Chapter 9

The African night can be very dark. With the moon not yet out, the valleys between the hills of Mapungubwe were black. No land features were to be seen anywhere; only the tops of the flat top hills were visible in the slight ambient light. Even those were just dim silhouettes.

Don flew the MD five thirty by the grey image on the FLIR screen and his years of experience at night flying. The ambient light was good enough for him.

“Take us home. We’re flying blind like this, and I see nothing of interest,” Mai-Loan said, taking off her mobile head-mounted night vision device. “Except for a few zebra and some antelope, nothing.”

“Yeah, let’s pack it in. Besides, I feel a little hole in my tummy. I need something to snack on,” Don said.

“Then let’s go. Home James, and don’t spare the horses.” Giggle. Mai-Loan said and looked out the right-hand side window, expecting to see nothing.

Don banked left, turning on final approach to Kwela Camp Pad one. Mai-Loan saw a flash of light to her right, on the beam of the helicopter about three kilometres away. She instantly recognised the typical firing of a MANPAD. (A mobile surface-to-air missile and launcher, carried by a soldier on the ground and fired on hostile aircraft.)

“Shit! SAM firing to our right. Get us down!” Mai-Loan shouted into the boom-microphone on her headset. She sprang into action and grabbed a box, that was mounted to the back of the overhead panel.

Don dropped the collective and pushed the cyclic full forward, looking at the FLIR screen for obstacles in their flight path. He knew there were only 20 seconds to react. The chopper dropped like a stone, but Don maintained forward speed to counter any rotor vortex ring state.

(The vortex ring state, is a dangerous aerodynamic condition that may arise in helicopter flight when a vortex ring system engulfs the rotor. This causes severe loss of lift, also known as, settling with power. The helicopter has power, even full power, but the rotor blades do not produce sufficient lift. This happens, if you descend too fast within the rotor blade’s air cushion, spillover air under the blades rises over the tops of the blades, creating a vortex of curling air currents. You have no control on halting the descent, as there is no air for the rotor blades to cut into, and you can crash in a smoking fireball. The only way to get out of a vortex ring state, is by moving the craft forward or sideways out of the situation, by using the craft’s momentum. Praying all the time you are high enough to do so! The craft will respond to cyclic and rudder input, but not collective input until it encounters clean air again.)

Mai-Loan reached the box and opened it, grabbing a handful of emergency flares. In the same motion she kicked the right-hand door emergency jettison bar. The door ripped open and off its hinges, and was blown down in the rotor wash and away from the chopper.

Don kept a straight flight path as Mai-Loan fired the first and then the second flare. With a whooshing sound the flares flew out and erupted in a bright orange-red ball of flame, dropping away from the chopper.

They were descending fast into a valley between the flat top hills. Don saw a hill with steep sheer cliffs to his left. Don ducked the chopper under the cliff face, turning to his left to go around it and into a secondary valley and out of sight of the missile. Hoping the missile would lock on to the flares, Don concentrated on flying the chopper. Mai-Loan fired a third flare.

As the chopper dropped out of sight around the hill, the missile tried to recover the infra-red image of the chopper. Turning in a sweeping arc in the direction of the dimmed out image, the missile found a bright infra-red picture to follow and did so. Adjusting its flight path to the new bright infra-red heat signature.

Another image floated into the missile’s scanning sensor. Undecided, the missile tried to follow the second image. Now the on-board tracking computer was going in circles. The missile locked on to the first image and flew into the cliff face, detonating the 1.06 kilogram M222 blast-fragmentation explosive warhead on board, causing the night-sky to light up in a dull, fiery glow.

“One missile down,” Mai-Loan said. “What the fuck! They tried to kill us!”

“With ground-to-air missiles!” Don said, shaking a little. “Why?”

“We took out their buddies, that’s why.” Mai-Loan said.

“Mother-fuckers! This is WAR!” Don said. “Nice you spotting it, sweetie.”

“Nice flying, you!” Giggle. “But I need to soap out your mouth! You’re not kissing me with that foul mouth.”

“Now, let’s get to base. I need something strong,” Don said.

“And tonight ... something to soothe my nerves.” Giggle. Mai-Loan fluttered her eyelashes at Don. Don saw it and smiled. Indeed. No Dave, Lucy, or Lisa around. Yes, there’s a bunch of nerves going to be soothed. Yeah!

On the hill, Tshepo saw the missile fly out, acquire the helicopter, lock on and track. About halfway, the missile made a wide turn towards the helicopter. Tshepo saw the helicopter’s lights go out. Okay, he’s trying to minimise the heat signature. Never mind. It’s only a matter of seconds.

