Inside the imperilled refuge of the cargo hold, the evacuees were all staring hopelessly out at him. As one, their faces willed him aboard, but could scarcely disguise their own desperation to survive. There was nothing anybody could do for him. Morgan saw tears glazing Arena's eyes. God, he could spot them anywhere. Mortars peppered the tarmac and fuel farm, sending fists of shrapnel to punch through the helicopter's fuselage, striking at the passengers inside. A mighty ball of fire erupted from the first ruptured fuel storage tank, and columns of flame burst out dangerously close to the retreating helicopter. The force of the blast catapulted Morgan with an unexpected intensity mid-flight. Just short of the door, he crashed heavily on top of the metal cowling over the port-side rear wheel, as it scooped him from the air. "Alex!" Ari felt her heart sink. It was all too much. The intensity and shock of it all, too immediate. "Oh God!" Morgan's impact against the aircraft was sudden and severe, wrenching his torso viciously at the waist.
