Countdown - Iris Johansen [140]
He pointed the gun at her. “I’ve no time for this nonsense. I’ve gone to a lot of trouble and I’ve no intention of losing you now. It’s not an—”
A shot.
Pain.
She fell to the ground.
21
What the hell did you do?” Trevor said. “You shot her, you idiot.”
“Only a flesh wound in the upper arm.” Jock was aiming down the barrel of the rifle again. “She was in my way. I couldn’t get a clear shot at Reilly.”
“You still can’t. He’s weaving like a football player toward that helicopter.” MacDuff started to laugh. “And leaving Jane behind. Jock, you son of a bitch, that’s what you meant to do.”
“It seemed very reasonable. If I can’t get the shot, then it will distract him enough so that the explosion will get him. Reilly always taught me to have a backup.” He zeroed in on the back of Reilly’s head. “It’s a gamble,” he murmured. “Will he move left or right next? I’ll . . . guess . . . left.” He pulled the trigger.
Jane stared in horror as Reilly’s head exploded.
“Son of a bitch.” Kim Chan was standing a few feet away, staring at the monstrosity that a moment before had been Reilly. “I told him—” She was shaking with rage as she turned toward Jane. “You. He should never have— The fool.” She lifted the gun in her hand. “Your fault. You and that idiotic Cira. You were—”
Jane rolled over in the snow and struck Kim in the knees, bringing her down.
Get the gun.
She had it.
But Kim was on her feet and running toward the helicopter. Christ, did she know those phone numbers to call? Would the suicide bombers pay attention to her if she did? She worked closely with Reilly. There was a chance she might want to step into his shoes. Jane struggled to her knees. “Stop. You can’t do—”
The earth shook as Kim stepped on the snow-covered wire bordering the helicopter pad.
Whoosh.
An explosion.
Flames.
The woman was suddenly no longer there.
Then the helicopter exploded.
Shards of metal and rotors were hurling in every direction.
Jane buried her face in the snow and tried to flatten herself into the ground.
When she looked up seconds later it was to see the burning hulk of the helicopter.
“Are you okay?” It was Trevor kneeling beside her, unzipping her anorak to look at her arm.
He was alive!
Thank God. “I thought you were dead,” she said shakily. “The land mine . . .”
“Jock set it off to make everyone think I’d bought it. MacDuff and he were staking out the house and he saw me crawling away. I was grateful.” His lips tightened. “Until the looney kid shot you because you were in the way of him getting Reilly.”
“I don’t think I’m hurt much.” She looked at the burning remains of the helicopter. “And it was worth it to stop Reilly from getting on that helicopter.”
“I don’t agree.” He was looking at the wound. “Just a little bleeding. Jock said it was a flesh wound.”
“Where is he?” Then she saw Jock and MacDuff heading for the house. She called, “Be careful. Norton’s in there and he’ll—”
“Don’t worry,” MacDuff said. “We’ll be careful. But Jock doesn’t want the police to hurt this Norton. He wants to get to him first. He’s feeling a bit of empathy.”
“Will he feel the same empathy for those suicide bombers at the compound?” Jane murmured as MacDuff and Jock disappeared into the house. “Jesus, what do you do with people like that?”
“Leave it up to the government. They’ll probably put them in a hospital and try to deprogram them.”
“If they can find them. Reilly called and told them he wanted all of them to ‘disperse.’” She got to her feet. “But he took the personnel records with him.” She moved slowly toward Reilly’s body. “The records must have some information about those people.” She carefully kept her gaze from the bloody corpse as she took the briefcase from Reilly’s hand. “He had another one with his translations of documents from Herculaneum. I don’t see— There it is.” The other briefcase had been flung several yards away by the blast.
“I’ll get it.” Trevor moved across the field and picked up the briefcase. “Now let’s get you to an emergency room to look at that wound.” He smiled. “And I wouldn’t mind a