Laura 02 The God Code (8 page)

The bus makes a sharp turn as the road switches back on itself. Suddenly the bus slows down fast as the driver brakes due to another bus coming up. There is a bus behind Laura and Victor’s bus, and he has to wait in the turn. The two busses passing each other almost touch, so close do they go past each other, with Victor and Laura’s bus having to give way to the bus coming up. As soon as the bus passes them, their driver pulls away hard, obviously in a hurry. The bus behind them also has to wait until the other bus passes, but has to reverse first to make space for the bus going up to pass.

Laura stares in amazement at the driver’s skill as she looks through the back window at the two busses.

Unknowingly, she bites her lower lip while holding her breath. The one bus is so close to the drop off, it looks like it is going to slide off the mountain.

As soon as the two busses pass each other, and the one behind them is free to travel again, Laura turns in her seat and looks forward again. They are at another turn, and as their bus slows down to take the turn, the bus behind them catches up to them.

Laura puts her head on Victor’s shoulder as a light on the bomb in the wheelwell turns red and the digital counter activates, 5 seconds.

Victor slowly puts his arm around Laura. 2 seconds left. Laura raises her head and their eyes lovingly connect.

Laura jerks from the sound of the explosion. The small bomb rips through the left front tire, blowing it to pieces. The bus’s nose dips dangerously and the left side scrapes on the ground. The bus veers sharply to the side of the road, about to drive off the pass. There is no doubt that if the bus goes over it will roll down the mountain, killing all on the bus. The driver expertly controls the bus, keeping it from rolling over and, as best he can, keeping the bus on the road. Miraculously he steers the bus until it comes to a halt against a tree, partly hanging off the road.

Laura’s mouth hangs open from shock and unconsciously she digs her nails into Victor’s arm as she looks back at the scene behind them. Slowly she closes her mouth and eases her grip on Victor’s arm as she sees the bus come to a stop on the edge.

Laura’s bus driver immediately stops when he hears the explosion and parks his bus in the turn.

“Juan, are you okay?” he asks over the two way radio.

“Yes, seems like I blew a tire.”

“Wait, I will come and help you.”

“No, take your people down. I am okay and the rescue truck is calling me on the other radio, they will be here shortly. No need to delay more tourists than needed.”

“Okay, take care,” the driver replies as he starts his bus and makes ready to pull away. A few hikers close by come to help the people get off the stranded bus. Among them is a man with an old backpack, fuming that the bus did not crash.

Nikolai was hoping for the bus to roll down the mountain. Holding his jacket over his right hand, he conceals his pistol and aims it secretly at each passenger as they climb off the bus. As the last passengers get off the bus, Nikolai realizes with a shock that Victor and Laura were not on the bus. How can it be? I am sure I heard the conductor inform Victor that they had to go on this bus. Nikolai however missed when they were given a space on the first bus. The first bus pulling away in line with them on the road below draws his attention. His heart skips a beat as he spots Victor at a side window on the bus. Slowly he turns away, not wanting to attract attention; he may still have the element of surprise. As soon as the bus rounds the next corner he starts to sprint down the road, then takes the hiking trail used by those who do not want to use the bus. The trail cuts through the bushes between the sections of the road, and then passes over the road in the middle at each point that it crosses the road. Nikolai does not know that the hiking path is a one hour trip down for fit people and only 30 minutes by bus. Frustrated he watches as he comes out of the bush at each switchback road section, only to see Victor’s bus getting farther and farther away.

The running with the heavy backpack is tiring Nikolai, and he has already fallen twice. Admitting defeat, he stops and watches the bus disappear in the distance while he gasps for air.

“You have to take the train back Victor, I will get you at the station,” he says breathlessly to himself. Then starts to follow the path down at a brisk but manageable pace for the gear he has.

“That is unfortunate for those people, and scary. How do we know our tire will not also blow?” Laura looks at Victor for comfort.

“Something tells me the wheel did not blow, more like being blown up.”

“You think someone put a bomb on the bus?”

