54 Congo

Harry and Kevin watched puzzled as the video was blank at first but then a few voices were heard discussing.

"Hey, Vice-captain what are you doing?", a voice, which was as unpleasant as a car alarm, was heard.

"Nothing Jamie, am just activating some equipment, also stop calling me like that," a deep, mature calm voice was heard. One could know that this speaker was an African by the deep voice.

Captions in Alterebro Pixel Font could be seen at the bottom of the video: Boma, the 2nd official city of Kongo Central province, a port town on Congo river, 100 km upstream from the Atlantic Ocean.

Then the video also started playing as Harry realized that it looked like some cheap bar. A melodious Congolese Rumba song could be heard in the background along with people dancing and socializing. He noticed that except a few people, almost all of them were Africans. Harry saw the person named Jamie who was the owner of the unpleasant voice. He was a white Caucasian possessing a rough beard and a face matching his voice but one could see that he was a soldier from the ferocious and warlike aura exuding from him.

The women were wearing long skirts and tops with bold patterns and colours along with head wraps and hats while the men were seen wearing a Dashiki style long shirts.

"Okay Robert, as you wish. Anyway, I think if you could learn a bit of Kikongo language or speak French, you could easily mix with the locals like fish in the water. Nobody would think that you are an American mercenary." Jamie grinned as he looked at Robert. Harry and Kevin looked at this video from Robert's point of view, hence they did not have a visual of Robert himself.

Robert was not perturbed by Jamie's loose mouth as he sipped a white coloured drink and ate some Ntabe (grilled pork).

"Robert, when will the captain return, it's time for our 'work' to start," Jamie asked, his jovial face became a little tense when he mentioned 'work'.

"..." Robert didn't even bother to respond as he continued drinking and eating as he looked at the dancing crowd.

"What are you drinking?"

"White Elephant,"

"What? What does it contain, it looks like milk to me." Jamie asked when he saw the drink.

"It is made up of Rum, coconut water and milk," Robert explained as he checked the time. His pupils shrank when he spotted a few people entering the Bar but again returned to normal as he put grilled pork in his mouth.

"We have been staying in this city for two days, you do recognize that this is the enemy's territory, right?" Jamie asked as he frowned and looked around with suspicion. Just then a strong hand held his shoulder.

"Cap...Captain," Jamie was pleasantly surprised when he saw a handsome, tall and muscular guy with scarlet hair sat beside him.

"Just call me Ben," the man smiled as he also started digging in the grilled pork. He searched for a waiter as he shouted, "Two plates of Chikwanga, one plate of Fufu and a White elephant."

Harry was shocked when he saw this guy as he exchanged a glance with Kevin. Kevin nodded which confirmed Harry's conjunction. This person was Amanda's elder brother, a top mercenary in 'Blood Water'.

"Be...Ben, when are we going to make a move, I have a bad feeling about our 'work' this time, you do know that my premonitions are always spot on, right?" Jamie spoke with mild trepidation.

"How did you manage to become a mercenary with such a weak heart?" Robert scoffed when he heard Jamie's words.

"You continue drinking your White Pig, I am talking to him," Jamie scoffed back as he turned towards Ben who was nodding his head to the Rumba music. A waiter brought a few bowls of warm local food and a glass of cocktail and placed them in front of Ben.

"We are moving tonight," Ben stated as he began to enjoy his food. He did not seem to notice that the faces of both Robert and Jamie changed when they heard these words.

"So, the mission is a go," Jamie put on a depressed expression but no hint of drawing back could be seen in his eyes. His job along with Robert was information gathering in the town, hence they were unaware of the preparations and work of other teammates.

"What about the others?" Robert asked the critical question.

"They are already where they need to be."

Robert nodded and finished his drink in one gulp, closed his eyes while he took deep and relaxing breaths.

All three of them walked out after some time and got into a pick-up truck. The truck drove out of the town and into the neighbouring tropical rain forest. The three of them got down at a spot and the truck went back while they walked into the forest.

It was night-time and everything was dark. It was not possible to see without the help of torchlight. It was both cold and humid as they walked past the tall Mahogany, ebony trees. They easily reached a height of 40 – 50 m. A normal person would feel very uncomfortable trudging through this thick Afro-Alpine vegetation. They were on the border of the biosphere reserve of Luki.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeal!!

A high pitch animal sound was heard which almost caused Jamie to fall down as he whipped his torch in the direction of the sounds where he found a couple of Bonobos scurrying away. He took out a Glock handgun and pointed it at them.

