Chapter 13

Nadia crouched low with her H&K MP5 at the ready, waiting on Mai-Loan to give the all-clear. Next to her on the left, Lorie crouched in a similar position, her eyes scanning the river, the bush and the bank.

The seven dark clad figures of the Angels had no feature of their bodies visible. Gloves on their hands and balaclava masks over their heads with only their eyes showing, gave no indication about their gender; only seven dark figures with mean looking guns.

One figure did differ: that of Darya. She had her trusted .338 Norma Magnum Barrett MRAD sniper rifle slung over her back.

On the signal from Mai-Loan, Olivia, Leah and Roxy got up and ran forward to disappear in the bush. Then Mai-Loan, Nadia, Lorie and Darya followed. Behind them the Puma, cutting the thick ropes to drop onto the river bank, lifted up, turned to the north and flew off, banking sharply to the west; the blade slap of its rotors dampened by the coastal brush and trees.

Moving as silently as a pride of lions on the hunt, the Angels continued up the bank through the low bushes and small trees to emerge on the edge of the undergrowth. With a clearing in front of them, they paused, again crouching low. Their eyes flicked over the scene, assessing the target.

Nadia saw their objective: the shed to the left. But in reality, it was more of an old brick and mortar garage than a shed. Two high steel-grilled windows were on the side, and two steel barn type doors were on the side facing away from the farmhouse beyond. Perfect.

Nadia signalled Lorie, and together they moved left and forward, keeping the shed between them and the farmhouse.

At that moment a man carrying a hunting rifle exited the house and made for the shed. Nadia and Lorie froze, melting with the shadow of the milk-wood tree before them.

Darya saw the man approaching a hundred metres away. She placed her MP5 on the ground next to her and unslung her trusted .338 Norma Magnum Barrett MRAD from her back. She worked the bolt and silently dropped into a prone position, then sighted through the scope.

Something must have caught the man’s attention. He stopped in his tracks and brought his rifle up. Darya waited no longer. She placed the crosshairs on the man’s forehead and took the first pressure on the MRAD trigger, inhaling a deep breath and holding it.

The man saw the shadow of something that could be that of a human figure in the shadow of the milk-wood tree. His last recollection in life was that he raised and sighted his gun.

Darya was aware of him raising his rifle and sighting, but she was thinking projectile trajectory, wind speed, wind direction, and distance to target...

A soft plop sound came from the .338 Barrett MRAD as it recoiled back into her right shoulder. The projectile flew out the suppressed barrel of the rifle, riding in front of the muzzle flash, nearly breaking the sound barrier on its furious flight to the target, spinning around on its axis leaving little vortices in its wake.

The .338 nickel-coated bullet reached its target with a 0.05 arc second of accuracy.

If you listened closely, you could have heard the dull crackling sound as the bullet smashed through the bone of the man’s forehead, ripping and tearing as it went, vaporising all in its path and blasting out the back of his head with bone fragments, blood and brain matter splatting against the cream-white shed wall on the side.

He went down in a crumpled heap, raising a small dust storm around the fallen body. The rifle clattered onto the gravel ground to lay a meter or two away. The scope on the rifle broke its mounts and fell to the side.

It was quick; it was clean. Darya exhaled and worked the bolt of her sniper rifle, ejecting the brass casing onto the ground. Then she lowered her rifle and muttered under her breath: “In qadar daroz, sucker.” (Tajik, her native language for: “So long, sucker!”)

Darya got up, followed by the rest of the Angels, and moved forward towards the farmhouse. Only Nadia and Lorie split off to the shed and flattened themselves against the wall.

Nadia nodded a signal to Lorie who went into a crouch on the ground against the shed wall under the high windows. Nadia, the lighter of the two, got up on her partner’s back and reached for the steel grill of the windows, then heaved herself up.

She looked through the dirty and broken windowpane, but first could not see anything inside. Then slowly the interior focused in her vision, and she could make out objects.

At the farmhouse Dezz and Aaron exited the front door to get to the car. Dezz was in a hurry to reach Cape Town. Just as she opened the door an explosion crashed through the building, followed closely by a second explosion. The concussion of the two close together explosions of the flash-bang grenade disoriented her, and she dove through the door, hitting the gravel outside with a force that winded her.

“Don’t!” Came a shout of a female sounding voice and then it was followed by a short burst of automatic fire. Something fell, and the sound of breaking glass filled Dezz’s ears that were still ringing from the double blast of the stun grenade.

Dezz found herself being lifted into the air. She could not comprehend what was happening.

“Get to the fucking car!” Aaron hissed into her ear, as he roughly hoisted her up back on her feet. “MOVE!”

“What’s happening?” she croaked out, her throat suddenly dry.

“The cops! The fucken SWAT team has found us. MOVE!”

Together they ran towards the car and fell in. Aaron struggled with the keys but got the engine going.

Inside the farmhouse the Angels worked their way through all the rooms to emerge at the front door just as Aaron and Dezz drove off in a spray of small pebbles and dust.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit!” Mai-Loan swore.

