Gunfire sounded from behind. Bullets whipped past, a couple punching holes through the fabric wing and another striking the engine block just behind Nina. She shrieked, flinching just as Eddie threw the aircraft into a hard bank away from the road, snapping his hand back to grab the dashboard. The dynamite tumbled into the forest.
‘Shit!’ he yelled as a loud detonation came from below. ‘So much for stealth!’
The firing stopped. Nina looked back through the propeller at the retreating lights. ‘Great, now what do we do? That was the last stick!’
Her husband curved the plane around, gaining altitude. ‘We either give up and see how far this thing can take us before we run out of fuel… or we do something crazy.’
‘Crazy, or stupid?’
‘Usually the same thing with us, isn’t it?’ The convoy came back into view. ‘If I can get on to one of the transporters, I can take out the crew, then go full Mad Max and use it to ram the others off the road.’
‘You’re right,’ Nina exclaimed. ‘That’s crazy and stupid. And what would I be doing while all this was going on?’
‘You’d be flying the plane, obviously.’
‘Well obviously!’ she hooted.
‘It’s pretty easy. Like playing a video game.’
‘I hate video games!’
‘Except for when you were obsessed with Candy Crush! You’ll get the hang of it long before you hit the ground.’
‘I’m not reassured. And how am I supposed to take the controls when you’re in the front seat?’
‘You’ll have to wait till I’ve jumped out!’ He twisted to give her a small smile. ‘You can do it, trust me.’
‘It’s you I’m worried about,’ she replied unhappily. ‘Once you jump… that’s it. We’ll never see each other again.’
The smile disappeared. ‘Yeah, when you put it like that, it really does seem like a shit idea.’ He sighed. ‘But I’m not just going to give up and run until they shoot me.’ He altered course to cross behind the convoy and take the plane over the trees above the road. ‘And I’ve got this,’ he added, nodding at the rifle on his shoulder. ‘So at least I’ve got a fighting chance.’
‘But I don’t. Eddie, what am I supposed to do without you?’ It was a question that went beyond the immediate future.
A long pause. ‘What you always do,’ he said. ‘You survive. Somehow.’
‘Not this time.’ Her voice quavered. ‘Not without you.’
‘Hey, you never know — maybe we’ll both survive. I dunno how, but…’ His smile returned, warm even through sadness. ‘But I’ll only get one shot at this, so I’ve got to take it. I love you.’
‘I love you,’ she replied, wrapping both arms around his chest. ‘I love you so much.’
‘Enough not to think I’m insane for doing what I’m about to do?’
‘I wouldn’t go that far.’ She wiped away tears. ‘Go on then, you damn fool. Go and save the world. Again.’
‘We really need to start charging for it, don’t we?’ The convoy was now out of sight behind the trees, though occasional flickers of light through the foliage gave away its position. He turned the plane towards it, pulling back the throttle lever. The engine slowed, the propeller noise dropping considerably. ‘Huh. Okay, maybe it’s stealthier than I thought. I did think that trying to cross the border in a squad of lawnmowers probably wouldn’t work.’
‘So what’s the plan?’
‘They won’t be able to see us until we come over the trees. I’ll bring it as low and slow as I can, then jump out. The second I go, you climb over the seat and grab the controls. You’ll be heading out over the valley, so that should give you enough time to sort yourself out before you hit anything.’
‘And then what?’
‘I’d tell you to fly this thing as far away as you can, but…’ Both knew full well that she had no intention of leaving him. ‘Just make sure you get clear.’ One last loving look back at her, then: ‘All right, here we go.’
He brought the microlight lower over the moonlit treetops, angling to cut across the road. The leading vehicles came into sight, Kang’s SUV and the troop truck now some distance ahead of the rest of the convoy. ‘Okay, get ready, get ready…’ He tensed, swinging both legs over the side. ‘Get ready…’
The transporters swept into view below, the aircraft crossing above the rearmost—
‘Now!’
Eddie jumped.
The drop on to the missile was not great, only around eight feet — but there was no purchase on the smooth, curved surface. He slithered off, hitting the rocket’s hydraulic crane arm, hard, and rolling off it towards the ground below—
One hand caught the transporter’s side as he fell. He swung from it, dangling with the huge wheels churning just inches away. ‘Arsing cockery!’ he gasped as his gun bounced off the road and disappeared over the edge of the gorge.
He flailed his free arm, managing to get a secure hold. Relieved, he pulled himself higher, glancing forward to check the road ahead.
Startled eyes stared back at him in the truck’s wing mirror.
The transporter’s driver barked a hurried command to the other men in the cab — as the chatter of gunfire resumed from behind.
43
The men in the trailing jeep could hear the microlight still shadowing them, but couldn’t see it — until it overflew the transporter ahead. They opened fire as it continued across the valley.
Eddie’s leap threw the little aircraft wildly off balance, sending it into a steep climb as it banked drunkenly to the right. Nina, clambering into the front seat, screamed as she was almost pitched after her husband. Bracing herself, she pushed the stick to the left, levelling out with a lurch — only for more bullets to lance up at her.
The wing took several hits, fabric tearing. She looked up to see a yard-long rent in the dark material, its edges flapping furiously. The microlight rolled again. ‘Oh shit, shit!’ she panted as it veered back towards the road.
The convoy reappeared below, growing larger as the plane lost height. She was past the third transporter, heading for the second as another burst of fire came from the jeep. The wing puckered again, the engine taking more hammerblow impacts — and stuttering.
She tried to swing away from the looming TEL, but the controls felt as if they were submerged in molasses. The nose pitched upwards, too slowly. Glaring red tail lights swelled before her like devilish eyes—
The little plane finally banked, but too late.
The wingtip clipped the missile, swinging the microlight sharply back around. It crashed against the rocket’s left side, its wing snagging on the great hydraulic clamp securing the weapon for transport.
The fuselage tore loose. Nina was almost flung on to the road, just catching one of the ladder rungs running along the length of the missile’s erector arm. The broken bodywork hit the road below her, breaking apart.
Eddie hauled himself up on to the third transporter, crouching on a narrow footplate beside the missile. The gunfire from the trailing jeep had stopped — he guessed they were afraid of hitting the rocket — but he could no longer hear the microlight’s engine. Hopefully Nina had got clear—
The reason for the aircraft’s silence was frighteningly revealed as its mangled remains bowled past. The propeller clanged off the TEL’s side just beneath him, slashing a foot-long tear in the sheet metal. The jeep swerved to avoid the debris, falling back.
Nina hadn’t been in the wreckage. He looked ahead, desperate for any clue to his wife’s fate. The road curved, bringing the rest of the convoy back into view — and revealing her hanging from the second transporter’s side.