The chopper’s nose pointed directly at them, the gap closing at a rapid rate.
Screams erupted from behind and to the sides. Smyth now had to hold the driver down. Drake held on.
The comms crackled. “C’mon, my rough-arsed Keanu,” Alicia breathed. “The Russkies are practically up our—”
“Bitch,” Kenzie snapped back. “Be quiet. Have you looked out the front?”
An Alicia squeal resonated around the inside of the bus.
“Thoughts?” Drake asked at the last second.
“This ain’t exactly a board meeting!”
Drake held fast to his faith, his experience and the steering wheel. Loud protests filled his ears. Bodies hit the floor of the bus. Even Smyth cringed. At the very last moment the Chinese chopper banked right and the Russian chopper pulled up, skids almost brushing the back end of the bus. Alicia whistled and Dahl cleared his throat.
“I do believe we won that round of chicken.”
Drake forged on, seeing another wide sweeping bend ahead. “And the bonus is — we’re not fried and crispy.”
“Quit it,” Kinimaka said. “I’m already hungry.”
Alicia coughed. “That is one crazy Chinese chopper.”
“They’re coming back,” Hayden said.
“You guys are approaching the city outskirts right now,” Lauren said. “But still three minutes from any decent population areas.”
Drake jumped on the comms. “C’mon, people! You have to make ’em fear it!”
Kenzie approached the rear set of doors, shouting, “Anyone on here got a katana?”
Blank looks met her words, two or three people offering up their seats. An old man, wide-eyed, extended a shaking hand holding a bag of sweets.
Kenzie sighed. Drake flipped a switch to open the doors. In a moment the Israeli had swung her body out, gripped the lip of a window, then the roof, and hauled herself onto the top of the bus. Drake kept it as steady as he could, avoiding a large pothole, breathing deeply as he understood his own responsibility arising from Kenzie’s action.
Then, in the rearview, he saw Dahl leap over to join her.
Oh shit.
Concentrating hard, he kept it steady.
Dahl swung himself up onto the top of the bus. Kenzie extended a hand but he nodded past her.
“Quick!”
The Russian chopper had banked above and was now swooping again, this time coming from a three-quarter front angle. He could see a man hanging out of each side, weapons aiming, probably targeting the wheels or even the driver.
Instantly, he whirled, seeking the Chinese helo. It wasn’t far away. Diving in from the left, it too had men pointing weapons out of the doors. The fact that the Chinese weren’t firing heavily on their own bus, whilst heartening at first, was tempered by the knowledge that they needed the box that Hayden held, and they needed it intact.
Kenzie steadied herself atop the bus, gauging for wind and movement, and spread her knees. Then she raised her weapon, focusing on the chopper. Dahl hoped she wouldn’t even try to take it down, just deter the shooters. The Russians had exhibited no such restraint, but Kenzie was desperate to change.
Dahl judged the incoming helicopter. Packed full, it was less than nimble, but lethal. The last thing he wanted was to cause any kind of accident, let alone one that might send it crashing into the bus.
The front wheels bounced over a pothole, eliciting a “sorry” from Drake. Dahl heard nothing more except the rushing air and the roar of the helicopter. A shot glanced off the metal close to his right foot. The Swede ignored it, aimed, and fired.
The bullet must have hit true, for a man dropped his gun and withdrew. Dahl didn’t let it upset his concentration though, just fired another shot through the open doorway. The chopper veered straight at him, coming fast, and this time Dahl knew it would be a bad idea to play chicken.
He flung himself to the roof of the bus.
The chopper screamed overhead, slicing through the space he’d just vacated. It didn’t have the maneuverability to swing around at Kenzie, but passed close enough to send her stumbling to the side.
Toward the edge of the bus’s roof!
Dahl slipped and slithered along, trying to reach her in time. Kenzie arrested her fall, but lost her grip on her weapon; still the momentum sent her tumbling off the speeding bus and toward the ungiving road far below.
The Chinese bird banked hard, coming around. The Russian shot overhead, a stray bullet puncturing the metal close to Dahl’s right thigh. Kenzie’s body slipped over the side of the bus and he thrust his entire frame into a last desperate leap, arm extended.
He managed to clamp his right hand around her flailing wrist; took firm hold and waited for the inevitable wrench.
It came, but he held on, stretched to the limit. The shiny, smooth metal worked against him, allowing his body to slide toward the edge, Kenzie’s weight dragging them both down.
Shouts came over the comms. The team could see Kenzie’s feet thrashing around outside one of the side windows. Dahl held on beyond endurance, but every moment that passed sent his body slipping closer and closer toward that hard edge.
Atop the bus there was no grip, and nothing to grip. He could hold on, he would never let go, but he couldn’t find any purchase to pull her up either. Drake’s voice came over the comms.
“Do you want me to stop?” Loud, unsure, a little anxious.
Dahl read the emotions well. If they stopped they’d be hit hard both by the Russians and the Chinese. No telling what the outcome would be.
Lauren’s voice interrupted. “Sorry, I just got word the Swedes are coming at you. It’s now a four-way spread, people.”
Dahl felt the weight stretching his muscles. Every time the bus bounced, another inch of him slipped toward the edge and Kenzie dropped a little further. He heard the Israeli’s voice from down below.
“Let go! I can make it!”
No way. They were traveling at sixty miles per hour. Kenzie knew he wouldn’t let go and didn’t want both of them to fall. Dahl felt even more respect for her. The heart he knew was deeply submerged had just risen a little closer to the surface.
The sound of her boots drumming against the windows caused his own heart to beat faster.
They slipped together; Kenzie down the side and Dahl across the top of the bus. He tried to grip a rough lip that ran down the edge but it was too tiny, and cut through his flesh. Not seeing any hope he hung on as long as he could, risking everything.
His chest moved toward the drop, sliding inexorably. His eyes met Kenzie’s, staring up. Their exchange was wordless, expressionless but profound.
You should let me go.
Not a chance.
He hauled once more, only to slip past the point of no return.
Strong hands clamped down onto both of his calves, hands that could only belong to Mano Kinimaka.
“Gotcha,” the Hawaiian said. “You guys ain’t going nowhere.”
The Hawaiian steadied Dahl and then slowly dragged him back from the drop. Dahl kept tight hold of Kenzie. Together, they inched toward safety.
Above, the choppers plunged for a final time.
Drake knew Kinimaka had firm hold of his friends, but still didn’t dare to swerve the bus too sharply. The Russians and Chinese were coming in hard from different directions, no doubt aware this would be their final pass.
The sound of windows being smashed told him the others weren’t standing idle. They had a plan.
Behind, Alicia, Smyth, Mai, Hayden and Yorgi each took a window on separate sides of the bus and smashed it through. Targeting the oncoming choppers, they laid down a spread of fire that forced them to quickly veer away. The tree line ended and Drake saw buildings ahead.