Nemesis Chapter 7

Nemesis Chapter 7

Kyle Garcia walked to the helicopter that was sitting off to the side of the nearly-finished warehouse.  He was lugging two large suitcases, which he set down nearby.  Then he looked up and beckoned to Max and Grant.

"Herndon!  Tucker!  Get over here!"

Max and Grant exchanged glances, then complied.

"We need you to run to the East Coast for building supplies," growled Garcia.  "Load these into the chopper and climb in."

At the agents' hesitance, Garcia raised his voice impatiently.  "Now!"

"Do you get the feeling that we're being set up?"  Max whispered as he and Grant loaded the suitcases into the helicopter.

"I had the same thought, buddy," Grant responded in the same tone.

Then Garcia came up behind them, waving the shotgun to make sure they climbed in the chopper as they'd been told.  Max and Grant complied, and the plane took off with two of Garcia's men seated in the cockpit.

"So where on the East Coast does this chopper land?"  Grant asked, mostly for the benefit of Jim, whom he knew was listening in through his earring receiver.

To Grant's surprise, the man in the co-pilot's seat turned around and threw a punch at him, knocking him backward.

"Hey!  What's the big idea?"  Max demanded, immediately coming to the defense of his friend.

The co-pilot turned on Max and the two men began scuffling in the rear of the chopper.  Grant, bloody nose and all, came to his assistance.

Somehow in the fracas the passenger side door came open.  The chopper began to list wildly as the pilot peered over his shoulder to see what was going on.

Suddenly, the helicopter tilted violently to the right, and both Max and the co-pilot spilled out the door.

"Max!"  Grant screamed in terror at the top of his lungs.

Max managed to grab hold of the skid and was holding on for dear life.  The other man wasn't so lucky. Since he wasn't wearing a parachute, he went free falling toward the ocean, his scream fading as he fell.

Tight-lipped, but silently willing his partner to hang on, Grant anchored his feet as quickly as he could and leaned out the door.  He reached a hand down toward Max.  Max hesitated a moment, steeling his nerves, then in one motion he let go of the skid and grasped Grant's hand in a death grip.

Slowly, with Max helping all he could, Grant began the task of hauling his partner back inside the helicopter.  It took every ounce of strength in both of them, but finally, Max was safely in.

Max slammed the door behind him, and the two men sank to the helicopter floor, panting heavily.  It was a moment before either of them caught their breath.

"Thanks, buddy," Max finally gasped, reaching up to slap Grant's shoulder affectionately.

Grant smiled wanly at him but did not reply; he was exhausted, but he also knew that they weren't out of danger yet.  The pilot was still in control of the helicopter.

The pilot had seen his co-pilot fall, and knew that it was now two against one.  For all intents and purposes, this was now a suicide mission.  There was no way now that he could throw both men over the side of the chopper as he'd been ordered to do.  And if he went back to the warehouse to face Garcia, he'd be killed anyway.

Recognizing this, the pilot pushed the steering controls forward, causing the helicopter to take a steep nosedive.
Max and Grant snapped to attention.

"Damn fool's going to kill us all!"  Max growled.  He got to his feet in an instant and scrambled toward the front of the chopper.

The pilot was waiting for him, having taken his hands completely off the controls, but he was no match for the bigger man.  With lightning speed, Max dealt him a right uppercut that knocked him unconscious, then Grant dragged him out of the way as best he could while Max tried desperately to regain control of the nosediving machine.

It was no use.

"Brace yourself, buddy!"  he yelled, his voice filled with terror.  "We're gonna crash!"

"Jim!"  Grant screamed.  "The chopper's crashing!"

A few seconds later came the sound of impact, and then nothing at all.

*****

Previous Chapter:  Nemesis Chapter 6

Next Chapter:  Nemesis Chapter 8