20

In the administration block, Colonel Kern listened to a crackling report over the intercom from Silent Peak’s lowest level. ‘We still haven’t been able to restore full power down here, sir. We need a maintenance crew to fix the breakers.’

‘We’ll have to call a team in from Groom,’ said Kern, concerned. ‘What about the intruders?’ From the moment the alert had come through directly from the Pentagon that their security clearances had been forged, his honoured guests had been reduced in status to targets.

Ogleby came on the line. ‘They’ve wrecked the place!’ he cried. ‘Kern, I hold you entirely responsible for this fiasco. How the hell did you allow them to just stroll in here?’

‘I see from the system that you approved their clearances too,’ Kern replied irritably, checking a monitor. ‘But it looks like security’s been breached at a very high level. There’ll have to be an investigation—’

‘Sir!’ his lieutenant interrupted, pointing excitedly at a status board. ‘The main elevator – it’s coming up!’

‘I think we’ve found them,’ Kern told Ogleby before ending the call. He turned to his subordinate. ‘Assemble a group, everyone armed, then get to the elevator. But keep the guards at the main door in case it’s a ruse and they’re trying to escape some other way.’

The lieutenant acknowledged and rushed out. ‘Keep monitoring things here,’ Kern ordered a corporal as he headed for his office.

He opened a desk drawer and took out his sidearm. Silent Peak’s quiet obscurity and official status as a reserve facility meant that only its security personnel were routinely armed, but right now he wanted every man on the base to have a gun at the ready. Whatever Nina Wilde and her companion were doing here, it was going to be stopped. Flicking off the Beretta’s safety, he hurried after the lieutenant.

In the control room, the corporal’s eyes bugged as he saw on a CCTV screen what the enormous elevator was carrying. ‘Uh, sir?’ he called, but his commander had already gone.

Kern met his men outside the cluster of cabins, where the lieutenant had rounded up twelve troops. Some were support staff armed only with pistols, but the majority were members of the base’s security detail, carrying M4 rifles. ‘Okay, everyone with me,’ he ordered, starting to run. The men fell in alongside him. ‘We have two intruders who infiltrated the base using falsified credentials, and gained access to the repository. They’re to be considered armed and dangerous.’ He hesitated before continuing, but the command from the Pentagon had been clear. ‘You have shoot-on-sight authorisation.’

The responses from the running men showed that few, if any, shared his misgivings.

They raced down the length of the hangar, passing the parked aircraft and vehicles. The great chasm of the shaft opened up ahead as they neared it. A deep mechanical grumbling grew ever louder – the massive elevator platform was approaching the top.

‘Spread out,’ said Kern as the group reached the shaft. ‘I want every part of the platform . . . covered . . .’ His voice trailed off as the elevator’s cargo rose into view.

The corporal’s nervous voice sounded over the PA system. ‘Uh, Colonel Kern, sir! They’ve, ah . . . they’ve got a tank.’

The M60’s main gun was pointing directly at Kern. ‘Yeah, I noticed.’

‘Okay, we’re at the top!’ Nina announced, standing in the commander’s position to peer through the narrow portholes in the armoured cupola atop the turret. ‘And we’ve got a welcoming committee.’

Eddie, in the driver’s seat inside the cramped forward compartment, had also seen the troops through the three slot-like periscopes in front of him. ‘Doesn’t look like they want to give us tea and biscuits,’ he said as weapons came up. He switched his foot from the brake to the oversized gas pedal and shoved it down. The 29-litre diesel engine roared, the tank jerking forward with a piercing squeal from its tracks. He saw Kern dive aside as the M60 cleared the platform and accelerated down the hangar.

Nina yelped and instinctively ducked as bullets clonked against the turret. ‘Whoa! That just made them mad.’

Eddie wasn’t worried – not about the gunfire, at least. Against the inches-thick steel armour, Kern’s men might as well have been firing ping-pong balls.

His real concern was the line of parked military vehicles. He had checked the M60’s fuel gauge during the ascent, and found it had only the bare minimum needed to power it for maintenance. It would soon run out – meaning that the troops could simply drive after them and wait for the engine to die.

He turned the steering yoke to the right. The brakes on that side shrilled, the tank making a juddering change of direction to head for the trucks.

