Chapter 11

Claire Is Convincing

"Oh God…" whispered someone. Kitty closed her eyes and her head fell as Claire confirmed the worst. In the moment of stricken silence it was, of all people, Reid who stood up.

"So what are we going to do about it?" he enunciated each word slowly, catching everyone eye as he looked around the group. "He said, how many soldiers, Claire? Twenty, ok. We saw twelve leaving. That leaves eight. Can't we at least check this place out before condemning them to death? Or are we just going to throw up our hands and say 'What's two more?" His harsh words did what they were supposed to do- shook people out of the moment of shock, confusion and self- pity. They stirred uncomfortably.

"What can we possibly do?" muttered Tim.

"We can do what Claire suggested- go have a look at this place! They will be shot tomorrow morning. There is nobody who can stop this except possibly us! Possibly we can't- in which case we get home and make sure these bastards get what they deserve, either from the American people or from the Qumaran Government! But if we walk away now, we're as guilty of murder as they are! Now, it was Josh and Gerry that pulled me out of that wreck. He and Tony were both on the main, rescue team- the one that crawled right into that destroyed mangled heap of metal and blood to pull out survivors. And later it was Claire and Josh that went out to spy on the soldiers and then cut their lifeline to protect the rest of us! Yes- I hadn't forgotten that." he added to Claire who glanced up at him, blushing. "Bleedin' well put the heart crossways in me." he told her.

"So there you have it. Now, are we going to go and at least look?" There were a few nods and Reid figured that that would have to do.

Two of them- Claire and Reid in the end, went ahead to scout out the lay of the land. Claire filled him in on what to expect ahead.

"He said there were no walls and we know the number of guards is probably somewhere between eight and ten. Tony also said that their notion of 'guarding is haphazard at best. 'Seem to spend most of their time playing cards in the mess.' is what he said. But that doesn't mean that there are either laughable or safe. Or stupid. Just lazy. We're not going to get close. Here on in- silent".

They sneaked as well as possible- Claire silent in front, Reid behind her, copying her movements. At least they'd left the now well behind he thought. They were moving through luscious woodland. Strange, exotic plants and different sounds surrounded them. It was very different to friendly, normal England, he thought ruefully. Here, everything seemed half- wild, as if it could easily attack but just wasn't choosing to- for the moment. Claire didn't seem too worried though, slipping through the trees almost invisibly. He was pretty damn impressed.

It wasn't long before they reached the perimeter. They approached from a highish point so they were looking down on it at about level with the roof of the one-storey building. It was wide and flat- built solidly. No-one stood outside, guarding it. Could they really be so lackadaisical about it all? Currently they were probably the most hunted for group in the world, having pissed off two countries fairly effectively. They'd once been a considerable force in the country. In power, they'd controlled the country with an iron grip, with the charismatic, dangerous Femi Goetz as leader. Then the Dhumaraan coup. For a 'peaceful' party, that had been a bloody one. Most of the party and all of the leadership had been killed in the space of a few confused days. This new chappie has probably been some middling member, taking advantage of the confusion once the survivors had fled and hidden here. Called himself Goetz' successor and act convincing enough and well- what else did some of these guys have? Wanted criminals by their government. No-one else would take them. This new guy and his promises of renewed glory were all they had left. Even if he was completely batty.

"Now what?" asked Reid. Claire wasn't sure. Between the fifteen of them they had one small handgun. There maybe only eight of the other guys but they were well armed. Hold the phone… They was one guy on patrol… Not paying the greatest amount of attention to his surroundings really. He looked a bit preoccupied with other concerns from the rather strange gait and the look of intense concentration on his face. He looked longingly at the building. It's amazing how yearning someone can look when they really really need a toilet. But obviously whatever the punishment for leaving your post was, it was far worse then the prospect of a messy accident. Or maybe not quite worse…as the guy reached the part of the perimeter almost directly below the watchers. He looked around, almost cross-legged by this point, and slipped into the woodland. Claire jerked her head sharply down the slope to Reid and started to creep down, keeping low. They saw him apparently gazing with complete fascination at a treetrunk. Most importantly, his hands were occupied and the high-powered gun sat just behind him. Claire slipped the handgun to Reid and signalled that he should keep the gun trained on this guy while she went for his gun. Reid nodded, is throat suddenly dry. He stood up with the handgun trained on the poor guy who was about to have a really crappy day. As Claire slipped past him, and, keeping low and silent, went for the big weapon, he surmised it was about to get even crappier.

Claire was right behind him with her hand on the muzzle when the guy felt her presence. He whipped around and saw her and reacted instantly. However, instantly was not good enough as Claire stepped back smartly, transferring the weapon to her left hand as she got its balance right. It felt good in a way. This situation she could deal with. The man made a surprised mewl as he stepped forward, still with his fly unzipped, unable to believe that a woman would threaten him. Her finger tightened on the trigger and neither her gaze nor her stance faltered, the muzzle held perfectly steady. He stopped, recognising another soldier. He spotted her backup- Reid with the pistol and scowled. Claire snapped something in Swahili and the man glared even more angrily before reluctantly backing down.

