Shadow Tyrants

FIFTY

Juan called Tiny up, and they handed pistols and comm units to Eddie and Linc after removing the restraints. Juan went to the closed door and listened, but he couldn’t hear anything through the thick insulation. He eased it open and saw someone standing in the hallway. He signaled to the others that they had company.

If they started firing in the midsection of the plane, their surprise would be lost, but the guard was too far away to sneak up on. Juan looked at the hunga munga hanging on the wall and raised an eyebrow at Linc.

Linc understood and wrenched the weapon from its brackets. When he was at the door, Juan counted down from three and then yanked the door open. Linc flicked the hunga munga as easily as if he were tossing a Frisbee, and the spike plunged into the guard’s chest just as he turned to see who was coming. He pitched forward without a sound. This time, they’d need carpet cleaners.

Juan led the way down the hall. The rooms here were luxurious cabins, each with its own bathroom. The first two were vacant, but the one where the guard had been standing was closed. While Linc removed the hunga munga from the corpse and wiped it clean, Juan pulled the door open to find Lionel Gupta sitting on the bed.

“Who are you?” he said in astonishment.

“We’re here to rescue you,” Juan said. “Where is Natalie Taylor?”

“I don’t know. Do you work for Romir Mallik?”

“No. Just concerned citizens. We know about the Nine Unknown Men and what you’re planning with Colossus. We’re going to put a stop to it.”

“As you can see, I’m not part of it anymore. They’re going to kill me.”

“Why?”

“Because Carlton has gone mad with power. As soon as he has the Colossus ships linked up, there’ll be no stopping him.”

“Where is that going to happen?” Juan asked.

“Great Bitter Lake. They need to be within twenty miles of each other to make the connection.”

“How do we deactivate it?”

Gupta hesitated.

“Remember, you’re going to die when Carlton gets Colossus up and running unless we help you stop him.”

Gupta’s shoulders slumped. “All right. I stashed some files online where I didn’t think anyone could find them. Just in case. Of course, Colossus would be able to find them in minutes once it’s fully operational.”

He wrote down a long string of characters on a pad and gave the paper to Juan, who put it in his pocket.

“Now, get me off this plane,” Gupta said.

“Stay in your cabin,” Juan said. “You’ll be safer.”

Gupta nodded dejectedly. “Okay.”

Juan told Linc to take point. Eddie and Tiny followed while Juan had their six.

When Linc reached the forward lounge, he threw the hunga munga again, but apparently there was more than one guard in the room because Eddie fired two shots. Enemy fire came from the bottom of the front staircase, and they all hit the deck.

As soon as the shots rang out, the plane began to turn. Juan guessed the pilots were heading back to Cyprus.

“We need to get into that cockpit,” he said.

“Working on it,” Linc said as he fired three quick rounds.

Gupta leaned his head out from the cabin to see what was happening.

“Get back in there!” Juan shouted.

But it was too late. A shot rang out from the back of the plane. Gupta spun as he fell, a bullet hole in the back of his head.

Taylor was crouched on the floor of the entertainment room, a nasty smirk on her face. Juan got off a few shots, but she ducked out of the line of fire. He saw her again for a moment as she raced down the spiral stairs.

“Eddie!” Juan shouted over the gunshots. “You’re with me. We’re going after Taylor.”

He and Eddie ran to follow her down the stairs, leaving Tiny and Linc with the thermite.

At least I got rid of Lionel Gupta, Taylor thought as she sprinted from the spiral stairs toward the front of the plane, where the gun battle near the cockpit was taking place. But she was livid about someone getting aboard to rescue her prisoners.

They had already killed half her men. If Carlton had been aboard, she would have had twice as many ex-soldiers at her command, and this would already be over.

She could make a stand at the cockpit door and hope they were able to make it back to Cyprus, but this assault had been well planned and executed. She was dealing with pros. Her guys were good, but not that good. She needed an edge.

If only they had knockout gas to pump through the emergency oxygen system like they’d done to hijack Carlton’s original A380…

That thought gave her an idea. Her advantage was the two pilots in the cockpit. They had control over the rest of the plane.

She pointed at two of the four guards firing up the forward staircase. “You two, come with me.”

They looked at her as if she were crazy, but they followed her orders.

She ran back to the galley with them and saw the Asian man and his rescuer coming down the spiral stairs.

Taylor ducked into the galley with the two guards. To one of them, she said, “Stay here, and don’t let anybody follow us.”

The guard began exchanging gunfire with the intruders while she picked up the intercom phone and called the cockpit.

“What’s going on out there?” the pilot shouted.

“Hijackers are on board. Turn off the emergency oxygen system and slow the plane down as much as you can at this altitude.”

“What?”

“Just do it. And prepare for a rapid decompression.”

The pilot gasped. “Are you serious?”

“Deadly. We’ll have this plane under control again in three minutes.”

She opened the emergency medical cabinet and took out the portable oxygen tank and mask.

“Come with me,” she said to the other guard, and got on the elevator to the cargo hold. He joined her in the tiny space, and they started descending.

“What are we doing?” he asked.

Taylor ignored the question. “When we get down there, make sure no one comes down after us. And hold on to something.”