Chris Ryan - Survival

Alex sat on, gazing at the helicopters as they settled in a neat row, whipping up a storm of sand with their rotor blades. A line of uniformed men jumped from the belly of one as soon as its runners touched down. They ran at a crouch through the sandstorm and disappeared into the jungle after the pirates. There was movement and noise all around him. Amber, Li and Paulo raced to carry Hex out from behind the signal fire. Beatrice, Emilie and Robert ran to join Philippe and the family stood in a tight huddle, hugging one another as though they would never let go.

Alex blinked, then slowly turned his head back to the helicopters as their whirring blades slowed into silence. He watched as the door on the side of the nearest helicopter swung back. A tall black man stepped from the helicopter, followed by a tiny, blonde-haired woman.

'That's my uncle!' yelled Amber and she went running towards the tall black man. Alex let his gaze follow Amber, then he focused on the tiny woman who was hurrying up the beach towards him. His eyes widened as he recognized Heather, their Watch-leader. He struggled to his feet and stood there, swaying slightly as Heather came to a stop.

'Oh, Alex,' whispered Heather as she stared at the pale, exhausted boy in front of her. He was filthy, his clothes were torn and he was absolutely covered in cuts, bruises, blisters, mosquito bites and friction burns. He staggered and she put out an arm to steady him, but Alex drew himself up and stood unaided. A grin spread across his face as he looked into her eyes.

'A-Watch reporting for duty,' he said proudly. 'All present and correct.'

Twenty-four hours later, Alex, Amber. Li and Paulo walked into Hex's room in one of the most expensive suites of a private hospital in Jakarta. It was the first time they had all been together since the helicopter had set them down on the roof of the hospital the previous night. Hex had been whisked away immediately and the rest of them had spent the night being examined minutely by a whole army of doctors and nurses. They had been hooked up to intravenous drips to replace lost fluids. Blood and urine samples had been taken and tested. Their wounds had been treated and bandaged and they had been injected with a whole list of different drugs against tropical diseases. Finally, they had been allowed to eat a meal and collapse into their beds, where they had all slept for the next fourteen hours.

Now, Amber walked into the middle of the suite and looked around. The place was more like an exclusive hotel than a hospital. The air-conditioning hummed quietly, the floor was thickly carpeted and a scattering of wall lights and table lamps gave off a soft glow.

'Sheesh, Hex!' she said. 'I had to share with Li! How come you get a palace like this all to yourself?'

'He was sicker than you,' replied John Middleton as he emerged from the en-suite bathroom.

'Hello, Uncle.' Amber grinned, lowering herself carefully into the middle of a huge, cream sofa. 'Owww! I have bruises on my bruises.'

Alex moved over to Hex. He was sitting up in a hospital bed with an intravenous drip attached to his arm and a protective wire cage over his injured leg.

'How are you doing?' asked Alex.

'He's a very lucky boy,' said a plump little nurse as she bustled into the room with a tray of glasses and a jug full of iced water. 'We've been pumping fluid and antibiotics into him all night, so he's improved a lot, but it was that first dose which really counted. If you hadn't got those drugs into him back on the island, he wouldn't be here right now.'

The nurse nodded at them all for emphasis, then glanced at her pocket watch and bustled out again.

'I think that means I'll live,' smiled Hex, as the door sighed shut behind the nurse.

'I already told you that,' said Alex.

Li eased down onto the sofa opposite Amber and reached for the water jug. She wasn't really thirsty, but she held the jug between her bandaged hands and filled all five glasses, just to hear the ice cubes clink. 'I can't believe we survived,' she said softly, smiling around the room at the others.

'And if you don't mind,' said John Middleton, sitting down beside Amber, 'I'd like to know how you did it.'

For the next two hours, they talked and John Middleton listened, his face growing more and more incredulous with every passing minute. Hex listened too. There was a lot he had to catch up on.

'You are one incredible bunch of kids,' said Amber's uncle finally when they had reached the end of their story. 'Now, do you have any questions for me?'

'Did anyone hear our SOS?' asked Paulo.

'We did pick up a fragment of an SOS signal,' said Amber's uncle. 'But it was too broken up for us to do anything with it.'

'Still,' said Paulo, settling back with quiet pride and beaming at Hex, 'it worked. Our radio worked.'

'So how did you find us?' asked Alex.

'My housekeeper called me at about four o'clock yesterday afternoon,' replied Amber's uncle. 'Of course, it was early morning in New York. She had been woken by the phone which kept ringing every five minutes. When she listened to the answer-machine, she heard Amber's voice.'

'But I goofed,' said Amber. 'I didn't leave any details.'

'We didn't need them,' said John Middleton. 'We pinpointed the signal coming from the satellite phone aboard the yacht. The Larousse family are fine, by the way. They're in a suite across the corridor there. You can pop in and see them later.'

'So the satellite signal led you to the cove,' said Hex. 'Then what?'

'Of course, when we got there, all we could find were three bodies, lying on the beach. Then we spotted smoke rising from the other side of the island.'

'The signal fire,' said Alex.

'Your signal fire,' agreed Amber's uncle. 'We high-tailed it around the mountain and there you were, attacking armed men with a bunch of bamboo sticks. They caught the pirates, by the way – what was left of them.'

John Middleton smiled at Amber, then reached out and stroked her hair. 'Your mom and dad would have been proud of you,' he said softly.

'Would they?' said Amber quietly, clutching the twist of gold at her neck. 'I don't know what would make them proud. I don't feel as though I know them any more.'

'Ah, yes,' said John Middleton. 'Philippe Larousse told me you might be wanting to know a few things. He told you a bit about the work they were doing, didn't he?'

'Just a bit,' said Amber. 'And now you're going to tell me the rest. Right?'

'That's why they sold the company, Amber. They wanted to start using some of that money to help other people. They wanted to put something back into the world.'

'But aren't there governments to do that? Aren't there charities and human rights organizations?'

'Yes, but sometimes the bigger organizations are helpless. They're all tied down by law and rules and red tape. Your mom and dad, they reckoned they could get past all that.'

'You mean they broke the law?'

'More like slipped past it,' smiled John Middleton. 'As private individuals, they could sneak into places where officials weren't allowed to go. They could take food or medicines in or get video evidence out. You wouldn't believe how much of their covert filming ended up on the international news – and that evidence would force the authorities to take action. Do you see?'

'I guess so,' said Amber.

'I was involved in it too,' said John Middleton. 'But my role was less dangerous. I suppose you could call me their anchor man. Their organizer. I stayed in New York most of the time, but I would arrange visas or money, or make sure they had the equipment they needed.'

'What sort of equipment?' asked Amber.

'All sorts,' said her uncle. 'Covert cameras for undercover work, false identities. Stuff like that.' He sighed. 'I don't do any of that now. They were the heart of it, you see. When they died in that plane crash, that was the end of it for me. It was sabotage, Amber, not an accident like I told you. I'm sorry.'