television mounted on the wall, it was the place where the deceased guards had whiled away their final hours.
The kitchen was the most interesting to her. Starved and weakened, she dived into the large refrigerator and snatched up a handful of cold venison sausages and a bowl of grapes. Wolfing them down with great gusto, Shilan spotted a half-finished bottle of orange juice and guzzled it noisily, spilling some down the front of her new coat but not caring. The taste of real food and the sensation of cold juice pooling in her empty stomach served to animate her with an explosion of energy.
All lethargy fell away, despite the late hour, and she found herself smiling with genuine relief. She was dressed in warm clothing, had a weapon and the element of surprise. Nobody yet knew about her escape, or the demise Professor Prior. That gave her an edge, albeit for a brief period of time.
Settling on a course of action, Shilan walked back over to the outside door, slid back the bolt and cracked it open a few millimetres; greeted by a wintry blast of snow-speckled air. The darkness was deep and a thick, low cloud had reduced visibility further by shrouding the entire complex in thick, chilling fog. She could just make out the squat shape of the helicopter, sitting in the centre of the main courtyard, although the fog made it impossible to see it in any detail clearly, despite the powerful floodlighting that tried valiantly to impose authority upon the weather.
Shilan knew her best chance lay with the aircraft or, more specifically, i nside it. If she could get there undetected, she stood a good chance of getting out alive and returning to Germany to report on all the lurid, deceitful operations that Josephine Roche was involved in. Her operations in Africa were just one of several projects that she was funding; one of which was centred on the Himalayas and involved a dangerously close relationship with several top Chinese scientists, who each specialised in a field related to either thermodynamics or nuclear fission. None of it boded well for the world, she was sure. At one point, she had overheard a snippet of conversation that suggested there was some type of mining facility involved but that was as much as she knew.
But, for now, Josephine would have to wait. Survive first. Get a message back to Germany, second. Find out what the hell ARC was up to in these mountains, third. Then, finally, take some time to find the bitch and kill her.
There was no point hanging around now that her mind was made up. Pausing only long enough to drag the heavy corpses of the guards into the cell, to keep Prior’s ghost company, she threw a couple of buckets of water over the floor and rinsed away the worst of the blood and brain matter. Throwing the bucket back inside the toilet, she sucked in a calming breath, bent low and pushed the door open.
The wind chose the same moment to buffet strongly against it from the other side but she persevered and was soon outside in the teeth of a growing blizzard. Already, snow was standing several inches thick on the ground, which served to silence her steps to any ear crazy enough to have been outside with her.
Moving fast and low, Shilan was almost upon the back of the snow-covered Chinook before a shape solidified out of the storm right in front of her. The guard, dutifully pacing the perimeter, was more interested in keeping his face turned to the ground to avoid the stinging snowflakes than he was watching where he was going. Consequently, he failed to spot her huddled shape and breezed right past, keeping tight to the helicopter’s fuselage so he didn't stray too far out into the storm.
Breathing a cloudy sigh of relief, Shilan seized her opportunity, straightened up and pounded as hard as she could around the tail of the helicopter. She guessed that the guard would be at least a minute before returning and this gave her valuable time to try and get inside.
The CH-47 Chinook was not a new model.
The kitchen was the most interesting to her. Starved and weakened, she dived into the large refrigerator and snatched up a handful of cold venison sausages and a bowl of grapes. Wolfing them down with great gusto, Shilan spotted a half-finished bottle of orange juice and guzzled it noisily, spilling some down the front of her new coat but not caring. The taste of real food and the sensation of cold juice pooling in her empty stomach served to animate her with an explosion of energy.
All lethargy fell away, despite the late hour, and she found herself smiling with genuine relief. She was dressed in warm clothing, had a weapon and the element of surprise. Nobody yet knew about her escape, or the demise Professor Prior. That gave her an edge, albeit for a brief period of time.
Settling on a course of action, Shilan walked back over to the outside door, slid back the bolt and cracked it open a few millimetres; greeted by a wintry blast of snow-speckled air. The darkness was deep and a thick, low cloud had reduced visibility further by shrouding the entire complex in thick, chilling fog. She could just make out the squat shape of the helicopter, sitting in the centre of the main courtyard, although the fog made it impossible to see it in any detail clearly, despite the powerful floodlighting that tried valiantly to impose authority upon the weather.
Shilan knew her best chance lay with the aircraft or, more specifically, i nside it. If she could get there undetected, she stood a good chance of getting out alive and returning to Germany to report on all the lurid, deceitful operations that Josephine Roche was involved in. Her operations in Africa were just one of several projects that she was funding; one of which was centred on the Himalayas and involved a dangerously close relationship with several top Chinese scientists, who each specialised in a field related to either thermodynamics or nuclear fission. None of it boded well for the world, she was sure. At one point, she had overheard a snippet of conversation that suggested there was some type of mining facility involved but that was as much as she knew.
But, for now, Josephine would have to wait. Survive first. Get a message back to Germany, second. Find out what the hell ARC was up to in these mountains, third. Then, finally, take some time to find the bitch and kill her.
There was no point hanging around now that her mind was made up. Pausing only long enough to drag the heavy corpses of the guards into the cell, to keep Prior’s ghost company, she threw a couple of buckets of water over the floor and rinsed away the worst of the blood and brain matter. Throwing the bucket back inside the toilet, she sucked in a calming breath, bent low and pushed the door open.
The wind chose the same moment to buffet strongly against it from the other side but she persevered and was soon outside in the teeth of a growing blizzard. Already, snow was standing several inches thick on the ground, which served to silence her steps to any ear crazy enough to have been outside with her.
Moving fast and low, Shilan was almost upon the back of the snow-covered Chinook before a shape solidified out of the storm right in front of her. The guard, dutifully pacing the perimeter, was more interested in keeping his face turned to the ground to avoid the stinging snowflakes than he was watching where he was going. Consequently, he failed to spot her huddled shape and breezed right past, keeping tight to the helicopter’s fuselage so he didn't stray too far out into the storm.
Breathing a cloudy sigh of relief, Shilan seized her opportunity, straightened up and pounded as hard as she could around the tail of the helicopter. She guessed that the guard would be at least a minute before returning and this gave her valuable time to try and get inside.
The CH-47 Chinook was not a new model.
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