I’m not entirely sure how long I’m out for, but when I wake up, I’m still on the ground beside the vehicle and my head is resting on Mary’s lap. Her lap is comfortable, but my head is throbbing.

My first instinct is to get up, but a firm hand on my chest – Andrea – pushes me back down as soon as I move. “No, Mark. Stay there for a few minutes. There’s an ambulance on the way to check you out and for some other stuff.”

I manage to lift my hand to the side of my head where the pain seems to be concentrated and there’s a massive and painful lump there, just above and behind my temple. “What happened? What’s going on?” I manage after a few moments.

“Well,” Andrea begins, “We’ve had quite an interesting time of it. In case you’ve not figured the first part out, you were hit on the side of the head with the butt of a rifle.”

“Yeah, I’d pretty much guessed that much. Then what?”

“Hmm… You getting attacked didn’t go down too well with Brian. He took the rifle off the guy and hit him under the jaw with it – pretty hard. Actually, he’s still either unconscious or dead – we’re not bothered which at this point.”

“And the other guy? The one in charge?”

“Just stay calm, okay? Brian is fine.” She has a point, though. I’m making myself agitated and I don’t yet even know why.

“Stay calm, why do I need to stay calm?” Mary takes a hold of my hand and I manage to take a couple of deep breaths before nodding at Andrea.

“So, the boss guy tried to bring his own gun to bear when the first guy went down and Brian had to stop him.”

“Stop him how, exactly?” I think I already know the answer, but I have to ask anyway.

“With a bullet. Well, actually with two bullets. One in the hand that was reaching for the gun and then a second in the head. I’ve never seen anything like it, except in an action movie.”

“And all of you are really okay?”

“Yes,” Mary tells me softly. “Sue and Nicki are a bit shaken up, but they are sitting in the truck. You’ve been out for about twenty minutes.

“Where’s Brian?”

“He’s just across the road, giving a short preliminary statement to the police. Joshua called them from his seat while our stuff was being searched.”

Ian has noticed that I’m awake and come over to join us. His look of concern is genuine and reassuring. “Mark, are you okay? We’ve got an ambulance coming to check you out.”

“Well, I might have a concussion, but I don’t feel too bad. It hurts like hell.”

“I’m so sorry, Mark.”

“No, don’t even think that. This is not your fault.”

“Well, no, but we should have known this wasn’t a normal stop. Peter and the others have gone on to the lodge, but Peter is coming right back down. He’ll be about five minutes.”

“Is Brian in trouble?”

“Actually, quite the opposite,” Andrea tells me with a grin. “Apparently, we’re not the first victims of these guys, but the police didn’t have a positive ID from any of the other victims. Brian’s a bit of a hero.”

“You’re all taking this pretty lightly,” I manage to mutter with a shake of my head that turns out to be a huge mistake. Waves of pain wash over me, from my head down to my toes and I have to groan a bit and grit my teeth.

“Don’t worry,” Andrea tells me when my vision clears again. “It’ll hit us shortly. Right now, we’re all still running on adrenaline. It feels great to be alive.”

“I’ve never seen anyone get shot before,” Mary tells us. “It’s not a suburban experience, really. There wasn’t as much blood as I expected, but guns are really loud.”

“You almost make me feel sorry I missed it,” I tell her with a smile.

“I would be,” Andrea tells me. “Brian may be retired from that sort of shit, but he was pretty fucking impressive. Training, I guess.”

The sound of approaching sirens put an end to our conversations for a while as the ambulance is here. I’m suddenly the centre of attention as the two paramedics come over to check on me. They pointedly ignore the guy on the ground on the other side of the road. I don’t want to ask.

 

“You should go to Arusha for an x-ray, Mark,” the paramedic tells me for the fourth time in as many minutes.

“Yes, I should,” I agree with him. “But, no matter how many times you ask, the answer is no. I’m not going anywhere. Do you think I have a fracture?”

“No, but I cannot be sure.”

“I understand. I’m prepared to take a chance.”

“Okay, Mark. We cannot force you, but you need to be careful. If you feel dizzy or nauseous, then you need to go to a clinic right away. A concussion can sneak up on you.”

“I will. Please, everyone will look after me. I’m better off here surrounded by my friends.”

“Promise me you won’t drink alcohol for at least a couple of days. You can take paracetamol, but nothing stronger. Drink plenty of fluids.”

“We’ll make sure he does,” Peter tells the paramedic as he approaches. “He’s our responsibility.” Apparently, Peter has been here for a few minutes and has taken control of the situation pretty well.

“Have I screwed up our schedule, Peter?” I ask him with a grin.

“Well, a little. Apparently, you will have to go to the local police station to make a proper statement. All of the group, actually. The captain assures me that it will only take an hour or so.”

“Fine. I’d rather get it over with as soon as possible.”

“Yes. I’ve decided to change the timetable slightly. We’ll not leave quite as early tomorrow as we originally planned. It means a couple of hours less time down in the crater, but it’s no big deal.”

“What happens once we have made statements?”

“Well, it’s case closed.”

“So, the other guy, the one Brian hit with the rifle?”

“Neck was broken. He was probably dead before he hit the ground. Just like the other one. Both suspects deceased means there’s no trial and no consequences. Brian acted in self-defence and that’s an end to it.”

