Jungle Kill by Jim Eldridge Read Free Book Online Page A

game,’ said Mitch. ‘It’s the way we live. Doesn’t matter how on the ball we are, we’re always on the edge and one breath away from dying.’
    Two Moons laughed. ‘When you say it like that, it sure is a hell of a stupid way to earn a living.’

10
     
    They woke before dawn the next morning, refreshed. Nelson gestured at the bandits’ jeep. ‘They’d better not leave that sitting around,’ he commented to Mitch. ‘If the bad guys show up and see it, this village will be in real big trouble.’
    ‘I was just thinking the same,’ agreed Mitch. He called Adwana over and passed on Nelson’s advice about getting rid of the jeep, with a few extra tips of his own.
    ‘What did you tell him?’ asked Nelson after he’d finished.
    ‘Told him to take it out into the jungle and abandon it as far away as possible. If he can, find a ravine to run it into.’
    ‘Good,’ said Nelson.
    The unit gathered up their gear, then set off for the bandit stronghold, with Oba leading the way.
    As Mitch had said, with a guide like Oba who knew the jungle like the back of his hand, they covered the ten miles in five hours. On difficult terrain like this, with swamps and deep gulleys to get across, it was fast going.
    Suddenly Oba began to slow down and then stopped, his eyes darting around, obviously afraid. The confidence with which he had moved through the jungle suddenly vanished.
    ‘I think we’re here,’ Mitch murmured to the others.
    He whispered something to Oba in Igbo, and Oba nodded, pointing ahead. As gently and as calmly as he could, Mitch talked to Oba, gesturing at the other men of Delta Unit, and assuring Oba that no harm would come to him while they were with him.
    Oba nodded slowly, but it was obvious from his face and his body language that he wasn’tconvinced. However, he dropped down on to his hands and knees and began crawling slowly forward through the jungle. Delta Unit dropped down too, and followed him.
    It took ten minutes of slow and careful crawling through the tangle of bush and tree roots, but at last they could see a huge clearing in the jungle. The clearing was covered in overgrown foliage from ornamental plants and bushes, small trees and shrubs that had once been cultivated and kept neat and tidy, but had now grown wild. Rising up from the rampant vegetation was a dilapidated two-storey-high concrete building. The remains of a tennis court could be seen through the trees, as well as the cracked tiles and empty shell of what had once been a large swimming pool. A faded broken sign hanging on the wall near the main entrance announced it was the ‘Malinawi Hotel'.
    ‘Nice place to come for a holiday,’ commented Gaz.
    The place had obviously been built for bettertimes, in the hope that tourists would come out with their dollars and pounds and bring luxury to the area. Either the tourists hadn’t materialised, or the developer had run out of cash before the place could be completed. Or maybe a civil war had just overtaken the place. Now, the hotel looked like a makeshift fortress. The windows had been boarded up, sheets of wood and corrugated iron nailed into place over them.
    ‘Making sure no one throws any grenades into the building,’ murmured Benny.
    The grounds were patrolled by guards, all dressed raggedly and as casually as the other crew of bandits had been. But they were all heavily armed, bandoliers of ammunition hanging from their shoulders, assault rifles dangling from their hands.
    Nelson and Tug scanned the building and the armed men through their binoculars.
    ‘How many can you make out?’ asked Nelson.
    ‘Ten,’ muttered Tug. ‘And that’s only from this side. My guess is there’ll be at least another tenout of sight on the other side.’
    ‘That’s what I’m thinking,’ agreed Nelson. ‘So, twenty outside. How many inside? What d’you think, Mitch?’
    Mitch shrugged. ‘Hard to tell,’ he said. ‘Ten, twenty. It depends if they’ve got any of their men out