9
5 – The treason
After a while, the searches were given up because other actions, more important and more strategic, concentrated the attention of the servicemen.
The enemy had set fire to his oil installations of Basra but in the city were hidden warehouses of foods, gasoline or ammunitions which, in spite of all their reconnaissance missions, the allies did not manage to localize exactly.
Difficult to bombard blindly, because certain suburbs of the city were narrow interweavings of warehouses and civil houses.
It was necessary to strike certainly and, consequently, to determine the exact location of targets to destroy.
Nicolas is dozing. He remembers all these past events, that he did not live, but that he was told about, when he feels shocks repeated against the sole of his shoe.
He opens eyes.
The day is practically raised. Facing him stands, enlightened by the rising sun, Ignacio, the knife thrower.
- Hey hombre, he says, since yesterday evening, something titillates me. We would not already have met ? »
- It would amaze me, retorts Nicolas ! »
But the Spanish does not seem convinced.
- There is, in your physical appearance, details which question me. You are sure that we do not know each other ? »
- Extremely sure ! »
The Frenchman pushes his right hand into the pocket of his pants.
He holds now firmly the grip of his Colt, prepared for all eventualities.
If the memory returns to the one who faces him, he will have to act fast.
Of course, it will ruin the possibilities of settling down here. He will have to take back the leak, forget Magdalena.
Anyway, if he leaves the initiative to the three awful, he will have no chance.
- You should remove your glasses that I see you a little better, pursues Ignacio. Anyway, they do not serve you in much at the moment. »
While speaking, he moves forward the hand to remove them himself.
Nicolas seizes him the wrist with his left hand. The pressure is terrible, to the point that Spanish gives a cry of pain.
- Leave alone this man and return with us, shouts sudden Jurgen, whose head emerges from the cabin ! We are on holidays, you have already forgotten ? So stop quarreling with all the people you meet. »
Then, turning to the Frenchman :
- Do not pay attention, he adds. This idiot adores the provocation but, in fact, he is not nasty. I wish you good end of journey ! »
Not nasty ? Ignacio ? You would tell it to a wooden horse, you would take a kick !
This guy is a real junk. He likes provoking, it's true, but for him, it is only an introduction. What he appreciates above all else is killing.
Calm returns to the boat that is still sailing at a brisk pace.
Soon, the three accomplices are going to leave the edge.
But Nicolas is worried.
His right hand does not leave anymore the butt of his weapon, in case.
Rocked by the noise of the engine, he dives back slowly into his memories.
Where was he already ?
Ha yes ! The mission of location of warehouses in Basra.
It was obviously a mission quite indicated for the unity of divers and dolphins, because it was necessary to arrive by the sea.
Thus the small group would be forwarded by rubber dinghy, as close as possible to the objective. Then, since absolute silence would become necessary, cetaceans would take over, towing each their diver.
The study of aerial photos had allowed to spot a point of the port, away from the installations, poorly lit and apparently badly kept.
Thus the men would have a foot in this place then, by team of two, would search in the city. The mission was relatively simple : as soon as a warehouse would be spotted, one of the members of the binomial would georeference its exact position, whereas the other one would complete the information on a map. He would so note his own location, at the time of the measure of his colleague, and that of the objective.
The operation should last no more than 4 hours. The teams should accost at about 1 : 00 am and go back to the sea between 5 : 00 am and 5 : 30 am at the latest, what would allow them to go away enough before the day rise and to join boats, meant waiting for them in the wide.
The approach, rather slow, but completely silent, took place as expected.
At set time, the pier was in sight.
While the men would be on the ground, dolphins would leave towards the wide, without going away really.
They would be called back, when the time would come, by whistling with ultrasounds.
As divers and cetaceans were going to part, a signal flare rose towards the sky and exploded, then a second, then another one else.
The sky was now as clear as in broad daylight.
Soldiers, strongly armed, appeared then on the pier : enemies, of course, but also Trevor and his men. There was no possible doubt on their identity because their photos, on wanted notices, had been placarded everywhere in the allied camps.
As the present operation had been elaborated before their departure in expedition, the perfidious colonel knew all the details.
It had been easy to him, consequently, to sell them to his new allies.
Immediately, a shower of grenades fell on the commando, while it was still in the water.
The slaughter was total. Men and animals were distraught.
- We leave immediately, shouted suddenly captain Randanne ! You cling to the dolphins and leave towards the wide. Every of us try to save his own life for himself, we shall group together farther. »
A second salvo of grenades bursted among the small troop, who was trying to flee, or rather the few survivors because the losses were already significant, reddening the water. There is no doubt that the sharks, attracted by the smell of blood, would soon come to prowl.
