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Cairo, Egypt
ROSE WAS THROWN back in her seat as Crowley suddenly floored the accelerator and yanked the wheel over into a hard right turn. She cried out in surprise, sat forward and put her hands out to grip the dashboard, but bit down on her fear. She had to trust his skills now.
“They followed us from the Black Pyramid?” she asked.
“Yep. Think so. Spotted them about twenty kilometers back, realized they were tailing us. Badly.” He grunted, braked hard and turned left. They rocked forward in their seats, the belts pulling hard across their chests. “Once we got into the Cairo suburbs I made some random turns and even went entirely around one block. And they’re still there.”
Rose had been so lost in thought she hadn’t even noticed Crowley had been driving in circles. She was thankful he was on the ball. They barreled into the suburb of Giza, west of the Nile. The old Land Rover roared in protest at the rough treatment, black smoke roiling back from the exhaust pipe. Tires screeched as Crowley drove hard into a tight bend, then braked almost to a standstill to turn hard left.
“I hope this thing doesn’t fall to pieces!” Rose said.
“Me too,” Crowley said through gritted teeth. “Because they’re still there.”
He floored it again, hammering through a junction to a symphony of angry car horns. Rose braced her feet against the floor pan and held the grip above the door until her knuckles turned white. A series of small shops, neon signs and varied stock hanging on racks outside, whipped past her window in a riot of color.
“Hang on!” Crowley said.
She didn’t bother to state the obvious, that she’d been hanging on for some time already, as Crowley mounted a curb, blaring his own horn to make pedestrians leap, faces wide in shock, out of his path.
“What are you doing?” Rose cried, but he ignored her.
Then she saw it. A narrow alley that he needed room to turn into. Some poor trader’s cart exploded into splinters off the corner of the Land Rover, plastic drink bottles thumping and rattling over the roof, as Crowley made the turn into the alley. Rose caught a glimpse of the drink seller’s furious expression, then a crang made her sit back sharply.
The Land Rover barely fit between the high brick buildings, the wing mirrors dragging across the stones with showers of sparks.
“There goes our deposit!” Crowley said, but he sounded strangely elated.
“Let’s just stay alive, Jake!”
He squinted up into the rear view mirror and cursed eloquently.
“Still there?” Rose asked.
“Their car is much smaller than ours. It’s easier for them in these narrow streets. But it’s faster too, so no point trying to outrun them on bigger roads.” He hauled the wheel to the left and the big Land Rover slewed out across the road at the end of the alley, tires screaming. More horns voiced brash displeasure.
“So what do we do?” Rose asked.
“Outdrive them.”
“I don’t know why I’m bothering, but please be careful!”
He grinned. “It’s okay. Defensive driving courses in the Army use scenarios like this all the time. I’ve done this dozens of times.”
“For real?”
“Well, no. In training.”
“Jake!”
He glanced over and winked. “British Army training is the best in the world. Here we go.”
Rose swallowed and held on, determined not to distract him with any more talk. He was surely pushing his limits, but obviously enjoying himself too. She decided it was time to shut up and let him get on with it.
The traffic thickened and Crowley began blasting his horn, pushing through tiny gaps between cars that didn’t look big enough for a wheelbarrow let alone a Land Rover. But he made it work. A swarm of people on bicycles appeared suddenly, dozens of them, their eyes widening at the huge car bearing down on them. Crowley cursed again and swerved, bounced the car violently across a curbed median and then they were screeching left and right to avoid oncoming cars.
Rose began praying to any gods who might listen, though she really didn’t believe in any of them. Perhaps if they got through this she might start. Crowley turned sharply again, slamming Rose across her seat and back again, then they were rattling along a narrow cobbled street. Much quieter for traffic, but with carts and pedestrians everywhere. The people quickly dove aside and Crowley braked hard, turned right.
A green wagon piled high with bright yellow bananas suddenly rolled out in front of them. Crowley braked, but there was no time and the cart spun away from the front bumper with a loud crack. Fruit sailed up and around, bounced off the hood and the windshield. The fruit seller, an old woman with a gnarled cane, hammered against the side of the car and Crowley yelled, “Sorry!” and drove on.
“It’s not worth killing someone over,” Rose said.
“I know. But I think we’ve lost them.”
Relief flooded through Rose. “Have we?”
“Pale metallic blue Peugeot,” Crowley said.
A small car turned into the road directly ahead of them. “Like that one?” Rose asked.
“Bollocks!” Crowley yelled, and slammed the Land rover into reverse. The car whined as he roared backward and the old woman began battering the side door with her cane again, glad of another chance to berate them.
“Hold tight,” Crowley said, then braked and hauled the wheel, spinning the car one hundred and eighty degrees in a reverse bootlegger turn.
Rose yelled out, unable to endure the screeching slide without giving voice to her panic, but Crowley pulled it off and accelerated away again, the Peugeot hot on their tail.
“Don’t go back out onto that road with all the traffic!” Rose said. “It’s too dangerous.”
Crowley turned again. More cobbled streets rumbled under the car’s large tires, then another side street packed with market stalls and milling crowds. Crowley cursed, braked and turned the other way. The Peugeot was right on their tail. Rose saw it in her side mirror, even though the glass was cracked from its previous encounter with the alley wall. An arm appeared from the passenger window holding a pistol.
“They’re going to shoot!” she shouted.
Crowley roared wordlessly and slammed the pedal down. A junction came up on them fast, traffic busy left and right. Crowley let out a yell of defiance and yanked the wheel left and right, dodging between two cars and a bus that screeched and blared their horns. Traffic was suddenly mayhem behind them as Crowley shot the Land Rover out the other side, into a street strangely quiet. More screeches echoed to them and Rose saw the Peugeot skid sideways, then slam into the broad side of the bus Crowley had narrowly missed.
“They crashed!” she said excitedly. “You can slow down! They’re gone.”
Crowley let out a long breath and eased up on the accelerator. “Thank goodness for that.”
“How much did you just risk our lives?”
He grinned at her. “I was in total control the whole time.”
She shook her head, laughing despite her fear at the relief of it all. Crowley drove them on to the airport and the company they had rented the Land Rover from. When they arrived, the owner stepped out and his mouth fell open. He pressed one palm to each cheek, staring dumbfounded.
Rose and Crowley climbed out and saw why he was so upset. Not a single panel was free from dents or scratches. Most of both front wings were bent out of shape, one almost torn completely off. All the lights and indicators on the front were smashed. One side was pebbled with a field of small dents, all about the size of that old lady’s cane.
“We ran into a little trouble,” Crowley said. “Really sorry about that.” He turned to Rose. “I’m glad we paid extra on the insurance waiver though, to get the excess down to a sensible amount.”
“My car!” the dealer managed, finally finding his voice.
Crowley threw the keys to the man, who scrabbled in the air and managed to catch them. “The paperwork’s all in order,” Crowley said. “Really sorry about the car, but the insurance will cover it, right?”
He turned and walked away, pulling Rose along with him.
“We should fill out forms or something, surely?” she said.
“No doubt. But do you want to? Let’s make the most of his shock.”
They hurried away and ducked into the crowds heading for the airport as the man began shouting streams of invective.
“Let’s just get on the first plane to America,” Crowley said. “We need to leave this country behind, especially before whoever was chasing us catches up again.”
Rose nodded. She couldn’t agree more.