Gaz was about to protest, but Mitch had already joined Tug and the two of them were firing round after round into the two rooms. Gaz nodded and ran after Nelson, gripping his left arm tightly to staunch the flow of blood.

There were now sounds above them, from the first floor, and Mitch moved to the bottom of the flight of stairs and fired off a couple of bursts, spraying them wide at the upper level. His bullets tore plaster from the walls and ripped through wooden part.i.tions. Yells from above told Mitch he'd struck some targets. The main thing was to hold back any other bandits who were up there, to allow the unit time to get away.

*Let's go!' said Tug.

Tug joined Mitch at the foot of the stairs, and they headed for the main entrance. Both men moved side to side like crabs, Tug walking backwards to cover the rear, while Mitch edged forwards to cover the entrance.

More gunfire sounded from inside the hotel. No one appeared at first, then suddenly a door near them burst open and several men stumbled out. Through his night-vision goggles, Tug could see the guns in their hands. He pressed the trigger of his rifle, watching the bullets take out the first line of bandits. Finally they were outside and could see Nelson and Gaz in the back of the jeep with Mw.a.n.ga. Benny was at the wheel, the engine racing.

Two Moons was standing up behind the wheel of the second vehicle, his rifle aimed at the hotel.

*OK! We're go!' snapped Nelson.

Immediately Benny let the clutch out and the jeep raced forward.

Mitch and Tug turned to face the hotel and kept up a stream of gunfire at the building to keep the bandits inside.

*Go!' yelled Tug.

Mitch ran towards the battered vehicle. Two Moons had already dropped down behind the steering wheel. A sudden yell of pain in Mitch's headphones made him jerk round. Tug was. .h.i.t!

19.

Some of the bandits were firing from an upstairs window and the ground around Tug seemed to jump as bullets thudded into it.

Mitch saw Tug crumple to the ground and immediately he rushed back, his rifle on automatic, rapid fire aimed at the upstairs window. Behind him he could hear the thunder of Two Moons' rifle as he stood on the jeep and poured tracer after tracer at the building as covering fire for Mitch.

Mitch reached Tug, who was struggling to sit up.

*Where are you hit?' he asked, kneeling down beside him.

*My left leg,' winced Tug. *It's broken.'

*OK,' said Mitch. *Grab my shoulders and grit your teeth. This is going to hurt.'

Mitch let his rifle swing from his shoulder by its strap, then he put both arms under Tug and hauled him up so that he was draped over his shoulder. Mitch stood up, lifting Tug as he did so. Tug groaned with the pain.

Mitch heard the engine of the vehicle coming closer, and realised that Two Moons was reversing towards him, holding the steering wheel with one hand, while still firing his rifle at the building with the other.

The jeep shuddered to a halt beside Mitch. He lowered Tug into the back of the vehicle as gently as he could, and then scrambled aboard himself before swinging his rifle level to fire again at the building.

*OK,' Mitch yelled. *Let's take off!'

*As soon as I've let these babies go,' said Two Moons. *Get your head down!' And he triggered the remote to set off the detonators of the explosives he'd rigged at the building and the other vehicles.

The effect was spectacular. All around them things exploded, pieces of metal hurtling in every direction. Roaring flames lit up the whole area, and Mitch could hear the yells of panic from the men inside the building.

*Bullseye!' yelled Two Moons triumphantly.

He dropped down behind the steering wheel, slammed the jeep into first gear and raced away, heading for the dirt road through the jungle. Mitch kept his attention on the hotel, now blazing, with smoke belching upwards, licking at the timber boards that covered the windows. Suddenly he saw a figure aiming something at the jeep. It looked like an RPG launcher.

Mitch swung his rifle at the figure and fired, but it was already too late. There was the dull thud and smoke of the RPG being fired, and then it hit the ground right next to the jeep's front offside wheel and exploded.

The jeep lurched violently with the force of the explosion, and then tilted and rolled. Mitch found himself flying through the air, still clinging to his rifle, then Tug's flying body crashed into him and the two men were flung to the ground. Mitch smacked his face against a rock, painfully jarring every part of his skull. He heard Tug yell out in pain and he struggled to lift himself up, but his mind was clouded, dazed. He was dimly aware of the sound of running feet getting nearer, and shouts and yells, and then something came down incredibly hard on the side of his head and everything went black.

