Combustion (33 page)

But that’s something for the future. Right now he knows that La Brea is not only their best option, but their
only
option. He makes an executive decision not to tell Rhonda about the ‘guy with the bomb’. As far as he’s concerned there’s no reason to even bring it up until they actually get there. ‘Okay, Judd said there’s space to land at La Brea.’

Rhonda continues to wrestle the jet’s controls, confused. ‘What’s a
Labrea?’

‘The tar pits. The La Brea Tar Pits. You know, with the tar.’

‘Don’t say it like I should know what it is. I need
directions.’

Severson swipes open the pilot’s iPad, works the screen, pinches and zooms his way across the map app. ‘It’s somewhere on - Wilshire Boulevard, I think. Near the Miracle Mile. Christ, I haven’t been there since I was a kid - come on, where are you, you bastard?’

‘Quickly.’

‘I’m doing it - okay, I think - I got something.’ He shows her the iPad’s screen and points. ‘We’re
here,
we need to go
here.’

Rhonda studies the map for a long moment.

‘Can we make it?’

She looks anything but one hundred per cent confident. ‘It’s a way.’

Severson leans close. ‘Hey, if you want to sit up here at the big kid’s table you’re going to have to stay positive.’

Rhonda stares at him for a moment - then cracks a grim smile. ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ She works the controls and the jet tips into a steep turn.

Severson holds on tight.

Next stop La Brea.

~ * ~

44

The Tyrannosaur slows as it descends, now just fifty metres above the ground as it slashes towards the sprawling oil lake that dominates the La Brea Tar Pits complex. The giant chopper’s shadow slides across a family of mammoths that stand next to the wide walkway beside the lake.

With the SAM again lying across his knees, Bunsen studies the three life-sized models, a long-time favourite of visitors to the tar pits, then speaks into his headset’s microphone: ‘Park it over the middle of the lake.’

‘Will do.’ Enrico directs the Tyrannosaur into position.

Bunsen turns to Kilroy. The old guy looks terrible now, his eyes shut, his face drained of colour. ‘I’ll get you to a doc really soon.’

Kilroy’s voice is little more than a low croak. ‘Have you released the video?’

Bunsen scans the horizon, searches for a threat. ‘Not yet.’

‘You said it would be done before Phase Three.
Before
we ignite the oil lake. Before the earthquake.’

‘I know.’

Kilroy opens his eyes and looks at Bunsen. ‘People must know before it happens. You must warn them.’

Bunsen looks at him and shakes his head. ‘I’m sorry. That’s not going to happen.’

‘But - you promised me.’

‘I’m sorry.’

Kilroy exhales noisily. Bunsen knows that sound well. It’s the sound of disapproval. It hurt to hear it when he was a child and it has exactly the same effect on him now. He looks at Kilroy, expects to see that emotion on the old man’s face, but it’s not there. Instead of disapproval he finds disappointment, which, in many ways, is worse. ‘You lied to me.’

Bunsen nods. ‘I did.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I knew you wouldn’t understand.’

‘Understand what? I thought the purpose of the earthquake was to make sure the oil lake burned for two weeks so the virus went global.’

‘It is but it’s more than that. We need to make an example of this city.
Los Angeles
is the single most important place on the planet for the motor industry. We need to get rid of the old infrastructure and the old ideas and start again.’

Kilroy looks at him, horrified. ‘You’re talking about destroying a city,
our
city, killing thousands, maybe
hundreds
of thousands of innocent people.’

Bunsen nods. ‘It’s the only way to be sure.’

‘Didn’t you learn anything from me?’

‘Of course. That’s why we’re here.’

‘No.’ Kilroy shifts painfully in his seat, looks Bunsen in the eye. ‘We don’t want to
destroy
the world, we want to
save
it. We don’t want to
hurt
innocent people, we want to make their lives
better.’

‘Yes, but to do that we have to change everything. It must be a revolution, otherwise we’re just playing at the edges and everything stays the same.’

