Desert Pursuit Part 3

He opened his eyes. Li was standing over him with a bra.s.s bowl suspended above his head. She grinned at him, then tipped the bowl a little further and a shock of water cascaded down on to his face. Paulo sat up with a yell, shaking his head like a dog and sending sprays of water flying from his dark, curly hair. In the other camp beds, Alex and Hex lurched upright with identical yells as Amber doled out the same treatment.

'C'mon sleepy-heads,' she crowed. 'This is your wake-up call. It's time to rock and roll. Meet you at the Monster.'

Paulo, Hex and Alex used what was left of the water in the jug to wash themselves, then pulled on the freshly laundered gandourah and sirwal that had been laid out at the bottom of their camp beds. Finally, they pulled on their boots, automatically giving them a shake first to dislodge any scorpions.

Amber, Li and Khalid were waiting for them in a vehicle compound, next to the landing strip that served the camp. The strip was where the big-bellied aid agency planes landed, bringing bags of flour, sugar and lentils for the camp dwellers. The food supplies were loaded into the dusty old lorries in the compound and then distributed amongst the darias.

Paulo smiled fondly when he saw the huge, battered vehicle that Amber, Li and Khalid were leaning against. This was what Amber had nicknamed the Monster. It was an old, flat-bed Unimog, with a six-seater, double-crew cab. Paulo had spotted it in the compound when Alpha Force had first flown in on one of the aid agency planes and he had instantly fallen in love with it. Alpha Force were planning a few days of camping and dune driving after they had completed their mission and Paulo had decided that the Unimog was just what they needed for their trip. He had pestered John Middleton until he had agreed to hire it for them.

'There she is,' crooned Paulo, hurrying over to the Unimog. 'Isn't she a beauty?'

'If you say so,' said Li, rolling her eyes.

'The ideal desert vehicle,' continued Paulo. 'Look at the ground clearance we will not get bogged down in soft sand in this. And we can drive over rocks with no worries about cracking the sump.'

'Yeah, right. Sump-cracking. That was number one on my worries list,' said Amber.

'Mine too!' continued Paulo, completely missing the sarcasm. 'And she has been converted to diesel, so she is lighter on fuel. Coil-sprung suspension,' he added, patting one of the Unimog's huge wheels. 'Eight gears, tough transmission. She is the ultimate all-terrain vehicle.'

'Paulo,' sighed Hex, 'we're here to load the thing, not to have s.e.x with it.'

'And if we're planning to leave at dawn, we need to get a move on,' added Alex.

'Sorry,' grinned Paulo. 'Let us load.'

Three hours later they had just about finished. Two quads were in place and secure on the Unimog's flat bed, their tents and camping equipment were stored on the rack above the cab and jerry cans of fuel were stacked in the s.p.a.ce behind it. The sides of the flat bed were hung with sand ladders, shovels and ten goatskin girbas, each full of water. The girbas were shaped like fat bananas, and they were hung by the cord that tied the two ends closed. This was the traditional way of carrying water in the desert. Water evaporated through the goatskin, acting as a cooling device to stop the water inside heating up.

'Is it going to cope with this load?' asked Hex, eyeing the battered Unimog doubtfully.

'Of course she will,' insisted Paulo. 'Let me tell you about her engine-'

'No, please,' begged Li, clapping her hands over her ears. 'I can't take any more!'

Paulo folded his arms and grinned at her, then his grin faded as he spotted an open-topped jeep speeding towards them across the compound. The front-seat pa.s.senger in the jeep was Amber's uncle, and his expression was grim.

'What? What's wrong?' demanded Amber, as the jeep pulled up.

'Bad news,' said John Middleton. 'We've been monitoring all the news channels and, well...'

'Well what?'

'n.o.body's picked up on the footage.'

'n.o.body?' asked Hex, after a shocked silence.

'Not one lousy news agency,' sighed John Middleton. 'I guess the guys here at the camp are right when they say they're a forgotten crisis. The rest of the world doesn't want to know.'

'They are moving,' called the jeep driver, pointing over to the transport plane that was taxiing across to the far end of the landing strip.

'Gotta go,' said John Middleton, heading back to the jeep. 'That's the last plane out tonight, and I'm hitching a lift.'

'Where are you going?'

'To kick a few media a.s.ses. I have my contacts and I've told the guys here that I'll do my best to get that footage shown.'

'What shall we do?' asked Amber.

'You go have your break. You deserve it.'

'But shouldn't we stay in the camp? Show our support?'

'I think we've enjoyed their hospitality for long enough,' said Alex.

The others nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. Sahawari hospitality was legendary, even in the refugee camp where everything was in short supply. Someone always kept the water jugs in their tents topped up, while the rest of the camp operated a system of rationing. There was no natural water supply there a steady stream of tankers had to ferry water in to keep the cisterns full. Food was in short supply too. The aid agencies could only supply the basics and the Sahawaris supplemented this by keeping little herds of sheep, goats and camels on the edges of the camp. They had even managed the small miracle of creating vegetable gardens in the middle of the desert. These extras helped, but there was still not enough food to go round and Alpha Force had become increasingly uncomfortable with having plates full of vegetables and meat presented to them at every meal.

