Survival by Joe Craig

down. That wasso the integrated armoured steel hull didn’t interferewith the satellite signal to Uno Stovorsky’s laptop.
    Another clump of wet sand smeared across Jimmy’scheek. He wiped the back of his sleeve across his face.
    The material of his camo suit was rough and it smelledas if it hadn’t been washed since the last time it hadbeen worn, but at least it fitted him, which was betterthan the clothes he’d been wearing for a while.
    Jimmy noticed that Stovorsky hadn’t changed out ofhis suit and raincoat. This is the desert , he thought. Don’t you even want to loosen your tie?
    “Fortunately actinium has a very short half-life,”Stovorsky shouted over the noise of the truck and thewind. He was leaning back in the seat next to Jimmy.One arm was dangled over the side of the PVP whilethe other tapped away at the laptop balanced on hisknee. “It will still be a year before we can safelyoperate the mine, but without you doing this for us itmight be a hundred years – or more.”
    Jimmy didn’t understand a word Stovorsky wassaying and he didn’t care. He just wished the man wouldbe quiet so he could concentrate on not throwing up. Actually , Jimmy thought, maybe I should throw up. At least that might shut him up .
    “There’s just one more thing you need to know,”Stovorsky went on. Jimmy’s patience ran out.
    “Only one thing?” he snapped. One thing you haven’t mentioned in the last six hours of endless talking ? “That’s great news.”
    “I don’t mind your sarcasm, Jimmy,” replied Stovorsky,still in that loud monotone, still not looking up from hislaptop. “By the time you’re eighteen the assassin in you willhave forced it out of your system. If you survive that long.”
    Jimmy felt a surge of anger, but he had no reply.Stovorsky’s words were terrifying because they wereprobably true.
    “You might find some bodies in the mine complex,”said Stovorsky, ignoring Jimmy’s furious glare.
    “I thought you said the French team all managedto evacuate.”
    “They did. But on their way out they crossed pathswith some lunatics who were fighting their way in.”
    Jimmy drew in another deep breath and half closedhis eyes, trying to shut out the bumps and lurches ofthe journey to concentrate on information that mightbe important for his survival.
    “That’s why I can’t just send a hazmat team,”Stovorsky went on. “If anybody’s left alive in there, theymight be dangerous.”
    This gets better all the time , Jimmy thought to himself.
    “And you’re sure I won’t need a protective suit orsomething?” he called out.
    “I told you,” Stovorsky replied. “You don’t need one.And a hazardous-materials suit seriously restricts yourmovements. You’ll need to be ready to defend yourselfif necessary.”
    Jimmy shot him an uneasy look.
    “For years,” Stovorsky explained, “there’s been localresistance. The natives had a problem with the Frenchrunning the mine. They thought they should have beenallowed to do it themselves. They put together some kindof nationalist force. Mostly they weren’t very effective,but lately they’d seemed a bit more organised.” Heshrugged. “Nothing to worry about now. The Brits blewmost of them up. That was the blast we’re worried about– the one that might have ionised the actinium.”
    Jimmy couldn’t believe the casual way that Stovorskywas talking. People had been blown up. Jimmywondered how many. He was going to ask, but then ahorrible shiver came over him. He realised that soon hemight see for himself.
    “We should be thankful to them, I suppose,”Stovorsky continued. “They’re probably the reason whythe British messed it up in the first place. Otherwisethere’d be a Union Jack flying there right now.”
    Stovorsky flicked a finger in the direction they weretravelling, but he still didn’t look up. For a second Jimmydidn’t know what he meant. Then, in the corner of his eye,he caught a glimpse of something on the horizon. He turnedhis