Condor
Page 28
“Do you know it’s V-max airspeed? They’re descending at three-seven…three-eight…four-zero-zero knots.”
“Max speed on the standard C-130J is three hundred and sixty.”
“They’re in major trouble.” She mumbled out as she searched for any problems along their flight path. There was… “Holy shit!”
Crap! Now that would be on the tape forever if there was a problem.
“Shadow Six-four, Denver ATC. Be aware your max airspeed is very high. Also your direct line of descent includes seven of the fourteeners.” They stood in a tight cluster barely southwest of Aspen, Colorado.
“Fourteeners?” Was the plane’s radio operator’s voice more strained? She couldn’t tell. The military pilots were even more resolute than the airline pilots. It was the general aviation folks who panicked all the time. She hadn’t known the word either until Kenneth had told her about them over dinner. Out-of-state pilots weren’t used to mountains reaching so high, or the weather systems the mountain peaks generated for thousands of feet higher.
“Mountains over fourteen thousand feet tall. What’s your status? Can you divert to Carbondale or Glendale Airport?”
Kenneth wasn’t giving her any corrections. She appreciated his oversight though. This was escalating too fast in many ways.
“Total LOC. Negative divert.”
Total Loss of Control.
They were falling through twenty-thousand feet at over four hundred and thirty knots, five hundred miles an hour.
“Roger, Six-four.” She looked away from the radar to Kenneth. What could she say from the ground to help the pilots. They’d know they were doomed.
Kenneth cricked his neck to the side for a moment then shrugged a little helplessly.
“Denver ATC. Status, Six-four?”
“Negative recovery. Negative control.” His voice was dead calm. “Aw, fuck.” He said the last softly.
She hailed him again, but there was no response.
Nine seconds later, two new radar images appeared alongside the plane.
“That’s the wings,” Kenneth whispered softly.
Twelve seconds later it impacted the top of Snowmass Mountain.
Missy looked down at the checklist. She managed to get her finger on the phone number for mountain rescue, but she couldn’t make out the numbers.
“I can’t see to call them. I can’t, Kenneth. I—”
He rested a hand on her shoulder, and picked up the phone himself. Brushing aside where her tears had blurred the number on the call sheet, he dialed and called out the search teams.
They pulled her off the console and sat her in a small conference room. One of the assistant supervisors conducted the interview, recording and noting down everything she could recall. Kenneth checked in on her several times during breaks in his own round of interviews.
Eighty-three seconds. First-call to crash was just eighty-three seconds. That fast—thirteen people lost there lives. She couldn’t get around that fact. How could life suddenly be so short?
When they were done, when all of this was done and the investigation was over, Missy knew one thing. She was done with Vic. She was going to take Kenneth up on his offer and hold him as close as she could.
She knew the pilot’s final comment, that one final moment when his humanity had slipped past all of his military training, would haunt her for the rest of her life.
Aboard Shadow Six-Four
27,000 feet above Aspen, Colorado
(23 seconds before impact)
As soon as Captain Luis Martinez broadcast the final report from aboard the diving plane, “Negative recovery. Negative control.” he released his seat harness.
The plane wasn’t quite in freefall, so he fell into the yoke and flight console. “Aw fuck.” Like it was going to hurt anything now other than his ego. No one aboard to see anyway.
He pulled off his headset, and began climbing uphill through the Hercules’ cockpit. Two of the thirteen bodies scattered strategically through the plane had ended up in the aisle and he was forced to crawl over them. The ladder down to the main cargo deck was easier to navigate; he could just pull himself along it.
Danny Gonzalez had left the forward passenger door open.
Luis shrugged into the parachute rig.
He took a moment to ensure that he was oriented properly and then grabbed the bottom edge of the door. It wouldn’t do to fling himself out of the plane and straight into the massive six-blade propeller spinning at a thousand rpm.
The fuselage twisted sharply and he almost lost his grip.
Looking out into the darkness once more he saw that the propeller was no longer an issue—the entire wing had ripped off.
The temperature was a bitch.
Even on a warm June evening, ten thousand feet above Aspen was damn cold. Be lucky if he didn’t have frostbite by the time he got down. But no time to pull on a balaclava—the ground was coming up fast.
He still made a point of flinging himself downward, just in case the tail was still attached.
