Temple of the Gods - Andy McDermott [107]
The assault continued without pause. A chunk of stone the size of a human head splintered from the rock and smacked down between Eddie and Nina. ‘Jesus Christ!’ she cried, flinching away – and in her peripheral vision catching movement at the top of the ridge.
The Security Forces had found them.
‘Eddie!’ She dropped flat as more gunfire struck from a different direction. More men were climbing over the hill.
Their orders were obviously to kill the intruders. Eddie gave Nina a last despairing look, grabbing her hand as the Black Hawk moved directly overhead—
The gunfire stopped.
The helicopter briefly hung above them, then veered away. Nina squinted through the billowing dust to see the troops also departing, one man with a hand to his head as if listening to a message through an earpiece – and unable to believe what he was hearing. He glared at the couple, then lowered his weapon and followed his companions out of sight.
Eddie wiped grit from his face. ‘What the hell? Why did they stop?’ He risked raising his head to look for the Black Hawk. It was on a course back to its home base.
‘You got a problem with that?’ Nina asked. ‘Because I don’t.’
‘Neither do I, but why are they just fucking off like that?’ He double-checked the ridge, expecting to see the pursuing troops lurking in wait, but it appeared that they really had retreated. ‘Stay there and keep down – I’ll see what’s going on.’
‘Shouldn’t we, y’know, run while we can?’ Nina called after him, but he ignored her and quickly scaled the ridge, dropping to his stomach near the top and peering over it.
The troops had indeed retreated, but not far. One man was surveying the ridge; he did a double-take as he spotted Eddie, pointing him out to his fellows, but none of them took a shot at him, or even raised their weapons.
‘What are they doing?’ Nina asked as he returned.
‘I dunno, but I don’t like it. They don’t want to kill us – but it doesn’t look like they’re going to let us leave either. They didn’t look happy about it, though. Somebody’s ordered them to stand down.’
‘Who?’
‘I wish I knew. But I get the feeling they’ll keep us here until we find out.’
That turned out to be the case. After several minutes, they heard another approaching chopper: not the Black Hawk that had attacked them, but a much smaller OH-6 Cayuse scout helicopter. It passed over the bowl, then moved to land near the abandoned tank.
Another few minutes passed, then a man appeared at the crest of the rise. ‘Dr Wilde! Mr Chase!’
Eddie leaned out, regarding the new arrival cautiously. He was an air force colonel, carrying something in one hand: a satellite phone. ‘Yeah? What’s up?’
‘Can I come down to you?’
Nina and Eddie traded bewildered glances. ‘Sure, why not?’ Nina called out.
The colonel picked his way down the slope, almost slipping on some loose gravel at its foot, but managing to retain his footing and dignity as he reached them. It was clear from his disgusted expression that he didn’t want to be dealing with them at all, but was obeying orders from above. He held out the phone. ‘I’ve been told to give you this.’
Still confused, Nina accepted it. She held it to her ear, tilting it so Eddie could listen in. ‘Hello?’
‘Dr Wilde, hello,’ said an unfamiliar voice. The accent was American, a refined New England baritone.
‘Who is this?’
‘You don’t know me – at least, not yet. But I think you’re aware of the organisation I represent. I’m the chairman of the Group.’
Nina couldn’t help but be suspicious. ‘So . . . what do you want?’
‘I want to talk to you. Both of you, in person. Since I’ve just saved your lives, I hope you’ll show your gratitude by agreeing to meet me.’
21
Washington,