To his relief, his daughter did as she was told, not looking at the corpses. A surviving soldier pulled at the hatch on the opposite side of the cabin. It slid back – then stopped. He and a comrade strained harder, but it didn’t move. The forced landing had buckled the runners. There was just enough room for the passengers to exit one at a time.

The closest man squeezed through to clear the way. The next gestured to Cheng and Macy. ‘Get her out,’ Eddie told the young Chinese. Cheng took Macy’s hand and clambered to the hatch, letting her through first. The soldier already outside helped her down.

Metal creaked as the student hopped out after her. The soldiers started to follow, some in such a rush that they left their weapons. The fuselage rocked again. Eddie gripped a seat until the movement stopped, using the moment to look for their attacker. The fortress seemed to have resumed its search for Nina, advancing ominously over the city. Its guns still couldn’t traverse high enough to target them. Maybe it was at its maximum altitude . . .

The minigun had definitely damaged it, one of the eye-like windows blown out. He briefly considered taking over the weapon to finish the job, but moving that far over might unbalance the chopper and send the whole thing plunging to the ground.

Instead he took weapons from the dead men. The first was a Type 95, the standard assault rifle of the People’s Liberation Army. The second would be more use against the fortress: a Type 08 rocket launcher, an olive-green tube with a grip, a simple sight, a shoulder strap and very little else. It was a one-shot, disposable anti-armour weapon that could be used with little more training than knowing which way to point it. If a minigun could damage the fortress, a kilogram and a half of high explosive should cause it some real trouble.

If he got the chance to use it. His highest priority was getting Macy to safety. He crossed the cabin, one of the remaining soldiers letting him through the hatch.

‘Daddy!’ Macy cried as he emerged. ‘Come on, quick!’

‘I’m here, love,’ he said, jumping down. The co-pilot climbed from the forward door, the pilot sliding across the cockpit after him. ‘We need to get to the lifts and—’

The Z-20 shuddered again, battered underbelly rasping over the pad – and slipped over the edge.

Eddie grabbed the soldier behind him, yanking him through the hatch. ‘Get out!’ he shouted to the men still inside – but it was too late.

The helicopter tipped tail-downwards, throwing its remaining occupants to the back of the cabin. Fuselage panels were torn away as it slid over the building’s side, but not even the shrill of tearing metal could drown out the screams of those inside.