The Indus Intercept by Aruna Gill

Author:Aruna Gill
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2013-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

34

Cresting the northern ridge of the Bolan Pass, Alejo followed the left fork of the path. When he reached the distinctive fistlike boulder described by Sikander, he dismounted. He walked around, closer to the edge of the cliff. As he turned, he saw perched on a flat rock to the side was Dante’s camera bag. Inside, there were CDs, lenses, cables, and batteries but no camera. He circled around, and continued walking along the ridge. Some distance from the huge boulder, he saw the scuff marks of several animals in the frosty soil. It was obvious that this was where the kidnapping had occurred. There was an expansive view of the Bolan River gorge from the spot. Dante must have laid his bag down before he walked over with his camera in hand.

Alejo pulled out the transponder. He started to turn it once clockwise to begin transmitting, but then he hesitated and just stuck it back in his breast pocket. If Fred enlisted the help of a posse, on foot or by helicopter, the kidnappers could panic. If and when he caught up with the group, he would decide whether to attempt a rescue himself or to call for help. He swung up into his saddle and began his pursuit.

It was not hard to follow the path of the animals. They had left ample evidence on the trail but an hour later, he paused at a point where the path curved sharply and then forked in two directions. One followed close to the ridge line of the pass. The footprints of the animals led to the other path that turned sharply north-east. A half-hour later, he saw the path disappear from view over the edge of a plateau. If he ventured to the edge, he knew he would be vulnerable, his body showing in clear relief against the skyline. He retreated behind two boulders, tethered his mule to a scraggly dried-out bush and then lay down flat and crawled forward to peer over the verge.

If not for his caution, he would certainly have been detected. One of the abductors’ animals had hurt its leg as it slipped down the unstable shale of the steep escarpment. The party had halted to tend to the wounded animal and appeared to be cooking a meal. Alejo conducted a quick headcount, noting there were five kidnappers. He saw that Dante was the only one still in the saddle, his hands tied behind his back and his reins in the hands of one of the abductors. Adiva was sitting on the ground with her bound hands crossed in front over her knees.

From the grenades and daggers and side arms dangling off their webbed waist belts, he deduced the two leaders in the group. One looked quite young, with a thin small-boned body and a mop of untidy hair. His partner was at least a decade older although he appeared to take directions from the younger man. The other three could have passed for local herdsmen or farmers, except for the quality of the rifles in their hands.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.