‘There!’ Nina pointed. The two men carrying it had put it down beside the ramp before going to the doors.
A freezing wind blasted into the cavern as the helicopter descended. Eddie looked out from behind the roller. The chopper was a Chinook; a large, twin-rotor transport aircraft designed to lift heavy cargoes - or large numbers of troops. The rear ramp, facing them, was fully lowered, the gunner lying on his belly and letting rip with a bipod- mounted M249 machine gun. Behind him were at least a dozen more men, dressed in black combat gear and body armour, carrying MP5Ks.
The surviving guardians tried to run for cover, but the gunner cut them down. One man attempted to leap from the top of the broken stairway to the uppermost ledge. A burst of machine-gun fire and his legs exploded into bloody chunks of meat, sending him tumbling screaming to the ground.
The firing stopped. The Chinook’s engines increased power, and it climbed out of sight. Beyond it, Eddie saw the red and white helicopter that had overflown the valley earlier - and a third aircraft, a compact black and silver MD 500. That particular model was based on the US Army’s MH-6 Little Bird gunship - and its users were taking advantage of its military heritage. One of the cockpit’s doors was open, the barrel of another M249 aiming down into the valley.
He ducked back. ‘Christ, they’ve got
‘We’ve got to get the Vedas somewhere safe,’ said Nina, glancing out at the chest. Shielded by the stone ramp, it had escaped damage during the onslaught, but now seemed terrifyingly fragile.
‘We’ll never be able to get it outside - not without getting shot to shit.’ He took another look round the
Ropes dropped in front of the ledge. The Chinook was hovering above the overhang. At any moment, troops would rappel down. The MD 500 was also hanging above the valley, ready to provide covering fire.
‘They’re coming,’ Eddie told Shankarpa. The ropes wavered, snake-like, as the mercenaries began their descent. With his Wildey, he could have picked them off before they reached the ledge, but the only weapons to hand were knives and swords.
Unless—
He looked at the giant stone roller shielding them. ‘Nina, you said these things were ready to go - how do you set them off?’
‘How should I know? You’re the death machine expert!’ They hurriedly examined the machine. Once a lever was pulled to release a chock, a heavy weight on a chain would drop - and turn a sprocket to spin the roller.
But the wall-smasher would be no use against their attackers. It could crawl along on small wheels - but it wasn’t pointing towards the entrance, and there seemed no way to steer it.
‘This one’s no good,’ said Nina, ‘but we could use one of the others to hold them off. If we can get to them before—’
‘We can’t,’ said Eddie. ‘We’re out of time.’ The first of the black-clad troopers came into sight, slithering effortlessly down the rope and swinging on to the ledge. He raised his weapon and ran to the side of the entrance.
Eddie recognised him. Zec.
More mercenaries landed. Zec leaned round the door to check the interior, signalling another two men to cover him and his partner as they entered.
‘What can we do?’ Nina whispered.
Shankarpa drew his sword from his back. ‘We fight them.’
‘You’d be dead before you got within twenty feet,’ said Eddie. But they were fast running out of options as the mercs advanced. The only direction they could go without being seen was back into the Vault’s depths - and the chances of their evading discovery shrank with every extra man who touched down.
No choice. ‘I don’t like to say it, but all we can do is hide.’
‘But they’ll get the chest,’ Nina protested.
‘I don’t see how we can stop ’em - not without getting killed. Come on. You too,’ he added to Shankarpa, who seemed on the verge of rushing out in a kamikaze attack. ‘Move it.’
He directed Nina and Shankarpa towards the Vault’s rear, keeping the giant roller between them and the mercenaries as they investigated the bodies, hunting for survivors. The trio passed the miniature palace, skirting the fabric of the deflated balloon and angling back round to where Eddie hoped Kit and Girilal were still waiting. The hard part would be getting to them unseen; the braziers were burning hotter and brighter than ever, and there were still dashes of flame in the oil channels.
He peered through the wooden framework of a war machine. The Chinook had moved off, taking the ropes with it. That meant for the moment that no more mercenaries would be entering the chamber. The knowledge was far from reassuring; they were still outnumbered more than two to one by armed men.
The mercs divided into three-man teams, spreading out to search the cavernous space. Eddie spotted Girilal cautiously peering out from behind an elephant statue. He guessed that Kit was with him; the old yogi didn’t seem the type to abandon an injured man.
‘Okay, we’ve got to reach Kit and Girilal and find somewhere to hide,’ he whispered. ‘Maybe under one of those machines.’
‘How do we reach them?’ Nina asked. They would have to cross the open space around one of the oil channels - in direct line of sight of the entrance.
‘We’ll have to time it right.’ The nearest group of mercenaries had reached the
‘I will make them,’ said Shankarpa. Before Eddie could stop him, the Indian had picked up and thrown a small piece of gold jewellery. It clonked off something near the
‘For fuck’s sake!’ Eddie hissed, angry. ‘Now they know there’s still someone alive!’ Two of the men in the team moved out of sight to investigate, but the third was holding position, shining his light suspiciously round him. ‘Okay, we’ll have to risk it. Get ready. Soon as he turns away . . .’
He ducked as the beam swept round, scanning the path into the Vault before turning back to the roller. ‘Go!’ He pushed Nina out first, then followed Shankarpa across the aisle—
The torch beam whipped back, catching them before they were even halfway across.
‘Shit!’ Eddie dived behind the elephant statue as a shout and the chatter of automatic fire reached him simultaneously. Bullets pitted the stone behind him. More shouts from other directions, the rapid tramp of running footsteps as other mercenaries closed in.
Kit was there with Girilal. He tried to push himself upright, but gasped in pain as his leg gave way. He would have to be carried - making him and his helpers easy targets.
Nina looked round the other end of the statue, seeing more men running through the cavern. ‘Eddie, they’re coming!’
They were trapped; the approaching mercenaries had clear lines of fire on each side. Eddie searched desperately for a weapon, but there was nothing he could reach without exposing himself to gunfire.
No way out. The nearest group of mercs was seconds away, preparing to whip round the statue and blast everyone they found there—
‘Zec!’ Eddie shouted, startling his companions. ‘Zec, it’s Eddie Chase! Can you hear me?’
No reply for a moment, only the pounding boots closing in - then a Balkan-accented command of ‘Hold your fire!’ as three men burst round the corner, weapons raised, fingers tight on the triggers . . .
But no shots.
Another team of mercenaries appeared at the other end of the statue, boxing in the five survivors. Laser sights flicked on, green dots settling on heads and hearts. More footsteps, this time marching. Zec appeared, regarding Eddie curiously. ‘Chase. This is a surprise.’
‘For me too,’ Eddie replied, raising his hands. ‘I thought Khoil was going to fire you.’
‘He almost did. But for this operation, he needed a man with experience who could assemble a fighting force quickly.’
‘Well, even though he was wrong about you being a good bloke, Hugo seemed to think you knew what you were doing, so I suppose that makes sense.’
