Frank grabbed at the door as the car took a sharp turn on two wheels. "I'll be lucky to hit anything, rocking and rolling like this!"
A series of metallic thunks and a shudder in the car showed that a gunman had stitched the trunk with bullets. Frank fired again, aiming lower.
The right front tire of the van blew out with a pop that could be heard in Salonika. The van lurched and swung wildly to the right, and then back the other way as the driver fought the wheel to keep the vehicle on the road. It fish-tailed again with its tires squealing in protest, the van driver slamming on the brakes. Finally the van flipped over on its side and skidded.
Stamos brought the car to a halt, and Frank started to get out, but as he did, Theo pushed open the van door, firing at the car and forcing Frank back inside.
With Theo covering, another rider from the van managed to work his way out, carrying something in his arms. Both men sprinted away from the overturned van and away from the road. Frank realized that they were headed for the fortress.
Stamos grabbed Frank by the arm and pulled him into the car. "Shut the door! We must get up there fast."
Frank did as he was told, but as Stamos gunned the car forward, he asked, "Why the big hurry?"
Stamos kept both eyes on the road. "Did you see what that fellow was carrying when he ran off toward the fort?"
"I couldn't tell what it was."
"Well, I've seen those things in action before. It was a mortar. They'll be able to lob shells right into the tower."
Stamos coaxed the car along the road while Theo and his friend ran crosscountry.
"There it is!"
Andreas pointed to the fortress rising above the road.
Stamos stopped the car and the five passengers got out to look the situation over. They could hear firing, but from the road, there was no view of the action.
Suddenly the volume of fire increased sharply. "I'm going to take a look." Frank darted out from behind the car and worked his way uphill, toward the fort.
Moments later he raced back. Ducking down with the others, he drew a rough map in the dirt. "This is the fortress. And here is where they're setting up that mortar. They've got most of their firepower concentrated over here, well away from the mortar position, and they've opened up with heavy firing from that line.
"My guess is that the heavy firing is a diversion, to keep the defenders from noticing the mortar. Then they'll start lobbing shells into the tower. We'd better get that mortar out of commission fast."
The five moved hurriedly to the crest of the hill. Two men knelt by the mortar, stacking shells beside it. "Where's Theo?" whispered Chet. Frank whispered, "Maybe he's over where the shooting is coming from."
"We'll have to drive those men away from that field piece, that's the first priority," the Gray Man said.
They poured a hail of bullets over the heads of the two men, who immediately abandoned their position, dashing for cover.
The Gray Man called out, "Hold your fire!" The chattering of the guns stopped. "Frank, you and Chet stay here and keep anyone from reaching the mortar. If you can knock it out of action without exposing yourselves to any undue risk, do it. Spiros, you and Andreas come with me — we'll give those people doing all the shooting something else to worry about — a flank attack. Let's go."
While the Gray Man and the two Stamoses set off, Chet and Frank found cover. The mortar stood fifty feet away, with a pile of shells to one side and a few shells lying on the ground nearby.
"Maybe we could just rush out and grab that stovepipe," Chet suggested.
Frank shook his head. "Try it, and the crew will start sniping at you."
"Yeah, I guess. Boy, I feel like I haven't eaten in a week. You have any snacks, Frank?"
Shots rang out, behind Frank, and he actually heard the whine of a bullet zipping by him. He whipped around, and heard Chet cry out.
"Frank! It's Theo!"
The thin-faced thug had crept to within twenty feet of Frank and Chet, but his burst of fire had missed. Frank sent a short blast at the gunman, who ducked for the shelter of the thick, heavy branches of a dead tree.
Frank fired again, moving out to his left to get a better angle. Theo popped out from behind his tree trunk, aiming another volley at Frank, who dove headlong, hugging the ground as the shots passed harmlessly over his head. He heard a mocking laugh from behind the tree.
"You see, my young Yankee friend, I told you that we would meet once again."
Flat on his stomach, Frank raised his gun high, firing a long burst. Theo flinched back, but the bullets went over his head. He stepped round the tree, his face an ugly mask of triumph as he leveled his Uzi at Frank. "I want you dead, Yankee."
Then the massive tree branch that Frank's shooting had torn loose from the trunk dropped on Theo's head. Frank smiled as Theo folded into an unconscious heap. "You're lucky I wanted you alive," he said.
He dragged Theo over to the tree and tied him so that his arms circled the trunk. Then he hurried back to Chet, who said, "I thought he had you there for a second."
"Good thing that tree was dead, or I don't know if that trick would've worked. Now, about that mortar ... I wonder if we could set off one of those loose shells over there by shooting it."
"Want to try?"
"If it goes up, it'll probably take those other shells with it, so let's back off."
