Chapter 14 - Dawn at the Airfield
Nikolai fired three precision shots into the lead operator, using the muzzle flash of the enemy weapons to pinpoint their silhouettes in the smoky flare light. The first man collapsed forward into the rushing water, his floating gear creating a temporary obstruction for the two behind him. Nikolai didn't wait to finish the firefight; he ducked into the auxiliary pipe, following Clara’s trail as the tunnel inclined sharply upward toward the surface.
Ten minutes later, they burst through an iron sewer grate into the freezing morning mist of the abandoned industrial rail yard. The sky was turning a bruised shade of purple as dawn approached.
Nikolai secured an armored black SUV from the rail yard safehouse within minutes, smashing the ignition override and roaring onto the cracked asphalt highway leading north. The engine screamed as they raced against the ticking clock. In the backseat, Clara tended to Mia’s leg once more, applying a fresh antiseptic dressing while the girl clutched her father’s leather jacket, exhausted but silent.
Ahead, the flat, overgrown expanse of the abandoned airfield came into view. The rhythmic, thumping roar of helicopter blades sliced through the morning fog. A twin-engine transport helicopter sat on the cracked tarmac, its rotors spinning at full operational speed, ready for takeoff.
Through the windshield, Nikolai spotted two figures on the tarmac near the loading ramp. Helena, her arm roughly bandaged, was shoving a bloody, handcuffed Viktor toward the helicopter door.
Nikolai jammed the gas pedal to the floor. The heavy SUV surged across the runway, smashing through the rusted perimeter fence in a spray of twisted chain-link wire.
Helena turned at the sound of the approaching roar. Seeing the black vehicle charging straight at her, she drew her weapon and opened fire through the windshield. Bullet holes spider-webbed the reinforced ballistic glass, but Nikolai didn't flinch, steering the vehicle directly toward the helicopter’s tail rotor.
At the last possible second, Nikolai slammed the emergency brake, sending the multi-ton SUV into a violent drift. The rear bumper collided with the helicopter’s tail stabilizer with a sickening crunch of metal, snapping the rear rotor blades and rendering the aircraft incapable of flight.
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Helena dropped to the asphalt, rolling clear of the spinning debris, her weapon still raised.
Nikolai kicked his door open, stepping out into the cold morning mist, his gun leveled directly at the woman who had stolen his wife's face.
