Tunnels 04, Closer

sections of the pyramid hurtling so far into the sky that it seemed as though they would never come down again. And even before the smoke and dust had cleared, the Rebecca twins were leaping up the tiers of the pyramid with the Limiter General close behind. As they reached the upper tier, they inspected the damage their charges had inflicted. The facing stones with their carvings had been completely blasted away, but the underlying structure was still intact.
    The Limiter General was unperturbed. "There's the outline of an opening," he pointed out. "Tom Cox was right. Now we know where it is, we'll drill a few holes into the surrounding structure and plant some more charges." He waved his men up. "One more go, and we'll have Dr. Burrows and the boy."

    * * * * *

    From the tree line, Elliott had been watching the helicopter as it hovered over the pyramid. She'd been in the jungle when she first caught the sounds of its engine, and had immediately raced back. Keep under the cover of the trees, she'd eventually located Will and Dr. Burrows crouching on the upper tier.
    "Oh, no," she said. They couldn't have been in a worse position, caught in a hopelessly exposed space. And she was too far away to help them. If she ventured out into the open, she knew that she'd be in plain view of whoever was in the helicopter.
    She saw Will glance her way, and edged forward a little, waving wildly to attract his attention. But he was too preoccupied with the thundering machine above, and didn't seem to notice her. She withdrew back into the jungle, checking Bartleby was where she'd told him to wait -- she couldn't have him bolting out into the clearing. He gave her a meow to let her know that he wanted to join her, but she shook her head.
    "Let's knock this thing out of the sky," she said, swinging her rifle from her shoulder and wrapping the strap around her arm to steady it for a shot. She lined up her telescopic sight on the helicopter. Although she'd never seen anything like this flying contraption in her life before, her first view was of the pilot. She didn't know if he was actually flying it, but at least she had a human target. And he was as good as dead, caught squarely in her crosshairs.
    Taking a breath and holding it in, she was on the point of squeezing the trigger when the helicopter rotated. Through her sight, she had a glimpse of a Limiter inside it. Her blood ran cold. She grimaced, thinking she'd take out the Styx soldier instead. Then she glimpsed something else that made her blood run even colder. A diminutive figure was beside the Limiter. Elliott could see her so clearly that there was no question in her mind.
    "Rebecca," she spat, unable to believe one of the Styx girls had survived the ambush. "It can't be!" She was still trying to come to terms with this when the other helicopters rumbled over. Within seconds a barrage of rifle fire was landing around Will and Dr. Burrows, preventing them from going anywhere. And then ropes were flung from the first helicopter and Limiters began to abseil toward the top of the pyramid.
    "I can't take them all out! What do I do now?" she asked herself, lowering her rifle.
    She knew the chances of extracting Will and Dr. Burrows from the situation were nigh on impossible, and that she had to get herself to a safe location from where she could plan her next move. Issuing an order to Bartleby to follow her, she began to move through the jungle, traveling around the edge of the clearing in the direction of the base camp.
    Sprinting between the huge tree trunks, she kept moving until she arrived at the camp. She heard shouting from the pyramid, but didn't stop to see what was happening, instead snatching a few items to take with her, and quickly rigging a booby trap before she was off again. Elliott kept telling herself she'd made the right decision to withdraw from the area, and any lingering doubts in her mind were completely assuaged as she heard the howls of the stalkers behind her. She retraced her footsteps several times to leave a few false trails, then made straight for the stream, wading into the middle of it where the stalkers couldn't possibly track her.
    Once in the hideaway she hurriedly grabbed a couple of the Browning Hi-Power pistols and the spare ammunition she'd stashed there. And she also packed what she had left of Drake's explosives in her Bergen, along with enough food and water to last her for a day -- if she was going to be out in the field she needed to