Soft Target (Major Crimes Unit Book 2)
Page 21
Hesbani wailed, bucking in his seat like he was having a fit. His panic made him stronger and he managed to free one of his arms.
Sarah wrapped her hands around Hesbani’s neck and twisted as hard as she could.
SNAP!
Hesbani went still.
Sarah sat there for a few seconds as all of the pain from her past, all of the regrets, death, and bloodshed, came flooding to the surface. Sarah let out a gut-wrenching scream. She screamed so madly that it felt like her insides were going to explode. It was only Mattock’s voice coming over the radio that snapped her out of it.
“Sarah, are you there? Speak to me.”
Sarah glanced out the cockpit window and saw the Thames rushing up to meet her. Directly in front of her was the royal barge.
“Shit!”
“Sarah, are you okay? What’s the situation?” Mattock asked frantically.
Sarah grabbed the yoke and yanked it towards her. She had no idea how to pilot a helicopter but she prayed to motherfucking Allah that she could pull it out of the nose dive it was in. The yoke resisted her and the entire cockpit vibrated. The helicopter continued plummeting towards the water.
Sarah kept a hold of the stick as best she could. Slowly, more of the horizon began to appear through the cockpit window. The city of London tilted back and forth, almost like it was moving around her. She closed her eyes and hoped for the best.
When Sarah opened her eyes, she saw the console fizzing and sparking. The helicopter had come out of its nosedive and levelled out, but now someone was firing at her from below.
Tatter tatter tatter.
The helicopter rocked back and forth as its interior lights flashed. The sounds of the engine grew weaker, coughing and spluttering. The steering became heavy in her hands and she thumbed the button on her lapel radio. “Mattock. Shit, Mattock, that goddamn frigate is firing at me. I can’t fly this thing and it’s falling to pieces.”
“Sarah!” It was Mandy on the line. “Keep a firm but loose grip on the yoke. Let it move freely, but keep it under your control. Guide it gently where you want it to go.”
Sarah did as she was told. “Okay. Okay, it’s working. Now what?”
“Try to level off. Keep her steady and facing forward.”
“Okay, I have her steady. Now what? I can’t land this thing.”
“No, you can’t,” Mandy agreed. “You’ve lost your landing skids and your petrol tank is leaking. You’re going to fall out of the sky.”
Sarah felt her heart sink. “So what the hell do I do?”
“Jump. Get the chopper lined up to go down in the river, and jump.”
Sarah didn’t bother responding. She knew the helicopter was falling apart, it might even explode; she had no way of knowing. There was only one way out that gave her any hope of surviving. She stumbled into the rear cabin. Her thigh bunched in pain as shock began to lock her muscles. Even if she survived the long drop to the water, she was pretty sure she couldn’t swim with all her injuries. But it was the only chance she had.
There was an orange life jacket stuffed beneath one of the seats, and Sarah put it on. The chopper was losing altitude fast and she was confident it would end up in a clear stretch of the river. If there were going to be any casualties, it would be her.
Mandy flew the Griffin nearby, as close as he could get. Mattock was in the co-pilot seat. The two men looked over at her and saluted, as much a sign of friendship as respect. She saluted back at them, something she thought she’d never do again after leaving the army.
“We’ve got you, luv,” came Mattock’s voice across her radio. “Soon as you hit the water I’ll be down to get you. You’ll get through this, Captain, I promise.”
“I know I will,” she said. “And it’s Sarah.” She wrapped her arms around herself and jumped.
FINAL RESULT
The slap of the river felt like getting hit by God. It knocked Sarah’s senses sideways and cracked her teeth together. Her body gave up and she sank beneath the Thames. Her empty lungs yearned for oxygen but she felt no pain, only a rising pressure. As that pressure mounted, Sarah knew there would be blessed relief to follow.
But sinking to her death couldn’t be her reward after all of the heartbreak in her life. She deserved better, and she was going to get it. She was going to find some peace and maybe even some happiness.
