Part 47 (1/2)

The Americans then started firing their anti-aircraft guns from their cranes.

Tracer bullets raced up into the sky-there were so many they filled filled the sky-but Sky Monster banked the the sky-but Sky Monster banked the Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus brilliantly, avoiding the laser-like streaks while at the same time Pooh Bear returned fire and unleashed a h.e.l.lfire air-to-ground missile of his own. brilliantly, avoiding the laser-like streaks while at the same time Pooh Bear returned fire and unleashed a h.e.l.lfire air-to-ground missile of his own.

The h.e.l.lfire shoomed out from a pod on the Hali Hali's underbelly and spiralled down towards one of the American cranes and- -smashed into it and detonated. into it and detonated.

The crane's basket was blasted into a million pieces, its occupants and their weapons vaporised.

Judah and all the others on the platform spun at the nearby explosion.

The other crane continued to fire up at the incoming Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus, unleas.h.i.+ng a thousand rounds of AA ammunition and another Stinger missile-which Pooh Bear just blasted out of the sky a moment later.

Then Sky Monster yelled, 'Pooh! Hang on, buddy! Hang on, buddy! Here we go!' Then to himself he whispered, 'Please G.o.d, Wizard, tell me you got this right...' Here we go!' Then to himself he whispered, 'Please G.o.d, Wizard, tell me you got this right...'

It was then that, roaring down toward the Giza Plateau like an out-of-control missile, Sky Monster lifted the Hali Hali's nose up slightly and jammed jammed all his thrusters back ...throwing the all his thrusters back ...throwing the Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus into a deliberate stall ...so that now it looked like a stallion rearing up on its hind legs, its nose up, its tail down... into a deliberate stall ...so that now it looked like a stallion rearing up on its hind legs, its nose up, its tail down...

...at which point, Sky Monster held his breath and punched the second second collective on his console, a thruster-collective marked: collective on his console, a thruster-collective marked: RETROGRADE THRUST SYSTEM. RETROGRADE THRUST SYSTEM.

What happened next startled everyone on the Pyramid's summit- everyone except Wizard.

The Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus-dropping through the sky in a graceful flat stall, nose up, tail down-emitted a noise deeper and louder than a thousand thunderbooms.

BOOOOOOOOM!.

The colossal noise came from the eight Mark 3 Harrier retrograde thrust engines that had been incorporated into its armoured fuselage.

By Wizard.

The result was sensational: the ma.s.sive all-black Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus stopped in mid-fall, as if it were suspended from giant descender cables, and to the sound of its deafening retrograde thrusters, it swung into a perfect hover, 200 metres off the ground and only stopped in mid-fall, as if it were suspended from giant descender cables, and to the sound of its deafening retrograde thrusters, it swung into a perfect hover, 200 metres off the ground and only a few hundred yards from the Great Pyramid! a few hundred yards from the Great Pyramid!

Sky Monster brought her closer, bringing the big hovering plane's left forward door alongside the platform on the summit of the Pyramid.

It was an absolutely astonis.h.i.+ng sight-the ma.s.sive black jumbo jet, bristling with guns and missile pods, hovering with its nose close to the summit of the Great Pyramid at Giza.

From the platform itself, the Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus loomed large, super-huge, like an angry bird-G.o.d descended from Heaven itself to wreak its fury. loomed large, super-huge, like an angry bird-G.o.d descended from Heaven itself to wreak its fury.

The initial spell broken, the surviving American crane swung around to unleash a new burst of AA fire, now from point-blank range.

But Pooh Bear, on the Hali Hali's left wing, was quicker on the draw and also at point-blank range.

He loosed a withering burst of fire-a hyper-fast barrage barrage of gunfire-that shook, shattered and blasted apart the crane, turning its occupants into fountains of spraying blood and the crane into Swiss cheese. of gunfire-that shook, shattered and blasted apart the crane, turning its occupants into fountains of spraying blood and the crane into Swiss cheese.

On the platform, Judah's eyes boggled.

He checked the Sun, checked his watch: 11:59:29.

Thirty seconds.

'Hold them off!' he called to his men. 'Hold them off! We only need thirty seconds! thirty seconds!'

Consumed with the spectacular arrival of the Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus, Judah never noticed a second second airborne craft zeroing in on the Pyramid, a very small craft that came zooming in low and fast from the Western Desert. airborne craft zeroing in on the Pyramid, a very small craft that came zooming in low and fast from the Western Desert.

It was a man, possessed of carbon-fibre wings.

The tiny man-shaped figure soared low over the desert, before at the last second, he rose up swiftly-up the slanting side of the Pyramid as if it were an aerial ramp-and landed with a graceful plonk on the far side of the Capstone, on the side opposite the attention-grabbing Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus.

It was Jack West Jr.

Back from the dead, and p.i.s.sed as h.e.l.l.

West landed with his wings outstretched and with two big .45 calibre Desert Eagle pistols in his hands. The instant his feet touched the platform, his guns started blazing, taking down four CIEF troopers with four shots.

Then he punched a release clip on his wing-harness and the carbon-fibre wings fell off his back, freeing him, making him even more deadly.

He ran out onto the platform, guns up.

At the same time, in response to the spectacular arrival of the Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus, four American helicopters lifted off from their positions at the base of the Great Pyramid: three Apache attack birds and the mighty Super Stallion that Judah had used to bring the Pieces to Giza.

A fifth chopper-a Black Hawk-made to follow them, but it seemed to hesitate on the ground as a scuffle occurred inside it.

Then, a few seconds behind the others, it lifted off and headed for the battle going on at the top of the Pyramid.

Pandemonium reigned on the platform.

With the Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus looming alongside it like a s.h.i.+p from outer s.p.a.ce, and Pooh Bear blazing away from the plane's powerful left-side gun turret, all the American troops on the platform were either getting shot or diving for cover behind Samsonite crates or the Capstone itself or retreating to the lower levels of the open-sided structure. looming alongside it like a s.h.i.+p from outer s.p.a.ce, and Pooh Bear blazing away from the plane's powerful left-side gun turret, all the American troops on the platform were either getting shot or diving for cover behind Samsonite crates or the Capstone itself or retreating to the lower levels of the open-sided structure.

In the chaos, Wizard hurled himself on top of Lily to protect her.

Del Piero charged across the platform and slid to the ground beside the little channel, to reach for Alexander, still inside the Capstone.

'Not so fast, Father!' a voice said from behind him. Del Piero turned- -to find himself staring into the barrel of a Glock pistol held by Marshall Judah.

Bam!

The pistol went off and the priest's brains splattered the golden flank of the Capstone.

With a core group of CIEF men surrounding him, Judah stood before the Capstone-cleverly putting it between him and Pooh Bear's guns-and with a glance at his watch, looked to the sky.

At that moment, the clock struck noon and it happened.

It looked like a laser beam from Heaven.

A dead-straight beam of dazzling white light lanced down from the sky, from the surface of the Sun, and accompanied by a tremendous boom boom, it slammed into the Capstone atop the Great Pyramid.

The Capstone, in reply, caught caught this ray of hyper-intense energy within its crystal array-so that the beam remained in place, giving the impression that the Pyramid was now this ray of hyper-intense energy within its crystal array-so that the beam remained in place, giving the impression that the Pyramid was now connected connected to the Sun by this superlong and perfectly straight ray of glowing white energy. to the Sun by this superlong and perfectly straight ray of glowing white energy.