13. SAHARA ADVENTURE SERIES - BLOODSTAINED DUNES
At Dini Salam, a French Foreign Legion outpost in the Sahara, radio technician Gide receives a chilling message. Oil Camp D is under attack by unidentified assailants clad in Legion uniforms. This alarming news reaches Colonel Le Clerq, already troubled by concerns over a missing patrol. Amidst this tension, Teuns Stegmann, a tall, blond South African, stands under the shower, speculating about a new recruit, Metaxas, a dark man who appears suspicious. A confrontation ensues, wherein Teuns accuses Metaxas of being a Russian, not a Greek. A fistfight breaks out, interrupted by Sergeant Zhakof, but its underlying tension lingers palpably.
Teuns plays a pivotal role in the events that subsequently unfold. He is part of the fifty-man strong expedition under the command of Captain D’Arlan, dispatched to protect Oil Camp C. Teuns’s keen observation leads him to notice horse tracks near the camp, causing D’Arlan to suspect foul play. The tension mounts as they approach the deserted camp, where an ominous silence prevails. Teuns’s suspicions are confirmed when they discover a trace of blood beneath a steel door, leading to a scene of horror in the workshop. Teuns’s intuition regarding Metaxas is chillingly validated when they realize the camp never received the warning message. The encounter with Koebikof, a colossal Russian and Madame Bonnet’s champion, reveals the extent of the conspiracy. Teuns and Fritz Mundt become hostages, while D’Arlan is sent to retrieve the rest of the patrol.
Teuns’s quick thinking and bravery come to the fore when he and Fritz execute an escape attempt, but they are recaptured and brutally treated. D’Arlan, caught in a deadly dilemma, makes a desperate decision that places Teuns and Fritz’s lives in jeopardy. The wind becomes an ally in a daring escape plan. D’Arlan plans to attempt a rescue of Teuns and Fritz with nearly fifty men at his disposal. The denouement is fraught with intrigue, as Teuns finds himself in a situation that will test his abilities to the absolute limit. Will the rescue attempt prove to be Teuns’s greatest challenge ever? The true nature of the enemy is unveiled in a secret yet to be unravelled...
