The Legacy (23 page)

Chapter 45

Ellie had volunteered for the night shift at the hospital. It was getting close to midnight and Harry and Sarah were sat around the kitchen table, chatting about the day's events when they heard a car pull up outside the house. Boot started to bark.

‘It's OK boy,' said Harry, reaching over to ruffle his head. ‘It's just some friends.' Harry went over to the door and opened it. It was pitch dark outside and he could just make out the shape of a four wheel drive parked next to his Range Rover. He went out, closing the door behind him. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could see two figures getting bags out of the back of the car. He walked over towards them.

‘Thanks for coming boys,' he said as he approached them. ‘I really appreciate it.'

‘No problem,' said one of the men. ‘Always glad to help out.'

Harry shook both their hands and grabbed one of the bags. It was heavy. ‘Follow me inside,' he said, ‘and I'll give you a beer.' Harry led the way towards the front door. The men followed him.

When they were inside, Harry introduced them to Sarah. ‘This is Hemraj and this is Ganesh,' he said, ‘two of my oldest and most trusted friends.' Sarah came over to them and shook their hands.

Can I offer you two a beer?' she asked. They nodded, smiling at her. Sarah wasn't quite sure what to make of them. They were both short but one of them, Hemraj, had the shoulders of a professional wrestler. As he took his jacket off, she couldn't help notice the size of his arms. They were huge. Ganesh was slimmer and seemed to smile more.

‘Do sit down,' said Sarah as she handed them each a beer, slightly nervously.

‘Thank you,' replied Ganesh. Hemraj smiled and nodded his thanks.

‘The boys were with me in the Army,' said Harry. ‘They're Gurkhas. They left a few years ago.'

‘What do you do now?' asked Sarah.

‘We work in security,' answered Ganesh. ‘We've just come back from the Middle East.'

‘What sort of security do you specialise in?' asked Sarah, fascinated despite herself. She'd never met anyone quite like the two men who now sat in front of her.

‘At the moment, we're doing anti-piracy on ships going through the Straits of Hormuz,' answered Ganesh.

‘Is it dangerous?' asked Sarah.

‘For the pirates it is,' said Ganesh, ‘but not really for us. We're very well armed and the ships we're on are very big. Plus the area is now patrolled by the Navy so we don't see too many pirates anymore. It's very different to what it was like a few years ago.'

Sarah had never met a Gurkha before and she wanted to ask more questions. But she held her tongue. ‘There would be plenty of time,' she thought. She busied herself tidying up the kitchen whilst Harry talked with them. She could see them out of the corner of her eye. There was an easy familiarity amongst the three of them. They clearly knew each other very well. Harry had switched to what she took to be their native language. He was obviously fluent. She noticed the two men looked very different. Their skin was the same light brown but whereas Ganesh was fine featured and slim, Hemraj was heavily built with high cheek bones and a broad forehead. Harry later explained to her that Ganesh came from the western plains near Nepal's border with India. Hemraj, on the other hand, came from the mountains near Everest. ‘He's from the same stock as the Monguls,' explained Harry. ‘His family have been sherpas for generations but he left the hills to join the Army. He's immensely strong, rather quiet and probably the hardest man I've ever met,' said Harry. ‘He was blown up in Afghanistan a few times so he's also a bit deaf,' added Harry. ‘Ganesh, on the other hand, is probably the best tracker the Army's ever had and certainly one of its best snipers. I suspect this won't mean much to you but he can hit a matchbox size target from over a kilometre away. The reason he isn't unduly worried about pirates is that they rarely get close enough to whatever ship he's on to pose a threat. Once they've been positively identified, Ganesh makes sure they get the message that it really isn't worth their while to try and take the ship. He's very good at his job by all accounts.'

Sarah thought about what Harry had told her. She'd never met anyone who made their living working with guns and she wasn't quite sure how she felt about it. She also didn't really know whether Harry was telling her that Ganesh made his living shooting people, albeit bad people who were intent on doing evil things, or whether he merely fired warning shots at boats used by the pirates to dissuade them from attacking. Looking at them, she could believe that the two Gurkhas were dangerous people. Despite their smiles and impeccable manners, there was something deep within them that she felt she could see in their eyes. It made her shiver. She was extremely glad they were on her side.

