Shiva (26 page)

“
Now
,
”
Frellan
order
ed.
“
If he
must crash us, he
crash
es
us.
”

The African
’
s eyes dilated. It was one of the mercenaries
who
spoke.
“
That is quite the risk.
”

Frellen
raised a pierced eyebrow to Ugudo
.
“
You
wished to take your chances, did you not?
”

* * *

“
That
’
s right, sucker!
”
Lopez yelled
through
the windshield. That was until a shot bounced off a rotor. The corporal backed them away several hundred yards.
“
How about now, huh?
”

“
Lopez,
”
Brandt admonished
,
“
l
et
’
s stop antagonizing the guy with the sniper rifle…
”
Then Brandt remembered the elephants and the giraffes.
“
On second thought, let
’
s not antagonize anyone or
thing
.
”

“
I gotta tell ya,
”
Lopez said
,
“
I don
’
t have a whole lot of fuel left…
”

For so many reasons
,
they were running out of options. But they couldn
’
t leave Davidson in the jungle
,
either. However
,
to go in close enough to the forest
’
s edge to retrieve the private would be nearly suicide for both Davidson and everyone on the chopper.

“
What are we going to do?
”
Rebecca asked, slipping her hand in his.

Jesus, he wished he had an answer for her.

“
Get us close enough
,
and I can try to take a shot,
”
Talli suggested.

Brandt shook his head.
“
Your gun doesn
’
t have enough range. Nothing we have does.
”
Plus
,
it is you on the trigger
, he thought but did not say aloud.

“
I say we take the fight to the sniper,
”
Levont announced from the back of the helicopter.

“
Great plan, only how do you plan to avoid a massacre?
”
Brandt said as he turned to his point man.

Levont didn
’
t have to answer as he hefted an RPG launcher from a metal bin.

“
I couldn
’
t agree more,
”
Brandt said as he squeezed Rebecca
’
s hand.
“
Let
’
s get everyone strapped in.
”

God, he had never loved Rebecca more than when she simply nodded and went to get Vakasa secured. No argument. No questioning the logic. No fussing.

If they survived the next few minutes, she was definitely a keeper.

CHAPTER 10

═══════════
═══════

Skies
A
bove the Congo

11:29
p
.
m
.
(
CAT
)

Rebecca urged Vakasa to cover her ears, but the little girl just stared wide-eyed at Levont as
he prepped the rocket launcher.

“
Lopez, move us in,
”
Brandt said
,
then turned to everyone else.
“
Remember
,
we are going to have to take some fire until we are in position.
”

Of course
,
they would have to take some fire. When didn
’
t they? At least this was for a good cause. Getting Davidson back. She
’
d take some fire for that. Apparently Vakasa would as well
,
as she gave a thumbs
-
up. Such a remarkable little girl. It seemed she spoke over half a dozen languages and knew her way around American idioms.

“
Ready?
”
Lopez asked, then didn
’
t bother to wait for an answer.

Instead
,
he tilted the chopper forward, running straight at the sniper
’
s position. Bullets cracked the windshield, but still
,
they streaked forward.

“
Now!
”
Brandt shouted
,
and on a dime, Lopez turned the helicopter ninety degrees so the door was facing the sniper.

Rebecca covered her ears, wincing as the rocket ignited, flying from the launcher toward the western jungle. Just as quickly, Lopez spun the helicopter away and hauled ass across the clearing. She looked over her shoulder to watch the rocket hit the trees and burst into flame. They had no chance of actually killing the sniper
.
T
hey just needed him running for his life from the explosion.

And sure enough
,
not a single shot sounded in the night as they raced to Davidson
’
s position. Somehow
,
even though injured, he had climbed back to the top of the canopy
, d
eeper in the forest so they couldn
’
t pick him up at the tree line, but Levont h
ad the ropes and harness ready.

They were prepared.

Except
,
of course
,
for the helicopter to start sputtering.

* * *

Davidson watched the helicopter
’
s speed cut in half. Fuel streaming out of
a bullet hole explained a lot.

Crap.

