services? I wondered.
Zac checked his watch. “That only leaves fifty minutes before the strike.”
“Plenty of time,” Unwin said. “We’ll be in and out like a virgin on his wedding night.”
“Unwin!” Ward said, shaking her head.
“Sorry, Mum,” Unwin said.
I looked at the two of them, wondering if Ward really was his mother. But as Unwin was black and Ward was white, I assumed it must be a nickname for the older woman. She certainly was keeping him in check like a mum, though. Something about the warmth behind her stern stare reminded me of my own mother.
We all rode up in the lift together. The team were almost indistinguishable now in their visored helmets and black fatigues. Adrenaline bubbled through my blood, making my muscles twitch. I curled my hands into fists. This felt good. All the fear and doubt of the past few hours were vanishing, replaced with a sense of control. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the tube of painkillers. I didn’t want any distractions. I swallowed three tablets just to be sure.
“Let’s go.”
The doors were already opening as we approached, and out on the street, a black helicopter was waiting. Ladoux ran ahead, hopping into the pilot’s seat. After a few moments, the blades of the copter started to spin, blowing litter into dancing spirals. I climbed in, ducking to avoid the downdraft of the blades. The rest followed, and we all strapped ourselves in as the bird took off.
I looked down on a London I could hardly recognise. The damage was not restricted to the centre – it spread as far as I could see. Buildings lay in crumpled heaps. Bridges crossing the Thames were buckled and some completely gone. This city, the city I called my home, had taken a battering.
All was still beneath us, no lights on in offices or houses lit up to welcome people home. But I could see, far to the north, pinpoints of lights marking out streets. Where life carried on as usual.
The copter buzzed through the grey skies, heading west into a low-wattage sun. It dropped low, and I could make out the reflection of the whirring blades in the rippling water.
“We got company,” Ladoux said, yanking the controls to the left.
“Rocket!” Zac shouted.
I clung on as a trail of fire came from a rooftop and headed straight for us.
Ladoux pulled back on the stick, easing the copter into a vertical climb. The rocket soared beneath us, heading straight for a building on the other side of the river. The shockwave from the explosion hit us a few seconds later, making the copter shake. But Ladoux was in total control. She righted the bird and guided it closer to the riverbank.
“Nice flying, Ladoux,” Zac said.
She simply smiled in response.
“Since when has the Red Hand had SAMs?” Unwin said, looking back out of the window at where the rocket had struck.
SAMs. Surface-to-air missiles. I didn’t know if I knew that from this reality or from playing too much Duty Calls .
“When they hit a supply truck last week,” Zac said.
Unwin sucked his teeth. “Man, hitting us with our own weapons is cheating.”
“I guess their god is all out of lightning bolts,” Williamson said, which got a chuckle from everyone in the copter. All except, I noticed, Ladoux. Perhaps the mention of lightning while flying wasn’t amusing.
“I won’t be able to set down here,” she said sternly. “So you’ll need to jump.”
I pulled back the doors and looked down. It was a ten-foot drop to the pavement below. Which might not be so bad if the copter didn’t keep lurching left and right.
Zac clambered towards me, and without a moment’s hesitation, he stepped out onto the skid of the copter and leapt off. He landed in a crouch on the pavement below, then straightened up and smiled at me.
Well, if he was going to show off…
I took a deep breath and stepped out into the air. The shock of landing passed all the way up my shins, my spine and even into my teeth. On my injured leg, I hadn’t made
Zac checked his watch. “That only leaves fifty minutes before the strike.”
“Plenty of time,” Unwin said. “We’ll be in and out like a virgin on his wedding night.”
“Unwin!” Ward said, shaking her head.
“Sorry, Mum,” Unwin said.
I looked at the two of them, wondering if Ward really was his mother. But as Unwin was black and Ward was white, I assumed it must be a nickname for the older woman. She certainly was keeping him in check like a mum, though. Something about the warmth behind her stern stare reminded me of my own mother.
We all rode up in the lift together. The team were almost indistinguishable now in their visored helmets and black fatigues. Adrenaline bubbled through my blood, making my muscles twitch. I curled my hands into fists. This felt good. All the fear and doubt of the past few hours were vanishing, replaced with a sense of control. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the tube of painkillers. I didn’t want any distractions. I swallowed three tablets just to be sure.
“Let’s go.”
The doors were already opening as we approached, and out on the street, a black helicopter was waiting. Ladoux ran ahead, hopping into the pilot’s seat. After a few moments, the blades of the copter started to spin, blowing litter into dancing spirals. I climbed in, ducking to avoid the downdraft of the blades. The rest followed, and we all strapped ourselves in as the bird took off.
I looked down on a London I could hardly recognise. The damage was not restricted to the centre – it spread as far as I could see. Buildings lay in crumpled heaps. Bridges crossing the Thames were buckled and some completely gone. This city, the city I called my home, had taken a battering.
All was still beneath us, no lights on in offices or houses lit up to welcome people home. But I could see, far to the north, pinpoints of lights marking out streets. Where life carried on as usual.
The copter buzzed through the grey skies, heading west into a low-wattage sun. It dropped low, and I could make out the reflection of the whirring blades in the rippling water.
“We got company,” Ladoux said, yanking the controls to the left.
“Rocket!” Zac shouted.
I clung on as a trail of fire came from a rooftop and headed straight for us.
Ladoux pulled back on the stick, easing the copter into a vertical climb. The rocket soared beneath us, heading straight for a building on the other side of the river. The shockwave from the explosion hit us a few seconds later, making the copter shake. But Ladoux was in total control. She righted the bird and guided it closer to the riverbank.
“Nice flying, Ladoux,” Zac said.
She simply smiled in response.
“Since when has the Red Hand had SAMs?” Unwin said, looking back out of the window at where the rocket had struck.
SAMs. Surface-to-air missiles. I didn’t know if I knew that from this reality or from playing too much Duty Calls .
“When they hit a supply truck last week,” Zac said.
Unwin sucked his teeth. “Man, hitting us with our own weapons is cheating.”
“I guess their god is all out of lightning bolts,” Williamson said, which got a chuckle from everyone in the copter. All except, I noticed, Ladoux. Perhaps the mention of lightning while flying wasn’t amusing.
“I won’t be able to set down here,” she said sternly. “So you’ll need to jump.”
I pulled back the doors and looked down. It was a ten-foot drop to the pavement below. Which might not be so bad if the copter didn’t keep lurching left and right.
Zac clambered towards me, and without a moment’s hesitation, he stepped out onto the skid of the copter and leapt off. He landed in a crouch on the pavement below, then straightened up and smiled at me.
Well, if he was going to show off…
I took a deep breath and stepped out into the air. The shock of landing passed all the way up my shins, my spine and even into my teeth. On my injured leg, I hadn’t made
Similar Books
