Jack Higgins - Iron Tiger

by Iron Tiger [lit]

  As he jumped in, the Land Rover shot away, wheels churning the mud to liquid. Cheung moved into the open, firing steadily, the gun held in both hands with all the expertise of the marksman.

  Brackenhurst took the Land Rover into a gully that slanted up the hillside giving them some kind of cover, and a moment later the Beaver's fuel tank blew up.

  'And I hope that's taken the bastard with it!' he shouted.

  They roared out of the gully on to a plateau which jutted like a shelf from the side of the mountain and gave a view of the plain below.

  Cheung was standing a little distance away from the burning hangar looking up towards them and the girl lay face down in the mud a yard or two away from him.

  Drummond was conscious of nothing, no anger, no pain. There was no time to wonder about what had happened or why. Survival was the thing from now on. The only thing that mattered.

  Brackenhurst braked on the edge of the plateau seeking the safest way down, and beneath them the town was spread out like a map. Already people were stirring, moving in the streets in spite of the heavy rain.

  'Bad news travels fast,' Drummond said.

  In the square outside headquarters there was considerable activity. Three trucks moved up and parked outside and the drivers got down and stood in a small knot, obviously discussing what was happening.

  Somewhere, Drummond was conscious of the noise, dulled by the rain, and then Brackenhurst screamed and pointed up into the sky to where a couple of planes flew out of the grey morning side by side, turned and broke formation, spiralling down like leaves falling from the branches of a tree.

  The leading jet roared down the valley beside the river, banking so close to the mountain that for one frozen moment Drummond was able to distinguish the red stars on the wings.

  'God in heaven, Chinese Migs!' Brackenhurst cried. la the town below there were cries of alarm, people were standing in groups looking up at the sky, and as they scattered to run, the leading Mig swooped and fired its rockets, ploughing a double furrow across the square and scoring a direct hit on the first truck in line outside Sher Dil's headquarters. The truck's petrol tank exploded and debris and flames cascaded outwards to enfold the panic-stricken people who ran past.

  The second Mig came in fast, rockets ploughing into the other two trucks and the flimsy mud and wattle houses beyond. As it swooped up into the grey morning, the leader was already banking, turning in to make Ms second run. He roared down, rockets hammering into the closely packed houses, and scored a direct hit on the ammunition store on the other side of Sher Oil's headquarters. A tremendous explosion sent a column cf flame shooting up through the dark pall of smoke that was already enveloping the town as the second Mig followed the other in fast

  'Let's get moving.' Drummond slapped Bracken" hurst on the shoulder.

  Brackenhurst turned, his face very white, eyes staring. 'Down there? You must be mad.'

  Drummond didn't argue. He dragged Brackenhurst across the seat and scrambled into his place behind the wheel He took the Land Rover down the steep hillside and across the plain, and the smoke enveloped them so that he had to drive blind for several moments, swerving as a half-ruined house loomed out of the gloom. They bounced across a tangled mass of timber and masonry and turned into the main square.

  A man ran out of the swirling darkness, his petrol-soaked body flaming like a torch. He vanished in the direction of the river. Someone screamed monotonously above the crackling of the flames and ammunition started to explode.

  The Land Rover crunched across a burned and blackened body and Drummond braked hard. The screaming had stopped and the silence was somehow intensified by the crackling of the flames. On this side of the square there was hardly a house standing, and one end of Sher Oil's headquarters was a heap of rubble.

  As Drummond jumped to the ground, Hamid staggered out of the entrance and leaned against the wall at the top of the steps, gasping for air, his uniform smouldering in several places.

  Drumtnond ran up the steps and caught him as he started to fall. 'Easy does it I've got you. What about the Khan?'

  There was blood on Hamid's right cheek and he wiped it away mechanically. 'I don't know. Inside somewhere. The place is a bloody shambles.'

  As Brackenhurst came up the steps to join them, the Migs came down the valley again. They grabbed Hamid between them and ran. As they staggered in through the door and hit the floor, cannon fire ripped up the surface of the square again, fragments of stone, rattling against the shattered windows.

  Drummond lay against the wall and waited while the earth trembled. Two soldiers sprawled on their faces in the centre of the room and Brackenhurst crouched ia the far corner, eyes wide and staring.

  The firing ceased as quickly as it had begun and the Migs faded into the distance, leaving only the smoke and the flames and the ruins behind.

  Drummond got up and helped Hamid to his feet and Brackenhurst joined them. When he spoke, his voice shook a little. 'We've got to get out of here, Drummond. We've got to get moving..

  Drummond ignored him and turned to Hamid who was leaning against the wall, shaking his head from side to side like a wounded bull. 'Where was tlie Khan when the attack began?'

  Something clicked in Hamid's eyes and he took & deep breath. 'In the radio room. Through here.'

