Deep Black - Andy McNab [111]
She came a few steps closer. In the gloom, I could see that her nightgown was ripped and she was covered with blood. She was totally spaced out.
I couldn’t see a line behind her.
Maybe she wasn’t rigged up. Maybe this really was just their idea of a good day out.
Nasir screamed at her. The sound reverberated round the cave and she stumbled against the wall, disoriented. She took another couple of steps. I still couldn’t see a line.
Salkic brought the AK into the aim again but it wasn’t going to happen.
She continued to stumble forwards. This had to be done or we’d all be dead.
Fuck this. I got my butt in the shoulder and pushed the safety all the way down to single shot. All the shouting and screaming around me became background noise.
I lined up the rear- and foresight so they were centre mass of her head. She’d be dead before she heard the round fired.
There was a shot from my right and some of the back of her head slapped against the wall.
I turned. Jerry had the 9mm up in the aim.
She was on the ground, but still moving. Nasir grabbed Salkic, pulling him behind the rock pile. The flat tops might detonate her now she was down.
Jerry fired again but his tears and shaking hand got in the way of his aim.
He didn’t miss with his third round. Her body quivered, she gave a low moan, then nothing. I scrambled over, grabbed Jerry, and we joined the others behind the mound.
He took fast, shallow breaths; his whole body was shaking. I eased the weapon out of his hands, applied safe, and put it into his pocket.
We waited, but there was no explosion, only Salkic’s chilling sobs of grief. I wished there had been. It would have made us all feel a lot better to know Jerry had done the right thing.
There was a chorus of laughter and catcalls from the lip of the cave. Nasir held Salkic’s head into his chest. His eyes drilled into me. Benzil crawled back up the rocks.
Salkic pushed Nasir away, dug under his shirt and pulled out the two keys. He handed them to me, fingers caked with mud.
Benzil carried on praying above us as Salkic talked me through the approach to Nuhanovic’s house, explained the whole security set-up. His voice was measured, almost robotic. ‘I am now going to do the two things I wish most: protect Hasan and avenge my sister.’
Benzil protested. ‘Enough people have died. Please, let’s wait for SFOR.’
Salkic was scarily calm. ‘I do not fear joining my sister in paradise, if it is God’s will.’
Jerry and I exchanged a glance. More of that fatalist shit.
He told Nasir exactly what he had told us, and by the tone of the exchange Nasir wanted to go with him. Salkic wouldn’t hear of it. Nasir had to stay with us. They embraced each other, then he nodded to each of us in turn and got to his feet. Hollering and shouting at the flat tops, he started down the cave.
He reached his sister and knelt down. His shoulders shook as he stroked what was left of her head.
Very gently, he turned her on to her stomach. Please, let there be a rig on her. I couldn’t see anything. Salkic was in the way.
Then I heard the rasp of gaffer-tape. Nasir muttered in Serbo-Croat, but I got the gist. I watched as Salkic removed three egg-shaped hand grenades from her back. A string was attached to the middle one. The way she’d fallen must have prevented them detonating it.
‘Jerry, she was rigged.’
Nasir looked at him and nodded. It wouldn’t be much consolation, but he’d done the right thing.
Jerry looked stunned. Nothing had registered with him, one way or the other. He was probably still rerunning her death in his head video.
Salkic had much the same expression as he wrapped a grenade in each of his hands and pulled out the pins. Then he scooped her into his arms. Leaning back to take her weight, he began to stagger towards the daylight.
We watched him all the way to the end of the cave, where he took a couple of steps to his right and disappeared.
84
We all froze. Would they drop him on sight?
Maybe ten seconds later we knew the answer. The first of the grenades kicked off, then the second. I was