It was Omar who broke the silence. "You and your people are all alone. No UN, no Americans, no helicopters, and no tanks. I will ask one last time, sign the papers and your people will have a chance to live." He waddled across to a side table, retrieved a manila envelope and threw it on the table.
"What about you, boy? I hear you were born in America. I'm sure you understand the value of this contract." He leaned across the table. "Get the old man to sign it and I will make you rich."
Garang paused for a second, his eyes drawn to the envelope.
The elder Dinka pulled him back. "This meeting is over." The chief's voice had a slight tremor. "Garang, we are leaving."
"You're making a very big mistake, gentlemen," Omar said as the pair retreated to the boardroom doors and into the path of a heavily armed security detail.
Garang spun on his heel. "What is this?" he yelled, pointing his finger at Omar. "You promised us safe passage!"
Omar shook his head. "You are too trusting, but you will learn. This will be an important lesson for you." He turned to Sagrib. "Kill the old man and make an example out of the boy."
The Janjaweed mercenary nodded, snapping an order at the guards, "Take them to the basement!"
It took only minutes for the guards to cuff the two men and move them into the elevator to the lower levels of the building. There, amongst the PETROCON vans, they forced the Dinka tribal leader to his knees.
Garang struggled against the guards who held him. One of them drove a baton into his stomach, doubling him over. His legs turned to jelly as he gasped for air but he was held up, forced to watch.
Sagrib stood over the Dinka chief, a rusty bush saw in one hand. With the other he grabbed a fistful of hair, wrenching the man's head back.
The old man looked up at the mercenary with hate in his eyes. "You can kill me, but you cannot kill all of us. Mark my words. Dinka warriors will bury you in the carcass of a pig."
"No, they will die like you. Like fucking lambs to slaughter." Sagrib brought the saw up against the man's throat and hacked it back and forth. The rusty blade chewed deep into the flesh and the chief gasped involuntary as the jagged teeth tore through his jugular and windpipe. Crimson blood spewed out of the horrific wound as Sagrib sawed through the spine, laughing like a mad man as the tribal elder gurgled.
Garang screamed and thrashed against the men holding him. The baton returned, smashing his legs out from under him. The guards beat him savagely while Sagrib continued to hack at the once-proud elder's head.
The old man died without so much as a whimper. The last thing Garang saw before he succumbed to unconsciousness was Sagrib holding the severed head aloft, his uniform drenched in blood, toothless mouth grinning.
***
They found Garang on the outskirts of Khartoum, badly beaten and dumped in a pile of trash. Next to him was the chief's head, the body missing. Garang screamed in pain as they loaded him into the truck. None of them wanted to touch the severed head of their chief. Eventually it was a young warrior named Jonjo who rallied the courage to take the head and wrap it in a sheet. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he placed it in the passenger seat of the truck.
They drove south, trying to avoid the potholes in the old highway, as every jolt caused Garang to moan in pain. Jonjo was not sure the American would survive the long journey. He was not sure if any of them would make it home. If Omar had rescinded their safe passage and the Sudanese Army found them, they would all be dead.
Chapter 2
AW609 'Dragonfly'
Pirate Alley, Gulf of Aden
The 'Tian Hai' churned its way through the lukewarm waters of the Gulf of Aden, heading north, bound for the Sudan. Sitting low in the water the heavily laden cargo ship made a steady fourteen knots, slowly working its way through the region known as Pirate Alley.
High above the water on the ship's bridge a cigarette glowed faintly in the darkness. A shower of ash disappeared in the wind as the butt was stubbed out on the handrail and tossed into the inky black water. The Chinese security contractor pulled night vision goggles down over his eyes, a copy