Calmly, Darya lifted her MRAD, took aim through the scope and adjusted her aim for distance and speed. The MRAD recoiled, and the car at the receiving end of her shot started to swerve from side to side on the road, the left-front tire shedding rubber onto the road.

There was a curve in the road to the right and too late Aaron realised that he was going too fast, and that the car was not responding to his steering input. Too late he hit the brakes, but the car flew straight on and tipped over the slight incline towards the river.

The car hit a young tree about as thick as a telephone pole and pushed the engine back through the firewall, pinning Dezz and Aaron down as kinetic energy took the car around the tree and onto its side, where it tumbled over and over down the incline. The windscreen shattered and showered thousands of little glass shards into the cabin of the car, cutting and tearing as they found resistance in their path.

The wreckage of the car came to a stop on its caved-in roof thirty meters below the road surface.

Dust hung in the air and choked the two pinned and coughing occupants. Blood streamed down their cut and scraped faces, arms and bodies. The airbags that had deployed now slowly deflated, leaving Dezz and Aaron to breathe, but trapped in their twisted and mangled seats, unconscious...

Not knowing what transpired at the farmhouse, Nadia got off from the crouching Lorie.

“Well, there’s some shadow in the shed and I can’t see clearly, but there are two people tied, gagged and sitting against the far wall.”

“Away from the big doors?”

“Yip!”

“Nads, blow it!”

“I thought you were never going to give me the go ahead...”

“Just do it!”

“Okay, okay, Sticky!”

“Now you are starting to call me that stupid name my deranged brother gave me!”

“Don’t speak like that about the boss!”

“I will ... The bonehead!”

“We’re wasting time! Listen, the others are having fun up at the farmhouse.” Nadia chirped as the double concussion of a flash bang echoed across the farmyard.

“Well, get going! Blow those two stupid doors!”

“On my way. Keep your head down...” And she slipped to the front of the garage-come-shed. She placed a small charge near the lock on the doors and scrambled back to where Lorie was waiting.

Nadia plopped down next to Lorie against the wall, smiled and took a small transmitter out of her right breast pocket.

“And a one, and a two...”

“Get on with it!”

“ ... and a three!” BOOOOM! “Weeeeee!”

The two steel doors flew open on their hinges, while smoke, dust, and a fine concrete powder misted down.

“OOo! The feeling! It’s better than sex!” Nadia said. “Smell the burned cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine!”

“Huh?”

“RDX! Also known as PE4...”

“Whatever! You’re completely a psycho bomb-shocked loony crazy bitch!”

“Thank you, girlfriend,” Nadia giggled. “Let’s go get the packages.”

Inside the shed John and Jenny slumped together, not knowing what’s happening. John looked up into a black balaclava covered face:

“John and Jenny, I presume ... Not doctor Livingston!” Lorie chuckled. Come, let’s get you some Mickey D!”

In the background John saw another dark balaclava covered figure standing just inside the two sorry-looking steel doors. The figure held a radio to its covered lip.

“Eagle one ... package secured,” The female-sounding voice transmitted.

“Eagle one, copy...” Came that static laden reply.

“Delta Alpha copy you as well.” The Dark Angel replied, on hearing Nadia’s report to Ash in the Puma. Then she called Ash.

Eagle One, Delta Alpha...”

“Go ahead Delta Alpha...”

“Two stiffs, one outside the house, one inside the house, another one secured inside the house and cable tied. Two near death, but still breathing inside a car wreck. That makes the count of fiver that are secured.”

“Eagle One copy. Get ready for extraction...”

“And the packages?”

“Leave them for the time being! The SAPS cavalry is inbound in five. Get ready for extraction in three...”

“Roger, Alpha Team standing by for extraction.”

“Are you just going to leave us here?” Jenny asked.

“Yes, but Colonel Dawson and his team are five minutes out. You’ll be safe, and for reasons you will understand ... we can’t stick around.”

“Are you not SAPS?” John asked.

“No. We are independent contractors. Shadows in the night,” Lorie replied.

“And our identities are unknown,” Nadia clarified, as she used her razor blade sharp Bowie knife to cut John and Jenny’s bonds.

“Thank you...” Jenny voiced her gratitude and rubbed her wrists where the ropes bonded her.

“Now, If you guys will excuse us, we have to catch a ride...” Lorie stated.

“Wait! How did you...”

“All will be explained by the one known as Louis Du Preez. Thank him, not us...” And the two Angels merged with the still settling dust.

Outside, the deep throaty roar of two Turbomeca Makila 1A1 turboshaft engines filled the morning air. The whistle of the rotor blades indicated that the Eagle was landing.

The flight crew brought the Puma in low over the trees surrounding the farmyard. With a nose-high attitude, the big helicopter crept slowly forward and with the skill of an excellent pilot, the big bird settled on the ground. Dust and small pebbles skittered away in the downwash of the rotors, then settled down in sound as the engines went into flight idle.

“Louis, stay put. All is under control and Jenny and John are safe,” Ash’s voice crackled in my headset.

“Are the girls going to bring them?” I asked.

