A hand touched his and he jumped. 'It's me,' whispered Caroline. She crouched at his side. She had a handkerchief tied over her mouth and nose. 'The scaffolding is about twenty yards over there.'
'Have you seen George?' Aubrey knelt, like a sprinter ready to run. The smoke made his eyes stream, and he dashed the tears away with the back of his hand.
'He went in that direction.'
More roaring came through the smoke, and this time it was followed by screams of pain.
Slowly, they moved away from the sound of the bear. Soon, Aubrey's outstretched fingers found metal. With relief, he grasped the uprights of the scaffolding surrounding the dirigible. 'Here,' he whispered.
He held out his hand to Caroline and felt a thrill when she took it. He guided her to the scaffolding and they climbed to the heights, where the smoke was eyestingingly thick. Aubrey's throat felt as if it had been rubbed with coarse sandpaper, but he still couldn't smell anything at all. His deterioration was accelerating.
The scaffolding enclosed a catwalk that ran around the entire construction. Aubrey was close enough to the skeleton of the dirigible that he could touch it. Through the smoke it could have been the remains of a fairytale castle, great towers and turrets thrusting through the mist.
Aubrey felt the movement of air on his face. 'Good man.'
'What is it?'
'George has opened the hangar doors. Now, we need to open the other end to get some real air flow. The smoke won't go until we do.'
'Follow me.' She saw Aubrey's expression. 'I have a better sense of direction than you do.'
Harsh, but fair, he thought. 'Lead away.'
Caroline moved in a half-crouch, gracefully slipping along the catwalk. Aubrey endeavoured not to clang along the iron grating, but he was sure that anyone near would be able to track their movements.
Caroline stopped, crouched even lower, and held up a hand.
He drew close. 'What is it?'
'I saw someone ahead. In the construction area.'
Aubrey chewed his lip. Workers wouldn't be here this late. Inspectors of some sort? Wouldn't they be raising a hue and cry? Perhaps Saltin had somehow managed to make his way through the belly of the dirigible.
Suddenly, blinding white light erupted from up ahead, followed by a thumping blast and a wave of heat. The whole hangar shook with the explosion. The scaffolding swayed dangerously. Somewhere, glass shattered. Crashes and the groans of crumpling girders rippled through the smoke. Aubrey was nearly thrown from the catwalk but clutched at a strut with both hands. He hung, gasping. Purple flashes bounced in front of his eyes, but he felt no taint of magic. It was a chemical explosive, but no less devastating.
He dangled, trying to get his breath back, and saw Caroline stretched out on the catwalk nearby. He was about to cry out when she slipped to her feet and dragged him up. He stood and gripped the scaffolding, unwilling to let go completely.
'What was that?' he shouted to Caroline. As he did, a flat crack sounded from the far side of the hangar. His hands went numb, and he heard a sharp ringing. He hissed and let go of the scaffolding, shaking his hands.
He stared at the pipe. A dent and a long, bright streak showed where a bullet had barely missed him.
Caroline moved her head from left to right, peering through the smoke, which was now denser than ever. 'What –'
She didn't have a chance to finish her question, because Aubrey clapped his hand over her mouth, wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled them both down.
Just before they hit the catwalk, he felt her body twist so that he'd land first. He also felt his thumb seized, twisted and bent to the point of breaking, while her knuckle rested just over a pressure point at the base of his throat.
They landed. He grunted at the bright pain from his hip, which took most of the fall. He stifled a yelp and pleaded with his eyes for silence as a bullet passed through the space they'd previously occupied. It ricocheted, whining, from a girder.
He lay there, half-stunned, with Caroline on top of him. It was a situation he'd dreamed of, but he was in no condition to enjoy. She released her grip. She wriggled to one side and put her mouth close to his ear. 'Sorry. I thought you'd gone mad and were attacking me.' Her eyes darted. 'A marksman?'
Her breath tickled, but it was a sensation he was prepared to endure. He turned to see her face close to his. He swallowed, then whispered. 'At least one.'
He pulled back and, in the middle of smoke, shooting and a runaway bear, he took an instant to gaze at her face.
She was beautiful, he knew that, but she carried it with an air of such self-possession, such breathtaking intelligence and competence that it became almost secondary. Almost. She was such a pleasure to behold that he always – always – had trouble not staring.
'What are you looking at?' she whispered.
He shook his head. He knew it wasn't an answer, but it would do for now. From below came shouts. Aubrey hoped the poor bear had escaped to the open air rather than been shot.
Air movement on his face made him grin. Smoke streamed past and the hangar started to clear. The ribs of the dirigible emerged and Aubrey had his first opportunity to see the havoc that had been wrought by the explosion.
The entire front quarter of the frame had been wrecked. The ribs had collapsed, half-melted and twisted by heat. The exquisite proportions of the dirigible were now a mess. Months of work had been destroyed.
'Saboteurs.' Aubrey wondered what this would mean to the Gallian dirigible program.
'Now is the time to go. You can mourn later.'
She took his arm and hurried him down the catwalk toward the open hangar doors. A motor started up, while more shouts came from behind them. Aubrey hunched his shoulders but no shots came their way.
Reaching the gap where the scaffolding had been destroyed by the blast, Caroline swung down, while Aubrey went more slowly, unsure of his balance, feeling the strain on his shoulders and elbows.
Caroline landed like a cat. She grinned with fierce exhilaration. 'Follow me,' she said. 'Try to keep up.'
'I'll do my best.'
A shot snapped past overhead, close enough for Aubrey to hear it hum. 'That may be wise,' Caroline said and she was off.
Even if Aubrey had been in tiptop condition, he would have struggled. Caroline vaulted over a twisted girder, leaped across a stretch of shattered concrete and then slid on her back under a tangle of scaffolding that had fallen from overhead – and all without seeming to slow down.
Aubrey followed doggedly, with less speed and definitely less grace. Caroline waited for him, unsnagging his jacket from a bundle of ragged wires that projected from the scaffolding. 'Which way?' Aubrey panted as she helped him to his feet. Ahead was a snarl of sheet metal and timber that had once been the roof.
'To the left.'
A volley of arms fire came from behind them. For a few seconds, the hangar was a riot of ricochets, shouts and running feet. A bullet screamed off a steel support nearby, sending sparks leaping.