through the wheels of the Freelander, hitting the tires of the Humvee, puncturing them.
The Humvee instantly lost control and skidded away—but not before two of the Egyptian troops on it had leaped aboard the Freelander, attacking Pooh Bear.
Despite the fact that he was wrestling with two men, Pooh Bear pulled the Freelander away from the bus and once again aimed it at the rear loading ramp of The Halicarnassus, now with a clear shot at it.
Zoe leaned forward to help Pooh with his two attackers, but as she did the Freelander swayed wildly: if they gunned it now, they’d hit one of the loading ramp’s struts and crash terribly.
Pooh Bear seemed to realize this, too. And he grabbed hold of the two men assailing him and in a fleeting moment locked eyes with Alby and Zoe.
“Get away from here,” he growled.
And then, before they could stop him, Pooh Bear leaped from the speeding Freelander,taking the two stunned Egyptian troopers with him!
They landed on the roadway together, rolling and tumbling—although Pooh had made sure that his attackers took the brunt of the fall.
Alby spun to watch them recede back down the highway, tears in his eyes, while Zoe climbed into the driver’s seat and took the wheel—now with a clear run at the loading ramp.
Zoe floored it.
The Freelander hit the ramp at phenomenal speed, leaping up into the hold and skid-smashing into the white Suburban already parked there, but at last safe and inside.
From his position underneath the second Egyptian coach, still sliding on the riot shield, Jack had seen Pooh Bear whip back down the roadway with his two attackers; he’d also just seen the Freelander shoom up into the hold of the Hali.
Abruptly something cut across his view: the side of a bus, with its forward door open, traveling right alongside him.
Jack whipped up his gun—only to see Astro appear in the open door of this new bus, lying on its steps on his belly. “Jack! Give me your hand!”
Thirty seconds later, Astro was hauling Jack out from under the Egyptian coach and up into his stolen bus, where Stretch was still at the wheel.
After he hefted Jack up, Astro deftly attached a magnetic explosive charge to the Egyptian bus and yelled, “Clear!”
Stretch pulled them a safe distance away as the charge detonated and the entire side of the Egyptian bus just blew off it.
Suddenly Sky Monster’s voice came through Jack’s earpiece:“Huntsman! Where the hell are you! In about ten seconds I have to power up or else we’re not going to be able to take off!”
Jack looked forward at the plane, and the realization hit him:it was too far away. He, Stretch, and Astro could never get to it in time.
Then a dull echoing boom caught his attention, and he spun to look back behind him—and saw another Hellfire missile heading down the highway, chasing the fleeing plane.
“Monster,” he said. “We can’t catch you.”
“What?”
Both Stretch and Astro heard this, too, and they exchanged a look.
Then Lily’s voice came over the line:“No, Daddy! We’ll wait for you—”
“No, honey. You have to get away. I’ll find you, Lily. I promise. But trust me,you have to get away from here. We’re not as important as you are.You have to survive. You, Zoe, Wizard, and Alby—you have to continue this mission and find the Second Pillar and place it in the Second Vertex. Call the twins, use their help. This is your mission now. I love you. Now Sky Monster, go.”
He clicked off the radio and turned to Stretch: “Stop the bus.”
Having heard everything Jack had said, Stretch just glanced questioningly at him.
“Sideways. Across the road. Now,” Jack said.
Stretch did so, bringing the bus to a skidding squealing halt across the center of the highway, blocking the road completely.
The Halicarnassus powered off down the blacktop, disappearing into the heat haze, speeding up.
“And now, gentlemen,” Jack said,“run.”
Jack, Stretch, and Astro abandoned the bus, racing across the road and diving into the sand just as it was hit by the incoming missile intended for The Halicarnassus.
The bus exploded—a billowing fireball that mushroomed into the sky, raining twisted metal everywhere.
Covered in sand, blood, and sweat, Jack looked up to see The Halicarnassus rushing away to the south, getting smaller and smaller, until eventually, slowly and painfully, it lifted off into the sky, carried by its three remaining engines.
Within a minute, a half dozen American-manned Humvees skidded to simultaneous halts around him. The six Apaches patrolled the air overhead, kicking up a sandstorm of their own.
Jack stood, dropping his weapons and raising his hands behind his head as the first soldier—an American trooper—strode up to him and wordlessly smashed him in the face with the butt of his gun and instantly Jack saw nothing but black.
