Shiva (40 page)

None of the men answered.

“
Guys?
”
Rebecca urged.
“
There are always options. Right? I mean, that
’
s what you always say.
”

“
Oh, we
’
ve got an option,
”
Lopez said.

“
What?
”

Lopez didn
’
t answer
,
though
.
Levont did.
“
We land.
”

“
And?
”

Talli was the one
who
finished the thought.
“
We surrender ourselves.
”

“
You have got to be kidding me?
”
Rebecca shook her head. After the shoot
-
out at the building? And what about Vakasa? After what happened to that reporter during the riots? Rebecca shuddered, she physically shuddered, pulling the girl tight next to her.

“
No, sorry, that isn
’
t good enough.
”

“
Chica, give me some ideas here,
”
Lopez said as the jets made another pass, this time lower. They hadn
’
t shot yet
,
but the radio was squawking with orders. They were in Arabic
,
but it was pretty clear they were saying
.
“
L
and or get shot down.
”
The only reason they hadn
’
t fired already was to wait until they got out over the desert to avoid civilian casualties. However how rather callous to civilian deaths the government had become, Rebecca wasn
’
t sure how long they could count on that to protect them.

This was what Brandt was so damned good at. Seeing an impossible situation
,
then figuring out a way to thread the needle through it. Unfortunately
,
Brandt was on the wings.

Next to her
,
Vakasa clapped, pointing to the east.
“
Valo dango
!
”

“
Light show? Is that what she said?
”
Levont asked. Rebecca wasn
’
t sure
,
since she was pretty certain Vakasa was speaking in Welsh and Finnish.

Almost against her will
,
Rebecca followed the girl
’
s arm. In the distance
,
the Great Pyramid and Sphinx were illuminated in bright greens and reds. It was the nightly laser light show that played out against two of the greatest historic monuments ever built. However
,
it really didn
’
t help them.

Then Brandt
’
s face came over the front of the wing. His features upside down
,
he was shouting something, but who could tell what it was
?

“
Light show!
”
Lopez said as Vakasa clapped.
“
I think he
’
s agreeing with her.
”

“
You
’
re just imagining things,
”
Talli stated
,
but Rebecca wasn
’
t so sure.

“
No,
”
she said
,
trying to read Brandt
’
s upside
-
down lips.
“
He is saying light show.
”

She tried to follow his logic. Why go there? They would scatter the crowd.

That was it!

“
Lopez, head there!
”

Without even waiting for an explanation, Lopez
course
corrected
,
turning them due east toward the pyramid.

Levont
’
s hearty laugh filled the aircraft.
“
He wants us to land, get those people on their feet
,
then blend in with the crowd.
”

Rebecca sighed
,
glad that someone else had come to the same conclusion. It was such a long shot that they shouldn
’
t even be trying it, yet the upside
-
down Brandt nodded vigorously
,
then disappeared. Apparently satisfied that they were headed in the right direction.

Vakasa clapped again.
“
Valo dango
!
”

“
Yes, baby,
”
Rebecca said, pulling her into a hug
,
“
w
e are going to the light show.
”

Although
,
she seriously doubted if it was in the way Vakasa
had
hoped.

* * *

Brandt clung to the plane as it sped toward the pyramids. The jets buzzed again, this time so close Brandt was pretty damned sure he wouldn
’
t need a haircut for the next three weeks.

The light show played out starkly against the night sky. It truly was a spectacular sight. Somehow the pyramids looked even more majestic than they did during the day. The history of Egypt played out across their surface.

And thankfully
,
it was a tourist haven. There were hundreds of seats filled. Brandt hated endangering them, but he seriously doubted the F-16 would fire into that crowd. The international incident that would cause? Their plane making an emergency landing there was bad enough
.
T
he Egyptian government seriously didn
’
t want tourist deaths added on top of that.

He gripped even harder as the plane made its steep descent. Lopez
,
as always
,
was thinking ahead. If they had descended any earlier
,
the jet fighters ma
y
have shot them down just to keep them from reaching the event.

Even now
,
the jets came in low and hard, trying to force them down.

