WAR: Opposition: (WAR Book 3) (27 page)

“The second man in the office is where?”

“Stationed in front of two security monitors.”

“Yet he didn’t notice you?”

Seth gave her a look. “I told you, this isn’t my first rodeo.”

She patted his hand. “Of course not. But you can’t blame me for thinking that this is all going too easily. Not after the run of bad luck we’ve had.”

“Point.”

“We have to consider the possibility that Sankoh ordered them to loosen their security to make the plane an attractive target, and that there are more men hidden, waiting for us to show up.”

“Yeah, I thought of that.”

“The smart thing would be to drive away,” Kirra pointed out.

“Right. But we’re running out of time. I have no idea how long it will take us to drive out of this jungle. And the longer we stay on the ground, the more likely it is that either Sankoh’s men or Bureh’s rebels will find us.” He pointed to where they were on the map. “Plus, if we don’t steal the plane, you won’t reach the concert in time.”

Kirra took a deep breath. The adrenaline junkie she’d kept under tight rein since the attack wanted to throw caution aside. But Kirra tightened her grip and gave the responsible answer. “The concert is important to me. Warning the organizers that the rebels might be searching for me is even more important. But I’ll trust your judgment on this.”

He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Uh, you might not want to do that, hon. Let me explain something to you about combat pilots. We’re known for taking risks. Extreme risks.” He jerked his head toward the back window. “Those guys who took me captive? Once they realized who I was, all they wanted to talk about was a particularly dangerous stunt I pulled a while back while trying to save my cargo and passenger from the authorities.”

“Meaning you want to risk it? You think you’re good enough to disable the guards and fly us out of here?”

“Babe, once I’m inside a plane, nothing can touch me.”

She snorted. “Arrogant much?”

“Did I forget to mention that arrogance comes with the pilot’s license?”

“Hmm…” She nodded out the windscreen. “So our choices are one”—she held up a finger—“disable the guards, hope there aren’t any hidden surprises, steal the plane, and fly out of here. Or two”—she held up a second finger—“continue driving through the jungle on the chance that we reach a road that’s deserted and provides unimpeded access to the north and the UAR.”

“That pretty much sums it up.”

She glanced at the map. “If I’m reading this right, the rebels and Sankoh’s men can’t reach the airfield without driving along here.” She traced a series of side roads that skirted the edge of the jungle and then turned toward another road leading north that passed closer to the airfield. “That will take them a few hours.”

“Unless there’s a private road through the jungle we don’t know about.”

“Do you intend to do this or not?” she said in exasperation, punching his shoulder lightly then pulling the map out from underneath his fingers. “Because I think we should come up with a plan and get to it.”

He grabbed the back of her head and hauled her into a long, thorough kiss. “I really, really like you, Kirra,” he whispered, pressing his forehead against hers.

The words were so reminiscent of a teenager unable to fully express his emotions that Kirra grinned. “I really like you, too, Seth.” She pressed a quick, chaste kiss on his mouth, then sat back. “So? Are we making a run at the airfield? Yes or no?”

He sat back. Placing his hands on the wheel, he shot her a cocky grin. “We’re doing it.” He raised his brows. “Here’s the plan.”

Her jaw dropped open as she listened. “That’s it? Are you insane?”

“I told you I’m a risk taker. You still up for doing this?”

God, she loved this man. “Yes.”

“All right then.” He released the hand brake and turned the engine on, but just sat there, staring at the open field.

Kirra couldn’t see a thing in the darkness, except small pinpricks of light from the airfield’s buildings. Her wild side strained at its leash.

A brilliant flash of light nearly blinded her. She turned her head away. “Office?”

“Yep.” Seth kept the Land Cruiser in place.

“Um, what are we waiting for?”

“To see if reinforcements show up.”

But several minutes passed without the arrival of additional guards.

“Now,” Seth announced, revving the engine. “Hold on tight.” He whooped and the vehicle leapt forward.

Kirra threw her head back and laughed, letting her reckless side break free. “I’ve been doing nothing but hanging on tight, Seth. Now show me some real action.”

