Shadow Tyrants

FORTY-NINE

Eddie was seated next to Linc in the rear of the A380 in what looked like either an entertainment room or a torture chamber. Given their current predicament, maybe it was both.

Each of them had his wrists strapped to a leather chair, but their legs were free. All of the chairs faced the front of the room, which was on the top level of the plane, and it looked like there was a roll-down screen hidden in the ceiling. There was a door leading to the forward part of the plane and a spiral staircase behind them. The walls were covered with antique weapons from many different ages and cultures. Eddie recognized scimitars from Persia, throwing stars from Japan, and a hunga munga from Africa, which looked liked a bladed ampersand.

Taylor was somewhere else with Lionel Gupta, obviously another captive. Two beefy guards stood at the front of the room, their weapons holstered. If Eddie could draw them close, he and Linc might be able to take them by surprise.

“Do you mind giving us a few minutes alone?” Eddie said to them. “My friend is shy around strangers.”

The guards didn’t even look at him.

“Maybe they didn’t hear you,” Linc said.

“I am a quiet guy.” This time, Eddie yelled. “I said we’re very introverted! Can we please have some privacy!”

No response.

“I know what it is,” Linc said. “They don’t speak English.”

“Or they’re wearing earbuds that we can’t see and are rocking out to the latest Justin Bieber album.”

Linc nodded approvingly. “That definitely sounds like their type of music.”

That got a glance from one of them, but no movement.

“Nice collection,” Eddie said to Linc as he looked around at the weapons mounted on the fuselage.

“Lots of pointy, sharp things.”

“Very intimidating,” Eddie said with a yawn.

“Since they can’t hear or understand us,” Linc said, “we should probably start planning how we’re going to kill them.”

“Good idea. I call dibs on the hunga munga.”

“Oh, man!” Linc complained with an exaggerated whine. “That’s the one I wanted.”

“Listen, we can share. There are plenty of guys to kill for both of us.”

The guard on the left looked like he’d had enough of their banter. He started walking toward them with his fists clenched when Taylor appeared in the open doorway and said, “Enough with the childish baiting.”

The guard stepped back.

She entered holding a folded plastic sheet under her arm.

“We missed you,” Linc said.

“I’m sure you did.”

“The service on this airline is terrible,” Eddie said. “We’ve been in the air for fifteen minutes now and haven’t seen the drink cart yet.”

“And you won’t. None of the flight attendants were needed on this trip. Gives us privacy for our discussion.”

Eddie turned to Linc and said, “Wasn’t I just saying how we wanted some privacy?”

“You’re too kind,” Linc said to Taylor.

“This chatter is amusing,” Taylor said, “but I wonder how well it will hold up when you see your friend bleeding on the floor.”

“And mess up this beautiful carpet? What a shame.”

“That’s what this is for.” She handed the sheeting to one of the guards. “Make sure you cover the whole floor. I’ve got a few things to take care of and then I’ll be back for our chat.”

She winked at them as she left, closing the door behind her.

Eddie and Linc watched in silence as the guard unfolded the sheet and laid it over the carpet, careful to pull the edges up the walls to catch spillage.

The other guard stood there, smiling.

Juan thought he’d given it enough time. They should be close to cruising altitude.

Tiny handed him the handheld pry bar and he forced the trunk open. He opened it just a crack. The cargo hold looked empty, so he pushed the trunk lid up and rolled out, sweeping the space with his suppressed Smith & Wesson.

The only cargo was the two cars. Both vehicles were held down with straps on the tires that were clasped to retractable cargo restraints on the deck. The releases were operated by covered buttons on the wall next to each car.

“Clear,” Juan said.

Tiny got out and picked up the backpacks they’d brought with them. They each put one on their shoulders and made their way to the elevator.

“Where do you want to start looking for them?” Tiny asked.

“If the pilots aren’t in on the torture plan, Taylor will want to keep them as far away from the cockpit as possible.”

“That would be the upper deck at the rear. The cockpit is on the main deck.”

“So we get Eddie and Linc first, and that will double our numbers. Then we take the cockpit.”

Even if the pilots weren’t party to what Taylor had planned for her guests, they would resist anyone taking control of the plane. At the first sign of trouble, they’d head back to Cyprus, where an army of Carlton’s men would be waiting for the intruders when they landed.

But breaking into any airliner’s flight deck was extremely difficult in the age of terrorism and hijackers. The door would be hardened and bulletproof to pistol fire. They couldn’t break it down, and the emergency code to open it would be useless even if they could find it. The pilots would activate the triple locking mechanism as soon as they suspected the plane was under attack.

That’s why they had brought thermal charges. Explosives would be too dangerous to use to sever the bolts. Not only could they injure or kill the pilots, they could also damage the instruments and controls.

Instead, the charges were strips of thermite powder they could tape to the door. When the nylon cords were ripped off, the thermite would ignite, melting through the locks like a blowtorch.

The elevator up to the passenger areas was located on the port side of the plane near the midpoint. Juan would have preferred stairs, but there weren’t any. Using the elevator was a perilous start to their infiltration. They wouldn’t be able to tell if anyone was waiting at the top of the ride.

They had their weapons at the ready as the elevator slowly rose to the main galley. It came to a stop with a ding. Juan flung open the door and rushed out, but no one was there.

He checked the hallway outside, then gestured for Tiny to follow. Juan could see a spiral staircase at the aft end. He made his way down the hall while Tiny kept watch on their rear. He stopped only long enough to check four small rooms that they passed — they all turned out to be empty — before entering a palatial lounge.

“Wait here until I call for you,” Juan whispered. Tiny nodded and kept an eye on the hallway.

Juan crept up the spiral stairs, the sound of his steps absorbed by the plush carpeting.

When he reached the top, he peered over the edge and saw the tops of Eddie’s and Linc’s heads. He went up farther and saw that they were sitting in chairs. Beyond, in the space in between, he could see two guards standing at attention. Both of them were in tactical gear with holstered sidearms.

Juan had to risk that his suppressed gunshots would be heard. He coiled and then sprang up the last few steps. The guards gaped for just a second at the shocking sight of an intruder, then tried to draw their weapons. Juan took each of them down with a single shot. Blood pooled under their heads, caught neatly by the plastic sheet.

Eddie and Linc both turned. Neither of them seemed surprised to see that it was Juan.

“Hi, Chairman,” Linc said with a toothy grin. “What took you so long?”