The Power of Five Oblivion (40 page)

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded.

“I’m Richard Cole. This is Scarlett.”

“What are you doing here?” He didn’t sound at all pleased to see them. In fact he was sullen and hostile.

“As a matter of fact, we came to get you out.”

“Did you? And why would you do that?”

“There is no time for a conversation,” Jaheda interrupted. “You can do that when you are gone from here. I have the man you wanted. I have kept my side of the bargain and taken him from his cell. But now you must go. I want you far away.”

She hurried towards the doors that Richard had first seen. Carter might have been released from his cell but his hands were still tied behind him and he stumbled forward, his arms and shoulders straining against the cords. Richard and Scarlett followed.

The doors led into a service area with a forklift truck resting against a wall and piles of empty crates all around. Richard had hoped he would see the street on the other side but they were still inside the palace compound, in a walled-in parking area with about fifty cars neatly positioned in two long rows. Even at a glance, it was clear that many of them had never been driven. They were brilliantly polished, the tyres free of any dust or dirt. Some were brand new, some vintage – from the twenties and thirties. Together they would have been worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

“The sheikh likes cars,” Jaheda said.

“Even though he has nowhere to go,” Richard muttered.

The woman turned on him. “He collects cars. He does not need to drive them. You wouldn’t understand.”

She led them to yet another door with a push-bar. Surely this had to be the way out into the street! The door was locked and this time there was an electronic keypad, demanding a numeric code.

“The number is 5455,” Jaheda said. “But opening the door at this time of the night will set off an alert throughout the palace and there is nothing I can do about that. Once you are outside, you will find yourselves on Baniyas Road. Do you have a car?”

“Yes.”

“It will take them a few minutes to come after you. Go as quickly as you can. If Rasheed catches you, have no doubt, he will kill you slowly.”

“Thank you,” Richard said.

“Do not thank me,” Jaheda snapped. But then she turned and looked at Scarlett and just for a moment there was a softness in her eyes. Perhaps she was remembering how she had been at that age. “I have done this only for myself.”

She turned and went, hurrying back the way she had come. Richard, Scarlett and Larry Carter were left standing beside the door.

“I don’t suppose either of you would have a knife on you?” the pilot asked.

Richard shook his head. “We’ll cut you free later.”

“So what happens now?”

“We go to the airport.”

“The plane’s still there?”

“That’s right. You’re going to fly us out.”

“Oh yes? And where do you think you’re heading?”

“To Antarctica.”

“You’ve got to be kidding!”

Richard had never taken a dislike to anyone so immediately. He and Scarlett were saving this man’s life. The sheikh would have executed him. But he wasn’t remotely grateful. In fact, all he seemed to want to do was argue. “Let’s not discuss it now,” he said.

He keyed in the four numbers that Jaheda had given him.

The door opened and at the same moment alarm bells exploded throughout the palace. Richard, Scarlett and Carter burst out, running into the sluggish heat of the night. It took them a moment to orient themselves. There was the dried-out canal in front of them, the casino on their right…

“Where’s the car?” the pilot shouted.

“This way!”

Richard led them down Baniyas Road. There were no lights anywhere in the city but they were lucky. There was a full moon and the sky was full of stars. Richard had left the Land Cruiser about a hundred metres away and they ran towards it, their footsteps echoing on the pavements, the pilot cursing as he had to fight for balance with his arms behind him. Back at the palace, lights were already starting to come on. Someone shouted. Could it be possible that they had been spotted? Richard was already wishing he had parked the car closer. He felt in his trouser pockets for the ignition key. It wasn’t there! Just for a moment, his blood froze – then he remembered that he had decided it was better not to carry it with him and had left it in the glove compartment.

They reached the car. Richard threw open the door and scrambled in. Scarlett helped Larry Carter into the back, wasting precious seconds as he contorted himself and swore out loud, banging his head against the top of the doorframe. Then she climbed in next to Richard.