Kilroy stares at him for a long moment, speechless, then turns and looks out at the sun as it sets on the horizon.

Bunsen opens his mouth to speak, then realises there is nothing more to say.

~ * ~

The little yellow Loach stays low as powerlines zip past a metre below.

A gap in the haze opens up and Corey sees the giant tar pit for the first time. He’s impressed. ‘It’s so big.’

‘That’s what she said.’ Judd cracks a grin as he focuses on the Air-Crane hovering over the pit. ‘So I guess we can confirm La Brea
is
the target.’

Corey pulls the Loach into a hover then turns to the astronaut. ‘So, what’s the call?’

Judd looks at him - and his hands go Rubik.

Corey can’t believe it. ‘You only do that when you don’t have an idea! Don’t tell me you don’t have an idea!’

‘No, I do it when I’m thinking.’

‘Thinking was for
earlier.
This is happening
now.’’

Judd knows he’s right. This is exactly what happened at the Imax Theatre, when he couldn’t save himself or his friends. This is a moment when he needs to rise to the occasion and be the man everyone thinks he is - and yet he can’t even come up with
one
goddamn idea. He realises saving
Atlantis
was just a fluke -

Wait.

Saving
Atlantis.

Where was he when he realised he needed to save that shuttle? He was sitting in a Loach exactly like this, with the same Australian beside him. That’s all he had then and that’s all he has now - so he can do it again. He just needs to use what he’s got and remember what he knows.

Use what you’ve got and remember what you know.

Ding!

It’s like a light bulb going off. He turns to Corey. ‘I have a plan I think might work.’

‘Might?’

‘It could also end badly, but let’s stay positive.’ Judd forces a grin.

Corey looks at him like he doesn’t want to ask. ‘What is it?’

‘We let them know we’re here.’

Corey takes a second, then understands what he means them to do. ‘Jesus wept. Really?’

Judd nods. ‘Fair dinkum.’ Then he thinks about it. ‘Did I use it right?’

Corey nods, and they share a smile, then: ‘Righto, let’s do this.’

‘You sure?’

‘Not at all. But we should give it a go anyway.’

The Australian grins his crooked grin then sends the Loach straight up. Fast. It punches through the blanket of smoke and bursts into clear air above. Corey slows the descent then pulls the little chopper into a hover. ‘That should do it.’

~ * ~

From the Tyrannosaur’s rear cabin Bunsen sees the Loach. Stunned, he barks into his headset’s microphone: ‘The yellow chopper is right behind us! Turn left. Now!’

‘Will do.’ Enrico pulls on the controls and the Tyrannosaur swings around.

‘That’s it!’ The Tyrannosaur stops turning as Bunsen pushes the rear cabin door open, aims the SAM out at the Loach and pulls the trigger. ‘This ends now.’

~ * ~

The missile blasts away from the rear of the Air-Crane and hisses directly towards the Loach.

Judd picks it up first. ‘Missile!’

Then Corey sees it too. ‘Got it!’

It’s upon them very quickly.

‘Hold on!’ Corey guns the turbine and yanks the Loach into a steep right turn, ploughs into the smoke.

‘Yahh!’ Judd is flung to the side, grabs his seat and the doorframe with a tortured grimace.

Corey glances in his side-view mirror but can’t see the rocket. He shouts into his headset: ‘Tell me where it is!’

Judd cranes his neck to look back through the open doorway. He can’t get into the right position so he unbuckles his seatbelt and tries again, sees the missile hissing behind them. ‘It’s - oh Christ, it’s
right
behind us. And I mean
right
behind.’

‘Good.’

‘This’d be fun if I didn’t think we were about to die.’

‘Hold on!’ Turbine screaming, rotors throbbing, Corey tightens the Loach’s turn.

‘Oh - man.’ The g-forces go to work on Judd, squeeze him back into his seat. The last time he felt anything this severe was during a
shuttle launch.
It’s difficult to breathe, even harder to talk.

