Grant tried to gurgle a riposte as he struck at the guard’s head, but he couldn’t score a solid blow. The man dug his thumbs deeper into his neck, pushing down on his carotid artery—
‘Hey!’
The guard looked round - and Nina kicked him in the face. He rolled off Grant, spitting out blood and broken enamel. But he wasn’t out of the fight. He spotted Nina’s gun and scrambled for it.
His own pistol had landed further away. Nina dived, landing painfully as she snatched it up and twisted to face her opponent.
He was taking aim—
Nina fired first. A bloody hole burst open in his green blazer as she shot him in the stomach. He screamed, all thoughts of returning fire eradicated by agony.
‘Jesus!’ Grant gasped. ‘You shot him!’
‘No shit! Get the gun!’ As the shocked Grant crawled over and pulled it from the man’s shaking hand, Nina rushed into the booth. CCTV screens showed the main gate, the drawbridge and the road on the shore - where she could see the ASPS’ van and the other Shogun waiting to cross.
Where were the drawbridge controls? There - a panel on one wall. She shoved the lever to the down position and stabbed at a green button. A buzzer rasped, followed by the whine of a motor, then both noises were drowned out by the clank and rattle of chains as the drawbridge descended.
She ran back outside and saw the helicopter rise unsteadily into view from behind the glass pyramid.
Someone was hanging from the skids.
Eddie.
The pilot jerked the cyclic control stick sideways. The helicopter lurched, veering towards one of the castle’s towers before he pushed the stick back to counter the sudden move. The passengers jolted hard in their seats, and something banged against the fuselage under the pilot’s side window. Macy shrieked.
‘Is he gone?’ Shaban demanded.
The pilot leaned over to get a better view of the skid—
The door flew open.
A deafening whirlwind blasted into the cabin as the rotor downwash came through the door - followed by Eddie. He had used the chopper’s roll to swing up and hook his legs round the skid, letting him reach the door handle. The startled pilot took a savage punch to the face, and before he could recover Eddie muscled his way inside and put him in a chokehold. ‘Land this thing!’
‘Shoot him!’ Shaban barked.
Lorenz raised the gun - and Eddie hit the struggling pilot again, twisting him into the line of fire. The Dutchman swore, trying to aim round him—
Eddie yanked back the cyclic stick.
The chopper’s nose tipped up sharply, throwing everyone backwards. Alarms honked and buzzed: stall warnings. The EC130 was now flying backwards - and descending rapidly, the rotor blades’ steep angle not generating enough lift to maintain height.
In the corner of his eye, Eddie saw the pyramid approaching fast—
He released the stick. The pilot slammed it forward and jammed down a rudder pedal in a desperate attempt to regain control before the helicopter smashed into the pyramid. The EC130 pitched forward, spinning. Centrifugal force threw Eddie outwards, only his grip on the pilot keeping him in the aircraft.
He clawed for another handhold - the buckle of the pilot’s harness.
His thumb pushed down on the release.
The pilot let out a choked scream of fear as the belts popped free. The only thing now keeping him in his seat was his grip on the controls. The pyramid whirled past, the Eurocopter’s tail sweeping barely a foot from the dark glass.
‘Take it down!’ Eddie roared. ‘Now!’
‘Take us up!’ Shaban bellowed. He unfastened his own seat belt, leaning across the cabin to pull Eddie’s arm off the pilot—
Macy slammed her elbow into the Egyptian’s face. He jerked back, headdress flying off.
Lorenz pointed the gun at Macy—
Eddie grabbed the controls again.
Horrified, Nina watched as the helicopter reeled drunkenly back behind the pyramid, losing height. ‘Oh, my God!’
Grant stood, rubbing his throat. ‘Whoa, I wouldn’t want to be in that. Where’s Eddie?’
She gave him an anguished look. ‘Where do you think?’
The van sped past and skidded to a halt, the Shogun following. Assad jumped out of the latter as his troops deployed, glancing questioningly at the now-unconscious guard. ‘Dr Wilde! Where’s the zodiac?’
She pointed at the keep. ‘Third floor - but listen, the cultists are all trapped in the pyramid! You’ve got to keep them there until the authorities arrive. If any of them escape with the spores . . .’
Assad was torn, but reluctantly nodded. ‘I’ll split the ASPS into two teams, one for the zodiac, the other for—’ The helicopter wobbled back into view, still spinning. ‘What in Allah’s name?’
‘Shaban’s aboard - and so are Eddie and Macy!’ The EC130 dropped behind the pyramid once more. Nina stared helplessly after it - then jumped into the empty Shogun.
‘Dr Wilde, wait - stop!’ Assad cried as the Mitsubishi peeled away after the helicopter, Nina not even bothering to close the door. ‘Not again!’
The Eurocopter was only twenty feet above the courtyard, the pilot unable to increase power as he clung by his fingertips to the collective control lever between the front seats.
Eddie kept his fearsome grip round the man’s neck. His grab at the controls had stopped Lorenz from shooting Macy, but the Dutchman was recovering from the dizzying spin.
As was Shaban. Macy tried to hit him again, but he twisted her arm upwards and back. There was a popping crackle from her shoulder, and she screamed. The Egyptian shoved her against the door. She moaned in pain.
Another clack of a seat belt buckle, and Lorenz leaned forward, pointing the gun round the pilot for a clear shot. Eddie grabbed the weapon with his free hand, trying to aim it away from himself.
Both men’s hands trembled as they fought to overpower the other, but Lorenz had more leverage. Grunting with effort, Eddie brought one foot up off the skid and into the cabin, forcing himself inside.
The shuddering gun pointed towards the pilot. If Lorenz fired, he would be signing his own death warrant. Eddie pushed harder—
Eyes blazing with hatred, Shaban lunged forward and smashed a fist into his face.
Eddie toppled backwards, losing his grip on the gun . . . and the pilot.
He fell—and slammed painfully against the skid. His foot was tangled in the seat belt. Dangling upside down, he was less than ten feet above the ground - and the helicopter was still dropping, about to crush him!
Nina slewed the Shogun round the corner of the pyramid - and saw the helicopter ahead, still spinning, losing height—
Coming right at her.
‘Shit!’ she shrieked, stamping on the brake and diving out of the open door as the EC130 whirled like a sycamore seed at the 4×4—
The gasping pilot sat up - and flinched in shock as he realised how close he was to the ground. Jamming down the other rudder pedal, to counter the spin, he twisted the throttle to increase power.
Eddie’s outstretched hands scraped the ground - then the helicopter levelled out. He saw Nina sprawled beside the ASPS’ second 4×4 as he was whisked past.
The Shogun—
Nina jumped up. ‘Eddie!’ she yelled as the chopper steadied, hovering above the courtyard.
‘The winch!’ he shouted back. ‘Chuck it to me!’
‘What?’
He jabbed both hands at the Mitsubishi’s front end. ‘The winch, the cable! Throw it!’
The 4×4 had a winch system affixed to its front bumper, a hundred and fifty feet of steel cable with a hook at the end. She ran to it as the EC130 drifted back towards her. Pulling the release lever to let the spool turn freely, she grabbed the hook with one hand and tugged out a length of cable with the other.