DECLAN DE COURCY GOT BACK TO THE White Cottage four hours after the crash. Three miles into his homeward hike, he had managed to find a motorbike in a barn. Much to his surprise, it had started. He guessed someone must have been using it AV. Perhaps they had abandoned it in favour of a car.
The White Cottage was empty and he rode the bike to the airfield where Sandra and Mandi were waiting.
‘Where’s Reaper?’ Sandra said.
He dismounted and held out his hands in an apology. ‘We crashed.’
Sandra took a step forward and hit him with a right hook that carried all her power. The blow caught him by surprise and he stumbled backwards and fell onto the grass. Mandi moved to her side and put his arms around her hoping to both calm and restrain her.
‘Where’s Reaper?’ she said.
‘He’s fine. He stayed behind.’ He shrugged from a sitting position. ‘He wanted to go to Redemption and this seemed the best way.’
‘What seemed the best way?’
‘We flew over the mine, they shot at us and we went down. We landed okay, about a mile away. We could have both walked away safely but he stayed. He set fire to the plane and waited for the soldiers to find him.’
‘He wanted to be captured?’
De Courcy shrugged again. ‘He’s pretending to be the pilot. He hopes that will make him a protected species. The soldiers will take him to Redemption and he’ll meet the General and Harry. That’s his plan.’
‘What if somebody recognises him?’
The first flush of anger was leaving her andMandi released his restraining grip. He held out a hand to de Courcy and pulled him to his feet.
De Courcy watched her warily in case of any more blows. ‘He won’t join the hoi polloi. He’ll be treated differently, kept apart. If they think he’s a pilot, then he can’t be Reaper.’
‘You’re not even a fucking pilot,’ she said, and tensed as if about to release another punch.
De Courcy held up his hands defensively. ‘I’m sorry. Really, Sandra. I’m sorry. But he’s fine. I’m rather good, as it happens. I made a perfect landing. It wasn’t my fault that the bastards shot us down. Reaper told me to leave, to get back here and tell you what was happening.’
Her anxiety had made her lash out. Now it seeped away. She took a deep breath and nodded. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘That I hit you.’
‘Think nothing of it.’ He tentatively stroked his chin where the blow had landed. ‘It’s obviously been a trying time.’
‘But if he doesn’t come back, I’ll kick your Irish arse all the way to Ireland.’
‘He’ll come back. You know he’ll come back. He told me to tell you he’ll be here in four days. His instructions were specific. He’ll try and escape. If he can’t, he’ll tell them he has another plane here and they’ll bring him back under guard. He said you’d know what to do…’ He hesitated.
‘Go on,’ she said.
‘He said he would be back in four days… but if he wasn’t back in five, he wouldn’t be coming. He said he’d be either a prisoner or dead. He said you were to take charge.’
The anger began to return but she controlled it. It wasn’t de Courcy’s fault. It was Reaper being bloody Reaper.
They returned to the White Cottage and Sandra debriefed Mandi again about his time at the mine and what he knew or had heard about Redemption. She took notes and had him draw better and more detailed diagrams of the mine and the location of workers and guards. She used an Ordnance Survey map to mark out the lines of occupation of the town and the location of the village of Baystoke, where Purcell was based.
Rain next morning reflected their mood.
‘The odds are Reaper will come back,’ she said, as much to convince herself as them. ‘The odds are he will be under guard. General Purcell will want a pilot and if Reaper says there are things here that he needs, like a spare plane, they’ll bring him back.’
‘What will you do?’ said de Courcy.
‘We’ll set him free.’
‘We?’
‘I’m going back to Haven for help. We’ll set him free.’
‘And then?’
‘Reaper will have a plan. And I’ll have a plan. In the meantime, you might want to make plans of your own. You have the other Cessna. You and Mandi could try for Ireland.’
‘We could,’ said de Courcy. He glanced at Mandi. ‘But I think we might stay around for a while longer. See how things work out.’
* * *
Sandra left within the hour. The distance was not great but the detours she made to avoid the dangers of urban areas extended the trip. She needed to stay clear of trouble to ensure she was able to bring back help. Except that when she arrived at Haven, she sensed immediately that trouble had preceded her.
Ashley was in the command office at the manor house. He was, unusually, wearing combat uniform and sidearm and had an automatic rifle on the desk.
‘Good to have you back,’ he said, his eyes going past her. ‘Where’s Reaper?’
‘Long story. What’s going on?’
‘We got a call for help from Richmond yesterday. The ferals have broken out from Newcastle and are looking for easy pickings. Last heard, they were in Darlington. Yank took the Blues. All four teams. I’ve put the militia on standby and have a platoon already under arms.’
‘Shit,’ she said. ‘Perfect fucking timing.’
Ash raised an eyebrow. ‘If Reaper were here, he’d tell you to mind your language.’
She gave him a tight smile.
‘Where is he?’
‘In Redemption. He’s gone undercover and I think he’s plotting revolution.’
‘As you said,’ Ash replied. ‘Perfect fucking timing.’