Jungle Kill Read Free Page B

waters of the Delta.
    Nelson continued outlining the cover story. ‘In view of this it makes sense for Spencer-Tado to hire a bunch of mercenaries as bodyguards to protect their employees. We are that bunch of mercenaries. According to the story that’s been spread all over the Niger Delta, we’re going to be helicoptered in to guard the onshore oil refinery where the threatswere received. As soon as we get there, we’re going to go undercover and watch out for the criminals or rebels who’ve made the threat.
    ‘In fact, the helicopter is going to touch down briefly in the jungle in the eastern area of the Delta, about twenty miles from where Mwanga was last seen, just long enough for us to drop into the jungle. Then the chopper is going to continue its journey to the refinery.
    Meanwhile, the hope is that everyone will assume we’ve been dropped off at the oil refinery and are in hiding, waiting, protecting the oil workers. What we will actually be doing is trekking through the jungle looking for Mwanga and his captors,’ concluded Nelson. ‘Any questions so far?’
    There was a shaking of heads.
    ‘Mitch has been added to the unit because he’s served tours of duty in Nigeria, including the Niger Delta. He knows the terrain and he knows the local languages. So he’s our ace in the hole.’
    Two Moons and Gaz both grinned at Mitch, andgave him the thumbs-up. Tug and Benny showed no emotion. They definitely don’t trust me, thought Mitch.
    ‘OK,’ said Nelson. ‘That’s it. We’ll do the rest of the briefing on the plane on the way to Africa. Pack your kit and let’s move.’

4
     
    In the minibus on the way to the airfield, Mitch found himself sitting next to Benny Jaurez. They sat in silence as the minibus struggled to make its way through the busy London streets. Mitch looked out of the window, wondering when he’d be back again. Or
if
he would be back.
    ‘Hey, Mitch,’ said Benny, the wiry officer. Mitch turned and looked at him. ‘Am I right in guessing you got some sort of problem with me?’
    ‘What do you mean?’ demanded Mitch, puzzled.
    ‘When the colonel introduced you to us I could see you didn’t like me,’ Benny continued, his mouth a grim line.
    ‘That’s not true,’ responded Mitch, annoyed.
    ‘There was definitely something,’ insisted Benny.‘I thought at first maybe you were just anti-American, or anti-Latino. Some sort of racist.’
    Mitch couldn’t help but laugh at this. Him? A racist?
    ‘Yeah, OK.’ Benny nodded. ‘Then I figured if that was the case you wouldn’t want to serve under the colonel. And I saw you talking all friendly with Two Moons so then I think about it, and you were the same with Tug as you were with me. Cold. Distant.’ Benny was snapping the straps on his rucksack aggressively now.
    Mitch shook his head. ‘That’s not true,’ he said again. ‘It was the other way round.’
    Benny shrugged. ‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘But I think you’ve got a thing about officers. You don’t like them. That’s why you were kicked out of the SAS.’
    ‘I wasn’t kicked out, I left,’ said Mitch.
    ‘Whatever.’ Benny shrugged again. ‘The thing is, we’re a small and tight unit. Just the six of us. We depend on each other. Every time we go out, our lives are on the line. We protect each other’sbacks. I don’t want to feel you ain’t protecting mine because I’m an officer.’
    Mitch felt a stirring of anger inside him.
    ‘Listen,
sir
,’ he muttered. ‘I don’t care what rank a man holds. What matters is: do I trust him with my life? In my book, that trust doesn’t come automatically because someone’s got stripes on their sleeve or brass on their shoulder. That trust comes when I know the man. Comprende,
sir
?’
    Benny gave Mitch a hard look. ‘Then we’ll just have to see how it goes,’ he said. ‘But let me tell you, Mitch, right now I don’t trust you as far as I can spit.’
    Mitch nodded. ‘Then it’s good to know where we