Disaster for Hire (11 page)

Joe, who had propped his gun on the wall near Phil, said, "Oh, yeah, we forgot to tell you—these guys have been on our tail all the way from the border."

Atlas joined the two at the wall and looked down, where the border patrol was now joining forces with the other group. "I make it to be about fifteen altogether." He frowned and looked at Joe. "Can't say that I like the odds."

Joe thought about their situation. "I don't know. There're more of them, but there're more of us, too, now."

"No," the agent said. "Having so many men down there gives them more firepower and mobility."

Atlas shook his head. "If they want me bad enough, they may just decide to take the casualties and try an all-out attack."

THANKS TO FRANK'S WARNING, Spiros Stamos had two seconds to deal with the boulder. He stood on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching stop. In the backseat Chet and the Gray Man were flung forward.

The boulder, with a thunderous roar, hit the road just ahead of the car, then tumbled down into the ravine. It had missed the front bumper by about a foot.

All the people in the car sat silent for a moment as they thought about the narrowness of their escape. Even the engine had stalled out.

Chet sat back in his seat with a soft "Wow!"

The Gray Man asked, "Is everyone okay?" Everyone seemed to be.

"You've got sharp reflexes, Mr. Stamos," Frank observed.

Andreas Stamos popped out from the bushes in which he had been hiding and dashed to the car. In his hand he held a small pocket mirror. "You saw my flashes?"

"They probably saved us from being squashed just then," said Frank. "Hop in, Andreas." Chet opened the back door and Andreas scrambled inside. His eyes were large with excitement, his words spilling out.

"I ran here and saw a car coming and hid because the car was full of strange men. Two of them climbed up — they were doing something to a big rock on the hill. When your car came they started pushing the rock, so I tried to signal you and — "

"And you succeeded and saved our lives," Stamos cut in. "Excellent work, son."

The Gray Man leaned across the back seat toward Andreas. "Did you see what happened to the men after they started the boulder downhill?"

Andreas nodded. "They ran that way," pointing toward where the secondary road branched off from the main one, "and then started down the hill."

"Then this is the turnoff we want to take to the fortress?" asked the Gray Man.

"It's about eight miles," Andreas said.

The Gray Man tapped Stamos on the shoulder. "They probably rejoined the others in their car, on their way to the fortress, or — "

"Or," cut in Frank, "they're planning a surprise for us ahead on the road."

"Well, whichever it is, we'd better get moving," the Gray Man responded.

Stamos brought the car's engine back to life, and they headed up the side road. It was narrower than the main route. Two cars meeting head-on would have had to pass each other very carefully.

They drove on, not too fast. Any curve could hide a trap set to spring on them. The minutes crawled by and each twist of the road became an adventure. The Gray Man reached down to the floor and began distributing guns. "Just in case. We don't want to be taken unprepared."

Frank examined his weapon, an American AR-14, which he had some experience with. He went back to watching the road. Was Joe back at the tower by now? Had he and Clea managed to bring the American agent back with them? Or — but there was no point in this kind of guesswork. He forced himself to concentrate on the matter in hand. Joe could take care of himself. Or, at any rate, he would have to, for the time being.

"Must be getting pretty close by now," Chet said. "Maybe those other guys just drove on up to the fortress."

"We are very near," Andreas agreed. "It will be up on a hill, to our left. You will go around a long curve, just ahead, and — "

Suddenly the rocky hills that bordered the road on the left broke off, forming a crevice, and out of that crevice a van appeared just behind them, greeting them with a hail of gunfire. Men leaned out of windows on both sides with automatic weapons blazing.

Stamos pressed down heavily on the gas pedal, trying to get a little distance between the two vehicles. Frank rolled down his window and aimed his gun back at the van. But in the bouncing, swaying car, it wasn't easy.

Chet peered back at the van from the back window. "Hey, Frank! You recognize the one riding shotgun?"

Frank knew that sharp face with the cold eyes, even when the eyes were squinting over the blazing barrel of an Uzi. "It's our old buddy, Theo. I figured we'd see him again before this was over." He fired a short burst, then corrected his aim.

