He went down the stairs quietly, towards the underground parking lot. The door to the parking lot was closed, and Philip lowered the doorknob slowly and opened it just a crack. The dim neon light came in through the crack. He carefully scanned the huge area, and didn’t see any suspicious activity. Opening the door wide and moving forward on the concrete floor, he was met by the strong smell of burnt vehicle oil. He walked past a row of cars, towards a wide pillar holding up the high ceiling. Philip sat down with his back to the pillar, alertly waiting for the vehicle to arrive. His sensitive ears picked up the soft sound of steps coming from the corridor door. He silently jumped to his feet and remained low as he moved towards the back side of the pillar. He kneeled down on the cold concrete floor, ready to pounce if necessary. The doorknob was lowered slowly.

  Since Harry’s abduction, the team was especially alert, but despite all the reassurances, Philip wasn’t taking any chances.

  The door opened wide and in walked Gary. He stood with his back to the door, looking for Philip who, according to the plan, was supposed to be in the parking lot ahead of him. Philip stood up, walked to the front side of the pillar and waved to show Gary where he was. Gary immediately noticed the movement and headed towards him. His footsteps echoed loudly through the empty parking lot. Besides that sound, they were surrounded by silence. The only noise was the occasional chirping of a cricket.

  The two men sat down next to each other with their backs to the concrete pillar. It was 4:00 AM, and the vehicle was supposed to arrive any minute. Gary glanced at his watch, and before he had the chance to complain about how local agents were late, he heard the sound of a heavy vehicle entering the parking lot at the opposite entrance, which was a steep descent. The sound of the braking vehicle filled the entire parking lot. Gary stood up and signaled to the driver with his flashlight. A minute later, the command car reached them and parked between the cars, near the pillar. There was a tense silence when the driver turned the engine off. Even the crickets stopped chirping, probably frightened by the loud noise. The driver jumped down from the vehicle and shook hands with Gary and Philip.

  “The command car is at your disposal,” the driver whispered, putting the keys into Gary’s outstretched hand. “It is strong and reliable, especially on unpaved roads.”

  Gary nodded gratefully and the driver turned and left the parking lot through one of the doors. The heavy silence returned to the parking lot.

  “Let’s get to work,” Gary instructed the young man next to him. He took out key chain and, to Philip’s surprise, opened the door of a car parked nearby.

  “Are we driving in that?,” Philip joked.

  “When you’re back safely, I promise you a special tour − not in a command car,” Gary answered him. He began to unload the bags and wooden boxes from the car and put them on the ground. Philip jumped up into the command car, waiting to receive the equipment from him.

  “Put the first aid kit under the seat for easy access,” Gary instructed Philip, lifting it above his head. Philip grabbed it easily and put it in place. Once they were finished loading the equipment, Philip took the weapons from a box and handed them to Gary, who put two machine guns and four pistols on the concrete ground. Gary wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat back down by the pillar. He looked at his watch again; it was almost 5:00. It was almost time.

  The door to the parking lot opened again and this time Neil appeared, wearing light khaki clothes that were tight on his body, especially fit for walking in the desert. Seeing the fat man in his tight clothes, Philip looked down in embarrassment. Neil was used to these reactions to him and wasn’t affected. He promised them with a big smile that he would lose weight on the first day of walking through the desert. Right after Neil arrived, Ted and Harry entered. Paul was a bit late, the cigarette in his mouth as always. Gary pointed to his watch angrily and quickly gathered the group around the guns. The pistols were handed to Paul, Ted, and Neil. Neil tried to wrap the gun case with its belt around his waist but was unsuccessful. Giving up, he pulled it out of the case and stuck it in his pants.

  “If anyone ever tries anything with me, I’ll be ready,” Neil said with a smile. Gary silenced him with an annoyed gesture. To him, these final minutes before they set out were the peak. Basically, Gary was parting from his men right before they embarked on their dangerous journey and he felt a serious responsibility for their safety.

