The Hunt

82

Behind him Jaeger heard a second pair of boots thump down. He knew instinctively that it was Raff, and that he would be sweeping the room on the opposite side. A third figure vaulted in beside them: Hing. Narov had to be bringing up the rear.

‘Kammler at my eleven o’clock,’ Jaeger intoned into his SELEX. The bastard looked injured, or at the very least stunned by the blast. ‘We need him alive. I repeat: alive.’

It was vital they captured Kammler living, breathing and sentient. He was the key to stopping all of this. His knowledge. His say-so. His authority. His orders to call back those sent to wreak devastation and vengeance. Or if not, his leads so they could hunt the bombers down.

Jaeger spotted a target. To the far right of Kammler a figure was reeling about, senses dulled by the blast, as he struggled to bring his weapon – a Type 79 sub-machine gun – into the aim. Jaeger nailed him with his torch beam: phzzzt, phzzzt, phzzzt.

Two shots to the body and one to the head, just to make sure he was finished.

‘Enemy down,’ he breathed into his SELEX.

Inside his head a voice said, ‘Three.’ He’d fired three rounds from the P228’s thirteen-round magazine, so ten remaining.

A fourth figure dropped in beside him. Narov, weapon at the ready. They swept the room, seeking further targets. As they did so, Jaeger marvelled at what they had stumbled into here. Banks of computer terminals and stacks of complex communications gear lined the walls.

The place resembled an ops room for a small but very tech-savvy army.

Jaeger noticed Kammler trying to move. ‘Taking Kammler,’ he barked.

As he broke from his stance and began to steal across the room, a figure darted out of cover, weapon raised at the shoulder.

Raff nailed him before he could squeeze off a shot.

‘Enemy down,’ he breathed calmly.

The big Maori was in his element. He was never more at home than when he was fighting in the darkness and closing with the bad guys at close quarters.

Jaeger moved in on Kammler warily. But as he stole ahead, keeping light on his feet, a figure flashed past on his right-hand side. In a blur of speed, Hing launched himself at Kammler – his former boss, jailer and tormentor – hands reaching like claws to rip the man’s eyes out.

Kammler moved surprisingly fast for someone of his advanced years. He whipped up the compact form of a Type 92 handgun and let rip. Two 9mm slugs hammered into Hing, stopping the man dead in his tracks. He went down hard.

As Kammler went to pivot around with his weapon, Jaeger fired, blasting the gun out of his grasp. Moments later, he smacked him around the head with the butt of his P228, Kammler reeling and collapsing against the wall.

Jaeger grabbed him by the hair, jerking his head backwards. There was a cut across his cheekbone, but otherwise he seemed merely stunned. He kicked the man’s legs out from beneath him, Kammler dropping like a sack of shit.

‘Room clear,’ Raff’s voice intoned over the radio.

‘Room clear,’ Narov echoed.

‘Secure the entrance,’ Jaeger ordered. ‘Plus Hing’s down. Check Hing.’

He spent a brief moment frisking Kammler, making sure that he wasn’t armed, then knelt until they were eye to eye.

‘Hello, Mr Kammler. You invited us to drop in. Well, here we are.’

He brought the barrel of his P228 into Kammler’s face, until the muzzle was jammed hard against the man’s bleeding cheekbone.

‘Got a few questions.’ He ground the muzzle closer, blood starting to seep round the hard edges of the weapon. ‘I’m going to ask this only once… where are Ruth Jaeger and Peter Miles?’

Kammler’s face twisted into a cruel smile. ‘You’re too late. To save them. To stop any of this. Heil Hitler, and long live the Thousand Year Reich.’

Jaeger took a step back and kicked Kammler square in the chest. He reeled backwards.

Jaeger glanced at Narov. ‘He’s all yours.’

Jaeger eyed Raff, who was bent over the fallen form of Hing. The big Maori shook his head. Fearless to the last, Hing had died doing what he’d vowed to do – going after Kammler.

Jaeger moved towards the doorway. ‘Right: let’s clear this place.’

He and Raff eased themselves through the command bunker’s doorway and out into the pitch-dark corridor beyond.