Shiva (67 page)

“
Hang on!
”
Lopez shouted as he laid them over ninety degrees, cutting through the eruption.

They cleared the lava, then the smoke, then the steam, exiting out into the clear evening sky.

“
Just like dodgeball!
”
Lopez announced.
“
Only
,
with lava.
”

Rebecca looked over to Brandt
,
who wore the deepest frown she
’
d seen yet. She reached her hand out. He didn
’
t take it.

“
The end of days.
”

For a moment
,
Rebecca didn
’
t know what he meant
,
but then realized he was putting together the earthquakes and now the volcanic eruptions. If Vakasa truly was the
M
essiah, would she fulfill other prophecies? Prophecies like the apocalypse?

Apparently
,
Brandt
’
s faith that Vakasa was
not
the
M
essiah seemed to be wearing a little thin.

“
We
’
re looking pretty good,
”
Lopez said
,
easing them down in altitude, getting ready to make the approach toward Israel.

“
Um, except we are kind of on fire,
”
Davidson noted.

“
Well, yeah, there
’
s that.
”

“
And we
’
ve got incoming!
”
Levont yelled over the sound of the inferno behind them.

“
Incoming?
”
Lopez asked
.
“
Who in the hell
—
”

* * *

Brandt felt the sonic boom all the way down to his marrow
,
and it didn
’
t let up. They must have been in the jet
’
s sonic carpet, feeling every last molecule displaced by the other plane. Then the tail boom, which nearly jarred him out of his seat, restraints and all.

Lopez banked them to the left.
“
How did the Disciples get a supersonic jet?
”
When no one answered him since they were too busy holding on for their lives, Lopez continued.
“
Seriously? How? I want one.
”

Finally
,
they came out of the sharp bank, but the supersonic jet wasn
’
t idle. They were making a tight turn to come back around for another pass. If the jet got close enough,
the force
could shake the bolts holding their little plane together.

His concern nearly made Brandt miss the minor detail that Lopez was heading back
toward
the volcanoes.
“
Lopez…
”

“
What?
”
the corporal asked, never wavering from his course.
“
Nobody is stupid enough to follow me in.
”

“
That is kind of what I am worried about.
”

Lopez rolled his eyes
.
“
Please.
”

And then they were back into the smoke plume. The world contracted down around them as ash and airborne lava shot past them.

“
Levont, find me one ready to blow.
”

“
Lopez…
”
Brandt growled. There was courageous
,
and there was suicidal.

The corporal leaned forward as he took them low enough to get out of the plume. The four fiery volcanoes each looked prepared to erupt again. Their molten core bubbled and spewed.

“
Last time I wasn
’
t ready. This time
—
”

“
There!
”
Levont didn
’
t get the word out before Lopez slid them over to the second volcano
,
just in time for a huge steam plume to shoot out of the cone.

The plane shimmied but rode the column of superheated air. The metal around them became hot to the touch
,
but still
,
they climbed in the sky. Finally
,
the eruption ended
,
and they flew out of the blast zone, far above where they
had
entered.

The jet had slowed considerably to circle the volcanoes. And now their plane was above the Disciples. Lopez angled them downward.

“
Now let
’
s see how you like it!
”

Brandt wasn
’
t quite sure what Lopez had in mind, but it wasn
’
t going to be pretty. They approached fast and hard on the jet. Someone on board must have spotted them as they tried to accelerate, but not even with a supersonic jet could
they
outrun Lopez, at least not in time.

The corporal aimed them straight at the jet. It wasn
’
t until the last moment that Lopez had no intention at all of waving off.

“
No!
”

* * *

Brandt
’
s order was too late. Rebecca braced for impact, but she couldn
’
t be prepared for the actual impact. Lopez slammed their landing gear on top of the jet
’
s back. Both planes lurched. Their vehicle bouncing up. Lopez wasn
’
t done
,
though
,
as he hammered the plane back down. Then again.

“
Lopez!
”
Brandt barked.
“
They
’
ve got way thicker steel.
”

“
But a way higher stall speed!
”
the corporal count
er
ed, pounding down again.

