Nick finished drawing the curve of the Dzambizi River that followed the western border of the country, then took a final look at his map. His rough sketch of the terrain surrounding the camp looked more like a game plan for a junior-high game of Capture the Flag. Not a strategy for survival.
Five of them crowded around the rectangular table set up outside the medical clinic: Nick, Paige, Brandon, and two of the local leaders from the camp, Nigel and Philip. It was up to them to figure out how to send a team for help without anyone ending up in a body bag. The freshly dug graves of three young men in the distance, along with the abduction of Taz, Ashley, and four of the staff last night were enough of a reminder that the rebels weren’t playing games.
The easiest and fastest way out would have been by plane, but without parts and a month of major work, he — and his plane — were grounded. Which meant that the only remaining way out was across the rough terrain and past a couple dozen armed rebels.
Nick looked up at the group. “Where’s Samson?”
Brandon shrugged. “He’s not back yet.”
Worry niggled at Nick as he gazed toward the forest where he’d last seen Samson two hours ago. The sun had finally made its entrance over the horizon, but they’d already sent out scouts with strict instructions to find out any information about the rebels’ movements, hoping to gain some sort of sense as to their positions and numbers. If they were going to make it out alive, they were going to have to know their options.
Nick studied the map. The east side of the camp lay nestled against the base of Mt. Maja and while the other side of the mountain held popular routes for tourists, the west side was too remote and rugged to cross quickly. Which left them with three viable options. The river, the main road to Kingani, and the forest to the west of the camp. Any hope of escape depended on the scouts finding vulnerabilities that offered the best chance of success.
“The sun’s already up, so let’s go over our options. Nigel. What did you and Philip find?”
A schoolteacher from Kinja, Nigel had been one of the first to join the security team after the first raid by the rebels. “As we all know, the river runs south on the west side of the camp toward the border. Crossing the river is not difficult, but rebels have men lined up every quarter kilometer for at least four kilometers in each direction. There is some bush along the riverbank, but for the most part it is open terrain, giving them the advantage. In my opinion, a small group would never get past them without traveling far up or down river from the camp.”
“He is right.” Philip, a mechanic who’d lost everything during the rebel attack of his village, pushed his heavy glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Which is why we think we need to fight them.”
Nick’s brow rose. “Fight them?”
“Think about it. We’ve got well over ten thousand people in this camp — ”
“Of which three fourths are women and children, and no seasoned soldiers.”
Brandon nodded. “We only have a handful of weapons. They’d end up slaughtering us.”
“And while I appreciate your resolve, Philip, at this point I strongly believe that an attack on our part isn’t worth the risk.” Nick shook his head. Military strategizing was something he’d purposely left behind months ago. “What did you find, Brandon?”
“I wish there was a way, but the main road to Kingani is lined with snipers, so it’s out as well. We all know what happened the last time someone tried.”
Nick felt their options vanish. “Which leaves the forest, but I’m not sure how good a choice that is. From what I understand, it’s not much different from the eastern side of the camp. It’s full of dense bush and rocky terrain, which makes it hard to negotiate.”
“And snakes.” Samson walked up to the table. “But we can do it.” Nick glanced up at Samson. “Snakes?”
“There is not much to worry about as long as you leave them alone.”
Nick pressed his fingers against the edge of the table. He hated snakes.
“I agree the forest is the only way out of here.” Samson sat down at the table. “I can lead you through the forest to the nearest town where, hopefully, the rebels have left communications intact.”
Nick tapped his pencil against the map. “You know that’s going to be the toughest route.”
“Which is why it is not well guarded. They know how hard it is to navigate.”
“But you can get us to a town that has a cell-phone tower?”
“I was born here and have lived at the base of these mountains most of my life.”
“How far to the next town through the forest?” Nick asked.
“Twenty-five, thirty kilometers, but you were right when you said that it won’t be easy.”
“So we’re looking at at least . . . four or five hours, if we’re lucky.”
Brandon didn’t look convinced. “I think it’s too great a risk. We’re already limited on security in the camp. Who’s going to ensure the safety of the camp if the rebels decide to strike again? And I’m not sure that Samson is the one to lead the group. You should stay here with your children. They need their father.”
