Seems they turned up in style.’
‘What’s the problem?’ asked Ethan. ‘Why would a few more people make any difference to Sam?’
‘Stealing a disk from under the noses of three or four people is one thing,’ said Luke. ‘Doing it in a crowd is something else entirely. Chances of getting pinged are pretty high.’
‘But there was no mention of the birds,’ said Natalya. ‘Gabe would have told us.’
‘I know,’ said Luke, ‘and that’s what’s worrying me.’
‘You think this is more serious than we thought?’ asked Ethan.
‘Exactly,’ said Luke. ‘I’m guessing there’s more people at this party than either Gabe or Sam realized. And that’s going to make our job even harder. We’re going to have to be damned careful just to avoid being slotted.’
Slotted, Ethan knew, meant shot. For a few seconds everyone was quiet.
Johnny broke the silence. ‘There’s no point dwelling on it,’ he said. ‘We need to get on with the job in hand, finish it and extract ourselves – and Sam. Right?’
Everyone nodded.
‘Good,’ he went on. ‘So let’s focus on what’s really important, shall we?’
‘What’s that then?’ asked Ethan.
Johnny smiled. ‘How soon we get to blow shit up . . .’
28
Ethan couldn’t help but notice that Luke was the natural leader. OK, so he had perhaps three or four years on most of the others, but there was also something else about him – a quiet confidence they all trusted utterly.
‘Right,’ he told them, ‘this is what we’re going to do. First we deal with those two x-rays up there. Then Ethan and Johnny head for the beach, secure it, sort out the canoes and contact the sub. Avoid the clear ground in front of the ruins. Go through the woods to the right of the helicopters, OK? And take some of the Claymores.’
Luke turned to Natalya and Kat. ‘You two will lay the diversionary explosives, draw attention away from what Sam’s got to do.’
‘Just a minute,’ said Johnny. ‘Don’t I get to blow stuff up too?’
‘No,’ said Luke, and ignored Johnny’s obvious disappointment. ‘The beach will need to be secure. That’s down to you and Ethan. You’ll have the Claymores anyway; just remember to point the damned things towards the enemy, OK? They’ll make a nasty mess of you if you get it wrong.’
‘But the explosives,’ said Johnny, doing his best to sound sad. ‘I’ll miss the pretty lights . . .’
‘Oh, you’ll still see them, I’m sure,’ said Kat. ‘Isn’t that right, Natalya?’
Natalya nodded, and Ethan saw a grin on her face.
‘Anyway,’ said Luke, ‘Natalya’s the queen of explosives. I trust her not to blow us all up in the process, whereas you might just get a little carried away.’
Johnny looked sorrowfully at Ethan. ‘I hate to admit it, but it’s a fair point,’ he said.
‘What about you?’ asked Ethan, looking at Luke. He wanted to know what everyone was doing, get all the details straight in his mind and understand his place in all of it.
‘Once Kat and Natalya have set everything off, I’ll turn my attention to the tent. I’ve enough flash bangs and smoke grenades to have them wandering around in a daze for hours.’
Ethan didn’t want to ask if that was a joke.
‘That way,’ Luke continued, ‘Sam – wherever he is right now – will have plenty of cover and confusion to find the disk and get out.’
‘Then we’re out of here, right?’ said Johnny.
‘Absolutely,’ agreed Luke. ‘We’ll paddle out from the beach and the sub will be waiting. Nice and simple. Questions?’
There was silence.
Then Johnny said, ‘Isn’t this the bit in the movie where somebody says something like “Let’s rock and roll”?’
And Ethan saw a glimmer of excitement on the face of the unshakable Luke. ‘Yes,’ he said, and turned to Natalya and Kat. ‘We need those x-rays out of the way. And it needs to be done silently. Let’s rock and roll.’
Natalya and Kat disappeared into the darkness between them and the castle, two black shapes slipping away through the long grass.
Luke turned to Ethan and handed him the binos. ‘Watch,’ he said.
Ethan focused the binoculars and brought the shadowy image of the castle ruins up nice and clear.
Nothing.
Then something: a faint blur of dark against more dark. He had them – the girls edging forward. He lifted the binos a little; spotted the two doormen outside the tent. He could see them quite clearly in the faint glow of light coming from inside. They were smoking, talking. One laughed, the other joined in.
Then they were gone.
Ethan scanned left, right,