The Last Survivor (A Wilde/Chase Short Story) by Andy McDermott Page A
Authors: Andy McDermott
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ammunition.’
‘That is good. That is very good!’ Kerim beamed at the CIA agent, then translated for the other Ma’dan.
‘I guess they’re happy,’ said Arnold on seeing the enthusiastic response.
‘Guess so,’ Rosemont replied. ‘Okay, Kerim, we need your intel on Saddam’s local troops before—’
A cry of alarm made everyone whirl. The Marsh Arabs whipped up their rifles, scattering into the patches of dried-up reeds. ‘What’s going on?’ Cross demanded, raising his own gun.
‘Down, down!’ Kerim called. ‘The light, turn it off!’
Rosemont snapped off the torch and ducked. ‘What is it?’
‘Listen!’ He pointed across the lake. ‘A helicopter!’
The CIA operatives fell silent. Over the faint sigh of the wind, a new sound became audible: a deep percussive rumble. The chop of heavy-duty rotor blades.
Growing louder.
‘Dammit, it’s a Hind!’ said Arnold, recognising the distinctive thrum of a Soviet-made Mil Mi-24 gunship. ‘What the hell’s it doing here? We’re in the no-fly zone – why haven’t our guys shot it down?’
‘We first saw it two days ago,’ said Kerim. ‘It flies low, very low.’
‘So it gets lost in the ground clutter,’ said Arnold. ‘Clever.’
‘More like lucky,’ Cross corrected. ‘Our AWACS should still pick it up.’
‘We’ve got some new intel, then,’ Rosemont said with a wry smile. ‘They need to point their radar in this direction.’
Arnold tried to locate the approaching gunship. ‘Speaking of direction, is it comin’ in ours?’
‘Can’t tell. Get the NVGs from the truck … Shit!’ A horrible realisation hit Rosemont. ‘The truck, we’ve got to move it! If they see it—’
‘On it!’ cried Arnold, sprinting for the Toyota. ‘I’ll hide it in the ruins.’
‘They might still see its tracks,’ warned Cross.
‘We’ll have to chance it,’ Rosemont told him. ‘Kerim! Get your men into cover over there.’ He pointed towards the remains of the building.
The Ma’dan leader did not take well to being given orders. ‘No! We will not go into that place!’
‘Superstition might get you killed.’
‘The helicopter will not see us if we hide in the reeds,’ Kerim insisted.
‘Let them stay,’ said Cross dismissively. ‘We need to move.’
‘Agreed,’ said Rosemont, putting the LAW back into its case. The Toyota’s engine started, then sand kicked from its tyres as Arnold swung it towards the ruins. ‘Come on.’
Gear jolting on their equipment webbing, they ran after the 4×4, leaving the Marsh Arabs behind. It took almost half a minute over the uneven ground to reach cover, the outer edge of the ruins marked by the jagged base of a pillar sticking up from the sands like a broken tooth. By now, Arnold had stopped the Toyota beside the main structure, its wheels in the water. He jumped out. ‘Where’s the chopper?’
Rosemont looked over a wall. He couldn’t see the helicopter itself, but caught the flash of its navigation lights. A reflection told him that it was less than thirty feet above the water. A couple of seconds later, the lights flared again, revealing that while the Hind wasn’t heading straight at them, it would make landfall a couple of hundred metres beyond Kerim’s position.
‘If it’s got its nav lights on, they don’t know we’re here,’ said Cross. ‘They’d have gone dark if they were on an attack run.’
‘Yeah, but they gotta be using night vision to fly that low without a spotlight,’ Arnold warned. ‘They might still see us.’
The helicopter neared the shore, the roar of its engines getting louder. Tension rose amongst the three men. The Hind was travelling in a straight line; if it suddenly slowed or altered course, they would know they had been spotted.
The gunship’s thunder reached a crescendo …
And passed. It crossed the shore and continued across the barren plain, a gritty whirlwind rising in its wake.
