‘That’ll be the top thing on their watch list,’ said Macy. ‘Is there anywhere else we can go?’
‘San Fernando de Atabapo is the next town,’ Valero told her, ‘but to reach it by road we have to drive through Valverde.’
‘How about flying there?’ Eddie suggested.
‘We can – but if we are flying,’ said Valero, an idea striking him, ‘we should get as far from Callas’s men as we can. My plane is fully fuelled. It can reach Caracas.’
‘Can we use its radio to contact the militia?’
‘Yes – yes, we can! I can put an emergency call through to air traffic control.’
‘Okay, so we go for the airfield,’ Eddie decided.
Macy made a pensive face. ‘Hate to be Debbie Downer, but we kinda have to drive through town to get to the airfield.’
It was true. ‘Bollocks! Okay, how about walking? We skirt round town and get to the plane from the jungle.’
‘What about Ralf?’ said Osterhagen. Becker, lying between the German and Valero in the rear bed, had fallen into a state of drifting semi-consciousness. ‘He will slow us down – and we can’t leave him behind. If the soldiers find him, they’ll kill him.’
Osterhagen was right; they couldn’t abandon the injured man. ‘That doesn’t leave us much choice, then. We’ll just have to charge through and hope we’re in the air before they catch up.’ He addressed the two men. ‘Can either of you drive a truck?’
‘I can,’ said Valero.
‘Good. Get in here, then.’
Macy was mildly offended. ‘How do you know I can’t drive the truck?’ she demanded.
‘Can you double-declutch?’ asked Eddie.
‘Can I what?’
‘You can’t drive the truck. Stay in the cab and keep your head down.’ He picked up one of the AK-103s and hopped out. Valero clambered inside and took his place. Eddie climbed into the cargo bed and crouched at the rear window. ‘Okay, Oscar, soon as any soldiers see us we’re in trouble, so gun it through the town.’
‘What are you going to do?’ Macy asked.
He waved the Kalashnikov. ‘Have a guess. Everyone set?’ ‘No,’ she said in a small voice.
He smiled at her, then banged the cab roof. ‘Oscar, let’s go.’
Valero put the truck in gear and set off. The Russian-built vehicle was designed for carrying heavy loads over poor terrain, not speed; it took more than half a minute for it to reach thirty miles an hour. Eddie looked ahead. They were at the top of the rise, Valverde coming into view.
The town’s military presence had increased. A pair of Jeeps was parked at the settlement’s edge – not a roadblock, but certainly a checkpoint.
And they would have to go through it.
‘Two Jeeps,’ Eddie warned Valero. ‘Aim for the one on the left – don’t ram it, it’ll slow us down too much. Just try to smash the front.’
‘What about the other one?’ Macy asked.
Another shake of the gun. ‘Again, guess!’
He checked the road ahead. The soldiers at the checkpoint had seen the approaching truck, but weren’t yet concerned.
That would change when they realised it wasn’t going to stop.
‘Grab on to something,’ Eddie warned Osterhagen, before bracing himself for the impending collision.
The truck bore down on the soldiers. One man stood in the road waving his hands over his head – then dived out of its way. Another unshouldered his rifle.
Eddie readied his own weapon as Valero swerved—
There was a colossal crunch as the truck’s girder-like front bumper smashed into the Jeep, sending it spinning into a ditch. The second soldier brought up his AK—
Eddie fired first, aiming not at the soldier, but at his vehicle. A burst of fire hit the Jeep, ripping into the radiator and engine.
The panicked Venezuelan had dived when the gunfire started, but now he was back on his feet. ‘Get down!’ Eddie shouted, ducking. Osterhagen dropped flat, holding Becker. Bullets cracked against the tailgate, and the rear window shattered. Macy shrieked, Valero sliding as low in his seat as he dared.
Eddie held the AK over his head and sent a couple of shots blindly back down the road, forcing the gunman to take shelter. The firing stopped. The truck roared past the hotel, townspeople running for cover.
Eddie rose again, rapidly turning to search for danger. Most of the soldiers on the streets were more interested in their own safety than in opening fire, and were sprinting out of the truck’s path. Another couple of shots deterred the others from retaliating.
A bend in the street put the troops out of sight behind a building. Eddie