Corey caresses the controls and tightens the turn again. ‘Where is it?’

Judd cranes his neck against the g-force, again sees the missile hissing behind them. ‘Same as usual - except
closer.’

Rotors thumping, Corey tightens the Loach’s turn a little more.

The chopper’s tilted at such a steep angle that Judd can see nothing but the black oil lake rush past the pilot’s open door. ‘How – much – longer?’

‘Almost - there.’ Corey yanks the Loach out of the turn.

Hovering within the fog directly in front of them is the Air-Crane.

Corey smiles. ‘And there it is.’ The little chopper has pulled a giant arc. He eases the Loach up and over the giant black chopper with a foot to spare.

Ka-boom!
The missile slams into the Air-Crane’s tail rotor and vaporises the rear section of the chopper.

~ * ~

45

‘We’re going down!’

Enrico fights the Tyrannosaur’s controls but there’s nothing he can do to stop it. Without a tail rotor the giant helicopter twists into a wild spiral.

Whump, whump, whump.
Bunsen holds on for dear life as the burning chopper whips around and around, faster and faster. He leans back into the cockpit, reaches across to the central panel and flicks a switch -

Clank.
The Item is released from the Tyrannosaur’s cradle and flies free, cartwheels across the sky -

Slam.
It lands at the very edge of the tar pit, bounces high then smashes through the safety railing and lands on the grass by the side of the walkway.

Whump, whump, whump.
The Tyrannosaur spins violently. Metal bends and tears as the rotor blades shatter in a blizzard of fibre-plastic. Bunsen glances into the cockpit. Enrico is dead, a shard of a shattered rotor blade embedded in his throat.

Whump, whump, whump.
Bunsen turns to Kilroy, both terrified beyond measure. Their eyes meet.

Time slows.

A poignant moment passes between them, imbued with a bond of shared affection, for the years when they only had each other.

Time speeds up.

The left side of the cabin rips away and the old man is ejected from the spinning chopper. Bunsen screams after him, horrified: ‘No-!’

Boom!
The burning Tyrannosaur smashes into the tar pit, sends out a giant wave of oil.

~ * ~

Judd stares down at the flaming wreck of the Air-Crane as a wide patch of the oil ignites around it. He studies what remains of the chopper, can find no pity in his heart for the men aboard. The astronaut turns and takes in the bomb, which has come to rest on the grass by the side of the paved walkway. ‘We have to get it out of here now.’

Corey turns to him. ‘But he had a detonator. If he’s dead or unconscious he can’t trigger it.’

‘It could be on a timer.’

Corey takes this in with a nod. ‘Of course. You got a plan?’

Judd’s eyes flick around the Loach’s cabin, sees the rope wound around the winch nestled between the two front seats.

Use what you’ve got and remember what you know.

‘Get me to that bomb and I’ll tell you all about it.’

~ * ~

Handlebar ribbons fluttering, Lola rides the pink dragster like it’s Seabiscuit. She looks up, bleakly registers the plume of black smoke that arches into the sky above the tar pits. She ups her pace and turns to Spike, who runs beside her. ‘Come on, boy.’

~ * ~

Judd finishes tying the frayed end of the rope onto a hook as Corey stares at him, appalled. ‘It’s not a fantastic plan, mate.’

‘It’s the only one going. Now, as soon as I have the hook you release the rope then get this thing in the air as fast and as high as possible. Then, if it detonates, we
both
don’t bite the big one. Hopefully.’

Corey nods unhappily, drops the chopper onto the walkway beside the weapon. And takes it in. It appears to be even bigger now that it’s not attached to the Air-Crane. And creepier, the black lattice metalwork gives it a particularly ominous aspect. The heavy impact has dug it into the grass beside the walkway, but it still appears to be in one piece. Corey turns to the astronaut. ‘I’ll wait for your signal.’