13. SCREAM AT NIGHT — SAHARA DESERT SERIES
A chilling scream pierces the Moroccan night, and Captain Monclaire of Fort Valeau stares at the tortured Chieftain Aslaam. The message is horrific. Legionnaires have massacred a peaceful village! Is it betrayal, or a conspiracy darker than the deepest desert night?
Monclaire’s quest for answers plunges him and his men, including the stalwart Basie Beyers and the cynical Pete Haver, into a maelstrom of danger. At the remote Toetana, the merciless Pavani, a twisted dwarf-genius with eyes reflecting both madness and brilliance, has unleashed a mutiny of four hundred unscrupulous criminals. They are armed, desperate, and their plan is to engulf the entire region in a firestorm of hatred by attacking Arab villages, disguised as loyal Legionnaires.
As Monclaire and his valiant men wage a desperate battle against this overwhelming force, a traumatised woman, Rene D’Aplis, whose fate is now entwined with Pavani’s, appears with a tale that holds the key to the chaos. Back at the fort, the inexperienced Lieutenant Gina and the formidable Sergeant Zatof grapple with their own siege, incited by Pavani’s atrocities. Trapped between mutineers, suspicious Arabs, and the unforgiving desert, Monclaire must summon every ounce of his courage and brilliance. Will he uncover the truth and thwart Pavani’s diabolical plan in time, or will the relentless Sahara desert engulf them all in a tempest of violence and betrayal? The answer lies concealed in a struggle where loyalty is severely tested and survival exacts a heavy price, should one dare to uncover the secrets of Toetana and the heart of the Foreign Legion.
