James Katt's Arc

Chapter 4 of 7

James turned from the empty hangars. No plane on this field could catch a jet in forty minutes. He had a location and a deadline, but no way to close the gap. Then a low sound cut the night. Rotor blades. A small helicopter dropped onto the runway and settled on its landing gear. A blond man climbed out and jogged toward them. Ilya Kuryakin worked tech for UNCLE, and Waverly had sent him ahead. His accent was thick and quick. "Waverly ordered me to bring you this," Ilya said. He slapped the hull. "Straight from our lab. It seats two." James circled the machine. It was sleek and low, built to move fast. Four missiles sat mounted in pairs along each side. A screen glowed inside the cockpit. "This should get you there in time," Ilya said. He pointed at the glowing screen. "It has a tracker." "A tracker for what?" Telari asked. She leaned into the cockpit and studied the display. Ilya reached past her and tapped the panel. "For his jet. We fed the fuel record into it. The moment his plane nears that airstrip, this screen paints it." A red dot pulsed at the edge of the display. "There. That is Thuldark, still in the air." James felt the ground shift under his plan. He no longer had to guess. He had eyes on his oldest enemy. "How far?" "Twenty minutes to the airstrip," Ilya said. "You are faster. If you leave now, you land before he does." Telari was already in the right seat. She pulled the harness across her chest. "Then we don't waste it." James swung into the pilot's seat. His hands found the controls. He had flown small craft in the service. This one answered lighter than any he knew. "Get clear," he told Ilya. Ilya stepped back and raised a hand. "Bring back the dossier, my friend." The rotors spun up. James pulled the machine off the runway. The airfield dropped away below them. The red dot held steady on the screen, marking the jet ahead. For the first time, James was not chasing a rumor. He was flying straight at Thuldark. Telari watched the tracker. Then her hand tightened on his arm. "James. The dot changed." He glanced at the screen. The red mark had turned and grown brighter. A second reading crawled beside it. "What is that?" "It's not landing," Telari said. Her voice dropped. "His jet just turned toward us. He sees the tracker signal. He's locked on it." James understood. The device that painted Thuldark could paint them back. The hunter had become the target. He pushed the helicopter lower and fast. The jet was no longer running for the airstrip. It was coming for them.