Elite 3 Part 8

Final Day

Early Morning

0001hrs

‘Good morning Islanders. We are expecting some showers today especially close to the evening. I hope it does not dampen the Governor in his attendance at the Memorial Park. This is Philip, for ‘your weather is mine to report’. Back to Tim Curry...... Thank you, Phil. As we start another new day, the minds of the city is on th two massive blast in the city yesterday evening. One is at the new warehouses at the Docks and the other was at the The New Factor Building. The later is said to be caused by a gas pipe leakage. We will bring you more at dawn. .... Yes, I been commented on my stubble here on the chin. Its my show of committment to your news. Tim Curry, Senior Editor of ‘we bring you the news on time.’

But unknown to the viewers, Tim Curry is more anxious on his exclusive and he does not want to leave the office until he has it on the camera.

So where are you, Captain Marius?

0101hrs

I walked across the backyard to the patio glass door. The dobermann is sleeping near the pool chair courtesy of the dugged piece of meat I served earlier. They are trained to guard but not all of them are trained to ignore good meat. I picked the lock and walked into the living hall. I slowly made my way to the bedroom and looked it. There she is; sleeping ever soundly. I slowly made my way in and stood by her bed.

‘I don’t think of it, weirdo. I got my gun on you.’ I looked at the young lady much older than Alicia’s age holding a PPK Walther in her hands pointing at me. I smack it off her hands and drew my own Colt .38.

‘If you want to shoot, cocked it first.’ She looked very alarmed now and wanted to scream. ‘I won’t do that if I were you. Bullet holes makes ugly wounds. I just want you to help my niece, Ms Loman.’

She is the illegimate daughter of the Governor with a trusted confidante, but they ever got married legally. So he raised her far from his life through proxies and guardians until she turned eighteen. So he bought her a house and let her live by herself. Melanie used to come over and see her on her needs and wants. As the Captain of the Force, I was given the privileges to know that too.

‘Captain Marius, I thought you died.’ She knew me as I also used to check on her.

‘Its a long story, and somehow you are dragged in now. Can you get dressed and we have a short trip to go?’

‘Can I keep the Walther PPK? Its dad’s gift to me on my eighteen birthday.’

‘Yes, but I will hold it for you now.’ I pocket the Walther PPK and walked out the room to allow her some private moment.

It was then I met Celine, the housekeeper. She is a short squart lady who wears t-shirt and spandex to bed, and carries a two feet long stick in her hand. I met Celine before when I used to come here. She does the housekeeping and also take care of the little lady. Incidentally, she is also an exponent of the short stick art, and I seen her practice it.

‘Hello Celine.’

Whack! Whack! She has hit me twice on the hands and I dropped my Colt .38.

‘Arghhh! That hurts.’I was expecting her killer blow but instead she fell down at my feet. I looked up to see Marcel holding his M1911 as a club.

‘I did not reckon you would hit a lady.’ I looked at Marcel who thinks I picked my opponent.

0231hrs

On the quiet beach facing a series of large bungalows, eight men in scuba suits are slowly climbing out of the sea. They removed their scuba diving equipment and dragged the long waterproof bag from the sea. One of the men unzipped the bag to removed the guns and ammo it was carrying. The men out on the belts with the holster Glock and checked their AK74 to ensure it will fire. They snapped in new clips and put the extra ones in their belt.

The commanding officer of the assault team is Captain Kirkov; an outstanding officer with a good promise to be promoted to a higher rank soon, as he has shown success in his works. Tdoay he inteds to keep that clean record.

He signaled for two men to cover their flanks while they searched the bungalow units. The search team is split into two groups of three men each coded named Milan and Madrid. Captain Kirkov is in charge of one, while his second in command. Sargeant Miro is in charge of the other team.

As there are no intel reports on enemy strength or location, they have to be extra careful.

Team Milan took the nearest bungalow, surveying the windows on the building for any signs of movements. One of the team member ran for the back door which is a iron grilled gate. He reached for the padlock and had it open in seconds. The second member walked in when the door was opened and pan the room for any movements. Its the Dining Hall and besides the dining table and chairs, there is no one there. He signaled all clear and the Captain came in to the hall. The Captain ran to the door which will lead to the Living Hall. Meanwhile the the guy who open the door came in and joined the Captain.

Fifteen minutes later they had cleared the unit, and the Captain is concerned. He calls for an immediate withdrawal of both teams to the beach.The came out of the unit, running to the beach but they cannot find the two men guarding the equipments.

