Алистер Маклин - Time of the Assassins

Tambese returned inside.

Sabrina paused at the door and looked round at Graham. ‘Are you coming in?’

Graham nodded then followed her inside, closing the door behind him.

Thomas Massenga, who was crouched behind a tree two hundred yards away from the house, waited until Graham had closed the door before getting to his feet. He propped the AK-47 against the trunk and wiped the back of his hand across his sweating forehead. He had arrived in Kondese minutes before the government forces launched their attack to recapture the city. There was nothing he could do against such odds. He and his driver Gubene had abandoned the car and gone on foot to a safe house in the city.

Although the gunfire had been minimal it had quickly become obvious from the activity in and around the surrounding streets that the city had fallen to government troops. Then the jets had come, sleek, fast and deadly. He had watched from a second-floor window as they destroyed Branco within a matter of minutes. Then the tanks had rolled into the compound to crush the last of the brave resistance.

It had left him stunned. He had tried to call up the garrison on a radio in the loft. Silence. He could only assume that it, too, had fallen. Then came word that Ngune was dead, executed in the street by a young army lieutenant. And that automatically put Massenga in charge. But in charge of what? He had neither the men nor the hardware to mount a counterattack, which meant he only had one option open to him: revenge. And as the head of the government forces, Tambese would be his first victim.

They had commandeered an army jeep and found out from its two occupants, an officer and his driver, that Tambese was questioning Remy Mobuto at the city hospital. After killing the soldiers, they had changed into their uniforms and driven over to the hospital only to discover that Tambese had left minutes earlier. He had told the duty sister that he would be at the Okoye farm in case she needed to contact him.

They went to the farm, parking a hundred yards away from the main driveway. Massenga had left Gubene in the jeep and approached the farm on foot. He had been challenged by two soldiers in the grounds but had despatched them both with a hunting knife when they had made the mistake of coming to attention to salute him. He had reached the tree moments before Graham and Sabrina appeared on the porch. Then Tambese had joined them. He didn’t have a clear shot at Tambese and although he could have sprayed the porch with gunfire there was no guarantee he would have killed him. And Tambese had to die…

He picked up the AK-47 and moved cautiously towards the house, ever vigilant for any other soldiers who may be patrolling the grounds. He ducked down behind the jeep and gripped the side as he slowly raised his head to get a better look at the position of the steps in relation to the single window that looked out onto the porch. He immediately felt something sticky on his fingers. He peered into the jeep but when he eased back the corner of the tarpaulin he found himself looking into Ngune’s wide, sightless eyes. He dropped the tarpaulin as if it had stung him then sunk to his haunches and clasped his hands over his face.

It took him a few seconds to regain his composure.

He took several deep breaths then moved out from behind the jeep and ran, doubled over, to the steps and silently crossed the porch to the window. He pressed himself against the wall and peered cautiously through the lace curtain into the room. Okoye and Moredi were sitting on the sofa, Laidlaw and Graham in the armchairs opposite and Sabrina and Tambese were standing in front of the mantelpiece. And none of them were armed. He would have a clear shot at Tambese. But to hell with that. He could take them all out with one magazine. And he still had two spare clips in his pocket in case he encountered any resistance on the way back to the jeep.

He kept close to the wall as he covered the few feet from the window to the door then, tightening his grip on the AK-47, he reached out for the handle. He took a deep breath then, pushing down the handle, thrust open the door and swivelled round to fire into the room. Tambese knocked Sabrina to the ground a split-second before a row of bullets peppered the wall above them.

It was sheer instinct that made Laidlaw grab the Uzi from beside his chair and as he dived low onto the carpet he raked the doorway with a fusillade of bullets. Massenga was hit several times in the chest and he fired wildly into the air as he stumbled back against the railing. He could feel the blood bubbling in his throat and a trickle seeped from his mouth and ran down his chin. He grimaced in agony as the pain tore through his body. He knew he was dying, but he was still determined to take as many of them with him as possible. He moved unsteadily towards the door and was raising the AK-47 when Laidlaw fired again.

The bullets ripped into Massenga’s body and the AK-47 spun from his hand as he crashed through the railing and landed heavily on the ground in front of the porch. Laidlaw ran down the steps and checked for a pulse. There was none. Only then did he look down at the Uzi in his hand. It was almost as if he were awakening from a dream. He looked up slowly at the others who had congregated on the porch and his eyes finally settled on Graham’s face.

‘I can’t believe I did it,’ Laidlaw said, shaking his head slowly to himself.

Graham smiled. ‘You did it, buddy. There’s the proof.’

Four soldiers, alerted by the gunfire, appeared from behind the house, M16s at the ready. Tambese told them to check the area for any other rebels. They divided into pairs and hurried away.

‘We owe you our lives, Mr Laidlaw,’ Moredi said, breaking the silence. ‘Thank you.’

‘Any time,’ Laidlaw replied, giving Graham a knowing smile. ‘Who was he anyway?’

‘Massenga, Ngune’s right-hand man,’ Tambese replied then pointed to the door. ‘We’d better go back inside until the area’s been declared safe.’

Graham and Sabrina went upstairs to get their holdalls and when they returned they found Tambese talking to a man by the door. Tambese introduced him as the pilot.

‘He doesn’t speak any English,’ he added with an apologetic smile.

‘Who cares, as long as he can fly us to Habane,’ Graham replied.

Tambese translated Graham’s words and the pilot gave him a thumbs-up sign. A jeep turned into the courtyard and pulled up in front of the porch. A sergeant climbed out and hurried up the steps. Tambese returned his salute and indicated that he should enter the room. They spoke briefly then the sergeant saluted again before returning to the jeep. The driver did a U-turn and drove off.

‘The area’s been secured,’ Tambese said, turning to Graham and Sabrina. ‘The bodies of two of our soldiers were found in the grounds. Massenga must have killed them when he approached the house. His driver’s been arrested. He was still waiting for Massenga in an army jeep about five hundred yards from here.’

‘So we can leave?’ Graham asked.

Tambese nodded then asked Okoye to take the pilot to the Cessna on the runway. Moredi took up the offer of a walk and left the room with the two men.

‘I’ve got to get back to the city,’ Tambese said. ‘There’s a press conference scheduled for later this morning. I need to consult with my officers before I say anything. I’ll put out that story about Ngune’s still being alive. You just make sure you get to Jamel before Bernard does. If Jamel were to die now, it could throw the country back into turmoil. Mike, I know how much you want Bernard–’

‘The President’s safety comes first,’ Graham cut in, putting a reassuring hand on Tambese’s arm. ‘You have my word on that.’

‘Thank you.’ Tambese shook hands with both of them then left the house.