Clutching the canopic jar, Nina looked into the hold, and saw to her horror that a fire was spreading from a door at its port-side rear. Several men were in the large space, keeping well away from the flames as one operated a control panel. The front and rear ramps lowered, the gritty rush of wind through the hold sweeping the smoke out of the stern - but also fanning the fire.
One man ran towards the hold’s rear. Jumping out of the hovercraft’s stern offered more chance of survival - were it not for the blaze. The ramp was narrower than the hold, offset to port, and the growing flames were whipping down it. The crewman shielded his face - then sprinted for the square of daylight.
He mistimed it. A swirling gust of fire swept from the hatchway, setting him alight. The burning figure’s limbs flailed as he vanished into the sandstorm.
The remaining men were no happier with the forward escape route. One brave - or foolish - soldier took a running jump off the ramp, trying to reach the skirt and climb along it to the side. The reactions of the others made it clear that he wasn’t successful. But faced with a choice between slipping off and being dragged under the enormous vessel or the fire, they opted to take their chances, leaping from the ramp one by one.
The last man gone, Nina entered the hold, moving to the dune buggy to check its restraining straps. If she could untether it, maybe it would be fast enough to drive out of the rear ramp without catching fire . . .
She heard feet clanking down the ladder. No time to return to the hatch. She scrambled underneath the earthmover behind the buggy, peering out to see Shaban and Berkeley descend into the hold. ‘Find the jar,’ Shaban ordered, gesturing sternwards.
Berkeley baulked. ‘There’s a big fire back there.’
‘Then don’t walk into it! Check the bulldozers, see if she hid it inside one of them. Or underneath.’
‘What about you?’ Berkeley asked as Shaban went to the dune buggy.
‘This is our way off. Go on, search!’
Nina tensed, but to her relief Berkeley went to one of the earthmovers on the other side of the hold. She slithered to the rear of the machine she was hiding under. There was another open hatch not far away - if she could reach it without being seen . . .
The fire was growing, grease and spilled oil on the deck catching light. Berkeley finished his examination of the first bulldozer and moved to the one behind it.
The door was about fifteen feet away. Twisting to look back, she spotted Shaban’s feet by the buggy as he released the last strap.
He was facing away from her. She might be able to reach the door if she moved now - and if Berkeley didn’t see her.
The archaeologist had climbed up to check the cab, his back to her.
This was her chance.
She slid out, about to dart for the door when Berkeley hopped down - and turned.
He saw her.
Their eyes met across the hold. Nina froze. One word from him would alert the cult leader . . .
The word didn’t come.
Berkeley blinked, then his expression became studiously blank. He turned away, searching the bulldozer’s cab for a second time.
Nina gave him silent thanks, then got ready to run—
‘What is it?’ Shaban shouted, making both Nina and Berkeley flinch. He had seen the scientist’s moment of indecision.
‘I-I’m not sure,’ Berkeley stuttered, but Shaban was already striding towards her position.
She jumped up and held the jar above her head. ‘Don’t move! I’ll smash it!’
Shaban stopped, holding out his hands. ‘Give it to me, Dr Wilde.’
‘I don’t think so!’ She backed away, looking over her shoulder at the spreading fire. ‘How about we bake your bread, huh?’
‘No!’ He advanced another step, torn between the urge to retrieve the canopic jar and the fear of its being destroyed. ‘Give it to me and - and I’ll let you live.’
Nina kept retreating. ‘What, so you can use it to kill millions of people? No way. This ends here, asshole.’
His eyes flicked away from her to the hold’s side wall. ‘You’re right. It does.’
‘Nina!’ Berkeley cried in warning - too late.
Diamondback dived from the open hatch, tackling Nina. The jar was jolted from her hands as they hit the deck. He just managed to get his grasping fingertips underneath it to stop it from smashing, but couldn’t hold on to it. The jar rolled towards the fire - then clanked to a stop against one of the cargo rings.
Shaban let out a deep breath as he realised the jar was safe. He started for it. ‘Kill her,’ he snapped.
‘My pleasure,’ said Diamondback. He pulled Nina’s head up by her ponytail, reaching into his snakeskin jacket with his other hand to draw his gun—
Everyone looked round as another door flew open.
Eddie jumped through, Khaleel’s weapon in his hands. He immediately locked it on to the biggest threat, Diamondback - but the American yanked Nina higher, making her cry out in pain as he used her as a human shield. Shaban hurriedly took cover behind the nearest earthmover. Berkeley did the same on the other side of the hold, cowering in one of the lowered scoops.
‘Eddie,’ Nina gasped, horrified by the amount of blood on his face and clothes. ‘Oh, my God . . .’
‘Hi, love,’ he said, before shifting his gaze to Diamondback. ‘You. Puff Adder. You’ve got to the count of three to let her go.’
Diamondback pressed his revolver against Nina’s head. ‘And you’ve got to the count of two to drop that piece.’
‘Eddie, shoot the jar!’ Nina said. He glanced sideways and spotted the canopic jar. ‘If you destroy it, they’ve got nothing!’
‘Do that and she dies, Chase!’ shouted Shaban, signalling for his bodyguard to hold his fire - for now. In response, Diamondback pulled Nina to her knees, still crouching behind her as he forced her to shuffle away from Eddie.
Eddie tracked them with the gun, slowly following. It was a stand-off; Diamondback knew that if he killed Nina he would die a second later, but Eddie couldn’t take a shot without risking hitting her. All he could do was watch as they backed up until they were close to the open door.
‘Sebak!’ the American called. ‘Are the keys in that bulldozer?’
Shaban immediately understood what he was thinking and moved to the earthmover’s cab, keeping low to stay out of Eddie’s line of fire. He leaned inside. The starter motor chattered, then the diesel engine rumbled to life.
‘Whatever you’re doing, fuckin’ pack it in,’ Eddie warned, but he was unable to do anything to stop them. Diamondback, still holding the gun to Nina’s head, fumbled in a pocket for a zip-tie. He threaded it through a cargo ring and loosely pushed the end into the fastener, then grabbed Nina’s hand and forced it into the plastic loop before yanking it as tight as it would go.
Nina gasped as the tie’s toothed inner face chewed deeply into her wrist. She was firmly secured to the ring, her arm bent back painfully. ‘You ain’t goin’ anywhere,’ Diamondback drawled in her ear.
Shaban, meanwhile, had figured out the basics of the earthmover’s controls. He pulled a lever to raise the dogtoothed front scoop higher off the deck, then wedged a large spanner from a toolbox against the gas pedal. The engine roared, its exhaust pipe spewing out oily brown smoke, but the machine didn’t move. It wasn’t in gear.
Yet.
He looked up - and saw something through the open front ramp. The line of the cliff-edge ahead. Less than a mile away.
The Zubr would reach it in under two minutes.
Eddie looked between Diamondback and Shaban, the horrible realisation of their plan dawning. He now had a clear shot at the cult leader - but switching his aim would give Diamondback the moment he needed to whip his gun round and shoot him.
The jar—
It rattled against the ring, about the same distance away as Nina.
