32. SAHARA ADVENTURE SERIES - FLAMES ACROSS THE SANDS
The story unfolds amidst the stifling heat of the Sahara desert, at the fortress Dini Salam, where members of the French Foreign Legion are stationed. The garrison’s routine is disrupted by the arrival of a perfumed letter, addressed to Teuns Stegmann, a South African legionnaire. The letter, originating from an unknown woman in Algiers named Elsa Moram, contains an urgent request for a meeting, promising information of cardinal importance to both Teuns and the entire Foreign Legion. Teuns’s comrades, among them the German Fritz Mundt, the Englishman Jack Ritchie, the Pole Podolski, and the Italian Petacci, are curious and excited about the letter, speculating about the mysterious Elsa’s identity and motives.
Teuns, plagued by a vague, unsettling memory associated with the name “Moram,” decides to accept the invitation, driven partly by curiosity and partly by an inexplicable inner compulsion. His encounter with Elsa reveals a harrowing tale of betrayal, torture, and revenge. Elsa, a strikingly beautiful nightclub performer, reveals she is the twin sister of a legionnaire, Emil Moram, who was brutally murdered by Arabs years before. Elsa is determined to avenge her brother’s death, a goal that resonates within Teuns’s heart as well. She discloses disturbing information about secret caravans traversing the desert, presumably transporting materials for a top-secret rocket base. This information constitutes a deadly threat capable of shaking the Foreign Legion to its core. Teuns, initially sceptical but later convinced by Elsa’s sincerity, agrees to help her. Shortly thereafter, Elsa is abducted. Following a terrifying escape from an Arab club, Teuns and his companions, with Elsa’s financial backing, decide to investigate themselves.
The journey through the unforgiving desert is long and arduous. Tensions run high, not only due to the looming danger but also because of the uncertainty of their mission and the fact that they have undertaken this strange journey without leave from the Foreign Legion. They track the mysterious caravans, determined to uncover the truth. Near the El Riza oasis, they acquire a camel carrying a suspicious cargo of electronic instruments, which confirms their suspicions. After a skirmish with a Russian officer, they discover the location of the rocket base in a remote wadi. They are captured but escape dramatically, aided by an unexpected ally. Armed with explosives and determination, they return to the base, this time resolute on thwarting the Arabs’ plans. But will they be in time, or is there a traitor in their midst, someone who has been watching them from the very beginning? The key to the secret perhaps lies hidden within an unexpected, perfumed memory...