'Alex is right,' agreed John Middleton. 'It's time to leave. You go and enjoy your dune driving. I want you to listen to Khalid, though. He knows the safe areas and the places to avoid. Right, Khalid?'

Khalid nodded solemnly. He was acting as their guide on the trip and he took the responsibility very seriously. Parts of Algeria were very dangerous to foreigners. Some routes were plagued by bandits and there were fundamentalist groups operating in the north of the country that would not think twice about killing a group of westerners.

'Is safe, where we go,' said Khalid. 'I promise.'

'Good lad,' smiled John Middleton. He kissed Amber goodbye and nodded to the rest of them. 'Keep in touch,' he said, pointing to the pouch where Hex kept his palmtop.

He gave a thumbs-up sign and climbed into the jeep. 'Oh, I nearly forgot,' he said, rummaging through his briefcase and pulling out a slim black box. 'Since I'm not going to be around for a few days, you need to hand this tracker unit over to Philippe before you set off on your trip. That way he can find you if anything goes wrong. You are all wearing your trackers, aren't you?'

'Yes, Uncle,' sighed Amber, reaching up and stuffing the tracker device into the door pocket of the Unimog.

'Let me see.'

Wordlessly, Alex, Paulo and Hex lifted their s.h.i.+rts and pointed to their belt buckles, while Amber and Li hooked out the lockets they were wearing around their necks. The buckles and the lockets all carried concealed tracker devices within them.

'And you have your insulin? Your blood-sugar testing kit?' continued John Middleton, looking at Amber.

'Uncle! I may be a diabetic, but I'm all growed up. You don't need to keep checking up on me!'

John Middleton merely raised his eyebrows and waited.

'It's all in here,' sighed Amber, pointing to the pouch at her belt. 'Wanna make sure my hands are clean, too?' she added sweetly.

'OK,' grinned John Middleton. 'I'll get out of your hair.'

'Let's go see what's happening in the square,' said Amber, once they had waved the plane off. 'You coming, Khalid?'

Khalid hesitated. 'No, I stay here,' he said, gesturing to the loaded Unimog. 'I sleep here. Under. I guard.'

'It'll be safe here, Khalid,' said Alex.

Khalid shrugged. 'I stay.'

'You're just scared we might leave you behind,' teased Li and Khalid gave her a broad smile.

'Do you think he'll be OK out here on his own?' asked Amber as Alpha Force headed away towards the centre of the daria.

'He won't be on his own,' said Hex as a tiny girl with a gap-toothed smile scurried into the compound and headed straight for Khalid. 'He'll have the munchkin for company.'

The others laughed and gave Khalid a casual wave before heading off into the camp. If they had known what was going to happen in the deserted compound that night, they would not have left his side.

EIGHT.

'There's no sign of life,' said Alex as they strolled back to the compound at dawn the next morning. 'I would've thought he'd be up and raring to go by now.'

'Khalid slept in!' crowed Amber. 'All that garbage about "I rise with the sun, always," and he's still snoring under the truck. What a fraud! Come on, you guys, let's sneak up on him.'

'He might not be there,' said Paulo. 'Maybe he has gone to get some breakfast.'

'No.' Li shook her head. 'He wouldn't risk leaving the Unimog even for a minute in case we left without him.'

'That's true,' said Hex. 'He wouldn't.' He came to a halt and frowned at the dark bulk of the Unimog. 'Something's wrong,' he said flatly.

The others stopped too and looked at one another uneasily. When Hex had a bad feeling about a situation, he was usually proved right and they had heard enough tales about bandits and fundamentalist groups to put them instantly on their guard. A loud, metallic crash made them all jump. It was coming from the far side of the Unimog.

'Split up,' whispered Alex, and Alpha Force melted away into the early dawn light. Paulo and Li dodged to the right, behind a stack of pallets, while Amber, Hex and Alex headed left, using a line of lorries for cover. The metallic crash came again and they all instinctively ducked to the ground. Seconds later they were up again, slipping between the rows of vehicles like shadows.

Minutes later, Alex, Amber and Hex flattened themselves against the side of a truck that was parallel with the Unimog. Alex eased round the back of the truck until he had the Unimog in view. It was facing them head on, about ten metres away across the stony, hard-packed ground. The far side of the Unimog was in view, but it was deserted. So what had been making the metallic crash? As he watched, a gust of desert wind bl.u.s.tered across the compound and one of the Unimog's cab doors swung open, slamming against the side of the vehicle. The wind died and the door slowly swung back until it was nearly, but not quite, closed.