- Then, guys, how do you find my small welcoming committee, asked Trevor ? »
Then he laughed noisily.
With great difficulty, taking advantage of a providential return of the darkness, some survivors managed to extract of the port.
Survivors, but not unhurt because many, soldiers or cetaceans, were wounded, sometimes seriously.
The captain was not escaping the rule.
Two grenades had exploded very close to him. The first had cut his leg at the calf, and the second had snatched half of his face, killing the eye and snatching the arm. The left-hand side of its body did not exist practically any more.
He hung on desperately to Cléo, who did her job well as weel as it could because she too was badly injured. One of its eyes weas pierced, half of the fin was missing and it had a deep notch on the sidewhich was bleeding a lot.
All night long, the decimated commando moved away from Basra, hoping to join its own lines.
Some divers were two on the same dolphin because one of them, on the verge of fainting, was threatening to sink. His companion, in spite of his own sufferings and his fatigue, persisted in maintaining him the head outside the water.
Two dolphins, almost unhurt, spent their time to turn around the small group to maintain taken away the sharks attracted by the blood.
The night was long and the morning was already well begun when the small group was finally able to get closer to coast, on allied territory.
It had traveled all the way by swimming because it had not managed to cross the pneumatic boats, supposed to get it back.
One by one, the men and their cetaceans came to run aground on the beach.
Nicolas was the last to arrive. When Cléo and him were finally on the sand, the animal stuck affectionately his head in the neck of his partner.
Then it died.
It had used all its strengths, in spite of its sufferings, to bring back its companion.
It has filled its duty until the end, then it stopped breathing.
The captain feeled his heart breaking itself and forgot suddenly all his wounds. He put his right arm around Cleo's neck and pressed it against him, kissing it tenderly.
Then he lost consciousness.
He woke up almost three days later.
Much to his surprise, he did not seem to be in a country hospital.
The building was hard, air-conditioned and there was only a dozen beds, all occupied by people seriously wounded, as him.
Nurses were constantly going from one to the other.
Nicolas had difficulty in reconstituting the past events. He remembered only that he was seriously injured.
Little by little, the story put back in place and he saw again the image of dying Cléo, with an immense sorrow.
He had just lived one of the most terrible and the most sad episodes of his existence.
But the life continued, a life without future, as disabled person, sentenced to a solitary idleness.
One week later, while all of them recovered slowly, two men, in civilian clothes, penetrated into the big room.
Arrived in the middle, they stopped and the oldest spoke.
- I ask you a little of attention, he said in a strong voice.
« We know that you all suffered a lot and that you are very handicaped from now on. With the authorization of the general headquarter, we have separated you from the other wounded, less affected than you, because we have a proposal to make you, which has to remain confidential. Naturally, you will be free to accept or to refuse it. But, if you cooperate with us, you can hope to recover, in whole or in part, the capacities which you lost. »
- I would like to know how you are going to do that, says one of the wounded persons. I lost my two legs and a part of one arm and I would be amazed that you can make them grow again. »
- You are right, young man, resumed the visitor with the greying temples. But before explaining our project, let us introduce ourselves. I am professor Jefferson Whitney, a neurosurgeon and the young man who accompanies me is Whitmore Landson, a brilliant electronics engineer specialized in microcomputing cablings. We work together for several years, with our teams, to finalize prostheses which would be directly connected on the nervous system of the receiver.
« We tested them on wounded animals and it works very well. We would like to be able to pursue their development, but on human beings, this time. What we propose to you, it is to agree to be used as guinea pigs. In exchange, we offer you a chance to live a normal life.
« But let us be clear. The way will be long and difficult. There will be at first a long series of delicate operations accompanied by a phase of tests then, finally, a period of learning which will not be without difficulties. We need a fast answer from you because more your wounds will be recent, better will be the conditions of implementation.
« So, I give you three days of reflection. After this deadline, you will have to tell me yes or no. Those who will refuse will be sent back in a military hospital then, as soon as possible, repatriated in their country of origin.
« Those who will accept will be transported in a private hospital the localization of which will be held secret.
« Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, I let you reflect.
« See you soon ! »
Without waiting more, both men went towards the exit and quickly disappeared.
Already shocked by what he had lived, Nicolas had difficulty in analyzing what he had just heard.
He was tormented between an insane hope and a fear of living one failure.
And, if it was a swindle ?
If they sold dreams to him ?
Yes, but… if it was true?
So the three days were very long and very fast at the same time.