Instead of attempting a direct assault, Colchev, who stayed on the plane with Zotkin in case he’d be recognized, decided deception was the better choice. He instructed Kiselow and Chopiak to drop the models at a hotel in Hanga Roa, where they checked into a reserved room. Then his men took their rented vehicle to a remote location along the shore and called the police asking for help. When the lone police car arrived, his men shot the policeman and dumped him into the ocean.
The whole plan had gone smoothly. Kiselow and Chopiak drove the hijacked police car to the C-17 leisurely, as if they were just making a courtesy call. Before the man guarding the plane could tell that they weren’t Easter Island cops, he was shot twice, the action shielded from the tower’s view by the immense plane’s fuselage. With the element of surprise complete, an ambush took out all four men aboard the jet without drawing any attention at the sleepy airport.
Colchev and Zotkin joined the two other men in the police car and set out for the location described on the map. From a distance they saw a Suzuki 4x4 parked near the ocean-side cliff.
Colchev had instructed Zotkin to drive toward the SUV slowly so that the vehicle’s occupants wouldn’t become suspicious. There were three people in view, a woman inside the Suzuki and two men holding assault rifles walking toward the cliff. They had to be security guards protecting Tyler.
The woman honked the SUV’s horn, causing the two guards to whirl around. When they saw that it was a police car, the younger blond man waved and started walking toward them while the older curly-haired one stood near the cliff.
When they got within twenty-five meters, Colchev raised his own AK-47 and shot the blond man, who crumpled to the ground. Chopiak fired at the other man who fell over the edge of the cliff. Neither of Tyler’s guards got a shot off.
Zotkin then sped toward the SUV as the woman, whom Colchev now recognized as Fay Turia, jumped out and ran toward the ocean. They intercepted her just as gunfire rang out from the cliff’s edge. A bullet slammed through the rear driver’s side window, killing Chopiak instantly. Chopiak must have missed or only injured the second man, who had to have landed on a ledge. Kiselow returned fire, and the guard ducked for cover.
“Keep your aim on him,” Colchev said. “If he shows his head again, blow it off.”
Colchev leaped out and grabbed Fay. She kicked and punched him but was no match for Colchev’s bulk. He put her hand in a controlling grip, making sure not to snap it.
“Calm down, Mrs. Turia. There’s nothing you can do now.”
“Screw you!”
“You are a feisty grandmother, aren’t you?”
“Let go!”
“No.” He plucked a video camera from her hand. “What do we have here?”
“Family photos.”
“I don’t think so. I think you found something. Let’s see what.”
Kiselow fired again, but his shot missed. It did, however, keep the guard pinned.
Colchev peered at the LCD display and saw that it was video from inside a cave. He fast-forwarded through it, watching Tyler Locke and Jess McBride occasionally making appearances. Intriguing. It provided everything he had to know to find the xenobium. He slowed the playback when he got to the part showing Tyler waving around a radiation detector. After a look of alarm crossed Tyler’s face, he turned to Fay and the video ended.
“Where is the xenobium fragment?” Colchev asked her.
She remained silent, but her eyes inadvertently flicked to the Suzuki.
“Zotkin,” Colchev said, “search their vehicle.”
Zotkin scuttled over to the 4x4, keeping the police car between him and the guard. In a minute he returned carrying a silver case. He put it down in the grass and opened it.
“No!” Colchev shouted when he saw the pea-sized bit of xenobium. It wasn’t the large specimen in the photo from Dombrovski’s lab. “Blya!” He slammed the case shut.
“That isn’t …” Zotkin said, stumbling over his words. “If that’s all there is, our mission is over.”
“I know that!” Colchev yelled before calming himself. “It’s all right. All this does is prove that Dombrovski was right. The photograph we found wasn’t a forgery. The xenobium we need was in fact hidden by the Nazca. Mrs. Turia has given us the information we need to get it.”
“Colchev!” came a man’s shout from the cliff’s edge. “Colchev!”
Colchev peeked around the corner of the police car but couldn’t see anyone. “Who is that?”
“My name’s Tyler Locke.”
“Dr. Locke, you keep popping up in the wrong place. I remember you from the hood of my road train.”
“And I remember you killing Nadia Bedova. Now let Fay go!”
“Why should I?”
“Take me in her place.”
“Again, why should I?”
“Because she’ll slow you down.”
“She seems spry enough to me.”
“What do you want then?”
“Come out with your hands up.”
“No. We know you stole the Killswitch weapons, Colchev.”
Colchev grinned. “So?”
“So Kessler is dead. Your plan went up in smoke in Alice Springs.”
The grin vanished. “You’re the one who forced me into this action, Locke. If you hadn’t interfered with my truck bomb, none of us would be here right now. Don’t make me kill Mrs. Turia.”
A woman’s voice yelled out. “If you hurt her, I’ll cut your nuts off and feed them to you!”
“That must be Ms. McBride. I won’t hurt Mrs. Turia. She’s going to be my guide.”
“The hell I will,” Fay said. “Don’t listen to them, Jessica!”
Colchev took a handkerchief from his pocket and stuffed it in Fay’s mouth.
“Colchev!” Tyler yelled. “Let her go, and I’ll guarantee you safe passage off the island.”
“It’s too late for that, Locke.”
“We can’t stay here,” Zotkin said. “Somebody might have heard their gunshots. We have to kill them now.”
“Their position is too well-defended,” Colchev said. “We don’t have the manpower to outflank them.”
“Keep them distracted. I’ll crawl through the grass and shoot from over there.” He pointed to a rocky outcropping 150 yards away.
“There’s no time. We’re not even sure you’ll have a clean view of them. We’ll take out Locke’s car so he can’t follow us back to the airport. By the time he gets there, we’ll be long gone.”
“But even with his car disabled, it’s only four miles to the town. Locke will be able to call the mainland before we can get there. The police will intercept us as soon as we land in Chile.”
Colchev’s eyes fell on the case. There wasn’t enough xenobium for his ultimate goal, but it would be sufficient to power the Killswitch he had with him. He buried his head in his hands, trying to think of another solution, but he wracked his brain and nothing came. It was either use the Killswitch or risk total mission failure. At least it would give him a chance to test the weapon and verify that it worked.
Colchev glowered at Zotkin. “We’ll make sure he can’t call the mainland when he gets back to town. Put the Suzuki in neutral and then get in the police car.” He turned to Kiselow and pointed at Fay. “Keep her head toward the cliff so they won’t fire. I’ll drive.”
Shielded by the police car, Zotkin ran to the Suzuki and back. He and Kiselow climbed in the car with Colchev taking the wheel. He drove forward until the police car’s front bumper touched the back of the Suzuki’s. Colchev gunned the engine, pushing the vehicle toward the cliff.
When he got within four car-lengths of the drop-off, he wrenched the wheel to the right. The Suzuki’s momentum caused it to go sailing over the edge just as the guard popped up to see what was going on. The SUV smashed into him, taking him down to the rocks below.