The Left Behind Collection: All 12 Books (170 page)

“We were both right,” Chloe whispered as they stepped out into the cool night air. Two GC vehicles were being stalled outside the gate, and a chopper illuminated the ground with a huge light. “Doesn’t Ken know where we are?”

“I can’t imagine,” Buck said. “But we can’t flag him down without giving ourselves away to those guys. C’mon, Ken! Right here, man!”

Suddenly, from right above them, GC Chopper One descended, whipping their hair and clothes. Ken opened the door and shouted, “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” Buck threw their bags in and helped Chloe climb aboard. He didn’t dare peek down to see what kind of attention they were drawing from the guards on the ground.

Tsion and Buck leaped aboard. Ken was on the phone. “We’re not alone, Ray! Two on the ground, one in the air! . . . All right, I’m going!” Ken swept up and away, heading north.

Tsion, Buck, and Chloe huddled together, holding hands and praying. Buck wondered how long it would be before the ground troops alerted the other helicopter. Three minutes later, with Ken speeding toward Jerusalem Airport, he found out. From over the radio came an urgent call. “GC Chopper One, this is Chopper Two, over.”

Ken hollered into the phone, “Don’t worry, Ray, I won’t answer it. Anyway, I thought
we
were Chopper Two. . . . Tell me later. I’m on my way. . . . Mac’s voice? How can I do that? I only talked to him on the phone once! . . . All right, I’ll try! I’m comin’ fast, so be ready!”

“Chopper Two to Chopper One, do you copy?”

“Go ahead, Two,” Ken said, lowering his voice and effecting a Southern accent.

“I didn’t know you were airborne, Cap.”

“Roger, Two.” Ken clicked the microphone as he spoke. “I . . . bad . . . connection . . . you . . . over?”

“Repeat, Cap?”

A frantic voice broke in. “McCullum is not in the air, Chopper Two! He’s with us! Find out who that is!”

“Chopper Two to Chopper One, identify yourself, over.”

Ken hesitated.

“Identify, Chopper One, or risk a charge of air piracy.”

“This is Chopper One, go ahead.”

“Identify yourself, pilot.”

“Bad connection, come back.”

The Chopper Two pilot swore. “Demand immediate descent and surrender, One.”

“En route to Tel Aviv, Two. See you there.”

“Negative! Put down at Jerusalem Airport and stay aboard!”

“Negative yourself, Two. See you at Ben Gurion.”

Chopper Two put out a call for assistance to all aircraft in that sector.

“Now what?” Buck said.

“Lights off and stay low,” Ken said.

“Not too low.”

“High enough to clear power lines,” Ken said. “Low enough to stay under radar.”

“We gonna be all right?”

“Depends on where he was when he first called. If he was still in Chaim’s neighborhood, we’ve got a pretty good lead on him. I doubt he’ll stay this low or go this fast. No way he’s dumb enough to believe we’re going to Ben Gurion. Somebody’s bound to spot us, and then he’ll chase us to the airstrip. No time for restroom stops or seat changes at the airport, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Rayford sat near the runway listening to the radio traffic and resisting the urge to coach Ken. If he didn’t know enough to stay low and push the chopper’s limits, nothing Rayford could say would help.

The radio came to life again with a report from a small, fixed-wing plane that had sighted the low-flying GC chopper with its lights off.

“Chopper Two is in pursuit. Chopper One, you are breaking international aviation law by running without lights, high speeds at low altitude, and hijacking of government aircraft. Proceed directly to Jerusalem Airport and remain on board or suffer the consequences.”

Airport personnel swept into action, emergency vehicles cruising the runways. “Attention please. Jerusalem Airport is temporarily closed due to an emergency. Be advised, all landing sequences and takeoffs are suspended until further notice. Cessna X-ray Bravo, you copy?”

“Roger.”

“Piper Two-Niner Charley Alpha?”

“Roger.”

“Gulfstream Alpha Tango?”

