them up after,’ Stratton said, taking the spool, securing the wire to one end of the long span and allowing it to unravel as he walked to the other end.
He climbed down the angled girder at the end and jumped onto the metal road, wincing at a painful twinge in his back. He had forgotten about the wound.
‘Where are you going to put those?’ Louisa asked, indicating the remaining claymores.
Stratton placed one in the well of one of the vertical I-beams that ran along the sides of the bridge to see how noticeable it was. ‘That should finish it off,’ he said, more to himself than to her. ‘Throw down some twine!’ he called out to Bernard.
Louisa picked it up and brought it to Stratton. He used a length to secure the mine.
‘How do they work?’ she asked.
‘Each mine contains six hundred steel ball-bearings the size of a pea,’ he explained as he placed the deton - ator wire in position. ‘They’re packed against a thick sheet of plastic explosive. Each one is the equivalent of about a hundred shotguns, but each shotgun’s ten times more powerful than a regular one.’
Louisa looked up at David attaching a mine above her and tried to imagine what it would be like when they all went off together. ‘Now that I’m here I don’t know if I approve any more.’ She looked at Stratton for his reaction.
‘Bring those others, would you?’ Stratton asked her as he crossed the road.
Louisa fetched another mine and handed it to him. ‘Does that disappoint you?’
‘Of course not.’ He stopped what he was doing and looked at her. ‘Do you want to cancel it?’
‘Would you, if I asked?’
‘Yes,’ he said.
‘Why?’
‘Because I’m not doing this for myself.’
Louisa looked up at Bernard and David who were attaching another mine. ‘You’re doing it for them,’ she said. ‘If I stopped you I would be doing it just for myself.’
Victor climbed up onto the road and walked to the bridge, carrying the remainder of the wire on its spool. He looked around at what had been done so far. ‘What shall I do?’ he asked Stratton before realising that he was interrupting a serious conversation.
‘Well?’ Stratton said, looking at her and waiting for the answer. She seemed to waver.
‘Leaders sometimes have to make tough decisions - life-and-death decisions. It’s your call. Do we destroy Chemora? Or do we leave it and walk away?’
Victor realised what this was all about. David and Bernard stopped what they were doing and watched Louisa.
‘There’s nothing wrong with changing your mind as long as you believe it’s the right thing to do,’ Stratton said.
Louisa looked at the others. They stared back at her, waiting for her to make a decision.
A distant shout interrupted them. It was Kebowa, charging down alongside the river. He pointed up the valley.
‘Trucks!’ David said from his vantage point.
‘How many?’ Stratton asked quickly.
David took a moment to be sure. ‘I think three . . . yes, three.’ He looked down at Stratton. ‘One, possibly two could be locals. Three will be Neravistas.’
‘How far?’ Stratton called.
‘A minute,’ David decided.
‘You and Bernard clear the hanging twine away and then stay there. Lie flat, look away from the trucks.Victor. Up there,’ Stratton said, pointing to higher ground.
Victor set off at a run, pulling his rifle from his shoulder.
‘Hide everything,’ Stratton shouted to Louisa. He ran to collect the mines at the end of the bridge.
Louisa ran along it, picking up bits of wire and twine, any evidence they had been there.
The vehicles’ headlights caught the top of the bridge. David and Bernard dropped to their bellies and lay still.
Stratton hurried along the embankment, dropped over the edge and dumped the claymores. He looked back for Louisa. She was still on the bridge. ‘Louisa! Come here!’
A gentle curve in the road hid the vehicles from view but their engines grew suddenly louder as they came round the bend.
Stratton knew they had just seconds before the trucks were on them. He sprinted up onto the bridge, grabbing Louisa as she leaned down to pick up the last piece of twine. The vehicles rounded the curve and their headlights lit up the entrance to the structure. Stratton manhandled her through a narrow gap in the bridge’s struts.The river bank was invisible below them but if they did not move immediately they would be exposed. ‘Jump!’ he urged her.
Louisa didn’t hesitate. Stratton followed, landing hard, colliding with her on the rocky slope. He grabbed her and held her close to