Hell Ship by David Wood

doing?” hissed Alex.
    The darkness was absolute. If anyone was coming down the passage, they were doing so without the aid of artificial light. “Stay close.”
    He felt her hand in his and that was good enough.
    They reached the mouth of the passage quickly, urged on by the ever brightening sliver of daylight visible ahead. Dane emerged cautiously, sweeping the area with the pistol before coaxing Alex out to join him. As soon as they were out, Dane felt his cell phone vibrate.
    “ Maddock! Where the hell have you been?” It was Professor and he sounded frantic. “Company’s coming. A van just headed down the driveway five minutes ago. At least two guys, but might be more in the back.”
    Dane had left his teammate with their rental car on the main road just outside the manor grounds while he had gone in on foot. Given how little he knew about their enemies, it had seemed prudent to do a little scouting, while leaving Professor behind to provide overwatch. The wisdom of that precaution was now manifest, but Dane hadn’t anticipated losing his cell phone signal when he’d gone underground.
    He led Alex away from the cleft, skirting the hillside toward the cover of trees, before responding. “Roger. We’re clear for the moment.”
    “We?”
    “Me plus one. I rescued a damsel in distress.” He ignored Alex’s eye roll. “Meet us on the road, one klick east of the driveway. Keep your eyes open. I expect company.” He didn’t wait for a reply, but closed the phone and shoved it into his pocket. “Let’s go.”
    They ventured deeper into the woods, moving at a right angle away from the trail back to the house, but after about a hundred yards, Dane stopped and held a finger to his lips.
    The woods weren’t as absolutely still as the underground chapel had been, but for a moment the only sounds Dane could hear, apart from the thudding of his heart, were the chirp of insects and distant birds, and the creak of tree branches in the breeze. Then he heard voices—soft, hushed tones. Definitely not someone out for a stroll.
    He couldn’t make out any words; he didn’t need to. They were being hunted. He took Alex’s hand again and they started running.
    Dane tried to construct a mental map of the area, but as they pushed deeper into the woods, it became difficult to know with certainty even what direction they were going. The best he could hope for was to keep more or less to a straight line, easier said than done as they darted between tree trunks.
    A burst of electronic music shattered the relative quiet, Hancock’ s cell phone in Dane’s pocket! He dug it out, his haste making him all the more fumble-fingered. The ring-tone sounded twice more before he was able to silence it.
    “This way!” Their pursuers were no longer bothering to be quiet, and the shout was too close for comfort. The call had not been a coincidence, Hancock had evidently told the pursuers that Dane had his phone, and they had used it to narrow the search.
    A series of sharp reports completely shattered the still. Tree branches snapped and exploded above Dane and Alex, showering them with leaves and splinters. Dane threw himself flat, pulling Alex down next to him, but part of him knew that this was exactly what the hunters wanted; pin them down, paralyze them.
    More shots. Dane reckoned there were at least three shooters, but he could see no one through the maze of tree trunks.
    “We’ve got to move,” he told Alex. “Follow me.”
    He didn’t wait for her to question or protest, but sprang to his feet and started running. A look over his shoulder confirmed that she was still with him, and also revealed movement further back. He twisted around without slowing and triggered a single shot from the revolver he’d taken from Hancock. Now their pursuers would know that they weren’t toothless; Dane just hoped he wouldn’t later regret wasting the round on an oak tree.
    The woods thinned abruptly and they emerged at the edge of a grassy