"Stop," Ben said as he held Jamie, "Bonobos are the most peaceful animals you could find in this forest, I heard that these animals even solve problems among their group through sex. Also, we are not at the liberty to use firearms."

Jamie nodded as he placed the pistol back. He gulped as he said, "Ben, I heard that there is a fly which can cause 'sleeping sickness' in Africa. Is it dangerous?"

"It is Tsetse fly and it does cause sleeping sickness but that fly is active during the daytime so you don't have to worry. Also, we all have already applied insect repellent, let's go." Ben said as he led them deeper into the forest.

Jamie's and Robert's eyes lit up when they saw huge boxes of equipment labelled as 'US military' lying in front of them.

"Suit up," Ben smiled as he opened those boxes and exposed the shiny, top-notch military equipment which was the most advanced gear any soldier would dream about.

As a private army, the weapons they had access to could definitely not catch up to US special forces but it was not so today. The US government had armed them to the teeth with all sorts of high tech gizmos for increased chances of success in today's mission.

MK17 SCAR fire-arm, Glock 19 side-arm, Single eye Night vision goggles, Nett Warrior situational awareness system through which they would have highly advanced navigation capabilities and information sharing ability. There were also M4 A1 Carbine rifles, just in case. TYR Tactical PICO Assaulters Plate carrier and a pair of elite gloves and a helmet.

Even Robert who was usually the calmest one could not help but give a small smile when he put on this equipment, nothing needed to be mentioned about Jamie who was smiling so widely that it bordered on mania.

Ben did not tell these two fellows that the US army had also supplied precision guided firearms but they were already snatched by the others and everyone else had already taken their positions.

"Ben, What is this?" Jamie asked as he pointed at a panel filled with 100 W LED lights connected with wires exposed. This product was clearly not a finished one.

"It is in case of an emergency, ignore it for now," Ben did not pay much attention explaining its purpose as he himself did not want to bring this but a young scientist had insisted that he take it.

"Ben, don't you think that the government is being too generous by providing us with these expensive apparatus?" Robert asked after he calmed down.

"I know what you want to say but we all signed for this when we agreed for this mission. It is of no use for digging any deeper into this," Ben replied as he also checked all his gear whether they were any malfunctions. He turned on the night vision goggles to look at the stern face of Robert as he answered.

"Also, it was we who had decided to revenge for Jack who was killed in US Embassy in Harare last week, we had already considered the danger before deciding on risking it, right?." Ben asked as he looked at Robert and Jamie with resolute eyes.

Robert also nodded. He knew that this mission was going to be filled with unknown dangers but the government's over-enthusiasm threw him off for a second.

"What are you afraid of Vice-captain, with this equipment, we can take on a troop ten times our size," Jamie, who had a thug look suddenly turned into a true military professional after equipping himself, spoke with a smug smile on his face.

"Don't let this equipment get into your head," Ben warned as he painted his face with black colour and grimly added, "The enemy is definitely going to be in lesser numbers than us but that does not decrease the danger, it's just the opposite, to tell the truth."

"What!" Jamie was shocked when he heard these words.

Ben shrugged as he said, "I also don't have the accurate information about this group of people but that is why we are here instead of the marines. Just expect people with superhuman strength."

"Is there an exit route for us?" Robert asked. He and the others knew this information. Only Jamie was left out as he had proved again and again that he couldn't process critical information.

"A Zumwalt- Stealth class destroyer is stationed 120 km away from us which can provide artillery support if we can get to their base. SH-60 (Sea Hawk helicopter) is at standby to carry us off if the mission goes amiss," Ben stated as he checked his Nett Warrior.

Robert sighed in relief when he heard of the back support. He removed the camera which was recording everything and placed in Jamie's hands as he went to his position as marked in his Nett Warrior screen.

"Jamie, you are exactly where you are supposed to be, just camouflage yourself and wait for my orders through the system in your hand (Nett warrior). Okay, I am off," Ben also walked to his position leaving Jamie with the equipment boxes.

Jamie took a little time to digest everything and immediately executed Ben's orders and positioned himself as he controlled his breathing and became still. It was like he became a part of this forest. All the mercenaries were strictly trained in operations by Ben and could match elites of the US army in unarmed combat and special operations.

After an hour, a 'ting' sound was heard through an earpiece as a dim icon lit up in the screen. Jamie opened his eyes as he muttered, "It's time."

Harry and Kevin who were watched this video tensed up when he heard Jamie's words. Their hearts beat with excitement and trepidation when they thought that the riddle was going to be unveiled finally.