A Cloak of Lies Ch. 08

"So this is the little whore who's been taking you away from me," the woman said, hatred shining in her eyes.

"That's my fiancé you're talking about," Doug chuckled, giving Camille another shove. "Get her on board."

Doug released Camille as Marissa's fingers grabbed a handful of her hair, snarling, "What the hell do we need her for?"

"Just do as you're told, Marissa. Don't press your luck with me," Doug snapped, glancing around at the terrain.

"Come on, slut," said Marissa, giving Camille's hair a vicious tug.

If this Marissa thought Camille would go along quietly, the woman had a big surprise in store. Quick as a flash, she brought her head back, smashing Marissa's own hand into her face.

"Bitch," Marissa hissed, swinging Camille around to slap her hard across the face.

Bright lights exploded in Camille's vision, her mind reeling with shock from the stinging pain. As her eyesight cleared, she saw the blood pouring from Marissa's nose and knew a moment of supreme satisfaction.

The moment didn't last long when Marissa grabbed her again, slamming her through the narrow entrance of the helicopter. Marissa climbed in after her, dragging the fighting Camille up onto a seat, cursing as Camille's fist slammed into her face.

"Get that bitch under control," Doug yelled, climbing aboard. "Here comes the cavalry."

He did his best to ignore the scuffling women as he donned a headset, ordering the pilot to take off. Camille turned her head in time to see a car speeding toward them, looking as if it would ram squarely into the helicopter. She recognized it as the one that Niko had been using and tried to fight her way free in the cramped quarters of the little compartment to get to him.

Doug raised a weapon the likes of which she'd only seen in the movies. It was wicked-looking, huge, and appeared that it would be able to inflict enormous damage. Horrified, Camille planted her feet in the woman's chest, kicking hard as the craft began to move. Marissa went flying backwards, hitting the back of the pilot's seat.

Camille lunged forward, grabbing at the gun, forcing it up just as Doug pulled the trigger. He slammed his fist into her chest, knocking the wind from her. She heard the sounds of gunshots, knew that Niko was trying to bring the helicopter down. Determined to do all she could to help, she dove toward the pilot, screaming like a woman possessed.

Something hard slammed into the back of her skull. The world turned upside down, a cacophony of sound ringing in her ears as she fought off the blackness that surrounded her. She lay on the floor of the helicopter, staring up at the cold, angry faces of her captors.

"That was a foolish thing to do, Marissa. I needed her to talk," Doug yelled above the sound of the wind.

"We don't need her now. Pavli knows you have her. You should toss her off the copter. If he sees you kill her, nothing will stop him. He'll be out in the open and all you'll have to do is wait for him to show up. There isn't enough room in here for the extra person anyway."

The last thing Camille saw was the chilling smile that crossed Doug's face. The last thing she heard before the blackness engulfed her was his words: "Good idea."

***

"Is that a Comanche?" Olan said, pointing up through the windshield of the speeding car.

"Christ," Niko spat, turning toward the hovering aircraft. "Those sons-of-bitches must have more money than God."

"Do you think we're too late?"

Niko slammed the gas pedal to the floor as the helicopter began to descend, disappearing behind a hill. He topped a rise doing ninety, his wheels leaving the pavement when he flew over the top. The next hill was higher, concealing the helicopter from view.

"I'll ring her neck when I get her back," Niko said.

"No, you won't," Olan returned, pulling out his handgun and checking it. "You'll beg her to forgive you for putting her in danger. You don't fool me."

Niko shot him a withering glance, careening over the top of the next rise. On the other side, a man was climbing into the RAH-66 Comanche Stealth Helicopter. There was a flash of blond hair as the people on board scuffled. He saw the weapon the man was holding, saw Camille reach out to grab the gun.

Niko stopped the car, slamming it into park at the same time he jumped out. His gun in hand, he blasted away at the tail rotor. He tried to keep the craft from taking off but failed.

Olan pulled himself from the vehicle, aiming his weapon, but failing to get off a shot in time as the aircraft gained altitude. Both men watched in helpless shock when the compartment opened again.

Niko held his breath as he watched his wife's blond hair flapping in the wind. In the next instant, she was plummeting toward earth, her scream the only sound that reached his horrified mind.