20.

Slowly Mitch came round. It was still night, though he could see by the light of the moon. His head throbbed. His face ached. It felt like it had been hit with lengths of hard wood.

He was tied to a tree, ropes binding his arms and legs, his wrists tied together.

He looked about him, even though every movement caused a searing pain in his neck. He wondered if he'd broken any bones. He knew that he was definitely hurt. Not just his face and neck a"his whole body. His ribs. His arms. His legs.

*You're back with us?'

The voice was Two Moons'. Mitch strained his neck round and saw that Two Moons was also tied to a tree. They were the same trees that Adwana and the two villagers had been tied to. Two Moons had been stripped of his Kevlar body armour down to his combat trousers and boots. Mitch looked down at himself. He too was only wearing combat trousers and his boots.

*Yes,' said Mitch. His voice sounded m.u.f.fled, far away. Maybe it was the after-effects of the RPG explosion. Sometimes temporary deafness followed.

*I guess you hurt all over,' said Two Moons.

Mitch started to nod, then stopped because of the pain in his neck. *Yup,' he said.

*I thought you would. They gave you a pretty good kicking while you were unconscious. I was worried they might have kicked you to death.'

Mitch forced a rueful laugh. *I guess they've got something extra special in mind for us,' he said. He looked at Two Moons, concerned. *How about you?'

*Oh, they kicked me pretty good,' said Two Moons. *Though not as bad as they did you. I guess that's because I was still awake so I kept moving as much as I could.'

*Where's Tug?' asked Mitch.

Two Moons jerked his head towards an area that Mitch couldn't see. *He's here,' he said. *They got him tied to a tree too. But they let him sit down on the ground because of his broken leg.'

*Very thoughtful of them,' said Mitch drily.

*Not that thoughtful,' said Two Moons. *They gave him a kicking too, and they beat him with their guns.'

*How is he?'

*Not good,' said Two Moons. *He's unconscious, but alive. I can hear him groaning now and then, which is a good sign.'

Mitch's mind was clearing now and he was able to take in the situation better. They were tied facing the hotel. Black smoke still poured from the destroyed vehicles where the fuel lines had caught fire.

*You did a pretty good demolition job,' commented Mitch.

*I sure did,' grinned Two Moons. *But I think it p.i.s.sed off the opposition.'

Mitch took stock of the bandits who were hanging around. All of them looked angry. All of them were armed with rifles.

*Any sign of Ngola?' Mitch asked.

*He was here, watching them tie us up, and then he went off talking into his phone.'

Suddenly they could see movement: a group of bandits was hurrying towards them from the side of the hotel. As the group drew nearer, they parted, and the figure of Justis Ngola burst out from their midst and approached the Delta Unit soldiers. Immediately the rest of Ngola's bandits also came nearer, following their leader.

If Ngola had been furious before, when questioning Adwana and the two villagers, he was now enraged to the point of madness. His whole body seemed to be shaking as he stood there, his eyes jerking between Two Moons and Mitch. His mouth worked as if he couldn't get out the words of hatred that welled up inside him. Finally he seemed to gain control of himself, and he strode up to Mitch, thrust his angry face into the soldier's and demanded in English: *Where have they taken Mw.a.n.ga?'

Mitch looked coldly back at Ngola. *My name is Paul Mitch.e.l.l. My rank is Trooper. My number is a"' he began.

His words were cut short as Ngola scowled and punched Mitch hard in the mouth. Mitch's head rocked back and smacked against the tree. Pain scorched through his head and he felt his mouth fill with blood.

*Where do you think you are, little man?' sneered Ngola. *This is not your war. You are a criminal! A murderer! A thief! Do you know what we do to thieves?'

From his belt Ngola produced the vicious-looking machete. He waved the long blade in Mitch's face.

*We cut off the hands of thieves! We cut off the heads of murderers!'

Mitch forced himself to give a careless shrug. *Better get on with it, then,' he said.

