Twelve Hours To Destiny (12 page)

Tai Fan switched on the ignition. In the stillness, the noise seemed deafening. God, but that would be heard for miles. The engine started, then died. Unhurriedly, Tai Fan tried again. This time, it fired. He let in the clutch, took the brake off, and they moved slowly out into the main street. Spinning the wheel, the other guided the truck past the lighted building, heading out of the city. For a moment, Carradine was on the point of telling the other they were going the wrong way, then he sat back. The other’s reason was obvious when he paused to think about it. If there should be any pursuit, they could easily be stopped by roadblocks in the city. A radio warning from the Red Dragon Headquarters and every patrol in Canton would be alerted and on the lookout for them. Out in the darkness of the countryside, they would have a far better chance of throwing off any pursuers.

Very soon, the lights of Canton were left behind and Tai Fan switched on the powerful headlights as they drove through the absolute darkness along a winding, twisting road which, from Carradine’s scanty knowledge of the area led westward towards the hills. Settling back in the seat, he fought his taut muscles, forced them to relax. So far, so good. But the Red Dragon would not give up easily. Once it was discovered that Chao Lin was gone, a full-scale hunt would be mounted for them.

Tai Fan was pushing the truck to its utmost limit, skidding around corners which showed abruptly in the probing beams of the headlights scant seconds before they came upon them. He seemed to know the road intimately and after a few scares, Carradine was content to sit back and allow the other to drive as he thought fit, suddenly confident in the other’s ability to get them safely to wherever they were headed.

Even now, it was almost impossible to believe that they had got away with it, without a scratch. The enemy had been so supremely confident that their Headquarters was impregnable that the thought of anyone breaking in and rescuing one of the prisoners did not seem to have ever occurred to them, beyond the normal precaution of doubling the guard.

They kept up a good speed along the winding road, the heavy truck bouncing and jolting precariously from side to side. It was necessary that they should put as much distance between themselves and Canton as possible. Through the window, he had a blurred impression of low hedges, an occasional hut, which flashed by in a haze of shadows. The moon threw very little light over the scene and they passed no traffic on the road.

They drove through a small village. Not a single light showed in any of the houses on either side. For all the signs of life there was, it might have been a ghost town, abandoned decades before. Half a mile further on, the road branched. Tai Fan took the right-hand branch. Slowly, they began to climb. The note of the engine changed subtly, straining a little as the gradient increased.

The headlight beams bobbed and swayed as they bumped over the uneven road surface. Evidently the Chinese Communists were not concerned with keeping the roads in good repair unless they were important ones, linking the military sites with the big cities. He wondered vaguely where this particular one went. Most likely it climbed the hills and then meandered into the plains on the other side.

His thoughts gelled abruptly in his head. A brief flash of light that showed for a fraction of a second in the wing mirror on the side of the truck. Wrenching his head around, he watched the flat, smooth glass. For a long moment there was nothing visible. Had he imagined it? In the darkness, with his thoughts in such a turmoil, it was easy to be tricked. Then it came again. For the first time, he saw it clearly. The unmistakable twin glow of headlights far back down the road. God, it hadn’t taken them long to get after them! The others were perhaps two miles away, approaching the village they had just passed through. Would their pursuers guess which of the two roads they had taken? Would the red tail lights, small as they were, give them away? Keeping a close watch on the other vehicle, he fancied that it was moving more slowly now as if the driver was trying to read their minds, outguess them. Then the headlights turned in their direction.

Now we’re for it! It was impossible to tell the kind of vehicle which was behind them, but without doubt it would not be as heavy and unwieldy as the truck and it was only a matter of time, a very short time come before they caught up with them. He touched Tai Fan’s arm, motioned to the mirror, saw the other nod in understanding. The truck lurched forward as the driver pressed his foot down on the accelerator.

Reaching forward in the dimness, Carradine found the Luger where he had left it, checked it carefully, then held it on his knee. If the worst came to the worst, he was prepared to sell his life dearly.

Out of the edge of his vision, he glanced at Tai Fan. The big man did not seem unduly worried at the prospect of being followed, even though he must surely have realised who it was on their tail.

They swung sharply around a right-angled bend, still climbing. Through the window, Carradine caught a brief glimpse of needle-tipped rocks which thrust up on the edge of a deep precipice. Hell, they had only to side-swipe a couple of yards and they were over the side and God alone know how deep that sheer drop was. He swore under his breath. In the small mirror, the headlight seemed nearer, were clearly gaining on them with every passing minute. His fingers tightened convulsively on the butt of the Luger. If only the others in the back had guns, they may be able to stop and make a fight of it, might even up the odds a little. But was nothing more potent or lethal than throwing knives, what sort of chance did they have? The answer to that was not one to give anyone a feeling of confidence.

Tai Fan was leaning forward in his seat now, the brilliant headlights rising and falling hypnotically, picking out the edge of the narrow road, vanishing into nothingness whenever the light wavered over the edge of the drop.

Did the other have some kind of plan for throwing those men off their tail, he wondered, noticing once more that there was no worry on the big man’s broad, fleshy features? If he had, then Carradine failed to see what it might be. This road could go on and on for miles before they reached another village and even then, the chances of them getting help against men of the dreaded Red Dragon organisation were slim indeed. Abruptly, Tai Fan switched the headlights full on. And it was now possible, in the clear air, to see for more than two hundred yards. Carradine edged forward, peering through the windscreen. There was something up ahead of them, indistinguishable at first, but with details becoming clearer as they thundered towards it. Then he saw that it was a narrow, humped-backed bridge, one which probably spanned a small, swift-running stream which raced down the side of the hill and plunged in a miniature waterfall off the edge. On one side, there was a sheer wall of rock. On the other a low, stone bridge which, as they came close to it, showed signs of extensive repairs. Carradine could visualise why these repairs would be needed. In the dark, especially in rain or snow, this road would become treacherous in the extreme. God alone knew how many poor devils had failed to take the road at that point and gone crashing to their deaths many hundreds of feet below.