Team Madrid joined in and brief the Captain; there was no contact made. But they have just lost two men here. Captain Kirkov signaled a retreat to the sea, and that was when he saw the group of men standing at the top of the beach with AK74. He shouted to his men to fight and withdraw but his command was cut short by a blast from the rear. He turned to looked at the sea and there was three more armed men firing their AK74. The team is caught in a crossfire and they are dead in seconds.

‘Drag the bodies out to the sea. Our work is done for now.’ Major Ivanov is pleased with the work done by his team as they just outwit a commando team.

0433hrs

Team One was declared MIA after several attempts to contact them. The High Command has pushed for Team Two under Major Gregor to get ready for their assault. Major Gregor got the message while studying the hotel building plans. He decided to do a two prong attack that night. He went over to speak to the Captain of the ship for some assistance. Their estimated time of arrival is within half an hour to the boundary of the borders. The major also had a discussion with the Intel Officer and got him to make some calls to his office.

This time Major Gregor will not go without intelligence knowledge.

0533hrs

The newspaper man dropped off the usual morning for the Governor and also a small box marked for his personal reading.

0557hrs

I grabbed the chain and tucked it into my waistband. I also grabbed the long pin of over eight inches long and held it as a stake in my right hand. I pulled Alicia who also did the same with her chain, by my left hand and we ran out of the tunnel. We made it to the brightly lit cavern and looked around for any guards. There is none so we made our way out.

‘Wait, mum’. Alicia picked up a iron pick and carried it with her. She is developing to be like her uncles’ and that concerns me.

We ran for the main tunnel out of this mine and came to the entrance. Outside it was dark except for some lights to the far right of us, which looked like the worker’s quarter. There is no guards at the entrance of the mine but I can see one of them at the worker quarters. It was then we saw the two dogs running towards us.

By instinct, Alicia swung the pick at the dogs, catching one of the dogs on the side of its jaws. The injured dog ran off in pain followed by its companion who was turned off from the attack. But the barking of the dogs has woke up the mines and the guards are running out.

I pulled Alicia to run to the left to what appeared to be a the jungle. We need to hide in the jungle fast and decide our next action later. We jumped into the dark undergrowth and dragged our way to the darkness. I can hear men running and shouting, but its not in our direction.

We can feel our feet getting wet and I stopped to feel the ground; its a small stream so we decided to walk downstream.

Early Morning

0601hrs

‘Good morning Islander. We had some transmission disturbances but its cleared now. So our news carries on with the recent events at the hospital, and the warehouse. Its all unexplained and no one is answering or taken ownership of the issue. But we have one caller who claims to be the leader of the ‘Free Islanders Movements’ that said they are the ones responsible for the warehouse bombing. But the police has denied that and said the leader is a lunatic. Ain’t we all if we claimed for such foul deeds? Tim Curry, Senior Editor of ‘we bring you the news on time..... and thank you ladies for the compliment on my wildman looks’.

On the remote farm on the far end of the island, the home of the leader of ‘Free Islanders Movements’; Bryan Keels is a war veteran who fought too long for the sake of democracy and now resides here, is taking up the same cause here. He thinks the island is under the oppression of the elites and he determined to see them freed of it. He has got a small following; actually two guys who joined him in the fight. In between their ranting of oppression they also plant illegal herbs and plants for drugs extraction. Its to finance their operational costs. The trio grabbed their gears which includes several shotguns and pistols plus some dynamite sticks and detonator. They are going to prove their existence and the motto of their objective is not lunacy.

Abel Kane pulled up his gun belt over his portruding belly as he watches the morning shift staff driving in to work at the media transmission station. He is wondering if anyone take notice of him standing at the guard house; but he guess not. Not even Angela smiles at him when she passes by. Guess ten years in this job makes you part of the infrastructure. Or maybe they are too focus on their coming task than me.

Perhaps one day, if I stand here naked then they will put those camera to work on me. But that will be the day I retired.

0633hrs

The butler of Loman’s household peruse the newspaper and he saw the box. I took it up and shook the box. It rattles inside so it must contain something. He looked at the name and address, and frown his expression. This absurd; he muttered to himself that someone wishes to send something to his employer will just leave it at the doorstep. Its unbecoming of these mailman’s to do the decent job of delivery the proper way. He proceeded to open the package but then he pause to re-think his action.It could be a bomb or a threatening item inside, and why should I risk my life for it, was his exact thoughts.