Sarah left the boys to it and went to bed. Harry sat with them and they talked through what they would do when Camilla came home. ‘The key thing,' Harry said, ‘is that you stay out of sight. Somebody obviously thinks she knows something that makes her a threat and the sooner she's out of the way, the happier they'll be. So from the moment she gets home, I am assuming that person will be watching us, looking for an opportunity to kill her. What I hope gives us an edge is that they will be expecting three girls and me. On the assumption that they didn't see you arrive, we should have a slight advantage.'

The Gurkhas asked a few questions and made further suggestions. Harry listened to their advice. They had a natural eye for the ground and were seeing the problem from a fresh perspective. They agreed that they should move into the cellar in order to avoid anyone seeing them. Harry said that he would go and hide their car in one of the old stables whilst they took their bags down into the cellar and started to get their equipment ready. Harry showed them the cellar door and then went out with Boot to park their car.

When Harry came back in, he went down to the cellar and found that the Gurkhas had set up two camp beds. They had unpacked their bags and laid out their equipment on two large waterproof sheets which were on the floor between the beds. Harry was surprised at how much stuff they had brought. ‘God knows where you got all this,' said Harry, ‘but I am impressed!'

‘Like old times,' said Hemraj, passing Harry a pair of the latest night vision goggles. ‘These NVGs are amazing,' said Hemraj. ‘It's as clear as daylight with these on. And the range is a real improvement on the old things that you'll remember. We use them on the ships. There's a lot less light pollution at sea so the stuff that we were using in the Army just wouldn't cut it. Not enough ambient light.'

Harry handed them back to Hemraj. ‘New rifle Ganesh?' asked Harry.

‘Yes, very new,' said Ganesh, picking up a beautifully made sniper rifle. ‘It's an Accuracy International AX338. I got it a few months ago. It fires the same ammunition as the old army sniper rifle but it's more accurate. Still bolt action and still quite heavy but it's an improvement on the old model, or at least I think it is!' Ganesh knew a great deal about sniper rifles. He had been a member of the British Army's Shooting Team for several seasons and had won the coveted Queen's Medal at Bisley on three separate occasions. The medal is given to the highest scoring shot at the Army's annual shooting competition. One of the benefits of winning is that the rest of the team carry you on a chair to the clubhouse where you join the great and the good for lunch. The lunch can be a bit of an ordeal but winning the medal is the ultimate prize for a professional shot. For Ganesh to have won it three times was a remarkable achievement.

Harry looked at the rest of the equipment. He recognised trip flares, three Glock pistols, a couple of shotguns, another set of NVGs and three powerful looking torches. ‘One of the pistols is for you,' said Hemraj. He reached down and picked up one of the Glocks, checking that it was empty before handing it to Harry. ‘They're nice,' said Hemraj. ‘Again, another improvement on the old Brownings that we used to have.'

Harry held the pistol in a firing position with his arms outstretched. It felt very comfortable. ‘How many rounds does it hold?' he asked.

‘Seventeen,' replied Hemraj. ‘But they are 9mm so, provided you hit the target, you shouldn't need too many. There are some holsters in the black bag under the bed if you want to get one out.'

Harry did as he was told, opening the bag and retrieving one of the holsters. They were designed to conceal the weapon but also allow easy access. Worn under a jacket, nobody would notice the pistol tucked under the arm. Hemraj passed Harry a small box of ammunition. ‘There's more if you need it but this should suffice for now,' said Hemraj. The three of them spent the next hour checking the equipment, loading the weapons, replacing the batteries in the torches and NVGs.

Ganesh started to change out of his jeans and fleece and into black combats.

‘Going somewhere?' asked Harry.

‘I want to have a look round before we call it a day,' Ganesh replied. ‘I need to get a feel for the ground before anyone starts trying to get to the girl. If you're happy, I'll take a bit of a walk for an a hour or so.'

‘Fine,' said Harry. ‘I'll draw you a quick sketch of the ground around the house if you like.'

