“The basket is down in the valley,” said Alix, “And we don’t have the time to bring it back up, Jake.”
Dillon was about to speak, but the Priest cut-in. “Forget the basket, we’ll go down the same way that Alix and I came up.” He beckoned everyone to follow him inside the winch house.
“We’ll go down the wire two at a time,” He extracted the climbassist unit from his rucksack, and attached it to the thick wire cable.
“The motor mechanism will act as a brake on the way down.”
“Is there a back-up system?” Asked Dillon.
“If it fails — say goodbye to this world for good. There is no back-up, Dillon. But I will say a prayer and hope that the great man up above is looking kindly down upon us.”
“Oh, that’s reassuring then.” Dillon said sarcastically.
The Priest placed his wrist through the webbing strap, and then instructed Tatiana to hold on tight, for a quick decent. They went through the open trap door.
Alix and Dillon positioned themselves over the trap door, and then after a second or two disappeared down towards the valley far below.
Neither saw the figure crawling out of the shattered entrance to the facility.
There came a single metallic click…
An obscenely loud boom rumbled deep within the facility, followed by an intense rush of hot air up through every air-shaft and corridor.
And then came a huge ball of raging fire and gases; fire roared and screamed upwards and outwards; large chunks of concrete and stone and glass were spat up high into the air; an insane release of energies rushed screaming and burning out across the mountain range.
“Hold on tight, Dillon.” Said Alix excitedly.
The cable quivered violently with the sudden bursts of explosive…
And then the fire came, slithering like a white hot snake out of the open trap door, bearing down on the two men.
As Alix adjusted the climb-assist braking mechanism to quicken their descent, they were buffeted from above by the fist of the explosion. The two men were thrown around like rag-dolls as the cable flayed around in the turmoil, anger and total madness…
The ground came rushing towards them, Alix shouted to Dillon.
“Get ready to jump clear of the basket and don’t forget to roll or, you’ll snap both your ankles.”
Dillon landed roughly, rolling out of the force of momentum; followed by Alix who performed a near perfect parachute roll landing. Even though the tongue of the fire had expelled itself high up the mountain face, the heat pursued them and could still be felt at ground level.
And then — the mountain top exploded…
Everything was in chaos.
Tatiana gazed up through tears at a vision of hell raging high above them.
Then from a dull grey sky, large chunks of rock started to rain down upon them.
All four sprinted for the cover of the nearest overhang, as moments later the guard’s station was turned into match-wood, and rocks fell out of the sky to pound the damp earth all around the immediate area.
Everything became calm.
“Whoa!” Alix looked around at the devastation, and then called, “You out there Lola?”
“Perhaps she got the hell out of here when the fireworks had started? Dillon said casually.
“How did you get here, Dillon? “ Asked the Priest.
“Army issue quad-bike. Why?”
“Because we need to leave — and fast. If that really was a small nuclear device that has just been detonated, we need to get as far away from here, as possible. We’re already running a risk of radiation exposure as it is.”
Dillon stood with his hands on his hips, staring out at the scatter of burning debris littering the valley floor.
Tatiana approached him from behind.
“You feeling okay, Dillon?”
Dillon whirled, so fast that Tatiana blinked, taking an involuntary step back. Only then did she see the Glock pointed at her.
Dillon smiled. A wide grin.
“You fancy going back up there, Tats. See your old pal, Kirill, eh?”
“Dillon, you’re acting very strange.”
“Stop talking!” He spat the words out vehemently. “Don’t you dare judge me, you little bitch. Do I have to remind you of the damning words Kirill spoke. You traitor.”
“Dillon, he was lying.” She whispered softly.
The Glock snapped up — pressed against the soft flesh of her slender neck, just below her left ear.
“The only reason that you’re still alive, luv. Is that I want to put you in front of Edward Levenson-Jones and The Partners of Ferran & Cardini International. Now, get moving.”
Tatiana turned and strode off down the valley towards the hidden quad-bike. Dillon smiled suddenly, his gaze upwards towards the flames and the smoke at the summit of the mountain. “Not so smug now, are you Professor…” He said quietly to himself, then turned dark brooding eyes to watch Tatiana walk away, fine swaying hips and long slender legs, temporarily mesmerising him.
He looked up once more admiring the devastation that had once been Kirill’s top-secret facility. His gaze took in the huge torn blocks of stone and the sea of broken glass that had rained down from the mountain.
He nodded his approval, eyes sparkling triumphantly.
“Dillon, you said there would be fireworks. But hell man, that was one of the coolest pyrotechnic displays I’ve ever attended.”
“Yeah, cool Alix.” Dillon said wearily, as he walked away down the valley.
The rain had stopped and the night cold descended. Flames burned low, crackling softly, the only sound against the bleakness of the highland night. Against scarred and blackened chunks of rock, twisted metal and fused glass, something moved in the semi-darkness.
It lay amongst the debris, reaching, clawing the smoke-filled air blindly with blackened stumps, crimson glistening in blood-filled shallow cavities. Then it slumped, rolling on its back and cold eyes stared up at the black star-filled sky. And, with every last ounce of life left in his charred husk of a body, Professor Kirill screamed.
GCHQ Transcript 8. Transcript of recent international news incident.
Chaos ensued amidst an entire shutdown of the British military satellite network earlier today. Contact was lost with ground, air and naval forces around the planet as UK computer and military experts battled to bring the system back on-line.
Disruption was also caused to UK domestic, satellite TV, internet services and many other digital communication systems.
There was an immediate cry from Government ministers, as to why this happened — and how. Ministry of Defence experts are blaming severe electrical conditions in space, possibly causing a malfunction of the satellite’s advance warning system to temporarily shut-down…
Chapter 20
Dillon opened his eyes.
Tatiana was smiling down at him. He looked up into her eyes and saw understanding there.
“I am sorry…” he whispered.
“Shh.” She placed a finger against his lips. “Don’t speak.”
“I don’t know why it happens, or what I’m saying. It’s as if I’m someone else.”
“I know, Dillon, I’ve known for a long time…”
Dillon smiled weakly. Then he flinched as pain flashed through his entire body, through all of the wounds he’d incurred over the last few days.
He gasped. And his brain felt like it was going to explode from the wound to the side of his head that pulsated with even the slightest movement he made.
Tatiana looked suddenly worried. “Dillon?” She shook him.
“Dillon, what’s wrong?”
He opened his eyes.
He smiled up at her, squinting.
“Nothing, it’s just a headache, nothing to worry about, Tats.” The Priest and Alix were standing close by, a look of concern written across their faces.