Crocodile Tears

turned around and shouted at him, the wind snatching the words away even as they were spoken. Alex did as he was told, untying the rope from the wing strut and letting it fall back to earth.
    He watched it dwindle in the distance until it was no more than a wriggling worm and reflected that it could all too easily have been him, free-falling down to the earth far below. He couldn’t believe what he had just been through. He sank back into the seat, belted himself in, and let out a deep sigh of relief.
    The RAW agent hadn’t spoken again, and Alex was grateful. He was utterly drained and although sleep was impossible with the wind battering against him, he tried as best he could to relax, somehow to recharge his batteries, to put this whole business behind him. He wanted to go home. With his eyes half open, he watched the landscape slide away beneath him, the different patches of green and brown crisscrossed by roads and dirt tracks with tiny buildings scattered here and there and hinting at some sort of life—normal life—carrying on in the vastness of the Kenyan bush. The Piper’s engine droned on. Rahim was wearing his camouflage jacket. Alex only had his shirt and pants, and as the evening drew in, he began to shiver. Very soon it would be night.

    But even though the sun had gone, the sky was still glowing softly when Rahim suddenly shouted into his headset, getting permission from air traffic control at Laikipia to land. The little plane wavered in the air as if finding its balance. The ground, a long strip of tarmac, rushed toward them. Then they bumped down and taxied to a halt. A few airport workers, dressed in bright yellow overalls with TROPICAIR stenciled across their chest, glanced curiously in their direction. It wasn’t often they saw such an old-fashioned aircraft here. And a crop duster! There weren’t any crops for miles. A few tourists sitting outside the clubhouse stood up and watched them come in. A couple of them unfastened their cameras and took pictures.
    Rahim turned off the engine and the propeller began to slow down. He took off his headset and twisted around. Alex wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but he was taken aback by the anger in the agent’s face.
    “ What did you think you were doing?” Rahim exploded. He still had to shout to make himself heard, but from the look of him, he would have shouted anyway. “You could have gotten yourself killed. You could have gotten me killed!”
    “ Rahim … ,” Alex began. He wanted to climb out of the plane. Couldn’t they have this argument over a cold drink and something to eat?
    But Rahim was in no mood to go anywhere. “You stole my equipment. I cannot believe what you did.
    You left me there—”
    “ I had to do it.”

    “ No! My job was to kill McCain. That was all. We could have dealt with his plan afterward. You disobeyed my instructions, Alex. Do you have any idea of the damage you’ve caused? And how do you think my people are going to explain all this to the Kenyan authorities? You took out an entire hydroelectric and irrigation system!”
    “ Well, maybe you can tell them we saved thousands of lives. They might like that.”
    “ McCain is still out there. He got away.”
    “ I left you your gun. Why didn’t you just go and shoot him?”
    “ Because I had to come after you.” Rahim shook his head in exasperation. “I should have left you to the crocodiles.”
    There was a brief silence. The propeller was still turning, but more slowly.
    “ Where are we?” Alex asked. “What are we doing here?”
    “ This is Laikipia. We have to refuel. I’m leaving you here. I’ve contacted my people and they’ll arrange for you to be picked up.”
    “ What about you?”
    “ I’m going—”

    That was as far as he got. To Alex, it appeared as if Rahim had snapped his head around the other way.
    At the same time, he was aware of a sudden spray of red vapor filling the air in front of him. Alex looked back to see Desmond McCain, dressed in a brown linen suit, walking toward him, the Mauser pistol in his hand. He turned back to Rahim. The agent was dead. He had collapsed forward over the controls. There was a gaping wound in the side of his head.
    Alex felt a wave of anger and disgust. He was also sorry. Despite everything, Rahim had come back for him and saved him … for the third time. Alex hadn’t even had a chance to thank him.
    The propeller stopped.
    McCain stood beside the plane, right next to the wing.