Lopez shouted out to Ethan above the wailing noise of the engine. ‘They’re coming in from the right!’
Ethan nodded as he glanced out over the jungle and saw the helicopter sweeping in, a black silhouette against the clouds. The thundering rotors vibrated through the motorcycle beneath him as a brilliant halo of light suddenly exploded into life and illuminated the dusty track as though it were daylight.
The track weaved between the dense jungles, switching back on itself every few hundred yards as it descended the mountain’s precipitous sides. Ethan kicked the motorbike up a gear, sweeping it through a long right-hand bend that followed the epic curve of the mountainside as they plunged beneath a canopy of trees, then braked hard and switched back in pursuit of Lucy. Warm droplets of water showered down upon them as the heavens suddenly opened above, and Lopez’s grip on Ethan’s waist tightened as the bike leaned out almost to the edge of the drop. Ethan leaned into the turn as the rear wheel skipped and spun on the damp track. He twisted the handlebars to the right, counter-steering against the rear wheel’s grip and letting it spin freely as he broadsided around the rest of the turn and then opened the throttle wide, the bike coming upright as the track straightened out toward the lowlands of Siem Reap a mile away.
Within moments Ethan’s shirt was drenched with water, his hair and eyes thick and heavy with moisture as the rainfall began hammering the road ahead. He could already see Lucy slowing down, her motorcycle slipping and sliding as the dust turned into slick mud as she tried to maintain control in the blinding light and heavy rain.
A deafening crack burst the air around Ethan as the helicopter opened fire and in an instant he saw a spray of woodchips burst from the foliage as a tree plunged out of the forest ahead, thick branches rushing down toward the track. Lucy swerved to avoid the falling tree and her motorcycle twisted sideways as it fought for grip.
‘Get down!’
Ethan swerved out and they plunged beneath the falling tree, damp leaves and fronds slapping across them as the bike raced beneath the plunging trunk and out the other side. The motorbike weaved and kicked and Ethan struggled to keep it upright as they shot out into clear air.
Ethan closed the throttle to give the bike a chance to steady itself and yelled over his shoulder to Lopez.
‘Use the pen again!’
Lopez reached into her pocket and retrieved the laser pen as a fresh salvo of shots hammered the track through the rain. The torrential downpour was forcing the pilot of the helicopter to fly at an awkward angle alongside the mountainside to fight the brisk winds and keep the track beneath him in sight, the cockpit almost facing the motorcycles as armed men fired from an open hatch on the helicopter’s port fuselage.
Lopez activated the pen and aimed it at the cockpit, and suddenly the helicopter jerked violently to the right and veered away from the hillside as the pilot was blinded by the laser beam.
The troops aboard the helicopter fired again at the motorcycles and Ethan heard the front tire suddenly squeal as something struck it and it buckled under the blow. The tires lost their grip as all balance was ripped from Ethan’s hands and they toppled toward the dusty surface of the track racing past beneath them.
‘Jump!’
Lopez hurled herself clear of the saddle, her arms out before her as she crashed down. Ethan hurled himself off and the breath was smashed from his lungs as he rolled across the muddy earth with his arms wrapped around his head. The motorbike bounced past him on its side, the metal engine scraping with a high-pitched squeal across the rugged terrain.
Ethan rolled to a stop and peered through eyes filled with damp grit. The helicopter had swung out across the valley, its rotors thundering as its pilot gave himself a chance to recover his eyesight from Lopez’s laser pen. It was almost invisible through the blustering wind and rain, the cloud base above lowering with every passing minute.
Ethan heard the sound of an approaching engine and saw Lucy’s scooter ride back up the hillside to join them.
‘What happened?!’ she yelled.
Ethan glanced at his motorbike’s ruined front wheel. ‘Lucky hit, they took out the wheel!’
Ethan knew that there was no way that they could all ride on Lucy’s motorbike. He got to his feet as Lopez brushed herself down.
‘We should make for the treeline down there,’ Lopez pointed to a lower track than the one they were on.
Ethan was about to agree with her when he heard the sound of the helicopter’s engine begin to rise again as it swung back toward them. He peered down the steep hillside and then along the track, where it doubled back on itself and descended below them. An idea sprang into his mind.
‘Lopez, get on Lucy’s bike and ride down there as fast as you can! When you get there, lay the bike down and make as though you’re just getting up!’
‘What the hell for?’
‘Just do it!’
Lopez did not hesitate a moment longer. She jumped on the back of Lucy’s motorbike and rode away.
Ethan grabbed the damaged bike and hauled it upright. The front tire was lost, ragged rubber hanging on to the rim. He dragged it back into the treeline through the pouring rain as he heard the helicopter thundering back toward them, the searchlight emerging from the gloomy sky. He pulled the bike back and clambered onto the seat, then kicked down on the starter. The engine rattled wearily into life beneath him as fat drops of warm rain splattered onto his head from the dense canopy above.
He saw the helicopter swing out of the falling veils of rain and pull in alongside the cliff face, and then begin to descend as its searchlight picked out where Lucy and Lopez were on the track below. Blinded by Lopez’s laser pen and out of sight through the clouds, the pilot had lost track of exactly where he had last seen the two motorcycles. The wind and rain gusted into Ethan’s face as the helicopter’s rotor blades thundered and he saw the shape of two soldiers in the back aiming their weapons down at the track below. The helicopter was within twenty yards of the cliff face and struggling to stay in position against the winds as it descended out of sight below the cliff edge.
Ethan twisted the throttle and the motorbike hurtled out of the treeline toward the edge of the track, the front wheel rattling on its rims across the rain splattered ground. He saw the top of the helicopter’s rotors and the two soldiers leaning out of the side and aiming down at Lopez and Lucy and then he hurled himself out of the saddle as the plunging abyss yawned open before him.
Ethan landed hard and grasped for a handhold as the motorbike flew off the edge of the cliff. Its engine noise faded instantly as it revolved lazily toward the helicopter below, and one of the gunners spotted its motion at the last instant.
Ethan grabbed hold of a dense clump of foliage and looked over his shoulder to see the man open his mouth to bellow a warning to the pilot, just before the motorcycle smashed into the helicopter’s spinning rotors and they flew apart in a lethal cloud of blades and debris.
Ethan covered his head with his free hand and pulled his legs up protectively as shrapnel hammered the cliff face and the helicopter’s engines shrieked as the vehicle banked away out of control and spun a complete revolution before it smashed down into the trees further down the hillside and the engines split open and ignited their fuel.
The helicopter exploded in a brilliant fireball that blossomed like a brief sunrise against the darkened forest below before it was swallowed by black smoke and the flames were quenched by the torrential downpour. Ethan managed to maintain his grip on the foliage as he dragged himself back up onto the track and then turned and looked down below.
Lucy and Lopez huddled together on the track beside the remaining scooter, and he wasted no time in jogging down the track and doubling back to where they were. He saw Lopez look up at him and give him a thumbs-up as she called out in the rain.