Shadow Tyrants (Oregon Files 13)

When he reached the top, he peered over the edge and saw the tops of Eddie’s and Linc’s heads. He went up farther and saw that they were sitting in chairs. Beyond, in the space in between, he could see two guards standing at attention. Both of them were in tactical gear with holstered sidearms.

Juan had to risk that his suppressed gunshots would be heard. He coiled and then sprang up the last few steps. The guards gaped for just a second at the shocking sight of an intruder, then tried to draw their weapons. Juan took each of them down with a single shot. Blood pooled under their heads, caught neatly by the plastic sheet.

Eddie and Linc both turned. Neither of them seemed surprised to see that it was Juan.

“Hi, Chairman,” Linc said with a toothy grin. “What took you so long?”

FIFTY

Juan called Tiny up, and they handed pistols and comm units to Eddie and Linc after removing the restraints. Juan went to the closed door and listened, but he couldn’t hear anything through the thick insulation. He eased it open and saw someone standing in the hallway. He signaled to the others that they had company.

If they started firing in the midsection of the plane, their surprise would be lost, but the guard was too far away to sneak up on. Juan looked at the hunga munga hanging on the wall and raised an eyebrow at Linc.

Linc understood and wrenched the weapon from its brackets. When he was at the door, Juan counted down from three and then yanked the door open. Linc flicked the hunga munga as easily as if he were tossing a Frisbee, and the spike plunged into the guard’s chest just as he turned to see who was coming. He pitched forward without a sound. This time, they’d need carpet cleaners.

Juan led the way down the hall. The rooms here were luxurious cabins, each with its own bathroom. The first two were vacant, but the one where the guard had been standing was closed. While Linc removed the hunga munga from the corpse and wiped it clean, Juan pulled the door open to find Lionel Gupta sitting on the bed.

“Who are you?” he said in astonishment.

“We’re here to rescue you,” Juan said. “Where is Natalie Taylor?”

“I don’t know. Do you work for Romir Mallik?”

“No. Just concerned citizens. We know about the Nine Unknown Men and what you’re planning with Colossus. We’re going to put a stop to it.”

“As you can see, I’m not part of it anymore. They’re going to kill me.”

“Why?”

“Because Carlton has gone mad

with power. As soon as he has the Colossus ships linked up, there’ll be no stopping him.”

“Where is that going to happen?” Juan asked.

“Great Bitter Lake. They need to be within twenty miles of each other to make the connection.”

“How do we deactivate it?”

Gupta hesitated.

“Remember, you’re going to die when Carlton gets Colossus up and running unless we help you stop him.”

Gupta’s shoulders slumped. “All right. I stashed some files online where I didn’t think anyone could find them. Just in case. Of course, Colossus would be able to find them in minutes once it’s fully operational.”

He wrote down a long string of characters on a pad and gave the paper to Juan, who put it in his pocket.

“Now, get me off this plane,” Gupta said.

“Stay in your cabin,” Juan said. “You’ll be safer.”

Gupta nodded dejectedly. “Okay.”

Juan told Linc to take point. Eddie and Tiny followed while Juan had their six.

When Linc reached the forward lounge, he threw the hunga munga again, but apparently there was more than one guard in the room because Eddie fired two shots. Enemy fire came from the bottom of the front staircase, and they all hit the deck.

As soon as the shots rang out, the plane began to turn. Juan guessed the pilots were heading back to Cyprus.