‘Did you now? Routh was involved, of course.’
‘It was Woodbridge’s main investment bank.’
‘Did he tell you anything?’
‘He gave us some names. We’re checking them out.’
‘Do you have a list?’
Sebastian handed over a printed page, which the Director scanned.
‘Some more big names here,’ he said, putting the sheet down. ‘You had better exercise caution.’
‘We will. I take it you approve the investigation?’
‘Oh, certainly. Good work.’ The Director looked at his computer screen and then back at Sebastian. ‘Was there anything else? I have to look over my speech to the UN Climate Change Conference… I hope your unit is running energy-efficient vehicles.’
Surprised, Sebastian stood up, but swallowed the laugh he’d been about to let loose. It seemed the Director was serious.
‘Down!’ I yelled, diving to the soft ground. I looked to my right. Two of the Pakistanis were lying crumpled and motionless, the rest desperately taking cover. Spurts of earth were flying up as automatic weapons fire continued to rain down.
‘This is murder!’ the major screamed.
‘Keep them down!’ I yelled back. In the distance, I could see Sara crawling forward, having jettisoned one of her spears. ‘When the fire turns on us, get them to crawl back.’
The Pakistani officer nodded, his cap at an angle.
I pulled myself forward by my elbows. Before I had gone five yards, bullets began to spit into the ground around me. At least that would give the Pakistanis a chance to retreat. Ahead of me was a broken-down cart that looked like it had survived the Civil War, though only just. I took cover behind it and watched as Sara dived into a trench that ran alongside the meandering river. Spouts of water flew up from it as the defenders tried to hit her.
I crawled to the front of the cart, hearing bullets thud into the wood. The original dashboard was hanging loose at the far side. I managed to put my shoulder to the near side and detach it completely. It was about five feet long and two feet wide, and would provide reasonable protection. Now I felt like a Homeric hero behind his shield. I stuck the sword I’d picked up into my belt and lifted the board; fortunately there was a length of wood in the center that served as a grip. Taking my spear in the other hand, I stood up and made for the two-story building. By the time I got there, the wooden panel was holed and splintered, but it had done its job. Apart from a new parting in my hair and a shallow furrow in my thigh, I was unhurt. But I was pissed off in a big way, and my feet hurt like a bastard. Someone was going to pay.
I pulled myself over the remains of a window frame and threw the spear at a man in a hawk’s head. It pinned him to a door at shoulder level, causing him to drop the Kalashnikov he’d raised at me. I ran forward and grabbed the weapon. He was groaning, but the wound didn’t look mortal. There were ammunition clips in his pockets and I relieved him of those.
‘Who are you?’ I asked, as I tried to pull the door open.
‘Indian Army, Sixteenth Rifle Battalion,’ he gasped, trying to pull the spear out with his other hand.
‘I’d leave that where it is if I were you,’ I said, pulling his hand away. ‘How many are you?’
‘Forty plus two…three officers.’
Shit. We were seriously outnumbered. I heard bursts of fire beyond the door. After a few seconds, only one weapon was being fired. Then I heard Sara’s voice.
I managed to get the door open and raise the Kalashnikov as three men in turbans charged toward me. I gave them a blast in front of their feet.
‘Drop your weapons!’ I ordered, watching as rifles like mine hit the uneven floor. ‘Now turn round and go back the way you came.’
‘No, no!’ one of them gasped, his eyes wide. ‘She is a demon.’
He was right there, but I reckoned I could restrain Sara. I beckoned them forward.
Sara was in the next room, swinging a pair of Kalashnikovs at a crowd of cowering Indians. Beyond her, through the shattered wall, I could see other turbaned figures making their escape, the river reaching up to their thighs. There were several men lying motionless on the ground.
‘Oh, there you are,’ she said, looking at me blankly. I had no idea what zone she was in, but I hoped I would never go there. Blood was dripping from her right arm and there was a crimson stain on her abdomen.
‘Are you all right?’
She followed the direction of my gaze. ‘Just scratched,’ she said, looking round her captives again. ‘These fuckers were firing live rounds.’
‘I noticed. Where are the officers?’
A dark-skinned man with a huge mustache stood up slowly. ‘Lieutenant-Colonel V. J. Singh.’ His gaze dropped. ‘My colleagues are dead.’
‘What the fuck were you doing?’ I demanded. ‘This is supposed to be a training exercise.’
The officer held my gaze. ‘Who said that? We were told that live rounds were necessary. The attackers are convicted murderers, are they not?’
I stared at him in amazement. ‘You mean you signed up to kill people?’
‘This is the great virtue of Cerberus Security, is it not?’ he said, looking less sure of himself. ‘We can give our men experience of real action.’
I glanced at Sara. ‘Ever heard of Cerberus Security?’
She shook her head. ‘Sound like nice people to do business with.’
Cerberus was obviously a company with a lot to hide, hence the absence of signs at the entrance to the camp. But we had other things to worry about, such as staying alive.
‘Do you want to know who the people you shot at really were?’ I asked the colonel, not waiting for an answer. ‘Pakistani mountain troops.’
His eyes opened extremely wide. ‘What? Oh, my God…’ As I’d hoped, he had realized the seriousness of the situation. The neighboring countries were at loggerheads, both of them nuclear powers, and he was responsible for several Pakistani deaths. If that wasn’t a de facto declaration of war, I didn’t know what would be.
Everyone ducked as machine-gun fire raked the ruins from the front. Four Indian soldiers fell, two of them screaming and the others beyond that.
‘Okay,’ I said, crouching beside the colonel. ‘You can see the shit storm you’re in. Cerberus Security has obviously decided you can’t be allowed to live. Either you fight back or you die.’
He looked at me gravely, then nodded. ‘Sergeants, to me,’ he commanded.
Two men came over, bending double to avoid the fire that continued to ring out.
I listened as he gave them orders. A third of his men were to provide covering fire, while the rest were split into three sections to storm the next line of defenses, which were silhouetted against the fiery red backdrop.
I crawled over to Sara. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Never better,’ she said, breathing heavily.
‘Stay here. I’ll come back for you when we break through.’
‘If you get through.’ Her face was drenched in sweat. ‘I’m coming with you, Matt.’ She bit her lower lip till blood dripped from it. ‘Just one thing. If I…if I don’t make it…’
‘You’ll make it,’ I interrupted. Now it didn’t seem to matter what she’d done in the past-the fight for both of us to survive was all. I pulled myself up.
‘We are ready,’ the colonel said, clutching a Kalashnikov.
I nodded, my eyes still on Sara. ‘Stay close to me,’ I said, my mouth to her ear.
She smiled slackly. ‘I always have been, Matt.’
I had just enough time to register the truth of that before the guns opened up on either side of us.
Thirty-Two
Heinz Rothmann watched as the men in fatigues and turbans charged across the open ground in three formations. It was brave, proving that untermenschen could sometimes fight as Aryans, but completely insane. They went down like ninepins, some screaming and others immediately caught in contorted positions. Apollyon had placed him at the front of the ramparts, with a man holding a bayonet to his back, seemingly unconcerned if he took a bullet from the men who were firing from the rear-the attackers themselves didn’t have time to loose many shots. Fortunately he remained unscathed, at least until a burst rattled off the wall in front of him. He looked down and saw Matt Well’s persecutor with the short blond hair point a Kalashnikov at him. He moved to his right and heard bullets thump into the chest of his captor.