Free Jungle Kill by Jim Eldridge Page B

villager hung slumped from the ropes that tied them. Suddenly he stopped. The three bandits had stood up and were stumbling towards the prisoners, shouting and jeering.
    Mitch now saw that Adwana and the other villager were still conscious. He could see the fear in their eyes as the bandits approached. These bandits were dangerous at the best of times. Drunk, they would be out of control, and Justis Ngola’s order to keep the prisoners alive easily forgotten.
    ‘We’ve got a problem,’ Mitch whispered into his helmet microphone.
    ‘We got it,’ he heard Nelson’s voice say confidently in his ear.
    The three bandits were in front of Adwana now, lurching and jabbering insults. Then one of the bandits pulled a pistol from the holster at his hip and levelled it at the other villager. The villager strained at his ropes and twisted, fear and panic on his face.
    The three bandits laughed.
    Then Mitch heard three
phhtt!
sounds going off so close together they sounded like one shot.
    The three bandits jerked like puppets on string; and then they crumpled to the ground.
    Immediately Mitch ran from his cover to where Adwana and the othervillager were tied, his knife already in his hand. He began cutting at the ropes. At the same time he whispered urgently for the two men to keep quiet.
    ‘Say nothing!’ he said.
    He cut the ropes and Adwana and the other man sank to the ground. Mitch reached down to help them, but they were already pushing themselves up.
    ‘We’re going to rescue Mwanga,’ Mitch told them. ‘You can wait and travel with us, or you can go now.’
    ‘We go now,’ Adwana murmered.
    ‘But what about the magic in the jungle?’ asked Mitch.
    Adwana shuddered. ‘Better the magic in the jungle than the devils in there!’ he said, casting a fearful look at the building.
    Nelson, Gaz and Tug joined Mitch. Adwana nodded at them, muttered something and then stumbled off into the jungle.
    ‘What did he say?’ asked Nelson.
    ‘He thanked us,’ said Mitch. ‘And wished us good luck.’
    Benny and Two Moons materialised near them.
    ‘The guards at the back are out of action,’ said Benny. ‘The generator’s ready to blow.’
    ‘Good,’ said Nelson. ‘Wait till we’re at the main entrance, then do it. As soon as we see the lights go out, we go in.’

17
     
    Nelson, Mitch, Tug and Gaz stood in pairs at either side of the main entrance, assault rifles ready.
    Mitch could see Benny crouched near one of the old vehicles. He guessed he was already fixing plastic explosive to it, most likely by one of the axles so that when it blew the wheel would come off and break the axle, making any immediate repair to get it going impossible.
    Two Moons had slipped out of sight round the side of the hotel to set off the charges at the generator. From inside there were the sounds of men shouting, arguing, chattering, even some singing. It was a party of sorts. Maybe the bandits were already celebrating the money they expected to get as ransom for Mwanga.
    Suddenly all the lights went out, both inside and outside the hotel. Immediately the four soldiers pulled their night-vision goggles down over their eyes and slipped inside.
    The shouts and crashes that came from inside the rooms off the ground-floor hallway showed that the bandits had been caught by surprise by the sudden cut in power, no matter that it must have happened plenty of times before.
    Gaz was already moving to the nearest door, his lock-picks in his hand. The door was partly open. Gaz pulled it shut quietly and then slid his lock-pick into the lock, turned it and heard a satisfying
click.
    Gaz looked over at Tug, who was standing watching, assault rifle poised, and gave him a thumbs-up. One door locked.
    Swiftly Gaz moved on to the next door. This one was already shut but as Gaz got near to it, he saw the handle turn and the door begin to swing open inwards. Quickly Gaz grabbed the handle on his side and pulled it shut again. Then, holding thedoor firmly shut