‘Here. Hold this between your knees.’
‘Cut me free, you imbecile.’
‘I can’t with my back to you. I can’t reach up that far. Do as I say.’
Calque scissored his knees together around the hasp of the knife.
‘Hold it tight now.’
‘What do you think I’m doing? I wish I’d pissed on your head while I had the chance.’
‘Watch your language or I’ll leave you hanging.’
‘Yes, you’d do that, Sabir. That would be just like you.’ There was an edge of raw humour in Calque’s voice.
Sabir worked his wrists against the bread knife. The knife popped out from between Calque’s knees and clattered to the floor.
‘I don’t believe this.’ Sabir dropped to his knees and felt around behind his back for the fallen knife.
‘I just felt a bullet tug at my shirt.’
‘Then hold the knife tighter. Imagine you’ve got diarrhoea and you’re trying to hold it in. If you tense your arse cheeks, your knees tense too.’
‘Very funny. I’ve got a dislocated shoulder, you bastard. You try and tense your arse cheeks with a dislocated shoulder.’
Sabir ignored him and replaced the knife between Calque’s knees. He began to saw away at his bonds for a second time. ‘I’ll shove this damned thing up your arse if you let it fall again. Do you hear me, Calque?’
‘I hear you. If we ever get out of this, Sabir, remind me never to turn my back on you.’
Both of the men began to laugh.
‘Damn!’
‘What is it, Sabir?’
‘I think I’ve jut been hit by a bullet.’
‘Where?’
‘I can’t tell. My middle, somewhere. It felt like someone just rabbit punched me.’
‘It was probably spent. Rabbits don’t punch that hard.’
‘Thanks. That’s very comforting.’ Sabir had his hands free now. His biceps were still bound, but he was able to bend one hand outwards, like a claw. ‘I need to stand on your chair. Otherwise I can’t reach you.’
‘No. I can’t take that again. I can’t take the weight on my arm.’
‘I’m going to do it anyway. It’s our only chance. I can feel something wet down the front of my pants. We may not have that long.’
‘You probably pissed yourself. Aaaahhhh!’
Sabir eased the chair out with his knee and positioned it behind Calque. He heaved himself up, balancing first on one leg, then on both. He twisted to one side and then stretched his forearm out to its full extent and began to cut.
101
Abi knew they were in trouble as soon as they emerged from the building.
Almost immediately, Berith jerked backwards and fell. The rest of them began to zigzag, firing as they ran.
The two heavy machine guns were still laying down covering fire. Then one of the machine guns abruptly stopped.
Abi could put two and two together as well as anyone. ‘They’ve got snipers. Disperse. Get under cover. We haven’t got a chance out here in the open. Get out wherever you can. Every man for himself.’ He grabbed Dakini with his free arm and dragged her towards the field of blue agave. He saw Rudra doing the same thing with Nawal.
Asson appeared to lose his footing, catch himself, and then trip again, spread-eagling himself flat on the ground. He lay there for a moment as if he was winded, and then his head exploded in a frenzy of blood, brains and bone matter.
Primary shot and follow-up – the bastards had semi-automatics.
Abi realized the snipers must be up in the trees overlooking the warehouse. Maybe they’d even placed deer platforms up there for just such an eventuality? He cursed himself for not having taken more pains reconnoitring the place. He’d simply assumed it was exactly what it looked like, and left it there. Now he and his siblings were paying for his slapdash ways.
‘We’ll make for the cenote. That’ll be outside their line of fire. We can regroup there.’
The second heavy machine gun stopped firing.
Abi was beginning to get a very bad feeling indeed.
102
Sabir placed his right foot in Calque’s left armpit, and grabbed the Frenchman by the wrist. ‘Are you sure you’re up for this?’
‘Of course I’m…’
Sabir jerked Calque’s arm towards him before he could finish his sentence.
Calque’s face went white. Then he let out a series of expletives under his breath. He was holding his left bicep with his right hand, tight to his side.
‘Did I do it?’
Calque exhaled. ‘You did it.’
Both men were lying pretty much flat on the ground in an effort to avoid any more ricochets.
‘Let me see your stomach.’
Sabir raised his shirt.
‘Spent bullet. I though as much. You’re lucky. If that had hit you in the face you could have auditioned for Victor Hugo’s The Man Who Laughs.’ Calque glanced across the room. ‘There’s some tequila. We need to rinse your stomach with it. Then we need to get out of here.’
‘We’re never going to get out of that front door.’
‘Then we go down. To the crystal meth laboratory they were talking about. We can hide in one of the vats if we need to. We can get out later. When things have quieted down.’
Calque crawled over to the counter and made a grab for the tequila bottle with his good arm. The firing had died down a little outside, and there was now only the occasional shot. ‘How are you feeling, Sabir?’
‘As you said. It was only a rabbit. But he must have been a big one. Someone’s got it in for my stomach, what with the datura and the odd bullet. Do you think it’s still in there?’
‘It never was in there, you fool. The ricochet just messed you up a little.’ Calque pushed Sabir back and raised his shirt. ‘You’re not going to enjoy this.’
‘I suppose this is revenge for your arm?’
‘You suppose right.’ Calque upended the bottle.
‘Oh Jesus. Jesus.’
Calque took a swig from the bottle and then handed it to Sabir.
Sabir took a long pull, and then shook his head. ‘Come on. We can’t lie here forever. Someone will come back and find us. I don’t know who I dread more. The Corpus or the drug traffickers.’
Calque stood up. ‘If we get hit now, it’s fate.’
‘Wait. Look. They left the rucksack with the codex and the crystal skull behind them. I’m taking it.’
‘Okay. Why not? We might as well die rich.’
