Dead Centre - Andy McNab [126]
He hung the loop in his mouth to keep the bottle high so its life-saving contents could run freely.
Mr Lover Man shrugged off his body armour. Genghis rolled the soft Kevlar into a pillow and tucked it under her head. I looked down. He’d plastered field dressings to her stomach, beneath her bloodstained T-shirt.
I leant down towards her as Stefan’s two godfathers carried on working on her. I made sure she’d be able to see me before I tried to get her to open her eyes. Her face was screwed up in pain. I stroked her forehead, moving the hair out of the way with one hand and pushing one of the cans off my ear with my other. I had to raise my voice above the prop and engine noise.
‘Tracy? Tracy?’
Nothing. I leant in closer, my mouth to her ear. ‘Tracy?’
Her eyes opened as the aircraft lunged forward and started to thunder down the tarmac. She studied my face. A smile flickered at the corners of her mouth and turned almost immediately into a grimace.
‘Nick, I’m so sorry … I’ve made so many … mistakes … Stefan, my baby …’ Her bottom lip trembled. Tears welled in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. Her sobs gave her even more pain.
Genghis applied more pressure on her stomach to keep the fluids inside her. She strained against the agony.
‘Tracy, it’s OK. I’m going to get Stefan back. But I need your help …’
She was trying to listen through the tears and the pain and the din and the vibration of the aircraft as we gathered speed along the runway.
She gave a small nod. Her eyes closed. She tried to breathe through her snot-filled nose.
‘Do you know where they’re going? Do you know what country they’re going to?’
Her head turned to one side. She coughed, trying to clear her throat. Her nose was blocked. Her face contorted.
The Cessna lifted off the runway. The engine pitch changed. Mr Lover Man held Tracy steady as the medical gear slid down towards the rear of the aircraft. He grabbed a bottle of water as it rolled past and opened it with his teeth. He tried to see if she could take some through her cracked and blistered lips.
‘Tracy, do you know where they’re taking Stefan?’
She fought to unblock her nose. She tried a drink. It wasn’t working. It made her cough even more.
‘Kenya … They’re going to Kenya … They’re going to … take him to Georgia … Nick … My baby … A hostage again … Nick, what have I done? My baby …’
I stroked her brow some more as Mr Lover Man held her head straight on the body armour. She couldn’t control it herself any more. My fingers found the mike, to make sure Joe got the message. ‘It’s Kenya, mate.’
He came straight back into my headphones. ‘I fucking knew it, man.’
I stroked her forehead again. As the aircraft levelled off, a hand came up and grabbed my wrist.
Her grip was pathetically weak. Her lips trembled. Tears fell. She tried to focus on me. ‘I’m so sorry, Nick … I always mess … everything up … Why do I always make such a mess of everything?’
She fought the agony. Body fluid leaked out faster than the IV set could get it in.
‘No, you don’t. You and Mong – you didn’t mess that up, did you? You made him so happy, Tracy. He always talked about you. He told everyone how much he loved you.’
She gave a weak smile and tried to clear her throat again, but the pain was too much.
Mr Lover Man checked the drips and dressings. He and Genghis mumbled between themselves.
‘I always get it wrong … The only good things … I have … are Mong … and Stefan …’ She started to break down at the thought of what might be happening to him.
‘It’s OK.’ I unclasped her hand from my wrist and held it in mine. I rocked with the motion of the aircraft. ‘We’re going to get him back. He’s not that far away. We’ll be able to see the plane as soon as it’s light. I won’t let you