Hunted by Chris Ryan Read Free Book Online Page A

poachers heavily armed?'
'Yes. They're shot if they get caught with ivory, so they'll stop at nothing. And just recently they've been getting even more daring. See that bullet hole down in the door beside Amber? That happened three weeks ago - I was out with Gaston and we must have scared them off. It came out of nowhere. We never even saw them.'
Amber leaned down. The hole was about as wide as her finger; she could see through it to the ground below.
Alex pulled their attention away from the door. 'Look at that.' He pointed in front of the Jeep.
A fully grown elephant moved out of the bush. It was enormous, a great grey mass, moving in slow motion.
'It's fantastic,' said Alex. His voice was an awestruck whisper. 'Look at the size of it.'
As if floating on air, ears flapping slowly like pterodactyl wings, the elephant came towards them, growing taller and taller. Patrick slowed.
'She's a mother, look,' whispered Amber. Two younger elephants sheltered under the great grey body.
'But she's got tusks,' said Hex.
'Matriarchs have tusks too,' said Patrick in a hushed voice. 'We've got to be very careful as she's got her babies with her. We'll stop and let her go past.' He halted the vehicle gently. 'No sudden movements. Everyone sit still.'
But the elephant walked right up to the Jeep and stopped in front of it. Her craggy face loomed over them, the tusks nearly as long as the vehicle's bonnet. Her eyes were like black sloes. It was like an immense statue in an ancient tomb coming to life.
The five members of Alpha Force looked to Patrick for a lead; he didn't move a muscle.
The elephant shattered the silence with a trumpet-burst through her trunk. The sound was ear-splitting. The six passengers sat transfixed by the awesome display of animal power.
Then she flicked her trunk at them and walked away, her youngsters trotting behind her.
Patrick spoke in a low voice as he put the Jeep in gear. 'That's Boudicca. She's been on the reserve for forty years. She just likes to warn us away from her family.'
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6
TEAK LODGE
A man came down the steps, his hands tucked into the pockets of his dusty jeans. From the way he walked purposefully towards them, smiling in welcome, they guessed he must be Joe Chandler. He was older than any of Alpha Force had expected, well into his fifties, with a liberal sprinkling of grey through his thick head of hair. But he still had a powerful frame and moved with assurance, like an old cowboy.
Patrick halted the Jeep and cut the engine as Joe enthusiastically shook everyone's hand and introductions were made. 'Welcome to Teak Lodge,' he said. 'Make yourselves at home. Let me help with your luggage.'
Teak Lodge was a long, low wooden building lying along the crest of a hill. A veranda ran along its whole length, and two white pillars marked the entrance. The ground sloped gently away into a valley, mottled with grasses that varied in colour from grey-green to golden. Further away, clusters of animals moved slowly across the plains - the substantial dark blobs of buffalo, the stripy confusion of a herd of zebra.
'Say,' said Amber as she dragged her suitcase out of the back of the Jeep, 'you've got more visitors.'
A pair of giraffes stalked towards the far end of the building, their necks rocking gently with each leisurely stride.
'They come here all the time,' said Patrick.
Hex was amazed. The combination of wild animals and the smart, modern-looking house made his head spin. 'Don't you mind giraffes wandering around the garden?' he said.
'There isn't a garden,' said Joe, 'and the animals don't understand boundaries. We have the checkpoints but they're to keep people in and out. The animals go where they want. Speaking of which, I'll show you to your rooms. Tessa's resting but she'll be down later.'
Li was also fascinated by the giraffes. 'They're so weirdly built but so graceful,' she said. 'Look at the way they move.' The animals continued their sedate promenade and went round the corner of