“Wrap up, Tats - we’ll blend in and at least we won’t die of hypothermia.”
“Are there any helmets in there?”
Dillon shook his head. “Balaclavas only. Don’t worry, we’re not going to crash.”
They spent a few minutes getting into their clothing, Dillon fooling around despite the seriousness of their predicament. When both were fully dressed, they stood staring at each other and Dillon’s hand reached out and stroked Tatiana’s cheek.
“You look stunning, as always.”
“What are you after?”
“Absolutely nothing. I merely wanted to tell you, that’s all.”
“You old charmer, Dillon. You’re so full of crap.”
“So a man can’t even be romantic, even if the timings off and the situation, so wrong on so many levels?”
Dillon smiled, tension easing from him. “Come on, best we get going. thanks to this unscheduled diversion, we’re already running late. You got the co-ordinates for the facility?”
Tatiana punched the numeric codes into the quad’s sat-nav to guide them to Kirill’s mountain.
They both sat on the quad bike and Dillon fired up the machine. Tatiana settled herself on the back seat of the huge machine and they both turned, gazes fixing on Vince Sharp. “You know the procedures, Vince,” said Dillon.
Vince nodded. “Be careful, mates.”
Dillon laughed, pulling on his goggles. “Oh, we’ll be careful, mate. But we’ll also be lethal.”
All four wheels spun, gripped and the next instant the quad bike shot away...242
* * *
Dillon had warned Tatiana of the perils of riding pillion on the quad, how she should watch his every move, and not to throw herself around on the machine. “We’ll be travelling over some extreme terrain, and it’ll get rough at times, but all you’ve got to do is hang onto me with everything you’ve got.”
Now, as the quad bike surged forward, Tatiana’s heart was in her mouth; the rain had returned and was now beating down, mud and water sprayed up under the splashguards on both sides, and they left Vince behind as they powered on up through the first valley. A torquefilled engine throbbing beneath them like an athlete’s heart beating at full rate. The quad sailed over the waterlogged ground, cutting out any need for tracks or roads, and as they crested a ridge, Dillon still piling on the power, the quad’s front wheels lifted from the ground in a shower of debris and water spray.
Another world opened up, a world of rolling heather, a great mauve carpet caressed by the wind, stretching off to the horizon. Nothing else moved, nothing stirred in this bleak harsh environment: no trees, no inhabitants - just the occasional covey of grouse taking flight. Two words sprang into Tatiana’s mind to describe this place.
Total isolation.
They powered forward, down the lower slopes of the mountain, and even though it was still raining and the wind bitterly cold, sweat was trickling down the riders’ backs. Dillon wrestled with the huge quad bike, he could feel the ground soften under the knobbly offroad tyres, trying to pull the powerful machine one way and then the other; he fought back, increasing the power, building the speed, rising from the seat a little to stand on the pegs with Tatiana clinging on tightly behind as they crested another rise and sailed down the next slope. Dillon kept the power on and the speed kept creeping up; past 50 m.p.h., the low carpet of heather sped by in a blur all around the charging quad bike. Occasionally they hit a buried rock, the bike’s suspension dipping, absorbing, but Dillon kept true to the line they were taking, kept the quad racing over the open wilderness of the Scottish Highlands.
They charged along under dark clouds and heavy rain.
Dillon wiped the moisture from his face with the back of his gloved hand, wincing as the rough material ran over his wind-burnt lips. The rain beat down, making him blink behind the goggles as he read the GPS coordinates, his face feeling as if it had been whipped with stinging nettles.
They rode on, merging with the landscape around them; valleys blending with mountainous slopes, an undulating landscape that they navigated with great effort. The quad bike carried them forward, until finally the mountains became bigger and their way seemingly became barred.
They arrived at a vast loch, the expanse of water appeared to go on forever, sandy beaches and huge rocky outcroppings of stone rearing up out of the water in the distance. Sheer cliffs rose up to meet the dark brooding sky on both sides, and Dillon powered down the quad as they descended from the foothills towards the water’s edge.
Dillon picked his way around the shoreline heading towards the far end of the loch.
They rode on, the quad’s powerful motor running silent.
“Thank God for that!” Tatiana spoke over the sound of the wind and rain. She was clinging on tightly and Dillon, who had sat down in the saddle once more, could feel her hands around his waist gripping on for dear life.
“Mental ride, eh?”
“Oh it’s mental, alright,” Tatiana agreed.
They picked their way around the edge of the loch, thick cloud overhead and the rain still beating down, Dillon’s eyes focused on the Sat-Nav. He swung the quad left, then unleashed the powerful machine up the slope towards a pocket of ancient Caledonian pine trees, slowed as he looked for a cutting through to the other side. He glanced to his right and found what he was looking for, a man made cutting big enough to allow them access and passage all the way to the other side of the forest. Accelerating, Dillon gritted his teeth and negotiated the ruts and rotting debris, all four wheels spun as they shot into the darkness of the forest’s interior. With a wail from Tatiana, they powered forward, lights blazing, shadows dancing on either side as they sped on. As they shot out of the forest, the quad slewed to the left. Dillon had to brake hard and the powerful machine slowed as an old ravine loomed - Dillon circled in a wide arc, blipped the throttle and then opened up the power, the quad powered up quickly and they leaped from the lower slopes of the huge mountain, dropping a good ten feet to land on the other side. Suspension dipped, Tatiana’s shriek was cut short with a grunt, and the quad sped on as if nothing more than feather had interrupted its trajectory.
