by Vanessa Kier
“Um, what are we waiting for?”
“To see if reinforcements show up.”
But several minutes passed without the arrival of additional guards.
“Now,” Seth announced, revving the engine. “Hold on tight.” He whooped and the vehicle leapt forward.
Kirra threw her head back and laughed, letting her reckless side break free. “I’ve been doing nothing but hanging on tight, Seth. Now show me some real action.”
Anticipation sizzled in Seth’s veins as he drove along the right side of the airfield, toward the office. Then a second explosion ripped through the night.
Beside him, Kirra grinned. “Fuel shed?”
“Hell, yeah.”
“Lekker.”
Seth blinked while his brain processed the South African term and translated it as “cool” or “nice.”
“How?” Kirra asked.
He grinned back at her. “Idiots didn’t lock their vehicles. Anyone who carries around explosives ought to keep them secured or they deserve what happens.”
Kirra laughed.
He stopped the Land Cruiser along the fence not far from the office. “Let me check—”
Kirra grabbed the binoculars off the console. She opened her window and climbed up until she stood on the window frame.
A couple of minutes later, she slid back into her seat. “The fuel shed is completely destroyed. That fire isn’t going out any time soon. I didn’t see the guard. He’s probably under the debris.” She put the binoculars back on the console.
“Flames are crawling out of the broken windows,” she continued.
Seth swore. “Could you tell if any debris had landed on the airstrip? I set fewer explosives in there trying to avoid that. I also didn’t want the blast to take down the wall to the hangar, possibly damaging the plane.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t tell.”
“No worries. What else?”
“I saw one man carrying another out of the office. The rescuer had an AK-47 at his side, but it appeared as if the other man was unarmed.”
“You didn’t see the guards at the hangar?”
“No.”
“All right.” He didn’t like not knowing where all the players were, but if it was him, he’d have entered the hangar to guard the plane.
“The security cameras on the office building weren’t moving,” Kirra added.
“Excellent.” He drove past the office building and halted just before the access road. For now, the Guinea grass hid them from view, but once they entered the parking lot they’d be sitting ducks. Which was why Seth had originally snuck in behind the hangar.
“What now?”
“I’m going to climb over the fence and take out any remaining guards,” Seth said.
He nodded toward the gate in the fence. “When I signal you with my flashlight, open the gate and drive over to the hangar door. I’ll get the plane ready.” He pointed to the small door at the rear corner of the hangar. “I trust you can bypass the lock on the gate,” he added, handing her a small tool kit.
She opened the kit and murmured appreciatively, “Yes, these should do.”
“We have to work fast, before the search party gets here.”
Kirra nodded. “Go.”
He grabbed the revolver that the pastor had left for him. Then he hopped out of the truck and ran through the Guinea grass until he reached the fence behind the office. Not spotting any of the guards, he climbed the fence, then sprinted across the dirt to the corner of the office building. He sidled around the front, but didn’t spot the men Kirra had mentioned.
They were probably sheltering inside the hangar.
He spared a quick glance at the tarmac. Shards of broken window glass from the office building glittered on the first couple feet, but he could navigate around those.
Since there were no windows at the front of the hangar, Seth sprinted to the far end and the person-sized door. He kicked open the door, but stayed outside.
Gunfire tore into the door. When it stopped, Seth dove inside, firing in the direction of the shooter. He heard a pained grunt, then the sound of a body hitting concrete.
Seth moved deeper into the hangar, but when there were no other signs of life, he bent over and ran to the corner.
Two guards, both of them with torn, burnt clothing that indicated they’d been working in the office, were dead on the hangar floor. Seth picked up the AK-47, then raced into the parking lot and over to the fence.
Kirra lowered the driver’s side window. “What’s up?”
“We still have two guards unaccounted for. I’ll stand watch while you pick the lock.”
“Okay.” She jumped out of the cab and ran over to the gate. After tucking his flashlight expertly between her chin and her chest, she set to work.
Seth timed her. She must have been one hell of a thief because she had the lock undone faster than he could’ve managed. Seth slid the gate back while Kirra got behind the wheel and drove through.
That’s when the missing guard showed up. He raced toward them from the back of the hangar, firing as he ran.
Seth dove toward the truck, but not fast enough. A bullet caught the outside of his thigh and he stumbled. Cursing, he allowed momentum to take him to his knees. Then he took a kneeling shooter’s position and fired several times over the truck’s hood.
The guard darted behind the Land Rover in the parking lot.
“Get in,” Kirra said, holding open the back passenger’s door.
Seth threw himself inside as Kirra gunned it. She drove toward the guard, staying low in her seat as the guard shot at them. The windshield splintered. Kirra continued to aim for the guard.
Seth jumped out while they were still moving. He tucked and rolled so that he took the brunt of the fall on his uninjured side, then again took a shooter’s position.
Kirra rammed the Land Rover and kept driving, shoving the other vehicle ahead of her as if she were plowing snow.
When the guard dove out from behind the Land Rover, Seth shot him.
Kirra slammed on the brakes and leapt out of the cab.
“Seth! Are you okay?” She raced over to him.