  Gary threw the machine gun towards Philip, who was sitting in the command car. Philip caught it with impressive style. The other machine gun was given to Harry. Gary shook hands with each of the men as they climbed into the vehicle one by one, and he had tears in his eyes as they took their seats. Paul dropped the cigarette from his mouth and crushed it with his shoe. He sat down opposite Neil and their knees brushed against each other. Ted took the wheel in the driver’s seat and Harry sat next to him.

  “Guys,” Gary’s voice was a bit shaky, “from this moment on, Harry is in command of the operation. He knows all the steps to follow in detail and I am confident that if you work together, you’ll succeed in carrying out the operation. I await your safe return.”

  A tense silence spread through the parking lot. The men in the vehicle lowered their heads, hiding their emotions. After a few moments of silence, Philip was the one who ended the prolonged silence with his gentle, naïve voice. “We’re about to set out on an operation we may not come back from. Doesn’t it seem right to explain to us what the objective of the operation is and why we’re being sent to film the tyrant from Ogada?”

  Gary signaled to Ted to start the motor. He considered the question for a moment and then repeated what he had said to them the first time they met. “I suggest to all of you not to miss the broadcast of the parade. The answer to your question, Philip, it will be apparent during the broadcast itself.”

  Gary’s last words were drowned out by the loud noise the engine made as Ted started it. A cloud of black smoke covered him as the command car began to head towards the exit. Gary waved goodbye from inside the thick smoke and followed the vehicle with burning eyes as it left the parking lot and disappeared. He could still hear the sound of the engine, working hard to pull them up the hill. After a short time, silence returned to the parking lot. Gary shut the door of the equipment car and stood facing the exit. The events had occurred one after another and now seemed like a distant dream. He had a hard time absorbing the fact that he had just sent a group of people to carry out a mission that was full of uncertainty and danger. The recent activity in the parking lot, and the silence that was left behind, were like a nightmare to him. The oil stain on the ground where the command car had been parked and a cigarette butt were the indications that brought Gary back to reality.

  He locked the car, put the keys in his pocket, and walked towards the door without enthusiasm, taking one last look at the parking lot and returning to the stairs leading to his hotel room.

  At the moment the heavy door closed behind Gary came the sound of a car starting its engine at the far side of the parking lot. After nervously stepping on the gas pedal several times, the driver turned on the lights and sped towards the exit. The car, black and shiny, easily climbed the ascent and left the parking lot. Among those inside was a man with a deep scar in his left cheek. Right after the black car left, in another corner of the parking lot, another car started its engine. The moment the activity in the parking lot ceased, the mysterious man in the car lit a lighter and the face of the dark-skinned man was exposed.

  Chapter 10

  As it made its way north, the atmosphere in the command car was mixed. On one hand, the men were happy to begin the real operation; on the other, they were concerned about the risks. They all remembered what Gary had said that there was more to it than meets the eye.

  Ted drove the vehicle confidently while Harry sat with a map spread out on his lap. The narrow, winding road from the hotel provided the men with landscapes that gradually changed on both sides. There were no longer any tall buildings, like the hotel, but low, nice-looking houses, and around each house was a well-kept garden.

  “Pull over!” Harry suddenly shouted, his voice trembling with excitement. Ted mounted the sidewalk with the right wheel outside the house and turned the engine off.

  “This is the grass I was held on by my kidnappers!” Harry told them and jumped up onto the sidewalk. He crossed the street quickly, with the gun hanging from his shoulder and hitting him in the back as he entered the yard. He scanned the grass carefully, and after searching for a while, picked up a coin from the grass. He tried to find the wallet that was thrown over the fence when he was kidnapped but didn’t find anything.

  “I won’t forget what happened, but from this point on we’re starting over, this time with more caution.” He rolled the coin down the street, watching it as it disappeared.

  “Let’s go, guys,” he said and jumped back into his seat.

