The Rescue (26 page)

I watched as she fell, my heart in my mouth . . . one metre . . . two . . . All of a sudden her fall halted. Nico had her. She floated in mid-air, arms flailing, then carried on descending.

I drew back into the bell tower again. It was full of smoke now. Ketty’s breath was coming in hoarse gasps. ‘Help me get up there,’ she said, her eyes streaming from the smoke.

I reached out, grabbed her under the armpits and hauled her up, onto the window ledge. Panting, I caught sight of the flames from the front of the church. They were snaking, fast, across the roof towards us.

Victoria was almost on the ground now. I waited until she was down, then leaped into Nico’s mind again.

Ketty’s ready
, I thought-spoke.
Take her next.

Sure, listen, Ed, Geri’s here. Dylan just saw her. She’s got Djounsou. She was yelling at him to tell her where we were.

So Tsonga’s safe?

Yeah. Let me take Ketty.

I broke the connection. ‘Nico’s going to teleport you down,’ I said.

Ketty glanced back at the smoke-filled tower room. Then across the roof, where the flames were devouring the space between us.

‘Hold on to me,’ she said. ‘Nico can take us both.’

She grabbed my hand. I felt the tug of Nico’s telekinesis, pulling her away.

‘No, it’s too hard for him. He has to take us one at a time.’

Ketty glanced across at the fire. The flames were inches away now, their heat fiercer than the sun’s. ‘
Ed
.’

The telekinetic force pulling her away from me grew stronger.

‘Go.’ I wrenched my hand away.

With a yell, Ketty soared away from me, over the edge of the roof.

The flames licked at the corner of the window ledge. Smoke was pouring up from the whole building. I could no longer see Ketty, or the ground below.

Hurry up, Nico, hurry.

I balanced myself on the window ledge, one hand holding on to the frame. In the distance I could hear the whirr of a helicopter overhead but all my focus was on Nico. I made myself resist the urge to break into his mind again. He knew I was up here. As soon as Ketty was down he’d get me.

Except . . . if I couldn’t see him, then he wouldn’t be able to see me . . . My guts twisted. He’d be able to imagine it, wouldn’t he? He’d seen where the others were. It would be okay.

CRASH!
There was a terrible smashing and creaking and the roof in front of me collapsed. Through the smoke I could see down to the church beneath. The window ledge juddered and shifted.

‘Oh God, Nico, hurry . . .’ I held my breath, waiting for the tug of his telekinesis. Surely Ketty must be down now?

Unless . . . I could hardly bring myself to think it . . . unless the roof caving in had somehow sent debris flying onto Nico . . . or Ketty herself . . .

Above me, the roar of a helicopter filled the air. I glanced up. The machine was hovering above the roof, a rope ladder dangling from its open door. My heart leaped as fire curled round my feet.

It must be Geri. Nico had said she was here. She’d sent the helicopter to rescue me. I tried to still my mind enough to communicate with Nico, but I was in too much of a state to focus, my whole attention on the helicopter above. The rope ladder was almost touching the roof now, flames licking at the bottom rung.

‘ED!’ A man in a green jumper was leaning out of the helicopter, yelling down at me. ‘Geri’s here. Come on! Grab the rope.’ I lunged for it. Missed. Almost fell. I gasped as the rope ladder swung back. I grabbed again. Contact. I hurled myself at the rungs. Scrabbled for a footing. Shut my eyes.
Yes.

I held on tight, feeling the swoop and sway of the helicopter taking me up high into the clean, clear air. My stomach lurched with nausea.

‘ED!’ The man was shouting again, but I could only just make out the words as the wind whipped past my face.

I opened my eyes. We were high above Mahore. Fear froze me as I looked down.

‘Ed, climb up.’

He had to be kidding. I closed my eyes tight shut and gripped the rope ladder.

‘It’s safer inside. Come on, there’s no breeze. The helicopter is holding steady for you.’

I opened one eye.

‘It’s just four more rungs. Come
on.
’

I hesitated another second. The man was right, it would be safer inside.

‘Come on, I’ll be able to reach you if you just come up a couple more rungs.’