"I speaks eengish" he muttered rebelliously.

"Good." replied Claire in the same language. "Now- keep your hands where they are." She handed the soldiers gun to Reid as well who tried not to look like he'd never held one before. Claire went to search the man, make sure he wasn't packing any surprises. She didn't really like leaving the inexperienced Reid with control of the weapon but the soldier wasn't too know that. If Reid were doing the searching it would become obvious that he was untrained. So she hoped. She retrieved a knife, but no other weapons from the man. Standing back, satisfied, she took back the weapon with a sense of relief. "Right- turn around and move." He really didn't like turning his back n two guns but the choices were a bit limited so he turned around with his hands still raised and walked.

When they were almost back to the camp, Claire stopped him. She walked around so Reid was behind him and she in front.

"Information!" she snapped. "Who's being held there? Why?"

"We…we are holding no one…" he muttered unconvincingly.

Claire sighed. She couldn't afford to shoot the guy, much as she'd really like too. Apart from everything else, including that she wasn't really sure she could shoot the man in cold blood, she couldn't afford to have the noise alert either camp. Not the man knew that. She raised the gun to firing position and looked as convincing as she knew how. From the fear in the other man's eyes that was pretty damn convincing.

"I will not betray my people. And I'm not afraid to die." he lied. Claire slowly clicked of the safety. The noise sounded extra loud in the still air. The man jumped.

"You already have done." she answered. "Now, there are two men in there, am I right? Americans. Am I right!" she caught the mans eyes as he tried to look away.

"I..I…"

"What those people are doing is killing two innocent people to start a civil war to kill thousands more. Do you really want to be a part of that? Do you really think America can do what you order? The UN can't withdraw those troops. The Americans will be shot tomorrow. And then what? Do you know what will happen?"

"...won't get that far… The Americans will not let two of their own die."

"You really think so? One of the men in there is Deputy Chief Of Staff in the White House itself. Do you really think that if they could they wouldn't rescue them? But not at the risk of thousands of innocent lives. The men in there know that and the Americans know that. If your leader wasn't crazy he'd know that."

"He is not crazy! He is a patriot! Those dogs that massacred us. they are not fit to be running a country! We will save Qumar and bring her back out of the dirt! She will be a great nation again under Mbala!"

"Rubbish! A true patriot wouldn't seek civil war. Have you not heard what I said? Thousands of your countrymen would be killed if the UN listened. So they won't. Josh and Tony will die tomorrow and I wouldn't put it past America to invade. God knows you've given them enough reason too!"

The man didn't answer.

"You are the only person who can save your country right now. Stop thousands- maybe millions of deaths. Give us the information to save the men in there and you will save your people."

The mans mouth opened and closed as he assimilated the information. He was a perceptive man and could sense that Claire was telling the truth, but how could he betray the men in the compound who were fighting for what they believed in so passionately? He felt faintly horrified at even thinking these traitorous thoughts. And yet…he'd lived through so much civil war. He was thirty-eight; old enough to remember a time of peace. And still young enough to dream of it again. If she was telling the truth then he would be condemning hundred, perhaps thousands of innocent people- his own people- perhaps even his own family to death. Did he really want his two young children to grow up in his world? In a world of violence and instability. In the woods, held by two people- the enemy America, twinned with the invaders the UN, he felt suddenly assailed by doubts. Could it be that Qumar didn't need another bloody revolution at it's highest level? That the UN had helped- was helping by keeping order. That, perhaps, the current government, in all its faults and inconsistencies, was better then the one under the dangerous and fanatical Femi Goetz. And, perhaps, his movement should be allowed die with him.

Claire watched the emotions play across the mans eyes while his face stayed in a schooled mask. His head dropped as he came to the decision. What was happening in there was wrong. Those men had done no harm and he would not let them die when he could help them. He told them where the men were being held.

"But you will not get them out alone." he said, looking up for the first time. "You will need my help. Let me go back in and I will get them out. It should not be hard." Claire searched them mans face. This was a big risk. Could he be trusted?

"You do not have a choice." he told her sadly. "You must trust me. Or your friends will die tomorrow and if you are unlucky, you along with them. I can get them out."

"And why would you do that?" asked Claire harshly. The man met her eyes.

"Because what is happening in there is wrong. Because I couldn't forgive letting people die in front of me when they have done nothing wrong and I can help them."

"Go."

As the man moved back, Reid raised the handgun, confused. Somewhere in the discussion, they'd slipped back into Swahili and he was totally baffled. Claire shook her head to him and, even more confused, he stepped back and let him through.

"I hope you know what you are doing." he sighed. Claire hoped so too.

12 on it's way: Feeed me pleeease...

Aries