The missile disappeared, following the helicopter. Then Tshepo saw a dull glow. Yes, target down. He turned to his two troops. Out of the corner of his eye, Tshepo saw the bigger dull glow erupt and fade away. He waited. Counting slowly. Then the far-off sound of an explosion reached him. Sounding like music to his ears.

“One down. One to go.” Tshepo said to his two troops. “But we must find another spot. This one is now compromised.”

One of the troops thought he still heard the engine of the helicopter. He shook his head. No, it’s his imagination, the helicopter is down. He, too, saw the explosion as the missile hit, then the explosion as the chopper went down. Success. They will be greatly rewarded. Even be promoted. He felt good. He was the one that fired the missile.

Tshepo grouped his men together and led them off the hill to the north, away from the carnage he helped created. Or so he thought.

I woke up, feeling stiff and sore. I rolled over onto my back. It was still night, no light filtering through the curtains. Underneath the door to my room, I could see a dim light coming through the slit. Someone left the passage light on. Oh, well.

Then I heard voices. Soft voices speaking in the passage. Must be new guests arriving. But I thought I recognised the voices. Yes, familiar voices. Lisa! Lucy? How? Instantly I was up. I remembered to put my robe on. Barefoot, I got to the door and opened it. The passage was dark, but the light came from the open door of Lucy’s room, across the passage. Everything was like looking through cottonwool. Hazy. I suppose it’s my sleepy eyes.

I stood there with a gaping mouth. There was Lisa in Lucy’s room! She was dressed in a Spanish flamenco dress. It was a long red dress with black lace, just barely covering her tiny feet clad in some sort of small black leather high-heel boots. A matching red hairband was in her hair. Her hair was loose, flowing like a waterfall over her shoulders, just gathered at the top by the hairband. She stood facing Lucy.

Lucy sat on her bed, still dressed in her t-shirt type pyjamas. Lucy had her legs drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her knees. It looked like she was sad, very sad. A tear ran down her cheek and hung for a while on her chin before it dropped off and fell on her t-shirt.

I was about to go into Lucy’s room when I heard Lisa speak. Her soft voice carried to me across the passage. There was a tremor in her voice.

“The road we have travelled has come to an end,” Lisa said. “When two love the same love, one love has to lose.” The words sounded vaguely familiar, but I could not place it, like I heard it before.

“And it’s you who he longs for; it’s you he will choose,” Lisa continued. “What must be, must be. Remember to name one muchacho for me. I’ll go to the ranchero, where my life I will spend.”

I stood nailed to the spot. Her words were like a dagger stroke into my heart. I tried to speak but could not get a word out. I tried to move to Lucy’s room, but my feet were like concrete blocks, unable to move.

“Amiga, let us shed no tears, away from these memories, my life I must spend. May all your mañanas, bring joy through the years.” Lisa said, and I saw a tear running down her cheek. “Adiós amiga ... Adiós my friend...” And she turned, looked at me with that half shy smile and was gone. Like a ghost in the night Lisa was gone. Dissolved right before my eyes...

Then the chapel bells rang. Chapel bells. What the hell? I opened my eyes, and it was morning. The chapel bells kept on ringing. Assailing my ears. Where? Where are those stupid bells? Then I saw my cell phone screen blink.

A dream; it was all a dream. Lisa, Lucy. Lisa’s ghostly disappearance before my eyes, all a dream, A nightmare! What’s the significance thereof? The cell phone kept on ringing. I reached over to the nightstand and answered the phone.

“G’ morning Dave. Slept good?” Giggle.

“Morning Lucy. No, I don’t ... feel good. Little stiff and sore. I think it’s all the driving the last few days,” I said, sitting up.

“Let’s get breakfast, sweetie,” Lucy said, “Come get me when you’re done.”

Breakfast was a full buffet, consisting of everything your heart desires for fuelling up the body for the day ahead. From cereals to all sorts of little sausages, bacon, sunny side up eggs ... you name it, it was there. No wonder I paid top dollar for this guest house.

Lucy was enjoying herself. I don’t think she has eaten this well in a long time. I’ve come to notice that her table manners were excellent. Better than what you’d expect from a sixteen-year-old runaway. On that note, I need to speak with Don about finding out how to get Lucy all the paperwork she would need to proceed on in life. It could be a difficult process, but let’s cross that bridge when we get to that specific bridge.

My cell phone rang. Don.

“Hello, Don. How’s it going?”

“Shit, shit and more shit.” Don said. “My chopper’s out of a right-hand door. It’s probably being some decoration in the lounge area of a ward-hog’s hole.”

“What! You kicked Mai-Loan out? With door and all?” I said, trying to lighten Don’s foul mood.

“Smart-ass! No, the ‘nice people killing elephants,’ nearly shot us down with a fifty-year-old surface-to-air missile. It’s a wonder the thing tracked us, let alone exploded.”

