Biggles and Son: Chapter 23.

by Sopwith

Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own, any of the Biggles series characters used in this work. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered part of the official storyline.

Warning: Non canon type fan fiction works may contain severe time mix-ups and character deviations.

The sight that met Algy’s eyes was one that almost made him drive into a tree. Only Sebastian’s frantic yell saved them from a nasty accident at the very last second.

Jane had appeared on the scene and had caught hold of Brechovich’s arm, hampering his ability to shoot at Biggles. This would have been a good thing if not for the expression on Biggles’ face as he stared at his wife. It was the sort of expression a drowning man would have worn when spotting a rescue boat.

Algy pulled the car to an abrupt halt at the side of the road and opened the door. “Stay here,” he ordered, swinging his legs out of the car.

“What are you going to do?” queried Sebastian, with some nervousness.

“I don’t know,” said Algy grimly. “But I’ve got to do something, haven’t I?”

“Jane!” He heard Biggles say faintly, from the little scene that was playing out behind him.

“James.” There was something in Jane’s tone that Algy instinctively did not like. He slammed the car door behind him and began quickening his steps.

“Hey!” Sebastian called out from inside the car. “Uncle Algy?”

Algy stopped but did not turn. “What?”

He heard the car door open and shut behind him and then the sound of footsteps approaching. “You’d better take this,” offered Sebastian, holding out a small pink automatic. “You might need it.”

“Where did you get this?” demanded Algy, horrified by the sight of the small boy holding out such a dangerous weapon.

“It was in the back of the car,” said Sebastian simply. “Don’t you want it?”

“No!” said Algy, although he took the gun anyway, thinking it best to do so in order to stop the boy from accidentally shooting himself or someone else. “Get back in the car and stay there,” he ordered again. “I’ll sort this out.”

&&&

Biggles could literally feel the ground swirling underneath his feet as he stared at his wife. He could hardly believe his eyes. He was surprised that her appearance seemed to be unchanged from fifteen years ago. Idly, he wondered if the same could be said of himself. He opened his mouth to say something, and the only word that came out was, “Jane!”

“James,” she said.

There was a silence between them where Biggles simply stared at Jane, at a loss for words.

It was Brechovich who broke the silence, swearing in Russian and jerking his arm loose of Jane’s grip, swinging his gun up to point at Biggles. Biggles’ own gun had been held in a slack grip by his side and he had no time to raise it.

Almost as though in slow motion, he saw the bullet fly towards him and bury itself in his chest. And even though the impact of it rocked him on his feet, it wasn’t until more than a minute later that he felt the pain and saw the blood soaking the front of his shirt.

“I’ve been shot,” he thought, with some surprise.

Somehow his knees had hit the ground and he was staring blankly at the sand beneath his feet with a strange sort of serenity. He could hear people shouting and running somewhere above him, but the sounds seemed distant and unreal.

“James,” said a voice, near at hand. Raising his head, he found himself face to face with Jane. She was smiling angelically. “James,” she said again. “I thought you should know. Your friend Algernon is in love with me.”

Biggles’ lips moved in a futile attempt to form words, but no sound came out.

“Goodbye, James,” said Jane sweetly, and the next second she was gone, and all that was left of her was the image of her pink heels moving away from him.

“Biggles!” Jane’s face had abruptly been replaced with Algy’s, a face pale with anxiety and horror. “Biggles, it’s Algy. Can you hear me?”

Biggles’ lips moved again, and this time words came out. “Jane,” he gasped. “Get Jane.”

“All right,” said Algy, soothingly. “All right, old son. I’ll get her. Just—”

“Go!” insisted Biggles, pushing Algy weakly away from him. “Jane—”

And then everything went dark around him.

Go to Chapter 24.

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