He then decided to take it to the Security Office at the Guard House.

‘Have it examined. It came by the newspaper stash this morning.’

Neelan Mels; the Security Chief was in that morning, so he took it and looked at it. He then proceeded to open it without any concern of explosions or deadly virus. He saw the gun, took it up and then put it back. He picked up the note inside the box and then put that back too. He handed the whole box back to the Butler.

‘Give it to the Governor. Its his daughter’s Celine gun, and she has been held for ransom.’ Neelan walked away to the inside of the Guard House to make his morning coffee.

0733hrs

Abel Kane saw the van driving up to his Guard House. Darned these people to come so early to the Station when we officially open at nine. The van drew up to the side window of the Guard House and Abel peeked out.

‘Come back at.....’ he never got complete his sentence. The Remington 870 delivered a mean shot at that range. Abel’s body was flung back onto his chair and then pushed to the back of the wall.. The van drove through the entrance breaking the barrier bar. The van stopped at the main door where one other guard was reaching for his gun in the holster. His name is Kevin and he is trying to scare the intruders but has no intention to shoot or be shot at. His reply was a bullet from the same shotgun that took down Able.

Bryan Keels got out the van armed with the Remington 870 and two M1911 tucked into his waistband. He is also carrying a bag with two barrels showing from the top. His accomplice is Pico Mono; wasted youth with drug abuse since he was ten. Pico is all bones and is intoxicated this early morning with heroine. He won’t even remmber his own mother’s name in his current state. Pico is armed with a M16, a relic from an old long war, and a self home made single barrel shotgun. His other accomplice is Milo, and he has the dark skinned looks with a clean shaven head. His physique is an envy of any beachbum but he also likes to carry a machete. Today in addition to that, he is holding a sawn off 12 gauge double barrel shotgun.

The trio made their way and walke up the receptionist.

‘News Room, third floor, second door. Tim Curry’s is on the fifth door. Lift is on your right.’ The frightened lady was trying to stay calm and she reckon only crazies comes here for one thing; immediate stardom and most of them involved Tim Curry.

‘Thank you.’ The trio went over to the lift lobby which has three lifts servicing it. One just opened for them.and they walked in. At the third floor, they got out and walked to the second floor. Tim Curry and his assistant was discussing the noon news when the trio walked in.

‘Tim Curry, I presume.’ Tim looked up and saw the three men with the guns. Without asking for an answer, Bryan shot the man besides Tim. ‘Tim, you are needed on the air now. Its your latest breaking news; TV station taken over for democracy..’

‘Who are you?’ asked Tim.

‘The lunatic you mentioned this morning on the news. And I liked your beard.’

0857hrs

I grabbed hold of the vine and pulled myself up over the ledge. I raised my right leg over  and rest it there. Its very tiring trying to run with one leg shackled with a heavy chain. I have already seen Alicia limping in her run and she is keeping quiet as she does not want to alarmed me. She is still holding onto her iron pick; ever afraid she may drop it. I took a deep breath and raised my body over. Once I am have fully pulled myself over, I rested my body at the top of the ledge. It  has been a fifteen feet high climb and now I am need to assist my daughter. I peeked over and see Alicia standing there still at the bottom.

‘C’mon, darling. You can do it. Its the only way we can get to safety. You can do it.’ I looked at her and smiled. She is shorter than me in her height but she is more athletic fit than me. She survived two days of captivity and ran this off track marathon with me.

‘I will try, mum.’ She walked up the ledge and grabbed the vine. Both of us can hear the dogs yapping at the distance. We been running for over two hours now. She pulled the vine taut into her grip and raised her right leg on some hold in the soft ground beneath the ledge. She pushed herself and rasied her body up. As I saw her climb, my heart was feeling more exicted that she is trying. She managed to get her body up and now she is reaching for the next upper hold to raised herself higher. Her left hands has found a small cavity in the ground and she pulled at it. It gave way and her left hand was left empty. She tried again with her left foot on some small stone barely cutting the surface ground, and thankfully it held her left leg. Now she tried to raised her right leg up which is still attached to her chain. Its heavy to move it at this stage of lethagy but she is trying. She did raised it up slightly and rested it on the soft ground. Alicia is heaving in her breath now and I know if she fall, she won’t make the attempt again. I looked over the ledge for anything that can assist her. There are nothing here except leaves and small twigs.

Pick?