There would be no second chances this time. Ignoring the stabbing pain from his neck and just about every other body part
,
Davidson knew he had to make up the distance. No time to make sure the branches could carry his weight.

He just had to have faith. With a prayer on his lips, Davidson ran across the canopy. Never landing long enough to sink into the jungle. His momentum would not last long
,
though.

The helicopter veered toward him
,
then dropped a good twenty feet down the riverside cliff. Davidson was almost there. Minor details
,
but now that the helicopter was lower than him, the spinning rotors were in the way.

It was clear
,
however
,
that as the helicopter staggered and sputtered, it was never going to make up the altitude.

Davidson could only pray that Lopez knew what he was about to do.

Gritting his teeth, Davidson launched himself out of the jungle and toward those spinning rotors.

Just in time
,
the helicopter tilted left, angling the rotors away.

Davidson hit the fuselage hard. His finger scrambled to find a hold on the fuel
-
slickened metal. His feet flailed
,
trying to find purchase on…well
,
anything.

Then there was a hand on his collar.

“
I
’
ve got you,
”
Brandt said. Standing on the struts, braced against the door
,
the sergeant was a sight for sore eyes.
“
Let
’
s get you inside.
”

Davidson certainly didn
’
t argue there. He let himself slip the rest of the way down the body of the helicopter as he was guided to the safety of the struts. As the helicopter righted itself, Davidson was pulled into the cabin.

“
Thanks.
”

Brandt frowned
,
though.
“
I wouldn
’
t thank me yet.
”

The sergeant nodded toward the Congo River. The surface of which was fast approach
ing
as Brandt secured the door.

“
What are you talking about?
”
Lopez scoffed.
“
We are totally going to make it.
”

The far shore seemed
,
well, pretty far off
,
given how quickly the helicopter was losing thrust.

“
Okay. I lied,
”
Lopez admitted.
“
We aren
’
t going to make it.
”

No kidding.

* * *

Rebecca watched as
,
for one glorious moment
,
it looked like Lopez would prove himself wrong. The bank wasn
’
t forty feet
a
way. You could see the individual trees on the other side. You could make out the ripples in the mud.

Then the helicopter
’
s engine gave one last sputter. The rotors ground to a halt
,
and the chopper just fell out of the air. Straight down into the Congo River. They hit the water hard, but not all that hard because, well
,
they just weren
’
t that high in the sky.

“
Evac,
”
Brandt barked, flinging
off
his restraints.

Water lapped at the front windshield as they sank into the river. Rebecca unbuckled herself
,
then Vakasa. The girl climbed into her arms, clutching her neck. Rebecca didn
’
t blame the girl. If she could
have sought
shelter in Brandt
’
s arms, she would
have
do
ne
it. Unfortunately
,
Brandt was busy gathering as much gear as they could salvage. He trusted her to buck up. To be brave. Or at least fake it.

Talli went to grab the chopper
’
s door
,
but Brandt shook his head.
“
Grab anything you can.
”

“
But the higher the water gets, the harder it will be to
—
”

Lopez nodded to the bullet hole
–
ridden windshield.
“
Dude, we are not going to create a vacuum in here.
”

Rebecca nearly lost her balance as the helicopter slid down the muddy riverbed, deeper into the Congo. The water level was over halfway up the windows.

“
Got mine,
”
Davidson announced as he threw a fifth bag over his shoulders.

Surprisingly
,
Brandt didn
’
t have anything on his. Instead
,
he handed out the equipment to the other men.
“
Al
l
right. Levont you are going out first. Then I will escort Rebecca and Vakasa. Talli
—
”

“
What the hell is
—
”

Out of nowhere
,
a mass of flesh with a glistening row of teeth surged in the water, hitting the windshield head
-
on. The glass cracked, sending a spiderweb of flaws through the windshield.

In the glow of headlights
,
the giant crocodile shook its head
and
several front teeth fell out. Clearly
,
the ancient predator was not used to the concept of glass. However
,
those dark eyes did not seem deterred in the
least
. A meal was to be had.