Part 17 (1/2)

'He's arrived' Bond grabbed at the first thing he could lay hands on: a sporting crossbow, heavily decorated, but refurbished, with a thick taut cord bound securely to aacranequin to pull back and latch the cord into place Taking this and three sharp bolts which were arranged next to it, Bond motioned Tanner out of the rooht's not in his favour He'll want to get hold of the stuff and be away fast Pray God he'll take it all with him, and we can catch the bastard outside'

There would be more chance in the open Bond was sure of that As they reached the hall, the noise of the descending helicopter beca and fluttering down behind the keep Standing in the shadows, Bond strained his ears If the pilot kept his engines running, 007 knew his theory would be right - that Murik planned to re quickly hatever docuine was stopped, they would have to take hi

Somewhere towards the back of the house, there was the scratch and squeak of a door Murik was entering the same way that Bond and the Chief-of-Staff had come, by the tradesmen's entrance Thank heaven for Tanner, whose wisdo of the door behind the surely, as a man will move in complete darkness when he knows his house with the deep intimacy of years The steps were short and quick: unain

Froer's engine, which , seated in his cockpit Bond signalled with the crossbow, and they set off silently in the direction of the door through which the Laird had returned Outside it was alht noith only faint traces of cloud, pink froine was loud, co from behind the keep, to which Bond now pointed Side by side, Tanner and Bond sought the edge of the old stone tower, black and bruised with age, to shelter behind one angled corner, from which they had a view of the castle's rear

Bond bent to the task of turning the heavycranequin, panting at each twist of the wheel, as the steel bo back and its thick cord finally clicked into place Raising the weapon skywards for safety, Bond slid one of the bolts into place He had no idea of its accuracy, though there was no doubt of it being a lethal weapon

The seven or eight minutes' wait see suddenness, they heard footsteps fast on the gravel Bond stepped fro the crossbow to his shoulder Anton Murik was running hard, to their right, heading for the far side of the keep In the left hand he held a thick and bulky oilskin package, while in his right he clutched at so down the prih, Murik It's over now'

The Laird of Murcaldy hardly paused, seeht hand rising There was a sharp crack followed by a high-pitched screa spurt of fire streaked fro so close between Bond and Tanner that they felt the heat from the projectile which hit the side of the keep with the thud of a sledgehammer A whole block of the old stone cracked and splattered away, sending great shards flying Tanner gave a little cry, clutching his cheek, where a section of sharp stone sliced through

Bond knew i: a collector's item now, from the early 1950s, the MBA Gyrojet Rocket pistol This hand-held launcher fired high velocitypayloads of heat-resistant steel like bright polished chrome The 13mm bullets, with their rocket propellant, were capable of penetrating thick steel plates Bond had handled one, and recalled wondering what they would do to a man He did not think twice about their efficiency The Gyrojet pistol contained afive rockets He had a one-shot crossbow and no in for error

Bond did not hesitate Before Murik - still running could hurl another rocket froer of the crossbow TheBond by surprise The solid noise of the h the air and was, in its turn, blotted out by Murik's cry as the heavy bolt speared the upper part of his chest

Murik continued to run, as both Bond and Tanner started after hiered and the Gyrojet pistol dropped on to the gravel Swaying and weaving, Murik doggedly ran on, whie He had by now alround behind the keep, above the helicopter pad

Bond ran hard, pausing only to sweep up the Gyrojet, and check that there was a rocket in place Grunting with pain and anguish, Anton Murik was gasping his way up the bank as Bond shouted to him for the second time 'Stop Stop, Anton I don't want to kill you; but I'll fire if you don't stop now'

Murik continued, as though he could hear nothing, and, as he reached the top of the ine rise as lift poas applied The target was outlined against the now redon top of the mound, ready tojust out of sight

Bond shouted 'Stop' onceback Carefully Bond levelled the Gyrojet pistol and squeezed the trigger There was a crack from the primer, then he felt the butt push back into his hand as the rocket left the barrel, gathering speed with a shower of fla faster and faster until it struck Murik's back, with over a thousand foot-pounds of energy behind it

Only then did Bond knohat such a projectile did to a h someone had taken a blowlaet; for the centre of Murik's back disintegrated For a second, Bond could have sworn that he was able to see right through the gaping hole in theinto the air before falling forwards out of sight

Tanner was beside Bond, his face streaked scarlet with blood, as they paced each other up the bank Below, the helicopter pilot was revving his lance towards Bond and the levelled Gyrojet pistol changed his ine and slowly cli his hands over his head