The corridor ahead was empty. ‘It’s clear, go!’ he shouted. Behind him, Kagan emerged from the cloud, Tova and Nina in his wake.
Eddie increased his pace. One of the security doors was ahead. ‘Kagan! Can you open it?’
‘Yes, my card will override it,’ came the reply.
‘Then bloody do it, quick!’ He turned to cover the rear as Kagan reached the door. The carbon dioxide had now mostly cleared – revealing one of the soldiers back on his feet, bringing up his AK—
Eddie fired first, sending the man crashing to the floor. Bright red blood stained the white tiles. Tova screamed, clutching her hands to her ears as the Kalashnikov’s clamour echoed off the walls. The other soldiers hurriedly retreated down the side passages, Slavin scrambling after them.
Kagan found his keycard and jammed it into the slot. A warning buzzer sounded, but he stabbed a four-digit code into a keypad and the door heaved itself aside. He pulled out the card, gun raised as he scanned the corridor beyond. ‘Okay, it is clear!’
‘Go!’ Eddie said, backing towards the door. Kagan went first, the women right behind. The Russian waited for Eddie to come through, then hit a button on the door’s control panel. It slammed shut. ‘Can Slavin open that?’
‘Yes,’ Kagan told him. ‘We must hurry.’ He ran down the central corridor to the next junction, peering around the corner to check the adjoining passages. ‘Clear.’
The group hurried through the intersection and headed for the next security barrier. Nina glanced through the window into one of the laboratories as they passed. Confused scientists, locked in their workspaces when the alarm sounded, stared back, reacting with horrified shock when they saw what she was carrying. Unlike the Tsar Protocol, Thor’s Hammer was clearly no secret to Unit 201’s staff.
Kagan entered the code into the next door, which opened. Again he checked that nobody was lying in wait on the other side before going through. ‘Two more doors, then we reach the elevator,’ he said.
Nina followed him. ‘Shit! Here they come!’ she cried, looking back to see the first barrier opening again. Someone poked their head around it, jerking back as Eddie fired.
‘Hope the fucking lift’s still at the bottom,’ he said, coming through and hitting the button. The door rolled shut – as a bullet hit the other side with a piercing clang. ‘Okay, we need to pick up the pace!’
They ran past more labs, some occupied, others dimly lit and empty, and reached another security door. Kagan entered the code again. The door opened – followed a few seconds later by the one behind them.
Eddie fired two more shots to deter their pursuers, then darted through the narrowing gap as Kagan closed the barrier. More bullets twanged off the other side. ‘Only one more,’ said the Russian.
They quickly reached the last door, Kagan using his card to open it. The barrier behind them opened almost in sync. This time, Slavin’s men were already in position and ready to shoot. Nina shrieked as a bullet shattered a tile just behind her. Eddie switched his AK-103 to full auto and unleashed a deafening burst of fire down the corridor, one of the crouched figures taking a bloody hit to the shoulder and falling with a wail. His comrades retreated into cover.
‘Chase!’ shouted Kagan. ‘The elevator, we are almost there!’
Eddie backed through, the door closing behind him. He looked down the passage. The elevator was twenty metres away, at the far end of the lobby area. There was one more intersection to cross, but beyond that it was a straight run past the final labs. He quickly moved to the junction and glanced down each of the side passages.
No one there. ‘Clear here,’ he said, looking back at the elevator as Kagan ran past him. Still nobody in the lobby.
Wait . . .
Overhead lights in the reception area were casting shadows on the floor at the end of the corridor.
Moving shadows—
‘Back, get back!’ he yelled, pulling Nina into one of the side passages. ‘They’re waiting for us! Tova, down here!’
Tova fearfully rushed after them. Kagan skidded on the tiled floor, then reversed direction – as several soldiers leapt out from hiding and brought up their AK-103s.
The Russian dived after his companions as gunfire exploded tiles into shrapnel behind him. He hit the floor hard – and hurt, a red slash marking where debris had caught his calf. Nina and Tova pulled him into cover as Eddie sent a couple of shots at their attackers to force them back.
Nina checked the wound. ‘It doesn’t look too deep. Kagan, can you walk on it?’
