“Yeah, give me a car any day.”
They skimmed the treetops, passing beyond the golf course now and seeing the high rises of St Louis in the distance. The air ripped at their metal body, flinging the chopper between currents. Alicia felt a little like a kite, but shrugged the feeling away. She couldn’t see anyone on the lead aircraft but knew what was at stake.
Their quarry flew straight for a while, passing over the tops of houses, winding streets and a few open parks. Neither chopper was able to alter the distance between them, although Alicia’s pilot clearly didn’t want to. As the minutes ticked by it became clear to both parties, however, that something had to give.
Those ahead swung around quickly, the side of their aircraft suddenly facing the other. Curses went up and Alicia’s pilot veered sharply downward. Bullets strafed the sky as the other chopper opened fire, a couple of metallic thuds coming from the roof. Their pilot aimed his machine almost vertical for a few seconds. Austin squealed and Caitlyn groaned. Alicia cheered. Russo’s lips were a tight line you could have used for a ruler.
The attacking chopper adjusted its position for them, leaning over and allowing the shooters a better target. Alicia’s pilot swerved theirs sharply to the right, avoiding even more shots.
For several minutes it was cat and mouse; both pilots correcting and overcorrecting, but Alicia knew the odds were in their favor — not the battle, but the timewasting. The thieves couldn’t keep it up for long.
Already, they were attracting attention from below.
Alicia held on tight as the lead helicopter swooped once more, heading for the ground and then coming up at a sharp angle. The maneuver fooled their pilot for a few seconds. Bullets strafed the metalwork, puncturing it in several places. One broke glass near Alicia’s head, making her duck down and swear. Russo tried to poke his gun through the small hole but didn’t have chance as their own pilot swung them straight up into the sky.
Chased by their enemy.
They ducked and dived, swooped and came around. Once they came so close, both aircraft were buffeted off course by the other’s turbulence. Alicia and her team could do nothing but hang on tight, grateful their pilot possessed skills. Several times she got a glimpse through the windows of their opponent’s, but saw only a mass of bodies, all crammed together.
Then, the attacking chopper flew straight down, dropping like a stone in the sky. Their pilot changed course to follow, gaining some space and then tracking the other. It plunged hard toward some tree tops and then veered into an open space — some kind of park with an abundance of grassy fields. Alicia was shocked to see it land.
“Get ready.”
They removed guns as the chopper steadied, then prepared to jump out of the doors and attack, but as they neared the ground men jumped out of the other helicopter and opened fire. The pilot sucked in a deep breath as he yanked on the collective stick and wrenched them away. The chopper tilted hard, its rotors now the closest things to the ground.
Alicia gasped, face now striking the window near the ground and finding it decidedly close. She could see the rotor blades spinning, blurring. Not sideways, but dangerously tilted, the chopper’s engines groaned and complained; the framework was peppered with bullets, and the occupants either screamed or clung on in desperation.
It didn’t stop. Alicia couldn’t take her eyes off the churning rotors, the hard earth; her ears full of shrieking engine noises. The pilot wrestled hard. They came around in a full circle and she got a quick glimpse of their opponents.
Climbing back into their aircraft and lifting off once more.
It had been a ruse, a way to throw them off. “Get it together!” she cried into the pilot’s ear. “This was a trick.”
He was already there; the chopper slowly righting itself under his careful guidance. After a moment a sigh escaped his lips. “I got it.”
Austin clapped a hand over his mouth. “Can I get out?”
Alicia pointed at the already escaping chopper. “Not a bloody chance! Get after those bastards.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The helicopter rose and began to pick up speed.
Alicia eyed the pilot. “Unless you have wings of your own, friend, don’t ever call me ma’am.”
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Both helicopters raced across the flatlands beyond St Louis, matched for pace, averaging round 140mph. The scenery whipped by unnoticed; the clouds cleared and then brought rain. Alicia struggled to see out of the cockpit windows.
“Our problem now,” Caitlyn said, “is that we don’t know where they’re going.”
“I know,” Alicia said. “Crouch wasn’t able to pass on the clue. It’s imperative we don’t lose them this time.”
“Shame,” Russo said. “I was just getting into the groove of chasing clues.”
“I’m not sure what comes next.” Austin had managed to settle his stomach as the flight stabilized. “This chasing about can’t continue. Something has to give.”
“I agree.” Alicia was unsuccessfully trying to stick tape over the hole in her window. “We have to assume they have sufficient fuel to reach their destination. Why wouldn’t they? That means there will be a standoff. And I’ll never give up trying to save my friend.”
“They could call for reinforcements again,” Russo put in. “Like we should consider doing.”
“We can’t.” Caitlyn had already informed Agent Merriweather of their progress, or lack of it. To Merriweather it was a case of going nowhere fast, or rushing forward to stand absolutely still. “Same old problem with the banner and the terrorists that are holding it. It must be protected and we’re on a need-to-know basis. They’re trying to scramble a team to shadow us.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Russo said.
“Me neither,” Alicia said. “How long have we been flying now?”
The pilot spoke up. “Four hours,” he said. “A tad more.”
“What’s the fuel situation?”
“I have a little over two hours remaining.”
Alicia found herself focusing her attentions on Crouch and the two thieves, and on how her feelings had changed, especially for the former.
It was a mixed bag where Crouch was concerned. He had been her boss for so long, one of the stalwart, trusted figures in her life that she could always count on. Then she had learned something about him, something that didn’t jive with what she wanted to believe. Her views shifted; a large part of her felt let down and quite broken. But it was a personal thing for Crouch, and nothing to do with her.
Now, Alicia struggled to hold on to the suspicions, finding herself barely able to remember any of the reasons she’d used for their foundations. Everyone made mistakes. Shit, I made a million. You just had to give someone another chance to step up and prove themselves.
Already, his abduction had changed her. Life had proven quite chaotic of late, giving her no chance of revisiting earlier feelings — but now that her old friend was in mortal danger she saw that she’d been unfair. Moving ahead wasn’t always moving on, and she berated herself for that.
Crouch would give her a dozen second chances.
She snapped back to the present as Russo growled, wondering what had caught the recalcitrant monster’s attention.
“What is it, Robster?”
“Mountains.”
“Eh?”
He pointed through the haze of cracks that made patterns across his window. “See there? That smudge is mountains.”
“Do friends of yours live there?”
Russo gave her the finger.
“Where the hell are we?” Alicia nudged the pilot.
“Soon to be approaching Colorado,” he said. “Y’know it? Ski resorts, snow. Aspen. Nice place, but friggin’ cold and pointy.”