Richard found the key, jammed it into the ignition and turned it. The car started at once. They pulled out and began to drive. For the first time that evening, Scarlett thought she could relax. They had made it! The airport was less than twenty minutes away.

“There’s something I think I should tell you.” The voice was Larry Carter’s and it was utterly cold, coming from the back seat. “I don’t know what you two jokers think you’re up to, but there’s absolutely no way I’m flying you to Antarctica. I don’t quite know why you want to go there. It wouldn’t be my choice for a vacation. But just so there’s no misunderstanding, I’m telling you now, it’s out of the question.”

Richard glanced at the driving mirror. “Suppose we dump you on the road,” he muttered.

“Then you’re not going anywhere. Zack needs me to fly that plane. Or didn’t he tell you?”

Zack was Martins, the co-pilot. And Richard knew that Carter was telling the truth.

Scarlett twisted round. The pilot was sprawled out uncomfortably, sitting on his own hands and arms. But there was a thin, unpleasant smile on his face. At the end of the day, he held all the cards … and he knew it. “We have to go to Antarctica,” she said.

“Why do you have to do that?”

“I can’t explain it to you. And you wouldn’t believe me if I did.”

“Well, let me explain something to you. There’s nothing there except freezing wind and maybe a few penguins. Nowhere to refuel. If I come down on the ice, I may not be able to take off again. I don’t want to die out there.”

“You won’t die. There are people waiting for us.”

“Really?” Carter didn’t sound convinced. “Well, they’re going to have to wait a little longer. I’m heading back to Australia. Maybe you can hitch another ride from there.”

Scarlett opened her mouth to argue with him, but just then there was a flicker of light in the back window and she saw three cars pulling out onto the road far behind them. “Richard…!”

“I’ve seen them.” Richard glanced again at the rear-view mirror. The cars were some distance but they were already catching up. He thought of the vehicles he had seen in the lock-up. They contained some of the most powerful engines ever built for the road. There was no doubt at all that whoever was following would catch up with them long before they got anywhere near the airport.

The pilot had seen them too. He was leaning forward, the lights of the dashboard reflecting green in his face. He looked scared. “Where’s your gun?” he demanded. With a cry of desperation, he jerked at the ropes, trying to free himself.

“The gun won’t help us,” Richard said. He turned to Scarlett and there was a moment of understanding between them. “Can you?”

Scarlett thought briefly, then nodded. She took one last look behind her. The pursuing cars had already halved the distance between them. She had to do this quickly. She closed her eyes. Fifteen seconds passed. They were still speeding forward through the empty streets. Richard was gripping the wheel, concentrating on the road ahead.

“What are you doing?” the pilot shrieked. He was staring at Scarlett. “You think falling asleep is going to help?”

“Listen to me, Mr Carter,” Richard said, through gritted teeth. “We’re going to get to the airport and you’re going to get us into the air. And then you’re going to take us to Antarctica because this girl is very special and if she says she has to be there, then that’s what happens.”

“Special…?”

“If you don’t believe me, look behind you.”

Larry Carter hesitated, then turned around in his seat and looked out of the rear window. He stared. Then he faced forward again. Then he looked back. His mouth fell open. He looked more frightened than ever.

“She did that…?” he whispered.

“That’s right,” Richard said. “She did that.”

The way ahead was clear. They were driving through the empty city, the road a pale white, reflecting the moon. The skyscrapers were silhouetted like huge paper cut-outs all around. But behind them, the rain was pounding down. It was falling so heavily that everything was obliterated. The road had become a black river. The cars that had been following them had disappeared. Almost certainly they would have had to stop. Nothing would have been able to drive through the rainstorm.

The pilot looked ahead again. Dry. But as they drove forward, the rain closed in, separating them, protecting them.

Impossible.

“She did that?” he said again.

Scarlett was still deep in concentration. Richard nodded. “You know, if I were you, I’d think very hard about upsetting her.”

