I glanced back at Akaki. His arm was raised, ready to give her the good news again. 'What's his take?'

'It's not good. I'm sorry.' The blood had drained from his face. 'She was calling him murdering barbarian sc.u.m on camera last week...' Paata's voice tailed off.

'Didn't go a bundle on it?'

Paata nodded gloomily.

Nana was turning away. She knew when to concede. Akaki gave her a parting kick in the small of the back to help her on her way. It must have been agony, but she was determined not to show it.

She limped the remaining five or six paces to the bench. 'Here's the deal...' The left side of her face was livid red and swelling. 'No pre-record. We go live or he kills us all now. He wants to sit right here on the bench and address not just his fellow Georgians but the USA too and he wants to do it live.' Her eyes bored into Paata. 'Go and fix up the link.'

Paata hesitated. He knew there was one thing missing from her instructions. I grabbed him as he stood up. 'Take your time, mate.'

'No.' Nana was adamant. 'Get it rigged, and set up the link. Tell them who we have.' She looked him in the eye. 'We need the cavalry... Understand?'

We all did now.

Akaki had some more stuff on his mind. He charged over like a wounded bull, with two of his a.r.s.e-lickers in tow. Up close, he wasn't any prettier than he'd seemed from a distance. He was probably still in his thirties, but looked older, partly because any skin on his cheeks not covered by beard was badly pockmarked.

He raised one of his field labourer's fists and pushed the others out of the way to get to me. His eyes burned into mine.

His two a.r.s.e-lickers demonstrated how hard they were by grabbing Nana and forcing her to translate as he went into another major-league rant.

'The murdering sc.u.m is telling you that he will kill the servants of the infidel crusaders as surely as we will kill their kings... He says he does this to avenge those of G.o.d's children they kill.'

Akaki prodded me so hard in the shoulder I reeled backwards.

'He says America has made many accusations against him; they have said that he is a man with a hidden fortune... These are infidel lies... He says that this is what he wants to say to the people of America.'

As I recovered my balance, I saw the screens in the Merc flicker into life again.

The two standing guard behind Akaki saw them too, and started gobbing off to their boss.

'Excellent.' Nana tried to look pleased. 'Charlie and Nick, help me with the camera and lights.'

I returned her smile. It wasn't all doom and gloom round here then. She was starting to call us by name.

3

Akaki sat, smoked and brooded as we helped Nana lug the camera and lighting gear over to the bench. Several AK muzzles tracked our every move.

The barn roof was no longer being pelted with rain, and the big red puddle around Koba's head was almost still. The sudden silence inside the barn only seemed to make it harder for Nana to ignore the bodies of Eduard and Nato. Her eyes kept straying back to them. I knew she felt responsible.

I glanced at them once or twice myself. They looked as though they'd been crucified. If the Georgian Times Georgian Times had thought Baz's body was grisly cargo, I couldn't wait to see what their headline writers would make of this. had thought Baz's body was grisly cargo, I couldn't wait to see what their headline writers would make of this.

I was pretty much resigned to the fact that, at this rate, we'd be joining them on the inside pages, dangling by the b.o.l.l.o.c.ks from a barn door. But there was still a chance. There was always a chance. When Nana's cavalry arrived, so would the mother of all gangf.u.c.ks.

It wasn't long before everything was rigged, even with two of us on the job not really knowing what we were doing. It couldn't be helped. There's a limit to how much you can tear the a.r.s.e out of a task before it's obvious you're doing f.u.c.k all, and on that front, at least, I was an expert. I'd been an infantryman for ten years.

Akaki groomed his beard with a gap-toothed plastic comb, preparing himself for TV stardom. There was a light either side of him and the camera right in front. He liked what he saw.

Nana fiddled about with the lens for a bit and altered the height of the tripod, but she knew as well as we did that she wouldn't be able to put this off for much longer. She stuck in an earpiece and plugged it into the camera.

Akaki handed his comb to one of his minions. It looked as though it had recently been dipped in goose fat. The expression on his face said he was ready, and ready right now.

But Nana wasn't, not quite yet, anyway. She moved to his side and murmured quietly in his ear. He looked at her and tugged thoughtfully at a handful of beard.

After a few more tugs, he started bellowing again, but this time Nana wasn't his target. Ponchos were going back on. AKs were being shouldered.

Charlie and I were busy looking busy, making needless adjustments to the kit. Nana came back over to us, pointing at the lights and conveying a series of highly technical instructions with her outstretched arms.

'I've told him that if this is to go out live to the US, I need to do a series of links to camera in English. These will be used as trails, to guarantee the biggest possible audience... I've also suggested he send some men to scout exterior locations, and round up enough locals for a crowd scene. He understands it's very important we get this right. We're going to meet them at the village hall once we've closed down the link.'

Three of the Taliwagons were already firing up as the guys clambered aboard.

Akaki was keeping just the two a.r.s.e-lickers behind. They stood a few metres away, AKs trained on Charlie and me.

I watched the Taliwagons charge up the track, towards the houses nestled among the trees.

'Well done, la.s.s.' Charlie put an avuncular hand on Nana's shoulder.

She smiled briefly then was back in control. She waved us away from the kit so Akaki could see what was happening. 'Nick, Charlie, go get in the van. I don't want him to see your faces when I go live. Go, please.'

She fired some more waffle at Akaki, and he was lapping it up. By the look on his face, he wasn't too far from suggesting the two of them got a slot together as Georgia's answer to Richard and Judy.

The lights burst into life as we made our way to the van, and the corner of the barn became Akaki's little slice of Hollywood.

4

Paata sat hunched in front of us, one earphone on, the other high on his head, ignoring everything but the image of Nana's face on the screens. We just watched and listened.

