Part 7 (1/2)

FOURTEEN.

Li struggled to stay awake. Her eyes and throat felt as though they were full of needles and all her muscles ached. She had not slept all night. Less than fifteen minutes fifteen minutes after she had left the village in the back of the Scorpion's Unimog, the sandstorm overtook them. Within seconds, visibility was down to a few metres and the big vehicle had shuddered to a halt. The Scorpion had taken his dog into the cab with him, leaving the children to huddle together in the back of the truck. after she had left the village in the back of the Scorpion's Unimog, the sandstorm overtook them. Within seconds, visibility was down to a few metres and the big vehicle had shuddered to a halt. The Scorpion had taken his dog into the cab with him, leaving the children to huddle together in the back of the truck.

All night the wind had howled, shaking the truck bed and making the canvas cover yank against the cords that secured it to the base. Sand blasted into the dim interior through every gap and hole in the canvas and soon the air was thick with dust. Pulling their headcloths tightly across their noses, they had formed a huddle on the stinking floor of the truck, with the younger ones in the middle, and waited for the storm to end.

The storm had raged until dawn, by which time they were all exhausted, but the Scorpion had only allowed them a hurried water break before herding them all back into the truck and continuing the journey. They had been driving for hours now. Jumoke was so exhausted she was sleeping with her head against Khalid's chest despite the relentless rocking and jolting in the back of the Unimog. Khalid was supporting her with one arm and holding on to the bench with the other. Samir was asleep too, resting against Hakim, but everyone else was awake, concentrating on clinging on to the benches and trying to ignore their thirst.

Suddenly the engine spluttered and died and the Unimog coasted to a halt. The cab doors slammed and Li could hear the Scorpion shouting at his men outside the truck. She tried to concentrate on what he was saying, but her head was ringing and her tired brain was having trouble understanding. It took her a few seconds to realize he was talking in Arabic.

'What's he saying?' she asked Khalid in French.

'He says they cannot afford any more delays,' replied Khalid. 'He says they must get there tonight. The auction is tomorrow and he has buyers coming from all over Morocco.'

'Auction?' said Juma. 'What do you mean, auction?'

Li sighed. She had decided to keep quiet about their situation until they had reached their destination and Alpha Force had given her some sort of signal. There was no point in distressing the younger ones until she was sure that rescue was at hand. Now it seemed she had no choice. She looked Juma in the eye. 'A slave auction. He is going to sell us, Juma. Sell us as slaves.'

'No!' Juma shook his head fiercely. 'Our fathers told us we would become apprentices and learn a trade.'

The other boys nodded and Juma glared at Li, but she could see that, behind his denials, he knew the truth. He just did not want to admit it.

'We will learn a trade and send money back to our families in Nigeria,' said Juma, folding his arms. 'That was the agreement.'

'We are to be given positions with rich families,' said Sisi.

'And we shall be sent to school in return for a little housework,' added Kesia.

Li looked at the two girls and saw that they too were clinging on to the promises the Scorpion had made to their parents, rather than face up to the truth.

'I shall earn a lot of money in Morocco, braiding hair for the tourists,' said Jumoke, sitting up and rubbing her sore eyes.

Li smiled at the little girl. She didn't have the heart to tell her that she would probably be sold to a street trader, who would take all the money she made.

Li turned to look at Hakim. His face was haggard as he stared at her and his arm tightened around the sleeping Samir. Hakim knew she was telling the truth. He spoke Arabic and he had heard the Scorpion shouting at his men.

'Don't worry, Hakim,' she said. 'I have a plan. When we get to the auction house, we will escape.'

Hakim shook his head. 'I must go back to warn my father now, while my village is still only a day's walk away.'

'It is too risky, Hakim! They have guns and there is nowhere to hide out there!'

Hakim turned and peered out through a split in the canvas. 'There is a small rise,' he said, turning back to Li. 'If I can get behind it without them seeing me, I can hide there until the truck leaves. But...' Hakim hesitated, looking down at his sleeping brother. 'I must leave Samir here. He is too young to make the journey. Will you look after him until I come back with the men from the village?'

'Of course I will. But I don't think you should try it, Hakim!' hissed Li. 'Wait until we get to the auction house. It's too dangerous out here!'

Just then, the canvas flaps at the back of the truck were wrenched open. One of the Scorpion's men flung a half-empty girba into the back of the truck, then pushed Li's legs out of the way and yanked a jerry can of fuel out from under the bench. He started to lace the canvas flaps together again, but a shout from the Scorpion made him jump to carry the jerry can round to the front. He left the last part of the canvas flaps untied.

Li caught Hakim's eye and shook her head, but she could see it was useless. He was determined to go. Wordlessly, Li pulled the plug from the neck of the girba and pa.s.sed it to him. He took a long drink, then woke Samir and handed him the waterskin. While his brother was occupied with quenching his thirst, Hakim took a deep breath and slipped out under the canvas flaps.

Li crouched on the floor, watching through the little gap in the canvas and willing Hakim on. He landed softly and turned to check that the three slavers were still occupied at the front of the vehicle. Satisfied, he began to sprint away towards the rise, but the dog sprang out from under the truck after him.

Li's heart clenched but she dared not call out in case she alerted the men at the front of the truck. As she watched, Hakim turned to face the dog just as it leaped for him. It knocked him to the ground and stood over him, snarling. Hakim scrabbled in the stony dirt until he found a fist-sized rock. He gripped the rock tightly and swung it at the dog, clubbing it on the side of the head as hard as he could. The dog yelped and fell on to its side, twitching and bleeding.

