Rough Diamonds (A Spider Shepherd short story) by Stephen Leather Read Free Book Online

know the half of it, my idealistic friend,’ Parker said. ‘But you can be sure of one thing – they’ll be put to good use.’ He smiled. ‘And I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear that I’m heading back to London tomorrow. So now I’ll say farewell until the next time we meet, gentlemen.’  Parker turned and walked out of the hotel and a moment later they heard his car drive off.
    ‘Good riddance to bad rubbish,’ said Geordie.  ‘Let’s get a few beers in while we’ve still got the chance.’
    ‘Keep mine on ice,’ Shepherd said. ‘I’ve an errand to run first. Jock, do you want to ride shotgun for me? I don’t want to be shaken down at some roadblock on the way into the city.’ He raised his voice. ‘Farid? You might want to come with us as well, it could well be worth your while.’
    The Lebanese was on his feet in an instant. ‘Moves fast for such a big man, doesn’t he?’ Jock said with a grin.
    ‘Only if there’s money in it,’ said Shepherd.
     They took the battered and bullet-holed Landcruiser that they had commandeered from the SAS base on their first day in Freetown and drove down into the city, past the now familiar landmarks of the crumbling art deco State House on Tower Hill, the Pademba Road jail, the abandoned and looted Government Book Store and the American Embassy overlooking the Cotton Tree roundabout, shaded by the huge tree that gave it its name.  They drove on across the city, past the derelict City Hall and the grey concrete bowl of the football stadium - a monument to his own vanity built by a former dictator, Siaka Stevens - and reached a once-prosperous district where every shop and office now seemed abandoned. They turned into a side-street and drove in through the iron gates and into the yard of a dingy warehouse building. A guard eyed them suspiciously but before he could challenge them, a dark haired woman came out of the building and smiled in recognition as she saw Shepherd at the wheel.
    She hurried to greet him as he climbed out of the vehicle and he introduced her to the others. ‘This is Laurence Beltran,’ he said, ‘Medicaid International’s regional director, and one of the few foreigners in this country who is here for the benefit of its people and not to steal from them. How’s Abiola, Laurence?’ He turned to Jock. ‘ He’s a boy I met last time I was here,’ he said by way of explanation.
    ‘He’s fine,’ she said, ‘and there is someone else here you may recognise. Baraka!’
    Shepherd’s patrol had rescued the boy from the rebels, along with several other traumatised children, some weeks before. Despite the children’s pleas, the SAS men had no choice other than   to leave them to defend themselves. Shepherd had gone to see Laurence to try to persuade her to rescue the children, but given the thousands of other destitute and traumatised children in Sierra Leone, he hadn’t been optimistic about Baraka’s fate. However to Shepherd’s delight, he now saw the boy emerging from the shadows at the back of the yard and breaking into a broad smile as he caught sight of the SAS men. Shepherd waved at the boy and the boy waved back.
     ‘My friends and I have something for you,’ Shepherd said to Laurence. ‘You will need to be discreet because it is, shall we say, an unofficial gift.’ He gestured at the Lebanese merchant. ‘But Farid here will help you with it. It should give you the resources not only to help Abiola and Baraka, but to aid and rescue many other children too.’ He reached into his top pocket and took out a handful of rough diamonds and poured them into her hands. She stared at them in disbelief as tears formed in her eyes. ‘Are these what I think they are?’
    ‘They are, and Farid will make sure that you get a fair price for them, because he knows that if he doesn’t, the SAS will hunt him down wherever in the world he goes and no matter how he tries to hide, we will find him, and we will make him pay. And it