"Go for the engine or the radiator!" the Gray Man shouted.

Frank grabbed at the door as the car took a sharp turn on two wheels. "I'll be lucky to hit anything, rocking and rolling like this!"

A series of metallic thunks and a shudder in the car showed that a gunman had stitched the trunk with bullets. Frank fired again, aiming lower.

The right front tire of the van blew out with a pop that could be heard in Salonika. The van lurched and swung wildly to the right, and then back the other way as the driver fought the wheel to keep the vehicle on the road. It fish-tailed again with its tires squealing in protest, the van driver slamming on the brakes. Finally the van flipped over on its side and skidded.

Stamos brought the car to a halt, and Frank started to get out, but as he did, Theo pushed open the van door, firing at the car and forcing Frank back inside.

With Theo covering, another rider from the van managed to work his way out, carrying something in his arms. Both men sprinted away from the overturned van and away from the road. Frank realized that they were headed for the fortress.

Stamos grabbed Frank by the arm and pulled him into the car. "Shut the door! We must get up there fast."

Frank did as he was told, but as Stamos gunned the car forward, he asked, "Why the big hurry?"

Stamos kept both eyes on the road. "Did you see what that fellow was carrying when he ran off toward the fort?"

"I couldn't tell what it was."

"Well, I've seen those things in action before. It was a mortar. They'll be able to lob shells right into the tower."

Stamos coaxed the car along the road while Theo and his friend ran crosscountry.

"There it is!"

Andreas pointed to the fortress rising above the road.

Stamos stopped the car and the five passengers got out to look the situation over. They could hear firing, but from the road, there was no view of the action.

Suddenly the volume of fire increased sharply. "I'm going to take a look." Frank darted out from behind the car and worked his way uphill, toward the fort.

Moments later he raced back. Ducking down with the others, he drew a rough map in the dirt. "This is the fortress. And here is where they're setting up that mortar. They've got most of their firepower concentrated over here, well away from the mortar position, and they've opened up with heavy firing from that line.

"My guess is that the heavy firing is a diversion, to keep the defenders from noticing the mortar. Then they'll start lobbing shells into the tower. We'd better get that mortar out of commission fast."

The five moved hurriedly to the crest of the hill. Two men knelt by the mortar, stacking shells beside it. "Where's Theo?" whispered Chet. Frank whispered, "Maybe he's over where the shooting is coming from."

"We'll have to drive those men away from that field piece, that's the first priority," the Gray Man said.

They poured a hail of bullets over the heads of the two men, who immediately abandoned their position, dashing for cover.

The Gray Man called out, "Hold your fire!" The chattering of the guns stopped. "Frank, you and Chet stay here and keep anyone from reaching the mortar. If you can knock it out of action without exposing yourselves to any undue risk, do it. Spiros, you and Andreas come with me — we'll give those people doing all the shooting something else to worry about — a flank attack. Let's go."

While the Gray Man and the two Stamoses set off, Chet and Frank found cover. The mortar stood fifty feet away, with a pile of shells to one side and a few shells lying on the ground nearby.

"Maybe we could just rush out and grab that stovepipe," Chet suggested.

Frank shook his head. "Try it, and the crew will start sniping at you."

"Yeah, I guess. Boy, I feel like I haven't eaten in a week. You have any snacks, Frank?"

Shots rang out, behind Frank, and he actually heard the whine of a bullet zipping by him. He whipped around, and heard Chet cry out.

"Frank! It's Theo!"

The thin-faced thug had crept to within twenty feet of Frank and Chet, but his burst of fire had missed. Frank sent a short blast at the gunman, who ducked for the shelter of the thick, heavy branches of a dead tree.

Frank fired again, moving out to his left to get a better angle. Theo popped out from behind his tree trunk, aiming another volley at Frank, who dove headlong, hugging the ground as the shots passed harmlessly over his head. He heard a mocking laugh from behind the tree.

"You see, my young Yankee friend, I told you that we would meet once again."

Flat on his stomach, Frank raised his gun high, firing a long burst. Theo flinched back, but the bullets went over his head. He stepped round the tree, his face an ugly mask of triumph as he leveled his Uzi at Frank. "I want you dead, Yankee."