It took one more time, with each of the planes falling out of the sky. Then it suddenly got a whole lot quieter as the Disciples
’
engines cut out. Lopez still wasn
’
t satisfied
,
though. He brought their landing gear down again, shoving the jet
’
s nose downward to the Mediterranean Sea. Only then, as the supersonic jet hurled toward a crash landing
,
did Lopez pull them up. But not quite as far as she had hoped. Then she saw why. Their left wing was engulfed in flame. Make that both wings. Make that the tail too.

“
Lopez!
”
Brandt shouted.

“
Jeez,
”
Lopez said
,
working the controls.
“
Calm down.
”

Calm down? They were on fire.
Fire.
Oh yeah, and about to crash land.

Then the plane jerked
,
and it sounded like a rip cord was running out directly above her. They were sudden
ly
pulled up. The draft was so quick it brushed the lava flames off the wings.

Rebecca craned her neck to see out the window. Above them
,
a huge plane
-
sized parachute had opened. Lopez cut the engines and let the plane drift down toward the water.

“
There,
”
the corporal said.
“
Happy now?
”

* * *

As the plane gently landed on the water, Davidson popped
off
his restraint and made for the hatch. There were still smoldering fires all over the hull of the airplane. The lava had tagged them nearly everywhere.

Davidson opened a storage compartment, grabbed a fire extinguisher
,
then undid the hatch. They were lucky the winds had shifted. The parachute, still filled with air, tugged them along toward Israel. Even without his scope, Davidson could make out the coastline.

All in all?
Not too shabby
,
he thought as he climbed out of the cabin and onto the back of the plane. He hit a few flames with the extinguisher, dousing them
,
as Brandt and the rest joined him. Then the wind shifted and the parachute collapsed. Brandt and Levont rushed over, grabbing the sagging material before it hit any of the flames. The last
thing
they needed was the thick material catch
ing
fire.

Lopez detached the chute from its anchor
,
and they threw the material over the side.

Dousing another bit of lava that was about to cut into a fuel line, Davidson scanned the horizon. The Disciples
’
jet seemed to have sunk completely. Just as well.

“
Um,
”
Rebecca said, scooting her way toward the nose of the plane
,
“
a
re
we
sinking?
”

Levont nodded.
“
It
’
s all the gear in the hatch. It is dragging the tail down.
”

“
Shark!
”
Lopez announced. Davidson looked over as a dorsal fin cut the surface.

“
Of course there
’
s a fucking shark,
”
Brandt rumbled.
“
But somebody
’
s got to dump the gear out of the hold.
”
The sergeant began stripping, but Davidson stepped forward.

“
I
’
ll do it.
”

Levont also stepped forward.
“
I
’
m an excellent diver.
”

Lopez
,
though
,
shooed them all back.
“
Maybe but each of you is like a bloody
C
ome
E
at
M
e sign to the sharks.
”

No one could argue with that as Lopez pulled his shirt up over his head. Davidson
’
s neck bandage was oozing as they spoke. Levont
’
s shirt was saturated in bright red and Brandt
…W
ell, he had a litany of cuts and scrapes.

“
Be careful,
”
Brandt ordered as Lopez took a knife from his leg holster.
“
I mean
my
kind of careful, not
your
kind.
”

“
Come on,
”
Lopez scoffed.
“
I
’
ve pearl
-
dived off of Sri Lanka.
”
He waved his hand over the water as a shark came in close, then darted away. Not just any shark
,
but a bull shark.
“
This is nothing.
”

“
Just film it!
”
Then Lopez gripped the knife in his teeth and dove off the side.

* * *

Brandt rushed to the side, but the plane tipped with his weight.
Rebecca screamed behind him as one of the sharks got a little impatient waiting for them to sink and all. It threw itself halfway up the side of the plane, snapping and thrashing. Brandt only had time to grab Rebecca by the waist and swing her around, out of danger.

Levont leveled his weapon
,
but no one fire
d
. With Lopez down there, they couldn
’
t risk a feeding frenzy. Actually
,
once the bags were out of the hold, Brandt wasn
’
t sure they could stay afloat. No need to get the natives too agitated.

The bull shark clamped his jaw one last time
,
then thrashed
its
tail, sliding back down into the water. His eyes
,
though, his eyes said
,
W
e
’
ll meet again
.