Shiva (25 page)

* * *

Rebecca grabbed hold of a seat as the helicopter rocked
when
it was hit by another giraffe.

“
Why are the
re
so many freaking animals?
”
Lopez demanded.

Nursing his ankle, Talli answered,
“
We are smack dab in the middle of a wildlife reserve.
”

“
Still…
”
Lopez exhaled.
“
And is somebody filming this?
”

Rebecca plunked her forehead against Brandt
’
s extremely stained white shirt. For a moment, amongst all the chaos
,
she just let his chest lift her forehead
,
then lower
it
as he breathed in and out. His heartbeat pounded against his breastbone
,
creating a beautiful symphony. He put a hand on the back of her head, stroking her hair. She felt his lips brush the top of her head.

Brandt was not just alive, but safe too. Well, as safe as any of them as Lopez struggled to ke
e
p them somewhat aloft. Rebecca barely noticed. Instead
,
she took in the moment
.
T
hen the little girl threw herself at Brandt, wrapping her little arms around his leg.

“
Thor!
”

Yes,
Vakasa
’
s dark
-
haired, green-eyed Thor was Brandt. There must be a story there, but they certainly didn
’
t have time to tell it
,
as Lopez yelled,
“
Hold on!
”

When Lopez told you to secure yourself, you
secured
yourself.

Brandt grabbed Rebecca and
Vakasa
, lowering them to the floor as he grabbed hold of the base of a seat. Lopez hit the thrust, taking them up. Up through the thick jungle canopy. Huge fronds whacked the chopper, tousling its path. The rotors ground, screaming their complaint
,
but still
,
they ascended.

Until, finally
,
they popped out of the forest, streaking upward. It was like they
’
d escaped the earth
’
s atmosphere and hurled into space as stars twinkled in the sky. Then Lopez stabilized their speed and ascent.

They hovered over the forest. The huge hole
they
’
d cut
in the canopy was already closing as branches unfolded
,
spreading a leaf bandage over the jungle.

“
There!
”
Talli shouted, pointing to the other helicopter whose rotors began turning.

She laid her cheek against Brandt
’
s chest.

His words rumbled against her ear.
“
I thought you sabotaged it?
”

“
Wait for it,
”
Lopez said
,
skimming them over the canopy, heading north.

* * *

Brandt waited, with Rebecca safely stowed in his embrace, as the mercenaries loaded into the chopper even as it lifted off. The chopper that was supposed to be inoperable. Like
,
not able to lift off.

“
Lopez…
”

As their own helicopter gained altitude, Lopez scoffed.
“
Kind of the point of
‘
wait for it
’
is to
wait
.
”

Even after the other chopper
had
lifted off completely and swung around to give chase, Lopez still kept smiling. There was waiting
,
and then there was being stupid. Suddenly
,
the Disciples
’
rotors lurched
,
spinning erratically. The chopper dipped and spun as the pilot tried to get the vehicle under control.

“
I knew they would comb the helo looking for other sabotage points
,
so I taped some rocks deep within the gear box.
”

“
I don
’
t get it,
”
Rebecca said
,
tilting her chin up to look at Brandt. Her tear
-
streaked, mud
-
caked features should have been on the cover of
Vogue
.

Levont answered as Talli tended to his arm wound.
“
The heat and vibration of the liftoff loosened the tape, releasing the rocks into the gear box.
”

“
I figured
,
why just incapacitate the chopper when I might be able to take out the whole crew?
”
Lopez boasted, not inaccurately
,
as the Disciples
’
helicopter limped its way over the forest. Clearly trying to find a place to land.

If Brandt
weren
’
t
holding Rebecca so close, he might have hugged the corporal.
Vakasa
loosened her grip from his leg to look around.

She asked in a mishmash of Russian, Hebrew
,
and possibly Incan. Brandt took her to mean,
“
Where is Scarecrow?
”
Davidson.

Good question.

“
Lopez?
”

Again
,
the corporal scoffed.
“
Why do think we
’
re not halfway to Rwanda?
”

As the Disciples
’
helicopter zigged and zagged its way west, losing altitude, then shooting up the next second, Lopez maneuvered his way back to the clearing. A hand waved from the trees. For once
,
they had a sniper in the perch and didn
’
t have to use him.

