Dark vendetta, p.16
Dark Vendetta, page 16
The old man spoke suddenly in a quavering tone that was weak from age as well as fear. The Chinese dialect meant nothing to Larren but Johnny answered the old man in his own tongue. The herdsman became silent as Johnny swiftly began to tie his hands behind his back.
Larren said, “You’ll have to gag him too, Johnny. We can’t take any risk of him shouting for help when that car comes into sight.” He thrust the automatic back into his belt as he spoke, for it was obvious that the weapon was not needed. The old man was too frail to make any effort at resistance, and all three of them knew it.
Johnny tightened the last knot around the spindly wrists and then swiftly but gently laid the old man on the ground. He produced another cord from his jacket pocket and began to secure the old man’s feet. As he worked he said:
“What do you plan to do now?”
Larren found a handkerchief and began gagging the old man’s mouth as he answered briskly:
“I’m going to hide amongst those cows while you take his staff and herd them along the road. Keep them spread out so that the car has to stop, and then drive them right up to it. Act as stupid as you can without overdoing it and try and entice the co-driver out of the car. I’ll attempt to get near enough to deal with the driver. When I do, you tackle his mate. If we can silence them without the other two in the back of the car realising what has happened then we’ll be able to take them by surprise too.”
Johnny’s white smile flickered widely. “A few moments ago I thought you had gone mad, but now I will revise my opinion.”
Larren looked at the young man and replied curtly, “It will have to be done silently. If the two guards inside the car realise that anything is amiss they’ll cut us to pieces with those stens.”
“It will be done silently.”
Johnny still smiled but there was finality in his tone. Larren’s unsmiling mouth remained hard for a few moments and then he too allowed himself a smile, and both men knew that they could each rely upon the other.
Without any further words they lifted the unprotesting herdsman and carried him between them to the ditch that ran beside the road. The ditch was shallow, a mere two or three feet deep, but it was deep enough to conceal the herdsman’s thin frame. There was no more than half an inch of water along the muddy bottom and they deposited the old man gently out of sight. The pack that held their radio transmitter still lay in full view and they quickly hid that in the ditch also. Then Johnny Ling picked up the herdsman’s staff and they both sprinted down the road to catch up with the straying cows.
Larren cleared the ditch again in another running jump and circled around the small herd of cattle to get head of them. The animals were lean-flanked and dirty with caked mud, and their large brown eyes regarded him almost threateningly as he stopped their progress while Johnny drove the stragglers forward. Larren threw hasty glances over his shoulder to the gap in the hills where the armoured car could appear at any moment, and swore angrily at the shying cows as they shuffled about the road.
At last the small herd was massed the way the two men wanted it, the cows strung out across the full width of the road but still bunched closely together. Larren stopped shouting and waving his arms and allowed the herd to move around him as Johnny thwacked the rumps of the rear animals and drove them forward. The large, suspicious eyes of the cows fixed nervously upon Larren as they mooed and shied away from him, they were disturbed by his presence and he could only hope that they would hide him effectively as he crouched among them.
For a few moments there was nothing to be heard except the lowing voices of the protesting cattle and the light smacks of Johnny’s staff as he kept them in order, and then above those sounds came the noise of the approaching car. Larren peered above the bony haunches of the cows, wrinkling his nose against the powerful stench that they exuded, and saw the ugly steel shape of the armoured car nosing out of the pass ahead and turning towards them on the downhill curve of the road.
The cattle were still unsettled and Larren crouched as low as possible as the sound of the car’s engine grew louder. Behind him Johnny Ling was shouting in a shrill, sing-song voice as he danced about keeping the cows in order, and the thwacks of his stick grew sharper and louder. The cows were hustled forward and Larren felt slightly safer as they were forced to close up around him. He took great care not to make any sudden moves that would startle them again as he moved with them.
He risked another glance over the swaying rumps and shoulders of the slowly-moving herd and saw that the armoured car had reached the foot of the hill and was now coming straight at them. Clouds of dust billowed up from its wheels as it came squarely towards them down the centre of the road.
Larren’s hand moved to his hip where his beloved knife hung in its sheath, but he didn’t draw the blade free. Silence was necessary, but at the same time it would be better if the guards were left alive; they were not at war and the Chinese already had plenty of grounds for making formal protests, and the murder of Chinese soldiers would not make things any easier when the British Government had to finally face the charges. Somewhat reluctantly Larren released the sheath knife and drew his automatic instead.
The armoured car was almost upon them before it screeched to a stop amid a cloud of choking dust and the harsh scream of brakes. The frightened cattle voiced their alarm with loud bellows and turned violently away. Johnny Ling still yelled frantically as he raced from side to side to prevent the herd from splitting up. Simon Larren dropped low on his stomach and peered through the jungle of shifting legs and stamping hooves to where the car had stopped a few yards ahead.
The man beside the driver was leaning out of the window and yelling angrily. He was obviously an officer of some kind but from his horizontal position on the road Larren could not distinguish his rank. Johnny Ling answered the man with a torrent of Chinese, waving his staff and hurrying the cattle forward. Larren had to wriggle swiftly along on his stomach to keep pace, at the same time twisting his body to avoid the clumsy hooves of his lumbering shield.
