Part 16 (1/2)

The giant leaped forward, landing unsteadily on the rolling floor, hisway to a smile of triumph 'I'd rather do it another way,' he shouted 'Not by the bullet I ken a bullet's too guid for ye' His hand almost hid the Python revolver, which pointed directly at Bond's chest,his victie hatchway end DO NOT ENTER IF RED LIGHT IS ON 'Ye'll get over there,' Caber growled, keeping his balance, even though the aircraft was undoubtedly in a nose-down attitude, descending rapidly

There was no way to avoid the order without ending up with his chest torn away by the Python's bullets Bond crabbed across the cabin towards the hatchway

'Now,' - Caber had h for Bond to try a tackle, - 'now ye'll slide that thing open, and hold it until ma own hand's on it'

Bond did as he was bidden; felt the revolver barrel jab at his back and saw Caber's hand take over the weight of the sliding hatchway as, together, they stepped through into the high sparred and girdered rear of the Starlifter The aircraftthe, curved spar

'I'm still behind ye, Bond, with the wee shooter, so dinna do anything daft There's a wee bit of a lever I have to pull over here'

The rear loading bay was cold: a bleak airborne hangar ofof oil and that odd plastic scent of air that you get inside aircraft The buffeting orse here, alrip hard on the spar to keep his balance, for the big aeroplane see doith occasional terrifying bucketing and noise - which Bond now clearly recognised as other aircraft passing close and buzzing theo,' Caber called, and Bond heard the solid sound of a large switch going down It was followed by the whine of hydraulics and an increased reverberation Bond twisted around, to see Caber leaning against a bulkhead just inside the hatchway, the revolver still accurately aimed, while his left hand was raised to an open metal box inside which a two-foot double knife-switch had just been pulled down and was locked into the 'on' position There was another great ing as the huge plane dropped a couple of hundred feet, and both hed 'The Laird had so with the pick-up line ent fur the ransoawn tae make sure o' ye, Bond'

There was a distinct decrease in te back towards the tail end of the hold, he saw the rear sides of the fuselageoutwards, while an oblong section of the deck gently dropped away to the increased whine of the hydraulic syste down Already he could see a section of sky

'It'll tak aboot twa minutes,' Caber shouted 'Then ye'll have a nice ski slope there Ye'll be goin' doon that, Bond Coin' doon it tae hell'

Bond's mind raced If he was to die, then Caber would have to kill hiet within grappling distance of the ood twenty feet from each other, and the Starlifter, still with its nose doas yawing and perfornised as evasive action of the ination, but Bond thought he could hear thewith near hu about the sky

There is a dread, deep within ht Ja on to his spar, transfixed by the quickly widening gap between metal and sky Sudden death had never bothered hi that it ceased to bring nightmares One minute you would be alive, the next in irreversible darkness But this would be different He felt the claenuine fear closed over him

With a heavy ru a huge open hole the size of a house in the rear of the aircraft The sky tilted behind the opening, then swerved as the Starlifter went through yet another manoeuvre

'This is where we say fare ye weel - for auld lang syne, Bond Now git ye doon that ras'

'You'll have to shootwithout soo of the spar, he aimed himself at Caber just as the Starlifter dipped lower, the tail cole Bond lurched forward, al down out of control towards Caber In this heart-stopping un hand coain the deck jerked under theered to one side as the aircraft dipped and the door to the hatchway slid open For a second, Bond thought it was the movele of descent, he saw Lavender, the dirk fro firmly in her hand, raised to strike

Caber tried to turn and bring the revolver to bear, but the instability of the deck coave him no chance Almost with a sense of dread, Bond saw the dirk flash down - Lavender's left hand joining her right over the hilt as she plunged it with all her strength into Caber's throat Even with the noise of rushi+ng air, the buffeting and roar of engines, Caber's gurgling rasp of terror echoed around the vast hold The revolver fell to the deck as he scrabbled at his throat, from which the blood pumped out and down his jersey Then Caber spun around, still claan to roll like a piece of freight broken loose in a shi+p's hold

Bond reached the door, ed its attitude, the nose coe of power as it started to gain altitude Bond grasped Caber, but he could not hold the heavytowards the point where the deck dipped into the long-angled ra on to Bond, as Caber tu blood, towards the raan to fall He argle of blood fro screa and hideous sustained note

