THE B TEAM by Mike Resnick It had not been a good year for the Mau Mau. The British had brought in their army and what had seemedlike a battle against a handful ofwhite colonists had become something infinitely bigger. Thousands of insurgents were heldcaptive in camps that lined Langata Road. Thousands more had been shipped to the NorthernFrontier District and incarcerated there in the burning heat of the desert. The bulk of those who remained were spread throughout theAberdare Mountain range where the British made three daily bombing runs in their planeskilling Kikuyu freedom fighters Kikuyu loyalists elephants rhinos and buffalos with equalfacility. It was time declared Deedan Kimathi the Supreme Commander of the Mau Mau to takethe gloves off. Peter Njoro the officer in command of one of the western slopes made his way down thetwisting path alert to his surroundings. Twice this morning hed been charged by fear-crazedrhinos. Another time a bongo had stepped on a land mine not twenty yards from him. He couldhear gunfire to the north and he knew that the colonials had recently brought his blood enemies the Maasai and the Samburu to theAberdares to help hunt his army down in the thick forest. He shook his head. He should be back with his men fightingthe enemy rather than proceeding onthis fools mission. But Kimathi had issued the order and it had fallen on his broad shouldersto carry it out. He stepped over a fallen tree waded across a narrow streamjumped withsurprise as a colobus monkey screeched overhead and peered ahead. He must be getting close tohis goal he knew butvisibility was extremely limited especially in the lower sections of themountain where the British didnt drop any bombs for fear of hitting their own commando units. Finally he broke into a clearing and saw a row of caves ahead of him. Three old women sataround a fire and a naked little boy no more than four years old was scratching designs inthe dirt with a stick. The women looked at him as he approached them but made no move toleave. quotI am looking for Matenjwaquot said Peter. quotI was told I could find him here.quot One of the