Staring straight ahead of me, and fighting the fear and nausea that was gripping me, I slid one hand, then the next, up the rope ladder.

The rungs moved gently in the still air. ‘It’s okay,’ I muttered to myself. ‘You can do this.’ Holding on tight with my hands, I moved first one foot then the other onto the next rung up.

‘You’re doing great,’ the man shouted. ‘Keep coming, I’ve almost got you.’

I slid my hands up the rope ladder again. Clung on. Then moved my feet, one after the other. I was almost at the helicopter now. Another person had joined the first man, their knees appearing at the door just above my head.

The second person reached down and grabbed my arm. And then I looked up – and almost lost my grip entirely.

I was staring into a face I knew – but it wasn’t Geri’s.

Just above me, his hand gripping my arm, his eyes covered with mirrored sunglasses, was Blake Carson.

27: The fall

Carson’s mouth stretched into a smile at the sight of my shocked face.

‘Good to see you, kiddo,’ he shouted over the roar of the helicopter engine. ‘Now get on board.’

He grabbed me tightly by both arms and tried to haul me towards him. I clung to the rope ladder, which swung violently.

‘No!’ I yelled. I glanced down.
Oh God, oh God.
Mahore was so far below us now the people and cars looked like toys.

The sight made me giddy.

‘Come on!’ Carson’s fingers dug into my arm like pincers.

I tried to pull away and my right foot slipped off the rope ladder. Panicking, I swung wildly, desperate to bring it back into position. My left foot slipped too. I dropped down, hanging from my hands as the rope ladder jerked and bucked in the air. Carson had slid forwards till half his chest was hanging over the open helicopter door. Fear choked me.

‘ED!’ Carson’s voice was desperate. ‘Get your feet back on the ladder.’

I closed my eyes. Please let him be there.

Whoosh.

Nico?

I’m here. I can see you. And that bastard.
His thought-speech was calm. Determined.
I’m ready.

I looked up into Carson’s face, at his mouth, open in horror.

‘Let go!’ I shouted.

‘No way!’ he yelled back, gripping my arms even tighter.

The man beside him pulled out a gun.

‘Let go!’ I repeated.

‘No.’ I could feel Carson’s hold on my arms slipping. I took a deep breath and took both hands off the rope ladder.

Now Carson was carrying all my weight. The muscles in his arms bulged as he held on to me.

‘Let go of me,’ I shouted again. ‘Or you’ll fall too.’

‘No.’ Carson shook his head, but his grip was slackening. He couldn’t hold me. My arms slid through his hands, dragging him forwards. He was almost out of the helicopter now, the man beside him panicking, grabbing at his legs.

And then it happened. With a yell, Carson tipped forward, and fell completely out of the helicopter, still gripping my arms.

His sunglasses dropped away as we spun towards the ground.

Falling. Wind rushing past. Panic rising up.
For a split second that felt like a lifetime our eyes met. Inside Carson’s mind I saw a mirror image of the pure terror that was gripping me.

And then he let go of my arms. My mouth opened in a silent scream. But before I could call out, I felt Nico’s telekinesis tug at my body.

My fall stopped. For a moment I was held, suspended, in the bright African sky. I stared down at Carson, spinning away beneath me. His thin scream pierced my ears. I watched, unable to tear my eyes from him as he plunged down . . . down . . .

Down. The thin scream stopped. I looked, trying to make sense of what I saw – his body, twisted, on the ground beside the church.

Dead. He was dead.

My brain tried to process it, but my heart was racing. I was falling again. The sky was speeding past and yet I felt like I was sinking in slow motion. My head whirled. Seconds passed that felt like minutes. I just had time to register that I wasn’t near the church any more and then I landed with a bump on the dusty earth.

I flopped back, winded. A moment later I felt the telekinesis release me. I relaxed into the solid ground beneath me and closed my eyes.

Footsteps in the distance, rushing closer . . . around me. I wanted to open my eyes, but it was too big an effort.

‘Is he okay?’ Ketty said, breathlessly. I could feel her thudding to the ground beside me.

‘Yes.’ That was Nico. He paused, then said with less conviction, ‘at least he
should
be.’