As he reached the far end of the raore-streaked face looking up towards Bond, ar at the h Caber's already held the glaze of death, they also contained a deep, dark hatred reaching out froiant lieutenant slid over the edge, out of sight, into the air beneath the Starlifter

'I killed him' Lavender was near to a state of shock

'An obvious stateh the noise 'What matters toknife-switch, grasping the wooden handle and pulling it up, into the 'off' position

The hydraulic whine began again, and the ramp started totowards the closing gap, her eyes widening and lips parted In the space still visible, a pair of Dassault Super Mirages could be seen hurtling in towards the Starlifter As they watched, Bond and Lavender saw the bright flashes at the nose of each aircraft The Mirage jets had passed, in a clap of air, with the crack and thunder of engines, before the Starlifter felt any effect from the short bursts of fire

There followed a series of massive thuds, small explosions and the rip ofwave-like dance and the Starlifter appeared to be poised, hanging in the air Then the engines roared again, and the deck steadied

Bond's nose twitched at the acrid s Lavender to one side, he slid open the hatchway to be met by a billow of smoke Two or three of the sh the roof, sla into the main console, from which the flames flicked upwards, while s cloud

Bond yelled at Lavender to keep out of the way Already, during the tension in the rear hold, his subconscious had taken in the fact of two large fire extinguishers clipped into racks on either side of the sliding hatchway He grabbed one of the heavy red cylinders, sainst the nearest metal spar, slid back the door and pointed the jet of foa from the fumes, Bond returned for the second cylinder It took both the extinguishers at full pressure before the fire was out, leaving only eye-watering, throat-cloying fu Lavender close on the hold side of the door, Bond waited for the s into a rind and thuear locked into place The one short burst of fire froht The international sy of its landing gear

Inside the control cabin, the air was less foul, leaving only a sting in the nostrils Lavender went straight towards one of the oval s and, sliding up the blind, reported that they seehter aircraft on this side,' she called

Bondup, and they were in a long wide turn On his side as well two Mirages kept station He peered down, looking for landhters rees and flaps They were nan

Bond looked around The bodies of the two technicians had been thrown across the cabin, but of Anton Murik there was no sign Lavender said that, perhaps, when he caive instructions to his crew But when they landed at Perpignan and the police, together with M's envoys, ca that followed, one of the Mirage pilots reported seeing a ht that a crew eneral melee he could not be certain

The jets had come in fast and to start with the Starlifter had only taken evasive action, refusing to comply with their orders It was only as a last resort that two of the fighters had fired one short burst each It was after this show of strength that the Starlifter had surrendered It was also after the firing that the jet pilot thought there ht have been a parachute descent into the sea, but, he maintained, it was difficult to be sure A lot of s froht, scattered cloud

'If he did jump,' one of M's officers said, 'there wouldn't be much chance of survival in the sea'

In the aircraft back to London, Lavender voiced the view that she would never be convinced of her guardian's death until she had actually seen his body

It was, then, with a certain number of unanswered questions, that Bond reported to M that evening at the Regent's Park headquarters

22

Warlock's castle

'You ran it a bit too close for co Bond

'For whose co, which had begun al the late afternoon Since then Bond had gone over the story fro a number of times, and suffered the constant interruptions and cross-questioning that were par for the course The lengthy conversation had been taken down on tape, and Bill Tanner joined Bond and M, while one of the senior ferilled her as well, thought Bond

'Even then you let hiet away' M sounded irritated

'Too close for whose comfort, sir?' Bond repeated

M waved the question to one side 'Everybody's What concerns me now is the whereabouts of Anton Murik, so-called Laird of Murcaldy'

The white 'phone bleeped on M's desk Following a brief exchange, M turned to his Chief-of-Staff 'There's a signal in fro it up, will you?'

Tanner left, returning a few seconds later The news at least solved part of theit to Bond The French authorities had now been over the Starlifter fro the extra fitments aboard, they had discovered a small hold, accessible froe enough to conceal one man and was kitted out with sufficient rations and other necessities for a few days There were signs that it had been used; and the exit, through e, had been opened

'That settles it,' M snapped, picking up his 'phone 'Better get this report typed up and signed, Bond I'll have to alert Duggan and Ross The fellow's still at large'

Bond held up a hand as though appealing for M to put down the 'phone 'With respect, sir, can I ask some questions? Then, maybe, make a couple of requests?'

Slowly M put down the telephone 'Ask away I can pro, but be quick about it'