Then a voice called in Russian, ‘Comrade Colonel, we have them. Quickly, we have them!’
Smolin nodded towards Bond, and together they threw themselves into the passage. As they jumped Smolin yelled in English.
‘Get them all, James! All!’
Bond needed no second bidding. To his right two men attempted to overpower a third, while another lay unconscious. It required three quick shots from the ASP to dispatch the group. The deadly Glazer slugs did their work, the first exploding in the right side of one of the struggling men and spreading half its load into the stomach of the one grappling with him. The second took out the man on the floor. The final shot did not allow the fourth man time even to know what hit him.
The noise of the shots was deafening in the narrow passageway; and doubly so as Smolin loosed off two rounds from his automatic. Bond turned to see that he too had scored. The two corpses, one spreadeagled, the other an untidy pile, bore witness to Smolin’s accuracy.
‘A pity,’ Smolin muttered, ‘they were good men, Alex and Yuri.’
‘There are times when you have no option. You’ve proved yourself now, Maxim. How many are upstairs?’
‘Two. I should think they’re with the girls.’
‘They’ll be down any minute then.’
‘I doubt it. Up there you don’t hear much that goes on in this basement.’ He was breathing hard. ‘We’ve used it many times. Strong men have screamed down here while people in the rooms upstairs have made love and heard nothing.’
Bond heard Smolin’s words but the world around him began to swim and go out of focus. He was aware of the hot stickiness of his arm and a blinding pain which started at the source of the heat and spread throughout his body. He retched twice, hearing Smolin calling his name from a long way off. Then he lost consciousness.
He dreamed of snakes and spiders. They slithered and crawled around him as he tried to get out of a dark and twisting maze, ankle deep in the revolting creatures. He had to make it. There would be dim light at the end of the tunnel. Then it would disappear and he was back where he had started, deep in the earth, surrounded by a red glow. There. There it was again, the light at the end, but a large snake was dragging at his legs. He had no sense of fear, just the knowledge that he had to get out. But another snake had joined the first and smaller reptiles wrapped themselves around his legs, pulling him down. Now one of the reptiles had him by the arm, squeezing, sinking fangs into it, causing a pain that broke through the blackness. He looked and a nest of spiders crawled into the wound made by the snake. Other spiders, large, fat and furry were on his face, stuffing themselves into his nostrils and forcing their way into his mouth so that he had to cough, splutter and spit them out. He was gagging on the spiders, but somehow he must have managed to get nearer to the tunnel’s end, for light was hurting his eyes and a voice called his name:
‘James! James Bond! James!’
The snakes and spiders were gone, leaving only a wrenching pain in his arm. A face swam into his vision, the face of a girl. The lips moved.
‘James. Come on. It’s okay.’ The face blurred and he heard the voice say, ‘Heather, he’s coming round.’
‘Thank heaven for that.’
Bond’s eyes fluttered, opened and closed, then opened fully and he saw Ebbie Heritage.
‘What . . . ?’ he said.
‘You’re okay, James. It’s okay now.’
He moved and was aware of the throbbing in his right arm and that something was constricting it.
‘There’s not much time.’ Maxim Smolin was easing Ebbie to one side. ‘You’ll be fine, James, but . . .’ He looked at his wristwatch.
Everything came flooding back in sharp detail. Smolin straightened up. He stood, looking down at Bond, with one arm around Heather Dare’s shoulders.
Bond took a deep breath. ‘Sorry. Did I pass out on you?’
‘Not surprisingly,’ said Smolin. ‘That damned dog’s teeth went deep. How does it feel?’
He moved his arm. ‘Numb. It’s uncomfortable but I can use it.’
‘Ebbie acted nurse,’ said Heather. ‘We have a lot to thank you for, James. Maxim told us what happened down there.’
‘I only cleaned the wound,’ said Ebbie. ‘The dogs were in good condition. I don’t think there’s any danger of poison. We used the strongest antiseptic known to man.’
‘And the most expensive.’ Smolin gave a wry smile. ‘The last of the Hine 1914 Vintage. Smooth. Very smooth.’
Bond groaned. ‘Smooth, magnificent and totally wasted. I’m sorry.’
‘It went in a good cause,’ said Smolin. ‘Can you sit up? Stand?’
Unsteadily, Bond eased himself up. They had lain him on the sofa in the guest suite. He tried to stand, but his legs began to go from under him. He had to cling to one of the sofa arms to steady himself. Ebbie rushed to hold him, her hands strong and experienced.
‘Thank you, Ebbie. Thank you for everything.’ He moved carefully, trying out his muscles. Slowly the power returned. ‘Thank you, Ebbie,’ he repeated.
‘We’re in your debt. This was nothing.’
‘What happened to the others?’ Bond asked Smolin. ‘Your men up here?’
‘They’re taken care of.’
The GRU man’s face went blank, reminding Bond of his own reaction when an unpleasant piece of work had been finished. It was always best to erase that kind of thing from memory. People who recalled too much either started to enjoy it or cracked under the guilt.
‘And Ingrid?’ he asked.
‘She’s alive; resting. She’s conscious but she won’t be going far. Several bones are broken.’ His tone became urgent. ‘James, we have to get out. You remember Blackfriar? He could arrive any time. We must be away before he lands.’
‘Who’s Blackfriar?’ asked Ebbie, startled.
Smolin’s mouth was set grimly as he said, ‘General Chernov from KGB.’
Bond nodded. ‘Blackfriar is evil, clever and very good at his work – which he appears to enjoy. I’ll be okay, Maxim.’
He took several deep breaths and glanced smiling at the girls. Heather appeared to have abandoned her haughty airs and now gazed at Smolin with wide, adoring eyes.
‘Yes, I’m sure you’ll be okay, James,’ said Smolin acidly. ‘You’re the one who’s been injured but you’ll survive. I’m thinking of the rest of us.’
‘The cars are . . . ?’
‘Here, yes.’ The Colonel shook his head impatiently. ‘We have cars, James. What you don’t seem to realise is that we’re sitting in a natural bowl overlooked on all sides. To my knowledge there are at least ten men out there with a full armoury. They’re KGB, too. There are four at the main entrance alone. If we start to drive away, they’ll want to know why but I don’t think they’ll stop to question us. The guys up on the hills and at the gates don’t ask questions either. They’re snipers.’
‘Dog eat dog, eh?’
‘Shoot first. Worry about the questions later.’
‘Would they shoot at a prime target?’
‘Yes. You, me or the girls. No doubt about that. Blackfriar has been constantly in touch with this place – its real name is Three Sisters Castle incidentally, and it has been used by KGB and GRU for the past ten years. But he’s been on the radio. I’ve had a look at the scratch pads in the Communications Room. Your name and mine have been passed along the line. Blackfriar’s last order is that nobody leaves until he gets in. Anyone who tries has to be stopped.’