  “You found a nice place to depart from the world,” Neil said with a smirk. “It’s clean, well-kept, quiet − and the grass is even green.”

  “The grass is now clear,” Philip joked. “There’s room for you, too.”

  Neil ignored the remark, busily trying to release his knees that were pressed against Paul’s, especially when the vehicle came off the sidewalk and began moving. Paul noticed Neil’s desperate attempts to improve his sitting position in the crowded vehicle and did nothing to help him.

  “You’re wasting your energy, my friend. We’ll treat your pressure sores when we arrive,” he said. They tried their best to improve their position and feel more comfortable for the long drive as the command car left the city without any warning. Ted was driving it on a sandy path that Harry was having trouble finding on the map. The only sign of civilization was the electricity cables that accompanied them on the right side of the path. Harry was navigating, using the map and the cables, according to the instructions he had received from Gary in the morning. The cables had recently been laid to supply electricity to the distant villages on the border.

  Around them were yellow mounds of sand with occasional desert flora. Along the path they travelled were piles of white stones. The rear wheels of the vehicle raised a cloud of sand and dust, blocking the view and getting in their eyes. Harry wore dark sunglasses, while the others had no choice but to cover their faces with wet cloths. Ted had had special driving glasses made for him in advance.

  The monotonous drive continued for several hours in the relentless hot desert sun and heavy dryness that was all around them. The equipment that had been carefully placed in the bottom of the vehicle before they left was also covered in sand.

  “We’ll soon stop for a few minutes,” Harry shouted from the front of the vehicle. His words were drowned out by the wind and didn’t reach his colleagues.

  “Did you say something?” Neil asked, spitting out the sand in his mouth.

  “I said that we’ll soon take a short break,” Harry yelled. Neil saw his lips moving but couldn’t hear him. He took a tomato out of one of the boxes and raised it, signaling to Harry that it was time to stop to rest and eat. To make his point, he opened his mouth and started chewing. “Damn this sand,” he spat out again. “I’m talking about real food.”

  Harry nodded in agreement and pointed to an area that looked like a good place to stop. Neil bit into the juicy tomato and the red liquid squirted onto his shirt. He smiled in embarrassment as the others gave him an unimpressed look. He threw the tomato behind him. Before he could lower his hand, there was suddenly a huge explosion. The vehicle swerved to the left and spun around. Paul was thrown on top of the well-padded Neil, who was pressed up against his seat. Philip sat down on one of the boxes, holding on to the bench. The vehicle came to a stop and luckily did not flip over. Harry jumped out of the car with his gun cocked and ordered the others out of the vehicle. He ran around to the back of the vehicle, scanning the area for the enemy. Philip also cocked his gun and joined Harry.

  They carefully scanned the perimeter, not ruling out any hidden corners and behind rocks. When they were certain that the area was clear, they gathered on the left side of the vehicle. The front wheel was ripped wide open. Ted put his hand on the tire and pulled it back immediately since it was burning hot.

  “Guys, we’ll use this unexpected malfunction to rest, and in the meantime Ted and Philip will change the tire,” Harry said authoritatively.

  “As you wish,” Neil responded, trying to lift their spirits again. He climbed up onto the tire and jumped onto the vehicle with surprising bounce.

  “An army marches on its stomach,” he declared from above them as he lifted the box of vegetables and placed it on the side of the vehicle.

  “The secret to success is in the food,” Neil continued, handing the box to Paul.

  “Everything is going wrong,” Paul mumbled, and apathetically took the box and put it by the rocks.

  “At the end of the meal, you’ll feel differently,” Neil said as he continued to unload the boxes. Harry put the bags down, spreading a blanket by each one, to enable them to lie down and rest. On the other side, near the tall rocks, Neil laid out the food. The rocks blocked the desert wind and the sand in the air. Ted and Philip began to change the flat tire.