Arnold blew out a relieved whistle. ‘God damn.
‘That is good. That is very good!’ Kerim beamed at the CIA agent, then translated for the other Ma’dan.
‘I guess they’re happy,’ said Arnold on seeing the enthusiastic response.
‘Guess so,’ Rosemont replied. ‘Okay, Kerim, we need your intel on Saddam’s local troops before—’
A cry of alarm made everyone whirl. The Marsh Arabs whipped up their rifles, scattering into the patches of dried-up reeds. ‘What’s going on?’ Cross demanded, raising his own gun.
‘Down, down!’ Kerim called. ‘The light, turn it off!’
Rosemont snapped off the torch and ducked. ‘What is it?’
‘Listen!’ He pointed across the lake. ‘A helicopter!’
The CIA operatives fell silent. Over the faint sigh of the wind, a new sound became audible: a deep percussive rumble. The chop of heavy-duty rotor blades.
Growing louder.
‘Dammit, it’s a Hind!’ said Arnold, recognising the distinctive thrum of a Soviet-made Mil Mi-24 gunship. ‘What the hell’s it doing here? We’re in the no-fly zone – why haven’t our guys shot it down?’
‘We first saw it two days ago,’ said Kerim. ‘It flies low, very low.’
‘So it gets lost in the ground clutter,’ said Arnold. ‘Clever.’
‘More like lucky,’ Cross corrected. ‘Our AWACS should still pick it up.’
‘We’ve got some new intel, then,’ Rosemont said with a wry smile. ‘They need to point their radar in this direction.’
Arnold tried to locate the approaching gunship. ‘Speaking of direction, is it comin’ in ours?’
‘Can’t tell. Get the NVGs from the truck … Shit!’ A horrible realisation hit Rosemont. ‘The truck, we’ve got to move it! If they see it—’
‘On it!’ cried Arnold, sprinting for the Toyota. ‘I’ll hide it in the ruins.’
‘They might still see its tracks,’ warned Cross.
‘We’ll have to chance it,’ Rosemont told him. ‘Kerim! Get your men into cover over there.’ He pointed towards the remains of the building.
The Ma’dan leader did not take well to being given orders. ‘No! We will not go into that place!’
‘Superstition might get you killed.’
‘The helicopter will not see us if we hide in the reeds,’ Kerim insisted.
‘Let them stay,’ said Cross dismissively. ‘We need to move.’
‘Agreed,’ said Rosemont, putting the LAW back into its case. The Toyota’s engine started, then sand kicked from its tyres as Arnold swung it towards the ruins. ‘Come on.’
Gear jolting on their equipment webbing, they ran after the 4×4, leaving the Marsh Arabs behind. It took almost half a minute over the uneven ground to reach cover, the outer edge of the ruins marked by the jagged base of a pillar sticking up from the sands like a broken tooth. By now, Arnold had stopped the Toyota beside the main structure, its wheels in the water. He jumped out. ‘Where’s the chopper?’
Rosemont looked over a wall. He couldn’t see the helicopter itself, but caught the flash of its navigation lights. A reflection told him that it was less than thirty feet above the water. A couple of seconds later, the lights flared again, revealing that while the Hind wasn’t heading straight at them, it would make landfall a couple of hundred metres beyond Kerim’s position.
‘If it’s got its nav lights on, they don’t know we’re here,’ said Cross. ‘They’d have gone dark if they were on an attack run.’
‘Yeah, but they gotta be using night vision to fly that low without a spotlight,’ Arnold warned. ‘They might still see us.’
The helicopter neared the shore, the roar of its engines getting louder. Tension rose amongst the three men. The Hind was travelling in a straight line; if it suddenly slowed or altered course, they would know they had been spotted.
The gunship’s thunder reached a crescendo …
And passed. It crossed the shore and continued across the barren plain, a gritty whirlwind rising in its wake.
Arnold blew out a relieved whistle. ‘God damn.
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