Nina yelped again as the unexpected turn jarred her heavily against some of the cabin’s many hard-edged protrusions. ‘What are you doing? You’re going to crash into those trucks!’

‘Not into ’em – over ’em! Get into the gunner’s seat!’

‘I thought there wasn’t any ammo?’

‘This thing’s got a twenty-foot steel battering ram – it doesn’t need ammo!’

Nina understood what he meant, but was still uncertain as she clambered awkwardly across the cabin into the gunner’s position. The primary controls consisted of another aircraft-style yoke. ‘How does it work?’

‘It’s not rocket surgery! Just turn it and see what happens!’

There was a periscope lens above and to the right of the controls; she peered into it, seeing the view ahead. The M60 was thundering straight at the first truck. She hesitantly turned the yoke a little. With a skirl of hydraulics, the turret turned in response. A vertical twist of the handgrips and the main gun rose, the view through the periscope also tilting upwards.

She swung the turret back to its original position – to find the truck looming in her sights. ‘Hold on!’ Eddie shouted.

The M60 slammed into the truck’s front quarter. It was shoved sideways until it hit its neighbour – and the tank then rode up over it, crushing it flat. The second truck suffered the same fate, glass exploding everywhere as steel tracks chewed through its cab.

Eddie turned the yoke back to the left. The M60 lurched around as if grinding the remains of the trucks beneath a treaded heel, then advanced on the first of the Humvees. There were two rows of the big 4×4s, too widely spaced for the M60 to squash them all in one go; Nina braced herself, rotating the turret and lowering the main gun to hit the second line.

The Humvees were smaller than the trucks, but the ride over them was no less bumpy, throwing Eddie and Nina about in their seats. The back ends of the leading row were flattened into scrap. Those in the second line fared little better, the M60’s gun barrel slicing into their engine compartments and tearing off wheels.

Eddie turned the tank again to demolish one last truck, then swung it back towards the giant hangar doors. There were other guards ahead, but they were already scurrying for safety. The way out was now clear. The M60 was at its full speed of thirty miles per hour: hardly blistering performance, but with so much weight behind it the armoured vehicle was almost unstoppable. He kept his foot down, glancing at the fuel gauge.

It was practically on empty. Whatever happened, the tank wouldn’t take them much further than the end of the valley outside – if it even got that far.

That would leave them on foot, in the desert . . . not far from Groom Lake, one of the most heavily patrolled and jealously protected military facilities in the United States, if not the world. They were still a long way from being safe.

Before they could worry about that, though, they still had to get out of Silent Peak itself. Nina looked through her periscope. ‘Can this thing break through that door?’

‘It weighs over fifty tons – I don’t think it’ll be a problem. But hang on anyway. There’ll be a bit of a bump.’

‘My husband, master of understatement,’ Nina said. Eddie grinned and psyched himself up for the looming impact. The M60 barrelled straight at the towering doors, a metal wall filling his narrow field of vision—

The gun punched through the steel as if it were paper – but the rest of the tank had a tougher time as it ran into the frame supporting the enormous structure. Even braced, Eddie was still pitched out of his chair as the M60 was almost dragged to a halt, ensnared in the tangled gridwork. The diesel snarled, the tracks shrieking as they fought for purchase – then suddenly the behemoth ripped itself loose and slithered out on to the runway. Wreckage crashed down behind it.

Off to one side, he saw the Learjet. He briefly thought about crippling it, but remembered that Abbot and his co-pilot were aboard, and that a tank was not a precision weapon – he didn’t want to add murder to the list of charges against himself and Nina. Instead he drove the M60 past it and headed down the valley.

‘We made it!’ Nina shouted. ‘We got out!’

‘We’re out of the hangar,’ he replied, ‘but it’s about ten miles to the nearest road, and we’ve only got a teacup of diesel left.’ The fuel gauge was now on empty.

She clambered through the connecting passage into the driver’s compartment. ‘How many miles per gallon does this thing get?’

‘None. It’s more like gallons per mile.’

‘So, not exactly a Prius, then.’ She looked through the peri-scopes. The dust-covered runway stretched away to the southern end of the valley. Even at the tank’s top speed, it would be another couple of minutes before they reached open desert. ‘How far will we be able to get?’