‘Help me up,’ he said through clenched teeth. ‘I will try!’
‘Try fast,’ said Eddie. He looked up the new corridor. ‘Where does this go?’
‘Only to offices,’ said Kagan, grimacing as he put weight on his injured leg. ‘It is a dead end— No, wait!’ He pointed with sudden excitement at a doorway a few metres from them. ‘We can go through this laboratory – there is a door on the other side just across from the elevator!’
‘Is anyone in there?’ Nina asked, remembering the scientists she had seen in the other labs.
‘No, it is empty. Quick, quick!’ He hobbled to the door and inserted his keycard, then readied his gun as the barrier slid open.
‘Is it clear?’ Eddie demanded from the junction.
Nina checked. The long room was in shadow, the only light coming through a window beside another door at the far end. Boxed-up equipment lurked on workbenches, but there was no movement. ‘Think so.’
‘Okay, go. I’ll be right behind you.’
Kagan went through the door, Tova following. Nina hesitated as she heard the clatter of running footsteps. Slavin and his men were through the last security door. ‘Eddie, come on!’
He backed up. ‘I’m coming, don’t bloody worry!’ The soldiers approached the intersection. Eddie fired two shots, shattering more wall tiles, and the footsteps hurriedly halted. He ducked through the door and hit the button to close it.
Tova helped the limping Kagan through the dimly lit laboratory. Nina quickly caught up. Through the window, she saw the elevator. ‘Jesus, we’ll be completely exposed.’
‘It is the only way out,’ Kagan reminded her grimly. ‘Chase! How many bullets do you have?’
Eddie had been counting his shots. ‘About ten.’
The Russian grimaced again. ‘It will have to do.’ They reached the other exit, and he raised his keycard once more. ‘We only need to hold them off until the doors open—’
A shrill, piercing alarm filled the room, lights snapping on. But these were not the glaring overheads illuminating the rest of the facility; they were instead a sickly yellow. ‘What’s that?’ said Eddie.
Kagan’s expression was one of utter, trapped horror. He shoved the card into the lock, but the only response was a warning rasp and a flashing red light. ‘Govno,’ he gasped, stumbling back. ‘The alarm – they have started the sterilisation procedure!’
‘What?’ Nina cried. She checked the ceiling. The lab was overlooked by two of the sinister black domes – which split as she watched, their casings opening up like hardened flowers to expose a cluster of metal nozzles pointing outwards. ‘Oh my God! Stop it, use your override!’
‘I cannot!’ Kagan replied. ‘Once it is activated, there is no way to stop it.’
‘There’s got to be a way!’ She grabbed his card and jammed it back into the lock, but the buzzer sounded again.
Outside the window, some of the Russian soldiers appeared, peering warily through the glass – followed by Slavin. The sweating officer now wore a nasty, triumphant smile. ‘How long do we have?’ Eddie asked.
Kagan regarded the nearest set of nozzles. ‘The gas must build up pressure before it is lit – about thirty seconds.’
Eddie whipped up his AK and fired a burst at the window – aiming directly at Slavin. The Russian jerked back in fear as bullets smacked against the glass, but quickly recovered his composure, his smirk widening as he saw that the window was cracked, but not brok
en. ‘Shit!’
‘Shoot it again!’ Tova cried.
‘It won’t make any difference,’ he said, looking around. ‘But . . . that might!’
Amongst the boxes and equipment on one of the benches was a squat red cylinder topped by a pressure valve. Eddie couldn’t read the Cyrillic text on its label, but the symbol of a flame in a warning triangle beside it was immediately understandable. He swung the heavy container on to a small trolley, then pushed it to the window. ‘Everyone get behind that bench.’
‘What are you doing?’ Nina asked.
‘Remember that fire extinguisher? Same thing – only the bang’ll be a bit bigger.’
‘If you blow it up, it will kill us!’ protested Kagan.
‘It might kill us – but that’ll definitely kill us,’ Eddie replied, pointing at the nearest dome. ‘Come on, get down!’
Nina hunched behind the bench, clutching the steel canister. A new sound became audible over the alarm: a rumble coming from the nozzles, slowly but steadily rising in pitch. ‘Oh God,’ she whispered as the others joined her. ‘It’s starting!’
