As they waited for the plane to reach a level where the pressure would allow the emergency door to be opened safely, they once again heard metallic clunks and tearing against the side of the hull, glimpsed once again flashes of glittering jewels at the widows; but nothing further happened. They all breathed a sigh of relief, waiting for the signal to jettison the door. At last, the door’s handle was urgently wrenched up, the door kicked out into the black wind hurtling past them. One of Rodgers’ men stepped towards the door – and was instantly propelled out into the darkness with a terrified yell, his parachute ripped to shreds in an instant in a flurry of sharply glistening blades. A dragon’s hand swung through the door into the cabin, the long talons sickeningly penetrating the next man in the queue. The dying man fell back, the dragon using him as leverage to pull himself more fully into the cabin. In his other hand, the dragon held a powerful machine pistol. The gun barked quickly in succession, Rodgers and two of his other men taking horrendously mutilating hits that sent them flying back across the leather seats.