As if in answer, the diesel’s roar momentarily hiccuped. The engine was straining to draw the last dregs of fuel into its cylinders. ‘At a guess, maybe, er . . . fifty yards?’

He checked the valley walls. Off to the runway’s left they were too steep to climb, almost cliffs, but those on the right were lower and more accessible, with potential for concealment. The downside was that going that way would take them deeper into the enormous military range, in the direction of Groom Lake and Area 51.

But there was no other choice. He angled the M60 across the runway towards the lower western side of the valley. The engine coughed again as its insatiable thirst drained the fuel tank dry. Their speed began to drop.

‘Shit, we’re not even going to reach the bottom of the hill,’ he realised. ‘Go back into the turret and open the top hatch. Soon as we stop, get out and run for that little gully there.’ He pointed at a narrow channel winding up into the brown rocks. ‘I’ll be right behind you.’

Nina retreated to the commander’s position, pulling the lever to unlock the hatch above. She glanced back though a porthole at the gaping hole in the huge door – and saw tiny figures spilling through it. ‘Eddie! They’re coming after us!’

‘In jeeps or on foot?’

‘On foot.’

‘Good – that gives us a few minutes’ start, at least.’ The lack of fuel reaching the choking engine caused a literal death-rattle to echo through the cabin. The M60 slowed sharply. ‘That’s it, we’re done. Get out now!’

Nina forced the heavy hatch open and climbed out on to the top of the turret. Behind her, the massive diesel finally cut out. The squeal of the tracks faded as the tank ground to a standstill. She lowered herself to the hull, then jumped off, running for the gully.

Eddie exited via the driver’s hatch and quickly caught up. ‘Dunno how the fuck we’re going to get out of this one.’

‘No, no no,’ Nina admonished. ‘You’re supposed to say something positive.’

‘I would, but unless somebody offers us a free helicopter ride we’ll have a job.’ They reached the gully and started up it. The ascent was steeper than it had looked from the tank, wind-deposited sand making finding footholds a treacherous task. ‘Head over to your left, it looks a bit easier.’

She hauled herself up to a flatter area of rock, looking back towards the base. The running figures were making worryingly rapid progress. ‘Oh God, they’re catching up! How long before they can shoot at us?’

Eddie followed her up. ‘If any of ’em are good shots, they already can! But they’re air force, so we’re probably safe until they’re within twenty feet . . .’

‘Why do people in one branch of the forces hate everyone in the others more than the people they’re supposed to be fighting?’ Nina gasped as she ran up the slope. A clump of boulders ahead offered temporary cover from gunfire.

Beyond them, a hundred or so yards distant, rose a ridge. ‘We need to get over that,’ said Eddie. ‘The rock on the right, go up behind it.’

Nina changed direction. The slope became steeper, slowing her. Her throat began to burn with each breath. A look back: the men chasing them were blocked from view by the boulders. ‘At least they can’t shoot at us now—’

A distant sound caught her attention. Eddie immediately picked up on her alarm. ‘What is it?’

‘I can hear something! Sounds like—’

‘A chopper,’ he finished for her. Even with his diminished hearing, he could make out the thump of rotor blades. Someone at Silent Peak had called for help, and with the other secretive military facilities in the region essentially on permanent alert, it hadn’t taken long for the response to arrive.

No sign of the aircraft yet, though. They still had a chance to find cover. ‘Come on, go!’ he shouted. ‘We’ve got to get over the ridge!’

‘I’m going, I’m going!’ Nina complained, panting.

Feet rasping over rock and sand, they pounded up the slope. The incline became steeper as they approached its top. Eddie had to use his hands for support to clear the final yards. ‘Almost there . . .’

The helicopter’s rotor noise became a boom as it came into view. A Black Hawk; it was about half a mile away, but curving towards the base. ‘Down!’ Eddie commanded, but more as an automatic response to an airborne threat than in any real hope of finding concealment – they would be plainly visible against the barren hillside.

He looked for cover. Nothing usable on this side of the ridge. On the other side was a shallow natural bowl, broken rocks strewn within.

Not great, but better than nothing. ‘Over this side, quick!’ They scrabbled over the ridge and half ran, half slid down to the nearest large rock and crouched behind it. Nina cautiously peered round the boulder to find the Black Hawk.

