‘Apollyon’s dead,’ she said, sounding disappointed.
I turned to Colonel Singh. He had taken a bullet to the upper arm, but his expression was triumphant. ‘Keep us covered,’ I said. ‘And watch out for more gunmen.’
He nodded and passed on orders.
I walked into the open, the barrel of the Kalashnikov resting on my shoulder.
Sara was running her hand over Rothmann. ‘He’s clean.’ She stepped back and leveled her machine-pistol at him.
‘No!’ I shouted. ‘Wait!’ I still wanted the bastard to pay for what he’d done to Karen and our son, but in the light of what had just happened in the Hades complex, my priorities were changing. I wanted to find out who was behind this dump and I was sure Rothmann knew.
‘Matt,’ he said, his voice low. ‘Don’t do anything hasty.’ He looked over his shoulder. ‘Don’t allow this…individual to do anything hasty.’
Sara kicked him on the back of the knee, causing him to stumble forward. ‘I’m not an individual,’ she growled. ‘I’m your worst nightmare.’ The words were aggressive, but I could see the fight and her wounds were getting to her. There was even more blood on her tunic and her face was dripping with sweat.
‘Matt?’ Rothmann said, fear making his voice uneven. ‘Don’t let her-’
Sara emptied the magazine of her machine-pistol into the floor beneath his feet. He must have taken some ricochets, because he collapsed, clutching both ankles.
I stepped closer, raising a hand at Sara as she aimed her pistol at his face.
‘Matt!’ he screamed. ‘Haig! Haig!’
The trigger kicked in instantly. As part of me separated from my body and rose above the roof of the ravaged building, all I could think was how smart it was of Rothmann to use a non-German word. Not least the name of the British commander whose tactics eventually defeated Germany in the First World War. Doctor Rivers would never have thought of that. I was so amazed that my attempts to gain control of myself became frantic, and the zone that I had practiced so often eluded me. Nothing.
I watched impotently as my brainwashed self swung the Kalashnikov down at speed. I fired a burst into Sara that sent her flying across the uneven surface.
Then, just as quickly, I found myself back in my body and in command of what I was doing. Either the trigger command was brief or I had fought it off somehow. I ran across to Sara and lifted the upper part of her broken body onto my thighs. It was obvious she was beyond medical help.
She gagged, blood running out of the corners of her mouth.
‘You finally…you nailed me, Matt.’ Her crimson lips formed into a shaky smile. ‘I’m…I’m glad it…it was you.’
I looked across to Rothmann, who was still writhing around. One of the Indian troops was kneeling near him, Kalashnikov at the ready.
‘Sara,’ I said, leaning over her. ‘I didn’t mean to do it. The conditioning…’
She was still smiling. ‘Of course…you meant to do…it, Matt.’ Her forehead furrowed in agony. ‘It’s better…better this way.’ She pulled me closer. ‘Sellers and Kolinski, 168 Ditmars…Boulevard, Queens, New…York… Ci…’ She took a deep breath, which rattled in her throat and chest. ‘I left a file there. Tell…tell them you’re my cousin…my cousin from…Surbiton.’ Her eyes closed, and then opened again briefly. ‘Get him, Matt…get Rothmann…for…me…’
‘Sara?’ I put my cheek close to her mouth, but no breath brushed against it. I rocked back on my heels and smoothed her eyes shut with my thumbs.
I had finally put an end to my former lover, but at the last I hadn’t wanted to-if it hadn’t been for the Rothmanns’ conditioning, I would probably have let her live, but would have made sure she was arrested for all the horrors she had committed against me and my friends. Quincy Jerome’s dead face rose up before me again. She was a cold-blooded killer, but I had been close to her in the past. It seemed that love couldn’t just be thrown away, no matter how much pain it brought about.
I let her shoulders and head slide off my thighs and slowly got to my feet. If I got out of Hades alive, I would go and see what she’d left behind.
‘Sir, sir!’ Colonel Singh was saying. ‘I have assembled my surviving men. There are more armed men approaching. We must go!’
I went over to the parapet and shots flew over my head. In the distance I could see men in fatigues approaching. Cerberus Security was coming to finish us off.
I grabbed Rothmann under his arm and pulled him to his feet, not concerned about how much that hurt him. Heading for the gigantic red screen that marked the boundary of Hell, I gave Sara’s body a final glance. She looked at peace, whether she deserved that or not.
Valerie Hinton was standing at a pay phone inside Union Station.
‘It’s all right,’ she said. ‘Your name wasn’t mentioned and neither was the company’s.’
‘Are you quite sure about that?’ Rudi Crane’s voice was less imposing than usual.
‘We had a man present. He dealt with the knight before he could do any real damage.’
‘He dealt with him? Won’t that have left a trail?’
‘Don’t worry. He used a new compound. Besides, the postmortem will never be made public.’
There was a long pause. ‘Very well. And you say there will be no further investigation?’
‘The Director will be made to see that is not in his interest.’
‘What about the lead investigator?’
‘The saint who was shot full of arrows? Don’t worry, he’s gone to another place.’
‘That is a veritable piece of good news.’
‘Do you have any such news for me?’
‘You mean from the Lone Star State? All is well, as far as I am aware.’
‘I hope so. There are several people down there who we never want to see again.’
‘Quite so. Fear not! By now, they will have started on their last journeys. Praise the Lord!’
Valerie Hinton hung up the phone and shook her head. One of the downsides of working for the Company was that you had to deal with the most objectionable people. Still, whatever it took to ensure the nation’s best interests were secured.
She pulled her hat down and walked into the chill night air. There was one thing she had to do before she turned in for what would be a short night’s sleep. Arthur Bimsdale had turned out to be a very satisfactory recruit. She needed to clear an evening to get better acquainted with him.
Thirty-Three
The colonel’s men returned fire using the machine guns we had found. That bought us some distance from our pursuers.
Rothmann moaned as I dragged him along. One of the Indians came up and lifted his legs so at least his wounds weren’t put under any more pressure-not that I cared. Looking ahead, I saw that the door was metal and there didn’t seem to be a handle. Great.
‘See here,’ Colonel Singh said, trotting up beside me. He was holding three grenades.
‘Do you think they’re full charge?’ I asked.
‘There is only one way to find out.’ He handed his Kalashnikov to one of his men and ran forward, his portly form silhouetted against the fiery backdrop. He made it to within a few yards before a burst of fire sliced across his legs.
‘Shit!’ I stopped to leave Rothmann with the soldier carrying his legs, then waved more of the turbaned men forward. ‘Cover me!’ I put down my Kalashnikov and charged to the door. Bullets ricocheted from the steel surface, whistling past me.
Colonel Singh was clutching his legs and groaning. I grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him away, then went back for the grenades, which had spilled from his grip. There was a heap of earth about ten yards from the door and we took cover behind it.
‘You play cricket, sir?’ the colonel asked, extending an arm.
‘Not since school. Why?’
He took one of the grenades and pulled the pin with his teeth. ‘Leave to me, then. I am superb fielder.’
I took his word for it and watched as the grenade looped through the air. It exploded just before it reached the metal panels.
‘Good shot!’ I said.
‘Not good enough.’ The colonel pulled, waited and threw again.