‘I know,’ the Yorkshireman told them. He took Hapen’s rifle. ‘So we need some leverage.’
‘I don’t think they’ll let you take that on the plane,’ said Paris.
‘Wasn’t what I had in mind.’
‘So what do you have in mind?’ Nina asked. She could tell that an idea had come to him.
He grinned. ‘We’ll give him exactly what he’s expecting.’
30
Grey clouds hung over London’s Heathrow airport as the airliner rolled towards Terminal 3. Nina and Eddie’s moods were no brighter. Their journey from the edge of the Congolese jungle to Butembo, then flying on to Entebbe in Uganda before taking a commercial flight to England, had left them with very little time before Brice’s deadline. They were exhausted from the better part of two days’ travel on top of their escape from Zhakana… but now, at their final destination, tiredness was not an option. They had to be ready for whatever awaited them.
‘Think Brice’ll be there?’ Nina asked, watching the gate draw closer.
Eddie shook his head. ‘Officially, he’s not with MI6 any more. He’ll have sent someone to get us.’
‘These Removal Men you told me about?’
‘Dunno. They’re a bit… unsubtle. I’m hoping he wants to keep a low profile.’ The airliner turned to line up with one of the jet bridges.
Some of the passengers were already rising in anticipation of the stop, but an announcement over the PA caught them by surprise. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain. I must ask everyone to remain seated, as officers of the British Transport Police are waiting to board when we reach our gate. Can passengers Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase please make themselves known to the cabin crew?’
The couple exchanged worried looks. ‘So much for arriving incognito,’ Nina muttered. ‘Should we keep quiet?’
‘No point,’ said Eddie. ‘They know which seats we’re in.’ He raised a hand. ‘Yeah, here we are. Any chance of a last drink?’
The flight attendants regarded them with curious concern, but nobody moved towards them. The plane stopped, engines powering down. Even after the captain’s order, a couple of impatient fliers still started to get up, until they were firmly told to return to their seats. The forward hatch opened, a female attendant speaking to someone outside before stepping back.
Three men entered: a burly uniformed police officer, and two in cheap, anonymous grey suits. ‘Don’t know if they’re Increment, but they’re probably spooks,’ Eddie whispered to his wife. ‘They’ve got shoulder holsters.’
‘What do we do?’
‘Try to get off the plane before anyone starts shooting.’ He slid out the bag containing the expedition’s electronics from under the seat in front and extracted the laptop.
‘You think we’ve got a chance?’
‘Dunno. I’ll just do what I always do — try summat and see what happens!’
The new arrivals approached. ‘Nina Wilde, Eddie Chase?’ said the cop.
‘That’s us,’ Nina said brightly. ‘Is there a problem, officer?’
‘Just come with us, please.’
The first man behind him saw the laptop. ‘He’s got it,’ he told his companion, before demanding: ‘Where’s everything else?’
‘In the bag,’ Nina told him.
‘Give everything to us first.’ Behind him, the second suited man’s hand slipped inside his jacket.
‘Okay.’ Nina moved into the aisle, making room for her husband to stand and pull the bag on to his seat before following her. ‘Here,’ Eddie told the cop as he held up the computer. ‘By the way, I know you’re just doing your job, so sorry.’
The officer regarded him questioningly. ‘About wh—’
Eddie slammed the palm of his free hand against the laptop’s rear — and drove the slim edge of its metal case hard into the cop’s face.
Teeth snapped, the policeman stumbling backwards. Before he could recover, Eddie charged into him, driving him into the first agent. Both men fell, the bigger man collapsing on top of the MI6 officer.
The other agent snatched out his gun—
Eddie leapt up, using an armrest like a starting block to propel himself over the fallen men and tackle him to the floor. The laptop skidded under a row of seats. The Yorkshireman glanced after it, then drove an elbow hard into the SIS man’s stomach before delivering a pair of fearsome punches to his face. ‘Nina!’
She was already moving. The first MI6 man had managed to draw his gun; she kicked it from his hand and jumped over him and the cop.
Eddie grabbed the other agent’s Glock 17 and raced for the exit. The cabin crew retreated in fear. Nina followed, vaulting over the broken-nosed man on the floor—
He snatched at her as she passed — and caught her ankle.
Nina tripped. She struggled to break free, but his hold only tightened. He dragged her towards him—
She saw something beneath a seat and grabbed it.
The agent pulled harder — only to lurch back as if taking another punch when she thrust a life jacket into his face and pulled the tab. The bright yellow vest inflated with a bang of compressed gas, wedging itself in the aisle. Nina kicked free and scrambled after Eddie.
They rushed through the hatch and ran up the connecting bridge. ‘Outside!’ Eddie shouted.
He crashed through an emergency exit at its top to find himself on a flight of metal stairs to the concrete. Nina was about to descend when he blocked her. ‘No, go up!’ he said, slamming the door.
She climbed on to the safety railing — glimpsing movement through the door’s small window. ‘Gun!’ she warned, seeing the first MI6 man racing up the metal tunnel—
Eddie threw himself sideways as three bullet holes burst open in the door. He blind-fired two rounds from his purloined gun back through it. They did the job, no more shots coming. He jumped up after Nina, seeing that the agent had dived to the floor.
He joined her on the roof. The great concrete expanse of Heathrow stretched out around them, the tails of dozens of parked airliners rising like shark fins. ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake,’ he said, realising they were at the very end of one of the long jetways. ‘Why do our flights always have to stop so bloody far from the terminal?’ They ran for the main building.
‘Why didn’t we go down the stairs?’
‘’Cause we’d never get out of here on foot.’ He made a running jump over a set of boxy air-conditioning ducts running the jetway’s length, Nina clambering over more awkwardly. A shout as the SIS man started to climb up behind them and called to his companions. He raised his gun—
Eddie fired first. The bullet hit the roof just in front of the man’s face. He hurriedly dropped back down.
The Yorkshireman returned his attention to what lay ahead — and below. As he’d told Nina, escaping the airport on foot would be impossible. Heathrow had hundreds of police and security personnel, and they would be surrounded long before even reaching the perimeter fence. They needed an alternative…
He spotted one. ‘That’s our way out,’ he told Nina, pointing at a vehicle.
She was not impressed. ‘Are you kidding?’
‘It’s that or nick a jet, and the last time I flew anything it crashed into the United Nations!’ He spotted stairs descending from another emergency exit. ‘Down there.’
‘Wouldn’t it be better to get inside the terminal and try to sneak out amongst the passengers?’
‘Every cop in Heathrow’ll have our pictures. The only way we’re getting out of the airport is by breaking out. And nothing’ll stop us once that’s moving.’
‘It’s the getting it moving part I’m worried about!’ she objected.