“Still won’t be enough with all those guys. Again, I’m curious to know exactly what it is you’re planning to do to get on that plane.”
Sean peered out at the runway. “First of all, nice shot. That guy was out cold. Remind me not to pick a fight with you. Second, you’re right. I don’t like our odds. But maybe we don’t have to get on the plane. Maybe we just need to take it out.”
“And just how do you plan on doing that?”
Sean glanced back over at the truck and then at his friend.
“What are you thinking?” Tommy asked.
“Third time’s a charm,” Sean said.
Tommy’s face creased in a devilish grin. “I like it.”
Sean started the truck and backed it out of the parking space. He spun the wheel around and aimed the hood at the back of the plane. He rolled down the window and said to Tommy, “Go around to the back of the hangar and steal one of the other trucks. Bring it behind the back wall and be ready to punch it. We should have a minute to get away while they’re distracted.”
Tommy nodded. “Gotcha.”
He took off and disappeared around the corner.
Sean waited for nearly a minute to give his friend time to find their escape vehicle. He also made sure the crowbar he’d found behind the seat would wedge tight enough between the pedal and the seat. It wasn’t perfect, but it would work.
Certain he’d given Tommy enough time, he shifted the pickup into gear, made sure the truck was lined up, and stepped on the gas. The engine growled, and the truck lurched forward.
He had a clear patch of runway for eighty yards to the plane. He just hoped the vehicle’s alignment wasn’t off. If it veered off course, the plane would get away, and the men loading it would immediately turn their attention to him.
It was a risk he had to take.
He grabbed the crowbar and shoved it down into the floorboard between the seat and the pedal. The speed slowed slightly, but it would be fast enough to disable the plane.
Sean flung open the door and dove out as the truck rolled out from behind the hangar and toward the aircraft.
He rolled to a stop and ran as hard as he could back toward the rear of the building. Gunfire erupted from around the front, but no bullets whizzed by him or struck the tarmac nearby. The gunmen were shooting at the truck.
A matching pickup appeared around the corner of the hangar with Tommy behind the wheel. He drove over the curb and onto the blacktop, jostling around inside like he was off-roading.
Sean didn’t look back at the plane until he was in the passenger seat.
The truck was rolling at a steady pace, probably thirty miles an hour, headed right for the belly of the aircraft. Bullets were plunking into the doors, the side of the truck bed, and the front left quarter panel. The windows and windshield were completely shattered. But it kept driving forward and was only twenty yards away.
Neither of the Americans dared say anything for fear of jinxing their luck.
Unfortunately for them, it wouldn’t have mattered.
With only ten yards to go, one of the gunmen’s bullets struck the front left tire. The rubber exploded, and the truck suddenly veered sharply to the left, narrowly missing the back of the aircraft and rolling harmlessly down the tarmac toward the lot where the other pickups were parked.
“Ugh,” Sean said. “We were so close.”
The torpedo truck’s hood popped open and smoke started billowing out of it. The hail of bullets had finally pierced a crucial part of the motor and disabled the vehicle.
Four of the guards and two workers ran toward the smoking pickup to find whoever was responsible for the intrusion.
“Now what?” Tommy asked.
“Now we have to catch the plane.”
23
The plane’s engines were already running when Sean launched his attack with the other truck. With the loading bay door closed, the aircraft began inching its way forward.
“What are you going to do, again?” Tommy asked. He shot his friend a dubious, sidelong glance.
“Step on the gas. And pull up next to the plane.”
Tommy definitely didn’t like the sound of that. “Um, no? Then they’ll all start shooting at us. I’d prefer to leave quietly.”
“We have to stop that plane. If we don’t, a lot of people could die. So if it’s all the same to you, punch it and let me worry about the shooters.”
The aircraft turned out onto one of the lanes leading to the runway, already picking up speed.
Tommy didn’t wait for his friend to ask again. He pressed the pedal down to the floor and steered the truck toward the plane.
“Get as close to the rear wheels as you can,” Sean said. “I’m going to try to climb up through the landing gear.”
“Wait!” Tommy almost shouted as he turned in behind the aircraft. “You’re gonna what?”
“Just do it!”
Sean climbed out the window and swung his leg around the edge of the truck bed. He threw his weight over it and landed in the middle on a pile of rags and tools. The wind blew hard in his ears as he climbed up to a crouching position on the driver’s side and readied himself for what was almost certainly a suicidal move.
Up ahead, the plane made its final turn on the approach to the runway. Meanwhile, more gunfire popped from the hangar as the guards and workers realized what was going on. The Americans were out of range for the moment, but the men would give chase.
Tommy closed the gap to the aircraft, reeling it in rapidly until they were only forty yards away. He had to slow down to make the sharp turn onto the runway but punched the gas through the apex. The tires squealed on the blacktop as Tommy pulled through the curve. Sean gripped the side of the bed, keeping his balance until Tommy straightened out and lined up with the plane.
“Faster, buddy!” he shouted. “We’re gonna lose it!”
The plane hadn’t even paused at the end of the runway. The pilot gunned the throttle, speeding the aircraft down the tarmac faster and faster.
“Giving it all I can!” Tommy shouted back.
The truck’s speedometer showed it was nearing ninety miles per hour. The engine whined loudly, protesting the demands of the driver.
Already at top speed, Tommy had a head start on the plane and had closed the gap to twenty yards to its rear right tires. Now that gap was closing slower as the plane matched the truck’s speed.
“Come on, Tommy!” Sean yelled.
The wind ripped off the bandana on his head and tore at his eyes. He had to squint hard to stay focused on the target.
Tommy jerked his body forward and back, as if that tiny bit of momentum would get them there.
The gap was only five yards. Sean reached his left hand out and got ready to make the jump. He planted his right foot on the top of the truck bed rail and braced himself as best he could.
“Almost there!”
Then the gap increased, first by a yard, then two, then twenty. The plane pulled away as the twin engines roared. In less than ten seconds, the aircraft reached takeoff velocity and started to lift off the ground. Sean climbed back into the truck bed and watched as the plane tilted up and took flight.
Tommy knew there was no point in trying to keep pace so he pulled back a little and slowed their speed. Sean’s heart sank as the aircraft soared into the air and banked to the right.
He’d failed. Or had he?
His eyes caught movement behind and to the right. “Tommy?” he shouted.
“Yeah!”
“They’re coming! Time to get out of here!”
Tommy looked back in the rearview mirror and saw the line of pickups speeding around the turn. He noticed a maintenance thoroughfare on the left up ahead and tapped the brakes.
Sean felt the truck slow and smacked his hand on the roof. “I’m thinking faster is probably better, buddy!” he yelled.