Her shoulders and chest rose together as she laughed silently and the soldier winced as her hand jerked at the other end of the needle.

‘Hold still!’ She swabbed viciously at the wound. ‘Otherwise I’ll call the healer from the village and he’ll put some cow shit on it and you’ll lose half your pretty face.’

Mann turned to leave. He stopped in the doorway and nodded at Mo.

‘I’ll bear it in mind, if I have trouble sleeping…’

Mo laughed again and looked pleased with herself as she bit off the end of the thread with her teeth.

Mann followed Run Run outside. Sue was already washing her hands and had her medical kit open.

‘You’ve been summoned,’ said Mann.

Sue chuckled. ‘Delighted to oblige. Mo is one of the people I trained and she’s my star pupil. She’s the local casualty department in this area and not someone you can ever say no to.’

‘That’s worrying.’ Mann turned to wink at Mo who was watching him through the open door of the house. Her eyes had been glued to his arse as she watched him walk away. ‘Great bedside manner,’ said Mann. Sue laughed.

‘You wait till she’s had a few drinks,’ she muttered quietly. She picked up her kit and went inside.

The rest of the villagers came out to look at the newcomers. They were nearly all older women, most of them strong looking. They stared at Mann and the others, not with hostility, but with some suspicion. They looked like they had fought in many battles. Some had lost limbs, others had massive scars.

A few feet away, Louis was stood in the shade chatting to a soldier who was smoking a cheroot while he waited for his companion to finish being seen to. Riley was nearby, kneeling on the floor with some of the village children as he unpacked gifts of paper and crayons for them from his rucksack.

Mann followed Run Run further into the village. They walked fifteen metres to what looked to be the largest of the dwellings. Like most of the houses in the village, it was built on stilts. However, unlike most of the other houses, there were no pigs or goats beneath this one. They climbed the ladder and set their packs down in the hut that was to be their home for the next night at least. Mann looked at Run Run.

‘Your mother was a great warrior, Run Run, is that right? It looks like the other women in this village were also fighting women.’

Run Run inclined her head in a small bow of agreement.

‘Yes. My mother was and is a fighter, Mr Mann. She is that before all else. She will fight till she dies, like all of us. Her unit retired here. They killed many Burmese army between them.’ She started to sort out the contents of her bag. ‘It is her life.’

‘And what about you, Run Run? What are your hopes and your ambitions for your life?’

She turned towards him and seemed to study him, and he could see she was deciding what his intention was by asking a question that would be considered too personal and therefore rude in her culture.

‘The job of every Karen person is to fight for their homeland. That is what I do, in my own way. I will play my part before I die, just like my mother has played hers. She has killed many Burmese and she has helped many villagers.’

‘How will she be involved in this mission to find the five?’

‘She will pick up arms again if she must. We all understand that it is vital we find the five volunteers, otherwise there will be no more money to feed the refugees, to fight for our homeland.’

Whilst Run Run was speaking, Mo had appeared at the entrance. ‘My daughter is correct. We are beggars, living on handouts. We all know that we are approaching a time when the Karen might be forgotten, might be hounded out and murdered so that we will be no more. If the world thinks that we took these five young people, then the world will turn its back on us altogether and we will have no chance. I cannot allow that to happen. We can never give up and we can never surrender. That is what the Englishman said, wasn’t it…Churchill? He was a good man in history; he supported the Karen people. The five principles must stand and those are the code we live by. Are you a man of principles, Mr Mann?’ There was a hint of intrigue in her eyes. ‘What is your code?’

‘I have strong principles. I try and get justice for people who cannot get it for themselves,’ he replied.

She studied him for a minute before she smiled and nodded her head approvingly.

‘Good. Then we will be fellow soldiers, you and I. We will fight alongside one another. You will watch my back and I will definitely watch yours.’ A grin spread across her face and her silent laugh grew into a coughing fit that rattled her lungs and produced a mouthful of phlegm that she spat over the balcony. Then, without waiting to be asked, she went to Run Run’s pack and emptied it out. From inside the bundle, she spread out the contents: a pack of explosives, a belt of grenades, ammunition, detonators, knives and medical supplies. Mo said something to Run Run in Karen. It looked like she was expecting more. Run Run began to argue back, but Mo held up her hand for silence and shrugged, resignedly.

Mo looked at Mann, and smiled.

‘Do not worry, Mr Mann. We are a peaceful people. We only defend. We will need these weapons to save the young people’s lives.’

The dog was barking. She stopped to call over her shoulder for quiet. The jungle was sending up its alarms through birds and trees. Someone was coming. Mann followed her eyes towards the jungle. The dog had found more intruders. A troop of KNLA soldiers were walking single file out of the jungle. Alak was at the front. Mo turned and glared at Run Run. Mo obviously hadn’t been expecting Alak to come in person and neither had Mann. But, from the expression on her face, Run Run obviously had.

66

The darkness descended fast in Mo’s village. All around the sounds of women soothing their babies for the night could be heard. Alak’s men were washing in the nearby stream. The smell of cooking began to permeate the thick, hot night as blackened cooking pots were stacked over red coals and the evening meal of fish curry and sticky rice was prepared.

Mann stood on the platform of his dwelling to check his satellite phone. He heard a giggle behind him.

‘Men and their gadgets. Who are you trying to call?’

He turned and grinned at Sue as she came up the ladder. Her hair was wet from the wash in the stream and hung down her back in flaxen strands.

‘Just wanted to make sure it worked.’ He grinned sheepishly. ‘No, actually, you’re right—new toy, dying to use it.’

‘Don’t suppose it will matter but satellite phones are illegal here. The Burmese junta can’t tap them so they ban them. We never carry them just in case we run into the military. Especially if you’re a woman; they have a habit of planting stuff on women for the guys down the road at the next road block to find. Gives them the excuse to hold on to the girl and rape her.’

‘Don’t worry. I will take full responsibility if we get caught with it.’ He shut down the phone, put it back in its case and stowed it away in his bag.

‘In any case…’ Sue said, ‘there will be no one to call for help. There will be no one to rescue us if we run into trouble. Normally, as backpack medics, we spend weeks on the road with just the bush telegraph.’

‘I’m beginning to think I should have made a will.’

Sue laughed. ‘I’m counting on you to keep us all alive.’ She stood in front of him and looked up into his face and gave a sweet smile. She had the fresh scent of jasmine soap on her, along with the bloom of fresh sweat. He had a sudden urge to reach out and pull her close.

‘I would like to get to know you, Johnny Mann,’ she said, as if she had read his mind. Then again, maybe the look in his eyes wasn’t too hard to read. She took a step closer towards him.