“I do not know, but it just does not feel right to me. These busses are in very good condition and checked every day, they do not allow worn out tires. It could have been a defective tire, but it is highly unlikely.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Borrow a faster ride than the train.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember the rich tourists that flew in by helicopter this morning? We are going to borrow that helicopter.”

“Is there anything you cannot fly?”

“Well, I have not piloted a large passenger jet or a space shuttle yet, but I am sure I will get the hang of it if they give me a chance.”

“Show off,” Laura laughs.

The rest of the trip goes by in silence. The bus stops just after the train tracks, close to the market.

Victor leads Laura along the train tracks towards the end of town. They pass a sign reading “Helipad”, close to a very nice restaurant with a large thatched roof. Suddenly they come to an open section close to the river with a large level concrete slab, forming the helipad. A boy of around seven is playing next to a twin engine Aerospatiale Squirrel AS355F2 five seater helicopter.

“Hey kid, do you know whose helicopter this is?” Victor asks.

“My dad’s.”

“Wow, it is a very nice helicopter. Do you think it will be okay if we have a look inside?”

“I do not know. He always locks it.”

“Do you know where the keys are?” Victor is hoping he does not need to try and pick the lock. He is unaware that Nikolai has reached the market and is making his way to the train station, looking for them.

“They are always on the kitchen table, he is taking a nap.”

“Where is your house?”

“Just up there, about 5 minutes away,” the boy replies, still playing with two rusty old metal toy cars.

“Will you go and get them for me? I will give you 100 US dollars.”

“I do not know. My dad will be angry if I wake him.”

“You do not need to wake him, just bring the keys. We just want to look inside. You can stand and watch, we will be quick, and then you can take the keys back.” Victor holds up a 100 dollar bill. The kid’s eyes widen and he jumps up and runs away without replying.

“You think he will get the keys or his dad?”

“I do not know Laura, guess we will have to wait and see.”

Nikolai is also waiting, seeing if he can spot Victor and Laura in the train departure area. The departure area is only a 6 minute jog from the helipad. Gasping for breath he walks over to the ticket office.

“What time is the next train?” he asks the ticket office clerk, while trying to catch his breath.

“Next train leaves in 10 minutes, do you want a ticket?”

“No, when is the last train out?”

“The last train out today is 8pm sir.”

“Okay,” Nikolai comments, and walks away. Nikolai scans the departure area, no sign of Victor or Laura. Will Victor stay the night in town, or will he catch a later train? Only one thing to do, wait and see. If Victor does not show when the last train departs, then I will check into a hotel and be ready for the first train out tomorrow morning. Nikolai tiredly takes a seat near the departure’s entrance, at the same time as a small boy comes running to Victor with a bunch of keys in his hand.

Victor smiles as he gives the boy the 100 dollar bill and the kid’s face lights up, admiring the money in his hands. Victor tries three keys before he finds the one that opens the helicopter.

“Wow, it is nice inside,” Victor comments as he opens the pilot’s door, discretely taking the key off the key chain. Laura peeks inside, also commenting on how nice it is.

“Well, better return the keys before your dad wakes up.” Victor hands the keys back to the boy as he speaks, closing the door of the helicopter at the same time. As soon as the boy takes the keys he continues, “Tell you what, here is 10 dollars, if you use it to go and buy us some Coca Cola, I will give you another 100 dollars when you come back.” The boy’s eyes widen and his mouth falls open. Slowly he takes the ten dollars from Victor, and then runs away as fast as his short legs can carry him.

“That was mean, promising the boy another 100 dollars when we will not be here.” Victor reopens the helicopter’s door as Laura speaks.

“That does not mean I cannot leave it for him,” Victor replies as he bends down and picks up one of the metal cars. Opening the car’s door, he stuffs a 100 dollar bill inside the car.

“Sorry,” Laura replies, feeling a bit stupid.

“Come on, get your sexy ass in the helicopter,” Victor replies laughingly, giving Laura a light slap on the bum.

As soon as Laura gets in, Victor climbs in and starts to look at the instruments, making himself familiar before starting the engines.

Nikolai sits back comfortably on the bench and takes out his iPod. Suddenly he jumps up, listening.