‘Look, Daddy, it’s the angel,’ Victoria squealed.

I forced open my eyes. The little girl’s face was inches above mine, filling my whole field of vision. Her eyelashes fluttered as she blinked, excitedly.

‘Hi,’ I croaked.

‘He’s okay,’ Ketty said, her voice halfway between a sob and a cheer.

‘He’s saying hello,’ Victoria announced. ‘The angel.’

‘Stop talking nonsense, Victoria, he is a brave boy who fell, not an angel,’ Tsonga said, his deep, tender voice such a strong contrast to her high-pitched squeak that I smiled.

‘But, Daddy, he
said
he was
.
’

‘Get back, Victoria, let the man breathe.’

Somewhere above me a phone rang. I could hear Ketty answering it, her voice fading as she walked away.

‘Bye, angel,’ Victoria whispered. Her face vanished. I lay still, staring up at the clear blue sky above me. There was silence for a second. Then Nico’s face came into view.

‘
Angel?
’ He grinned.

‘Piss off,’ I said. ‘Er . . . and thanks for getting me down.’

Nico affected a modest smile. ‘No sweat, man. Last few seconds I couldn’t see you so I had to sort of half-guess/half-sense when you were down.’

I struggled onto my elbows and looked round. I was lying in the middle of a dirt track. Roughly ploughed fields led off in all directions.

‘Mahore’s behind you,’ Nico said. ‘You landed on the outskirts.’

I twisted round. Just a couple of metres away, the dirt track I was on ended in a row of simple wooden houses, which led to more roads. The church was visible a few streets away – a burning tower of flame and smoke rising above the town.

Tsonga reached over and shook my hand. ‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘The others told me how brave you were, going into St Luke’s to save Victoria. I can never repay you.’

I blushed, not knowing what to say. ‘I’m sorry about your brother.’

Tsonga nodded, his battered face heavy with sadness.

‘I take Victoria away now,’ he said. ‘Somewhere where we will both be safe.’

The little girl waved and they walked off, back into Mahore.

Nico stood next to me, watching them go.

‘Will they be okay in there?’ I said. ‘What about Djounsou?’

‘Geri’s dealing with him,’ Nico said.

Ketty walked back towards us. ‘That was Geri on the phone. She’s coming right over.’

I closed my eyes again. I was glad Carson and Djounsou had been stopped. And yet, knowing that they were out of the picture and that Victoria and Tsonga were safe didn’t seem to change anything.

Luz was still dead. I was still responsible for that.

A moment later and Geri appeared, racing up the dirt track towards us. My mouth gaped as I saw her. Her normally neat blonde bob was all messy and there were dark stains all over her jacket. She was accompanied by two agents in jeans and dark glasses, and held a gun in her hand. Dylan was following a few paces behind.

‘Are you all right, Ed?’ Geri asked.

‘I’m fine. Er, what’s happening to Djounsou?’

‘We’ve disarmed him and sent him and his soldiers packing. Once I’d spoken to Nico and Dylan, I realised taking them into custody wouldn’t get you out of that church, so we focused on the job in hand.’

I stared at her. Was that, still, really all she cared about?

‘But Djounsou will be back,’ I said. ‘Tsonga might have time to get his daughter somewhere safe, but it doesn’t alter the fact that Djounsou’s trying to take over the region and—’

‘There’s nothing we can do about that, Ed,’ Geri said firmly. ‘Like I told you, it’s not our problem.’

I shook my head. Could none of them see that it was, absolutely, our problem? That cruelty and violence were
everyone’s
problem?

Nico cleared his throat. ‘Geri was all set to send men in after you. That’s when you made contact with me. I was concentrating so hard I didn’t even notice Carson’s helicopter until the church roof collapsed.’

‘I’d only just got down,’ Ketty explained. ‘Nico was running to get me out of the flames, that’s why he didn’t bring you down straight away.’

I nodded, all the pieces fitting together.

*

Two hours, and another vomit-making helicopter ride later, we were rested and bathed and sitting in the girls’ hotel room in some big African city I can’t remember the name of.