Burning Angels

45

‘Very few guests choose to get here by driving, as you did,’ Konig began. ‘Most are doing Africa on a tight schedule. They fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport, from where they are whisked down here by light aircraft.

‘They arrive, keen to get their big game animals ticked off. The Big Seven: lion, cheetah, rhino, elephant, giraffe, Cape buffalo and hippo. That done, most fly out to Amani Beach Resort. It is it is a truly magical resort set right on the Indian Ocean. Amani means “peace” in Swahili, and trust me – it’s the perfect place to get away from it all in utter privacy.’

Konig’s face darkened. ‘But I spend my days very differently. I spend them trying to ensure that enough of the Big Seven survive to satisfy our visitors. I am a pilot, and I fly anti-poaching patrols. Well, “patrol” is perhaps too grand a word for it. It’s not as if we can do anything, for the poachers are very heavily armed.’

He pulled out a battered map. ‘I spend my days flying transects, which are recorded on video and married up to a computerised mapping system. That way we get a real-time video map of poaching incidents, pinpointed to their exact location. It’s a state-of-the-art system, and trust me, it is only due to the backing of my boss, Mr Kammler, that we can afford such things. We get precious little support from the government.’

Kammler. He’d said it. Not that Jaeger had ever doubted who called the shots around here, but it was nice to have it confirmed absolutely.

Konig lowered his voice. ‘Last year we had three thousand two hundred elephants. Sounds pretty healthy, no? That is until you learn that during that year we lost some seven hundred. Around two elephants killed for every day. The poachers shoot them with assault rifles, slice off their tusks with chainsaws and leave the carcasses to rot in the sun.’

Narov looked horrified. ‘But if it goes on like that, in five years you’ll have none left at all.’

Konig shook his head despondently. ‘It is worse. We are four months into this year and I have not flown a single day without encountering the butchery… In those four months already we have lost approaching eight hundred elephants. In just four months. It is little short of a catastrophe.’

Narov looked white with shock. ‘But that is sickening. Having seen the herd in that cave… I mean all of them, and so many more, being slaughtered… It’s hard to believe. But why the recent upsurge? Without knowing that, it is difficult to counter it.’

‘The great thing about the mapping system is it allows us to deduce certain things, like the focus of the poaching activity. We have narrowed it down to one village, plus a certain individual. A Lebanese dealer; a buyer of ivory. It is his arrival in the area that has triggered the upsurge.’

‘So report your findings to the police,’ Jaeger suggested. ‘Or the wildlife authorities. Whoever it is who deals with such issues.’

Konig gave a bitter laugh. ‘Mr Groves, this is Africa. The amounts of money being made – everyone is paid off at all levels. The chances of someone taking action against this Lebanese dealer are just about zero.’

‘But what’s a Lebanese doing here?’ Jaeger queried.

Konig shrugged. ‘There are dodgy Lebanese business rackets running all over Africa. I guess this guy just decided to make himself the Pablo Escobar of the ivory trade.’

‘And what about the rhino?’ It was the Jaeger family favourite, and he felt a deep attachment to the magnificent animals.

‘With rhino it is even worse. The breeding sanctuary where we have the shoot-to-kill policy – that is mostly for the rhino. With a few thousand elephants, we still have viable breeding herds. With the rhino, we have had to fly in fully grown males, to bolster the numbers. To keep them viable.’

Konig reached for his glass and drained it. The subject of their conversation clearly troubled him. Without asking, Jaeger poured him a refill.

‘If the poachers are so heavily armed, you must be a prime target?’ he queried.

Konig smiled grimly. ‘I consider that a compliment. I fly very low and very fast. Just above the treetops. By the time they see me and have readied their weapons, I have flashed past. Once or twice there have been bullet holes in my aircraft.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s a small price.’

‘So you over-fly, locate the poachers, and then what?’ Jaeger queried.

‘If we spot signs of activity, we radio the ground teams and they try to intercept the gangs, using our vehicles. The problem is response times, personnel, level of training and sheer scale, not to mention the mismatch in weaponry. In short, by the time we get anywhere near close the tusks or horns, plus the poachers, are long gone.’

‘You must be scared,’ Narov probed. ‘For yourself and the animals. Scared but enraged all at the same time.’

There was genuine concern in her voice, plus a certain admiration burning in her eyes. Jaeger told himself that he shouldn’t be surprised. Narov and this German wildlife warrior had an obvious bond – their shared love of animals. It drew them close, and it was a closeness from which he felt oddly excluded.

‘Sometimes, yes,’ Konig answered. ‘But I am more often angry than scared. That anger – at the scale of the slaughter – it drives me on.’

‘In your position, I would be enraged,’ Narov told Konig. She fixed him with a very direct look. ‘Falk, I would like to see this at first hand. Can we fly with you tomorrow? Join a patrol?’

It took a good second or more for Konig to answer. ‘Well, I don’t think so. I have never taken guests on a flight. You see, I fly very low and fast – like a roller coaster, only worse. I do not think you would enjoy it. Plus there is the risk of gunfire.’

‘Regardless, will you fly us?’ Narov persisted.

‘It is really not a good idea. I cannot just take anyone… And for insurance reasons, it’s just not —’

‘We’re not just anyone,’ Narov cut in, ‘as you may have realised in that cave. Plus I think we can help. I honestly believe we can help you put a stop to the slaughter. Bend the rules, Falk. Just this once. For the sake of your animals.’

‘Narov’s right,’ Jaeger added. ‘We really could help you deal with the threat.’

‘Help like how?’ Konig asked. He was clearly intrigued. ‘How could you ever help combat such slaughter?’

Jaeger looked hard at Narov. A plan of sorts was coalescing in his mind, one that he figured might just work.