Hakim staggered to his feet again and turned to run. There was a shout from the front of the truck but he kept going until two shots rang out, hitting the ground a metre ahead of him and blasting clouds of dirt into the air. Hakim stopped and turned, raising his hands. The Scorpion's men grabbed him by the arms and dragged him back to the truck.

The Scorpion was hunched over his dog, which was lying still with its tongue hanging from the side of its mouth. He stroked the animal's bony head and crooned to it, until it opened its eyes and staggered to its feet with a whine. As soon as the Scorpion was sure his dog was not going to die, he rose to his feet and turned to Hakim.

'You could have killed him,' said the Scorpion, switching to French. His voice was hoa.r.s.e with fury. He back-handed Hakim twice across the face and his signet ring cut the boy's mouth open. Hakim took the blows silently, then stared defiantly at the Scorpion, blood pouring down his chin.

'You want to leave us?' rasped the Scorpion. 'Very well.'

Li gasped as the slaver pulled a wicked-looking, curved knife from the sheath at his belt. He stepped towards Hakim and his men turned the boy to give their boss a clearer target.

Li could not stand by any longer. She launched herself from the truck, landing a flying kick in the throat of the nearest man as she came down. He let go of Hakim, dropped his Kalashnikov and fell to the ground, clutching his windpipe. Li grabbed the weapon and rolled to her feet. Before the second man had time to react, she came up behind him and clubbed him on the back of the neck with the rifle b.u.t.t.

Hakim took the chance to break free while the second man was still reeling from the blow. The man staggered and leaned on his Kalashnikov while he put a hand up to the back of his neck. Hakim lashed out with his foot and kicked the rifle away. Caught by surprise, the man fell and Hakim scurried to pick up the weapon.

Li grinned when she saw Hakim take possession of the second Kalashnikov. She was beginning to think they might just get out of this situation alive.

'Keep them in your sights!' she yelled, pointing to the two men on the ground. Hakim nodded, raising his Kalashnikov, and Li turned, ready to deal with the Scorpion. She froze, her eyes widening with horror at what she saw.

The Scorpion was standing at the back of the truck, holding a crying Samir in front of him. His curved knife was digging into the side of Samir's throat and a thin trickle of blood was running down the boy's neck.

'Put down the weapons,' said the Scorpion coldly.

Li felt the hope drain out of her. There was no way they could refuse. If they did, Samir would die. She looked over at Hakim. He was already laying the Kalashnikov on the ground, never taking his eyes off his little brother. Li sighed and did the same.

'On your feet,' barked the Scorpion to his men. Coughing and staggering, they picked themselves up, retrieved their weapons and trained them on Li and Hakim. Li narrowed her eyes, judging her chances if she used her fighting skills again, but the element of surprise had gone and the men were standing well back, out of range. Li relaxed and stood balanced, feet apart and arms by her sides, waiting for her next chance. She never got it.

Suddenly the Scorpion pushed Samir to the ground and sprang for Li. His knife flashed in the sun as he lunged for her face. Before she could move, the knife sliced past her ear, close enough for her to hear the swish of the blade. She winced, waiting for the pain to start, but there was nothing. The Scorpion stepped back and Li moved up on to the b.a.l.l.s of her feet, to be ready for his next attack. He merely stood there, watching her with a cold smile.

Li was getting seriously freaked. What was he waiting for? His first lunge had missed: why didn't he try again? A chill ran through her as she considered the possibility that the knife had injured her so seriously, she was experiencing no pain. Cautiously, Li raised her hand to her neck, expecting to feel the slick warmth of her own blood. All she found was whole, undamaged skin. She peered down at her hand, double-checking. When she looked up again, the Scorpion was holding something up for her to see. Dangling from his fingers was a twist of her long, silky black hair.

Li froze in shock. The tendril of hair must have come loose from her headcloth during the fight. Quickly, she tucked the rest of the escaped hair back under her headcloth, even though it was too late now. The Scorpion already knew she was a girl. He lunged forward again and, before Li could react, yanked the layered cloth from her head. Her long black hair came tumbling down over her shoulders, falling nearly to her waist. There was a gasp from the Scorpion's men and from the children in the truck, who were all peering through holes and gaps in the canvas.

Still smiling coldly, the Scorpion stepped up to Li and, using the knife, pulled her gandourah open at the neck. He saw the bandage wrapped around her chest and his smile widened.

'Your value has just increased,' he said. 'There will be many men interested in buying you tomorrow. A pretty, light-skinned girl is worth a lot more than a scrawny boy.'

The dog whimpered again from under the shade of the Unimog and the Scorpion's expression hardened. 'Get the others out here,' he ordered his men. 'I want them to see this.'

Once the rest of the children were gathered in a frightened huddle outside the truck, the Scorpion grabbed hold of Samir and pulled him away from his big brother. Hakim looked over at Li, wordlessly reminding her of her promise to look after Samir. She nodded and gathered up the little boy, holding his shaking body in the circle of her arms.

Satisfied, Hakim turned to face the Scorpion. The slaver back-handed him again, hard enough to make him fall to the ground. Then he bent down, grabbed Hakim's right ankle and pulled his leg up into the air. Hakim's baggy sirwal slid down and pooled at his hip, leaving his skinny leg exposed.