“Yeah.” No. His leg burned. But he didn’t have time to be injured. “I’ve got to start the preflight check.”
Kirra ignored him and ran her hands down his leg. “Eish! You’re not okay.” She pressed her lips together and glanced quickly away. Her hand covered her mouth as if she were trying to stop herself from throwing up.
Dammit, the blood.
Yet Kirra didn’t let that stop her. She yanked the scarf off her head and wrapped it tightly around his leg.
“Thanks.” He glanced over at the fallen guard. “There’s still one more unaccounted for. Grab the gear.”
Seth handed her the revolver. “Take this.” Then he hurried over to the hangar door. The bullet hadn’t dug very deep, so while it hurt like a mother, his leg held his full weight.
This time when he entered the hangar no one shot at him.
Progress.
He flipped the light switch. Nothing.
Yeah, he’d figured the explosions might take out the power supply. The fire should provide enough illumination. He hurried over to the bay door and pulled the lever. The door didn’t open. Shit. He played his flashlight over the area and saw that a piece of the mechanism had been bent out of shape, probably by someone banging on it with the butt of a rifle. Seth dashed over to the equipment cart.
“Seth? Is everything okay?” Kirra called.
“Yeah.”
“Do you need help?”
“Nope.”
“Okay.”
While Kirra loaded their backpacks onto the plane, Seth found the tools he needed and hammered the warped metal back into place. The door stuttered when he pulled the lever and moved incredibly slowly along the track, but it did open.
Once the gap was wide enough to let the plane out and the light from the fire in, he performed a quick preflight check. If
Sankoh or the rebels expected Seth to show up, the smart thing to do would have been to instruct one of the guards to sabotage the plane. Yet Seth didn’t see any signs of damage, so maybe whoever owned the plane didn’t want to lose an expensive piece of equipment just to bring Seth and Kirra in. In fact, whoever owned the plane kept it in excellent condition, despite the insufficient security. Best of all, it had a full tank of gas.
Still, Seth wouldn’t rest easy until he had the plane in the sky and heard how it ran. Hell, he wouldn’t fully believe the plane was safe until they landed somewhere far from here without crashing.
He ran outside to do a final check for debris on his flight line. He’d just turned to head back into the hangar when he picked up a faint sound in the sky.
He turned his head to get a better read on it. Then he raced inside and jumped into the pilot’s seat.
“What?” Kirra demanded, jamming her headset on.
“I heard a helicopter. Sounds like a Russian built Mil-17.”
“How can you tell?”
“Former helicopter pilot.” Another glance confirmed that there was no debris or equipment near the plane, so he started the engine.
Kirra threw him a startled look. “Seth? Are you supposed to start the plane in the hangar?”
“We don’t have time to tow her out. The helicopter might be on us by then. We can’t outfly it.” The rebels had recently stolen a few helicopters. Seth was surprised that his blackmailer, who knew about Seth’s past, hadn’t asked him to participate in the thefts.
Yeah, right. Why would anyone grant him access to the one thing he loved to do?
“If we can’t outfly it, then shouldn’t we abandon the plane and hide in the jungle instead?” Kirra asked. “Our four-by-four isn’t that badly damaged,” she continued. “We could make it to the road.”
“No. They’d just hunt us down.”
The engine reached taxiing mode. The plane burst out of the hangar and onto the tarmac.
He shoved in full power.
The plane picked up speed. Seth kept an eye on the far end of the strip where debris from the fuel shed fire burned on the edges of the tarmac. He should be able to get the plane off the ground before then.
“Seth,” Kirra warned, pointing out the window.
“Yeah, I see them.” Truck headlights shone through the jungle on every side, approaching fast. The search party had arrived.
Kirra peered out the windows. “I see two Jeeps and one lorry with RPG launchers. Two o’clock, six o’clock, and ten o’clock.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be out of range soon.” Bullets pinged against the sides of the plane, mocking him.
“Eish!” Kirra squeaked as the plane rose off the tarmac. She braced her hand against the console and pushed back in her seat.
Seth laughed out loud and put the plane into as steep a climb as it could handle.
An RPG missed them by feet. Seth felt the disturbance in the air beneath them and grinned at the close call.
The helicopter appeared over the trees and raced toward them. Yep. A Mil-17. Thankfully, without external armament. Men fired at them from the open bay doors, but it was too dark for Seth to tell what uniform they wore.
Seth banked away from the helicopter. Some of its shots hit the Cessna’s fuselage. A second RPG flew below the plane on a collision course with the helicopter. The pilot evaded in time, but a third RPG hit the helicopter’s nose and exploded.
“Mayday. Mayday. Mayday. We’re hit, Chief. We’re going—” The explosion tore through Michael’s helicopter, turning it into a ball of flame. Seth screamed in denial even as he instinctively took evasive action to avoid the same fate.
“Seth?”
He blinked and glanced down. Kirra’s hand rested on his forearm. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes.” No. He felt disoriented—his brain insisting the burning helicopter was Michael’s. His grief and rage threatened to break free in a furious vortex. But he didn’t have time for that. He had to keep his attention on his flying.
