Stratton and Rowena closed the door of the lift cage but not before Jason managed to jam an arm inside.
In his desperation Binning fell over chairs and tables as he tried to get to the lift, spilling the encryption tile to the floor as the green gas rolled into the room.
‘It won’t move unless the door’s closed!’ Jason shouted.
Stratton had no choice and slid aside the lift-cage door. Jason leaped into the lift and looked back at Binning pulling himself across the room, the gas right behind him. Jason slammed the cage shut, pulled the lever and the lift jerked as it began to ascend.
‘No!’ Binning yelled. He leaped for the rising lift and tugged at the cage. He grabbed the cable attached to its underside and stuck his fingers up through the grille of the floor. As he went up, the poisonous gas crept into the opening and down into the shaft.
Stratton and Rowena stood on the side of the creaking lift opposite to Jason as it rose slowly. They looked down at Binning through the floor, his life entirely dependent on the strength in his fingers.
‘Help me!’ he screamed.
Stratton stared at Jason across the small space, unsure how to handle the man. The scientist’s game plan could only continue if Stratton and Rowena were silenced. Jason was a dangerous man and could not be given another opportunity.
But Stratton wasn’t the only person in the lift with a grievance against Jason. In fact Rowena arguably had a greater one. Mansfield had duped her, used her, lied to her and tried to kill her. Worse still, as far as she was concerned, he had taken her as his lover purely to further his traitorous ambitions.
Staring at him, face to face for the first time since discovering how evil and low he was, she could not contain herself. ‘You piece of shit!’ she screamed, throwing herself at him.
But Jason was fully prepared for an attack from either of them, and he was far too strong and skilful for her. He sidestepped her punch and struck her savagely on the side of her neck, a blow that sent her near unconscious as she dropped to the floor.
Stratton was quick to follow through on her effort, deciding that his best strategy was to get hold of the man in order to counter his superior martial-arts skills. But it was never going to be easy. As Stratton dived at him, Jason blocked the move and delivered a vicious kick. Yet Stratton was nothing if not determined and after absorbing several blows he countered a punch and slammed a fist into Jason’s face.
Binning let out a scream each time one of them stepped on his fingers. His grip began to weaken, his legs swinging beneath him in a desperate effort to find a purchase.
Rowena knelt on the floor, looking down through the grille. She saw the green mist in the darkness of the shaft rising silently towards them. The sight was enough to bring her fully out of her daze and on to her feet.
Jason and Stratton had drawn apart briefly but were ready to go at it once more.
‘It’s coming,’ Rowena said.
All thought of conflict paused as they realised they might not have the time to worry about anything else.
The mist reached Binning’s feet and he screamed insanely as he felt his flesh bubbling. The pain was intense and his grip weakened.
The gas reached above his knees and Binning trembled violently, his face a pathetic mask as he stared up at them. His fingers suddenly lost their hold on the grille and he screamed for less than a second before he disappeared.
Stratton looked up through the grille of the lift’s ceiling to see light coming from the square opening at the top of the shaft. Their exit.
Rowena kept her stare fixed on the gas, trying to calculate if they would make it.
Then the lift jerked to a stop.
As one they ripped open the cage as the gas came up through the floor and then they were running for their lives down a broad whitewashed corridor. At the end of it a huge steel security door had begun to close slowly, to seal the exit, to shut out the daylight.
Jason grabbed at Stratton to pull him back. Stratton lashed out and struck him. Jason staggered back a little with the blow but managed to clip one of Stratton’s feet with an aimed kick and trip him up. The operative went sprawling but as he fell he reached out a hand and grabbed Jason’s ankle.
It was Mansfield’s turn to go sprawling on the floor and as Stratton got to his feet and sprinted on he planted a powerful kick into the scientist’s lower back to keep him down a second longer.
Rowena ran through the ever-decreasing gap as the massive hydraulic arm pushed relentlessly to close the heavy door.
Jason got up quickly and, fleeter than Stratton, was soon right behind him. But Stratton was first into the gap and flung himself through it. With Rowena’s help he sprang free. As Jason pushed his way through behind him, Stratton turned and grabbed the man by the throat, holding him firmly in the closing gap.
Jason grasped Stratton’s hand in a desperate effort to force himself free but the operative held him fast.
‘Not this time, Jason,’ Stratton said, his arm and body shaking with concentrated effort.
The door closed on one of Jason’s feet. He screamed as it broke the bones inside his boot. The hydraulics struggled to seal the door completely but eventually the closing process ground to a halt. The security door was almost closed but not quite.
Stratton released Jason and stepped back.
The scientist fought to get free but it was useless. He was caught like an animal in a trap.
After a herculean effort Jason suddenly stopped, realising it was in vain. He would never release himself in time.
‘Never underestimate luck,’ Stratton said as he stepped back.
Jason looked at the pair of them as the green gas slithered around his ankles.
Rowena looked on in horror as Jason’s feet began to bubble.
The gas seeped out along the length of the door seal and Jason Mansfield started to shudder. As it enveloped him, Stratton and Rowena turned and ran. Jason’s pitiful scream became a choking gurgle as his flesh melted and the gas reached out across the ground.
They sprinted through the unmanned main gate and along the road that cut across barren moorland.
As they ran they heard footsteps behind them. Stratton looked back over his shoulder to see his young Russian guard gaining on them. The youngster was swift of foot and went pounding past the couple with hardly a glance at them.
Stratton and Rowena did not pause or let up their speed until they reached a highway.
Stratton stopped briefly to check the wind direction. ‘This way,’ he said and they broke into a brisk jog.
‘What do we do now?’ Rowena asked as she ran alongside him, their breath steaming in the chilly air.
‘Get to Moscow and our embassy.’
A truck appeared, coming along the highway from behind them, and Stratton practically threw himself in front of it in order to get it to stop. The driver pulled the vehicle to a halt and they scrambled into the cab. Moments later it moved off.
‘
Rowena regained her breath, huddled against the operative on the passenger seat. She looked back through the window to see if the gas was following. There was no sign of it. She stared ahead again and sighed.
‘You okay?’ Stratton asked.
She had to think about it for a moment. ‘I’ve only met you twice and both times I’ve quite literally had to scramble for my life.’
‘How do you think I feel? I have to live with me.’
Rowena lost the fight with herself to stop smiling.
Epilogue
Attracting looks of curiosity from a couple of Customs officers, Stratton and Rowena walked out of the