Ten minutes later, they reached the airport. They parked in the same place and Richard retrieved his backpack, using the Inca knife to cut the pilot free. Together, they ran through departures, through security, back out onto the tarmac and round to the plane. Martins, the co-pilot, was sitting in a deckchair on the tarmac, smoking and drinking whisky, but scrambled to his feet when he saw them.

“Larry? I can’t believe they found you … got you out.” He saw the look on the other man’s face. “What’s going on?”

“Just get into the cockpit, Zack. Behind the controls. We’re getting out of here right now.”

They climbed the steps into the plane. The co-pilot closed and sealed the door. Larry was already on his way to the upper deck. Richard and Scarlett followed him, choosing two seats in business class, where they had a view of the controls. As Martins strapped himself in, they saw Larry go through the start-up procedures, flipping open the battery switch cover, turning on the standby power, the electronic engine control, the navigation lights. Finally, he switched on the IRS – the Inertial Reference System – which would send all the necessary information to the flight computer.

“This is going to take ten minutes,” he shouted at Richard.

“Can’t you do it any faster?”

“No. And we can’t do it in the air.”

Scarlett peered out of the window. She couldn’t see anything in the darkness and it was always possible that Rasheed’s men were closing in on them from behind. Meanwhile, both Martins and Carter were pressing more switches. The computer screens had burst into life, displaying numbers and diagrams that would have been meaningless to anyone but them. The engines started. Scarlett could feel their energy, vibrating in the air. But they still didn’t move. The seconds ticked away, agonizingly slow. Richard was standing with his hands resting on the pilot’s seat, leaning forward. Everything seemed to be taking for ever. She wanted to scream.

And then, finally, Carter opened the throttle panel, set the flaps, released the parking brake and at last they jolted forward. Scarlett had never seen so much activity taking place in such a confined space. The two men had flown together long enough for each of them to know exactly what they were meant to do and at what time. The huge plane had begun to move, leaving the stairs slanting up into thin air. Richard knew that they must be using all their skill to guide the Airbus without a tow truck, without airport staff showing them the way. Nobody was speaking. They were all gazing out of the window, their eyes fixed on the navigation lights.

Slowly, the plane wheeled round.

They taxied to the runway and although all of them wanted to be in the air and on the way, they had to stop again. Final checks. There were no lights to help them take off. If it hadn’t been for the moon, Richard knew it would have been impossible.

Carter turned to the co-pilot. “You ready?”

Martins nodded.

No need to wait for air traffic control. No need to look out for other planes. In the darkness of the cabin, the two men reached out and made the last adjustments. “OK. Let’s go.”

Scarlett heard the pitch of the engines rise. They began to roll forward, picking up speed. She had the seat nearest the window and suddenly she saw them, racing across the tarmac to cut them off. There was a Land Rover, a Jaguar and a Ferrari, a bizarre trio of vehicles. They must have entered the airport from the other side because they were ahead of them, at the far end of the runway.

“Richard!” Scarlett pointed.

Richard leant over her. “It’s OK,” he said. “They’re not going to make it.” But he didn’t sound convinced.

The plane was hurtling forward, moving faster and faster. The lines on the runway had already become a blur. They could see the cars, directly in front of them. The drivers were committing suicide. If there was a collision, the drivers would be killed instantly. But the Airbus would crash too. Was that their aim, to bring them down, no matter what the cost?

They had reached take-off speed.

“Let’s do it!” Carter shouted.

He pulled back on the controls, glancing at the primary flight display to check that the pink lines were centred and their climb rate was secure. Martins was already reaching for the switch to raise the landing gear. The cars were right in front of them. Richard actually saw the drivers crouching there, their faces white. They would be deafened by the noise of the engines. They were going to crash! They weren’t high enough.

The plane rose. They were clear. There could only have been inches in it, but they were away.

Richard and Scarlett saw the ground disappear below them. They couldn’t believe they had done it. Scarlett was exhausted. Beside her, Richard let out a huge sigh of relief.

In the cockpit, Martins said nothing until they had reached six thousand metres. Then he turned to the pilot. “You want me to set a course for Alice Springs?” he asked.

There was a long silence. Then…