Brandt moved Rebecca and the girl over to make room to open the chopper
’
s door.

One team member left
to rescue
and they were the
hell
out of Africa.

Davidson emerged from the canopy as Lopez brought them alongside the tree line. Winds buffeted them a bit
,
but the sniper would only have a few feet to jump and be home free.

Brandt reached
out
his hand.
“
Nice to see you,
P
rivate.
”

A smile flashed as Davidson secured his rifle. He took in a few breaths
,
then launched himself. Everything was going great
—
the helicopter
’
s stability, Davdison
’
s trajectory, everything.

Until it wasn
’
t.

* * *

Pain lanced Davidson
’
s neck as warm blood gushed from a bullet wound. The force knocked him back and down. His fingers desperately sought the helicopter
’
s struts, but his hand instinctively pulled back
to
clutch the bleeding wound. And his weak hand couldn
’
t support his weight.

Brandt clutched at his sleeve, but he could never pull him up in time and
,
all the while he tried
,
gave the Disciples
’
sniper all the time in the world to deliver a fatal blow to the chopper.

“
Take two,
”
Davidson said before he let go.

The sergeant refused to release his sleeve until bullets pinged off the chopper.

“
Fuck,
”
Brandt blurt
ed,
then let gravity do the rest.

Davidson crashed into the canopy, the leaves and thick stems breaking his fall. He only fell through three layers of trees before a he caught a branch under one arm. One hand staunching the bleeding, Davidson
’
s other hand helped him climb up onto the branch.

When would he learn that the Disciples
’
sniper had the patience of literally a saint? And worse
,
he was smart. Why show your hand until you could go for the checkmate shot? The other sniper knew he couldn
’
t take out the team until he took out Davidson. So he had laid in wait. Tempering his urgency with his desire to eliminate his competition. Patiently staying his hand until the kill shot.

And another half inch and it would have been a fatal injury.

Davidson pulled his palm away from his neck and gently probed the wound. The bullet had taken a small chunk out of his flesh but missed the jugular. Which didn
’
t mean it wasn
’
t bleeding like a
mother
.

Ripping the hem
from
his jacket, he packed the wound and tied a band as tight as he could without cutting off blood flow to his brain.

Now to figure out a way to get back on that helicopter without getting them all shot.

* * *

Frellan
leaned in
as the helicopter veered left
,
as if blown by a fierce wind. Instead
,
they were undone by child
’
s play. Pebbles in the gear box had brought them low. Not just low. It
had
nearly crashed them.

He looked to the empty seat across from him.
Mikhal
’
s seat. The sniper had refused to board. He had refused to chase after the heat si
gnatures. He had gone up a
tree and refused to come down.

What report would he write to the Master? How Frellan not only lost the Messiah, but killed his entire team in the attempt?
Mikhal
prized stillness. Who knew sitting out the fight could actually make you the victor. Well, Frellan had combed the world for near on a decade for the Messiah.

And now
,
after seeing her? Frellan wasn
’
t about to yield his duty or his honor.

“
We
must jump,
”
he
ordered
Ugudo
as the helicopter bucked again, nearly falling into the trees.

The man shook his head sharply
,
his words rattled by the unstable rotors.
“
Can
’
t chance landing in the river.
”

Frellan looked out past the tree line to the Congo River. It snaked past, slow and sluggish
.
“
The water will break our fall.
”

All the men around Frellan snorted.
“
We will take our chances here,
”
one said.

“
Mamba
,
”
Ugudo
said.
“
Bad
mamba
here.
”

Frellan studied the smooth waters as best he could as the helicopter jumped and bounced in the air. He knew of the crocodile danger. Anyone who dared travel in Africa knew of the
mamba
. It was one thing to snatch a kayaker from his boat. Quite another to take on an entire armed team.

He went to argue with
Ugudo
, but the man leaned his head against the hull.
“
You jump? You jump
alone
.
”
Even with that barbed bar in his cheek
,
the man still defied Frellan. He did not take that lightly.

Frellan
nodded his concession
. Seldom did he allow subordinates to dictate terms,
but
if Ugudo was willing to risk another session with Frellan, he must have his convictions.

“
Then we land,
”
Frellan instructed.

“
The pilot is trying to get us back to the
—
”