Free Hellfire by Chris Ryan Page A

miss them all in the dark, and Danny felt bone-shaken after just half an hour – though he noticed that Ripley was managing to get some shut-eye in the back. The weather was terrible. It was a blessing and a curse. On the plus side it seemed to be keeping most traffic from the roads. They passed the occasional tatty old white Toyota Coaster, rusting and rickety, with drenched luggage piled high on its roof. Now and then they overtook a heavy lorry that trundled along and blinded them with spray. But not much else. With the roads so clear and the weather so bad, they passed through the built-up towns north of Lagos without any trouble. Even better, the rain had sent the soldiers guarding the semi-regular road blocks hiding for shelter. Caitlin slowed down to pass the cement blocks placed, Iraq style, along the middle and side of the road, but they passed each one unchallenged, no doubt thanks to the weather.
    On the downside, the storm limited their speed, badly. Caitlin struggled to keep a steady sixty-five mph. For two hours they travelled slowly, but without incident. The rain continued – Danny realised that the storm must be following them north. At 01.00, he decided it was time to swap drivers. ‘Pull over,’ he told Caitlin. Once they were on the side of the road, he looked over at Ripley. ‘Take the wheel,’ he said.
    ‘I’ll drive,’ Tony announced, opening his side door before Ripley could even move. ‘Don’t want to end up in a ditch.’
    A dangerous shadow fell across Ripley’s face as Tony and Caitlin walked round the back of the car to swap places. ‘Leave it, mucker,’ Danny said quietly. Ripley remained quiet, but didn’t look happy.
    Behind the wheel, Tony floored the vehicle. Danny had to concede that he was a good driver. Better than Caitlin. He managed safely to keep their speed above seventy mph for the next two hours, while Caitlin caught up on her sleep. As they drove, Tony looked over his shoulder to check she wasn’t awake. ‘What do you think of the bird?’ he asked quietly.
    ‘She can handle herself,’ Danny said. He found himself remembering the sweat on her nose and the way her lips parted when she looked at him. Then he remembered Clara.
    ‘Yeah.’ Tony sniffed. ‘She’s a ruthless bitch. She’s a looker too. I might have a crack at her.’ He glanced at Danny. ‘Unless you get there first,’ he said.
    Danny kept his eyes on the road ahead.
    By the time they reached the point where the highway crossed the River Niger, it was already 03.00 hrs. Danny estimated that they were at least seventy-five klicks further south than he wanted to be by now. But there was nothing they could do, other than keep their foot down.
    ‘We need to refuel,’ Tony said as they emerged on the northern side of a small town called Oddah. Danny nodded and Tony pulled over on to a marshy puddle to the side of the road. Danny jumped out. He saw, just ten metres from the side of the road, one of the Toyota Coasters lying upturned and long-abandoned. As he removed one of the jerrycans from the boot and carefully poured the precious fuel into the vehicle, he saw another vehicle on the other side, a saloon car perhaps, absolutely totalled. Welcome to Africa.
    Once the tank was full, he walked round to the driver’s side and opened Tony’s door. ‘Ripley’s driving now,’ he said. Tony looked like he was going to argue, but then glanced over at Caitlin and seemed to change his mind. He climbed out of the car and swapped places with Ripley.
    The state of the road made a burst tyre almost inevitable. It happened at 04.30 hrs, a huge bang from the front left-hand side just as they were reaching the outskirts of Abuja. ‘What the fuck!’ Tony shouted from the back. The blow-out didn’t delay them more than ten minutes, thanks to the powerful hi-lift jack, but they were all aware that another would leave them without a tyre. ‘Try to keep us on the road, mucker,’ Tony said from the back as Ripley