“Negative!” Luke shouted. He clambered to his feet, despite the sharp angle the chopper was taking. He stumbled to the cockpit.

“We have to go down there. She’s there. Elizabeth Barrett. I know it’s her. The place is crawling with Al Qaeda.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Rachel said.

The chopper was moving fast, very close to the ground.

“Okay, Stone,” Jacob said. “Okay. We’re going to put you down, but you have to meet me halfway. We’re nearly out of fuel. I don’t like that terrain.”

“That’s fine. Get us close. We’ll jump. Then get out of here. But do me a favor and launch those Hydras and squirt those guys with your cannon before you go.”

Jacob nodded. “Okay. Good luck. Ten seconds.”

Luke stepped across the cabin to Ed. Ed was crouched in the bay door with the M-79 grenade launcher, looking for a target.

Luke clapped him on the back. “Come on, man. We’re going in.”

“Out of sight,” Ed said. He went out the bay door and clambered over the outside bench. Already the chopper was hovering. An instant later, Ed was gone.

Luke followed him out. His MP5 was still in hand. He slipped over the bench. The chopper was hovering right at the cliff’s edge. The ground was five or six feet below him. Just ahead, Ed Newsam was running in a low crouch, toward the action.

A rocket came screaming out of the night, headed straight for the chopper.

The chopper lurched away and banked hard, just as Luke was about to jump. His foot got snagged, and he tumbled off the bench. The rocket zoomed by. His gun clattered away. He grabbed for anything; he was falling. The chopper was out over nothing. Upside down, he caught the landing gear of the chopper with one hand and swung wildly. The cliff face was way over there. Below him the sky fell away into the darkness.

“I’m still here!” he screamed. “Jacob! Rachel!”

A blat of machine gun fire hit the side of the chopper, tearing up metal.

“Jacob!”

The chopper banked again and raced back toward the mountain. Luke dangled, hanging free by one hand. His body swung crazily. He reached to get his other hand on the landing gear. The chopper zoomed toward land.

Suddenly, they were past the cliff and over hard-packed earth again.

Another rocket came sizzling toward the chopper.

Luke let go. His legs hit hard, and he bounced into the air, his momentum carrying him along. He hit again, tucked his body, and rolled over the stony ground. He lay there, breathing hard. He tried to do a body scan, but everything hurt right now.

Had his head hit? No.

Could he feel his legs? His arms? Yes?