The Valhalla Prophecy (53 page)

“Shiiiit!”
Eddie wailed, but it was too late to stop.

Both outriggers sheared off as they hit the conifers’ trunks. The icerunner sailed over the top of the little ridge as if leaping from a ski jump, then plunged back down on the far side. He glimpsed the four-by-four approaching from the right, but all he could do was cling on for dear life …

The icerunner smacked down on the frozen river. The front skid collapsed, dropping the vehicle onto its belly—and the propeller, now with nothing holding it
above the ground, carved through the ice behind the skidding wreck.

“Whoa!” yelled Wake as he saw the channel being sliced across his path. He stamped on the brake. The SUV juddered, its four rubber treads rasping over the ice. Nina and Tarnowski were both thrown forward.

The Volvo slithered toward the line of black water … then stopped, its front tracks halfway over the ragged edge.

Eddie fought to hold himself in the cockpit, arms and legs braced against its sides as the battered icerunner started to roll over—

The blades tore away from the propeller’s hub. What was left of the vehicle dropped back upright with a crash and ground to a halt.

He let out a relieved breath, then scrambled from the cockpit onto the ice. The propeller had gouged an almost perfectly straight line about four feet wide across the river.

The SUV sat precariously right on the edge of the ice.

Nina raised her head. She wasn’t sure what had just happened, but she’d seen something flash in front of the SUV before Wake jammed on the brakes in panic. The Volvo had now stopped—

The door!

She grabbed for the handle with her bound hands—only for Tarnowski to grab her by the hair. “Get back here!”

Wake whistled in relief, surveying the lapping water beneath his vehicle’s nose. “Holy shit, that was clo—”

One side of his skull exploded outward as a .45 Winchester Magnum bullet blasted through it.

Eddie brought the smoking Wildey around to target the mercenary in the rear seat as the XC90’s dead driver slumped against the steering wheel. Only one bullet left, but that was all he needed to rescue Nina—

Ice cracked, a broad chunk beneath the SUV’s front tracks splintering away from the rest of the surface … and the four-by-four’s front end plunged into the water, the weight of the engine dragging the entire vehicle down into the frigid river.

Nina and Tarnowski fell against the front seats as the SUV pitched downward into the icy water—which then surged into the four-by-four through its broken windows. The cold was like a punch to her heart. Her thick clothing did nothing to hold back the paralyzing chill. In a moment the river had completely swallowed her, the XC90 dropping toward its bed.

Panic rose—but she fought through it. She had been in a similar situation before. She forced her limbs to move, pushing herself upward. The back window was broken; she could squeeze through it and swim to the surface—

The SUV shook, a muffled, booming crunch echoing beneath her. It had hit the bottom of the river. Loose items from the rear bed cascaded past her in slow motion, a surreal hail of guns and grenades and survival gear. Then the world began to tilt as the Volvo lazily toppled onto its roof.

Bubbles of trapped air from the engine compartment roiled past her, the water darkening as blood from Wake’s gaping head wound swirled through the froth. The inverted four-by-four landed with a muted metallic moan, roof pillars bending under its weight. One of the surviving windows shattered.

Nina was head down, the rear seat now a barrier. With Tarnowski still beside her, there was only one way she could go. She pulled herself toward the open side window—

A hand clamped around her ankle.

The mercenary had realized there was only one easy escape route from the overturned vehicle, and was not going to let his prisoner out first. He dragged her back, driving an elbow into her side as he squirmed past. The blow forced a gulp of air from her mouth, and she unwillingly swallowed cold water, almost choking.

She fought back, slashing at his face, but in the confined space and with her hands cuffed, she couldn’t put enough force into the strike. Tarnowski still flinched as her fingernails clawed at his eyes, though—and in retaliation swung his fist at her head.

Even slowed by the water, the blow hurt. More air escaped her lungs as she was knocked against the front seats. Panic returned as she felt a growing tightness around her chest—not from the cold, but from lack of oxygen.

The mercenary pulled himself headfirst through the window frame. Nina turned to the other door, but while it had buckled, the glass was still somehow in place despite several large cracks. There wasn’t enough room for her to squeeze under the inverted seats ahead or behind, and now Tarnowski was blocking the only exit.

She was trapped.

Eddie!
her mind cried. The very first time they had met, he had dived into a river to pull her from another sinking car.

But he wasn’t here to help her now.

So what would
he
do?

She spotted the dark shape of a P90 against the pale roof lining beneath her. Snatching it up, Nina jammed the muzzle against the glass—and pulled the trigger.