Dillon brought the quad to a halt, looking over his shoulder at the leap they’d just made. “You okay, back there, Tats?”
“You could have warned me!”
“No time, luv. Just had to go for it.”
“No time, you rotten son of a bitch!”
“That’s the fun of quad biking,” shouted Dillon. “Everything happens in the blink of an eye.”
They cruised on over the carpet of heather that covered the terrain, picking their way between rocks and fallen debris. To their left stood a mammoth of a cliff, and as they wound their way further north, Dillon realised that it would have to be negotiated to reach the next stage of their journey.
For the next half an hour they followed the shoreline of the loch. Then, slowing his speed, Dillon dropped a few gears. Finding a narrow track that led up an insanely steep slope of rock, he slowed to a halt for a moment, his eyes focused intently.
Tatiana was exhausted and extremely tetchy, “This is fucking awful, Dillon. I’m being bounced around all over the place back here.”
“You do not have to steer this beast. Why do you think that the guys that usually ride these things are such physically fit sons of bitches?”
“Why have we stopped here?”
Dillon lifted his goggles for a moment, rubbed at his eyes, and then wiped the rain from the goggles’ surface with the cloth he pulled from his jacket pocket. “If we carry on following the shoreline of the loch, we’ll simply swing around and be heading in the wrong direction
- we need to follow this track, we need to climb up and out.”
“Climb up and out? We’ll never be able to...”
Tatiana had spotted the narrow track leading up the mountain slope until it reached the sheer cliff face, and then apparently disappear into the rock.
“Wait a minute
.”
Dillon’s goggles were already back in place, he twisted the throttle; the quad bike lurched forward, needing little encouragement
- they hammered up the slope, tyres chewing up the ground beneath them as they accelerated towards the rock face. Dillon twisted the throttle, getting every last ounce of power from the machine, the engine roared and could be heard even through its stealth shielding... The quad bike covered the ground quickly, the gap between the rock only becoming apparent as they were almost on it. They shot through the gap, sheer rock rising up as far as the eye could see, both riders clenching their teeth and all four tyres biting into the lichen covered rock... The pass had widened and Dillon had increased their speed, until he saw what he had been looking for - the other end.
They came out of the pass into another valley, Dillon bringing the quad to an abrupt halt, so that he could scan the area before moving on.
“You really are a crazy bastard, Dillon,” Tatiana shouted at the back of Dillon’s head.
“I try my best,” Dillon said with a broad smile. “But if you think that was bad...”
He turned and pointed to the other end of the valley, and the mountain range waiting, quietly waiting for them.
“So it’s another bloody mountain, so what?”
“It’s in our way.”
“Dillon, even this quad won’t go up that.”
“It will if you find the right trails and paths.”
They sped along for another hour. Tatiana was exhausted, and she knew that Dillon was tiring - and becoming increasingly frustrated because of these natural obstacles that were hindering their progress to get to Kirill’s facility and Kirill himself.
As the daylight started to dissolve into darkness, Dillon halted, wiping away the rain from his goggles again. The steep lower slopes of the mountain looked daunting as the others had before - but this time it looked huge, made more formidable by the smooth lichen covered rock turning into giant steps nearer the summit that were weathered with time. They formed a steep and treacherous series of ramps, rising up in to the darkening sky.
“Dillon, please don’t tell me that you’re thinking of...”
“It’s our only option, Tats. And this baby will eat that rock.”
“No Dillon. I value my life.”
“And I value your life, Tats. But I value Kirill’s death more,” Growled Dillon. He blipped the engine. “Hold on, we’re going to do a spot of extreme hill climbing.”
The quad moved forward - gently this time and with care as Dillon’s gaze swept across the slope and at the rock ahead and above of them like some crazy game of snakes and ladders. He eased forward along the foot of the cliff, back and forth a couple of times to get the measure of the narrow trail way that wound its way up the mountain, all the way to the summit. Then, only when he was happy, did he gingerly start to move forward, opening up the throttle a little and turned the nose of the quad towards the steep climb.
With precision and control, Dillon eased the quad up a series of gentle slopes, blipping the power around the tight bends in the trail. Rubber gripped, the huge quad bike surged a little and Dillon had to slam on the brakes to regain control. They climbed up the mountain slopes into the low cloud base, Dillon kept the pace up, the quad consuming the ground with ease.
Now halfway up, Tatiana gazed down. If it had looked unreasonably steep from the bottom, now it looked insane; she felt suddenly vulnerable, gazing down at the valley far below, bordered by more mountain peaks stretching or as far as the eye could see.
Low clouds tumbled over the rugged landscape, impatient to reach their never ending destination, the mountain slopes foreboding in the failing light of day. Tatiana put her head against Dillon’s back, closed her rain drenched eyes and prayed.