Tai Fan held the wheel easily in his massive hands, guiding the truck through with the dexterity of long experience. Less than twenty yards further on, a dark cleft showed in the rock face to their right. With a bleat of protesting rubber, the other jammed his foot hard on the brakes. There was a terrifying moment when it seemed that the ungainly truck would spin completely out of control and join the others which had gone over the lip of the precipice. Then the wheels gripped, they came to a bone-jarring halt. Pushing the gear lever into reverse, he backed into the cleft. Stones and pieces of rock grated beneath the truck. In the same second, the other switched off the lights.

For a moment, Carradine could see nothing in the pitch blackness which clamped tightly about them now that the lights had been extinguished. Just what did the other intend to do? Hope that their pursuers would pass them by without noticing they were there? Even if they did, it would only be a temporary respite. Those men would not be fooled for long, would soon realise what had happened and come back looking for them.

Revving up the engine, Tai Fan drove on to the road, edging the truck towards the looming shadow of the bridge, guiding the vehicle more by feel than sight.

Now Carradine could just see the probing headlights of the oncoming car. Judging from the size, it appeared to be some kind of Army vehicle. Obviously the Red Dragon would not take chances, would have guessed that some organisation had been necessary to rescue Chao Lin and would have sent sufficient means to deal with them. Now less than fifty yards from the side of the bridge, but at the moment, because of the hump on the road, only the upthrusting beams of the headlights were visible, spearing up into the dark, star-strewn heavens.

A split second before it happened, Carradine realised what Tai Fan was waiting for. He felt a sudden leap of his heart. God, why hadn’t he realised it before. Of course!

The other’s hand reached out, flicked the switch of the powerful lights. The brilliant, eye-searing beams leapt out, over the top of the bridge. The other driver had no chance at all. No one could possibly have looked into those twin beams from that distance and not be totally blinded. For perhaps ten seconds, the Army vehicle continued on its original course, heading over the bridge. Vaguely, Carradine had a glimpse of a strained face, peering through the windscreen, of a hand going up across the eyes in an effort to shut out the blinding glare. Then the Army driver swerved instinctively. He must have stamped on the brake at the same moment, for the wheel seemed to suddenly lock. But the other was seconds too late. Screeching wildly, the small truck careened towards a low parapet of the bridge, struck the corner of the wall with a rending crash and a tearing of metal. One front wheel tilted upward under the shattering impact. The truck teetered on the edge of the ravine as though reluctant to begin the downward plunge to total destruction. Then the nose tipped as the stone parapet gave way. Slowly, like some old movie in slow motion, the truck slid over the edge of the precipice with a grinding of metal on stone.

The first resounding crash came a couple of seconds after it had disappeared; then another, more distant. Carradine could see nothing of it as it hurtled downward to the bottom, but it was not difficult to see it in his mind’s eye, twisting and turning over and over as it fell, striking against the rocky outcrops. As he thrust open the door and climbed out into the cold night air, there came the sound of the final crash far down on the rocks, then a sudden spark, a flash and a boiling gout of flame and smoke which lifted high from the bed of the gorge. No one could possibly have survived that fall, he thought, his breath hissing through his teeth. There was a soft movement at his back. The girl had climbed from the rear of the truck, come towards him, holding on to his arm as he peered down. Her face bore no trace of expression and her dark eyes were inscrutable.

“At least it must have been quick,” Carradine said harshly. “That driver never had a chance once those lights blinded him.”

“Put it out of your mind, Steve,” she said quietly. “They would have done exactly the same to us if the positions had been reversed and not given it a further thought.”

Slowly, Carradine made his way back to the truck. Behind the wheel, Tai Fan was smiling broadly, evidently pleased with his handiwork. Carradine gave a quick nod as the other held up his right hand.

“You did all bright, Tai Fan,” he said grimly. “I’m more than ever glad that you’re not on the other side.”

“Tai Fan fought with the Nationalist Army against the Japanese,” Ts’ai Luan told him. “He hates anything the Communist regime stands for.”

“I can understand that.”

“No doubt you are wondering where we are going, why we came this way,” the girl said. “There is a place in the hills where we can hide in safety. You will want to talk with my uncle as soon as possible. In Canton, it would have been dangerous. That is why we chose to come up here. Those fools will never find us.” There was a note of contempt in her soft voice.

“How is Chao Lin?” he asked. They stood by the side of the narrow road while Tai Fan edged the truck in reverse to the narrow opening in the rock, turning the vehicle. Now that the danger was past for the time being, they could afford to take their time.

“He has been tortured, but he never talked.” For the first time, a note of pride entered her voice and she drew herself up as she looked at him. “He will need medical attention as soon as we can get it for him. But by dawn he will be able to talk to you. He is sleeping now, completely exhausted.”

“Good. It is quite obvious from what has already happened, that whatever information he has locked away inside here—” he tapped his forehead significantly, “—it is of the utmost importance.”

One of the men called to them from the back of the truck. There was no time for more talk. It was possible that those men who had just gone to their deaths over the side of the ravine had not been alone; that there may be others following some distance behind. If this was indeed the case, then that petrol fire at the bottom of the valley, could be a direct give away. As a beacon, it would be visible for miles in almost every direction.

They went back to the truck. Carradine helped the girl on board, then walked around to the front, slid into the seat beside Tai Fan. Two minutes later, they were driving quickly towards the ridged summit of the hills with the three-quarter moon just reaching its zenith and beginning its long slide down towards the western horizon.