Sure Fire

by Jack Higgins

  He clapped his hands together as if bringing a meeting to a close. “And now all that remains is to release my infection into the pipelines. When I am well away from here naturally. Just in case there are any repercussions. Though I don’t expect any.”

  “You don’t think people will notice that the contaminated fuel came from your pumping station,” Chance said. “And that it all started appearing at the same time?”

  “I don’t think so, no. You see, I have a system set up all ready to inject my formula into the pipelines ata single central point. But I’m not injecting the raw substance. That would, as you point out, be rather too obvious. Oh, no, we will introduce slow-release capsules that dissolve and release the infection. All with different release times. It will seem truly random, believe me.”

  “And where will you be?” Rich asked.

  “At my castle in the foothills, well away from here.”

  Vishinsky reached out and brushed the back of his hand against Jade’s cheek. She drew back and he smiled. “With your charming daughter.”

  “What makes you think I’d want to do that?” Chance asked.

  Vishinsky laughed. “I was forgetting. How could you? When you are dead already.” He turned to Stabb. “Give the order.”

  “What are you doing?” Jade yelled. “Stop – you’ve got me. You don’t need them too!” She struggled out of the grip of the soldier who held her and launched herself at Stabb. He pushed her away, talking urgently into his radio. Jade fell to the ground, and two of the guards dragged her back to her feet.

  Chance was shouting from the other side of the barrier. “What’s going on? If you hurt her, Vishinsky, I’ll kill you!”

  “Jade – are you all right?” Rich was yelling.

  Vishinsky’s laughter increased. “Kill me? And how will you do that?” He turned away, gesturing to the guards holding Jade. Holding her tightly by the arms, they dragged her away.

  She twisted and fought, but could not break free. Jade managed to look back – to see the silhouetted shapes of Rich and her dad against the mesh of the barrier. Then there was a rattle of machine-gun fire and the mesh was suddenly peppered with craters where the bullets had hit. Jade blinked the tears from here eyes, and when she could focus again, she saw that the silhouettes were gone.

  22

  Chance hurled Rich to one side before diving the other way himself. A split second later, bullets hammered into the mesh gate right where Rich had been standing.

  The sound of gunfire was still echoing round the passageway as Chance leaped back to his feet and sprinted at the guard in front of them. The man was out of bullets, desperately trying to jam a new clip into his machine pistol. Behind him, another guard appeared.

  Rich yelled, but Chance didn’t seem to hear him. Shoulder down, he ran full tilt into the first guard, sending him flying backwards into the guard who had just arrived. The second guard was firing. The bullets slammed into his comrade and the two of them fell in a twisted heap. Chance dropped to the ground as the second guard’s shots went high. As soon as they stopped, Chance was up again – kicking at the guard as he yanked the gun from the man’s hands.

  In the sudden silence, Rich ran to join him beside the prone bodies of the guards. “What now?” he asked.

  “Find somewhere to lay low for a bit. Then we get Jade back and sort out Vishinsky.”

  “Oh, right,” Rich said. “Easy.”

  Stabb kept the gun aimed at Jade the whole time. She was pushed roughly into the back of Vishinsky’s limousine. Jade couldn’t help but smile as she thought of what had happened to his last car.

  But her amusement was short-lived as Stabb and Vishinsky climbed in either side of her, reminding Jade how much trouble she was in. She wondered what had happened to Rich and her dad, but there was nothing she could do except hope they were coping for themselves. If anyone could, it was those two, she decided.

  Armed guards were piling into lorries and jeeps. It seemed like everyone was leaving the huge complex. Did that mean that Dad and Rich really were dead? How could she find out?

  “Abandoning ship?” Jade asked Vishinsky.

  “Not entirely,” Vishinsky replied, smiling. “I shall leave a few guards, to keep up appearances. But it is as well to be cautious. And it may be necessary to make it appear that intruders broke in and sabotaged the systems and pipelines here.”