It was changing course, turning sharply to head towards them. ‘Oh, crap,’ she squeaked.

Eddie was already searching for better cover, but nothing presented itself. Wherever they went, the Black Hawk could simply hover overhead. ‘So much for ’em not being able to shoot at us.’

‘This is not my fault! Any ideas?’

‘You don’t have a white flag, do you?’

Even if she had, it became clear a moment later that they wouldn’t get the chance to use it. A man leaning from the Black Hawk’s cabin opened fire with a machine gun. Bullets cracked noisily off the rock above them. Nina shrieked and scrambled round the boulder in an attempt to keep it between her and the helicopter; Eddie followed, stone chips biting at his heels. Choking dust swirled around them as the aircraft descended.

The assault continued without pause. A chunk of stone the size of a human head splintered from the rock and smacked down between Eddie and Nina. ‘Jesus Christ!’ she cried, flinching away – and in her peripheral vision catching movement at the top of the ridge.

The Security Forces had found them.

‘Eddie!’ She dropped flat as more gunfire struck from a different direction. More men were climbing over the hill.

Their orders were obviously to kill the intruders. Eddie gave Nina a last despairing look, grabbing her hand as the Black Hawk moved directly overhead—

The gunfire stopped.

The helicopter briefly hung above them, then veered away. Nina squinted through the billowing dust to see the troops also departing, one man with a hand to his head as if listening to a message through an earpiece – and unable to believe what he was hearing. He glared at the couple, then lowered his weapon and followed his companions out of sight.

Eddie wiped grit from his face. ‘What the hell? Why did they stop?’ He risked raising his head to look for the Black Hawk. It was on a course back to its home base.

‘You got a problem with that?’ Nina asked. ‘Because I don’t.’

‘Neither do I, but why are they just fucking off like that?’ He double-checked the ridge, expecting to see the pursuing troops lurking in wait, but it appeared that they really had retreated. ‘Stay there and keep down – I’ll see what’s going on.’

‘Shouldn’t we, y’know, run while we can?’ Nina called after him, but he ignored her and quickly scaled the ridge, dropping to his stomach near the top and peering over it.

The troops had indeed retreated, but not far. One man was surveying the ridge; he did a double-take as he spotted Eddie, pointing him out to his fellows, but none of them took a shot at him, or even raised their weapons.

‘What are they doing?’ Nina asked as he returned.

‘I dunno, but I don’t like it. They don’t want to kill us – but it doesn’t look like they’re going to let us leave either. They didn’t look happy about it, though. Somebody’s ordered them to stand down.’

‘Who?’

‘I wish I knew. But I get the feeling they’ll keep us here until we find out.’

That turned out to be the case. After several minutes, they heard another approaching chopper: not the Black Hawk that had attacked them, but a much smaller OH-6 Cayuse scout helicopter. It passed over the bowl, then moved to land near the abandoned tank.

Another few minutes passed, then a man appeared at the crest of the rise. ‘Dr Wilde! Mr Chase!’

Eddie leaned out, regarding the new arrival cautiously. He was an air force colonel, carrying something in one hand: a satellite phone. ‘Yeah? What’s up?’

‘Can I come down to you?’

Nina and Eddie traded bewildered glances. ‘Sure, why not?’ Nina called out.

The colonel picked his way down the slope, almost slipping on some loose gravel at its foot, but managing to retain his footing and dignity as he reached them. It was clear from his disgusted expression that he didn’t want to be dealing with them at all, but was obeying orders from above. He held out the phone. ‘I’ve been told to give you this.’

Still confused, Nina accepted it. She held it to her ear, tilting it so Eddie could listen in. ‘Hello?’

‘Dr Wilde, hello,’ said an unfamiliar voice. The accent was American, a refined New England baritone.

‘Who is this?’

‘You don’t know me – at least, not yet. But I think you’re aware of the organisation I represent. I’m the chairman of the Group.’

Nina couldn’t help but be suspicious. ‘So . . . what do you want?’

‘I want to talk to you. Both of you, in person. Since I’ve just saved your lives, I hope you’ll show your gratitude by agreeing to meet me.’