Andy McDermott - The Midas Legacy

The Russian spoke better English than his comrades, the language being a requirement for international pilots. ‘No, if they could damage the plane, we have to stop! It is too dangerous to—’

‘ Take off! ’ roared Kang, drawing his gun for emphasis. The other cockpit crew behind him reacted with shock. ‘Go faster! Now!’

Petrov tried to cover his fear and maintain a professional calm, but the weapon pointed at his head — and the rage-crazed expression of the man holding it — made it clear who was now in command of the aircraft. He pushed the throttle levers forward. The engine note rose, the Antonov gaining speed. Kang gave him a contemptuous glare, then withdrew. ‘This is what we get for taking a contract from fucking North Korea,’ the pilot muttered in his own language to the co-pilot, who swallowed and nodded in agreement.

The TEL’s cab drew level with the middle set of undercarriage wheels. Eddie had hoped to reach the front to increase his chances of catching one with his lasso but the rising shriek of the engines meant that he had run out of time. ‘They’re speeding up! Go faster!’ he shouted to Nina.

She pushed down the accelerator, but the third set of the Antonov’s wheels slipped past, then the fourth. ‘It’s too slow!’ she cried.

‘Shit!’ The final landing leg rumbled past Eddie. Last chance. He pulled the steel loop wide and tossed it at the huge tyre—

One side fell behind the fat wheel, snagging against the hub as the other was caught by the whirling tread and snatched underneath. The hook slammed into the hydraulics with a bang as the loop snapped tight around the axle.

‘Let out the winch!’ Eddie yelled, twisting to point at a dash-mounted control box in front of one of the passenger seats; the winch could be operated from both inside the cab and out. ‘If there’s enough slack, we can slow down and jump off before the plane drags us!’

Nina looked at the box. There were two levers and several switches on it, but all the text was in Korean. She leaned across the cab, straining to reach it. The larger of the two levers was marked with arrows pointing up and down, which she guessed controlled the spool. She stretched out her hand and pushed it forward, to the up position. An electric whine came from outside.

‘No, the other one!’ Eddie called urgently. ‘The winch brake, you need to let it run free—’

Tyres screeched — and a wall of metal filled the windscreen.

The Antonov had turned on to the runway, the massive aircraft rocking on its undercarriage as it changed direction too quickly. Nina gasped and spun the wheel to avoid a collision — and save Eddie from being crushed against the fuselage.

The smell of burning rubber joined the stink of jet fuel. Its port wingtip drooping alarmingly close to the ground, the An-124 continued through its ninety-degree turn, finally coming into line with the runway lights and reeling back upright. Nina struggled to regain control of the transporter as it veered behind the inboard engine. Searing jet exhaust pummelled Eddie. ‘Get behind it, behind it!’ he shouted, hunching up to protect his face.

She swung the TEL back to the left. The Antonov had now pulled far enough ahead for the vehicle to get beneath its tail. She straightened out, then made another lunge for the winch control—

The four massive engines roared to full thrust.

A superheated hurricane whirled around the transporter. The colossal aircraft accelerated with alarming speed, racing away down the runway — with the cable lashing behind it.

It snapped taut. Eddie lost his footing and swung from the spotlight as the TEL leapt forward. Nina was thrown back in her seat. She stamped at the brake pedal, but to no avail.

The Antonov thundered towards take-off speed, dragging the transporter behind it.

The speedometer needle whipped around the dial as far as it would go, and stayed there. Nina gripped the squirming wheel fearfully, trying to hold the truck in a straight line as it snaked down the runway in the Antonov’s wake—

The winch! If she let it run freely, it would give the TEL a chance to slow down and let her and Eddie bail out.

Holding the wheel with one hand, she leaned across and clawed at the control box. The winch was still spooling out its cable, the motor shrilling under the strain. Her fingers closed around the second lever, and pushed it.

The winch brake released with a loud clunk. The effect was immediate, the transporter lurching as the acceleration suddenly ceased. Eddie swung back around to the front of the cab, clawing at the roof to find a more secure hold. ‘Jump out!’ he cried.

‘We’re going too fast!’ The speedometer was still pinned to the top of the dial. She tried the brakes again, but the transporter started to weave, threatening to flip over. All she could do was hold it steady until it slowed enough to risk a leap on to the runway—

The whine of the rapidly spinning winch reel became hollow as the last length of cable unspooled then it slammed to a stop.

The TEL lunged forward again. The sudden burst of speed pounded Eddie against the windscreen. The wind tore at his clothes as the aircraft neared take-off speed.

The transporter started to snake again. Its tyres screamed as they skidded across the concrete. Nina tried desperately to bring it back under control, but the truck was almost at the point of no return, about to overturn…

The Antonov’s long tailcone dipped towards the runway as its nose rose and it left the ground.

The missile transporter followed it into the sky.

‘Oh God !’ Nina screamed, terror and nausea filling her as the TEL keeled over on to its side. ‘Eddie!’

Her husband was pinned against the windshield, the force of the roaring slipstream holding him in place as he clung to the roof with one hand and groped for the bull bars with the other. His palm slapped on glass, flat metal — then clamped around the steel tube. Gasping for breath, he hung spread-eagled against the cab as the runway dropped away.

A squeal of overstressed machinery, audible even over the deafening thunder of the jet’s engines — and the unsecured erector arms swung out from the vehicle’s back as it rolled over. The wind caught them, yanking them backwards. Hydraulic rams tore apart, bolts shearing and welds cracking—

The arms slammed into their vertical position with such force that the transporter’s long chassis snapped in half. The entire launch assembly tore free, taking most of the vehicle’s bodywork and the rear eight wheels with it. Tons of metal plunged back down on to the runway, hitting hard enough to smash a crater into the concrete.

The TEL’s forward half was still attached to the plane, corkscrewing along in its wake for two full revolutions before levelling out. Nina fell back into the driver’s seat, seeing her husband flattened against the window before her. ‘Eddie, get in!’ she yelled, trying to open the door. The wind instantly slammed it shut again.

Eddie managed to turn his head. He squinted into the gale to see the Antonov banking sharply to starboard, hauling the remains of the transporter after it like a banner.

Alarms buzzed in the cockpit, warning lights flashing. ‘What is happening?’ Kang demanded, trying to cover his fear as the huge aircraft wallowed to one side. He clutched at the back of the pilot’s chair to stay upright, Sek and his subordinate backing down the aisle between the other crew stations to find support.

Captain Petrov had higher priorities than answering the Korean, taking several seconds to check readouts and adjust the controls before replying. ‘The landing gear is damaged,’ he announced, ‘and the whole plane is off balance! There’s too much extra weight on one side.’ He spoke to the co-pilot in Russian, the other man looking back out of his side window. A shocked cry told the others in the cockpit that he had seen something unexpected.