Alex felt his heart sink. Khalid would never leave the door slamming against the side of the Unimog like that. Hex was right: there was something wrong. He went into a crouch and peered under the vehicle. He could see no sign of a body lying underneath, but the ground below the vehicle was still full of shadows. Alex eased back up and tried to scan the inside of the cab but the windscreen reflected the low sun back into his eyes. There was only one thing for it. He was going to have to get closer.

Alex waited until he could see that Paulo and Li were in position behind the last truck in the row opposite. He motioned them to stay there, then turned to Amber and Hex. 'I'm going in,' he whispered. 'Hex, watch my back. OK?'

Hex nodded, his green eyes steady and determined, and Alex immediately felt better. Hex might not have much to say on the subject of friends.h.i.+p, but Alex knew he would never abandon a mate.

Alex turned to Amber. 'You're our back-up, Amber. If things turn bad, I want you to get out of here and bring some help.'

'Get help. You got it,' whispered Amber, looking into his eyes with an equal mixture of fear and determination.

Alex nodded to them both, then he took a deep breath and raced across the open ground towards the Unimog at a crouching run. As he reached the swinging cab door, he rolled past it to make himself less of a target, then came to his feet again and flattened himself against the big front wheel of the vehicle. Nothing moved inside the cab, so he reached up and nudged open the door with his hand. Still nothing. Alex clenched his jaw, then made himself turn and look up, expecting to come face to face with the barrel of a Kalashnikov. The cab was empty.

Alex sagged against the wheel with relief and something shot out from under the Unimog and grabbed him around the ankle.

Hex heard Alex yell, then saw him fall. He launched himself forward at the same time as Li broke cover from the opposite direction, closely followed by Paulo. Amber wanted to follow but made herself hang back, ready to go for extra help if it was needed. The other three reached Alex together and Li automatically went into a fighting stance, balanced on the b.a.l.l.s of her feet, while Hex lunged under the truck to free Alex's leg. He grabbed hold of something, yanked hard and a scared little gap-toothed girl slid out from under the Unimog with her hand still gripping Alex's ankle.

'That's the one who's always with Khalid,' said Li, once they had recovered.

'She was here last night,' called Amber, hurrying over. 'She arrived just as we were leaving, remember?'

'Yeah, I remember. The munchkin,' said Hex.

Paulo crouched down and checked that there was no-one else under the Unimog, then he turned to look at the little girl. Her face was smeared with dust and tears and her eyes were wide with fear. 'h.e.l.lo,' he said with a gentle smile. 'Are you hurt?'

The little girl choked back a sob and stared at him uncomprehendingly.

'She doesn't speak English,' said Amber.

Paulo tried again. 'Can you tell us, where is Khalid?'

At the mention of Khalid, the little girl grabbed on to Paulo's s.h.i.+rt cuff and launched into a torrent of words in her own language. Now it was Paulo's turn not to understand. He shrugged helplessly and looked up at Amber, the language expert of the group.

'I'll try her with French,' said Amber, squatting down beside Paulo. French was the second language of Algeria a legacy of the time when the country was a colony of France.

Amber began to talk slowly and clearly in French and the little girl's face brightened with understanding. She began to answer Amber's questions, speaking so fast that she was almost gabbling.

'She says she and Khalid were sleeping beside the Unimog, when the men came in the night,' translated Amber. 'The men were driving past, heading north, but they stopped when they saw her and Khalid. Khalid told her to hide under the Unimog.'

'What sort of men?' asked Alex. 'Bandits?'

Amber turned back to the little girl and the others waited impatiently.

'No, not bandits. She says... it sounds like she's saying "the child stealers",' said Amber.

The little girl began talking again and Amber listened and translated at the same time.

'They had a Unimog, like this one, but the cab was smaller and the back was covered like an army truck. There were bench seats down the sides and these seats were full of children.'

'But why did they take Khalid?' asked Li.

'She says when the leader found out Khalid had no family, he took him away. Khalid went without a struggle because he did not want the man to find her too.'

'This leader, can she tell us anything about him?' asked Hex.

Amber asked the question and the little girl gave a two-word answer they all understood: 'Le scorpion 'Le scorpion.'

'The scorpion? What does she mean?'

The girl bent down and drew a picture in the dust with her finger. The drawing was crude, but there was no mistaking the curving tail with the stinger on the end. The little girl pointed to the sand drawing, then to her arm.

'A tattoo?' asked Hex. 'He had a tattoo of a scorpion?'

The little girl nodded hard. 'Tattoo,' she repeated.

'I think he must be a trafficker. A child slaver,' said Li. 'My parents came across something like this on their last West African expedition. The traffickers take children from the poorer African countries, smuggle them north and sell them. Sometimes they give the parents money, and sometimes they just kidnap the children off the street. Some end up in the carpet industry in Morocco. Others end up as domestic servants in the Arab countries or Europe. Even worse, they're sold into the s.e.x trade.'

'Ask her how long ago,' said Alex, examining the tyre tracks on the packed-earth track that ran alongside the landing strip.