‘They won’t shoot at us.’ I hope, she didn’t add. ‘Go on, go back!’
Macy unhappily brought the Land Rover round in a sweeping curve. ‘You know how I thought you were really smart? Hope I wasn’t wrong.’
Nina ignored her, trying to assemble all the pieces of her makeshift plan of action. She regarded the grenade, the sheathed knife - then unfastened the case’s clasps.
‘Now what’re you doing?’ Macy demanded.
Nina opened the case to reveal the jar nestling in its bed of memory foam. Without the lid’s pressure holding it down, the jar rose as the lower block returned to its original shape. She drew the knife and sawed away one corner of the foam, ending up with a ragged cube four inches to a side, then closed the case. ‘Evening the odds.’
‘They’re coming back at us,’ reported the Zubr’s pilot.
‘What?’ Shaban glared through the bridge windows. The Land Rover was indeed heading straight for the hovercraft. ‘She’s going to attack us!’
‘With what?’ asked Khaleel.
‘The grenades she took from Hashem!’
The pilot made a sarcastic sound. ‘A grenade won’t hurt us. The hull’s armoured - the most she could do is tear the skirt, and that’s compartmentalised. It would only deflate one section, not the whole thing.’
‘Then what is she doing?’
Hamdi leaned through the doorway. ‘Perhaps she’s seen sense and wants to surrender?’ he suggested hopefully.
Shaban looked at Eddie, who was still curled in pain on the floor, flanked by two soldiers Khaleel had summoned. ‘If she is anything like her husband, I doubt it. Get him up.’ Diamondback hauled Eddie to his feet and shoved him against the aft bulkhead.
Khaleel looked at the approaching 4×4. ‘We could shoot out the engine, force them to stop.’
Shaban shook his head. ‘We might damage the jar. If she wants to come to us willingly, let’s see what she has in mind. If it’s a trick, she’ll pay for it with her life.’ A menacing look at Eddie. ‘And his.’
The hovercraft was a slab of black and grey ahead, its superstructure rising above the flat main deck like a submarine’s conning tower. Getting larger very quickly. ‘Oh, God, what are we doing?’ Macy moaned, seeing its guns.
Nina donned the webbing, carrying the case like a backpack. ‘Just swerve when I tell you.’ She crouched on the passenger seat. ‘Get ready . . .’
‘That thing’s huge!’ Macy protested. ‘What if it runs us over?’
‘I’m kinda counting on you to not let that happen.’
‘Oh, no pressure!’ The Zubr loomed ever larger, more like a building that had somehow torn itself from its foundations than a vehicle. The roar of its propellers shook the air.
Nina drew the knife. The hovercraft was rushing straight at them, artificial sandstorms blasting out from beneath its skirt. ‘Ready, ready . . . now!’
Macy turned the wheel sharply, swinging the Land Rover past the oncoming Zubr’s starboard side. Nina poised, waiting for the right moment.
Shaban watched the Defender veer from its seeming suicide run. ‘Turn, follow her!’ he shouted as the 4×4 disappeared into the cloud of sand to his right.
Khaleel opened the hatch to the jutting ledge of the starboard wing bridge, gesturing for a soldier to do the same on the port side in case the Land Rover tried to get round behind them. ‘I can’t see them, they’re in the sand!’
‘Find her!’ Shaban yelled. The pilot turned the wheel, the rudders below the three huge propellers at the stern swerving the floating craft hard to the right.
Sand swept in through the broken windows, grit scouring Nina’s skin. She held her position, squinting through the swirling cloud.
The hovercraft was a dark mass to the right, swinging to follow them. ‘Keep turning!’ she shouted. ‘Catch up with it!’
Though part blinded by the spraying sand, Macy spun the wheel, bringing the Land Rover in a tight turn towards the Zubr. The 4×4 had a far smaller turning circle than the giant transporter, cutting inside the larger vehicle’s arcing course - and drawing alongside.
The noise was appalling, the sandstorm physically painful at such close range. But Nina needed to get even closer. The hovercraft’s side skirt loomed, a rippling black wall of reinforced rubber. She shoved open the door, the blast of air pummelling her.
She raised the knife—
Even with his face pressed against the bulkhead, Eddie couldn’t hold back a smile at Shaban’s rising frustration. ‘Where are they?’ the cult leader yelled, running from one wing bridge to the other, hunting for his foes.
The din was worse than ever, but partial respite came from the sandblasting effect as the Land Rover drew right alongside the hovercraft, most of the escaping air sweeping below it. Nina had a clear view of the black rubber five feet away, four—
She jumped.
Springing from the Defender, she slammed against the skirt - and stabbed the knife into it.
Air gushed out round the blade with a whistling shriek, but it held firm as Nina dangled from the hilt, the tendons in her arm straining. She kicked at the skirt, which gave just enough for her boots to gain a little traction and let her pull herself up to grip the knife with both hands.
She glanced back. Although she had protested Nina’s plan, Macy had done as instructed and retreated into the dust cloud to get as far from the hovercraft as possible.
The ground rushed past below. Even turning, the Zubr was still doing over thirty miles an hour. And only Nina’s hold on the knife was keeping her from falling.
She strained to pull herself up, feeling the layers of rubber and fabric warp under her weight. The bottom of the hull was only a couple of feet above her. She was halfway along the hovercraft’s length, nearly level with the bridge three decks above. About six feet to one side, metal rungs led up to the narrow side deck.
Gripping the knife tightly with her left hand, Nina stretched up her right arm and tried to reach the lip of the hull. Her fingertips fell six inches short. She dug her feet into the curved rubber for extra grip, clasping both hands round the hilt and forcing herself higher. The knife shifted, its edge cutting through the skirt.
‘Shit!’ she gasped as the rushing wail of air grew louder. If the hole got much bigger, she wouldn’t be able to hold the knife in it - and would fall.
More desperately, she again reached up for the hull - but was still a couple of inches off.
‘There!’ cried the pilot, pointing. Shaban saw the Land Rover emerge from the cloud and speed east across the desert.
‘Go after them,’ he ordered. The pilot brought the Zubr on to a pursuit course.
The skirt rippled beneath Nina as the hovercraft turned. The knife jerked again, lengthening the slit. She could feel it slipping.
Straining, she hauled herself up on the hilt and lashed out with her right hand—
Her fingertips found the edge of the hard metal. Gripped it. She released the hilt, reaching up. The knife was blown out of the hole. She clambered sideways towards the ladder. A final stretch, and her hand clamped round the bottom rung.
The co-pilot noticed a flashing warning light. ‘Sir! There’s a leak in the skirt.’
‘Where?’ demanded the pilot.
‘Starboard side, centre section.’
Khaleel looked down from the wing bridge - to see Nina climbing the ladder to the side deck. ‘Wilde’s on board!’ he shouted, drawing his pistol.