A
nticipation sizzled
in Seth’s veins as he drove along the right side of the airfield, toward the office. Then a second explosion ripped through the night.

Beside him, Kirra grinned. “Fuel shed?”

“Hell, yeah.”

“
Lekker
.”

Seth blinked while his brain processed the South African term and translated it as “cool” or “nice.”

“How?” Kirra asked.

He grinned back at her. “Idiots didn’t lock their vehicles. Anyone who carries around explosives ought to keep them secured or they deserve what happens.”

Kirra laughed.

He stopped the Land Cruiser along the fence not far from the office. “Let me check—”

Kirra grabbed the binoculars off the console. She opened her window and climbed up until she stood on the window frame.

A couple of minutes later, she slid back into her seat. “The fuel shed is completely destroyed. That fire isn’t going out any time soon. I didn’t see the guard. He’s probably under the debris.” She put the binoculars back on the console.

“Flames are crawling out of the broken windows,” she continued.

Seth swore. “Could you tell if any debris had landed on the airstrip? I set fewer explosives in there trying to avoid that. I also didn’t want the blast to take down the wall to the hangar, possibly damaging the plane.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t tell.”

“No worries. What else?”

“I saw one man carrying another out of the office. The rescuer had an AK-47 at his side, but it appeared as if the other man was unarmed.”

“You didn’t see the guards at the hangar?”

“No.”

“All right.” He didn’t like not knowing where all the players were, but if it was him, he’d have entered the hangar to guard the plane.

“The security cameras on the office building weren’t moving,” Kirra added.

“Excellent.” He drove past the office building and halted just before the access road. For now, the Guinea grass hid them from view, but once they entered the parking lot they’d be sitting ducks. Which was why Seth had originally snuck in behind the hangar.

“What now?”

“I’m going to climb over the fence and take out any remaining guards,” Seth said.

He nodded toward the gate in the fence. “When I signal you with my flashlight, open the gate and drive over to the hangar door. I’ll get the plane ready.” He pointed to the small door at the rear corner of the hangar. “I trust you can bypass the lock on the gate,” he added, handing her a small tool kit.

She opened the kit and murmured appreciatively, “Yes, these should do.”

“We have to work fast, before the search party gets here.”

Kirra nodded. “Go.”

He grabbed the revolver that the pastor had left for him. Then he hopped out of the truck and ran through the Guinea grass until he reached the fence behind the office. Not spotting any of the guards, he climbed the fence, then sprinted across the dirt to the corner of the office building. He sidled around the front, but didn’t spot the men Kirra had mentioned.

They were probably sheltering inside the hangar.

He spared a quick glance at the tarmac. Shards of broken window glass from the office building glittered on the first couple feet, but he could navigate around those.

Since there were no windows at the front of the hangar, Seth sprinted to the far end and the person-sized door. He kicked open the door, but stayed outside.

Gunfire tore into the door. When it stopped, Seth dove inside, firing in the direction of the shooter. He heard a pained grunt, then the sound of a body hitting concrete.

Seth moved deeper into the hangar, but when there were no other signs of life, he bent over and ran to the corner.

Two guards, both of them with torn, burnt clothing that indicated they’d been working in the office, were dead on the hangar floor. Seth picked up the AK-47, then raced into the parking lot and over to the fence.

Kirra lowered the driver’s side window. “What’s up?”

“We still have two guards unaccounted for. I’ll stand watch while you pick the lock.”

“Okay.” She jumped out of the cab and ran over to the gate. After tucking his flashlight expertly between her chin and her chest, she set to work.

Seth timed her. She must have been one hell of a thief because she had the lock undone faster than he could’ve managed. Seth slid the gate back while Kirra got behind the wheel and drove through.

That’s when the missing guard showed up. He raced toward them from the back of the hangar, firing as he ran.

Seth dove toward the truck, but not fast enough. A bullet caught the outside of his thigh and he stumbled. Cursing, he allowed momentum to take him to his knees. Then he took a kneeling shooter’s position and fired several times over the truck’s hood.

The guard darted behind the Land Rover in the parking lot.

“Get in,” Kirra said, holding open the back passenger’s door.

