The FortunaCS bodyguard, Ishyan Stölles, crept down the twisting stone steps, just at the same time the fourth and final charge went off back near the compound. It was the helicopter bursting into flames. Ishyan smiled. It raised the stakes a little, and that might alter things back into his favour. It should also clear the way now for Jess to find the jeep.

Stölles caught sight of further movement near the cliff edge, and as the seaplane rounded the island once more it was obvious that the soldier was trying to contact the other soldiers and having no luck. Ishyan moved quickly. Moving with stealth around the perimeter of the ruin wall, Stölles crept up to the soldier from behind and quickly incapacitated him with a simple, yet very effective, choke hold. The unconscious figure slumped to the floor, just as the seaplane seemed to change direction and head westwards out to sea.

‘Take it you’re Stölles?’ Ishyan heard behind him. Damn it. One soldier had obviously managed to sneak past his radar. ‘Bessek warned me about you. Ah, slowly…’ the voice warned as the Fortuna bodyguard began to turn. ‘You look a little deflated. You weren’t expecting me, were you?’

‘The bell tower?’ Ishyan offered.

‘Hey, I’m impressed,’ the soldier continued, holding his rifle directly at Ishyan’s chest. ‘Want to fill in the story anymore?’

‘I originally thought that the chopper was booby-trapped,’ Stölles noted, noticing just how cocky this soldier was. It would be easy to keep him talking for a few minutes, simply by feeding his ego. ‘But you were left here for a reason, weren’t you?’

‘Two actually,’ the soldier nodded. ‘We needed the winchman for one more job, then he was finished. The second was you, Bessek wants the pleasure of your company.’

‘Sounds enchanting,’ Ishyan played for time. He could hear the drone of the seaplane gradually rise again. Maybe he had once last chance. ‘You do realise that you’re the only one left now, with no chopper, so taking me in will be a bit of a challenge.’

‘Not really,’ the soldier replied. ‘We have spare boats. Getting you down there though will be a chore I grant you, but as long as you’re unconscious it’ll be child’s play. What the bloody hell is that plane doing now?’

Ishyan could hear the rising noise directly behind him. He was not sure what the pilot had in mind but prayed she had seen what was occurring here. Anything would be a distraction. However, at the moment, the odds were not in Ishyan’s favour.

‘Okay,’ the soldier quickened. ‘Here’s the plan. You take these wrist-ties and secure them tightly in front of you. That’s it, nice and slow. Show me...’

The soldier looked past Stölles as the seaplane began to accelerate low over the ocean towards them. Ishyan could tell it was unnerving him, but as yet could not guess at the pilot’s intention either. Then it came to him. Ten seconds was all he needed.

‘It’s just a seaplane, what’s it going to do?’ Ishyan asked innocently. Nine.

‘Yeah,’ the soldier replied, his rifle almost switching between the bodyguard and the plane. Eight.

‘And I’m tied up.’ Seven.

‘You stay there,’ the soldier warned. Six. ‘Right in the line of fire. Just in case.’ Five.

‘Or is it aiming for us?’ Stölles asked frowning. Four. ‘I can’t see from here,’ he commented as the whine of the engines increased as it began to gain altitude and aim directly for the cliff edge. Three.

The soldier raised his rifle and aimed just to the right of Ishyan’s head, where the seaplane was edging closer toward his sights. Two.

‘You’re right,’ the soldier laughed loudly over the roar of the incoming plane, as he recognised the make. ‘It’s just a seaplane, what is it going to do?’ One.

Stölles simply fell to one side as the jeep ploughed into the lower half of the soldier, the driver slamming on the brakes instantly as it did. Ishyan heard the seaplane glide very low but harmlessly overhead, and the screeching of the tyres and twisting of metal as the jeep came to an abrupt halt next to some surface rocks. He chanced a look up but knew exactly what to expect.

‘Taxi for one,’ Jess smiled over the steering wheel.

‘Enough quips. A knife would help,’ Ishyan noted.

‘Oh yeah,’ Tucker apologised, opening the door and limping over to help the bodyguard. ‘Jeez, cut this a tad fine, didn’t I?’

‘Thought you knew there was a cliff there?’ Ishyan asked, getting to his feet.

‘Sofia said there was a slight drop.’

Stölles joined him at the edge and whistled his own opinion.

‘Did he definitely go over?’

‘Yep,’ Jess nodded. ‘I was only meant to scare him. Come on, Sofia wants to meet us in the bay. Apparently, she has a surprise for us.’

‘I think this Sofia has already surprised me enough for one day,’ Stölles noted, but knew that he still needed help to get onto the Jah Mahal. ‘But right now, I’ll happily take anything she sends my way.’