The Sacred Vault_ A Novel - Andy McDermott [143]
‘We’ll be able to take the Vedas as well,’ said Nina. ‘If we contact the Indian government, they can arrange security.’
‘Sounds good to me,’ said Eddie. He motioned to Girilal to help him lift Kit.
The Interpol agent gasped in pain, but managed a strained ‘I’m okay,’ as they supported him. Everyone followed the men carrying the chest. ‘I’ll give you my superior’s number. He’ll be able to—’
Eddie stopped suddenly. ‘Wait!’
‘What is it?’ asked Nina.
The echoing thud of rotor blades answered her question. Not one set: several.
The Khoils had found them.
26
‘Keep hold of Kit!’ Eddie ordered Girilal as he ran for the doors. The other guardians were already sprinting for the entrance to investigate.
Nina went after them. ‘What do we do? It’ll take ages to get the chest out of the valley!’
‘I don’t think we’ll even get the chance - no, get back!’ he shouted at the men ahead of him.
Too late. The noise of the blades got louder, pounding subsonic thumps that they could feel as much as hear - but it was another, more deadly sound that made Eddie throw Nina into the cover of one of the ancient war machines. A machine gun opened fire, tracer rounds searing through the open doors. Gouts of blood burst from the guardians’ bodies as the gunner sent a stream of death into the Vault.
Shankarpa flung himself back as bullets cracked into the stone floor. He scrambled to join Nina and Eddie behind the solid, spiky roller of the udghatima. ‘The chest! Where is it?’
‘There!’ Nina pointed. The two men carrying it had put it down beside the ramp before going to the doors.
A freezing wind blasted into the cavern as the helicopter descended. Eddie looked out from behind the roller. The chopper was a Chinook; a large, twin-rotor transport aircraft designed to lift heavy cargoes - or large numbers of troops. The rear ramp, facing them, was fully lowered, the gunner lying on his belly and letting rip with a bipod-mounted M249 machine gun. Behind him were at least a dozen more men, dressed in black combat gear and body armour, carrying MP5Ks.
The surviving guardians tried to run for cover, but the gunner cut them down. One man attempted to leap from the top of the broken stairway to the uppermost ledge. A burst of machine-gun fire and his legs exploded into bloody chunks of meat, sending him tumbling screaming to the ground.
The firing stopped. The Chinook’s engines increased power, and it climbed out of sight. Beyond it, Eddie saw the red and white helicopter that had overflown the valley earlier - and a third aircraft, a compact black and silver MD 500. That particular model was based on the US Army’s MH-6 Little Bird gunship - and its users were taking advantage of its military heritage. One of the cockpit’s doors was open, the barrel of another M249 aiming down into the valley.
He ducked back. ‘Christ, they’ve got three choppers out there! No idea how many guys in them, but it looked like a lot.’
‘We’ve got to get the Vedas somewhere safe,’ said Nina, glancing out at the chest. Shielded by the stone ramp, it had escaped damage during the onslaught, but now seemed terrifyingly fragile.
‘We’ll never be able to get it outside - not without getting shot to shit.’ He took another look round the udghatima. ‘We should - shit!’
Ropes dropped in front of the ledge. The Chinook was hovering above the overhang. At any moment, troops would rappel down. The MD 500 was also hanging above the valley, ready to provide covering fire.
‘They’re coming,’ Eddie told Shankarpa. The ropes wavered, snake-like, as the mercenaries began their descent. With his Wildey, he could have picked them off before they reached the ledge, but the only weapons to hand were knives and swords.
Unless—
He looked at the giant stone roller shielding them. ‘Nina, you said these things were ready to go - how do you set them off?’
‘How should I know? You’re the death machine