They moved away to some rocks that stood forty yards from the mortar. Frank tapped Chet on the shoulder. "If this works, don't stand there admiring the explosion. Hit the dirt."
They began firing short bursts at the shells. The first few did nothing but raise dust clouds. Then there was a loud crack! and a fiery flash, followed almost immediately by a really thunderous roar.
Frank and Chet dove behind their shelter with the first explosion. But they felt the Shockwave and the heat from the big blast as the entire stack of shells went up. A scattering of debris fell around them. They waited a bit, and then slowly raised themselves up for a look.
The mortar lay some distance from where it had been, a twisted and bent metal tube. There was a shallow crater where the shells had been.
"Awesome," Chet's eyes were wide.
Frank's ears were ringing. "Come on," he said to Chet. "Let's give the others a hand. We're not out of the woods yet."
They found Spiros and Andreas Stamos with the Gray Man exchanging fire with a group of enemy gunmen. The Gray Man twisted around to give Frank a startled glance.
"Five or six men have us pinned in place here, and I think most of the rest are trying a last-ditch attack on the tower."
The intensity of gunfire abruptly rose, coming from the vicinity of the entryway leading to the tower, and from the top of the tower itself.
"This could be it," the Gray Man muttered.
Spiros Stamos called out from his position, "What can we do?"
Frank thought of his brother, up there facing an all-out assault. "We've got to do something!"
The Gray Man reached out and gripped Frank by the shoulder. "Listen to me. Trying to get over to them now would be suicidal. They have us pinned down here. We wouldn't — "
"Hey!" Chet piped up. "Listen a second!"
Frank listened, frowning. "I can't hear — Wait a minute! It sounds like—a car."
A khaki-colored troop carrier with the Greek flag painted on its door pulled up. Troops hopped out, forming up in ranks.
Chet jumped up. "Look! The attackers are splitting!"
The men who'd been massing to attack the tower were now retreating in haste, into the hills and back to the Yugoslav border. The wounded were being hauled along by their comrades.
"Why don't you go and round them up?" Chet demanded.
"We have what we want — it's much better to pretend all this never happened." The Gray Man shot a look of warning at Frank and Chet.
"I hope we can count on you never to talk about this, to anyone, under any circumstances whatever. You went to Greece, looked at ruins and the cou
ntryside, made a little side trip, and you went home. Period."
"What about Peter being kidnapped?" asked Frank. "The students all were there when that went down."
"They've been told that it was all a misunderstanding. Peter went home with some relatives and didn't tell us in advance. And the attack at the restaurant had nothing whatever to do with us. Clear?"
"Clear," said Chet with regret in his voice.
"Frank! Hey, Frank!" Joe Hardy walked toward them, supporting Morton Prynne on one side while Atlas supported the other. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see you again!"
Andreas Stamos dashed ahead and hugged Clea. Peter and Spiros ran over, too, and the four Stamoses met in a big embrace. Atlas and the Gray Man started to move away with them, but Frank stopped the Network agent.
"Just about a hundred yards back that way, you'll find a guy tied to a tree," he said. "His name is Theo, and he's the head bad guy."
"Nicholas Kaliotis will tell us all we need to put Theo away," said Spiros Stamos. He shook hands with Frank and Joe in turn and said, "Thank you, both. I cannot say how grateful I am.
Stamos turned to the Gray Man. "These young men are valuable assets. Perhaps one day you might formalize their position."
The Gray Man coughed. "Ah, yes, I must admit that they did quite well, considering — "
"That we're only amateurs," said Frank and Joe in chorus.
"Frank. Joe." It was Morton Prynne, now supported by two Greek soldiers in fatigues. "You're a couple of very remarkable young men. And you have some remarkable friends."
Joe stepped forward. "And you're a tough dude, Mr. Prynne. Take care of that leg, now."
"Joe," said Clea softly, coming toward him. Joe smiled and stuck out his hand.
Clea ignored the hand, reached up, and kissed him softly on the cheek.
"I'll try not to think so badly of Americans," she said, smiling. "Or, at least, I will always think very well of one young American man."
Joe looked into those deep, dark eyes. "Clea, you're something else. There's no one I'd trust more in a tight spot, male or female."
Frank pulled Joe to one side. "Can I believe my ears? Or am I hallucinating?"
Joe glared at Frank. "Hey, give me a break! There's an exception to every rule, and she happens to be it."
Frank nodded, pretending to consider Joe's statement very carefully. "Well, then, can I tell our friends back in Bayport that you now realize that there are women who can stand up to men in physical endurance and clutch situations?"
Joe said, "That can only be revealed on a need-to-know basis." He grinned. "And I hope that is something no one will ever need to know!"
The End.
Disaster for Hire Page 9