can’t have weighed more than thirty kilos. Sami climbed in the drivers side and started the engine. A burst of automatic fire ripped off as we reversed onto the road. I fired back at nothing in particular. The roof timbers of the house collapsed, crashing through the first floor and sending clouds of dust out of every window.
The tyres screeched as Sami accelerated off down the road. The Nissan had a lot of grunt and the giant wheels gave a much smoother ride than the pickup. I leaned over the centre console and switched on the air conditioning. ‘This is a much better car,’ I said. Sami practically bit my head off. ‘Do you think this is good, you idiot?’ ‘We’re alive, that’s all I know.’ ‘For now, Killer. But everyone within twenty kilometres will have heard that blast. We could have army
coming towards us from all directions.’ ‘Oh,’ I said. Sami grimaced, ‘That’s all you’ve got to say? And we’ve lost the pick-up.’ ‘It was a piece of crap; and we lost the guns in the back, but there’s hundreds of guns in the store room
at camp.’ ‘Captain’s messages from Casino’s group.’ Sami said. ‘What about them?’ ‘Were they that important?’ I asked ‘You can ask Captain yourself, right before he gets Don to whip your arse.’ As soon as she mentioned Don, I started to get nervous. ‘It was intelligence,’ Sami said. ‘Details of who’s raiding what and where. Information about other parts
of the war and what supplies are coming through. And on top of all that, there’s Grandma in the back there.’ ‘What are we gonna do with her?’ I asked. ‘What we should do is chuck her out of the car and let the leopards eat her. But my conscience isn’t up
to it. Do you want to do it?’ ‘No,’ I said. ‘Besides, she might know more about what happened to my brother.’ ‘She might,’ Sami said. ‘But Captain isn’t exactly going to welcome her with open arms.’ ‘Can’t you sweet talk him? He is your Dad.’ ‘That counts for something,’ Sami said. ‘But it’s not gonna get us off the hook.’
. . .
Kids usually exaggerate: I’m in so much trouble, my Dad is gonna kill me , so I thought Sami was probably laying it on a bit. Was she hell.
As soon as he found out what happened, Captain made us sit in his office in the darkness. The sun had only just gone down. It felt like there was no air and the heat was unbearable. He made us sit dead still, with our backs straight, ankles crossed and our palms flat on the table in front of us. Don sat behind, breathing right in my ear. Captain placed a gas lamp on his desk. As he spoke, he heated a metal teaspoon over the flame. ‘The explosion must have been very loud,’ Captain said. ‘Are you sure nobody tracked you back here?’ ‘I drove really fast,’ Sami said. Captain pressed the hot spoon against the back of Sami’s hand. She gritted her teeth as her skin sizzled. ‘Daddy, please, let me explain.’ ‘Don’t you dare call me Daddy. When you take command of a mission, all our lives depend on you. When you make a mistake, I cannot allow my affection to get in the way. You must be treated the same as all the others or I will lose their respect. Do you understand?’ ‘Yes Captain.’ Sami sobbed. Captain looked at me, ‘You said the pickup was burned and that there was no way my documents
could survive.’ ‘Yes,’ I said. Captain moved the hot spoon over my hand, so I could feel the heat. I was shaking so bad I couldn’t
breathe. ‘Is there a chance that the papers were removed before the car was detonated?’ ‘I don’t think so.’ Captain pressed the spoon against my hand. I could have moved my hand away, but I’d have got
something even worse if I had. ‘Answer my question accurately. Could you see the pickup from the moment the soldiers arrived until
the vehicle exploded?’ I shook my head, ‘No.’ ‘So my documents could have fallen into enemy hands?’ ‘Yes, I suppose’ Captain
The tyres screeched as Sami accelerated off down the road. The Nissan had a lot of grunt and the giant wheels gave a much smoother ride than the pickup. I leaned over the centre console and switched on the air conditioning. ‘This is a much better car,’ I said. Sami practically bit my head off. ‘Do you think this is good, you idiot?’ ‘We’re alive, that’s all I know.’ ‘For now, Killer. But everyone within twenty kilometres will have heard that blast. We could have army
coming towards us from all directions.’ ‘Oh,’ I said. Sami grimaced, ‘That’s all you’ve got to say? And we’ve lost the pick-up.’ ‘It was a piece of crap; and we lost the guns in the back, but there’s hundreds of guns in the store room
at camp.’ ‘Captain’s messages from Casino’s group.’ Sami said. ‘What about them?’ ‘Were they that important?’ I asked ‘You can ask Captain yourself, right before he gets Don to whip your arse.’ As soon as she mentioned Don, I started to get nervous. ‘It was intelligence,’ Sami said. ‘Details of who’s raiding what and where. Information about other parts
of the war and what supplies are coming through. And on top of all that, there’s Grandma in the back there.’ ‘What are we gonna do with her?’ I asked. ‘What we should do is chuck her out of the car and let the leopards eat her. But my conscience isn’t up
to it. Do you want to do it?’ ‘No,’ I said. ‘Besides, she might know more about what happened to my brother.’ ‘She might,’ Sami said. ‘But Captain isn’t exactly going to welcome her with open arms.’ ‘Can’t you sweet talk him? He is your Dad.’ ‘That counts for something,’ Sami said. ‘But it’s not gonna get us off the hook.’
. . .
Kids usually exaggerate: I’m in so much trouble, my Dad is gonna kill me , so I thought Sami was probably laying it on a bit. Was she hell.
As soon as he found out what happened, Captain made us sit in his office in the darkness. The sun had only just gone down. It felt like there was no air and the heat was unbearable. He made us sit dead still, with our backs straight, ankles crossed and our palms flat on the table in front of us. Don sat behind, breathing right in my ear. Captain placed a gas lamp on his desk. As he spoke, he heated a metal teaspoon over the flame. ‘The explosion must have been very loud,’ Captain said. ‘Are you sure nobody tracked you back here?’ ‘I drove really fast,’ Sami said. Captain pressed the hot spoon against the back of Sami’s hand. She gritted her teeth as her skin sizzled. ‘Daddy, please, let me explain.’ ‘Don’t you dare call me Daddy. When you take command of a mission, all our lives depend on you. When you make a mistake, I cannot allow my affection to get in the way. You must be treated the same as all the others or I will lose their respect. Do you understand?’ ‘Yes Captain.’ Sami sobbed. Captain looked at me, ‘You said the pickup was burned and that there was no way my documents
could survive.’ ‘Yes,’ I said. Captain moved the hot spoon over my hand, so I could feel the heat. I was shaking so bad I couldn’t
breathe. ‘Is there a chance that the papers were removed before the car was detonated?’ ‘I don’t think so.’ Captain pressed the spoon against my hand. I could have moved my hand away, but I’d have got
something even worse if I had. ‘Answer my question accurately. Could you see the pickup from the moment the soldiers arrived until
the vehicle exploded?’ I shook my head, ‘No.’ ‘So my documents could have fallen into enemy hands?’ ‘Yes, I suppose’ Captain
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