Boom. The strap detonates the metal Christmas tree and sends burning hot shrapnel in every direction, including Lola’s. She takes cover, then realises everything is now coated in a fine mist of oil, including her good self. She wipes it from her eyelids and studies the man.
What the hell is he up to?
The Air-Crane looms through the smoke haze, the rasp of its twin turbines shrill and unpleasant. From the rear Judd and Corey quickly move towards its tail rotor.
‘You realise this whole thing would have been a lot easier if you hadn’t used up all the bullets.’
‘Sure, and we’d still be flying around inside that building.’
They reach the tail rotor, bend low and crawl under the chopper. Ponytail can’t see them because his view out the back cabin is blocked by the weapon which hangs low and wide under the airframe.
It’s the first time Corey’s seen the bomb up close and he’s amazed — and horrified. ‘It’s bloody enormous.’
They crawl on until they are under the cabin. Judd nods to the right. ‘Okay, I’m going this way.’
Corey holds up a hand for him to wait. ‘Look, I can fly this out on my own. There’s no need for both of us to do it.’
‘I’m coming with you.’
‘There’s no point, mate. Really. Just make sure Lola and Spike are all right.’
Judd takes a moment before he realises Corey is right. ‘Only if you promise me something.’
‘What?’
‘As soon as you get the chance to fly it out, take it. Don’t hesitate, just go. If you think I need help or, whatever — ignore it. I’ll be fine. Just get it done. You might only get one chance.’
Corey is reluctant to agree.
Judd sees it. ‘Promise.’
Corey stares at him, then nods. ‘Okay.’
‘Okay.’
Corey tries to lighten the moment. ‘So, what’s the emergency word? I’m still leaning towards “tomato”.’
Judd smiles. ‘Just call out my name if you’re in trouble, but don’t worry about me. Concentrate on getting this monstrosity out of here.’
‘All right. Good luck.’
‘You too.’
They move off in separate directions.
Enrico waits in the cabin, pistol in hand. He can’t see much through the drifting haze, though he scans the park continually. He will lift off if there is any threat that could endanger the aircraft but so far there’s nothing to be concerned about—
Knock, knock. Enrico looks out the pilot’s side window — and sees Judd Bell. Judd Bell! He’s right there. Beside him! The astronaut smiles and waves.
Enrico is stunned. Judd Bell’s meant to be buried under a large mound of rubble on the other side of town, but here he is, right outside his cockpit window—
He’s gone.
Where’d he go? Does this count as a threat that could endanger the aircraft? Yes, because he might sabotage the chopper.
Enrico wonders if he should take off. No, because he might have already sabotaged the chopper. Better to eliminate the threat then check that everything is okay. He speaks into his headset. ‘Kilroy, Judd Bell is outside.’
The old man’s stunned voice rattles back at him. ‘What?’
‘I’m going to deal with it.’
Enrico pulls off his headset, pushes the door open and slides out.
Judd lies under the cockpit and watches the pilot step out. As soon as his feet touch the ground the astronaut springs forward, tackles him hard and drives him into the grass. The pistol is jarred from the pilot’s grip and Judd scrambles after it. This is going to be easy -
The pilot throws out an arm, hits Judd’s ankle hard. He trips and falls and slams to the ground, the pistol just out of reach. Oof! The pilot lands on Judd’s back, loops an arm around his neck and squeezes hard, cuts off his air. This isn’t going to be easy after all.
The astronaut pulls an elbow back and thrusts it into the pilot’s ribs. The guy cries out like a mummy’s boy and loosens his grip just enough for Judd to twist free, clamp his arms around the guy’s torso and pull him to the ground. Now neither of them can move so no one has the advantage. It’s like a Greco-Roman wrestling match between two guys who don’t know anything about Greco-Roman wrestling.
Corey is crouched under the left side of the cabin. He watches Judd Greco-Roman with the pilot. He’s not winning, but then he’s not losing either so that’s okay. Judd is the bait today. It’s not the most sophisticated plan ever devised, but it’s the best they can do without access to weapons. The Australian just has to wait for Ponytail to climb out of the rear cabin to help the pilot, after which Corey will surprise him, just as Judd surprised the pilot. The only wrinkle in the plan is that Ponytail is yet to take the bait.
He smells something unpleasant. What is that? Sharply toxic and instantly headache-inducing—
Oh, crap!
Ponytail’s cologne.
Corey turns. Ponytail is crouched right behind him, pistol raised and index finger tight on the trigger. The Australian throws out a hand and hits the weapon—
Bam. It fires and the bullet thuds into the grass beside them. The old guy must have climbed out through the cockpit. He aims the pistol again but Corey drives a hand up, knocks the weapon from his grip and unleashes a sharp jab.
Thud. The old man cops it on the nose and slumps backwards. Corey scrambles from under the chopper and searches for the pistol, can’t see it anywhere, the smoke haze not helping visibility. He has to make a decision. Spend valuable seconds searching for a gun he may never find or finish the job he came here to do?
Finish the job.
He pivots towards the Air-Crane’s cockpit and sees that Judd still wrestles the pilot. The astronaut locks eyes with Corey and shouts: ‘Go! Now!’ At least that’s what Corey thinks he says, it’s hard to tell over the wail of the chopper’s turbines.
Against his every instinct the Australian does as he’s told and doesn’t help his mate. He pulls open the pilot’s door, vaults into the cockpit — and is immediately dragged out by Ponytail, his nose bloodied but his spirit unbowed. The old codger hasn’t found the pistol either.
Corey kicks out a foot and hits him in the thigh, not hard, but hard enough to knock him off balance. Ponytail trips backwards, falls awkwardly, whacks his head on the grass — and doesn’t get up.
Corey clambers back into the cockpit, slams the pilot’s door shut and takes in the controls. It doesn’t look that complicated. He flicks a series of switches, his feet find the pedals, he takes the cyclic and collective controls in hand — and powers up.
Thump, thump, thump. The turbines howl as the rotors turn, slow then fast. The Tyrannosaur lifts off in a blast of dust and smoke.
A metre off the ground Corey looks down at Judd as he Greco-Romans the pilot, who now has a clear advantage. Corey knows he promised to get on with the job and not worry about Judd, but can he really leave him like this?
Judd looks up at Corey and mouths: ‘Go now!’ Well, that answers that question — wait! Did he say ‘Go now!’ or did he say ‘Tomato!’? No, it’s neither of those. He said, ‘Behind you!’
‘Behind you?’ Why would he say ‘Behind you’? What’s behind me? Confused, Corey turns.
Ponytail! He wrenches the passenger door open and dives inside the cockpit. Bloody hell. Isn’t he lying on the ground unconscious? The old bastard slams into Corey and drives him against the pilot’s door. It flies open and they tumble out—