Page 40 of Booker's Mission

Booker keyed up his mike, glancing over at Callie. “Call me crazy, Keith, but I find it hard to believe us living is on your agenda. Not after all the bullets you’ve put through my machine.”

“Those were to get your attention. Encourage you to land. I can’t help it if you’re too stubborn to know when you’re outmatched.”

“Is that what you think? That your pilot is better than me?”

“I think our chopper doesn’t have a dozen holes in it.”

“And yet, we’re still breathing.”

“Assuming you want to continue breathing, you might want to listen. I have a proposal. All I want is the camera, the recorder and anything else you took. Land, have Callie toss them out, and you’re free to go. Though, I suggest you reconsider your next destination. I hear Morocco is lovely this time of year.”

A non-extradition country. That didn’t bode well.

“You actually think we’re going to believe you’ll let us go? After all the men you’ve sent our way?”

“The men were instructed to kill you, not Calliope. Like I said in the facility. She’s worth more to me alive, than dead. Though, good help, and all that.”

Callie frowned, then punched the dash, activating her mike. “You want to pin this all on me, still, don’t you? But it’ll look too suspicious if I’m dead, which means headquarters will keep digging. But if I disappear… It proves I’m guilty.”

“Higgins really shouldn’t have let you come. Now, are you going to be reasonable, or do I shoot you both down and take my chances with whoever steps up to bat, next? Another death that will be on you.”

Booker looked over at Callie. Not that he was prepared to surrender, but he needed to know she was with him. That they’d either go down fighting or not at all. She glanced at the rear of the chopper, then around the cockpit, finally settling on the controls. What was her way of telling him she was all in.

He rolled his shoulders, readying his next move when Callie clicked her mike.

“Here’s the thing, Keith. You actually have to catch us, to kill us. And I’ll bet my life that Booker can outfly your jackass of a pilot, any day. So… screw you.”

He was already moving. Tilting the chopper forward — quickly closing the distance between them. What would make it impossible for the other guy to get off a shot before they’d collide. Which had the other pilot reefing on the controls. Tipping her back and up, catching a few branches on the way. What looked like a strike to the tail rotor. Not enough to down it, but it evened the odds a bit. And that’s all the advantage Booker needed.

He barreled forward, picking up more speed then cranked her back, making that other guy adjust, again. More reactions that had the asshole heading off to their left. The entire machine shaking as it disappeared into the night.

But Booker was already working through the next five maneuvers. Adjusting the controls when more alarms sprang to life as he kept her climbing, waiting until he’d pushed it as far as possible before pitching her over and screaming toward the ground. Aiming at the other helicopter as it appeared out of the shadows.

Callie inhaled, saying his name as they raced toward the chopper, the wind roaring past the bubble. That incessant beeping louder than before. He didn’t backdown, lining up the helicopter when it peeled off, vanishing into the darkness as he banked in the opposite direction. A hint of the city lights brightening the horizon.

Another chug dampened some of his enthusiasm. What might be the last few minutes before the turbine quit for good. Made them an easy target.

He flicked a few switches, deciding on how he’d tell Callie they were probably going down, when she cursed.

“He’s back. Heading in from your eight o’clock.” She glanced at Booker. “Can a helicopter look pissed? Because this one does.”

“Damn, this jackass just doesn’t take a hint.”

“Shit. We’re screwed, aren’t we.”

She hadn’t asked, and he didn’t lie. “With any luck, we might reach the landing strip before he catches us, or the engine goes.”

“And the bullets he’s going to throw at us?”

“Look at it this way… The chopper’s already toast. He can’t really do much more damage to her.”

“Not really comforting.”

“I’ll get us clear. I prom—”

Another target. Right off their bow and coming in hot. Screaming through the air at some insane speed, nothing but blinking lights as proof it was there. What guaranteed they wouldn’t make it another hundred feet, let alone to the edge of the landing strip.

He’d try to land. Use every last trick up his sleeve just to get one last chance to put her down and let Callie make a run for it. Not his best plan, but he wasn’t going to be the reason she died. Not tonight.

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