Leopard Hunts in Darkness - Smith Wilbur (книга бесплатный формат .TXT) 📗
Tour!" Craig signalled.
It was a machine-gun post, perfectly sited on the shoulder of the hill to cover the slopes below. Peter Fungabera had obviously anticipated the existence of bolt holes from the main cavern. The hills must all be staked out with nests of machine guns It was mere fortune that had brought them out above this post. "Me gunner was facing downhill, his mates were stretched out, relaxed and bored from days of unrewarded vigil.
"Move into attack position,"Tungata signalled.
"Query?" Craig flicked his thumb. "Four! Query?" Craig questioned the odds.
"Go right!" Tungata signalled, and then enforced the order with the clenched fist. "Imperative!" Craig felt his blood charging with adrenaline the heat of it spreading down his limbs, his mouth drying out. He clutched the round stone in his right hand.
They were so close that he could see the wet spit on the tip of the cigarette as the machinegunner took it from his lips. The nest was littered with their rubbish: paper wrappers and empty food cans and cigarette butts. Their weapons were laid carelessly aside. The man lying on his back had covered his eyes with his elbow and the burning cigarette stuck up likea candle from his lips. The sergeant against the tree was whittling a piece of wood with his trench-knife. The third had unbuttoned his smock and was minutely searching his own chest hair for body vermin.
Only the man behind the gun was alert.
Tungata was sliding into position beside Craig.
"Ready?" He raised his hand and glanced at Craig.
"Affirmative." Tungata's hand came down, the order to execute.
Craig went in, rolling over the edge of the nest, and he hit the man with the trench-knife. He hit him in the temple with the stone, and he knew instantly that it was too hard. He felt bone break in the man's head.
The sergeant sagged forward without a sound, and at the same instant Craig heard a soft scuffle and grunt be-hind him as Tungata took on the machine-gunner. Craig did not even glance around. He snatched up the Uzi machine, gun and cocked it.
The searcher after body vermin looked up and his jaw sagged open as Craig thrust the muzzle into his face, pressing the circle of steel against his cheek and glaring into his eyes, dominating him, compelling silence.
Tungata had picked up the sergeant's fallen trench knife and now he dropped onto the reclining trooper, driving one knee into his diaphragm, forcing all the air from his lungs in a single explosive sigh, and then pressing the point of the knife into the soft flesh below his ear. Still on his back, the man's face swelled and contorted, as he struggled to refill his lungs.
"If any man cries out," Tungata. whispered, "I will cut off his testicles and stick them in his mouth." It had all taken less than five seconds.
Tungata knelt beside the sergeant whom Craig had stoned, and felt for the pulse in his throat. After a few seconds he shook his head, and began stripping the corpse of its battle-smock. He shrugged into it. It was too sma for him, binding across the chest.
"Take the gunner's uniform," he ordered, while he took the Uzi from Craig and covered the two prisoners with it.
The machine-gunner's neck was broken. Tungata had jerked back his helmet and the strap had caught under his chin. The dead man's camouflage smock stank of rancid stale sweat and tobacco smoke, but it fitted Craig well enough. The steel helmet was too big, it came down to his eyes, but covered his long straight hair.
Tungata thrust his face close to those of the prisoners.
"Drag the bodies of these Shana dogs with you." Craig and Tungata covered them while they pulled the two naked dead men, fAt first, through the grass to the cave entrance and then rolled them down the slope into the dark interior.
The two girls were shocked and silenced.
"StripP Tungata ordered the prisoners. when they were in their army issue shorts, Tungata ordered Craig, "Tie them! Craig gestured them to lie on their stomachs, and using the nylon rope bound their wrists at the small of the back, then pulled up their legs and bound wrists to ankles. It was a hogtie that left them helpless. Then he -pulled the stockings off their feet and stuffed them into their mouths and tied the gags in place.
While he was working, Tungata was dressing the girls in the discarded battle-dress. It was many sizes too large, but they folded back the cuffs at wrists and ankles and belted the trousers in a bunch around their waists.
"Black your face, Pendula," Tungata ordered, and she smeared herself. "Hands also. Now cover your hair." He pulled a beret out of a pocket of his purloined smock, and tossed it to her.
"Come on." Tungata picked up the canvas bag of diamonds and started back up the slope. He led them back to the abandoned machinegun nest.
Tungata tipped up a field pack, emptying it out onto the ground, and then shoved the bag of diamonds into the pack and rebuckled it. He slung the pack onto his back.
Craig had been ransacking the other equipment. He passed two grenades to Tungata and stuffed two more into his own pockets. He found a Tokarev pistol for Sarah, and gave another Uzi to Sally-Anne. There was an AK 47 for himself, with five spare magazines. Tungata kept the second Uzi. Craig added a water bottle to his load. He broke open an emergency pack of chocolate and they all stuffed their mouths as they prepared to leave. It tasted so good that Craig's eyes watered.
"I'll take the point." Tungata spoke through a sticky mouthful of chocolate. "We'll try and get down into the valley, under cover of the trees." They kept just under the shoulder of the hill, going directly down the slope, taking the chance that the open slope to their right was clear.