‘You ready?’ Eddie called out as he crouched beside Nina, taking aim around the side of the workbench at the gas cylinder. Slavin’s eyes widened as he realised what the Englishman was going to do. ‘Cover your ears!’
They did so – as Slavin made a hasty retreat, barging soldiers out of his way.
Eddie pulled the trigger—
The Kalashnikov barked once – and the container exploded.
A room-shaking blast shredded the far end of the workbench and hurled blazing equipment across the laboratory. Broken ceiling tiles dropped around the crouching fugitives like hailstones. ‘Jesus Christ!’ Nina screamed as a sharp-edged piece hit her.
Eddie didn’t even bother checking the results of his handiwork, simply grabbing her and jumping up to run for the window. Either it was broken – or they were all dead. ‘Go, go!’
Even with his leg wound, Kagan found a burst of speed as he and Tova followed the couple. The lab was littered with burning debris – but amongst it was shattered glass. The weakened window had been blown apart.
Still holding the AK, Eddie hurdled through the opening with Nina. Those soldiers who had not reacted quickly enough to follow Slavin lay on the floor, faces cut, uniforms ripped and smouldering. Slavin himself was sprawled on the far side of the lobby area. The thought of shooting him flashed through the Englishman’s mind, but survival outweighed it – they were not safe yet. ‘Get to the lift!’
He pushed Nina ahead of him as Tova scrambled through the broken window. She started to run for the elevator, but Kagan yanked her with him to one side— High-pressure acetylene gas gushed from the nozzles, electric igniters sparking – and the laboratory was engulfed in jets of white-hot flame.
The swelling fire surged through the remains of the window. Tova screamed, Kagan pressing her against the closed metal door and shielding her with his body. One of the soldiers managed to scrabble clear of the blaze, but the luckless man beside him was instantly incinerated. Eddie and Nina dived away from the inferno, landing by the elevator.
But the danger was not over. The nozzle clusters began to rotate, searing jets blasting like deadly lighthouse beams over every square inch of the laboratory – and out into the lobby. More soldiers fled, another man being hit by the fire and instantly bursting into flames. The back of the door glowed red as burning gas washed over it, Kagan’s hair scorching as heat rose behind him—
The jets stuttered, then cut out. Every part of the lab had been sterilised by fire almost half as hot as the surface of the sun, even stainless steel warped and ceramic tiles cracked by the pitiless heat. What pieces of equipment had not been smashed by the explosion were melted or burned to charcoal.
Smoke poured from the lab. ‘Is it just me, or is it warm in here?’ said Eddie, coughing as he stood. He tried to open the elevator doors, but they were locked. ‘Kagan, get the lift open!’
Kagan hobbled to him. Tova followed, trying not to look at the burning remains of the dead soldiers. The Russian put his card into the reader and entered his override code; after a moment, the doors rumbled apart.
Eddie ducked through, keeping the AK raised to cover the soldiers, but they all seemed shell-shocked, more concerned with escaping the flames than hunting down their targets. Slavin raised his head; on seeing the Englishman, he made a frantic dash for a side passage. Eddie tracked him, but before he could shoot, Kagan had closed the doors.
The car began its ascent. ‘What do we do when we get to the top?’ Nina asked.
Kagan leaned against a wall to take the weight off his injured leg. ‘I will tell the base commander what has really happened. I know him – I am sure he will believe me over Slavin.’
‘Won’t Slavin already be talking to him, though?’ Eddie asked. He pulled out the AK’s magazine to check his remaining ammunition; including the one in the chamber, he was down to his last three rounds. ‘It’s no good you being mates with the guy if he’s already told his security forces to shoot us!’
‘We will see what they do when we reach the surface. If they will listen to me, we may have a chance.’ He closed his eyes, grimacing as he straightened. ‘If they will not . . .’
‘We have to shoot our way out of an airbase in the middle of Russia?’ Nina finished for him. ‘Oh boy.’
Tova put her head in her hands. ‘How could this happen to us?’
Eddie reseated the magazine. ‘I wanna know how it could keep happening to us! Kagan, are you ready?’
The Russian opened his eyes again. ‘I am.’
‘Great. Let’s see what’s waiting for us.’
