Luke didnt want to think about the kind of pain that would make a man like Ed Newsam say it hurt a lot. I know it, he said. Im going to give you a pill. Its going to take the edge off that pain, but its also going to take you out of the game.

Ed shook his head.

Just help me get out there. I can still man the gun. Ill strap myself at the edge of the doorway. Itll be okay. I wont fall out.

Ed… Luke glanced out the door. They were flying fast and low. The highway was just below them. From this vantage point on the floor, he couldnt see where the cars were. He poked his head out the side of the doorway and looked at the road ahead.

A mans upper body leaned from the passenger window of the Range Rover, pointing a machine gun back at them.

Jesus.

Luke ducked back in as more bullets ripped up metal. He and Ed were eye to eye on the floor. Luke clambered back up to his knees. Im not going to argue with you, Ed. I dont have time right now.

Ed shook his head violently. Then dont argue.

Another burst of machine gun fire hit the chopper. More glass shattered up front.

Luke, weve got instruments down. We cant keep taking hits like this. Were going to lose this bird in a minute.

Take evasive action, Luke shouted.

The chopper pulled up abruptly. It made a steep climb and banked hard to the left. Luke fell over sideways. He clung to the floor, his fingers gripping metal slats. Another burst of gunfire came, but this one sounded further away.

An alarm in the cockpit began to sound.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP…

Jacobs disembodied voice said: Luke, weve got mayday. A rotors been hit. Its wobbling. Ive seen it before. Its not going to hold. We either land or we crash, but were going down.

How long do we have?

Ninety seconds. Maybe. The longer we hold out, the harder we hit.

Lukes shoulders slumped. Was this really happening? The Iranians were really going to run like this? What did they think, they were just going to shoot their way to the airport, jump on the plane, and fly away?

Luke clambered to his feet again. He looked through the cockpit. The windshield was gone. A matted blanket of glass had caved in. As he watched, Rachel grabbed it with her gloved hands, pulled it into the cockpit and shoved it aside. The cyclic control was shuddering in Jacobs hand.

He tapped Jacob on the helmet.

Drop this thing right on top of that Navigator! he shouted. Give me two seconds to get out, then go land somewhere.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP…

Luke propped Ed up on the outboard bench after all. He had no choice.

You know what youre doing?