The quad jolted, and then bucked as it went over an area strewn with small rocks, its tyres scrambled and kicked up debris as the powerful machine fought its way up the slope, bumping and rocking, as Dillon, sweat rolling down his forehead, grappled to keep the quad moving forward and upright. His gaze focused intently on the ground in front of them as they neared the summit, and then finally, they were over the top and Dillon had dropped down through the gears as they started down the other side. Loose rocks made the quad slip as tyres struggled to grip the loose ground, and they started to pick up speed.
Tatiana patted his shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“I think we need a break.”
“Sounds like a good idea. I am truly done-in.”
They continued down the mountain for a while longer until Tatiana’s sharp eyes spotted a small copse of trees, outlined by eerie half-light. Dillon altered course, and before long the trees came closer and two weary riders were able to dismount and stretch tired muscles and aching joints, the canopy of the trees protecting them from the persistent rain.
* * *
They were hidden from view in amongst the trees. Dillon had strung up a camouflaged waterproof sheet between the lower limbs to protect them from the weather that did not look as if it was going to improve, the quad’s engine clicked as it started to cool.
“We’ll grab a few hours’ sleep, and then set off at first light.” Dillon said, as he spread a ground sheet on the ground.
“Jesus, it’s cold. Whatever processed you to come and live up
here Dillon?”
“You really don’t know anything about me, do you?” “I know that you’re one mad son-of-a-bitch. So that must have
something to do with it.”
“Yeah, yeah... Now let’s get some sleep.”
Dillon slumped down onto the ground sheet exhausted, and ran
his hand over the soft earth. “This place is old,” he said softly, his voice
carrying a tone of awe. “I mean, really old.”
Tatiana nodded, retreating into the hood of her parka. Moaning
in mock ecstasy, at the thought of sleep even though it would only
be for a few hours. Her thoughts turned to a far off holiday in the
Bahamas. “I never believed I could be so cold,” she complained,
closing her eyes.
Dillon smiled. “Unbelievable - we’re on our way to a meeting
with almost certain destruction and all you can complain about is the
cold. Lady, this is nothing; you should try this place in the middle of
winter... Now then you would have something to complain about.” Tatiana emerged from somewhere inside her fur lined hood and
propped herself up on her elbows and glowered at Dillon for a while,
thought about replying with a caustic retort, decided it wasn’t worth
it and laid back down on her back, closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Dillon checked the map using the light from his torch and
discovered that they were only about two hours away from Kirill’s
facility. As long as they still had the element of surprise on their side,
they would arrive at the coordinates that the Priest had sent him in his
last encrypted email, without incident.
And then… …what?
Dillon knew: he would interrogate Kirill. And then he would kill
him. There was nothing Kirill could say that would excuse him of the
crime of betrayal.
The Government might have brushed Kirill under the carpet. But not Dillon. It just wasn’t in him, and besides - Kirill had it coming
to him for setting Dillon up, and attempting to kill him in Cornwall... Dillon lay there in the dark, reliving that day, that night at
Kirill’s country retreat in the heart of Cornwall, reliving that dreadful
moment when Kirill and Zhenya Tarasova had turned against him,
forcing Dillon to awaken his dark side. And then for a few black and
white moments, Dillon did what he did best - kill and survive... Dillon blinked, wiped sweat out of his eyes.
That’s right, he thought. When he was under pressure,
he saw
everything in black and white.
Why?
Dillon felt himself shiver and he opened his eyes - back in the
real world - and his gaze settled on Tatiana sleeping.
His mind was running over the many events since she had reentered his life. And then it dawned on him - perhaps she was not
only working for Ferran & Cardini International, but also for Kirill; he
didn’t lead the Assassins to Ezra. She did!
Dillon remembered what Tatiana had said about the work role
she now held. Her job title was tagged, Government Liaison Officer,
but her real function was acting as the eyes and ears of the partners
of Ferran & Cardini within the corridors of power. Tatiana had been
involved with the Kirill project team - had been involved with the
Chimera Programme, from inception... She has always known what
Chimera is capable of, and what it could do in the right or wrong
hands. So, maybe she works for - Mr Big, whoever he was. She had pleaded with him to take on the bodyguard assignment
in Cornwall. What a naive fool he had been, not to have seen that
as a set-up. The bullet from the Assassin was only meant to wound
- otherwise she would be dead. She had willingly jumped back into
bed with him during their visit to Ezra’s place on Santorini. How
convenient that was, fuck him, and fuck up his mind - soften him up,
make him more susceptible to suggestion and direction. Dillon became aware that Tatiana was staring at him strangely.
She was speaking to him, but everything seemed surreal; he felt light
headed, his mind spinning, running wild with doubt and mistrust. Tatiana reached out to touch him, her mouth open, and her
words unheard.
Then the scene swung back into focus, and Dillon re-took
control of his mind. He looked into Tatiana’s concerned eyes. “Dillon, are you okay? You look awfully grey, you need to get
some sleep.”
“I...” began Dillon, then halted. He realised, then, that he had
Chimera Code (Jake Dillon Adventure Thriller Series) Page 32
