Death in the Desert by Jim Eldridge

the patrol leader.
    Mitch’s heart sank. They were bound to be discovered. Eight against three, and the eight soldiers were all armed.
    ‘Fall out, Rogers, Baker, Moran!’ continued thepatrol leader.
    Mitch saw three pairs of boots separate from the rest, then the other five soldiers of the patrol marched off elsewhere. At least that had cut the immediate opposition down to three; but any commotion would bring the rest of the patrol running back.
    ‘Standard search!’ repeated one of the soldiers bitterly, obviously fed up. ‘What a waste of time!’
    ‘It’s got to be done, Rog,’ said another. ‘I mean, say the Taliban had slipped in and were here.’
    ‘There are patrols all over the outside of the base,’ said Rog. ‘How they gonna get in? It’s a waste of time!’
    ‘The sooner we get it done, the sooner we can finish and get ourselves a cuppa,’ said a third voice. ‘I’ll start with this one. You two work your way along the line.’
    Mitch looked across at Tug, lying beneath the vehicle next to him, and mimed throwing a punch. Tug gave a thumbs up to show he understood.
    Mitch heard the sounds of boots scuffling as thethree soldiers moved between the vehicles, checking for any movement. Mitch could tell they had done this so often before, and always found nothing, that they didn’t expect anything this time. Good, he thought. So long as they’re not alert. A tense soldier expecting trouble is liable to start shooting first and ask questions afterwards.
    The soldier nearest to Mitch stopped and dropped to his knees. Mitch could hear his uniform rustle as he bent lower, and then a face appeared in the space between the bottom of the vehicle and the ground.
    Wompf!
    Mitch’s fist lashed out, connecting with the soldier’s chin. There was no time for the soldier to cry out: the punch knocked him out instantly. The sounds of scuffling nearby told Mitch that Gaz and Tug had dealt with their soldiers the same way.
    The three men rolled out from under the vehicles. Gaz picked up a fallen rifle. ‘Weapons as well!’ he said, grinning happily. ‘I wondered whatwe were going to do with just two rifles.’
    ‘Come on,’ said Tug urgently. ‘Let’s move!’
    They searched the row of vehicles, and found that just two had keys in their ignition.
    ‘Either someone’s been careless, or they’re kept like that for an emergency get away,’ muttered Mitch.
    ‘Right now, an emergency get away is exactly what we’re after,’ said Tug. ‘OK, Mitch, go and fetch the others.’
    Mitch ran off, keeping to the shadows, and returned to Nelson, Two Moons and Omari, who were still hiding behind the stacks of boxes. ‘We’ve got just two vehicles,’ he told them.
    ‘Better than nothing,’ said Nelson. ‘Let’s go.’
    They hurried to the Land Rovers and scrambled in: Nelson, Tug and Omari in one; Mitch, Gaz and Two Moons in the other.
    They started up the vehicles and then rolled them forwards, heading for the main gate of the base.
    Two soldiers were standing on duty, and theyturned at the sound of their approach. One of the soldiers stepped into the gateway, his hand held up for the vehicles to stop. Gaz, who was driving the lead Land Rover, slowed down.
    ‘What are you doing?’ hissed Two Moons. ‘Floor it!’
    ‘In a moment,’ said Gaz. ‘When we’re near enough. Right now he’d have time to get a shot in.’
    Gaz slowed the vehicle down. Behind him Nelson also slowed. Then, just as they were about to stop, Gaz accelerated. The 4x4 leapt forwards, engine racing. The soldier, startled, threw himself to one side as the Land Rover tore through the gates out into the desert, with Nelson’s vehicle following close behind.
    Gunfire opened up from behind them and bullets bounced off the vehicles’ armour. Both Gaz and Nelson slammed down on the accelerators, heading out into the desert as fast as they could.

21
    They drove for half an hour, constantly checking the mirrors, expecting to be chased.