  “Which wouldn’t be very plausible if there was a whole army on guard,” Jade realised. “That’s why you’re leaving too – you might need an alibi.”

  “Unlikely, but possible,” Vishinsky agreed. “You will like my castle in the foothills of the Carnovian Mountains. It used to be a frontier fort, guarding the pass from the Ukraine into our country. Whatever happens here, you will be very safe there, for your short stay.”

  “For your very short stay,” Stabb added. Both he and Vishinsky laughed.

  The few guards that were left at the complex were patrolling at ground level. Up on the high walkways between the storage tanks, Rich and Chance had seen the convoy of vehicles, led by Vishinsky’s limousine, puling out of the main gates and leaving the facility.

  “Doesn’t want to be found near the scene of the crime,” Chance said.

  “You think he’s got Jade with him?” Rich asked.

  “I should think so. Don’t worry – we’ll get her back.”

  They consulted the map and worked out the next part of their route. “We need to get to this point, the main pumping systems,” Chance said. “That’s where the main pipelines converge.”

  “So it’s the obvious point for Vishinsky to contaminate all the oil supplies as they go through.”

  “Exactly.”

  To get to the main pumping facility, they had to descend to ground level and cross a wide roadway that ran through the centre of the site. There were still several guards patrolling it. Chance and Rich hid in the shadows of a long block of offices and watched the armed guards walking slowly up and down the roadway.

  “Do we have any more of those smoke grenades?” Rich asked.

  “Just one. I’m saving that.” Chance smiled. “Never know when the occasion might need it. Anyway, we don’t want to attract attention; that’ll bring them all running.” He hefted the machine pistol slung over his shoulder, and Rich knew that if he had to use it, he would. “They all seem to think we’re either dead or someone else’s problem. Let’s keep it that way.”

  They worked their way to a point at the end of the road, close to the perimeter fence. There was just one guard here, out of sight of his fellows.

  “Doubt they’ll miss him for a while,” Chance said. “Go and have a word.”

  “Delighted.” Rich grinned and stepped out from the cover of a storage tank into plain sight. The guard did not see him at first, so Rich waved.

  The guard looked at him warily and raised his gun. Rich waved again, still grinning.

  “OK, you got me,” he called. “I can’t hide for ever. Come on, slap on the handcuffs.”

  Gun still aimed at Rich, the guard came closer. He pulled a radio from his pocket and raised it slowly to speak.

  But before he got the opportunity, Chance exploded from cover further down the road and ran at the guard, who turned in astonishment. He saw Chance and panicked, dropping his radio and his gun. A moment later, Chance’s fist slammed into him, and the guard dropped like a brick to the roadway.

  Rich dragged the guard by his feet out of sight, and then he and his dad made their way to the pumping station. It was like an enormous aircraft hangar, with pipes and cables converging on it from all over the site. The entrance was a pair of huge double doors, which stood open, and Rich could see several oil tankers inside. He and Chance walked slowly and cautiously past the big lorries and behind them found a mass of pipes and valves that came together like an intricate metal Christmas tree. The whole thing was humming and vibrating as oil flowed through various pipes and valves.

  “It’s all automated,” Chance explained.
“Controlled by computer, so that the right amount of oil from the right pipelines gets fed into the correct systems in the correct quantities on schedule.”

  “And this is where Vishinsky will contaminate the oil?”

  “Somewhere here. Goodness only knows where though. Any of these pipes could be ready to feed contaminated fuel into the whole system.”

  “So how do we stop it?” Rich asked.

  “We can’t. Not until we know Jade is safe.”

  Rich thought about this. “Are you saying we have to go and rescue Jade, then come back and stop it?”

  “I doubt there will be time. First hint of trouble and Vishinsky will release the contaminated fuel. He’s only waiting now to be sure he’s well out of it.”

  “So what’s the plan?”

  Chance was rummaging through the rucksack. He produced a black box with a switch and display on it – something which Rich had wondered about.