The boom of the gunshot underwater felt as if someone had struck a huge bell right beside her head. The effect on the gun was even more drastic. With its powder charge sealed inside the cartridge, the bullet fired as normal—but instantly hit the water blocking the barrel, the massive overpressure rupturing the firing chamber and tearing the weapon apart.

It was enough.

The bullet traveled only a few feet before water resistance
stopped it, but it still shattered the window. Millions of tiny cubes of safety glass sprayed out into the river, glinting in the ghostly blue-green light coming through the ice above.

Hand stinging from the shock wave, Nina dropped the ruined gun and dragged herself to the new exit. Tarnowski delivered a couple of parting kicks as he squeezed out the other window and headed for the surface. She struggled not to cry out, desperate to retain what little remaining air she had.

Heart thumping, chest tightening, she pulled herself through the opening. The cold gnawed at her muscles, every movement stiff and painful. But she kept going, twisting to look up. The hole in the ice rippled above, clean fresh air just twenty feet away. All she had to do was get out of the overturned SUV—

Something tugged at her coat.

For one horrified moment she thought it was Wake, back from the dead. But it was part of the bent door frame snagging on her clothing. She tried to pull free but no longer had any strength, breathlessness and cold finally overpowering her.

A horrible pressure rose inside her chest, her body desperate to expel the foul air in her lungs. All she could do was writhe in an attempt to tear loose, but even that was hopeless, her muscles so enfeebled in her oxygen-deprived state they could only flinch pathetically. Blood roared in her ears, blackness oozing closer as she looked up at the light for the last time …

Someone plunged into the water and surged downward. The dark shape swelled in her vision, taking on form as it drew nearer—revealing a face.

Eddie!

He reached down to rip her coat free. Wrapping one arm around her body, he pushed with both legs against the SUV to pull her clear, then kicked to haul her back to the surface.

They broke through it together. Nina coughed out river water before drawing in several whooping gasps of air. Eddie supported her, shoving bobbing ice chunks
aside. “Are you okay? Nina, are you all right?” he panted.

“I’m—oh God! I’m okay, I’m okay,” she rasped, coughing again. “Oh Jesus!”

He reached the edge of the ragged channel. “Come on, climb out,” he said, taking hold of the ice with his left hand and using his right to help lift her up in the water.

Nina gratefully slapped one sodden arm down on the surface and weakly dragged herself out, her husband pushing her from below. “Thank you, Eddie. Thank you. Oh God, I really thought I was going to die—”

“The day ain’t over yet!”

Tarnowski had pulled himself from the river on the other side of the channel. Sopping wet, he fumbled inside his coat and pulled out a pistol, tilting it to drain the water out of the barrel before pointing it at the couple. “You fuckers,” he said, breath hissing through his gritted teeth. “You goddamn near killed me! Well, right now I don’t give a fuck if the boss wants you alive—this is where you—”

A geyser burst up in front of Eddie with a muffled bang—and a hole exploded in Tarnowski’s chest, blood and shredded flesh spraying out as he tumbled backward. The mercenary’s gun thunked off the ice and splashed into the water.

Eddie lifted the Wildey into the open air. The big gun’s slide was locked back after firing its last bullet, the thick steel of its barrel and frame protecting it from the overpressure that had destroyed Nina’s P90. “If you’re goin’ to shoot, shoot,” he said, in a strained attempt at a Mexican accent. “Don’ talk.”

“Movie quote?” asked the shivering Nina.

“Yep.”

“Thought so.” She clutched his sleeve, helping him climb onto the ice. “Oh God, I’m so
cold
!” Her teeth were chattering so much she could barely get the words out. “What do we do?”

“Get to shore,” he rasped. “Curl up tight, try to keep warm. Keep your clothes on.”

“Not often you want me to do that,” she said, managing a little smile.

He laughed, which turned into a cough. “Always a first time. But even if they’re soaked, they’ll still give you some insulation. I’ll see if I can start a fire—”

“I don’t think we’ll have time,” she interrupted, fear returning. The forest had fallen silent, but now a shrill buzz grew louder with every moment.

The second icerunner. It emerged from another bend a few hundred yards downriver, propeller wash blasting up a swirling cloud in its wake.

“Shit,” gasped Eddie. He reached to eject the Wildey’s empty magazine, only to remember that he didn’t have a replacement. And Tarnowski’s gun was at the bottom of the river. “Shit!”

The icerunner roared toward them. The man in the backseat leaned out of the cockpit, gun raised and ready. Eddie and Nina stood and staggered for the shore, but with the cold slowing them, they knew they would not reach the trees before the mercenaries got into weapons range.