Sarah flailed every limb she could, moving upwards, towards the light. There was a chance she wouldn’t make it, having sunk so low, but when she broke the surface of the water, she knew that she was alive. The sounds of the city came back, wild and panicked. She desperately gasped for air.
Soon, the Navy surrounded her in small crafts sent forth from the HMS Britannia. Sailors pointed rifles at her and bellowed commands that were nothing but an audible blur. In the distance, the Never Stop News helicopter sank beneath the river, its tail boom pointing up into the air. It was comforting to know that Hesbani would sink along with it.
Sarah flinched as something hit the water beside her. At first she thought she was being shot at again, but she turned to see that it was the bottom rungs of a rope ladder.
“Told you we’d get you,” Mattock shouted from the hovering Griffin.
Sarah grabbed hold of the ladder and smiled wearily. This time she didn’t mind being rescued. In fact, if Mattock wanted to carry her in his arms all the way home, that would be just fine.
Mandy hovered so close to the water that it was easy for Sarah to drag herself up. Mattock helped her climb the last few rungs before easing her down onto one of the seats inside the cabin. “That was one hell of an ending,” he said to her. “They should make a movie about this.”
Sarah sighed. “Long as I don’t have to play myself, they can do whatever the hell they like.”
And then there was nothing but darkness.
Sarah woke two days later in the Earthworm’s infirmary, Dr Bennett leaning over her attentively. “You had quite the week, sweetheart,” she said. “You’ve been out like a light for a while now. How’re you feeling?”
Sarah stretched and felt pain all over her body. Her thigh was burning and her ribs felt bruised. “I feel like I went a few rounds with a rhino,” she said, “but you should see the rhino.”
Sarah then fell asleep again for a few hours. Eventually, she managed to get herself up and onto a pair of crutches. The slug in her thigh hadn’t gone deep, but the pain was ever-present.
Palu asked Sarah to stay, told her that MCU had been granted additional staffing funds after their recent success. The Earthworm was going to be buzzing again soon, he said, delighted and more dedicated than ever.
It was then that Sarah knew Howard, Palu, Mattock, and Bennett would forever be working to protect the country against a threat that would never cease. This work was their life, and all they had was each other. Sarah might have been able to get onboard with them if the scars of the past weren’t so heavy on her heart. Stopping Hesbani had put a lot of her regrets to bed, but she still had a long way to go. Until she was happy with herself again, she needed to be alone. She needed to find out who the hell she was before she could even think about her future. Until she knew herself better, she couldn’t afford to let people rely on her.
“You sure you won’t stay?” Howard had asked her as she headed up top where Mandy was waiting to take her home.
“I’m sure I can’t stay,” she told Howard. “But it was good meeting you. I had fun.”
Howard smirked. “Fun isn’t the word I’d use.”
“I jumped out of a helicopter… twice. If I didn’t call it fun, I’d have to call it lunacy.”
“Fun it is then. I’ll miss you, Sarah. Your bite’s not as bad as your bark… once I got to know you.”
“Tell that to Hesbani,” she said, smiling. “See you, Howard. Take care of yourself.”
“You too, Sarah. Stay in touch.”
“Maybe.”
Then Sarah had left the Earthworm forever. Mandy had taken her to her flat
in Mosely, not saying a word the whole way. It wasn’t awkward, though. Mandy didn’t get things done with words, he got things done with actions.
It had now been a week since the last attack, and the country was slipping out of panic, into outrage. It was already clear that the hostilities in the Middle East were going to intensify. The Americans were back onboard and it looked like Afghanistan would be occupied for another ten years. The Taliban had been reinvigorated by Hesbani’s actions and the entire terrorist community had started to rally behind the misused name of Al-Sharir. The man himself had not yet emerged to shed light on the truth. For all anyone knew, Hesbani may have killed his old mentor before any of this even began. There was trouble ahead, for sure, but Sarah wasn’t the one to deal with it. Her only obligation was what she was doing right now.