  Neil stood in the improvised kitchen, behind the rock. He got to work, demonstrating his impressive skills in preparing a quick meal for the guys. He even managed to boil water for coffee with the equipment he had brought with him. Harry lay down heavily on the blanket and closed his burning eyes. He stretched his legs and his shoes made a deep mark in the yellow sand as his body gradually relaxed. He heard Neil calling them to come and eat, and the sound of Ted using the tools he was working with to repair the flat tire.

  “Gentlemen,” Neil continued his performance, “if you’re late, you’ll be eating in the next round.”

  Harry stood up, shook the sand off his crumpled clothes and joined the group that had begun eating.

  “When I met Greg in London and he proposed that I join the operation, the term he mentioned was ‘a long walk through the desert’,” Neil said. “Now I see what he was talking about. The truth is that I have never been to a country where it doesn’t rain in the summer.”

  “From what I know about this area, we haven’t gotten to the real desert yet. The conditions in Ogada, where we’ll be later, are much worse,” Ted told them in response.

  Harry listened intently. “Once we cross the border,” he added, “we’ll only be walking at night. During the day, we’ll have to hide from the army patrols. The original plan is to walk for two nights and hide during the day.”

  “If that’s the case, we need to stock up,” Neil summed up the discussion, taking another two pieces of bread.

  “You’re staying here in the desert if you don’t lose 20 kilos, my friend,” Philip said, laughing loudly. “The spare tire won’t make it,” he said, looking at Neil’s round face as he stuffed his mouth with more food. The others laughed too. Neil made an offended face. “That’s no way to talk to a friend. I’m leaving and going back to London.”

  Harry took off his sunglasses and rubbed his red-rimmed eyes. “Go on, get back to the tire,” he said, returning to the blanket himself. Paul, who gave up on his pointless attempts to light a cigarette in the constant wind, joined him, and they both stretched out on the blankets. Neil continued working in the “kitchen,” while Ted and Philip continued to perspire in their effort to change the flat tire.

  A soft, rustling sound woke Harry from his deep sleep. Paul was a few centimeters away and continued snoring, the sound mixing with the wind. The sudden shout that came from Harry so unexpectedly frightened Neil so much that he dropped the plate he was holding.

  “Dear God, what now?” Neil shouted and rushed over to the rock where Harry and Paul were positioned, making his way through the deep sand. Harry was convulsing on the blanket, agony on his face as he held his leg.

  Surprisingly, Paul continued sleeping as though nothing had happened.

  Out of the corner of his eye Neil saw a yellow rope wiggling its way across the path. “Snake!” he shouted in terror. Picking up a big rock and wobbling after the snake, he threw the rock but it missed and the snake disappeared into the white rocks. Neil hurried back and found Ted and Philip at Harry’s side. Their faces were white and they were completely helpless.

  “Philip, get me the first aid kit right away!” Neil ordered. Suddenly and unexpectedly, he was the one making the decisions.

  Philip jumped into the vehicle, rifling through the equipment with trembling hands, until he found the bag he had put there himself that morning. To save time, he threw the kit at Neil; catching it like an experienced basketball player, he poured its contents out on the blanket and took out his pocketknife. He cut Harry’s pants from the knee down to find the bite. A quick examination showed two marks near the calf muscle, and swelling that was already developing. Philip and Ted watched in confusion.

  “We need to hurry up and change the tire. We may need to move very soon,” Neil said. He explained the urgency, and to help them understand, he pushed them towards the vehicle.

  “You’re right. We don’t have any time to waste,” Philip agreed and returned to the vehicle with Ted. The initial shock had passed and the two men were back to functioning. Harry moaned in pain and then suddenly became silent. He breathed quick, flat breaths and his lips swelled. White foam spewed from his mouth, dripping onto his neck.

  Neil blocked the leg with a tourniquet and, using his knife, cut around it. Then he set up an IV.

  “There are different approaches to treating snake bites. I just hope I chose the right one.” Neil said, and then mumbled in his characteristic modesty, “That’s the extent of my knowledge in this field,” as he wiped the sweat from Harry’s forehead.

 

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