Nobody’s Hero (Ben Koenig #2)

Chapter 116

‘You want to jump out of the plane too now?’ Draper said to Carlyle.

‘You said it yourself, Tas will see Ben jump into the lake,’ Carlyle replied. ‘And if he does break his ankles, he won’t be able to swim. Certainly not fast enough to avoid being shot.’

‘So?’

‘So we do as Ben suggests. He jumps into the water and he starts shooting at Tas. He might get lucky, he probably won’t.’

Koenig nodded. He knew where Carlyle was going. ‘But while he has eyes on me, he won’t have eyes on the Gulfstream,’ he said. ‘I’ll be shooting at him. He’ll be shooting at me. And he won’t be expecting this, so he won’t have hearing protection. The moment he returns fire is the moment his ears start ringing. If you were to drop in on his blindside, he won’t see you. He certainly won’t hear you. You can definitely get close enough to put two in the back of his head.’

‘And I’m a good shot and an excellent swimmer,’ Carlyle confirmed. ‘If I can get in close, I won’t miss.’

‘You won’t get in close, though,’ Draper said. ‘Because you’ll have broken ankles as well.’

‘Broken ankles can be fixed!’ Carlyle snapped. ‘A curated mass migration event can’t be. And I’ll wear one of the Gulfstream’s life jackets. And as Ben has just said, you can still breaststroke with damaged legs. We used to do arms-only breaststroke swimming drills in college. It helps develop a stronger catch phase.’

Draper shook her head in disgust.

Eventually Carlyle said, ‘I have to try. I need to try.’

Draper shook her head. ‘I won’t let you.’

‘Do it! Do it! Do it!’ Nash chanted.