As soon as he’d ejected, he opened his black tactical ram-air chute. It was for night insertions deep behind enemy lines, and, like his clothing, had the radar signature of a bird—a small one.
He watched the plane continue down. Less than five seconds after he had his chute deployed, the Hercules impacted at twelve thousand feet atop a high peak. It was supposed to plunge into the back-country wilderness beyond, but it didn’t really matter. At over four hundred knots, the destruction was more than sufficient.
The wings landed farther down the slope, bursting into flame as the wing tanks breached. The conflagration spread rapidly upslope. In minutes, the plane would be engulfed as well. Perfect.
Luis turned away and flipped down his night vision goggles. He steered his chute for the extraction point. No one should be at the Aspen racing car track at three in the morning.
Five miles away and two miles down; he had plenty of altitude. The ram-air tactical chute let him tune his glide ratio.
Yes, having the very best gear was only one of the bonuses of this operation.
Ghostrider is available at fine retailers everywhere.
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About the Author
USA Today and Amazon #1 Bestseller M. L. “Matt” Buchman started writing on a flight south from Japan to ride his bicycle across the Australian Outback. Just part of a solo around-the-world trip that ultimately launched his writing career.
From the very beginning, his powerful female heroines insisted on putting character first, then a great adventure. He’s since written over 60 action-adventure thrillers and military romantic suspense novels. And just for the fun of it: 100 short stories, and a fast-growing pile of read-by-author audiobooks.
Booklist says: “3X Top 10 of the Year.” PW says: “Tom Clancy fans open to a strong female lead will clamor for more.” His fans say: “I want more now…of everything.” That his characters are even more insistent than his fans is a hoot.
As a 30-year project manager with a geophysics degree who has designed and built houses, flown and jumped out of planes, and solo-sailed a 50’ ketch, he is awed by what is possible. More at: www.mlbuchman.com.
Also by M. L. Buchman
* also in audio
Thrillers
Dead Chef
One Chef!
Two Chef!
Miranda Chase NTSB
Drone*
Thunderbolt*
Condor*
Ghostrider*
Romantic Suspense
Delta Force
Target Engaged*
Heart Strike*
Wild Justice*
Midnight Trust*
Firehawks
Main Flight
Pure Heat
Full Blaze
Hot Point*
Flash of Fire*
Wild Fire
Smokejumpers
Wildfire at Dawn
Wildfire at Larch Creek
Wildfire on the Skagit
The Night Stalkers
Main Flight
The Night Is Mine
I Own the Dawn
Wait Until Dark
Take Over at Midnight
Light Up the Night
Bring On the Dusk
By Break of Day
and the Navy
Christmas at Steel Beach
Christmas at Peleliu Cove
White House Holiday
Daniel’s Christmas*
Frank’s Independence Day*
Peter’s Christmas*
Zachary’s Christmas*
Roy’s Independence Day*
Damien’s Christmas*
5E
Target of the Heart
Target Lock on Love
Target of Mine
Target of One’s Own
Shadow Force: Psi (coming soon)
At the Slightest Sound*
At the Softest Word*
White House Protection Force
Off the Leash*
On Your Mark*
In the Weeds*
Contemporary Romance
Eagle Cove
Return to Eagle Cove
Recipe for Eagle Cove
Longing for Eagle Cove
Keepsake for Eagle Cove
Henderson’s Ranch
Nathan’s Big Sky*
Big Sky, Loyal Heart*
Love Abroad B&B
Heart of the Cotswolds: England
Path of Love: Cinque Terre, Italy
Where Dreams
Where Dreams are Born
Where Dreams Reside
Where Dreams Are of Christmas*
Where Dreams Unfold
Where Dreams Are Written
Science Fiction / Fantasy
Deities Anonymous
Cookbook from Hell: Reheated
Saviors 101
SF/F Titles
The Nara Reaction
Monk’s Maze
The Me and Elsie Chronicles
Non-Fiction
Strategies for Success
Managing Your Inner Artist / Writer
Estate Planning for Authors*
Character Voice
* * *
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Copyright 2020 Matthew Lieber Buchman
Published by Buchman Bookworks, Inc.
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the author.
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Cover images:
Antonov An-124-100 with 2 Sukhoi Su-27s at the 2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade © Sergey Kostov | Wikimedia
Dark story sky and colorful rainbow - church on rock © Evgeniy_Bobkov | Depositphotos
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