Stephen Leather - The Hunting

‘Just spit it out, Raj,’ said Sid. ‘Tell us what you want to do.’

‘Whatever we do, we have to be in agreement,’ said Raj. ‘All I’m doing is discussing options.’

‘So tell us the options,’ said Jaffar.

‘Okay, so option one is we continue as we are, going as quickly as we can. Even though we know we won’t be moving quick enough.’

‘And option two?’ asked Erol.

Raj sighed. ‘We fix up a hide for Jaffar and Mo and we leave them here with a gun. We three move on, leaving a trail that he can’t miss. Then one of two things will happen: either the hunter passes close to Jaffar and Mo and they can shoot him, or he passes them by and follows us.’

‘And then what?’ asked Sid.

‘We’ll be moving faster without Mo and Jaffar, so with any luck he won’t catch us.’

‘So then we get to the house, which is presumably chock-a-block with all those fucking Americans we saw.’

‘Yeah, but they won’t be expecting us. Sid, one way or another we’ll be getting to the house. Let’s not go crossing bridges until we get to them. I’m not happy about leaving anyone behind, but with the injuries that Jaffar and Mo have got, we’re going to be moving far too slowly. If we put them in a hide, we can move at a decent pace and come back for them later.’

Sid looked over at Erol. ‘What do you think, bruv?’

‘I dunno,’ said Erol. ‘I don’t like the idea of leaving them behind, but on the other hand they’re sitting fucking ducks anyway.’

‘We’ll leave them with one of the guns,’ said Raj.

Erol nodded. ‘I like the sound of that.’ He looked down at Jaffar. ‘What about you?’

Jaffar waved at his injured leg. ‘Best will in the world, I’m going to be crawling along,’ he said. ‘I’d need help and that means I’d be tying up the two of you. And like Erol says, if he catches up with us, we’re sitting ducks.’ He sighed. ‘I’m not fucking happy but I don’t see we’ve got any choice.’

Raj nodded in agreement. ‘That’s how I feel,’ he said. ‘The odds are better if you two dig in and Sid, Erol and I move on.’

‘You’re sure about this, Jaffar?’ asked Sid. ‘We’re not going to do this unless you and Mo agree.’

Jaffar shrugged. ‘I’m okay if Mo’s okay.’

Sid looked over at Raj. ‘We need to go and ask Mo, but looks like we do it,’ he said. ‘What’s your plan for the hide?’

Raj looked around. There was an area of large ferns to the left and beyond it a row of thick bushes. ‘If we dig a pit over there, you can stay hidden and he’s not likely to come up behind you. If he misses this area completely you’ll be fine, but if he does follow our trail you should get a decent view of him as he goes by.’

‘And you’ll give us a gun?’ asked Jaffar.

Raj wasn’t happy about surrendering one of the weapons, but he didn’t see that he had a choice. There was no way he could leave the two men behind with no way of defending themselves. ‘Sure, yeah.’

‘The Heckler?’ asked Jaffar, nodding at the carbine on Raj’s back.

‘The Glock’s a better bet,’ said Raj. ‘Easier to use from cover.’

‘I’m not giving up my gun,’ said Sid quickly.

‘We can’t leave them unarmed,’ said Raj.

‘They’ll be hidden, you said.’

‘Yeah, but if he passes close by, they could get a shot off and end it right there. If they don’t have a gun, what can they do?’

Sid scowled but didn’t press the point. Jaffar held out his hand and Sid sighed and gave him the Glock. ‘Just don’t shoot yourself,’ Sid said to Jaffar, sourly.

‘Bruv, I know what I’m doing.’ He ejected the clip, checked how many rounds he had, and then slotted it back in place.

Raj pointed at the ferns. ‘Let’s get started on the hide.’ Erol turned towards the ferns but Raj called him back. ‘Best bet is to walk south a bit, then move into the undergrowth and work our way back. I don’t know how good a tracker this guy is but there’s no point in making it easy for him. But let’s make sure Mo is on board.’

Raj, Sid and Erol went over to Mo, who had been watching them as he snacked on the berries and nuts that he had been given. ‘You’re leaving us, aren’t you?’ he said.

‘Bruv, it’s the best …’ began Sid, but Mo held up a hand to silence him. ‘I get it,’ he said. ‘What’s the plan?’

Sid explained what they were going to do while Raj made a new splint and fixed it to Mo’s injured leg.

‘It makes sense,’ said Mo. ‘Just make sure you come back for us.’

‘You can bank on it, bruv,’ said Sid.

Once the splint was in place, Raj took Sid and Erol to the area where he figured they should build the hide, taking care not to leave any tracks. He picked up a fallen branch and used it to mark out a two-metre-by-two-metre square in the soil at the edge of a patch of ferns. ‘Okay, so you need to get some flat stones and use them to dig out a trench, about a foot deep here and two feet at the far end. Dump the soil among the bushes. If the two of you work together, it shouldn’t take too long.’

‘What are you going to be doing?’ asked Erol.

‘I’ll cut the branches to build a canopy over the pit,’ said Raj. As the two men picked up stones and began hacking at the soil, Raj went off in search of a tree with suitable branches. He found a clump of red alders, with whiteish bark and long, straight branches. He used his knife to hack away eight branches, then stripped off any twigs and leaves before carrying them back to where the others had made a good start on the pit.

Raj dropped the branches on the ground, then pushed his way through the ferns until he was a hundred metres or so from the pit. He began gathering large armfuls of ferns. When he had a couple of dozen, he went back to the pit and dropped them next to the branches. He found a flat stone and used it to help the others dig away at the soil.

It took them almost half an hour to get the pit deep enough to hold the two men. Once it was ready, Raj asked Sid to collect some more ferns, to line the pit.

As Sid gathered ferns, Raj had Erol help him construct a simple frame with the branches. He used the knife to cut off his left sleeve below the elbow and then cut it into strips, which he used to tie the branches together. Once he had tied the branches in place, he threaded through ferns to fill in the gaps between them. He was putting the finishing touches to it all when Sid returned with an armful of ferns. Raj and Sid spread them out across the bottom of the pit, then went to fetch Mo. They carried him to the pit, then brought Jaffar.

‘Right guys, if you need to pee or anything, now’s the time to do it, because once you’re in there you’re going to have to stay put,’ said Raj.

‘I’m good,’ said Jaffar. He stepped gingerly into the pit. He knelt down and then lay on his stomach. Raj and Sid helped Mo into the pit and together they lowered the frame over the two men.

Raj went around the edge of the frame kicking dirt and leaves over it, then stood back to admire his handiwork. ‘Looks all right, doesn’t it?’ he asked Sid and Erol.

The two men nodded their approval. ‘It blends in okay, you’d really have to be looking for it to see it,’ said Sid.

‘What about you guys, can you see all right?’ asked Raj.

‘Just about,’ said Jaffar. ‘But I’d be happier with the Heckler.’

‘That’s not going to happen,’ said Raj. ‘Do you think you can get a shot off if he walks by?’

‘Yeah,’ growled Jaffar.

‘Sid, you and Erol go back to where we were and see what it looks like from there. Take the long way round and try not to break any ferns or branches. Softly softly.’

Sid nodded, then he and Erol threaded their way through the ferns. When they reached the trail, Sid flashed Raj a thumbs up. ‘Can’t see a thing, bruv!’ he called.