The Emperor's Revenge (Oregon Files 11)

“You think he got that message?” Eddie asked.

“I hope so,” Juan said.

The jet made a wide turn and then flew in a straight line perpendicular to their path about a mile ahead, far out of range of the RPGs. The rear cargo ramp lowered. When the IL-76 got to a point almost dead ahead, a pallet slid out the back. The chute opened immediately, and the object floated to the ground in front of them.

“That man can fly!” Linc yelled, and waved at the departing plane. Without a landing strip, there wasn’t anything more Tiny could do besides radio their position back to the Oregon.

Not that it would make a difference. Further help would arrive far too late.

Eddie aimed for the pallet, its chute ruffling in the breeze like a flag that beckoned them to a safe haven.

A hundred yards from the pallet, the Scorpion’s engine sputtered.

“Told you it would be close,” Eddie said.

The engine finally died fifty yards from their destination. They all jumped out and sliced through the cargo bungees with knives to free the cases holding the nuclear weapon cores. As before, Eddie ran ahead to unpack their gear while Juan and Linc lugged the heavy containers.

The growl of the pickups grew ominously close, but Juan didn’t dare take a second to look. The cliffs towered over them, and Juan was concentrating on calculating how much distance they’d need.

By now, Eddie had the cover off the pallet, exposing another dune buggy. But this one was different from the Scorpions.

It had a large, four-bladed propeller on the back, like one found on an Everglades airboat. The vehicle was based on a French design called the Pegasus. Max Hanley, the Corporation’s chief engineer, had enlarged it to carry three people instead of two, saving weight by building the frame out of carbon fiber tubing. He dubbed it the Daedalus after the mythical father of Icarus.

They heaved the cases in the storage area and got in. This time, Juan took the driver’s seat.

“I don’t think there’s enough room between here and the cliff,” Eddie said.

“I agree,” Juan said, and gunned the engine. He raced forward, turning the vehicle toward the Libyans.

As he accelerated, Linc and Eddie fired at the approaching convoy, hoping to slow them at least a little.

Juan spun the Daedalus in a U-turn and floored it. When it hit sixty miles an hour, he flipped the safety switch on the dashboard and punched the red button underneath.

A parasail was released from the rear of the Daedalus and unfurled behind them. It caught air and began to rise. When it was nearly overhead, Juan felt the vehicle’s wheels leave the ground, and they were airborne.

The Daedalus rose briskly. Three RPGs detonated on the cliffs as they flew past, the operators unwisely aiming at the small dune buggy instead of the enormous blue parasail above them. Juan glanced up and saw a few

rifle rounds perforate the sail, but it didn’t rip, and there was no effect on its performance.

Juan was more concerned with getting over the looming cliffs. He pulled back on the steering column without stalling the craft. It didn’t exactly have the agility of a hummingbird. The Daedalus could fly about as well as a seaplane could swim.

Circling around for another pass would bring them in range of the RPGs again, but if they slammed into the cliff face at the vehicle’s top speed of seventy miles per hour, this would be a very short trip.

“Chairman . . .” Eddie said, the worry in his voice obvious.

The rocks were at eye level. Eddie was right to be worried. The lead cases weighed them down more than they’d expected. They weren’t going to make it.

Juan pulled back even farther, risking the stall. The Daedalus nosed up and the wheels cleared the cliff with no more than a foot to spare.

He eased the wheel forward and the tires kissed the ground momentarily as the Daedalus stalled and then took to the air again as the parasail refilled.

The Libyans disappeared from view.

“I think I’ll leave the flying to Tiny next time,” Juan said with a sigh of relief.

“Would it sound bad if I agreed with you, Chairman?” Linc asked.

“I second that,” Eddie said. He activated the onboard radio.