‘Alicia, your pick. Swing it in like you are climbing the mountain.’ Alicia picked up my message, as she swung her body sideway, and move to grab hold of the pick in her waistband. She pulled it out with her right hand and swung it up. It held on the soft ground and gave her some leverage to climb up. She pulled her body up using her hands on the vine and pick. She pulled the pick out and heave it over her head once more. It stuck the edge of the ledge and she pulled herself up. Soon she was within my reach and I helped to pull her up.

She is over the edge and resting next to me. Both os us lay down on the green grass and looked at the morning sky.

‘You made it.’ But Alicia was going over the edge and I grabbed her.

‘My pick.’ She was frantic on it, and I tried to hold her in case she falls over.

‘Leave it, Alicia. We got to go now.’ I tried to calmed her but she is adamant on getting back her pick. We finally agreed. I will lowered her down while holding her legs and she will pick her stupid iron pick. She went over the edge and I grabbed hold of her legs. She went crawling further and I held on tight. She finally got it and pulled it out. She signaled me and I heave her in with all my strength.

‘Mum, I think I grown an inch or two more.’

But we lost some precious time on the retrieval exercise.

0914hrs

The Governor called the portable number on the disposable phone. He has agreed to meet us and exchanged on Celine for Alicia at the old theme park which is now a salvage yard for the unwanted stuffs aka dumpsite for the scraps. We agreed on the time at 1030hrs

He did not mentioned anything about Melanie, and that concerns me.

I am standing at the park which used to housed the old themepark on the five acres of land. The owner of the land has since sold the land to the Goverment. The fence wall of ten feet high wall with barbed on top still stays on the perimeter but there are some breaks in between the fences. The previous entrance with the ticket booth still stands although its now empty of any guards. The two row of kiosks are all burnt down blackened bare structures with the golden road all gone except for one or two leftover tiles. The seven rides are mostly dismantled and left as a small hill of iron scraps where the circus tent used to be. That is on the right side of the park area. On the left side of the park, the Vertical Lift still stands but its not going to lift anyone. The five Reptile Zoo cages at the back are still there and fully stacked with more scraps. I won’t go in there even if I am forced..

Behind the reptile cage, there is now stacks of scraps where the accomodation trailers for the staff used to be. Then there is the beach and the sea out behind which has never changed and so are the mangrove and I am sure the sea snakes are still there.

‘He is coming and we got an hour.’ Marcel took off for his cover position with the M416 with the 100 rounds Beta C-Mag and M320 Grenade Launcher. He is still holding the HK P30 Pistol with 9mm 15 round clip but he is down to one clip only.

I sill have the colt Cobra .38 Special with six rounds and the Mauser Karbiner 98K with five round stripper clip. I got three more clips for it. Its a very popular rifle its days of the last Great War. The rfile was a bolt action rifle was adopted as the standard service rifle in 1935 by the German Wehrmacht. It remained the primary German service rifle until the end of World War II in 1945. It was used by all branches of the armed forces of Germany during World War II and it saw action in every theatre of war involving German forces. In post war era, the rifle is still issued as a standard-issue infantry rifle, due to the large number of that were left behind at the end of World War II. It also has been refurbished 2 or 3 times by different factories for uses in some countries. Its not only an infantry rifle, but a sniper tool with a range of 800⁺ m (875⁺ yd) with telescopic sight.

But our secret weapon is we have Ms Celine with us.

0917hrs

Captain D’Cruz is upset this morning, as the last day has been hell to him. First the hospital, then the warehouse, and now the transmission station. All this happened when he met the Kingfisher. Tonight he has got an important task to handle and he hopes all go smooth. To make matters worse, the Commissioner is said to be on sick leave, as his doctor advised him to take a rest as his health is weak. But who cares about me; whether I sleep eight hours or eight minutes a day.

The Captain walks up to the Second Floor which has been converted into a Command Centre. Its manned by Lieutenant Mercer, just posted from the Main Island. The new Lieutenant knows nothing about the island as he just arrived last week. Beside him is Sargeant Rebecca of SWAT, who was just given the green light by the physician. Both of them are dressed in SWAT colors with their holstered M1911 on the belt and MP5A3 on their back. The SWAT team also has on them their standard iron helmets with the words SWAT.

‘Captain, I got my team on standby. We have a hostage situation; three hostiles and four friendlies. That includes Tim Curry. His assistant, Melvin has been dragged out just now and left on the corridor. He is dead. We are unable to risk collecting the body. Your orders, sir.’

Captain D’Cruz does not have any orders as yet. He is contemplating to charged in and screwed all protocols, but he is binded by his duty.

