Read Queen Victoria's Revenge for Free Online Page A

aircraft.”
    They locked their gazes tightly—and it was Haycroft who turned away first. He disengaged the automatic pilot and began a slow turn to starboard, losing altitude at the same time. Angus straightened up and took the knife from the pilot’s neck—but kept it ready in his hand as he called back over his shoulder:
    â€œRamon—get everyone out of here except yourself.”
    Tony left with the other skyjackers on his heels and the door slammed behind him. Jasmin Sotiraki was awake and sitting up, her large eyes questioning as he went and sat beside her.
    â€œYou are not going to believe what I have to tell you.”
    â€œI believe anything of these cochons.”
    â€œWould you believe that the boss, Ramon, speaks perfect English and the entire Spanish-speaking thing is some kind of complex hoax?”
    â€œWhat kind of hoax?”
    â€œI have no idea—but that big skyjacker, the Cuban disguised as an Arab, is really a Scotsman … don’t look at me in that funny way. I’m telling you the truth. And the two things have to tie in together. The entire Spanish bit was so everyone should think about Cubans.” He snapped his fingers and a gleam of newfound intelligence burned in his eye. “Think Cuban and not Scotch! But why? Because Scotland is hooked onto England and we are over England right now, flying low. Which could mean…”
    The whir, grind and thunk from below their seats finished the sentence for him.
    â€œThe landing gear has been lowered,” Jasmin said redundantly.
    â€œWe’re coming in for a landing.”
    Tony jumped to the window and saw brilliant green fields and trees rushing by below, a stream, then a village, then they were lower still. He hammered on the seat with his fist.
    â€œBrussels, the Spanish bit, everything was misdirection. This is where we were heading all the time.”
    The seat-belt light came on and, after some preliminary scratching, Haycroft’s voice sounded through the plane.
    â€œThis is the captain speaking. We are coming in for a landing and I think it is going to be a very rough, perhaps disastrous landing. I will do my best but you must take all precautions possible. You must be seated. Sit well back in your seats and pull your seat belts tight. Then bend forward and take your ankles in your hands. This position is the best protection possible. I repeat…”
    He did not repeat. The microphone must have been taken away from him because Ramon came on and, in a slightly shrill voice, repeated the captain’s instructions in Spanish. There was an immense bustle as the skyjackers rushed to find seats. Tony did as he had been instructed after a last, horrified glance at the treetops streaming by, apparently under the extended landing flaps on their wings. A strobe light in the wing tip was flashing cheerily.
    Down they drifted and farther down. Tony steeled himself for the impact, which seemed endlessly delayed. Jasmin, also bent over and clutching her ankles, smiled at him warmly: the stewardess doing her job to the end. What end? His heart began to thud like a triphammer as though getting the most out of its last moments.
    A giant impact shook the fabric of the airplane, which instantly began to vibrate and shake as though the wheels were running over railroad ties. At the same time the power was reversed in the engines and 120,000 pounds of thrust fought to stop the hurtling weight. The terrible hammering continued—they were suddenly hurled sideways and Jasmin screamed—then they were going straight again.
    Until, with a last groaning bounce, heave and skew, the ship settled forward, shuddered and stopped. The engines whined down into silence.
    They were on the ground.
    With shaking fingers Tony snapped open his belt and sat up. In the last seconds of its spectacular landing the DC-10 had stopped running straight so, when it had finally halted, it was standing crossways on the