limbs, rotor blades and Plexiglass. The canopy of trees shuddered from the impact and then closed, swallowing them up like a stone heaved into the ocean.
CHAPTER 25
Back at the base camp, most of the group had reluctantly gone to work, spreading out across the clearing to begin various tasks. Danielle and Verhoven remained at the command center, privately discussing the sudden loss of communications.
“Someone jamming us?” Verhoven asked.
Danielle didn’t think so. She was receiving a response from the network. And though the response continued to indicate that her authorization code was invalid, it meant the signal was getting through and then being rejected. A software failure seemed more likely, either in her system or the one back in Washington. But software could be fixed, and that meant communications could be restored relatively easily. She saw no reason to break radio silence.
“I’ve done all I can on our end,” she said. “They have a check-in scheduled for nineteen hundred tonight. They should notice the problem then and be able to fix it. If they can’t they’ll radio us with instructions on the proper frequency, and we won’t have to give away our position.”
“What did I tell you about this bloody technology,” Verhoven said. “No damn good half the …”
Verhoven’s voice trailed off and he turned to the east. Danielle followed his gaze and heard the sound of a helicopter approaching low across the trees. Hawker had left only an hour before. She wondered why he was coming back.
Verhoven stood up. “Damn!”
An instant later the NOTAR burst out from above the trees and shot across the camp, traveling from east to west.
One look at the armed helicopter was enough. Danielle lunged for the alarm and the air horn went off just as the black, egg-shaped helicopter reached the far side of the clearing and began to pitch up so it could swing back toward the group.
“Hit the smoke!” Verhoven shouted.
Danielle did as he asked and the canisters around them fired in sequence, but as the helicopter finished its turn and came back toward them she realized that smoke wouldn’t be enough. She grabbed her own rifle and began to run.
Verhoven caught her. “Wait.”
“For what?”
“One second!”
The NOTAR had swung through a half circle, gathering speed as it lined her and Verhoven up. Lowering its nose, it disappeared behind the thickening cloud.
“Now!” Verhoven yelled.
They dashed to the right just as the helicopter fired and a spread of lethal cannon fire tore through the spot they’d just left. The craft followed, sweeping through the gathering smoke, dispersing the cloud in its wake.
Verhoven spun around, dropped to a knee and fired, but the helicopter banked and fired into the tents to the south, shredding the thin nylon before passing by. Danielle watched in horror as one of the porters crawled out and collapsed.
By now the other members of the expedition were running toward the center of camp just as they’d practiced—an act that would bring them into the heart of the danger. As the helicopter circled around for another run, she was certain that they’d all be killed.
In a fury, she fired her own rifle, trying to lead the approaching craft. Verhoven did the same, and as shells from the AK-47s whistled through the air, the helicopter pulled up, crossing the camp and flying out over the jungle without hitting anyone else.
It tracked that way for several seconds before turning and following the curved line of the trees, circling the perimeter like a shark.
Danielle noticed Verhoven looking toward the jungle. “We’ll never make it,” she said.
He seemed to agree. “The temple, then,” he said. “It’s our only chance.”
They bolted, sprinting for the ancient Mayan temple and its thick stone walls: the only place in sight that could offer them shelter from the helicopter’s lethal guns.
As they ran toward the temple, Danielle saw McCarter, Susan and one of the porters running away from it in a panic. “Back,” she shouted. “Go back.”
They seemed to get the message, stopping in their tracks and turning around.
The helicopter was turning in once again, dropping in behind the remaining two porters and stirring up huge clouds of dust. It closed on them rapidly, a great beast chasing down prey. Its guns flashed and ribbons of dirt flew up around the men. They tumbled to the ground in awkward heaps and the helicopter buzzed over them and then soared up over the trees once again.
By now Danielle and Verhoven had reached the base of the temple. “Up top,” Verhoven ordered. “Inside!”
As McCarter’s group scrambled up the stairs, Verhoven’s men joined them. The three of them had managed to grab their own rifles and a box of ammunition.
“Damn good,” Verhoven said. “Now move.”
Danielle clambered up the stairs, hearing the NOTAR but not seeing it. She reached the top, took a step forward, then saw the helicopter heading straight for her. She turned and dove back down the stairs just as the pilot fired. Shells skipped off the temple’s roof, burning the air. The NOTAR followed, roaring overhead, ten feet above her.
Now was her chance. Bruised and scratched, she hustled across the roof, squeezing through the portal and into the familiar darkness.
Verhoven’s men followed, but he remained out of sight, even as the chainsaw buzz of the helicopter closed in once again. Seconds later, he dove through the opening, tumbling down the stairs with gunfire chasing him. Shells caromed off the stone roof and several found the opening, ricocheting wildly off the solid walls.
Danielle looked around. Everyone seemed to be okay.
“What the hell is going on?” McCarter shouted.
Danielle ignored him, listening to the noise above. The NOTAR had turned.
“He’s coming back,” she said.
Verhoven looked up at the portal atop the stairs. “Probably going to pour a shit storm of lead through this hole when he gets here.” He turned to Danielle. “Get to the back room. Keep your heads down.”
McCarter led the others into the back room while Verhoven and his men took what cover they could, pressing themselves into the walls that fronted the stairs, crouching and reloading their rifles. Danielle stayed with him.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
Verhoven looked at his men. “When he passes.”
They nodded their understanding.
“What the hell are you going to do?” Danielle demanded.
“We’re going to shoot the bugger down,” Verhoven replied. “He’ll come in slow to try to aim down this slot, but he’s got to keep moving in case we’re not all down here. When he passes we’re going up. It’ll be a firestorm in here before that, so get back there with the others.”
The noise above grew louder. Danielle looked toward the darker recesses of the temple, where the rest of the group had gone. “Screw that,” she said. Six months of weapons training were about to get used.
“Then get behind me,” Verhoven ordered.
Danielle ducked in against the wall behind Verhoven and seconds later all hell broke loose. Cannon fire poured down the gullet of the temple, sending shards and sparks and chunks of stone flying through the chamber.
One ricochet smashed the stone in front of Verhoven, blasting chips out of the wall that bit into his face. He spun backward, knocking into Danielle. Another shot tore the rifle out of his lieutenant’s hand. Three seconds of
