Ben nodded his head furiously. 'Open the door!' he yelled over the wind. 'I'm tied up — I can't do it?'
Ben's words obviously sounded strange to the man, because a look of confusion crossed his face. 'Tied up?' he asked. 'What do you mean, tied up?'
Ben opened his mouth to answer, but the words never left him. Because just then he saw the tip of Danny's shotgun appear outside the passenger window and press against the side of the bearded man's skull.
The man froze.
'Very slowly, give me your car keys, and get on the floor,' Danny shouted, his hair blowing wildly in the wind.
The man's eyes flickered between Danny and Ben, but he had no option other than to do as he was told. He slowly lowered the coat that was covering his head, handed over some keys and then hit the ground.
Danny opened the door of the pick-up. 'Get out,' he told Ben curtly. Ben struggled from the truck, jumping over the terrified man, who was lying just by it, his hands on his head. He realized that Danny was now training the gun on him. 'He's awake,' he said shortly. 'Help him out of the back and take him to this guy's car.'
'I can't do anything with my hands tied,' Ben shouted.
Danny's eyes narrowed momentarily. 'Turn round,' he said. Ben did as he was told, and he felt his captor untying the knot that was binding him. It was an untold relief to have his hands free, but the sense of relief didn't last long because immediately Danny put the gun to his head. 'I mean what I say, Ben. Try anything and I'll shoot.' Danny was shouting, but that didn't stop his voice trembling slightly.
Ben cast him an ugly look but nodded his head in obedience. Then he walked round to the back of the truck. The doors were open and Angelo was sitting with his legs dangling out of the back. The Italian boy was a mess. His hands were tied behind his back just like Ben's had been and he had obviously been thrown around a lot when the pick-up crashed. His face was bruised and bleeding and he had a distant, pained look in his eyes. He looked up at Ben and it seemed to take a moment for him to realize who he was.
'Ben,' he croaked finally. 'Che succede? What's going on? Why am I tied up?'
Ben took a deep breath before replying. 'It's Danny,' he said as quietly as he could while still being heard over the wind. 'He's, er… he's not quite who we thought he was.'
Angelo's face screwed up in concentration as he tried to process that piece of information. 'What do you mean?'
Ben chose his words carefully. 'You remember what Brad said? About there being a second terrorist on the plane? It's him.'
Angelo shook his head groggily. 'That doesn't make sense. Danny's been—'
He didn't finish, because suddenly Danny reappeared, holding the bearded man at gunpoint. 'Get in the truck,' he ordered his new hostage.
As the man climbed into the back of the crashed pick-up, Danny pulled Angelo out. The Italian's knees buckled, but he just about managed to stand as the doors of the pick-up were slammed shut and locked, trapping the bearded man inside. Then Danny waved the gun in Ben's direction once more. 'The car,' he shouted. 'Now.'
Ben took Angelo's arm and helped him walk, using his other arm to shield their faces. As they approached the vehicle, its headlights still glowing in the darkness, Ben saw it was another pick-up, though this time the rear of it was not covered with a canopy and was exposed to the elements. He directed Angelo round to the passenger side, opened the door and helped him in, all the while aware that Danny had his gun firmly pointed at his back.
Once Angelo was safely in the new truck, Ben started to climb in. As he did, however, he felt Danny's hand on his shoulder, pulling him back.
'Not you,' Danny instructed.
Ben turned round. Danny was still pointing the gun at him, but in his other hand he held the car keys up.
'I can't keep an eye on you both if I'm driving,' he instructed. 'You'll have to do it. Take the keys.'
'I don't know how to drive,' Ben lied.
Danny raised a disbelieving eyebrow. 'You can fly a plane, but you can't drive a car? I don't think so, Ben.' He nudged the gun against Ben's shoulder. 'Take the keys,' he repeated.
Ben looked around him. The wind was worse than ever and he really didn't know if he was going to be able to keep control of the truck. Still, it didn't look like he had much choice. Reluctantly, he took the keys from Danny's fist and walked round to the other side of the truck. He opened the door and climbed in.
By the time Ben was settled behind the wheel, Danny was sitting in the far-side passenger seat with Angelo, bruised and bleary and with his hands still tied behind his back, between them. Their captor had his body half twisted towards Ben; the shotgun, which he held firmly, stretched across Angelo's torso and was pointed directly at Ben. 'There are two rounds in here, Ben,' Danny reminded him. 'It only takes one to kill you.'
Again, the thought flashed through Ben's mind: if Danny was prepared to kill him, why hadn't he done so yet? Was he really up to it?
It wasn't a question, though, that he really wanted to put to the test. Nor did Danny give him the chance to do so.
'Drive,' he said curtly. 'Now.'
Chapter Fourteen
Controlling the truck was more difficult than Ben could have imagined.
It took several false starts before he got going and started to grow used to the feel of the pedals. Once they were moving, it felt for all the world as if there were people outside trying to knock the vehicle over. It was just the wind, of course, but no less scary for that. The rain had started up again — huge, pellet-like drops that slammed against the windscreen causing a flood of water that the windscreen wipers barely had a chance to scrape away. He felt as if he would be unable to keep the truck going in a straight line for any period of time, but somehow, with all his effort, he managed it.
They travelled the main highway into Florida City. None of the road lights were lit, and all the buildings they passed had also been plunged into darkness. Ben assumed the storm had caused some sort of power outage. The roads became busier and Ben found that sweat was dripping down his forehead as he concentrated on the road ahead. More than once he considered crashing the truck on purpose; but one look at the shotgun pointed in his direction soon put him off. It wouldn't take much for the loaded weapon to go off accidentally and the barrel was pointing straight at him. Occasionally Danny uttered a curt instruction, telling him which way to go. He seemed to know these streets well, and Ben really had no choice other than to do as his captor said.
They had been going for about ten minutes when, seemingly on an impulse, Danny switched the car radio on. A blank crackle came from the truck's speakers as he twisted the dialling knob to try and find a station. It took a while — clearly many of the stations were down because of the storm — but after a minute or so a voice, indistinct but just about understandable, came over the airwaves. Ben struggled to hear what the urgent voice was saying over the noise of the car engine and the storm outside.
'This is an emergency broadcast. All residents of southern Florida who have not yet evacuated the area are now advised to take refuge in low-rise buildings. Repeat, all residents of southern Florida who have not yet evacuated the area are advised to seek shelter in buildings of less than two storeys. This is an extreme storm warning. Hurricane Jasmine has made landfall. The National Hurricane Centre has labelled this a Category 5 hurricane. Wind speeds are in excess of 160 miles per hour and a state of emergency has been declared. In addition, Hurricane Jasmine has spawned a severe tornado, category F3, currently approaching the south-eastern Florida area. It is fast-moving and extremely destructive. A tornado of this severity has the ability to tear the roofs off buildings, which is why we advise remaining in low-rise shelters. The storms are predicted to last another twelve hours. Updates will continue to be broadcast on this frequency.'