'Yep, that's OK, Paata. How am I for level? Did you get through? Are they coming? One, two, three, four, five...'

She took a deep breath and composed herself. 'Five seconds!' Paata kept his voice level. 'Yes, they are airborne. String it out.'

I caught Charlie's eye, and knew he was also thinking that we might still be able to keep our b.o.l.l.o.c.ks the right side of the barn door.

Nana just stared into the camera, nodding as the countdown crackled in her earpiece.

'Two... one... On air On air...'

'Standing right here next to me...' She turned to Akaki and gave him a deep, respectful bow, 'is a disgrace to mankind, the most despicable gangster ever to walk the blessed earth of Georgia.'

He nodded his acknowledgement then stared back into the camera.

'And within the last few minutes I have seen doc.u.mentary evidence of his most appalling act of treachery to date...'

Her voice quavered and Akaki's brow furrowed.

'An abominable act... perpetrated by the murderer who sits before you...'

Akaki nodded his appreciation, not understanding a word. I hoped neither of the a.r.s.e-lickers had taken a year out at Princeton.

Nana smiled and nodded back. 'Evidence so important that I have to relay it to our beloved nation right now, in case I do not live long enough to hand it over to the appropriate authorities...'

Nana swept her arm to embrace the whole valley, as if describing it as Akaki's domain.

'An affidavit was to have been sworn today by a member of parliament whose name I cannot mention because this monster beside me will recognize it...'

Her hand gripped the mike so tightly I could see her knuckles whiten.

'But, tragically, he cannot do that now. He is dead, murdered by Akaki's men, and others who did not want his evidence to see the light of day. Akaki now has possession of this doc.u.ment, but I have read it from cover to cover... and even if I wanted to, I could never forget the awfulness of what I have read...'

Paata muttered an acknowledgement to somebody into his mike and pressed a b.u.t.ton. 'Five minutes, Nana. Keep going.'

She put a finger to her earpiece and nodded. 'The representative in question, a personal friend to many, known throughout this land as a man dedicated to fighting the corruption that stains our country, was murdered because he had proof that six members of our government are implicated in terrorist activities, in concert with the man you see before you-'

Paata hit the b.u.t.ton again. 'Correction, Nana. It's ten, repeat ten minutes. Keep going, you're doing well. If he gets suspicious, cut the English and switch to the straight interview. OK?'

She fingered her earpiece again.

'Yes... these six pillars of our establishment will greet President Bush when he arrives in our country this month... and the hands they will extend to him in friendship are as bloodstained as that of the ma.s.s murderer, kidnapper, extortionist and drug trafficker they are in league with...'

Charlie touched Paata's shoulder. 'This isn't actually going to the States, is it?'

He shook his head without looking round. We got the idea: shut the f.u.c.k up.

'It hardly bears thinking about, but the objective of this barbarity is to perpetuate the terrorist threat, so that the United States continues to send us aid; aid that doesn't find its way to feeding our hungry or repairing our hospitals, but lines the pockets of expensive, western-tailored suits...'

Nana's voice cracked again. Akaki was starting to look concerned.

'Good news, Nana. It's four minutes, repeat, four maybe less.'

'Unimaginable.' She nodded. 'But you must be told...' She turned her head to Akaki and somehow managed a smile. 'This... monster... was paid one million American dollars by these politicians to plan and carry out the ma.s.sacre of sixty women and children last month in the village of Kazbegi-'

She realized immediately that she'd f.u.c.ked up. Akaki's head jerked round.

'Sixty Minutes...' Nana did her best to smile, 'has the names of all six politicians, and the former FBI agent involved...'

Akaki had smelled a rat. He muttered something to his a.r.s.e-lickers.

'Three minutes, Nana. Hang on in there.'

'I am now going to expose those murdering and corrupt politicians to the people of Georgia...'

Her eyes flickered to the sky.

I hadn't heard anything inside the van, but the a.r.s.e-lickers had; they ran outside and stared into the clouds.

Nana went for it. 'Gogi Shengelia... Mamuka Asly...'

Akaki was on his feet, his expression thunderous. He swept the camera aside and charged through the barn doors.

Nana kept on going.

'Giorgi Shenoy... Roman Tsereteli...'

The moment I stepped out of the van I could hear the beat of rotors. The helis must have stayed in dead ground until the last possible moment.

Akaki waved his arm and barked a sequence of orders. The a.r.s.e-lickers tumbled into their Taliwagon. Akaki lifted his AK.

Nana was on autopilot.

'Kote Zhvania... Irakli Zemularia...'

The Hueys were virtually overhead. Akaki tried to bring his AK into his shoulder, only to be buffeted by the downwash.

The fourth Taliwagon screamed to a halt alongside him and the a.r.s.e-lickers pulled him aboard. The heli dipped its nose and headed for the field just to the side of the barn.

Nana was shaking. 'There will be full exposure of all Zurab Bazgadze's allegations in a special edition of 60 Minutes 60 Minutes soon. Now back to the studio.' soon. Now back to the studio.'

She dropped the mike to her side. By the time Paata had wrapped her in his arms, her whole body was convulsed with sobs.

'Nana? We have to go.'

She looked over his shoulder at me. 'I'll help you, Nick. I'll help you with the police.'

I shook my head. 'No time for all that stuff. I'm taking Charlie home; there's something he's got to do.'

She shook her head, not understanding. 'What can be more important than wanting to prove your innocence?'

'Having the chance to die with your family around you...'

Charlie came up alongside me. 'See that treeline, lad?' He pointed to the slope behind the barn. 'Last one there buys the kebabs.'