Seth threw himself inside as Kirra gunned it. She drove toward the guard, staying low in her seat as the guard shot at them. The windshield splintered. Kirra continued to aim for the guard.

Seth jumped out while they were still moving. He tucked and rolled so that he took the brunt of the fall on his uninjured side, then again took a shooter’s position.

Kirra rammed the Land Rover and kept driving, shoving the other vehicle ahead of her as if she were plowing snow.

When the guard dove out from behind the Land Rover, Seth shot him.

Kirra slammed on the brakes and leapt out of the cab.

“Seth! Are you okay?” She raced over to him.

“Yeah.” No. His leg burned. But he didn’t have time to be injured. “I’ve got to start the preflight check.”

Kirra ignored him and ran her hands down his leg. “
Eish
! You’re
not
okay.” She pressed her lips together and glanced quickly away. Her hand covered her mouth as if she were trying to stop herself from throwing up.

Dammit, the blood.

Yet Kirra didn’t let that stop her. She yanked the scarf off her head and wrapped it tightly around his leg.

“Thanks.” He glanced over at the fallen guard. “There’s still one more unaccounted for. Grab the gear.”

Seth handed her the revolver. “Take this.” Then he hurried over to the hangar door. The bullet hadn’t dug very deep, so while it hurt like a mother, his leg held his full weight.

This time when he entered the hangar no one shot at him.

Progress.

He flipped the light switch. Nothing.

Yeah, he’d figured the explosions might take out the power supply. The fire should provide enough illumination. He hurried over to the bay door and pulled the lever. The door didn’t open. Shit. He played his flashlight over the area and saw that a piece of the mechanism had been bent out of shape, probably by someone banging on it with the butt of a rifle. Seth dashed over to the equipment cart.

“Seth? Is everything okay?” Kirra called.

“Yeah.”

“Do you need help?”

“Nope.”

“Okay.”

While Kirra loaded their backpacks onto the plane, Seth found the tools he needed and hammered the warped metal back into place. The door stuttered when he pulled the lever and moved incredibly slowly along the track, but it did open.

Once the gap was wide enough to let the plane out and the light from the fire in, he performed a quick preflight check. If Sankoh or the rebels expected Seth to show up, the smart thing to do would have been to instruct one of the guards to sabotage the plane. Yet Seth didn’t see any signs of damage, so maybe whoever owned the plane didn’t want to lose an expensive piece of equipment just to bring Seth and Kirra in. In fact, whoever owned the plane kept it in excellent condition, despite the insufficient security. Best of all, it had a full tank of gas.

Still, Seth wouldn’t rest easy until he had the plane in the sky and heard how it ran. Hell, he wouldn’t fully believe the plane was safe until they landed somewhere far from here without crashing.

He ran outside to do a final check for debris on his flight line. He’d just turned to head back into the hangar when he picked up a faint sound in the sky.

He turned his head to get a better read on it. Then he raced inside and jumped into the pilot’s seat.

“What?” Kirra demanded, jamming her headset on.

“I heard a helicopter. Sounds like a Russian built Mil-17.”

“How can you tell?”

“Former helicopter pilot.” Another glance confirmed that there was no debris or equipment near the plane, so he started the engine.

Kirra threw him a startled look. “Seth? Are you supposed to start the plane in the hangar?”

“We don’t have time to tow her out. The helicopter might be on us by then. We can’t outfly it.” The rebels had recently stolen a few helicopters. Seth was surprised that his blackmailer, who knew about Seth’s past, hadn’t asked him to participate in the thefts.

Yeah, right. Why would anyone grant him access to the one thing he loved to do?

“If we can’t outfly it, then shouldn’t we abandon the plane and hide in the jungle instead?” Kirra asked. “Our four-by-four isn’t that badly damaged,” she continued. “We could make it to the road.”

“No. They’d just hunt us down.”

The engine reached taxiing mode. The plane burst out of the hangar and onto the tarmac.

He shoved in full power.

The plane picked up speed. Seth kept an eye on the far end of the strip where debris from the fuel shed fire burned on the edges of the tarmac. He should be able to get the plane off the ground before then.