While these events unfolded, the Battle School graduates who would have kept India out of this dangerous situation in the first place, and whose planning was the only thing keeping the Chinese temporarily at bay, sat in a large room with seven corpses, one gun, and the young man who had betrayed them all.
More than three hours later, gunfire began again, in the distance. The booming sound of anti-aircraft guns.
Achilles was on the phone in an instant. "Don't fire at the incoming aircraft," he said, "or these geniuses start dying."
He clicked off before they could say anything in reply.
The shooting stopped.
They heard the rotors-choppers landing on the roof.
What a stupid place for them to land, thought Petra. Just because the roof is marked as a heliport doesn't mean they have to obey the signs. Up there, the Indian soldiers surrounding this place will have an easy target, and they'll see everything that happens. They'll know when Achilles is on the roof. They'll know which chopper to shoot down first, because he's in it. If this is the best plan the Chinese can come up with, Achilles is going to have a harder time using China as a base to take over the world than he thinks.
More choppers. Now that the roof was full, a few of them were landing on the grounds.
The door burst open, and a dozen Chinese soldiers fanned out through the room. A Chinese officer followed them in and saluted Achilles. "We came at once, sir."
"Good work," said Achilles. "Let's get them all up on the roof."
"You said you'd let us go!" said one of the Battle Schoolers.
"One way or another," said Achilles, "you're all going to end up in China anyway. Now get up and form into a line against that wall."
More choppers. And then the whoosh, whump of an explosion.
"Those stupid eemos," said the Tamil, "they're going to get us all killed."
"Such a shame," said Achilles, pointing his pistol at the Tamil's head.
The Chinese officer was already talking into his satrad. "Wait," he said. "It's not the Indians. They've got Thai markings."
Bean, thought Petra. You've come at last. Either that or death. Because if Bean wasn't running this Thai raid, the Thai could have no other objective than to kill everything that moved in Hyderabad.
Another whoosh-whump. Another. "They've taken out everything on the roof," the Chinese officer said. "The building's on fire, we've got to get out."
"Whose stupid idea was it to land up there anyway?" asked Achilles.
"It was the closest point to evacuate them from!" answered the officer angrily. "There aren't enough choppers left to take all these."
"They're coming," said Achilles, "even if we have to leave soldiers behind."
"We'll get them in a few days anyway. I don't leave my men behind!"
Not a bad commander, even if he's a little dim about tactics, thought Petra.
"They won't let us take off unless we've got their Indian geniuses with us."
"The Thai won't let us take off at all!"
"Of course they will," said Achilles. "They're here to kill me and rescue her" He pointed at Petra.
So Achilles knew it was Bean that was coming.
Petra showed nothing on her face.
If Achilles decided to leave without the hostages, there was a good chance he would kill them all. Deprive the enemy of a resource. And, more important, take away their hope.
"Achilles," she said, walking toward him. "Let's leave these others and get out. We'll be taking off from the ground. They won't know who's in what chopper. As long as we go now."
As she approached him, he swung his pistol to point at her chest.
She did not even pause, merely walked toward him, past him, to the door. She opened it. "Now, Achilles. You don't have to die in flames today, but that's where you're headed, the longer you wait."
"She's right," said the Chinese officer.
Achilles grinned and looked from Petra to the officer and back again. We've shamed you in front of the others, thought Petra. We've shown that we knew what to do, and you didn't. Now you have to kill us both. This officer doesn't know he's dead, but I do. Then again, I was dead anyway. So now let's get out of here without killing anybody else.
"Nothing in this room matters but you," said Petra. She grinned back at him. "Soak a noky, boy."
Achilles turned back to point the gun, first at one Battle Schooler, then another. They recoiled or flinched, but he did not fire. He dropped his gun hand to his side and walked from the room, grabbing Petra by the arm as he passed her. "Come on, Pet," he said. "The future is calling."
Bean is coming, thought Petra, and Achilles is not going to let me get even a meter away from him. He knows Bean is here for me, so I'm the one person he'll make sure Bean never rescues.
Maybe we'll all kill each other today.
She thought back to the airplane ride that brought her and Achilles to India. The two of them standing at the open door. Maybe there would be another chance today-to die, taking Achilles with her. She wondered if Bean would understand that it was more important for Achilles to die than for her to live. More important, would he know that she understood that? It was the right thing to do, and now that she really knew Achilles, the kind of man he was, she would gladly pay that price and call it cheap.
RESCUE
To:Wahabi%inshallah@Pakistan.gov From:Chapekar%hope@India.gov Re:For the Indian people
My Dear Friend Ghaffar,
I honor you because when I came to you with an offer of peace between our two families within the Indian people, you accepted and kept your word in every particular.
I honor you because you have lived a life that places the good of your people above your own ambition.
I honor you because in you rests the hope for my people's future.
I make this letter public even as I send it to you, not knowing what your response will be, for my people must know now, while I can still speak to them all, what I am asking of you and giving to you.
As the treacherous Chinese violate their promises and threaten to destroy our army, which has been weakened by the treachery of the one called Achilles, whom we treated as a guest and a friend, it is clear to me that without a miracle, the vast expanse of the nation of India will be defenseless against the invaders pouring into our country from the north. Soon the ruthless conqueror will work his will from Bengal to Punjab. Of all the Indian people, only those in Pakistan, led by you, will be free.
I ask you now to take upon yourself all the hopes of the Indian people. Our struggle over the next few days will give you time, I hope, to bring your armies back to our border, where you will be prepared to stand against the Chinese enemy.
I now give you permission to cross that border at any point where it is necessary, so you can establish stronger defensive positions. I order all Indian soldiers remaining at the Pakistani border to offer no resistance whatsoever to Pakistani forces entering our country, and to cooperate by providing full maps of all our defenses, and all codes and codebooks. All our materiel at the border is to be turned over to Pakistan as well.
I ask you that any citizens of India who come under the rule of the Pakistani government be treated as generously as you would wish us, were our situations reversed, to treat your people. Whatever past offenses have been committed between our families, let us forgive each other and commit no new offenses, but treat each other as brothers and sisters who have been faithful to different faces of the same God, and who must now stand shoulder to shoulder to defend India against the invader whose only god is power and whose worship is cruelty.
Many members of the Indian government, military, and educational system will flee to Pakistan. I beg you to open your borders to them, for if they remain in India, only death or captivity will be in their future. All other Indians have no reason to fear individual persecution from the Chinese, and I beg you not to flee to Pakistan, but rather to remain inside India, where, God willing, you will soon be liberated.