Sarah kept to the periphery of Bradley’s funeral. She sat at the back of the church and watched as his family and friends grieved. They shared stories about a boy who always had a kind word to say, and a young man who wanted to change the world. Sarah couldn’t help but shed a tear from the tear ducts that still worked.
By the time Bradley’s casket was laid into the earth, Sarah felt more in touch with herself than she had since she’d felt a baby growing inside her. She owed it to Bradley to show kindness wherever she could. The world had been deprived of someone wonderful and she had to fill that void as much as she could. She would no doubt come up short, but she would do her best.
Sarah edged behind a willow tree as the funeral wrapped up. Howard, Palu, Mattock, and Bennett were all there, but they hadn’t spotted her. Their grief was deep and real, their focus entirely on Bradley. That was the way Sarah wanted it. She needed to put the past behind her and holding a reunion was not conducive to that.
It was finally time to go. She said her goodbyes and said a quick prayer. Bradley was gone, and now she needed to leave too. She stepped backwards, remaining concealed behind the willow tree. There was a bus stop nearby that would take her home.
Sarah headed for the gateway to the church yard. She walked backwards, not wanting to look away until she had to. There was a part of her that wanted to run up to Bradley’s grieving family and tell them what a brave hero he’d been, but she knew that wasn’t the right thing to do. She needed to turn around and walk away. She had to face the future.
But something was tugging at her. Perhaps the future was right in front of her, but she running away from it. After what she had been through with the members of MCU, it almost felt like she’d been part of a family again. Despite the horror of everything she’d been through, the gaping hole inside of herself had felt a little fuller.
“What am I doing?” she asked herself. “I have a chance to do something with my life. There’s a place for me and I’m running away.”
Sarah knew what she had to do. It was time to put the fear and pain behind her and finally take a chance on something. She belonged with MCU.
Sarah spun around, ready to head back to the funeral and ask Palu and the others for a second chance, but when she turned, she bumped into someone standing in her way.
Her eyes went wide. “You!”
“Yes… me.”
Sarah’s world went dark as a thick bag was shoved over her head and something hard struck the base of her skull. She tried to call out for her friends, but as she faded she realised she had none.
PLEA FROM THE AUTHOR
Hey, Reader. So you got to the end of my book. I hope that means you enjoyed it. Whether or not you did, I would just like to thank you for giving me your valuable time to try and entertain you. I am truly blessed to have such a fulfilling job, but I only have that job because of people like you; people kind enough to give my books a chance and spend their hard-earned money buying them. For that I am eternally grateful.
If you would like to find out more about my other books then please visit my website for full details. You can find it at: www.iainrobwright.com. Also feel free to contact me on Facebook, Twitter, or email (all details on the website) as I would love to hear from you.
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About The Author
Iain Rob Wright is one of the UK's most successful horror and suspense writers, with novels including the critically acclaimed, THE FINAL WINTER; the disturbing bestseller, ASBO; and the wicked screamfest, THE HOUSEMATES.
His work is currently being adapted for graphic novels, audio books, and foreign audiences. He is an active member of the Horror Writer Association and a massive animal lover.
Check out Iain's official website or add him on Facebook where he would love to meet you.
www.iainrobwright.com
FEAR ON EVERY PAGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright
More Books by Iain Rob Wright
PROLOGUE
FALLING DOWN
THE GAME
THE CUCKOO’S NEST
TAKING THE TOUR
LEARNING THE ROPES
SITTING THE TEST
READY FOR ANYTHING
BY STRENGTH AND GUILE
WHO DARES WINS
THE BLUE PILL
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
JACKED IN
WEAKNESS
STRENGTH
RUIN
JACK IN THE BOX
SPINNING TOP
DIABLO
RETURN OF THE JEDI
THE PHANTOM MENACE
DADDY’S GIRL
INDEPENDENT WOMAN
FAMILY
KICK OFF
PENALTIES
FINAL RESULT
PLEA FROM THE AUTHOR
About The Author