Steve just grinned. Ian regularly came up with a list of bizarre odds and sods. But he could turn them into one hell of a nasty bang when he needed to.
‘Neil can get those for us,’ said Sam, referring to her friend who ran the hostel. ‘He knows every black-market dealer in Ibera. It’s only the diesel that’s going to be expensive. There’s a terrible shortage of fuel in this city.’
‘Won’t he be suspicious?’
‘Yes, he will,’ said Sam. ‘But we’re old friends. We used to smoke dope in the same gang as teenagers. He owes me some favours.’
‘I thought you just said you went to convent school?’
Sam flashed a smile. ‘Convent girls are always the worst. I’m sure you know that.’
Steve looked straight into her clear blue eyes. ‘Thanks.’
Sam shrugged. ‘It’s OK. I owe you.’
‘That’s one thing you got right,’ said Ian sourly.
Thirty-Nine
DAN CHEWED ON THE BREAKFAST that had just been pushed through the door. There were two loaves of hard bread, some more of the mouldy bananas, and a few scraps of chicken that were already starting to reek of decay. The smell from the crap bucket was, as usual, filling the cell, and the walls were running with moisture.
‘Still, look on the bright side, mate,’ Dan said to Ollie. ‘At least you’re off the hook for the wedding.’
Ollie chuckled. ‘Katie’s going to be bloody furious,’ he said. ‘The flowers are all booked, everything. That Kapembwa bloke’s got no idea of the bollocking he’s going to get.’
‘Maybe your mother-in-law will save us,’ said David.
‘Or yours. You’ve got two of them.’
‘I know.’ David shook his head. ‘I should have taken the hanging while I had the chance.’
Ignoring the banter, Ollie checked his watch. It was just after eight in the morning. No time had been scheduled for the execution, but Wallace had used the word ‘morning’ - and that meant it would be sooner rather than later.
‘Not long to go,’ he said, his tone serious. ‘If Steve’s going to try something, he hasn’t got much time.’
‘I reckon he’ll be working on it right now,’ said David. But there wasn’t a lot of hope in his voice.
‘No chance. He’s just buggered off home,’ said Dan. ‘That’s what I’d do.’
‘Thanks, mate,’ said David. ‘I’ll remember that, next time you need rescuing from a tight spot.’
‘I didn’t mean that,’ Dan said, ‘but it’s bloody useless, isn’t it? There’s sod all that can be done for us now. The others might as well save their own skins.’
‘There’s always a way,’ said Ganju, his voice fierce with determination.
‘Oh yeah? Like what?’
‘Just take it easy, boys,’ said Ollie sharply. The tension was getting to them, he could tell. And when they were facing an imminent execution, who could blame them? Like most professional soldiers, they’d learned to come to terms with their own mortality. But this was different.
Being murdered wasn’t something any of them had counted on.
‘Nick will do something,’ growled Maksim. ‘I don’t know about the Irishman. Too clever for his own good, I reckon. And Steve?’ He shrugged. ‘Steve’s a realist. He takes risks when they’ve a chance of paying off. When they haven’t, he walks away. But Nick’s a good man, probably the best of us. He’ll try something.’
The sentence had hardly been finished before a shaft of light broke through into the cell as the upper door was opened. Ollie could hear footsteps on the stairway. His heart froze. Maybe that was Wallace, coming to lead them towards the firing squad, or whatever miserable way of ending their lives he had chosen. For the first time, he sensed himself becoming afraid. Like many condemned men, he dealt with the terror by ignoring it, pretending it wasn’t happening, focusing on the present and forgetting about the future. But once the executioner arrived . . .?
He wanted to carry himself with dignity to the end. But he was no longer sure he’d be able to.
Think about Lena, he urged himself. It worked last time.
More footsteps, he realised, glancing up. There were two people there at least. Then, out of the shadows, emerged the last man he had expected to see.
Archie Sharratt.
With his sister at his side.
‘I just wanted to thank you boys for all your hard work,’ said Archie, standing a few feet back from the cage. ‘Just a shame you’re not going to get paid.’ He chuckled to himself.
Maksim had already thrown himself against the bars, his face twisted with anger, spitting violently. ‘You bastard!’ he roared.