A small machine, supported on large tracked wheels with two claws at the front and a camera mounted onto the top, the robot enabled the team to get closer to the suspected IED without endangering their own lives.
While the other man went to gauge the terrain, Dan reached into the back of the wagon and pulled out a reinforced case. He opened it, and then unfolded a small laptop and joystick controls. He switched on the computer and was soon relaying commands to the robot on the floor.
It twitched on its tracks, the cable attached to the back of the camera playing out as the robot began to roll away, relaying live pictures back to the computer.
Dan looked up and saw Mitch walking back towards him. ‘All clear?’
Mitch nodded. ‘Terry’s gone to take a look around that house over there, just to make sure no-one sticks their heads out while we do this. There’re hardly any buildings around, which helps. H says there’s not enough cover for snipers.’
Dan looked where Mitch was pointing. The house stood on the left side of the track – mud and bricks, with a low stone wall which hemmed in a goat and some chickens. An old couple stared at them from a front doorway. He watched as Terry approached the building, shouted to the old lady in the doorway and gestured to her they should move away.
Dan turned as David called out commands. ‘Dicko, H – make sure this area is cleared. One-fifty metre boundary. Take a look at those dunes on the perimeter. Keep your eyes open.’
Dan watched as the two men left the sheltered side of the vehicle and strode out into the bright sunshine, their heads swivelling from side to side as they scanned the landscape for any threats to the team. David kept watch from the rear of the vehicle, his eyes flickering over the small crowd of people staring at them from the opposite end of the road.
Dan jumped as Mitch slapped him on the back.
‘Come on posh boy, stop daydreaming. Let’s go play with a bomb.’
Dan shook his head and smirked. After two years working together, Mitch still took the piss out of his Oxfordshire accent. ‘Better still, send the robot. It’s too hot for the suit today.’
He glanced down the road and stopped. ‘Christ – where did he come from?’
Mitch looked up to where Dan pointed.
A young boy had appeared from the side of one of the houses to their right, about fifty metres away. The boy pedalled happily towards the road on a small beat-up green tricycle. He smiled and waved at Dicko and H as they approached. Unaware of the danger he was in, the boy began chattering loudly to them as he cycled faster into the middle of the road.
The two soldiers ran to him, oblivious of their own safety, and waved their hands at him to tell him to stop.
Dan could feel his heart hammering in his chest as he watched H bend down to talk to the boy. He couldn’t have been more than three years old. Dan watched, his throat dry, as the child was sent running back in exactly the same direction he’d cycled from.
As he got to the house, a woman snatched him up in her arms and scolded him. A man held his hand up in thanks. Dicko and H waved at him, indicating the family should go inside and shelter, before they continued their patrol, walking past the discarded tricycle and away towards the dunes.
Dan swallowed and wiped the sweat from his eyes. He breathed out slowly, trying to stop his voice from wavering. ‘Where did the report say the IED was?’
Mitch stood next to Dan and pointed. Dan ignored the fact he could see the other man’s hand shaking. They’d both been scared for the kid. ‘Check out the tyre to the left of the road, about eighty metres away. Got it?’
Dan nodded.
‘Okay – now look to the right of it. You can see where the surface has been dug up and replaced. It’s just a pile of dirt with a bit of debris around it, yeah?’
‘Yeah, okay – I see it.’
Dan moved closer to the laptop and took hold of the small joystick between his finger and thumb. He glanced up at the screen, checked the camera was working properly, and then sent the robot rolling down the road towards its target.
As the robot bumped over the rough surface, Dan moved the camera left and right, testing the camera angles and making sure the picture on the laptop was clear. The last thing he needed was a dodgy signal, especially if he was going to have to use the robot to cut any wires to timing devices.
He looked across at Mitch who was standing at the side of the armoured vehicle, watching the robot as it trundled over the rough terrain.
‘How are they doing?’
Mitch’s gaze changed slightly, taking in the road and H and Dicko walking up over the sand dunes. ‘Looks okay. As long as they keep that perimeter, they’ll be fine.’ He clicked his radio microphone. ‘How’s it going you two?’
Dan heard a burst of static over Mitch’s earpiece and kept his eyes on the computer screen.
Mitch guffawed. ‘Dicko reckons he’s actually found a sand dune dirtier than the ones back home in Pembrokeshire. Amazing.’
Dan smiled. ‘Just tell them to watch where they’re walking. It won’t be dog shit that gets them into trouble here.’
Mitch grinned and relayed the message.
Dan slowed the robot as it drew near to the pile of debris in the middle of the road. He took his hand off the joystick and turned to David. ‘I’m ready when you are,’ he called.
David nodded and clicked his own radio microphone. ‘Okay everyone. Here we go. Keep your eyes and ears open.’