  “Normally, I’d use this,” Chance explained. “Strap it to the right valve or pipeline, and when it’s set it detects vibration. Sets off a small explosive charge. Enough to rupture the pipe and ignite the fuel inside.”

  Rich whistled. “Quite a bang.”

  “Enough to sort out this place. There are safety measures – cut-outs and shutters and stuff – to stop the blast spreading down the pipelines. But it would certainly destroy Vishinsky’s contaminated fuel stocks here. Only problem is…” He walked over to the massive arrangement of pipes and put his hand on one. “Feel that.”

  Rich joined him and placed his own hand on the pipe. He could feel it trembling and shaking. “It’s vibrating already.”

  “I hoped we could attach it to Vishinsky’s contaminated fuel and it would go off when he started to transfer it into the systems. But we don’t know which pipe we need, and there’s so much fuel going through so many of the pipes already, the thing would just blow at once. We need some way to set it off ourselves.”

  “Preferably when we’re not here,” Rich pointed out. He took out the mobile phone that Ralph had given him. “Maybe your friend Ralph will be able to sort things out?”

  Chance took the phone from him. “Rich,” he said, “you’re a genius. But it isn’t Ralph who’s going to blow this place to kingdom come. Now all we need is some way of getting into Vishinsky’s fortress. I doubt the subtle approach will work.”

  “What about one of them?” Rich pointed to the oil tankers parked close by.

  Chance considered, then said: “I don’t think one of these will do it. We’d need something much tougher, heavier, more robust. Any other suggestions?” He turned back towards the pipelines, obviously not expecting to get a reply.

  “What about a tank?” Rich asked.

  In the central fortified building of the old frontier fort, Viktor Vishinsky rubbed his hands together with satisfaction. The room was his control centre, with computer connections to his vast business empire all over the world.

  A bank of monitors almost filled one wall – incongruous against the rough stonework behind them. Several showed graphic diagrams of the pumping systems at the main facility. One was a view of the whole complex from a security camera on the perimeter. Another showed a view of the main gate of the castle itself, then of an empty stairwell, followed by guards patrolling the ancient battlements, the monitors constantly changing as it switched between different cameras.

  Jade was standing at the back of the room, watching. Stabb was right beside her. He wasn’t pointing a gun at her any more, but there were enough armed guards about the place to ensure that Jade had no chance of escape. As everything had gone to Vishinsky’s plan, she had no doubt he would have her killed. She had been staring at the image of the main KOS installation on the screen, looking for any sign that Dad and Rich were there, but apart from a single oil tanker driving away from the facility, there was little sign of life.

  A technician sitting at the bank of monitors turned to talk to Vishinsky, who nodded with evident delight.

  “Everything is ready,” Vishinsky called across to Stabb and Jade. “In a few moments, we can begin the computer sequence that will release our contaminated oil into the pipeline system. And within hours it will be flowing through Europe. No one will know where it came from or where it has got to. Not until they realise their precious fuel doesn’t work or is… unstable. Nothing can stop it now.”

  “Dad’ll stop you,” Jade retorted. “You haven’t won yet.”

  “Daddy coming to help?” Stabb said. “From beyond the grave?”

  “Even if by some miracle he is still alive, there is nothing he can do,” Vishinsky assured Jade.

  One of the guards hurried up to Stabb and spoke to him quickly in Russian. Jade had no idea what he said, but Stabb ran over to the monitor controls and worked them furiously.

  “And nothing you can do either. You may have put Magda in the hospital, but you are all alone now,” Vishinsky was saying. “No one can help you. No one is coming to your rescue.”

  “You might want to look at this,” Stabb said. He sounded suddenly nervous. The screen above him changed from a shot of the inside of the fortress’s courtyard to a view from the main gate. A narrow road curled through the foothills of the mountains, down from the fortress into the valley below, and rumbling inexorably up the road, heading straight for the main gate, was a large tank.

