning up slightly at her presence. ‘And who’s
this?’

‘Our guide,’ replied Amber with
enthusiasm. ‘She’s been a lifeline to us.’

‘I’m sure she has. Burundians
are a most hospitable people,’ said the minister assuredly. ‘But now
it’s
my
responsibility to look after you.’

He wrapped his chubby arms round their
shoulders, Amber looking distinctly uncomfortable and Henri wincing beneath the
man’s sweaty touch. Only now did the minister notice the red welts covering
Henri’s body and he let go. ‘Oh, my poor boy, what have they done to
you?’

The ranger strode back in.
‘Plane’s on its way. Let’s make a –’ He stopped and stared at
the minister.

‘Gunner?’ exclaimed Minister
Feruzi, staring back in equal amazement. ‘My God, another risen from the ashes!
Are there any more of you?’

With a solemn stern shake of his head, the
ranger replied, ‘I found Buju, or what was left of him.’

‘That’s tragic to hear,’
said the minister. ‘But have you any news of Laurent or Cerise? We’ve reason
to believe they may have escaped the ambush too.’

‘I wouldn’t know,’ replied
Gunner as he beckoned Connor and the others to join him. ‘Time to go,
kids.’

‘What’s the rush, Gunner?’
Minister Feruzi demanded,
his pudgy eyes
narrowing in suspicion. ‘This lodge is now secure.’

‘Are you sure about that,
Minister?’ questioned the ranger with a sharp jerk of his head at Connor, Amber,
Henri and Zuzu, urging them to hurry.

‘Children, you
mustn’t
go with him,’ insisted Minister Feruzi. ‘This man’s a prime suspect in
the ambush.’

Connor and the others froze halfway between
the two men.
So he had been right to be suspicious of the ranger?

‘Don’t believe him,’ said
Gunner. ‘He’s the one behind all this.
He
dictated the viewpoint
and the route for the sunset safari, even though there’s a far better place closer
to the lodge.’

Minister Feruzi laughed. ‘That’s
ridiculous! Think about it, children: who stopped the convoy in the middle of that
riverbed?’

‘That’s only because Buju
spotted a mine!’ argued Gunner. ‘Otherwise we’d have all been blown to
pieces. Connor, why do you think Minister Feruzi was so far back in the convoy? His
vehicle escaped unharmed because he
knew
the ambush was going to
happen.’

Caught between the ranger and the minister,
Connor wondered who to believe. One of them was lying. Amber and the others looked to
him to make the decision.

‘We have to go
now
!’
insisted Gunner, his eyes darting from the door to the veranda.

‘Given the situation I don’t
trust anyone,’ said Connor, repeating the ranger’s words back at him.

For Connor, Gunner’s story of his
escape had always
seemed too good to be
true. He also thought it unlikely that a government minister would be in league with a
rebel military group. He made a move towards Minister Feruzi, the man opening his arms
to receive them. Then Connor remembered the dead body of the soldier by the wire. The
minister had said the lodge was secure, but how could that be if the guards were
dead?