‘That'd be helpful but I also got these off Google Earth before we came down here.' Ganesh reached into a slim briefcase and pulled took out a handful of images that he'd printed off that afternoon. They were extremely clear and showed the house and its immediate surroundings. Harry noticed that Ganesh had marked particular areas with a pen. They made an approximate circle around the house.

‘The ringed bits are where I would watch the house from if I wanted to take a shot at someone staying here. I need to check them because, as you know, what looks like a great place in a photograph can be a really bad place on the ground. I'll go and check them out. I've also got a few of these that I want to put in position.'

Ganesh held up what looked like a small web-cam. ‘These are really good,' he said. ‘I'll try and cover the main approaches to the house. That way, if someone tries to get close, we should see them.'

‘Are they cameras?' asked Harry.

‘Yes, watch,' said Ganesh. He walked over to the far end of the cellar and placed one of the cameras on the weights bench. He fiddled with it for a few minutes then came back to where Harry and Hemraj were sitting. Hemraj had a laptop open on the bed. He turned it to face Harry. The screen showed the three of them crowded over the laptop. Harry waved and the image on the screen waved back. It was very clear.

‘They've got a range of about 200 metres and the batteries will last for a few days,' said Ganesh. ‘They're not very good in low light conditions but we should be able to get around that by keeping the lights on outside the house. I've also brought some trip flares but I'm not sure they'll add anything.'

Ganesh finished getting changed and then took a small black rucksack out of one of the bags. He packed the cameras in it, took the aerial photographs off the bed and checked that his torch worked. ‘Don't wait up,' he said. ‘I shouldn't be more than a few hours. If I see anything interesting, I'll call you,' he said to Hemraj, holding up one of the small Motorola walkie-talkies that they used on the ships. Hemraj nodded.

Harry went upstairs with Ganesh. He turned the outside lights off and opened the front door. Ganesh smiled at Harry before disappearing into the night. ‘He certainly looked the part,' thought Harry. Dressed from head to toe in black and with a balaclava pulled down over his face, Harry doubted very much that he would be seen.

Harry went back down to the cellar to find Hemraj.

‘Bhiralo goyo?' asked Hemraj.

‘Yes,' replied Harry laughing. ‘Bhiralo' had been Ganesh's nickname when he had been the lead scout in the Battalion's Reconnaissance Platoon. Nepali for ‘cat', it was an apt sobriquet given the feline and sinuous way that Ganesh seemed to move when stalking somebody. He'd spent years refining his technique as the chief instructor of the British Army's Jungle Warfare School in Brunei. Working with the local Eban tribesmen that the Army employed to teach jungle craft, he'd established a reputation for being able to track anyone over any terrain, a skill he'd transferred to Afghanistan with remarkable success.

Hemraj had noticed the weights at the far end of the room and wandered over to look at them. ‘Do you think the girls would mind if I used the weights for an hour or so?' he asked Harry. ‘I need to stay awake until Ganesh gets back so I might as well use the time productively.'

‘I'm sure they wouldn't mind,' replied Harry. ‘I've got to leave for the airport to collect Lucy in a few hours so, if you're happy, I'm going to go and get a few hours sleep.'

‘Crack on,' replied Hemraj, removing his shirt and putting on a pair of fingerless weightlifting gloves. Harry watched him for a few minutes as he went over to the gym area and started adding additional weights to the bars. He looked incredibly strong. ‘If anything,' thought Harry, ‘he's got even bigger since he left the Army.' An accomplished martial artist, Hemraj had black belts in both Judo and Tae Kwon Do. He was built for the former but preferred the latter having spent several years as the Army's heavyweight Tae Kwon Do champion. Watching him now, Harry understood why the Commanding Officer had always selected Hemraj as his personal bodyguard whenever they were deployed on operations. Not only was he impressively built, but his dark and impassive eyes sent a very clear ‘don't fuck with me' message to anyone who looked into them. Hemraj reminded Harry of a young Mike Tyson. But whereas Tyson had seemed to struggle to control the rage burning inside him, Hemraj had absolute control of his emotions.

Harry left Hemraj in the cellar and went up to his bedroom. He sent another quick text to Lucy wishing her a safe journey, undressed and collapsed into bed. He was asleep within minutes.