Juggernaut

The front wheels of the tractor crossed the bitumen expansion joint which marked the beginning of the bridge proper. Kemp moved quickly from one side of the control cab to the other, looking forwards and backwards to check that the rig and the tractor were in perfect alignment. Behind the rig the air umbilicus lengthened as it was paid out.

I estimated that the rig was moving at most a quarter of a mile an hour; it took about six minutes before the whole length of the combine was entirely supported by the bridge. If you were nervous now was the time to hold your breath. I held mine.

Then above the uproar of the airlift engines and the rush of air I heard a faint yell, and someone tugged at my arm. I turned and saw Sadiq’s sergeant, his face distorted as he shouted something at me. At my lack of comprehension he pulled my arm again and pointed back along the road leading up to the bridge. I turned and saw a column of vehicles coming up: jeeps and motorcycles at the front and the looming, ugly snouted silhouettes of tanks behind them.

I ran towards them with the sergeant alongside me. As soon as the volume of noise dropped enough to speak and be heard I pulled up and snapped, ‘Where’s Captain Sadiq?’

The sergeant threw out his hand towards the river. ‘On the other side.’

‘Christ! Go and get him – fast!’

The sergeant looked dismayed. ‘How do I do that?’

‘On your feet. Run! There’s room for you to pass. Wait. If Mister Kemp, if the road boss sees you he may stop. You signal him to carry on. Like this.’ I windmilled my arm, pointing forwards, and saw that the sergeant understood what to do. ‘Now go!’

He turned and ran back towards the bridge and I carried on towards the armoured column, my heartbeat noticeably quicker. It’s not given to many men to stop an army single-handed, but I’d been given so little time to think out the implications that I acted without much reflection. A leading command car braked to a stop, enveloping me in a cloud of dust, and an angry voice shouted something in Kinguru, or so I supposed. I waved the dust away and shouted, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Do you speak English, please?’

An officer stood up in the passenger seat of the open command car, leaning over the windscreen and looking down at the bridge with unbelieving eyes. When he turned his gaze on me his eyes were like flint and his voice gravelly. ‘Yes, I speak English. What is going on there?’

‘We’re taking that load across the bridge. It’s going up to the new power plant at Bir Oassa.’

‘Get it off there!’ he shouted.

‘That’s what we’re doing,’ I said equably.

‘I mean move it faster,’ he shouted again, convulsed with anger. ‘We have no time to waste.’

‘It’s moving as fast as is safe.’

‘Safe!’ He looked back at his column, then again at me. ‘You don’t know what that word means, Mister Englishman.’ He shouted a string of orders to a motorcyclist who wheeled his bike around and went roaring back up the road. I watched it stop at the leading tank and saw the tank commander lean down from the turret to listen. The tank cut out of the column and ground to a rattling halt alongside the command car. The officer shouted a command and I saw the turret swivel and the barrel of the gun drop slightly.

I was sweating harder now, and drier in the mouth, and I wished to God Sadiq would show up. I looked round hopefully, but of Sadiq or any of his military crowd there was no sign.

‘Hey, Captain,’ I shouted, giving him as flattering a rank as possible without knowing for sure. ‘What are you doing? There are four hundred and thirty tons on that bridge.’

His face cracked into a sarcastic smile. ‘I will get it to go faster.’

I sized him up. He was obviously immune to reason, so I would have to counter his threat with a bigger one. I said, ‘Captain, if you put a shell even near that rig you’ll be likely to lose it and the whole bridge with it. It’s worth a few million pounds to your government and Major General Kigonde is personally handling its wellbeing. And I don’t think he’d like you to wreck the bridge either.’

He looked baffled and then came back with a countermove of his own. ‘I will not fire on the bridge. I will fire into the trucks and the men on the river bank if that thing does not go faster. You tell them.’

His arm was upraised and I knew that if he dropped it fast the tank would fire. I said, ‘You mean the airlift truck? That would make things much worse.’

‘Airlift? What is that?’

‘A kind of hovercraft.’ Would he understand that? No matter: at least I could try to blind him with science. ‘It is run by the truck just off the bridge and it’s the only way of getting the rig across the bridge. You damage it, or do anything to stop our operation and you’ll be stuck here permanently instead of only for the next half-hour. Unless you’ve brought your own bridge with you.’

His arm wavered uncertainly and I pressed on. ‘I think you had better consult your superior about this. If you lose the bridge you won’t be popular.’

He glared at me and then at last his arm came down, slowly. He dropped into his seat and grabbed the microphone in front of him. The little hairs on the back of my neck lay down as I turned to see what was happening at the bridge.

Sadiq’s troops had materialized behind our men and trucks, but in a loose and nonbelligerent order. They were after all not supposed to protect us from their own side, assuming these troops were still their own side. Beyond them the rig still inched its way painfully along as Kemp stuck to the job in hand. Sadiq was standing on the running board of one of his own trucks and it roared up the road towards us, smothering me in yet another dust bath on its arrival. Before it had stopped Sadiq had jumped down and made straight for the officer in the command car. Captain Whoosit was spoiling for a fight and Sadiq didn’t outrank him, but before a row could develop another command car arrived and from it stepped a man who could only have been the battalion commander, complete with Sam Browne belt in the British tradition.

