Nighthawk (NUMA Files 14)

They stepped out of the tree line, moving cautiously at first and then picking up the pace as the second of the bomber’s four engines came to life. The pilot on the ground could be seen hastening his final inspection and then rushing toward the nose gear and the ladder that led up into the plane.

“We’re about to miss our flight,” Joe said. He rushed ahead as the copilot vanished up into the aircraft’s belly.

Kurt sprinted to keep up, but he’d exhausted so much energy, his muscles would not respond.

The ladder began to retract. Joe jumped onto it and the ladder groaned with the weight.

Kurt rushed up seconds later, leapt and caught the bottom rung.

“Add ladder climbing to your Ironman,” Joe shouted over the roar of the engines.

Arm over arm, Kurt pulled himself upward until finally he could get a knee on the bottom rung. As soon as he did, the plane lurched forward and began to move.

The movement caused Kurt’s knee to slip and he was back to dangling by his arms. Behind him, two of the four engines were screaming in full voice. Their square intakes loomed like mouths ready to devour him, should he fall.

“Come on,” Joe said. “Stop playing around.”

Kurt pulled himself up, got his knee on the bottom rung and moved higher. As soon as Joe could reach him, he leaned out and grabbed Kurt by the shoulders, yanked him upward and into the plane.

With their weight off of the ladder, it finished retracting and the hatch shut and sealed behind it.

They were in the dark as the bomber turned back into the wind, then the remaining engines came to life and the plane began to roll.

Finally, the floor shifted beneath them, the nose came up and the monstrous bomber, with its wings swept wide, soared up into the air.

“We really have to work on your foot speed,” Joe shouted.

“My speed?” Kurt yelled back. “I was counting on you holding the door for me.”

The ladder well was dark except for a dim light coming from the inner hatch up above. It was glowing an ominous red.

Joe tested the hatch and shook his head. “It’s locked from the other side.”

59

The rest of the trip to Cajamarca was uneventful. Along the way, Paul and Gamay explained to Emma what she’d missed. It was a roller coaster of emotion. Hearing that Kurt was alive sent her spirits soaring.

In the end, all that mattered was finding a way to stop the bombs from detonating. Meeting up with NSA agents Hurns and Rodriguez at the airport was the first step.

“We have additional fuel cells on the aircraft,” Hurns said. “Is there any chance the containment units themselves have been tampered with?”

Emma shook her head. “The entire unit is sealed. Any tampering or attempt to hide something inside would have caused the mixed-state matter to react. That’s why Urco chose to rig up the replica fuel cells.”

“Then all we have to do is switch them out and dispose of the bombs.”

“Except that we need the bombs,” Emma replied. “The Chinese have been airborne for hours. And barring some incredible stroke of luck, the Russians are flying by now as well. Based on what Urco told Kurt, the bombs are rigged to detonate when the planes descend. The only chance they have is if we figure out what type of detonator they’ve been connected to, how and why it will go off and, more importantly, how to disarm them.”

“Not likely to find a bomb disposal expert in Cajamarca,” Hurns noted.

“I know,” Emma said. “But we can pipe one in. All we need is a 4K video feed and a high-speed Internet connection. And someone can guide us through step by step.”

“Where are you going to find that at this hour?”

Paul spoke up. “We know a place,” he said, “where the caffeine never stops and the Internet is strong.”

After switching the fuel cells at the airport and watching the NSA Gulfstream take off, Paul, Gamay and Emma drove into town. Calls had been made, cooperation arranged and the buildings around the Internet café evacuat

ed.