Andy McDermott - The Midas Legacy

‘Not the only thing he picked up, the dirty sod,’ the Yorkshireman said with a half-grin, before becoming completely serious. ‘We’ll have to go a lot faster than we did coming up.’ He looked back. Amaanat was now descending, Jayesh crouching above ready to come after him. Eddie aimed his rifle at the upper ledge. ‘Get going, I’ll cover you. If anyone pokes their head over the top, they’ll regret it.’ Nina nodded and started along the walkway.

Jayesh fired a last couple of rounds, then shouldered his gun and yanked his kukri from the corpse’s throat to slot it effortlessly into its scabbard. He scuttled down the ladder after the abbot. A mercenary appeared at its top, only to hurriedly retreat as Eddie shot at him. As soon as Amaanat cleared the foot of the rungs, the Gurkha let go and dropped to the ledge.

Nina moved as fast as she dared along the platforms. They had been precarious enough on the way up; now they felt little wider than a shoelace. Holding the Crucible under her left arm, she clutched at the rock with her free hand, desperately seeking out any holds.

A look back. Axelos peered from the higher ledge, but the Greek was careful not to expose himself to fire from Eddie or Jayesh.

He could see her, though. A rush of fear went through Nina as he took aim, then thought better of it. ‘Eddie!’ she called. ‘They aren’t shooting at me — they don’t want to risk losing the Crucible!’

‘Doesn’t help the rest of us,’ he countered. The monks lined up behind him at the end of the ledge, Jayesh at the rear. ‘Okay, I’ll go first so I can cover you when I reach the next ladder,’ he told them. ‘Jayesh, watch my back.’

‘They have what they came for,’ said Amaanat as the procession started along the platforms. ‘There is no need for more violence!’

‘They still want the other Crucible,’ Eddie replied. He checked behind him, to see a mercenary aiming at the pathway. He fired a single shot, driving him back — but too late. The man had already pulled the trigger. A ragged bullet wound tore open in the shoulder of the monk following the Englishman. He wailed, staggering… and one foot slipped over the plank’s edge. He tumbled down the mountainside, his petrified cry fading to nothingness.

Eddie watched him fall, helpless, then snapped his attention back to the clifftop. He still had five monks to protect as well as Nina. All too aware of the alarming creaks of complaint from the weather-worn wood beneath his boots, he increased his pace.

Nina reached the next ledge and found cover behind a small outcrop. Relieved, she leaned out to check on the others. Eddie was moving across the platforms at a pace that made her heart freeze, the monks filing along in his wake.

Axelos reappeared, a mercenary beside him—

‘Eddie, look out!’ she warned. Her husband twisted to fire his AK, Jayesh unleashing another couple of shots. None of the bullets found their targets, but they drove the attackers back out of sight.

He hopped from the last platform on to solid rock. ‘Keep going past me,’ he shouted to the others.

Nina headed for the ladder. ‘Why couldn’t the Atlanteans have invented cable cars?’ she muttered.

Eddie alternated his gaze between the advancing monks and the upper ledge. It seemed that none of the mercenaries were willing to put their heads above the parapet.

For now. Axelos was surely planning something…

The first monk reached him. ‘Come on, keep going and you’ll be safe,’ Eddie said, trying to give the fearful young man some reassurance as he squeezed past. The next monk arrived a few seconds later. ‘That’s it! Keep coming!’

A head popped into view. Axelos. Eddie locked his rifle on to him, but the Greek had already dropped out of sight. Recon; he was checking on the progress of his targets.

Preparing for an attack—

‘Everyone down! Jayesh!’ yelled Eddie, keeping his AK-74 aimed at the ledge. The Gurkha echoed his warning in Nepalese, crouching and bringing up his own gun as figures sprang up over the lip of the little plateau.

Eddie and Jayesh fired first. The Englishman’s instincts had been correct: Axelos had ordered his men to make a simultaneous assault on the fleeing group, gambling that sheer firepower would catch them. One merc reeled as a bullet clipped his arm, others hurriedly diving back into cover as rounds whipcracked past.

But the Greek’s gamble was not a complete failure. A burst of bullets chewed a line across the cliff, hitting a hunching monk in the back. He keeled over, one hand clawing feebly at the rock before he toppled from the platform.

Eddie sent a furious shot at his killer, but the merc had already ducked. The nearest monk stared at him, eyes wide in terror. ‘Come on!’ yelled the Yorkshireman, hoping the man wasn’t paralysed by fear. If he were, it would be almost impossible for the others to get around him. ‘You can do it! Now!’

The monk gritted his teeth, then to Eddie’s relief started moving. The Englishman kept his gun fixed on the ledge as the man passed. The others followed, Amaanat, then finally Jayesh. ‘You okay?’ Eddie asked the Gurkha, seeing blood on his leg.

Jayesh shrugged. ‘Yeah. Why aren’t they following?’ He glared suspiciously back at the little plateau.

Eddie looked beyond it, at the second helicopter. The AW169 had retreated into the distance, the larger Crucible still hanging beneath it… but it was now making a slow, wide turn to reverse course. ‘Shit. They’re going to pick us off from the chopper! How many rounds’ve you got left?’

‘Two. You?’

‘One. So we’re fine if we’re attacked by the Fun Boy Three, otherwise we’re pretty much screwed!’ He looked for Nina. She was waiting at the top of the long ladder. He quickly caught up with Amaanat and explained the situation.

The elderly monk’s face was filled with sadness. ‘This is as I feared. Revealing the secret of the Midas Cave has brought nothing but violence and death.’

‘There’ll still be more coming unless we get out of here. Follow us.’ There was just enough room on the ledge for Eddie and Jayesh to squeeze past the monks; they moved ahead and hurried to the ladder.

A simple headcount had given Nina the bad news. ‘Oh God, I’m so sorry,’ she said to Amaanat as the group arrived.

‘It is all right,’ he said, through tightly drawn lips. ‘We shall all become again, in time.’

‘We’ll try to make it a long time,’ Eddie assured him. The helicopter had passed out of sight as it turned, but the thud of its rotors was growing louder. ‘Okay, I’ll go down. Once I’m in position at the bottom, everyone follow me. Jayesh’ll cover you from up here. Fight to the end, mate,’ he told his friend as he started his descent.

‘Fight to the end,’ the Gurkha echoed.

‘Eddie,’ Nina called after him. ‘Stay safe. Macy’s waiting for her daddy.’

A strained grin. ‘No pressure, then.’

He quickly clambered down. Thirty feet into the descent, a damaged rung reminded him that he was nearing the one that had almost caught him out on the ascent. Which was it?

The split rung beneath it helped him identify the danger, about twenty feet below. A glance along the valley: the helicopter was still blocked from sight, but it couldn’t be far away. He continued downwards, carefully negotiating the risky rungs. A relieved breath, then he picked up the pace again. Two thirds of the way down, three quarters. He checked for the helicopter once more—

A rung snapped under his foot.

He only had one hand on a higher bar, caught mid-movement. His other foot slipped on icy metal. He dropped sharply before jerking to a halt—