“Damn.” He curses to himself as he recognizes the distinct sound of a helicopter starting up in the distance. Quickly he runs towards the train ticket office.

“Is there a helicopter pad in town?”

“Yes, down the path next to the market until you get to the train tracks, then turn left and follow them to the end of town, not too far.”

Nikolai turns and runs as fast as he can, pushing people out of his way. Unaware of Nikolai gaining fast on them, Victor goes through the preflight check to make sure the oil and fuel pressure is correct and that all the instruments and controls are working. He had flown many helicopters before, but all are a little different and he has to search to find a few of the switches and gauges. Suddenly he hears the distinct sound of bullets hitting the side of the helicopter. He has heard that sound many times before when being shot at while being evacuated from a hot zone. Victor gives a quick glance out of the side window. A man is running towards the helicopter, firing from about 300 yards away. Even though the bullets hit the helicopter all over, the man’s shooting skills impress Victor.

Quickly Victor opens the engines up fully and pulls back on the control stick. Nikolai is gaining fast, and his accuracy is getting better by each stride. The helicopter lifts up from the ground just as Nikolai is 40 yards away. Dropping to his knees, he takes aim at the cockpit’s side window, directly at Laura’s head and fires. At the same moment Victor turns the helicopter sideways, causing the bullet to miss Laura by an inch and bury itself in the roof of the cockpit. Nikolai adjusts his aim, determined to kill Laura, but Victor tilts the helicopter sideways, causing the rotors to form a shield. The bullets bounce off the blades harmlessly. Undetermined Nikolai jumps up and runs to the end of the helipad, trying to shoot the engines, but the distance is too great for the bullets to penetrate the hull of the helicopter.

Victor lets the helicopter climb as fast as possible while the sound of bullets hitting the body of the helicopter continues. Suddenly the shooting stops. Has he given up? Victor turns the helicopter to allow him to see Nikolai while still climbing. To his horror, he sees Nikolai putting his pistol away and quickly dropping his backpack to take something out.

“What is he doing Victor?”

“Getting out a larger weapon,” Victor replies as he turns the helicopter fully around, letting it drop fast until they are just over the river. Quickly he angles the nose down with the rotor blades skimming closely over the water. Nikolai is assembling his sniper rifle as quickly as he can. The helicopter is returning at a fast pace. Nikolai smiles as he fits the last piece of the rifle and jumps up to take aim. Fear grips his body and his heart almost stops. The helicopter is almost on him. Nikolai runs backwards a few steps, dodging the deadly blades. A sickening feeling fills his stomach as he slips on one of the kid’s toy cars and falls down backwards. Nikolai tries to get up, but it is too late. Instinctively he puts up his arms to protect himself just as the rotor blades hit him. Searing pain fills his body and a scream escapes his lips as the blades chop his arms off in slices. For a split second Nikolai looks at the bloody stumps where his arms were and then the blades hit his head. Victor pulls the helicopter back as soon as he sees the blades chop Nikolai’s head into pulp. Quickly Victor turns the helicopter around. A group of people is running towards the helipad. Victor pulls back hard on the controls to let the helicopter climb as fast as possible.

At 300 feet above the river, Victor levels off and flies along the river towards Cusco.

“Laura, please get my cell phone in my backpack and phone Manco. Ask him to meet us just outside Cusco on the main road. Tell him we need to get to the airplane we came with originally as fast as possible and that he needs to get it fueled for us.”

“Okay, but can we not use the helicopter to get there?”

“Nope, they will be tracking the helicopter and the police will be on us with their helicopter before we get there. We can make it close to Cusco before they will find us on radar and have time to get their helicopters in the air and to us.”

Laura nods, and then calls Manco relaying the message. Manco is impressed to hear that they stole a helicopter, and promises them that he will meet them, in addition to calling his cousin that works at the airport in the control tower. Manco will ask his cousin to delay finding their helicopter until Manco finds them. It takes them just over an hour to reach the spot Victor asked Manco to meet them at. Victor is a little out of practice, but still manages to make a half decent landing. Quickly they get out while looking around for Manco, but he is nowhere to be seen.