He felt Kirra’s eyes on him.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, and he realized she knew where his thoughts had gone.
He mustered up a confident smile. She needed him to be strong. Not lost in anger and guilt.
She frowned, clearly not believing his act. Thankfully, she didn’t call him on his bullshit.
Seth held the plane in its steep climb, evening out just before the engine stalled. He checked behind them. “I don’t see any other aircraft. Looks like we made it.”
The engine sputtered. Seth swore, then tapped a couple of dials. He’d hoped to at least reach the airspace at the border with the UAR, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“Seth?”
“Some of those bullets must have hit our fuel line. I need to take us down.” He scanned the earth beneath them.
The plane dropped.
“Come on, baby,” Seth muttered. “Don’t give out on me now. Just a little farther.”
The engine caught again.
“That’s it. I knew you could do it.” He patted the console, and Kirra snorted in amusement.
He threw her a grin, then resumed checking the ground for a landing site. They’d left the jungle behind and now flew over a broad river delta. The terrain was mostly grass, with the occasional stand of trees. A few villages lined the bank of the river. He needed to put down far enough away from a village that they wouldn’t exit the plane to an armed welcome party.
The engine died. This time, it didn’t restart.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Oh, God. The plane plummeted. The propeller stopped rotating. Kirra’s stomach twisted. She clutched at the door frame. “Seth?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got this. We’re going to glide down.” Seth nodded at the flat river delta beneath them.
Kirra nodded and took a deep breath. Seth didn’t appear worried. She tried to let that cheer her, but he was as big a bullshitter as she was. They might be minutes away from dying and he’d never tell her.
Warmth spread through her chest. Normally she hated being lied to. But in this case, she was glad for the small comfort offered by the lie.
Because she really didn’t want to die.
She stared out the windscreen, but it was dark, she couldn’t tell exactly what lay beneath them. She glimpsed an occasional reflection of the plane’s lights in the river, plus one flicker she thought might be lantern light in a village.
Without the engine noise, and if she didn’t think about the fact that the plane was meant to run on engine power, not ride the air currents, their gliding was actually sort of peaceful.
It’s really not that different from surfing.
Uh-huh.
The plane bounced, buffeted by the wind. Kirra gasped and glanced at Seth. He wore an intense look of concentration as he fought for control.
Please don’t let us die. Please don’t let us die. I have so many things yet to do.
She trusted Seth. She just didn’t trust this plane or the wind or the ground or—
The plane dipped sharply. Kirra bit her tongue to hold back her cry of alarm and tightened her hold on the door frame.
They dropped lower, then lower again, each drop sending her pulse spiking. Yet that voice inside her head whooped in glee at the thrill of it all.
“Brace yourself for a crash!” Seth shouted as the ground raced toward them at an alarming pace.
“I don’t know how!”
Seth reached over and shoved her head down to the instrument panel. “Cushion your head with your crossed arms, but stay braced against the panel.”
Every jerk and drop of the plane felt amplified in this position. Not being able to see how far they were from landing was worse than—
The wheels of the plane hit ground with a jolt. The plane taxied roughly for a bit, then jerked to a halt. Kirra’s side of the plane tilted slightly toward the ground.
For a long moment she heard nothing but the sound
of her own panicked breathing while her mind scrambled to figure out if she was safe or not.
“Kirra? You okay?” Seth’s voice came over their headsets.
“Oh. My. God!” Kirra sat up. The world spun a moment. “Whoa. Dizzy.” She reached out and grabbed Seth’s hand, squeezing it both for reassurance and for a steady point in the shimmering world. When the land and the sky stabilized, she took a few deep breaths and felt some of the tension leave her.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Seth said. “If the fuel is leaking onto the engine or another hot component, it might ignite.” He hopped out and raced around to her door.
Kirra tore off her headset and let Seth lift her out and set her on the ground. He glanced into her eyes. “You okay to move?”
She felt weak with relief, but the dizziness was gone. She nodded.
“Good. Run to that darker shadow that looks like an alligator. I’ll be right behind you.”
Kirra grabbed her backpack and dashed down the hard sand. When she reached the designated spot, she dropped her pack and turned. Flames snaked out from the engine compartment to lick at the front of the plane.
Passengers screamed and ran toward the back of the bus as the fire burst through the broken windscreen.
Kirra squeezed her eyes shut and hugged her arms across her chest. As soon as Seth joined her, she threw herself into his arms.
He pulled her close enough that she could hear the strong, steady beat of his heart and feel the comforting warmth of him.
“Shh, Kirra, it’s okay. We’re alive. We survived.” He patted her back.
She tightened her hold on him. “It’s not the landing. It’s—” She buried her face against his chest. “Flames…attack…bus…rebels…”
“The bus caught fire while you were still inside?”
She nodded.
He pressed his cheek to the side of her head.
Kirra silently repeated her mantra until her panic receded. Then she sighed. “Can we please do boring for a while?” She murmured.
Seth chuckled and kissed the top of her hair. “Admit it, sweetheart, you’d be itching for adventure in a few days.”
“There’s excitement, and there’s we’re-going-to-die terror. At least grant me the right to say no more life-and-death moments, okay?”