“Roger,” Rayford said, but he did not shut down. He hoped Ken would understand why he was waiting at the wrong end of the runway. This would be a takeoff without clearance and in the wrong direction.

And here came the chopper. Ken wouldn’t have time to talk on the phone, and the radio was not an option. Rayford checked his gauges. He was ready.

Ken started to put down at the original spot.

“Gulfstream’s up there!” Buck shouted. “And you’ve got security coming on the ground!”

Ken hopped the craft back up and set down near Rayford. The door of the Gulfstream hung open. Buck, Chloe, and Tsion set themselves to jump out of the chopper. “Hold tight a second,” Ken shouted. “They see us board the Gulf now, they can block him easy! I’m going to have to play cat and mouse with ’em, make ’em think Ray’s not involved!”

As security vehicles approached, Ken leapfrogged them, hovering just above where he had first set down, two hundred yards from the Gulfstream. “Put down right there, Chopper One!” came the voice from Chopper Two on the radio. “And do not disembark. Repeat, do not disembark.”

Ken put down but kept the blades whirring as the ground vehicles headed his way. “Shut it down, One!” the radio blared. Buck and the others saw Chopper Two descending from Rayford’s end of the field, right toward them.

“Stay out of sight, and forget your bags, people,” Ken said. “If I get you close, you’re going to make a run for the Gulf.”

“We’re still going to try to do this?” Chloe said. “It’s hopeless!”

“It’s never hopeless as long as I’m breathin’,” Ken said.

Rayford stared out the cockpit windshield of the Gulfstream, imagining that any second Ken and all that was left of his own family would be surrounded by armed GC guards. They would never expose him, but dare he just sit and wait to leave when the airport reopened? His body boiled with frustration, wanting to do something, anything.

Ken was a creative, resourceful, smart guy. And it did appear he still had those blades spinning. What was he going to do? Let Chopper Two chase him some more? There was no hope in that.

“Shut it down, One!” the command came again. “You are surrounded with no possible escape!”

Chopper Two was within thirty feet of Ken, also on the ground now with blades engaged. Rayford watched, amazed, as Ken went straight up about a hundred feet, then pointed the nose of the chopper at the Gulfstream and seemed to fall right in front of it. It hit the tarmac at such an angle that it slid fifty feet and spun to a stop next to the open door.

“Let’s go kids!” Ken shouted. “Right now!”

He smacked the door open with a running back–like stiff-arm and grabbed Buck, tugging him past the front seat and out. Buck waited on the ground and caught Tsion as Ken handed him off. Tsion charged up the steps of the Gulfstream and stood ready to shut the door.

Buck was grateful Ken took a little more time with Chloe. “Go all the way in!” he said. “Tsion’s got the door!”

Rayford watched in horror as GC vehicles raced his way yet again. He had to get airborne. Betting ground control could not see people boarding his plane, he got on the radio. “Gulf Alpha Tango to ground control, requesting permission to get out of the way of this activity.”

“Roger, Gulf. Just stay out of the way of security vehicles.”

Rayford started rolling, though he knew only two had boarded. The Gulfstream screamed and whined as he slowly moved forward, edging past Chopper One, his door dragging on the pavement and throwing sparks. He couldn’t leave the ground until everyone was aboard, then he had to pressurize the cabin before getting too high.

Buck’s brain went into slow motion, and a kaleidoscope of images raced through his mind. In what seemed the next millisecond he remembered taking a bullet to his heel in Egypt while diving with Tsion aboard a Learjet piloted by Ken. Now while whirling to grab the door as the Gulfstream edged by, he saw clearly through the struts of the chopper that GC men sprinted toward them, taking aim.

Buck screamed, “Ken! Ken! Go! Go! Go!” as Ritz caught up to him. Buck pumped his legs as fast as he could, and Ken loped right behind with those long limbs. The Gulfstream picked up steam, and Buck felt the pull of the power on his body. He glanced back at Ken, whose face was inches from his, desperate determination in his eyes.