He looked bleakly around him, studied the bridge through binoculars, and then conferred with Sadiq, who was standing rigidly to attention. At one point Mr Big asked a question and jabbed a finger towards me. I approached uninvited as Sadiq was beginning to explain my presence. ‘I can speak for myself, Captain. Good morning, Colonel. I’m Neil Mannix, representing British Electric. That’s our transformer down there.’

He asked no further questions. I thought that he already knew all about us, as any good commander should. ‘You must get it out of our way quickly,’ he said.

‘It’s moving all the time,’ I said reasonably.

The Colonel asked, ‘Does the driver have a radio?’

‘Yes, sir,’ said Sadiq. A pity; I might have said the opposite.

‘Talk to him. Tell him to move faster. Use my radio.’ He indicated his own command car, but as Sadiq moved to comply I said, ‘Let me talk to him, Colonel. He will accept my instructions easier.’

‘Very well, Mister Mannix. I will listen.’

I waited while Sadiq got on net with Kemp and then took the mike. ‘Basil, this is Neil Mannix here. Do you read me? Over.’

‘Yes, Neil. What’s going on back there? Over.’

‘Listen and don’t speak. There is an army detachment here which needs to use the bridge urgently. I assume you are moving at designated speed? It will be necessary for you to increase to the –’

The Colonel interrupted me. ‘What is this designated speed?’

‘Hold it. Over. It works out about a mile an hour, Colonel.’ I ignored his stricken face and went on into the mike, ‘Basil? Increase if necessary. How long do you estimate as of now? Over.’

‘Fifteen minutes, perhaps twenty. Over.’

Taking his cue, Kemp was giving answers only. He could pick up clues pretty smartly. There was no such thing as a designated speed and Kemp knew this. I went on, ‘Get it down to no more than fifteen, ten if possible. Over.’

I was praying for an interruption and for once I got lucky. Sadiq’s military unit had got restless and several vehicles, including those carrying the guns, started down the road towards us. The commander turned alertly to see what was going on. In that moment, with nobody listening except the Colonel’s driver, I said hastily, ‘Basil, if you don’t get the hell off that bridge we’ll have shells coming up our ass. These guys are trigger-happy. Go man go. Acknowledge formally. Over.’

It was all I had time for, but it was enough. The Colonel was back, looking more irritated than ever, just in time to hear Kemp’s voice saying, ‘Message understood, Neil, and will be acted upon. Going faster. Out.’

I handed the microphone back to the driver and said, ‘That’s it, Colonel. He’ll do the best he can. You should be on your way in a quarter of an hour. I’ll arrange to hold all the rest of our stuff until you’re through.’

The muscles round his jaw bunched up and he nodded stiffly, casting a quick glance skywards, and then began snapping orders to his Captain who got busy on the radio. All down the line there was a stir of activity, and with interest and some alarm I noted that machine guns were sprouting from turret tops, all pointing skywards. I remembered the jets that had gone over and wondered what Air Chief Marshal Semangala, or whatever his title might be, was doing just at that moment. Away in the distance I saw the four barrels of a 20-millimetre AA quickfirer rotating.

I said, ‘Has a war broken out, Colonel?’

‘Exercises,’ he said briefly. ‘You may go now.’

It was a curt dismissal but I wasn’t sorry to get it. I joined Sadiq and we drove back to our lines. I passed the word for everyone to remain clear of the bridge and to let the army through, once the rig was safely on the other side and uncoupled from its umbilicus. Everyone was bursting with curiosity and the tension caused by the rig’s river passage had noticeably increased, which wasn’t surprising. But I had little to tell them and presently everyone fell silent, just watching and waiting.

Seventeen minutes later the rig was clear of the bridge and safe on firm land again. Things are comparative, and after the bridge even the most friable and potholed road would seem like a doddle, at least for a time. The airlift truck was uncoupled, its hoses stowed, and it was moved back from the bridge approach. The Colonel came towards us in his staff car.

‘Thank you,’ he said abruptly. Graciousness was not a quality often found out here and this was the nearest we’d get to it. He spoke into the mike and his leading motorcycles roared off across the bridge.

I said, ‘Mind a bit of advice, Colonel?’

He speared me with dark eyes. ‘Well?’

‘That bridge really isn’t too safe: it’s been cheaply made. I’d space out my tanks crossing it, if I were you.’

He nodded shortly. ‘Thank you, Mister Mannix.’

‘My pleasure.’

He peered at me uncertainly and then signed to his driver to go ahead. As he drove off already talking into his microphone, I sighed for the days of the mythical bush telegraph. The battalion that followed was mostly armour, tanks and a battery of self-propelling guns, with a few truckloads of infantry for close defence work. Even as small a unit as a battalion takes up an awful lot of road space and it was twenty dusty minutes before the rearguard had crossed. I watched them climb the hill on the other side of the river and then said, ‘Right, you guys. Let’s go and join Mister Kemp, shall we?’

