Prose

When the group comes back to the place where they had camped, the rain has stopped.  Some of the Unita-soldiers dig a small hole and after a while they light a small fire with wet wood.
 
They celebrate and a brandy bottle is given from on to the other, while they are shivering around the small fire.  “Let us go and find a sleeping place in the bushes where we can be private,” Ryno suggests to Maria.

“We are not easily going to find a dry place,” she protests but there is something in the way that Ryno is looking at her that silences any further protests.

“We will be alright,” he says and there is a naughty look in his eyes.  She blushes and smiles agreeing and not one of the soldiers finds it strange, when they sneak away with their possessions like so many other nights.

When they are out of hearing distance of the Unita-soldiers Maria gasps at the sight of the RPG-7 rocket launcher that Ryno had brought along, which is loaded with a rocket grenade. Ryno removes his waterproof sleeping bag from the top of his backpack and zips her sleeping bag onto his.

“What are you going to do with that thing,” she wants to know sharply.  “Hush!” He hisses at her and indicates with his eyes that someone is watching and listening to them.

His lips burns on hers and her lips are wet, hot and soft beneath his.  When their lips break away form each other’s, he draws her stiffly into his arms and looks at the black man that are watching them from the corner of his eyes.

Ryno sits down and draws Maria down on top of the sleeping bag and they can feel the hard metal of the rocket launcher between them, when they start to caress each other again.

Ryno hears a branch breaking under the boot of the black man when he walks away and when he is sure that they are alone, he gets up and draws Maria to her feet.

“Have you got a plan?  To where are we going to flee,” she wants to know somewhat unbelieving.  “In a day or so, the Unita-soldiers will once again find us,” she says somewhat despondent.

“Do you really think that Roberto will now let us go,” Ryno wants to know from her.  She shakes her head and for a moment stands against him.

“We have got only one chance to get out of here and it is now before those bombs start to go off,” Ryno says definitely while he closes the rocket launcher with the waterproof sleeping bag.

“Do we have to go back into that enemy base?  Are you going nuts,” Maria wants to know while she is watching him.  “We are going to fly away with that helicopter that is not sabotaged,” he answers her while he watches her intensely.

“I did not know that you are a pilot,” she says amazed.  “We are going to cut it very fine.  It is not very long before the first bomb is going to explode,” she remarks worried.  Ryno smiles assuring at her.

“I have planned it so.  It is the last place where the Unita-soldiers are going to look for us and if that helicopter departs just before the other aircraft explode, the MPLA’s at the airport will have nothing to send after us.”

Her eyes looks frightened like those of a small deer and she looks innocent in the dark and again he realises how lovely she is and when he notices how she is smiling at him, he draws her into his arms and kisses her again.

Ryno and Maria walk quickly to the stream and it is the fear that the Unita-soldiers will become aware about their absence that urges them to reach the drain pipe and to creep along with it in a record time.

Ryno removes the lid from the manhole and pushes Maria up, to scout if the outside aria is safe.  “The wind is somewhat strong and is driving the fog away but I can see nobody,” she remarks. He helps her to climb out of the hole, gives her the rocket launcher that is still wrapped, his rifle and their backpacks.

Ryno draws himself out of the hole and when he stands next to Maria he quickly replaces the lid on the manhole, before he swings his backpack over his shoulders, giving her his rifle and he removes the rocket launcher from the sleeping bags.

Like two meercats they sneak quickly through the hole in the fence and silently Maria follows him to a shaded aria between two buildings, from where Ryno scouts the guard tower and the private jet.

He scouts the aria around them with the infrared binoculars, to his discontent he notices two guards with dogs where they are patrolling different arias of the base.

Ryno is relieved when they walk to each other and start to chat and he and Maria merges into the dark spots and hurry into the direction of the private jet.

At the aircraft Ryno’s watch tells him that they have got only a few minutes before the bombs are going to explode.  Ryno takes his  Heckler and Koch with its noise suppressor from Maria.

A Cuban pilot passes on the other side of the building where the helicopter is situated and he is carrying a flying helmet.  With two large steps Ryno reaches him and he pushes the Heckler and Koch rifle in his back.

“Just make a sound and I will kill you,” Ryno hisses in Portuguese and the man becomes rigid.  Get him into the helicopter and let him get it ready to takeoff,” Ryno orders Maria and gives the Heckler and Koch rifle to her.

He opens the cabin door for Maria and indicates to her and the pilot to get in, before he walks round the nose of the helicopter.

Quickly he again scouts the aria with his infrared binoculars and can find no sign of the two guards that he had noticed previously.

Ryno aims the RPG-7 rocket launcher at the guard tower that is the nearest to them.  A red flame shoots out of the back of the rocket launcher, when a rocket leaves it.  The explosion that follows when the rocket hits the guard tower sounds up in his ears and he runs stooping to the helicopter and draws the cabin door shut behind him.

“Takeoff immediately,” he orders the pilot in Portuguese and draws his knife from his boot.  Something in Ryno’s voice makes the pilot take immediate action and the helicopter takeoff quickly.

“In what direction,” the pilot wants to know.  “Fly south to Windhoek,” Ryno commands and takes the gunner’s seat while the Heckler and Kock in Maria’s hands is aiming at the pilot.

When the helicopter changes direction the other guard tower that is opening fire with a machinegun comes in to Ryno’s sight and he starts firing with the helicopter’s cannon and leaves it burning.

One explosion after the other suddenly sounds up.  Behind them it is if the front part of the airfield suddenly is turned into a burning hell, with the four burning aircraft hangars and exploding aircraft on the concrete apron