  Jade almost cried out in triumph. Her eyes filling with tears of joy, she saw the turret swivel and the gun lift – to point right at the camera. There was a brilliant flash and the screen went blank.

  At the same moment, the whole room shook as the shell impacted on the ancient gatehouse. The lights flickered and dust fell from the ceiling. Several of the monitors blanked out. Stabb was shouting, waving guards from the room.

  One of the blanked screens flickered back into life – to show the dented and damaged tank in the main gateway into the fortress. It was covered with stone blocks and rubble that had fallen across it when the gatehouse collapsed. It didn’t look like it would move again, but the hatch on the turret was open.

  From outside came the sound of machine-gun fire.

  Rich was running across the uneven paving slabs of the main courtyard of the castle. He had a job to do. He had to get to Jade. Dad was drawing the fire of the guards, leading them away from the main keep, where Ralph had said Vishinsky had his control centre.

  The way was clear, but Rich had to negotiate rubble from the damage caused by the tank’s shell as well as drifting smoke from the last grenade. He saw the dark shapes of guards stumbling past him in the gloom, and hoped he was still heading the right way.

  Sure enough, he found the steps up into the keep – the metal doors standing open. Inside, there was a small antechamber and then he was standing at the back of the control centre. Everyone’s attention seemed to be on the screens at the far end of the room. One showed a view of the oil facility Rich and Dad had so recently escaped from. Most of the others now showed views from the security cameras in the fortress. On one of them, Rich saw his dad run past – then pause, turn and fire straight at the camera.

  As the screen went black, there was a cry of elation from nearby and Rich saw Jade. She was not ten metres from him. He edged closer.

  And the cold metal of a gun barrel jammed into his cheek.

  “Looking for me?” Mr Stabb asked.

  Vishinsky stood in front of the monitors. He regarded Rich and Jade with undisguised contempt.

  “I should have you both shot now,” he said. “My only regret is that your father won’t witness it.”

  “He’ll surrender, if he knows you have us. If you promise to let us go,” Rich said. “You could call him on his mobile. That’s how I’m supposed to let him know we’re safe. But he probably wouldn’t believe you.” He turned and winked at Jade, hoping she’d realise he knew what he was doing. Hoping Vishinsky or Stabb wouldn’t see.

  Vishinsky was looking at them both through narrowed eyes. “Oh, the pleasure of it,” he said qu
ietly. “The pleasure of letting him hear you die.” From outside came the rattle of more gunfire and then an explosion. It sounded closer now.

  Vishinsky took out his mobile phone and flipped it open. “Mr Stabb, start the process.”

  Another explosion – right outside.

  Stabb pressed a button on the main console and a monitor screen above displayed a large 20.

  Twenty minutes maybe? But Rich’s hopes were dashed as the 20 became 19. Then 18…

  “What’s the telephone number?” Vishinsky demanded.

  17

  Jade shook her head. “Don’t tell him, Rich.”

  16

  “Tell me, or Mr Stabb will shoot your sister in the leg,” Vishinsky said.

  15

  “Tell me, and it will be quick for her at least,” he added.

  14

  “I promise.”

  13

  “Rich, please…” Jade said. “Don’t…”

  12

  Rich squeezed her hand.

  11

  And told Vishinsky the phone number.

  10

  Vishinsky punched it into his mobile.

  9

  Outside the gunfire was closer still. Someone screamed.

  8

  Vishinsky put the phone to his ear.

  7

  He was smiling.

  6

  “Mr Stabb,” Vishinsky said. “I’ll tell you when.” He gestured at Rich and Jade standing in front of him.

  5

  Rich could hear the phone connect – even above the gunfire, he could hear the rhythmic sound of the ring tone.

  4

  Stabb’s gun was pointed straight at Rich as the countdown reached:

  3.

  23

  “No answer,” Vishinsky said. “Not yet.”

  “He won’t ever answer,” Jade said.

  The countdown was on 2.

  “She’s right,” Rich said calmly.