Ngola once more smashed his fist into Mitch's face. This time Mitch already had his head back against the tree to avoid his neck snapping back, but the force of the punch made his whole head throb and his ears ring.

Again Ngola thrust his face into Mitch's.

*Where have your people taken Mw.a.n.ga?' he demanded for a second time.

*My name is Paul Mitch.e.l.l. My rank is Trooper. My number is a"'

And Ngola's fist connected with Mitch's face again, bringing tears of pain to Mitch's eyes. As his vision cleared, Mitch saw that Ngola was pointing the machete towards him, close to his throat.

*You think I will kill you and it will be a quick death for you,' said Ngola. *Well, you are wrong. You will die slowly. I will chop off one finger at a time. And then your hands. And then your feet and legs. You think you will die from bleeding and it will all be over.' Ngola shook his head. *Every time I cut a piece off you I will put tar on it to stop the bleeding. You will not bleed to death. You will suffer. And eventually you will tell me. People always do. So why put yourself through all that pain? Tell me now. Where have your people taken Mw.a.n.ga?'

*I don't know,' said Mitch. *We weren't told. Only our commander knows that, in case any of us were taken prisoner.'

*Liar!' raged Ngola, and this time he stepped back from Mitch and swung the machete. The blade narrowly and deliberately missed.

*I can cut pieces off you with this so easily!' Ngola hissed. *I am an expert. I have been using a machete since I was a small child. Want to see how good I am?'

*I'll take your word for it,' said Mitch.

Ngola hesitated, the machete swinging in his hand, his eyes boring into Mitch's, looking for the fear that he knew must be in there. Mitch looked back. He knew there was blood trickling down his chin from his nose and mouth, and every part of his body ached, but he was determined to stare right back at Ngola. Keep him wondering, gain some time.

He wondered where Nelson, Benny and Gaz were. Would they come back and try to rescue them? He didn't know. This was the first mission he'd been on with Delta Unit. In the SAS it was the practice to try to rescue your buddies if they were captured, but this was different. It was a different outfit, with a mission to rescue an important political figure and get him to safety. Mitch knew Nelson couldn't put Mw.a.n.ga at risk, not when they'd achieved the first part of the mission. They were probably far away, working to get Mw.a.n.ga safely out of the country.

Ngola stepped away from Mitch and glared at Two Moons, obviously weighing up his next move.

*One of you will tell me what I want to know,' he said. He pointed the machete at Two Moons, and then back at Mitch.

*I want you to think about what I am going to do to you with this machete. I want you to think about the pain you will suffer. I also want you to think about the pain you will be inflicting on the people of the village who helped you. Yes, I know they helped you! And when this is over I will go to the village and I will kill them all. Every last one. Every man, woman and child. There will be nothing left of them.

*Now, you can save yourself and everyone from all that pain by giving me just one simple answer. Where are your people taking Mw.a.n.ga?'

*We don't know,' Mitch told him.

Ngola again shot angry looks at the Delta Unit soldiers and then said: *I can see you don't believe me. Then I will show you how sincere I am about this.' He jerked the machete towards where Tug was lying. *Your friend with the broken leg is no use to me. He is in too much pain to answer my questions sensibly. So I will use him as my example for you.'

Ngola rapped out an order in Igbo, and some of his men disappeared from Mitch's line of vision. When they came back to where Mitch could see them they were dragging Tug's unconscious body. Tug's broken leg dragged behind him at a grotesque angle.

The men dumped Tug on the ground and then stepped back. Ngola stood over Tug and raised his machete.

*You will watch, and with every stroke you will see that I mean what I say.'

On the ground, Tug stirred, and then let out a moan of pain.

*You can still save your friend by telling me what I want to know,' said Ngola. *This is your last chance.'

*We're telling you the truth,' said Two Moons. *We don't know where they've taken him. That wasn't our remit.'

*In that case,' growled Ngola angrily, *see what I do to people who defy me!' And he raised the machete.

21.

The sound of a phone suddenly rang out.

This can't be happening, thought Mitch. This is some kind of dream. We're in the jungle! We're about to be killed. And now a phone rings!