20
Vietnam
Chase quickly checked Castille’s AK-47. The magazine was fully loaded. He looked through the Land Cruiser’s rear window at the pursuing 4x4 – and saw Hoyt leaning from one of the side windows with a Kalashnikov of his own. ‘Down!’
He ducked as the American’s AK chattered. The bumpy track threw most of Hoyt’s shots wide, but one still struck the tailgate and shattered the window. Natalia screamed.
Chase kicked out the broken glass and fired two shots of his own. He knew his chances of hitting even the other Land Cruiser, never mind its occupants, were slim, but his main goal was to force the driver to fall back. A plan was already forming in his mind, but he would need more of a gap to pull it off . . .
‘Hold on!’ Castille warned. The track ahead jinked to avoid a large rock. He braked, flicking the steering wheel to swing out the Land Cruiser’s rear end on the muddy surface before applying more power and spinning the wheel hard in the opposite direction. The 4x4 kicked up a spray of wet earth as it performed a power slide around the obstacle.
Chase saw his chance and fired another pair of shots. He couldn’t tell if they had hit or not, but they had the effect he’d hoped for. The driver flinched, distracted at a crucial moment – and braked too hard as he turned. The second Toyota slewed sideways, its back end ripping through the undergrowth before hitting the rock, caving in the rear passenger door.
The Englishman braced himself again as Castille took their own vehicle around another curve. Their pursuers were lost to sight behind the trees. ‘Nice driving, Hugo! I didn’t know you were into rallying.’
‘I grew up in the country,’ Castille replied. ‘There is a lot of mud when it rains!’
‘Wow, that’s about the most interesting thing I’ve ever heard about Belgium.’ In the mirror, Chase saw his friend make a sarcastic face. ‘Okay, Hugo, I’ve got a plan, but you probably won’t like it.’
‘You want me to slow down so you and Natalia can jump out, and then carry on to decoy them away from you?’
‘Well, that saves me explaining! So you do like it, then?’
Castille snorted. ‘No, not one little bit! But,’ he added, giving Natalia a quick smile, ‘it is the best chance we have to get you away from them. Edward will take care of you, you do not have to worry about
that.’
‘I know,’ she replied quietly. But there was something behind her words that made Chase give her a questioning look: resolve, or . . . resignation? He wasn’t sure.
And there was no time to think about it further. ‘Here, here,’ he said, pointing ahead. The track began to rise up a hill, the ground to the left dropping away quite steeply at the entrance to a valley. He realised it was the same one into which he and Natalia had been swept by the mudslide the previous night. ‘We’ll jump out behind those bushes there. Natalia, are you ready?’ She gave him a worried nod.
Chase clambered over the back seat and was about to slide across to the door when a thought stuck him. He reached back into the cargo area to snag Hoyt’s pack, heavy with the laptop and research notes stolen from the Russians. ‘Just making sure those twats don’t get their hands on this stuff,’ he told Castille.
The Belgian had an unhappy expression. ‘It sounds as if you do not think I will get away from them.’
‘I hope you do, but . . . fight to the end, Hugo.’
‘Fight to the end,’ Castille echoed. He held up one hand; Chase clasped it firmly in a gesture of brotherhood, then slung the pack from a shoulder and moved to the door. ‘I hope to see you again soon.’
‘So do I,’ Chase replied, heartfelt. He opened the door, then took a firm hold of the AK. ‘Just here. Natalia . . . go!’
Castille slowed the Toyota to a jogging pace. Natalia jumped out, Chase behind her. They stumbled as they hit the ground, but recovered. Natalia scrambled behind the bushes, while Chase thumped a fist on the window to tell Castille they were clear. With a wave, the Belgian accelerated.
Chase slithered down the hillside after Natalia. ‘Stay low,’ he warned her. He could already hear the second Land Cruiser rapidly approaching.
He brought up the Kalashnikov; a sharp-eyed passenger might spot their footprints. Thumps and creaks from the straining suspension became audible over the engine’s roar as Lock and Hoyt’s 4x4 pounded along the track. Chase felt Natalia tense beside him. The Land Cruiser drew level . . .
The Valhalla Prophecy_A Novel Page 26