“I am not the only one here with family,” Samson said. “Your wife is here, Philip has four children . . . Besides, you will never get through the forest without me.”
Nick’s temples pounded. This wasn’t the first time he’d held the lives of a team in his hands. Or the first time he’d take the brunt of the responsibility if something went wrong. “He’s right, Brandon. I need both of you.”
“There is a woman here from my village.” Samson leaned forward. “She has offered to take care of my children while I am working. They will be fine.”
“I think we’re all hesitant to risk lives to get help, but more will die without help. And we’ve also got Ashley, Taz, and the staff that was taken to consider.” Paige spoke up for the first time, making him wish he could read her thoughts. Despite his continual assurances to the contrary, he knew she blamed herself for Dayo and three of her local nurses’ abduction. A feeling that hit far too close to home.
Her normal smile was absent as she continued. “Unless the rebels are openly asking for a ransom, it’s up to us to inform the embassy where they are so the military can put together a rescue plan.”
Brandon leaned forward. “We don’t even know where they are.”
Nick studied the layout of the map. “Maybe not, but I think we know enough to make an educated guess. Granted, there is a lot of territory to cover, but I don’t think their base camp is far from here.” “Why do you say that?” Paige asked.
“Think about it. It’s the only thing that makes sense. We know they seem to work in pairs. They take shifts with most of them on foot, and they arrive from the southwest.”
Samson put an X on the map between the refugee camp and Kinja. “You’re right, Nick, in that we’re still looking about a large territory and it’s fairly remote, but this area would give them easy access to the camp here and the dirt road that splits off east from the main Kingani road. It would also give them access to water, firewood, and cell-phone coverage.”
Nick drew a line from the refugee camp to Samson’s X. “From here, they could make it back to the rebel base in what . . . less than an hour on foot? And even less time by using one of their vehicles.”
Brandon nodded. “And they are still close enough to have raided Mr. Maja’s base camp, which would be about here on the map.”
Nick listened to their dialogue. The risks were still there, but at least a plan was finally falling into place. “If we can give the military that information, hopefully, paired with satellite intel, they’ll be able to track down both the rebels and Taz and the others, who we can assume were taken to the rebel base.”
Brandon tapped on the map. “If your theory is correct, there’s a chance we’d end up going pretty close to their base.”
Nick tried to stay optimistic. “As long as we’re in cell-phone range, we’ll be able to communicate our situation and get the army to move in here.”
“How long do you think it will take them to mobilize?” Brandon’s concern for his wife reflected in his eyes.
“I don’t know,” Paige said. “While we’re finally seeing fewer cases of cholera, if we don’t do anything we’re going to be seeing more and more symptoms of measles. And while vaccinating the population won’t completely stop an epidemic, it has been proven to slow down the spread, which in this situation, I believe, is essential.”
Nick leaned forward. “How soon do the vaccinations have to be given to be the most effective?”
“Ideally within three days of exposure, which at this point in the timeline gives us another forty-eight hours.”
Forty-eight hours. Nick felt his stomach churn. Four hours to the nearest town, time to obtain the vaccine and set up a cold chain, plus find a way to deal with the rebels sitting at their back door . . . If they were going to pull this off, they didn’t have a lot of time to spare.
Nick cleared his throat. “We can take a quick vote, but in my opinion we’ve run out of options.”
Brandon nodded his agreement. “We’re cut off from the world, and until we get the army in here, we’ll continue to be vulnerable to attacks. I’m still not convinced we can do this without losing someone, but I’m in. Unfortunately, I have to agree that it’s a chance we’ve got to take.”
“Then are we all in favor that we go?”
He glanced at Paige, who nodded her head along with the rest. He was tempted to ask her to come with them, but he knew it was only an excuse to try and keep her safe. He hated leaving her here, but he knew she had patients she would never leave behind.
“We have men who will guard the camp while you’re gone,” Paige said. “We might not be able to stop the rebels, but we can slow them down.”
Brandon glanced at his watch. “So when do we go?”
Nick’s gaze flickered to Paige. “The sun’s already up. I think we should try and be out of here in the next fifteen minutes.”