“Where is Brian now?”

“He went off with the other officers. His is the longest and most detailed statement, so he has gone to get started. If you’re up to moving, we’ll follow along now. We have to go back down to Mto Wa Mbu, I’m afraid.”

I manage to swing my legs off the stretcher and sit myself up with the minimum of dizziness. Joshua appears at my elbow to help me to my feet with surprising strength for his small stature. I allow myself a moment to steady myself before walking with minimum assistance to the vehicle. I do need a little help to get inside, but everyone has moved around to leave me with the front row by the door.

 

My statement to the police is a very short one. I can only tell them about being stopped and then trying to stop the bandits from taking my stuff. I was out cold for the rest of it. Brian’s obviously takes much longer and apparently his time also involves a couple of calls to the British Consulate in Dar Es Salaam. Still, the Captain in charge of the region assures us that there will be no charges and we will receive formal letters when we get home.

It’s getting dark by the time we have all finished and can finally head for our lodgings. It takes us a little more than an hour to get there – we were almost there the first time – and it is fully dark by the time we pull into the car park. The road at the scene of the earlier events was now clear and empty, almost as if nothing had happened. There’s no trace of the makeshift security barrier in sight.

Brian has spent the whole trip from the station sitting in his usual seat at the back alongside me, his fingers firmly intertwined with mine. It’s as if he either doesn’t want to let me go or that he needs something to hold onto that’s familiar.

Geoff and Tim must have still been in the bar, because they both come rushing out to greet us when we arrive. There’s a bit of a jumble of other members of the group behind them, but I know some of the others much less well and they are just content to hang back and reassure themselves that we are all okay.

“Fuck me, that’s one hell of a lump,” Geoff almost yells when he sees the egg-sized bump on my head. My eye is also starting to turn black and I’m sure that will only get worse before it gets better. “How are you feeling, Mark?”

“Just tired, I guess. Not the day I expected when I got up this morning.”

“Well, we’ve all been waiting so we can eat together,” Tim adds. “We thought it was important to get back to our normal routine. That is, if everyone else is hungry and happy to relax for a while.”

There’s a general murmur of approval and Peter and Ian are happy to usher us all inside and towards the dining room. Brian hasn’t let go of my hand and, while this doesn’t go unnoticed, there’s no comment about it and I’m actually enjoying it.

Peter excuses himself to head off for a bit of a conference with the drivers, but Ian stays with us, joining our group on one large table.

It turns out that I’m actually starving. I haven’t had anything since breakfast and my stomach is churning in anticipation as the starters are being served. When our waiter asks what we would like to drink, I have to stop myself from asking for my now regular G&T.

“I really want a whiskey,” Brian whispers only to me. He shows me that his hand – the one that isn’t still holding on to me – is shaking a bit. “I know I can’t, but I really want one.”

It has been one of those days. I know exactly how he feels. I’m sure it’s a million times worse for him than it is for me. I got knocked out. He had to kill people. Honestly, right now, he’s all that matters. I reach my free hand up and press it against his cheek gently, turning his head so he can look directly at me.

“You saved my life by risking yours. I’m not going anywhere and you don’t need a drink. I’d be pissed off if you did anyway. I’m not allowed one and neither are you.”

He manages a nod and a smile as he leans into my hand and rubs against it a couple of times before reaching up and taking hold of it. He plants a gentle kiss on my palm and turns to the waiter. “We’ll both have cokes, please.”

Now, I know that homophobia is a thing, and East Africa is pretty bad, but the waiter looks unreasonably scandalized to me. Frankly, after the day that I’ve had – that we have all had – I don’t give a fuck.

“Wait,” I call as the waiter is about to turn away. “I’ve had a shit day and it isn’t going to continue. If you don’t like that I’m taking care of my boyfriend, then keep your disgust to yourself. I don’t give a fuck what you think. There has probably been enough killing for one day, but don’t fucking tempt me!”

The staff have clearly heard a more complete story than our fellow guests, because he mutters a barely audible apology and runs – literally sprints – towards the bar. Andrea, who was sitting opposite me, and couldn’t see the man’s face is trying so hard not to laugh out loud that she’s almost choking on her own tongue.

I know I’m beginning to turn red. I’m not usually one for emotional outbursts, but honestly, I feel much better after this one and there is nothing but approving glances from the rest of our table.

Mary, also on that far side of the table simply shrugs. “Honestly, I think he had it coming. Surly looking bugger.”

“Mark,” Ian asks after a moment. “Do you mind if I tell the rest of the group what actually happened today? You and Brian both?”

“Okay Brian?” I ask.

“Sure. Just make it clear that we don’t want to be in the papers when we get home, okay?”

Ian nods and stands. He wanders off to stand between the other two tables and quietly tells everyone the facts from his first-hand point of view. He’s a good story-teller and doesn’t need to spice things up at all. What actually happened is shocking enough.

Soon the staff are listening in and even the few guests that are not part of our group are taking a keen interest. I push it all to the back of my mind where it belongs.

“Can I have my hand back so I can eat this, please?” I ask Brian after a moment with a nod to my waiting plate.

“Sure you can, boyfriend!”