Through the cattle’s legs Larren saw the officer step down from the cab of the car and although he could only see the lower half of the man’s body he could easily imagine the expression that dominated the man’s face as he shouted angrily for the cows to be moved. Johnny Ling was answering in the frantic, terrified tones of a man expecting to suffer dire punishment because of a situation over which he had no real control, and he played his part to perfection as he drove the milling cattle forward to split into two streams around the car.
Larren wriggled to the left, away from the officer and snaking past the car under the cover provided by the bellowing cattle and the dust cloud that was stirred up by their feet. He narrowly avoided the sharp edge of a hoof that just missed his face and then came silently to his feet with his back to the steel side of the car just behind the cab. He had to bottle back the need to choke and cough as his head came clear of the dust and stink and his hand was gripped hard about his automatic. Now it was up to Johnny Ling.
The young man continued to drive the cattle forward as he approached the officer. The man was young and arrogant and had a black leather holster buttoned at his hip, his face was furious but despite his fury there was no trace of suspicion in his manner. He made no effort to touch his holster as he cursed the apologetic Johnny Ling. Johnny was still cringing as the officer raised his hand to deliver a vicious back-handed cut across his mouth, but the blow never fell. Instead the staff in Johnny’s hand whipped round and landed with a sharp crack across the man’s temple. The young officer fell with no more than a choking gasp and Johnny caught him before he hit the dusty road.
The driver of the armoured car stiffened as he saw his officer fall, but before he could act his cab door was yanked open and a savage hand clamped around his mouth. He was dragged bodily out of the cab and then the butt of Larren’s automatic descended with both force and precision on to the side of his skull and he became instantly limp.
There was a narrow grille behind the seats in the cab of the armoured car that enabled the men in the back to look out over the driver’s shoulder, and although the grille was fortunately closed Larren and Johnny lost no time in dragging the two unconscious men back beneath the car where they would be out of sight of anyone who looked through.
Without hesitation Johnny donned the young officer’s jacket and cap and moved around the back of the car. There was another grille set in the double doors and from behind it a pair of wary eyes peered out. Johnny had not dared to waste time in stripping the officer of his full uniform but he deftly manoeuvred one of the bewildered cows between himself and the car as he yelled at the remaining guards inside to come and help him shift the cows from the road.
Larren stood with his back to the steel side of the car and prayed that the rear doors would open, while Johnny turned his face away and began yelling above the bellows of the cattle. The cows were shifting fast and in a few moments they would be past the car and Johnny would be revealed as an impostor in a pair of baggy blue trousers, and Larren almost cried in fury as the last two guards showed no signs of coming out. Then abruptly he heard the rattle of a chain as the doors were unlocked from the inside.
The double steel doors were pushed wide open and the first of the two guards jumped down into the road, and in the same moment the beast that Johnny Ling was using as a cover took fright and bolted. The soldier gaped stupidly for a moment as he realised that it was not his officer who had ordered him out of the car, and then abruptly he levelled the sten gun he carried into firing position, at the same time yelling a warning to his companion still in the car.
Johnny Ling sprang forward in the same moment and kicked the sten clean out of the man’s hands before he could pull the trigger. His fist crashed into the soldier’s stomach and in the same moment he drew his own automatic from his belt.
Larren came springing round the door of the car as Johnny clubbed his automatic at the soldier’s head. The man dropped away and they both looked up into the enraged face of the last guard who stood splay-legged in the back of the car. The guard raised his sten but the nearest of the three prisoners behind him lurched to his feet and threw himself bodily forwards, and both guard and prisoner came crashing out of the back of the car.
The sten gun went off in a chattering burst that chewed more pot holes in the rough surface of the road, and the herd of terrified cows finally took flight and stampeded away. The struggling guard tried to get to his feet but Larren locked one arm about his throat and delivered another savage blow from the butt of his automatic. The guard sagged and the sten clattered out of his hand, and when Larren released him he flopped down limply on to his face.
There was a momentary lull as Larren and Johnny Ling regained their breath and regarded the scene around them. Larren still held his automatic and as he thrust it back into his belt he finally gave way to the need to cough over the dust he had swallowed while worming his way amongst the cows. When he had finished the man who had hurled himself at the last guard, and who now sprawled painfully at their feet, said weakly:
“Thanks for the help, friends, but who the hell are you?”
Larren looked down into the straight gaze of the man’s blue eyes and grinned. “We’re just a couple of tattered pimpernels from Naval Intelligence. Lieutenant-Commander Kendall sent us out to bring you home.” He added brief introductions.
The blue-eyed man winced as he tried to sit up.
“My name’s Mason, Paul Mason.” He jangled the handcuffs that were locked about his wrists and ankles. “The keys to these should be in your friend’s new jacket,” he said.
Johnny Ling swiftly searched through the pockets of the jacket he had taken from the young officer and found a large bunch of keys. He went to work willingly and within a few seconds released Mason from the two sets of handcuffs. Larren helped the Marine Captain to his feet as Johnny climbed into the car to reach the other two prisoners. There were brief exclamations as the two men were freed and then they clambered out of the car. Johnny Ling followed them, his face strangely hard.
