The blonde woman jumped up and made a lunge at the gunman, grabbing for his weapon, but this one’s reactions were quick and he slammed the barrel into her face, knocking her backwards to the floor, before swinging the rifle round towards Scope.
Scope yanked the AK-47 from the dead man’s hands and rolled round to face him, but even as he did so he knew he was too late. The gunman had already steadied his aim and was ready to fire. For a split second, their eyes met, and Scope could see him grinning beneath the balaclava as his finger tensed on the trigger.
But the smaller guy grabbed him round the legs again, knocking him slightly off balance, just as he fired a burst of shots. Scope felt them pass close to the left side of his face, but he didn’t even have time to think about how close he’d come to being hit, because he was already firing himself. The AK was set to single shot, and he put two into the gunman’s torso, knocking him backwards at just the moment he let loose another burst of gunfire. Then, remembering that one of the terrorists he’d taken out earlier had been wearing a bulletproof vest, Scope adjusted his aim and shot at the gunman’s head. One round missed and a second hit him in the shoulder, spinning him round, before the third took him through the cheekbone.
Unable to stagger because the smaller guy was still holding on to his legs as if his life depended on it, the gunman began to sway like a tree in the wind, a thin line of blood running down his face, before toppling to the carpet with a loud thud.
Scope could hear his own breathing, even though he’d been partially deafened by the gunshots. His back felt wet, and he realized he was lying in a pool of the other gunman’s blood. He clambered to his feet, knowing that they all had to get out of there before the other terrorists arrived. The hostages were scattered all over the place and they were all looking at him, including the blonde girl who’d helped save his life, and who was now holding her nose as blood poured out of it. Some looked elated; some looked awed; a few just looked plain shocked. Scope looked at the smaller guy – the other person who’d helped save his life. He was panting hard and his face was pale. Scope nodded at him, and mouthed the word ‘thanks’.
‘All right, we’ve got to leave now,’ he shouted.
‘What about that rucksack?’ one of the hostages shouted back. ‘It’s got a bomb in it.’
‘I’ll deal with it,’ said Scope. ‘The rest of you, get the hell out.’
The blonde woman got to her feet. ‘Follow me,’ she said through her fingers. ‘We can go on to the roof terrace outside. The doors should be unlocked.’
No one needed asking twice. As they scattered the tables and chairs piled up against the windows and pulled up the blinds, Scope picked up the rucksack, knowing there was no time for caution, and placed it round the other side of the restaurant, out of sight of the windows. Then, slinging the AK-47 over his shoulder, he ran back towards the staircase.
It was time to get Abby and Ethan.
Eighty-six
CAT HEARD THE shots as she was drinking the contents of a bottle of water in the satellite kitchen next to the ballroom. Beside her, Wolf was on the phone talking loudly to the negotiator. ‘We have waited hours for the British government to come back to us on our demands, and all you have done is send SAS men sneaking round the rear of the building, shooting at us, rather than trying to negotiate in good faith.’
There was a second burst of gunfire from high up in the hotel, faint but definitely distinguishable in the silence, and Wolf stopped talking and cocked his head.
‘I thought you said there was no attack!’ he shouted down the phone. ‘What is all that shooting?’ Then his face broke into a frown. ‘What do you mean it’s not you?’
The noise of more shooting tore down the staircase, and Cat glanced over at the TV on the worktop. It was showing live news footage of the Park View Restaurant on the ninth floor. A number of the blinds had been pulled up and people were pouring through the open French windows that led out on to the roof terrace. The two men supposed to be guarding them, Dragon and Tiger, were nowhere to be seen.
When Wolf saw what was happening on the TV, his face darkened. ‘Keep your people back!’ he shouted at the negotiator. ‘Do you understand?’ Then he slammed down the phone and turned to Cat. ‘What’s going on up there?’
‘I don’t know,’ she said coldly. ‘But we have to stop them. It’ll be the work of the bastard who killed my brother.’ Even as she spoke the words, she felt a rush of frustration and anger that made her face flush, and her grip on the pistol tightened. She had to find him.
Wolf shook his head angrily. ‘It doesn’t matter now. They’ll be sending the SAS in again. We need to get out of here.’
‘How? We’re half an hour early. The bombs won’t blow, and we’ll be caught. This wasn’t part of the plan.’
‘We have to try.’
Cat was annoyed by his weakness. ‘Be a man, Wolf. It’s time for us to make a last stand. Let’s go up there and fight.’
‘I
‘Mine wasn’t. I never expected to leave alive, and I’m surprised you did. We must kill as many of the enemy as possible. For our country. For our leader. For our religion.’ She lifted her pistol in a defiant gesture, and patted the pockets of her jacket. ‘We have the weapons. Let us make them pay.’
Eighty-seven
FOX WAS IN the ballroom when he heard the gunfire.
‘What the hell’s going on up there?’ hissed Bear.
Whatever it was, it had to be serious. Their hostages had heard it too, and their tension levels were rising once again. The problem was they numbered close to eighty, and with only him and Bear guarding them, all it took was a concerted effort and they’d be overrun in seconds.
‘Do you think the SAS are attacking again?’
Fox shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. Let’s just stay calm. I don’t want this lot to know you’re worried.’
The shooting stopped, but it didn’t make Fox feel any better. It had almost certainly come from the Park View Restaurant. Either Dragon and Tiger had sorted whatever it was and had the situation back under control, or they were dead.
At that moment, the door to the satellite kitchen opened and Cat marched out, with Wolf following. But they didn’t come over. Instead, they made straight for the ballroom door.
‘Shit,’ cursed Bear. ‘Now what are they doing?’
‘Watch the hostages,’ snapped Fox as he caught Wolf’s eye.
Wolf put up two fingers to suggest he and Cat would be back in a couple of minutes, and then they were out of the door.
Fox knew instantly they weren’t coming back. There was something too purposeful in their manner. Which meant it was time to make a quick decision. If they stayed put, they risked being trapped there. If they abandoned their stations, they ran the risk of not being paid the balance of the money for the job. But with the information he had, Fox didn’t actually need that money. Also, he knew that the only way Wolf could stop either him or Bear being paid was by sending a message to the clients claiming they hadn’t done their job properly, but it didn’t look like that was top of his priorities right then.
Bear was standing a few feet away, looking at Fox expectantly.
Fox made his decision. ‘All right. Let’s go.’
Before anyone could react, he fired a burst of shots over the top of the hostages, and as they cried out and covered their heads, he and Bear turned and ran for the door.
It took a few seconds for the hostages to realize what was happening, but when they did, some jumped to