‘Is the Negotiator here?’ The captain looked around and saw the person sitting there by the corner. ‘He is not talking and I have been trying for the last hour.’ She is one of the best but she is up against a non-negotiation situation. The hostile is not responding to her calls for talks. They are just sitting firm inside the studio.

‘Have you any visuals?’

‘None’.

‘Amy sound recording?’

‘None’.

“Anyone knows what is happening there?’

‘No.’

0934hrs

We made some progress but we needed to rest. I got Alicia to climb up a large tree to the upper branch. I followed suit and we rested there. We must had slept as next when I woke up, there were noises near the tree. I cupped my right hand over Alicia’s mouth in case she screamed.

‘Ummmm....’ She woke up in a start. I huished her down with my finger to my mouth and looked down from the tree. Its a man holding a rifle and he is looking at the ground. Suddenly I heard a shout from in front of him.

‘John, you coming? The gang is moving on yonder. They think she is moving towards the road.’ But John is not interested to listen as he is watching the ground. It was then I realised I dropped my earrings from my left ear, and its in plain sight to the guy down there. John  looked up and I jumped down holding Alicia’s pick in a swinging blow. The sharp end of the pick pierce his chest and out to the back. I fell on the dead man and we collapsed in a heap. I pulled myself up and saw the pick embedded in the man’s chest.

I have no time to waste as I signaled Alicia to come down. I picked up the rifle; its a AK47 and its fullly loaded. I searched the man for any thing I can used and I found only a portable phone, but there is no signal here. I pocket that as Alicia climbed down next to me. She wanted to pull her pick out but I stopped her.

‘We got our own gun now and we are going hunting.’

0935hrs

Captain D’Cruz gave the order and its an affirmative action order. The five team members of the SWAT moved out. They half crouched and move to the Third Level and into the corridor where the Studio is located.

Sargeant Rebecca signaled two of her members who came by the other stairways to move ahead and cover the other side of the entrance. She then took out a small mirror attached to a long metal handle. She leaned back and pushed the little mirror into the side of the entrance. She can see partial view of the room now. The main hostile is sitting in front of the camera with Tim Curry on the three seater settee and seems to be in some conversation. The other two hostile is standing behind the settee and smiling at the camera. The other three hostages are actually manning the camera and gaffer for the recording. Its a recording session like any other day.

Sargeant Rebecca withdrew her mirror and pocket it. She raised her hand up and gave the team hand signals. Its a straighforward follow the book procedure. The other two members on the opposite doorway is to take the two standing hostiles while she takes the main one. The countdown is three on her count.

One

Two

Three

Sargeant Rebecca step into the doorway and did a double tap on her MP5A3 at Bryan Keels. The hostile fell back against the settee but his kelvar vest was reinforced with extra lining, so the bullet did not hit his fragile flesh.

Unlike his compatriot, they were not wearing kelvar vest; the double team mates shot them with six shots each. But Milo was still standing despite the six shots on his thigh and arms. He reached for the M16 getting it up partly but he managed to shoot in full blast across the studio. He hit not only the camera man but also the gaffer holder, and the two SWAT members in their face. It was an unplanned consequences.

As for Bryan, he recovered fast and grabbed the shotgun, but the next shot Rebecca took was a head shot and there are no kelvar scarfs designed as yet.

Rebecca helmet got nicked by the wild shots of Milo’s M16 but she is okay.

‘Oh my..... you killed my guests on the air. ‘ Tim Curry is upset to be alive.

1029hrs

The two SUV came in through the entrance and six men got out. They sure did not come to collect scraps as they are dressed to kill. All of them are carrying AK47’s or M4A1. The seventh man to stepped out of the SUV is not the Governor, but his wife, Christine Loman. She is dressed in a red blouse and jeans, and she is carrying a MINI UZI.

Marius stepped out from the stack of scraps he was hiding behind. He is cradling the Karbiner 98 in his right arm. He walks towards them but stopped at about fifty paces.

‘Hello Christine. I never expect you to be here. You are the lovely and pampered wife of the Governor.’ I knew Christine when I was in the Force, and she used to call on me for escort duties. I knew she was not what you see in the public eye, when one day she threaten a staff with her gold plated Walther PPK in the face. Ijust happened to walked in and she saw me. Then she removed her gun and slapped the staff across the face. She dismissed him and she went with me to the opera. Two days later the same staff she dismissed turned up missing from his apartment and never found.