“No. The SAPS are four minutes out. It is better that they find them and the kidnappers.”

“But...”

“No buts, Louis. Although the SAPS asked us for help, it was at a higher level, and the foot soldiers don’t know about it. It’s better that the Angels not be compromised. Dawson and his crew will oversee everything and keep us in the clear.”

“Okay ... if you say so!”

“It’s better this way. Dawson and Franks know about us. The rest don’t. So, let’s play this safe!”

Seconds later, that felt like minutes, the Angels filed aboard the Puma.

“John and Jenny are good and don’t look injured,” Mai-Loan soothed me after plugging in her headset. “Rattled but there’s no blood showing or flowing, a good sign!”

“Okay ... Thanks,” I croaked back. Damn! I need a stiff Glenlivet now! Flying is fun, but war-games are hell on the nerves!

The increase in the engine sound of the Puma told me we were taking off. Then the big bird took flight.

“Should we drop you at the airport, Louis?” Ash asked. “Leah and Olivia can bring you the Pilatus back when the dust has settled, or better yet take it back to Northwest.”

“Yeah! Good idea. Then I’m around if Jenny and John get back.”

“That will be shortly, after they are checked out at the hospital,” Ash replied.

“Are we taking a potty break at Plett?” Mai-Loan asked.

“Yeah, we can...” Ash replied.

“Long enough, so I can give the girls some coffee?” I replied.

“What about me and my co-pilot?”

“Yeah, you too,” I soothed. You do deserve it. You did authorize and organized the rescue.

“Good! Then you can show off YOUR Puma to me,” Ash chuckled.

“You’re welcome...”

Ash and the girls stayed a while. Their Puma was parked on the pad next to Jeff and my Puma and the two birds looked mean, standing together in the sunlight.

The girls had stripped off their headgear and bulletproof vests, and stacked them in ZT-FLO, their Puma.

My cabin patio looked like a Sunday school picnic gathering with all sitting or standing about. My coffee pot took a hit, and I ordered some pastries from the café at the airport. After-action satisfaction! We’re all human.

It was just about an hour later when Ash tried to herd all the cats aboard the Puma for their flight back to Bredasdorp, when Jonah Dawson pulled up with John and Jenny in his SUV.

Jenny looked at the assembly of people and frowned.

“You look just like Bobbie, but you’re not Bobbie...” she remarked as she saw Nadia, half sitting on the armrest of the patio couch, sipping a second mug of coffee.

“Nope! But I was supposed to be Bobbie’s replacement. I’ll tell you all about it later,” Nadia replied, winking at Jenny.

“A welcoming party for us?” Jenny asked me.

“Sort of!” I replied, then hugged Jenny and followed that with a man-hug for John. “Glad you are safe and not hurt.”

“I believe from someone that you had a part in our rescue?” John asked.

“Ask that big guy over there,” I answered and pointed to Ash. “I was still trying to figure out what to do when Colonel Dawson here, and Ash over there, took over, and forced the kidnappers’ hands.”

“I saw the newspaper...” Jenny began, but Jonah cut her off.

“I explained it all to her and John. All that matters is that they all are safe.”

“And my baby is still in Pretoria?” Again, the reference to Bobbie as her ‘baby.’

“Northwest Province to be correct. Being entertained by another red head.”

“Another red head?” John asked and looked at Nadia. “How many red heads are there in this story?”

“Four!” Ash replied. “Nadia, Tracy, Bobbie ... and my wife Angie, who’s manning the communications at base-camp...”

“Gee...” Jenny sighed.

“Don’t worry Missus Pienaar, Tracy and Bobbie’re good together. It’s Nadia you need to worry about.”

“Why me?” Nadia exclaimed.

“Because you’re the loony crazy psycho one!” Lorie interjected.

“Sticky-icky! Behave yourself!” Ash admonished Lorie.

“Go play on the railway tracks, Bonehead!” she retorted.

We all laughed.

Jenny was the first to voice her doubts about the girls’ attire as they sat or stood around: “You all are dressed similarly ... And it somehow looks familiar. Did I not see the two of you before? And you, Lorie, your voice seems familiar too...”

“Yeah...” John interjected. “I have heard your voice before.”

Jonah narrowed his eyes and looked at the girls.

“I must say, it looks like you girls are dressed in some kind of uniform,” He remarked, and Ash came to the rescue.

“Costume party tonight! The girls are going as ‘guerrillas’.”

“Hmm...” Jonah replied. “Doesn’t matter, as long as you don’t take guns along to the costume party.”

It became quiet on the patio. I was about to say something to lead the conversation in another direction when Ash cleared his throat and said:

“Before you jump to any conclusions, Colonel, you might make two and two equal to four ... so, yes, you are on the right path. Please meet the Angels.”

“Your hit-squad?”

“No, my security detail. They make my problems ... and yours, go away...”

“Don’t worry, Mister Windsor. They did fine and made some of my problems go away. I say nothing. My lips are sealed. Only this ... Thank you. It’s appreciated, and I hope we can use your skills again.”