Lopez held steady even though the tiny plane, never built to take the kind of punishment the corporal could deal, shook violently. Brandt had a bird
’
s
-
eye view of their landing. Not that even a bird would be stupid enough to try what they were trying.

Someone in the crowd must have heard their approach. The man turned and pointed.

Thank God. They were almost on top of the crowd. They needed them to disperse. A hue and cry went up as Lopez brought them just over the desert floor. A blur of people scattered, tipping over their chairs
,
as the plane touched down, bounced…hard, then went back up again. Brandt
’
s sweaty palms nearly gave out as his lower body slid back and forth across the wings. Those twin
-
engine
prop
blades only a few inches from his feet.

Brandt pulled himself as tightly to his belly as he could as they touched down again, bouncing again, landing again, bouncing again
,
until they crashed into the rows of white folding chairs. The blades chewed up the plastic, sending debris flying in all directions. A lot apparently into his back and arms.

Then they were on the ground, really on the ground this time, rolling forward. Lopez cut the engines and hit the brakes, hard. And there was just no way Brandt could hang on. As the plane came to a stop, Brandt flew forward, over the nose of the plane
,
and crashed into the front row of chairs.

His shoulder hit the sand
,
finally bringing him to a stop as well.

Brandt rolled over onto his back as the sound of rattling machinegun fire filled the air. Guess the Egyptians weren
’
t as worried about bad press as he
’
d hoped. The others fled the plane as bullet holes tore into the thin metal.

Grunting, brushing plastic off his back, Brandt rose.

No rest for the weary.

* * *

Rebecca kept
a
tight hold of Vakasa
’
s hand as they ran from the plane. The crowd wasn
’
t much f
a
rther ahead. They should
have been
able to blend i
n
before the jets made their next pass. She tossed a glance over her shoulder
,
expecting Brandt to be hot on their heels. Instead
,
he was running in the opposite direction.

Why the hell would he go that
way
?

Then the high
-
pitched squeal of the other plane explained why.

Another fighter jet, new to the hunt, honed in on Brandt, firing at his heels. Dust kicked up, chewing up the sand.

“
Brandt!
”
she screamed, but he kept running.

“
Damn it! Change of plans!
”
Lopez shouted next to her.
“
Get the girl to safety!
”
he said, pushing her toward the crowd.
“
We
’
ll get him!
”

Before the men could head out after Brandt, Vakasa squirmed out of Rebecca
’
s hold and ran across the desert.

“
Thor!
”
she called out.

“
No!
”
Rebecca yelled
,
but it did no good.

The men fired up at the jets as they all raced across the desert. The pyramid was still blanketed in reds and greens as scenes of the building of the great monuments played on despite all the chaos.

Vakasa was fast. Like
,
crazy fast. She caught up to Brandt
,
then passed him, heading straight for the pyramid
’
s entrance. The little girl stopped at the tomb
’
s entrance, waving as if she expected Lopez to take a vacation photo. Rebecca was sure that he would want to
.
H
owever
,
he was a little busy trying to keep the jets from mowing them down.

Brandt reached the entrance first, scooping Vakasa up into his arms. He made to head toward them, but Rebecca waved him forward. Using what little lung capacity she had left after the sprint
,
Rebecca shouted,
“
No! Go inside.
”

There was no way they could make it back to the crowd. It had way too much of a head start
,
and the only cover was that pyramid. Brandt looked like he was going to fight her on it. After all
,
it would trap them inside
.
H
owever
,
Vakasa wiggled out of his arms and fled into the darkness.

Brandt held out his hand, but not to Rebecca.
“
A gun!
”

Levont supplied him with one. As bullets pelleted the stone, the point man led them into the pyramid. He swept his light from side to side.

“
Where did she go?
”

“
Just go down,
”
Rebecca said. This shaft of limestone went down at about a thirty
-
degree angle until the
re
was a juncture.

Half
-
sliding, half
-
running
,
they made their way to the T. One shaft went up into the
k
ing and
q
ueen
’
s burial chambers. The other continued downward to a subterranean chamber that was oddly incomplete. Scholars still debated the use of such a chamber.

“
Which way?
”
Brandt asked
,
puffing air himself.