Then the massive tree branch that Frank's shooting had torn loose from the trunk dropped on Theo's head. Frank smiled as Theo folded into an unconscious heap. "You're lucky I wanted you alive," he said.

He dragged Theo over to the tree and tied him so that his arms circled the trunk. Then he hurried back to Chet, who said, "I thought he had you there for a second."

"Good thing that tree was dead, or I don't know if that trick would've worked. Now, about that mortar ... I wonder if we could set off one of those loose shells over there by shooting it."

"Want to try?"

"If it goes up, it'll probably take those other shells with it, so let's back off."

They moved away to some rocks that stood forty yards from the mortar. Frank tapped Chet on the shoulder. "If this works, don't stand there admiring the explosion. Hit the dirt."

They began firing short bursts at the shells. The first few did nothing but raise dust clouds. Then there was a loud crack! and a fiery flash, followed almost immediately by a really thunderous roar.

Frank and Chet dove behind their shelter with the first explosion. But they felt the Shockwave and the heat from the big blast as the entire stack of shells went up. A scattering of debris fell around them. They waited a bit, and then slowly raised themselves up for a look.

The mortar lay some distance from where it had been, a twisted and bent metal tube. There was a shallow crater where the shells had been.

"Awesome," Chet's eyes were wide.

Frank's ears were ringing. "Come on," he said to Chet. "Let's give the others a hand. We're not out of the woods yet."

They found Spiros and Andreas Stamos with the Gray Man exchanging fire with a group of enemy gunmen. The Gray Man twisted around to give Frank a startled glance.

"Five or six men have us pinned in place here, and I think most of the rest are trying a last-ditch attack on the tower."

The intensity of gunfire abruptly rose, coming from the vicinity of the entryway leading to the tower, and from the top of the tower itself.

"This could be it," the Gray Man muttered.

Spiros Stamos called out from his position, "What can we do?"

Frank thought of his brother, up there facing an all-out assault. "We've got to do something!"

The Gray Man reached out and gripped Frank by the shoulder. "Listen to me. Trying to get over to them now would be suicidal. They have us pinned down here. We wouldn't — "

"Hey!" Chet piped up. "Listen a second!"

Frank listened, frowning. "I can't hear — Wait a minute! It sounds like—a car."

A khaki-colored troop carrier with the Greek flag painted on its door pulled up. Troops hopped out, forming up in ranks.

Chet jumped up. "Look! The attackers are splitting!"

The men who'd been massing to attack the tower were now retreating in haste, into the hills and back to the Yugoslav border. The wounded were being hauled along by their comrades.

"Why don't you go and round them up?" Chet demanded.

"We have what we want — it's much better to pretend all this never happened." The Gray Man shot a look of warning at Frank and Chet.

"I hope we can count on you never to talk about this, to anyone, under any circumstances whatever. You went to Greece, looked at ruins and the countryside, made a little side trip, and you went home. Period."

"What about Peter being kidnapped?" asked Frank. "The students all were there when that went down."

"They've been told that it was all a misunderstanding. Peter went home with some relatives and didn't tell us in advance. And the attack at the restaurant had nothing whatever to do with us. Clear?"

"Clear," said Chet with regret in his voice.

"Frank! Hey, Frank!" Joe Hardy walked toward them, supporting Morton Prynne on one side while Atlas supported the other. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see you again!"

Andreas Stamos dashed ahead and hugged Clea. Peter and Spiros ran over, too, and the four Stamoses met in a big embrace. Atlas and the Gray Man started to move away with them, but Frank stopped the Network agent.

"Just about a hundred yards back that way, you'll find a guy tied to a tree," he said. "His name is Theo, and he's the head bad guy."

"Nicholas Kaliotis will tell us all we need to put Theo away," said Spiros Stamos. He shook hands with Frank and Joe in turn and said, "Thank you, both. I cannot say how grateful I am.

Stamos turned to the Gray Man. "These young men are valuable assets. Perhaps one day you might formalize their position."

The Gray Man coughed. "Ah, yes, I must admit that they did quite well, considering — "