  The door was off its hinges and the room beyond was a shambles. Four or five meni dead or badly wounded, lay sprawled amid the wreckage and Colonel Sher Dil knelt by the window, the Khan in his arms. In one corner, the wireless operator still crouched by !us seat, earphones in place.

  Sher Dil was covered in dust, his uniform singed and torn, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. Drummond dropped on one knee beside him and looked down at the Khan. The front of the old warrior's uniform was soaked in blood and when he opened his eyes, death stared out

  He gazed uncomprehendingly at Drummond for a moment and then his eyes seemed to clear. He reached put one bloodstained hand and held on tight, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to speak.

  'Kerim,' he croaked. "You will save Kerim? Your word on it.' it's all right,' Drummond said. 'I give you my word. We'll get the boy to safety, I promise you.'

  The hand tightened on the front of his flying jacket, there was a hollow rattling in the Khan's throat and blood erupted in a sudden flow between his lips.

  Drummond forced the bloodstained fingers apart and Sher Dil laid the Khan gently down on his back. The colonel removed his tattered tunic and covered the face and Drummond stood up and turned to Hamid.

  'Any sign of the party from the mission?'

  Hamid shook his head as Brackenhurst stepped in 'through the shattered doorway. The Land Rover's still intact, thank God. At least we've got transport. I hope that bastard Cheung rots in hell.'

  Hamid turned to Drummond. 'What's he talking about?'

  'It seems our good friend Cheung was working for the opposition all along. He got to the plane with a grenade before the Migs came in.'

  'But we checked him out with Formosa,' Hamid said. 'He was a Nationalist agent, there can be no doubt about that They communicated with him regularly.

  We looked the other way for obvious reasons, but we knew'all about it'

  'Probably a double agent,' Brummond said and toned to Sher Dil 'If you heard that, you'll know we're on our own and it's one hell of a step to the border. Have you managed to contact the Indian Army yet?

  'No, but the operator's still trying..

  There was the Sound of sporadic gun&e and they all turned and looked out of the window. A current of warm air had momentarily snatched away the veil of smoke revealing a small sugar loaf hill on the other side of the town. People were running towards the river, refugees from the town,.men, women and children, a few herdsmen on horseback, their panic-stricken flocks rushing this way and that, getting ia everyone's way.

  A second later, the top of the hil was alive with troops in drab quilted uniforms. They started to firr as they swept oa and the screams of the
mob rose into the air like the smoke as they started to falL

  The tidal wave surged oa, the soldiers calling to each other like hounds in full cry, running down the hill towards Sadar and Hie pall of smoke dropped back into place.

  Hamid turned to Sher Dil. ^We've got perhaps five minutes before they get here. You must contact Indian Army headquarters.'

  A section of the roof crashed through into the room, scattering Same and sparks, and as Hamid and Drummond ran forward to stamp it out, Brackenhurst rushed outside. A second later, the engine of the Land Rover roared into life. When Drummond reached the door, it was already disappearing into the smoke.

  Hamid cursed savagely and went back inside and

  Drummond stayed there, listening to the sound of the Land Rover fade into the distance, aware of the wireless operator's excited voice as he finally contacted Indian Army Headquarters.

  The smoke swirled around him, touched with crimson, and the sickly-sweet stench of burning flesh was everywhere. In the great heat, things seemed to lack definition and nothing was real any more.

  A bullet splintered the wooden framework of the door and several Chinese ran out of the smoke. He ducked inside as Hamid appeared at a shattered window and emptied a Sten gun, driving them back into the smoke.

  Sher Dil turned from the radio and dropped the hand mike he had been using. 'From the sound of things we'd better get moving. Every man for himself, and try to get across the river. There's a village called Bandong ten miles due south on the load. We'll meet there.'

  The rear door led into a fenced yard. It was strangely quiet and the smoke hung low ia the heavy rain, reducing visibility considerably.

  The wireless operator climbed up on the fence and swung a leg over. There was a sudden cry and a group of Chinese appeared about forty yards to the left Several of them fired at once and he screamed and fell backwards into the yard, clutching his face.

  Sher Dil scrambled through a gap in the fence and Started up the slope and Drummond went after him, weaving desperately from side to side as the Chinese continued to fire. He was aware of Hamid hard on his heels, of Sher Dil disappearing over the rim of the escarpment

  He could taste blood in his mouth as he clawed his way up, slipping on the wet earth, and then the jagged rocks on the skyline loomed above him. He went over the top, head down, sobbing for breatihi and tripped over aa outstretched foot

  He had one brief impression of Sher BE sliding down the steep slope of shale to the river below, picking himself up at the bottom and plunging into the water, and then they moved out of the swirling smoke to surround him, small and misshapen in their quilted uniforms, each carrying a rifle that seemed too large for him, an old-fashioned sword bayonet on the end.

  Hamid was lying on the ground a few yards away and a soldier stood over him, a foot on his neck. Drumraond backed against a boulder and the brown peasant faces moved in on him.