‘Hello Marius. I saw the gun and I came instead of him. He is the Governor and he has thinks to do than to go rescuing his bitches children. So where is she and we can call it even. I don’t have Alicia and Melanie. So the deal is off.’

Marius jumped to the right side of him where there was a row of scraps stacke to a man’s height. It saved him as the armed men started shooting at him. I replied in kind from my hidden position, bringing down two of them before the rest scattered. Christine has ran to the back of her SUV with one armed bodyguard.

There are two of them taking cover behind the other SUV while the three others are taking cover behind some scraps. I stepped out of my cover which is the right of them and fired a full load on the SUV where the two men are taking cover. The M416 with the 100 rounds made mince meat out of the vehicle and also the two men.

I ejected the empty clip and slapped in the new clip. This time they are focusing on me. I heard the karbiner 98 makes it apperance now.

1043hrs

I raised the Karbiner 98 and shot at the man who is exposed at the scrap heap. I managed to hit at below his armpit when I was actually aiming at this head. I guess the gun skill of mine is getting rusty unlike this old rifle which still performed well.

I saw the bodyguard getting into the SUV and I focused my fires on the car engine compartment. I fired off the four remaining bullets at the engine and it caused it to stop moving the car. I slipped back to my cover and reload my rifle. Its not east as this a bolt activated rifle and not your standard MP5A3. I heard some sounds of running feets towards me above the shooting noise so I took out my Colt Cobra .38. I peeked over and saw the man running towards me with the M4A1 butt stock aiming for my head. I fell back instinctely and shot him twice with the revolver. He fell forward near me dropping his M16A1.

I picked that up and shot form the hips at the SUV which was stalled on the ground. The windscreen and the side windows shattered under my shooting until I hit empty on the clip. I discarded the M4A1 and grabbed back my karbiner 98. I crawled abck on my back to the another scrap heap at the back of me, and the bullet from the MINI Uzi slammed into my both thighs and shins.

She is standing at the back of the SUV and out of Marcel sights but not mine. I raised the karbirner 98 and fired at her. My airm was true as I hit her on the upper chest as she fell back.

1056hrs

I saw Marius getting shot from my cover and I threw all reckless into my charge on the two men. I rushed out and shot from the M41 at the two remaining men. They saw me coming and tried to stepped back but they could not make it in time. The velocity of the gun threw the two bodies back against the scrap heaps. I ran to Marius and can see that he is breathing very shallow. I doubt he will make it this time, given his previous fight with the devil for his soul.

I reached out for Marius hands and he clasped me tightly in his. His eyes tells me what he wanted to say and I could only nod. The firm clasp of his hands let go of mine and fell to the sides of him.

My brother is dead. Finally he could not cheat the devil for his soul.

I got up and walked to the bitch who did this.

She is still breathing and I stood over her with my M416 on her body.

I pulled the trigger and did not stop until it was empty of any bullets.

1134hrs

I counted three of them standing there at the trees, armed with AK47’s and no dogs. They must had sent the dogs’ back and followed us on by their own. If I start shooting at them, I might get two of them or none. But I will probably used up half the clip. I think I will see their next move.

Wait, they are splitting up into two groups; two of them are heading to the right, and the last person is staying on. He is watching towards my direction now. I think he has seen me but he is not showing any signs of doing so. Maybe he is feigning for me to act so he can shoot me. His two mates are the diversion for me to show up and they will double back. I seen it in the movies before.

I decided to go for the two guys.

I crawled back very quietly a few paces to join with Alicia at the back. I whispered to her we are going to go to the left of us. I had given her the penknife I had in my pocket and also passed her the iron pin which I retrieved from the tunnel. She has improvised on the pin with a short thick branch, and some thin vines. She has made herself a crude wooden pick with it.

We are ready.

We tucked in the chain securely to our waistband and ran parallel to the two men tracks.

1156hrs

I brought Marius body to Peter’s place, and had him arranged a funeral for him. I told Peter, I had business to complete. It was the sometime since I shed any tears for anyone since Marius left me that day years ago. Today I am crying my tears for the same reason again.

‘You bastard, Loman. I am coming for you now.’ I have my fists clenched hard and wanted to hit someone then. But there is only Peter and I don’t hit friends, so I hit the wall.

‘You will need this. Your hands are bleeding.’ Peter handed me the First Aid Box for me to nursed my bruised hands. He also gave me two more clips of 30 bullets for the M416, and a flare gun with two flares. The last was just in case I need to raise help.