you.’
I looked across to Rothmann, who was still writhing around. One of the Indian troops was kneeling near him, Kalashnikov at the ready.
‘Sara,’ I said, leaning over her. ‘I didn’t mean to do it. The conditioning…’
She was still smiling. ‘Of course…you meant to do…it, Matt.’ Her forehead furrowed in agony. ‘It’s better… better this way.’ She pulled me closer. ‘Sellers and Kolinski, 168 Ditmars…Boulevard, Queens, New…York… Ci…’ She took a deep breath, which rattled in her throat and chest. ‘I left a file there. Tell…tell them you’re my cousin…my cousin from…Surbiton.’ Her eyes closed, and then opened again briefly. ‘Get him, Matt…get Rothmann…for… me…’
‘Sara?’ I put my cheek close to her mouth, but no breath brushed against it. I rocked back on my heels and smoothed her eyes shut with my thumbs.
I had finally put an end to my former lover, but at the last I hadn’t wanted to-if it hadn’t been for the Rothmanns’ conditioning, I would probably have let her live, but would have made sure she was arrested for all the horrors she had committed against me and my friends. Quincy Jerome’s dead face rose up before me again. She was a cold-blooded killer, but I had been close to her in the past. It seemed that love couldn’t just be thrown away, no matter how much pain it brought about.
I let her shoulders and head slide off my thighs and slowly got to my feet. If I got out of Hades alive, I would go and see what she’d left behind.
‘Sir, sir!’ Colonel Singh was saying. ‘I have assembled my surviving men. There are more armed men approaching. We must go!’
I went over to the parapet and shots flew over my head. In the distance I could see men in fatigues approaching. Cerberus Security was coming to finish us off.
I grabbed Rothmann under his arm and pulled him to his feet, not concerned about how much that hurt him. Heading for the gigantic red screen that marked the boundary of Hell, I gave Sara’s body a final glance. She looked at peace, whether she deserved that or not.
Valerie Hinton was standing at a pay phone inside Union Station.
‘It’s all right,’ she said. ‘Your name wasn’t mentioned and neither was the company’s.’
‘Are you quite sure about that?’ Rudi Crane’s voice was less imposing than usual.
‘We had a man present. He dealt with the knight before he could do any real damage.’
‘He dealt with him? Won’t that have left a trail?’
‘Don’t worry. He used a new compound. Besides, the postmortem will never be made public.’
There was a long pause. ‘Very well. And you say there will be no further investigation?’
‘The Director will be made to see that is not in his interest.’
‘What about the lead investigator?’
‘The saint who was shot full of arrows? Don’t worry, he’s gone to another place.’
‘That is a veritable piece of good news.’
‘Do you have any such news for me?’
‘You mean from the Lone Star State? All is well, as far as I am aware.’
‘I hope so. There are several people down there who we never want to see again.’
‘Quite so. Fear not! By now, they will have started on their last journeys. Praise the Lord!’
Valerie Hinton hung up the phone and shook her head. One of the downsides of working for the Company was that you had to deal with the most objectionable people. Still, whatever it took to ensure the nation’s best interests were secured.
She pulled her hat down and walked into the chill night air. There was one thing she had to do before she turned in for what would be a short night’s sleep. Arthur Bimsdale had turned out to be a very satisfactory recruit. She needed to clear an evening to get better acquainted with him.
Thirty-Three
The colonel’s men returned fire using the machine guns we had found. That bought us some distance from our pursuers.
Rothmann moaned as I dragged him along. One of the Indians came up and lifted his legs so at least his wounds weren’t put under any more pressure-not that I cared. Looking ahead, I saw that the door was metal and there didn’t seem to be a handle. Great.
‘See here,’ Colonel Singh said, trotting up beside me. He was holding three grenades.
‘Do you think they’re full charge?’ I asked.
‘There is only one way to find out.’ He handed his Kalashnikov to one of his men and ran forward, his portly form silhouetted against the fiery backdrop. He made it to within a few yards before a burst of fire sliced across his legs.
‘Shit!’ I stopped to leave Rothmann with the soldier carrying his legs, then waved more of the turbaned men forward. ‘Cover me!’ I put down my Kalashnikov and charged to the door. Bullets ricocheted from the steel surface, whistling past me.
Colonel Singh was clutching his legs and groaning. I grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him away, then went back for the grenades, which had spilled from his grip. There was a heap of earth about ten yards from the door and we took cover behind it.
‘You play cricket, sir?’ the colonel asked, extending an arm.
‘Not since school. Why?’
He took one of the grenades and pulled the pin with his teeth. ‘Leave to me, then. I am superb fielder.’
I took his word for it and watched as the grenade looped through the air. It exploded just before it reached the metal panels.
‘Good shot!’ I said.
‘Not good enough.’ The colonel pulled, waited and threw again.
The blast was centered on the door, but it still didn’t break it. The firing behind us seemed to be increasing in ferocity.
‘Last chance,’ he grunted, then dispatched the third grenade.
This time the door swung open in two pieces.
‘Go,’ Colonel Singh said, signaling to his men. ‘We will cover you.’
I wanted to thank him, but there wasn’t time. I heaved Rothmann over my shoulder. It was only when I reached the door that I realized I’d left my Kalashnikov behind. A rattle of shots made me keep going.
Beyond the exit, there was a lift similar to the one on the other side. It was striking that there were no men in fatigues waiting-perhaps nobody had given us a chance against the defenders. I hit the call button. The mechanism kicked in immediately.
Rothmann was panting, even though he hadn’t been carrying any heavy weights recently. I swung him to the floor, opened the door to the cage and pulled him in. The only option apart from H for Hades was G, which I presumed was ground level. We were there in less than a minute. I opened the door and was confronted by another steel panel, but this one had a button to the right-hand side.
The door opened onto a patch of muddy ground. The pale light of early morning was trying to break through a layer of mist. Although we were inside the compound, there was only a low wall in front of us. I picked Rothmann up again and ran toward it, levering him over. When I joined him, I saw a large yellow digger straight ahead of us, and the fence about thirty yards beyond it.
‘Can…can you…drive that thing?’ Rothmann asked, as I jogged toward the vehicle with him on my shoulder.
‘Oh, yes,’ I said, thinking of my friend Dave Cummings. He had owned a demolition company and had given me sessions on his various machines. I scrambled into the cab and hauled Rothmann up beside me. As was often the case with heavy equipment, the keys had been left in the ignition. I fired up the engine, struggled a bit to find a gear and then veered toward the fence.
‘More speed!’ Rothmann yelled.