Mason’s companions were totally different types. The first man out was a young giant with an ox-like build and a six-day beard that already showed heroic proportions, while the second man was a slim Chinese man who faintly resembled Johnny Ling.
Mason said, “That’s Sergeant Hugh Logan, and Chao Lin. I’m afraid we lost Tom Randell and Fen Liu when we were captured.”
Larren knew now the reason behind Johnny’s expression, and he glanced at his companion’s face. He wasn’t quite sure what to say in the presence of these men who were still strangers.
Johnny saved him from saying anything.
He said, “I think I knew as soon as I heard that one of them was dead that it would be Fen Liu. My friend also faced death if he was captured.”
For a moment all eyes rested on the young Chinese man who still knelt in the back of the car. Then to break the silence Larren asked.
“How did it happen?”
Mason answered, “It happened yesterday morning. We were hiding up for the day in a large cave we had discovered when suddenly we looked out and found the whole area swarming with soldiers. There was nothing we could do but lie there until they found us. Our blasted radio had packed up so we couldn’t even try to contact base.” His bronzed face, which like Logan’s was half-bearded, hardened as he continued. “God knows how they knew that we were there, but they knew all right. A bunch of them suddenly appeared on the hillside above us and caught us completely by surprise, not that it would have made much difference to the final outcome. Randell saw them first and jumped up in alarm, and the swine shot him down instantly. The rest of us sat tight except for Fen Liu; he tried to run and stopped a dozen bullets.” He glanced at Johnny and added, “I didn’t know why he ran until now — he never told us that he was wanted by the Chinese.”
Hugh Logan took up the tale. He said, “We were taken down into Chushan and lodged in a stinking cell in the military barracks overnight. Then this morning we were told that we were being taken to a larger town in the north where we would be properly interrogated. This armoured car arrived a few hours later and we were bundled into it, complete with our equipment which they wanted their experts to look over. The last thing that we expected was to be rescued — I suppose it was the last thing that they expected too.”
Larren grinned. “I’ll explain our side of it later, but right now we’ve got to get the hell out of here. There’s a submarine waiting out to sea to pick us up, but first we’ve got to get back to the coast and start swimming.”
“Wait a minute!”
It was Mason who spoke, and there was a note of command in his voice. Paul Mason no longer resembled the elegant waster who had first strolled into Maclean’s office to receive this mission; instead he was unshaven and ragged, and his face was a grim, bronze mask of determination.
He said flatly, “Don’t think that I’m ungrateful, Larren, but we still have a job to do. As Logan said, the Chinese were good enough to load our gear in with us for the trip north, and as we still have our equipment, and now a car to take us on our way, I don’t see any good reason why we shouldn’t complete our mission before making our escape.”
His blue eyes glinted and his voice became steely. “I’ve lost two good men, and I’ve come a damned long way just to plant a few charges of high explosive around Vigilant’s guts — and I’m not turning back when we’re a mere sixteen or seventeen miles away.”
Larren regarded him calmly for a moment and then glanced towards Johnny Ling.
“Well, Johnny? Shall we give them a hand to sabotage Vigilant before we make a run for it?”
The young Chinese man was not smiling now. He said harshly:
“I should hate to think that Fen Liu died for nothing.”
Larren swung back to Mason. “Okay, Captain, we’ll finish the job. Give me a hand to handcuff your ex-guards and we’ll take them with us. It’s too risky to leave them here. Chao and Johnny can put on a couple of their uniforms and drive while the rest of us travel in the back of the car.”
Mason’s unshaven face broke into a smile and he turned to face Logan and Chao Lin. “You heard the man — let’s move!”
Within a very few minutes the two Chinese men were garbed in the uniforms of two of the soldiers. The old herdsman was retrieved from the ditch and bundled into the back of the car with the four guards. Larren gathered up his pack with the radio transmitter and followed Mason and Logan as they squeezed in beside the prisoners. He slammed the doors shut and then moved forward to draw back the shutters over the grille that looked into the front of the car. Chao Lin was ready at the wheel and Johnny Ling was now resplendent beside him in complete officer’s uniform. Larren nodded and Chao started the engine. A few seconds later they were increasing speed and heading out across the plain.
With the sensation of speed a new thought became uppermost in Larren’s brain. He was realising that by delaying their escape to accomplish Mason’s mission he was also giving himself more time to meet up again with Reutall and Dressler. The thought brought a strange light to his brooding, grey-green eyes, a light that denoted an unmistakable desire to kill.
CHAPTER 18: DISASTER
Johnny Ling knew the country well, and under his guidance the armoured car soon left the road and turned up a rough track leading through the chain of hills that he and Larren had crossed the night before. The track was deeply rutted and in places it bulged with half-buried boulders and the car bounced and jolted violently as it wound steeply upwards. As the plain dropped below and behind them Larren briefly related the chain of events leading up to the recent rescue. Logan listened in stolid silence, but at the mention of Maclean’s murder and the butchering of his family, Mason uttered a sharp, bitter oath.
