Read an extract from My Friend the Mercenary - Bookhugger

shake hands with the devil 25
to him existed in print, one of which was a bizarre press release
allegedly issued by his ‘press secretary’ – a man clearly not overburdened
with work.
The United Nations’ most recent report – a 116-page update
on the 2001 Security Council Resolution that had re-imposed a
stringent arms embargo and travel and diamond sanctions against
Taylor’s government – devoted less than one page to the LURD.
Containing few hard facts about the organisation, it referred to
a leader called ‘Kone’ and described their command structure as
‘factionalised’, with support from Guinea for its limited incursions
declining. The report concluded that ‘the activities of LURD
may have peaked’.
Only two factors convinced me of LURD’s actual existence:
first, Cobus was adamant that the Americans were in contact with
them; and second, only a genuine committee of die-hard, unsmiling
insurgents could adopt such a bizarre and awkward name.
‘One thing I want to discuss’, I remembered, ‘is filming you,
Nick.’
He and Cobus looked at each other, and then back at me.
‘It’s inevitable that you’re going to end up on camera, at the
edge of a frame or in the background, at some point,’ I explained.
‘It’s going to make my life impossible if I’m always making sure
you’re out of every shot. Basically, you’re going to have to trust
me that your face won’t be in the final programme.’
Nick nodded. I, of course, had no idea what the final
programme might be.
‘That’s fine, man. I don’t see any problem with that. Just
don’t mention my name. You can leave me off the credits for this
one.’ Nick relaxed back into his chair. ‘This beer is not bad, not
bad at all.’
Cobus handed the small, spiral-bound notepad back to Nick,
and they exchanged some words in Afrikaans. I steeled myself,
convinced of my decision.