29

“I’m getting nowhere,” explained an infuriated Charley to Colonel Black in his office. “Connor’s phone isn’t responding. The safari lodge is no longer answering. The Burundian French embassy’s closed for the weekend and their emer-gency number goes straight to voice mail. When I did eventually manage to reach President Bagaza’s office in Bujumbura, the secretary said that she’d get back to me right away, but that was four hours ago and I still haven’t heard anything from her. What’s more, that office is about to close too.”

“Typical!” said Colonel Black, his expression both sympathetic and grim. “Have you tried calling the hospitals?”

Charley nodded. “Only one answered, and I spoke to some poor overworked doctor, Dr. Emmanuel Ndayi . . . Ndayikunda, or at least I think that’s how you pronounce it. He said he’d check the records for me now. I’m still waiting for his call back.”

“Don’t hold out too much hope,” replied the colonel, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the desk. “From my experience of Africa, ‘now’ means sometime in the next few days.”

“So what can we do?” Charley implored, her hands gripping the armrests of her chair in frustration. “Connor’s missed all his report-ins for the past twenty-four hours. Something’s gone drastically wrong. I feel it in my heart.”

“I agree. A communication blackout of this length warrants emergency action.” The colonel picked up the phone. “Let’s contact the Burundian commander in chief and see if he has any news of the situation.”

Colonel Black dialed a number that took him straight through to the military headquarters in Burundi. After speaking with several subordinates, he eventually worked his way up the ranks and was put through to the man himself.

“Major General Tabu Baratuza here,” barked the commander in chief over the speakerphone. “How can I be of assistance, Colonel? But please be quick. I was due at a formal dinner an hour ago.”

“My apologies for disturbing you this evening, General. However, we have a legitimate cause for concern regarding the well-being of your president and the visiting French diplomat and his family.”

“Go on,” said the major general, the softening of his tone indicating that the colonel had captured his full attention.

“We have a security operative protecting the French diplomat’s children,” Colonel Black explained. “For the past twenty-four hours we’ve had no contact from him, and we can’t reach the party by any other means. This is highly irregular. Have you had any recent communication with the president or his guard at the Ruvubu safari lodge?”

The major general paused a moment before replying, clearly evaluating his own answer. “Yes. I received a request from the president the other day to send some soldiers into sector eight of Ruvubu National Park.”

“For what reason?”

“I’m not at liberty to divulge such information. But this morning that request was canceled.”

Colonel Black frowned. “Isn’t that rather unusual?”

“Not really. The president is known for changing his mind.”

The colonel leaned back in his leather chair, a deeply pensive expression on his face. “Before we lost contact, our operative mentioned rumors of the Black Mamba. I am wondering if this is somehow connected to our operative’s lack of comms.”

The major general cleared his throat. “I’ve heard those rumors too. But I can assure you that they’re just rumors. However, Colonel, I’ll look into your concerns now now and ensure someone gets back to you. Have a good evening.”

As the Burundian commander in chief cut the connection, Colonel Black raised a surprised eyebrow at Charley. “He’ll look into it now now! If we’re lucky, that means we might hear back within an hour. Don’t hold your breath, though.”

But the colonel was proved wrong. They only had to wait half that time before the major general himself called them back.

“Colonel, we’re getting zero response from the presidential guard or any of our soldiers stationed there,” he informed them. “I hope it’s just a comms issue, but to be sure, I’m dispatching a unit of troops to the park immediately. They’ll be there at first light.”