PRIMAL Vengeance

Chapter 30



Kaljak Village and PETROCON Refinery



Garang and most of the fighters had a well-deserved twenty-four hours rest before recommencing operations. The PRIMAL team worked non-stop. Mitch completed multiple resupply flights with Dragonfly. Bishop and Mirza, with the assistance of Jonjo, were busy conducting reconnaissance and planning future operations. The next focus was the Chinese oil refinery and logistics base nearly fifty kilometers away.

Five thousand feet above the oil refinery an eagle soared on a thermal updraft. During the day the empty steel pipes trapped the heat of the sun. In the cool of the afternoon they released that energy in the form of a column of warm air. The eagle used the natural elevator to climb into the sky, conserving his own energy reserves as he searched for prey.

As the bird conducted a lazy turn, something caught his eye. He peeled off to investigate, dropping a few hundred feet to fly directly above an electric UAV.

The intruder's sensors were orientated towards the ground. A tiny, yet powerful camera swiveled in a gimbal mount as the craft cut a slow circle in the air.

The eagle gave the strange creature a few moments before deciding it was neither small enough to eat, nor large enough to prove a threat. He turned away, returning to his own hunt.

Nearly fifty kilometers away, Mitch was controlling the UAV from his laptop. A cable linked the laptop to the satellite communications suite in the Wildcat. A crowd had gathered around the tailgate of the vehicle, watching the high resolution feed.

"So many," Jonjo said as the camera revealed the rows of gunned-up trucks parked inside the Chinese refinery. Activity in the base was high; armed men were busy loading up the vehicles and moving between the buildings.

"Are you surprised?" Garang snapped. "Omar has called up more of his men. With the Janjaweed eating from his hand and the Chinese providing the metal, he has a never-ending army."

"We can fight them!" declared Jonjo. He looked towards his leader. "We already destroyed a force five times our own, yes?"

"Without more men we cannot fight that." Garang jabbed his finger at the screen.

Bishop said nothing. He turned and gave Mirza a grim look.

"We're nearly out of battery power, team. Any last minute requests before the fat lady sings?" asked Mitch.

"Can you give us a quick scan of their defenses?" asked Bishop.

"Got less than a minute. I'll pull in real tight and give you a bit of a geezer."

The blurry shapes in the image gained clarity as the UAV banked and closed with the refinery. Within seconds they could make out the refinery's improved defenses. The outer perimeter bristled with heavy machine-guns, sand-bagged fortifications reinforcing the entire fence line.

"Bugger. We're nicked," Mitch said.

Everyone watching could make out the muzzle flashes that lit up the screen as the refinery guards spotted the drone and opened fire.

"Little Nellie's all out of juice, mate," he declared.

"Kamikaze?" asked Bishop.

"Why the f*ck not! Our plastic fantastic deserves to go out with a bang."

Mitch pitched the little craft forward and it power dove towards the refinery, shuddering as a round clipped its wing. Mortally wounded, it started to barrel roll, corkscrewing as it fell from the sky. Mitch maintained control and a spinning shot of a group of Janjaweed fighters came into view. They were all staring directly at the camera. They grew in size as the drone plummeted towards them.

Jonjo laughed as their faces filled the screen, looks of terror and confusion painted on hard Arab features.

Then the screen went blank as five kilograms of aircraft slammed into the men.

The handful of SFF men watching cheered. Jonjo slapped Mitch on the back.

"We injure two and a hundred more replace them." Garang's harsh tone cut through the joviality.

No one noticed Jess standing at the back of the group. She stared at Garang with a sad look. She had joined them in time to see the Arab army that had assembled at the refinery and she had watched Garang cut down Jonjo's enthusiasm.

As the group dispersed, Jonjo brushed past, ignoring her. She waited until the other SFF had moved away and approached the three operatives still standing at the back of their truck.

"He's right, isn't he?" she asked Bishop.

Mitch closed the laptop and gestured for Mirza to join him. Jess waited for the two men to wander back towards Dragonfly before she continued.

"They can't win, not without more help."

Bishop took a second to reply, noticing the doctor seemed to look more beautiful the dirtier she became. Her soft features were covered in the grime of Africa: blood, dirt and cordite.

"Where there is a will, there is always a way."

"It's the will that I'm worried about."

Bishop noticed that she was still carrying the AK he had given her, slung over her shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"He is changing, Aden. The will isn't there any more. I'm worried he's giving up."

"You need to keep him focused, Jess."

"How can I do that when he won't even look at me, let alone talk to me?"

"Combat does funny things to people, Jess. Believe me, I've seen enough of it to know. He might seem a little distant but I don't think he's about to throw in the towel."

"Aden!" Mitch yelled from Dragonfly's open door.

"Look, I've got to check in with my HQ but I'll be around later if you want to talk some more."

"OK." Jess smiled and Bishop couldn't help but return the gesture. Then he turned on his heel and jogged towards the aircraft and a video conference with the Bunker.