“Whoa, buddy! Back track. Start at the beginning,” I said.

“Should I say: It was a dark and stormy night, in a galaxy far, far away...” Don, said.

“NAH, just spill-it,” I said.

“Good,” Don said and relayed the missile incident in detail. How Mai-Loan’s quick thinking and action saved the day.

“I hope you are gonna buy her some flowers and chocolates.” I said, not expecting the answer I got.

“NAH, soothed the hell out of each other’s nerves...” Don said. I think I just blushed; I felt my ears getting hot. Good thing I didn’t have the call on speakerphone.

Again, I was reminded of Don’s strange four-way relationship. Married to one and ... God! Tracy’s fourteen. Why should I worry about Lucy? But is it right or wrong? To be, or not to be? I shook my head, clearing my mind.

“I think we must get together and re-think our strategy. These guys are playing for keeps and are determined to get to the elephants.” Don said. “Samson and his rangers picked up the first stage motor of the missile. It was about 60 metres down on the slope of the hill, to the south of Mapungubwe Hill. It’s confirmed that the motor belonged to an outdated forty to fifty-year-old FIM-43 Redeye surface-to-air missile. How the thing tracked us is still a mystery. So, let’s get together.”

“Okay, sounds good, but I still need to see that Lisa is going to be fine. I just can’t leave her to her own devices, being still in hospital and on crutches,” I said.

“We’ll come there, to you. Book us a place there, where you are. I’ll straighten you out, once we get there.” Don said.

“Yes Sir! General Sir! So be it, Your Eminence, I’ll see to Your Grace’s accommodation,” I said.

“Have I told you lately, you’re a smart-ass, dick-head?” Don laughed.

“Dick-heads don’t get shot down by a nickel-apiece-sky-rocket!” I chuckled, getting him back for his remark.

“Mai-Loan! Dave’s being mean to me.” Don said off the side. I heard her giggle.

“Yeah, go ahead, go hide behind Mai-Loan.

“So, we’ll see you later today?” Don said to me.

“Yip, give me a miss-call when you’re five clicks out.” I said.

“No. We’ll get you at the hospital. Mai-Loan wants to see Lisa too.”

“Right on, buddy. See you later.” I said and disconnected. Boy are we in for a wild ride on this one!

The Boss looked the three warriors standing there in front of him. He has no reason to doubt them; they have shot down something. They claim it to be one of the attack helicopters, but why was it blue? Blue and light blue.

The Boss looked at the piece of debris that was before him. It was some sort of hatch. A door to the craft. The plexiglass in it, cracked and broken. This did belong to a type of attack helicopter.

“Did you see the wreckage?” The Boss asked.

“No, Major. It fell into a ravine, covered by the vegetation.” Tshepo said.

“Did you see it go down into that ravine?” The Boss asked.

“No, Major. It was on the other side of the hill, away from us. We only saw the explosion.” Tshepo said.

“And where did you find this door?” The Boss asked.

“Very near to where the attack helicopter went down. It was hanging in a tree.” Tshepo said. “We think the helicopter first struck the cliff side, and then fell into the ravine. No survivors.”

The explanation made sense. If the missile did hit the helicopter in flight, the explosion of the warhead would have blown the cabin to bits. The door, as a larger piece, would fall well within the flight path.

The Boss was convinced. They have scored a hit on the little people. There are always two pilots in an attack helicopter. No survivors. Two down, two to go. And more. He will find where their base is located and attack it too. Wiping out the little people that so defy him.

“You must find the base of those helicopters. It’s in the reserve. It must be at one of the camps. A camp close to the hill of the jackals. Find it. Now go.” The Boss dismissed his troops, knowing they would persevere and get him the information he needs. Tonight, he will send out two patrols. One to the hill west of the Hill of Jackals, one patrol to the plains. He has to find the base of the helicopters and destroy the remaining one on the ground. Oh, sweet revenge for the death of his warriors. The Boss will show them not to mess with him.

Lisa was up and about on her crutches, walking along the passage of the hospital, when we got there. It looked to me like she mastered the art of using the crutches. Someone has wrapped foam-rubber on the handles and the arm supports for her. This would help her by making the handles and arm supports a little softer. She seems to be in a cheerful mood. A little flushed and breathing hard, but smiling.

“Hi there, Lisa. Not over doing it a bit?” I asked.

“Oh, Hi my favourite friends. No, just getting used to these sticks. It’s hard work you know,” Lisa said.

“Yeah, but your lungs are still tender. Better watch it,” Lucy said.

“Yes mother!” Lisa said, smiling. “Okay, you two convinced me. Let’s go to the café and get something to drink.”