The wagon went faster as the slope steepened. ‘Shit!’ Eddie cried. ‘We’re all gonna have to jump—’
‘No, wait!’ The Israeli kept spinning the wheel — and finally felt resistance. The van juddered as the rusty brake shoes scraped the wheel rims.
Eddie flinched as sparks sprayed out below him — then cringed at an ear-splitting screech of metal. ‘Jesus Christ!’
Nina braced herself against the side wall so she could clap both hands to her ears. ‘So much for the element of surprise!’
Gripping the brake with both hands, Zane had no way to muffle the noise. All he could do was grimace as he pulled harder. The van didn’t slow, but the noise became even louder.
‘Too fast, too fast!’ Eddie shouted over the piercing cacophony. ‘It’ll fly off the track!’ The first turn was approaching, the ground beyond falling away.
Zane hauled on the wheel with his full weight. The corroded brakes finally bit — and he staggered as the wagon abruptly slowed. Nina shrieked as the deceleration threw her forward. Eddie clung on, more sparks spitting at his boots.
Centrifugal force suddenly caught everyone as the van swung around the hairpin bend — too fast — and started to tip over, top-heavy on the narrow track…
Zane kept up the pressure. The brakes clamped more tightly — and the caboose jolted back upright as it sloughed off more speed around the turn. Nina could see the back end of the train in the distance as it rounded the second reverse.
Eddie jumped—
He landed on his feet — and immediately wished he hadn’t.
The hillside below the track was much steeper than he had expected. ‘Whoa, shit, shit!’ he yelped as he ran headlong down it. If he tried to stop, he would fall and tumble down the hillside, with a good chance of seriously injuring himself by smacking into a rock or tree. He had to find a shallower gradient to slow down safely…
But the slope only got steeper. The railway’s next leg came into view below — and he realised with horror that it had been cut into the hillside. He was approaching a near-vertical drop of around fifteen feet. Whether he ran or rolled, he would hurtle right over it—
A small stand of shrubs and trees off to the left overhung the cutting. Eddie angled towards them, boots skidding on the gritty topsoil as he fought to stay upright. The bushes might be strong enough to catch him.
Might be. But he was out of options.
He careered towards the vegetation. Get ready, and drop—
He deliberately fell on to his left side. Even prepared, the impact still hurt as he bounced off the ground and was pitched down the slope like a barrel. Through the crazy blur of his vision he saw the bushes rushing at him.
Eddie closed his eyes, arms up to shield his head—
He hit the first bush — and it disintegrated in an explosion of dry wood, not slowing him in the slightest.
The one below it fared no better, ripping from the ground as he grabbed at it, but it did at least arrest his roll. He slithered downhill on his back, the cutting looming below as he whipped under a tree at its edge…
He stamped both feet down as hard as he could — and launched himself into the air as the ground fell away.
Branches lashed at him. A thicker bough hit his chest; winded, he clutched his arms tightly around it. A moment’s dizziness as he was whiplashed back and forth, then he came to rest, entangled in the foliage with broken twigs digging painfully into his flesh. The railway line was directly below his precarious position.
He clung on, catching his breath — then looked up in alarm at the sound of gunfire.
The shriek of brakes had drawn the attention of everyone in the lead carriage. ‘What was that?’ Kroll demanded, looking back up the hillside.
‘There,’ snapped Rasche, pointing. The train had just negotiated the second hairpin — but the Nazis saw the loose wagon coming down the first long leg of track above them.
‘It’ll crash into us!’ said Schneider as the brake van picked up speed.
‘No,’ said Kroll. ‘Someone’s aboard it.’ He turned to Banna, who was seated between his guards at the front of the compartment. ‘Your friends are trying to rescue you,’ he said in English. The Egyptian’s momentary relief vanished as he added: ‘They won’t reach us. Walther!’
‘Sir!’ said the huge man.
‘Tell the men to shoot at that wagon as it goes past. I want everyone aboard it dead!’
‘Jared, they know we’re here,’ Nina warned. The train had exited the loop and was now coming back down the leg of track below — and she saw Walther lean from the first coach to bellow orders at those in the wagons behind him. Men with sub-machine guns appeared in the open doors. ‘Shit, they’re going to shoot at us!’
‘Get behind the brake wheel and stay low,’ ordered Zane, hurrying to the front. ‘They’re aiming up at us — the floor should give you some protection.’
She took his advice. ‘So what are you doing?’
‘Shooting first!’ He lined up his weapon on the approaching train — and opened fire, sending a sweeping spray of bullets along its side.
Windows in the carriage shattered, splinters flying from the flanks of the wooden wagons behind it. One Nazi was hit in the chest and fell backwards amongst his fellows, another toppling out with a scream. The steep slope threw him back under the wheels, spraying the two rearmost trucks with blood.
Zane kept firing as the train passed below, a third man falling as a wound burst open in his abdomen — but then a hollow clack came from his MP5 as the magazine ran dry. ‘Down!’
Nina dropped flat, the Israeli hunching beside her as automatic weapons opened up. Bullets ripped through the old wooden walls, flinders stabbing at the pair. The heavy steel chassis clanged as rounds struck it hammer blows from below. Then the gunfire tapered off, a few final shots hitting the rear of the van before it rolled beyond the Nazis’ firing angle.
Nina’s relief was short-lived as Zane saw the turn coming up ahead. ‘Harah!’ he gasped. ‘The brake!’
They both leapt up and grabbed the wheel, forcing it around. Another hideous shriek assaulted their ears. The van slowed as it reached the tight bend, but barely enough. Even braced, Zane still struggled to stay standing, while Nina would have been thrown against the wall if not for her white-knuckled grip on the brake as the wagon hurtled around the hairpin.
A harsh clatter over the metallic squeal — then a loud bang as something hit the van’s underside before bouncing away down the hillside. ‘That was one of the brakes,’ said Zane, still holding the wheel in place.
Nina tried to push it back. ‘Let go — we’ve got to catch up!’ They had come around on to the second leg of the descent, the train pulling away from them farther down the track.
A disbelieving look. ‘We might not be able to stop.’
‘The brakes are still working!’ That she had to shout over the shrill was proof enough. ‘Come on, speed us up!’
Zane reluctantly released the wheel. The noise stopped, and the brake van ran freely once more. The Israeli swapped his empty MP5 for Nina’s, while she went to the front, watching as the distance to the train began to shrink.
Eddie finally extricated himself from the tangle of branches. He checked that he still had his gun, then prepared to drop. The shooting had stopped; all he could hear now was the clank and huff of the train.
Which was getting louder, and louder—
He looked up the track — and saw the locomotive coming right at him.
If he stayed in the tree, he would be blasted by superheated steam. But if he fell to the track, he wouldn’t have time to scramble clear before the train mowed him down…
He kept hold for a couple more seconds, then dropped—