As the convoy started I turned to Sadiq. ‘And then, Captain, perhaps you’ll be good enough to find out from your driver, and then tell me, what the hell is going on. I know you’ll have had him radio-eavesdropping right from the beginning.’

And then for some reason we both glanced quickly skywards.

SEVEN

Both Kemp and Hammond looked shaken. I couldn’t blame them; nobody likes being at the wrong end of a big gun. Hammond, as could be expected, was belligerent about it. ‘This wasn’t allowed for in any contract, Mannix. What are you going to do about it?’

‘It’s hardly Neil’s fault,’ said Kemp.

‘I am going to do something about it,’ I said. ‘Something I should have done before this. I’m going to put you two properly in the picture.’

‘Was that what you said you wanted to talk about?’ Kemp asked, giving me a chance to cover myself. I nodded. ‘Overdue,’ I said. ‘But first I want another word with Captain Sadiq. Want to come along?’

Kemp and Hammond conferred briefly, then Kemp said, ‘Yes. Everyone’s a bit jittery still. We shouldn’t move on until we know the situation. I wish to God Geoff was here.’

‘We’ll try to contact him,’ I said. I didn’t see what he could do but if his presence was enough to calm his partners’ fears it would be a big bonus. We found Sadiq, as expected, glued to his earphones in his car, and according to the usual ritual he handed them to his sergeant before joining us. I said, ‘All right, Captain. What’s the story?’

His voice was neutral. ‘You heard Colonel Hussein. The Army is holding manoeuvres.’

I stared at him. ‘Don’t give us that crap. No army captain is going to threaten to shell a civilian vehicle during war games. He’d be scrubbing latrines next. And that was damn nearly more than a threat.’

Kemp said, ‘You’ll have to do better than that, Captain.’

I jerked my thumb towards the sergeant. ‘You’ve been monitoring the wavebands pretty constantly. What have you heard?’

Sadiq shrugged. ‘It’s difficult to tell. There’s a lot of traffic, mostly in code. There seems to be much troop movement. Also a lot of aircraft activity.’

‘Like those jets this morning.’ I had plenty of ideas about that but I wanted his version. ‘What do you think is happening?’

‘I don’t know. I wish I did,’ he said.

‘What does Radio Nyala have to say?’

‘Nothing unusual. Much music.’ Kemp and I glanced at one another. ‘There was a little about us, news of the new power plant at Bir Oassa. And other talk as well …’

He was getting closer to the real thing. His voice had become very careful. I said nothing but waited, out-silencing him. He went on at last, ‘There was other news from Bir Oassa. The new airfield was opened today, with a ceremony.’

I gaped at him. ‘But it isn’t meant to be ready for a couple of months at least. Who opened it?’

‘The Air Chief Marshall.’

My first irrelevant thought was that I’d guessed his title right after all. Then I said, ‘Semangala. Right?’

‘Yes, sir.’

Kemp said, ‘Isn’t he the chap who was in France when we left Port Luard? The only military bigwig who couldn’t attend?’

‘Yes,’ I said grimly. ‘And what’s more, he’s meant to be in Switzerland right now. He left two days ago with his family. I saw him at the airport when I left for Lasulu. He got all the usual military sendoff, except that he was in civvies. Are you sure, Sadiq?’

‘Yes, sir.’ His eyes were sad now. ‘He made a speech.’

‘Who exactly is Semangala?’ asked Hammond. ‘Is he that important?’

‘He’s the Air Force boss and right now he’s the most important man in Nyala. Wouldn’t you say so, Sadiq?’

I was pushing him and he hated it. ‘I don’t know what you mean, sir.’

‘Oh yes, you do. You’re not stupid, Sadiq, and remember, neither am I. I know the score as well as you or anyone else in your army. Listen, you two; I’m going to have to make this short and sharp. This country is on the verge of civil breakdown and military takeover, and if you didn’t guess that it’s only because you’re new here and you’ve had your hands full with that giant of yours. The Army is split; half supports the Government and half wants a military junta to take over. It’s complex but don’t worry about the reasons for now. Both sides need the Air Force to give them a victory, and up to now Semangala has been playing one side against the other. Am I right so far, Sadiq?’

‘I am not a politician,’ he said.

I smiled. ‘Just a simple soldier, eh? That’s an old chestnut, my friend. Now, Semangala has been in France, probably buying planes or missiles. He comes back and decides he needs a holiday: a funny time to choose but he’s his own boss. He flies out openly with his wife and kids, but he’s back the next day. He probably had a plane on standby in Zurich. My guess is that he’s made up his mind and has parked his family out of the way. Now he’s bulldozed through the opening of the Bir Oassa airfield, which means that it’s squarely in his hands instead of being run by the civil aviation authority. The only question that needs answering is, which side did he come down on?’

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