  Edge of the Sword

  THE town gaol was one of the few major buildings left undamaged by the attack, and from the small cell on the comer of the second floor, Drummond had an interesting view of the city through the barred window.

  It was 10 a.m., four hours since the initial attack, but smoke still drifted across the stricken city through the heavy rain and a heavy grey mist moved up from the river and crouched at the end of the streets.

  It was unbelievably cold and rain drifted in a fine spray through the bars as Drummond dropped to the ground. 'It's going to be aa early winter this year. I feel it in my bones..

  Tor us, a matter cf academic interest only,. Hamid 'said from his bunk.

  'You think so?'

  There was &e sullen chatter of a machine gun from down by the river and Hamid smiled bleakly. There's your answer. Nothing like cutting down on the opposition. They haven't stopped since this morning.'

  Then why have they let us last this long? Why the special treatment?'

  There was no time for a reply. A key grated in the lock, the door opened and a small sergeant stepped in, flanked by two privates armed with sub-machine guns. Hamid got to his feet and the sergeant shook his head.

  'Not you, this one.'

  They pushed Drummond Into the corridor before he had a chance to say anything, and the door clanged into place with a grim finality.

  The sergeant turned without a word and started along the corridor and Drummond followed, the two privates bringing up the rear. They mounted a flight of stone steps to the top floor and halted outside a door. The sergeant knocked, listened for a moment and then led the way in.

  The room had once been the governor's office. Thc walls were hung with Bohara rugs, sheepskias covered the floor and logs burned in the large stone firepkce.

  A Chinese officer stared down into the fire, one foot on the hearth, and tapped his booted leg with a leather swagger stick impatiently. The heavy greatcoat wife the fur collar which swung from his shoulders carried the epaulets of a full colonel.

  He turned and examined Drummoad calmly. Tota don't look too good, Jack.'

  .No thanks to you, you bastard.'

  'Nothing personal, Jack. We just happen to be on different sides. Regrettable, but true.'

  "What are you, Military Intelligence?.

  That's right.'

  'Am I allowed to ask for how long you've been making a monkey out of them back on Formosa?'

  Tve never been to Formosa,' Cheung said. "The Nationalists did have an agent called Cheung and they did send him on a mission to Nikkim. He got as far as Singapore. I took his place from there.'

  'What about the guns I flew into Tibet and Moro and his boys? All that was a fake, too, I suppose?'

  'An elaborate pretence which enabled me to communicate constantly with my superiors to help pave the way for the regaining of what has always been legally a part of the Chinese Empire by the Army of the People's Republic.'

  'I can do without the speeches,' Drummond said. "Where did Famia fit in?

  'She and her mother were of no particular importance. I paid them well to keep me informed of your movements.'

  .You speak in the past tense.'

  'Only where Famia is concerned. She was struck in the head by a piece of sharpnel back at the airstrip.'

  Remembering the months of pretence, Drummond dismissed her with no particular regret. 'Do you really think you're going to get away with this?"

  'Why not?' Cheung said. 'India will not interfere. She is interested only in maintaining the status quo and the two countries have never had a mutual defence pact. In the United Nations, there will be an emergency session, they will talk far into the night and do precisely nothing. No one wants to rock the boat, Jack. A phrase you taught me.'

  "You've got it afl nicely worked out, haven't you?.

  'Except for one rather important detail. The Khan is dead, which is something of a convenience, but these are a superstitious people, and to them the Khan is priest as well as king. Prince Kerim can be his only successor.'

  'And as such, an obstacle to the setting up of a People's Republic.'

  'Not at alL' Cheung smiled briefly. 'With our guidance, he could be of great help to his people. He could jead them along the true path.'

  'Now Fvs heard everything,' Drummond said.

  'Good, then perhaps you will be sensible enough to help me in this matter. After all, you always did have aa eye to the main chance. Where is the boy?.

  Drummond stared at him in astonishment.Y0i& mean you don't know?'

  'He is not at the mission. Neither are Father Kerrigan not the American girl. My men have spent hours checking the crowds and searching the immediate area of the city.'

  'And you expect me to help?'

  1 know you went straight to the mission from your bungalow after Brackenhurgt brought you news of the Invasion. Famia told me.'

  Drummond decided to take refuge in tiie truth. Thafs right We left my jeep and told Father Kerrigan to pack up as quickly as possible and meet us at the airstrip. Your mea moved too fast for him, I suppose.
'

  'But Brackenhurst also Is proving difficult to locate. You arranged an alternative plan in case of trouble. I know you, Jack. I know how your mind works.8

  'Can I go now?'

  .You might find it wiser to co-operate. I could things easier for you.'

  .Do me a favour, for God's sake,' Drummond said. That's like a line from a bad play.'

  Colonel Cheung stared at him, apparently calm, the leather swagger stick beating against his right boot 'All right, take him away, Sergeant,' he said abruptly in Chinese. 'Bring the other one.'