Black Operations- the Spec-Ops Action Pack

by Eric Meyer

  He heard the shouts of acknowledgement and rushed forward, pushed open the door of the nearest cabin, and stepped back. No one fired at him, so he looked inside to see the room was empty. His men were pushing open the doors of cabins further along. He ran past them and down a set of stairs at the end that led to the lower deck. Domenico's squad was grouped at the bottom of the stairs.

  "What's going on? Why aren't you searching the boat?"

  "It's Petersen," he replied. "He's in the cargo area at the end of this passage with a half-dozen Revolutionary Guards. He said if we try and take him, he’d explode one of the nukes."

  "Shit! Do you think he's serious?"

  "I think anyone crazy enough to do what he's done, is crazy enough to explode a nuke, even when he's sitting on it. Besides, he must know he’s finished. All he has to face is a lifelong prison sentence."

  A thought occurred to Talley. "Do you know if he's in touch with those gunboats?"

  "Yes, he is. He must have a short-range handheld radio with him. I heard him talking to them."

  "That means he could be playing for time."

  He keyed his mike. "Echo Two, this is One. What's the position of those gunboats?"

  Guy replied immediately. "They're all around us, Boss. They just moved closer to box us in. The Virginia is holding station. She's about five hundred meters south, but the Iranians don't seem too intimidated by her. They're obviously planning something. I guess they intend boarding us. I'll get back to you. There's a message coming in from the submarine."

  A voice shouted out loud. Petersen, the upper class Brit accent was unmistakable. "Is that you, Lieutenant Talley?"

  He turned to Domenico and murmured, "Anika is on the bridge. Get her down here. She may know how to deal with this bastard."

  Rovere nodded and went back up the stairs to the bridge. He shouted to the man inside the cargo area.

  "Mr. Petersen, I am speaking to Arash?"

  The Brit laughed. It was like a cackle, and the maniac was sitting on top of a nuke only a few meters away from them. They exchanged glances. There were only two possible outcomes for this stand off, and one of them was bad, very bad.

  "Yes, Lieutenant, I am Arash. You are talking to the man who will put Persia back to its rightful place in the world. A country that is feared and respected, no derided as the home of a bunch of sand niggers.”

  “What do you want?”

  What do I want?” The voice was sneering, with a heavy dose of hysteria. “I want you to get off my boat. I guess you're familiar with the word ‘piracy’?"

  "You know we can't do that, Petersen. If you hand over those warheads, we can strike a deal. We can all get out of this alive, and I can arrange for you to avoid a long prison sentence."

  "It isn't going to happen, Talley. Here's what I'm offering. Either you get off my boat now, or I trigger one of these missiles."

  "Don't be stupid, you'll..."

  Petersen interrupted him. "It's you who's being stupid, while I hold all the cards. You have fifteen minutes to get off this boat. If any of your men are still aboard after the deadline, you'll all be blown to hell."

  "Listen to me," Talley shouted desperately. "We have to talk about this."

  "There's nothing to talk about. Fifteen minutes, Lieutenant, and the timer is running. If you want to live, I suggest you get moving now. This discussion is over. The next move is up to you."

  Anika came running down the companionway and joined him. He rapidly explained the situation.

  "Do you think he's capable of it? I need to know what kind of a man we're dealing with."

  She was aghast, and astonished. “Petersen is Arash? That’s incredible.” She looked thoughtful. “He is obsessive about everything to do with Persian history. I have a feeling he sees himself as some latter day Persian super hero, so yes, he’s potentially capable of anything."

  Talley stared at her. "But surely he's British. Why would he feel that way?"

  "You know about his wife. Her family was descended from the Iranian aristocracy, and there were links to the Shah. I think he's just got caught up in it, rather like Lawrence of Arabia. He sees something romantic about the supposed great days of the Persian dynasty and plans to recreate them. I think he could do it."

  “You know a lot about him. How come? I know you’re holding out on me. What is it?”

  She looked away and didn’t reply. Talley checked his wristwatch.

  Two minutes have gone by already, and I have no idea how to deal with Petersen. We could try storming the cabin, but that won't deactivate the nuke.

  "Twelve minutes, Lieutenant,” he shouted. “If you're going to make a decision, I suggest you make it fast. Unless you want you and your men to die, I'd start getting off this boat, right now."

  "We got company, Boss," he heard Guy's voice over the commo. "The Virginia has just reported a light frigate about three kilometers away, and she's heading toward us at high speed."

  "Iranian?"

  “It's the Jamaran, a Moudge class guided missile boat. She carries missiles, torpedoes, a 76mm DP rapid fire auto-cannon, 40mm AA gun, and Noor missiles, as well as triple 324mm light torpedoes and SAMs, enough to hurt us badly. Wait, the Virginia. She just crashed dived. It looks like she's clearing the area. I'm not surprised. The Jamaran could do her a lot of damage if it caught her on the surface."

  "So we're on our own."

  "It looks that way, yeah, and the gunboats are pressing in even closer."

  "Copy that. Be ready to abandon ship. If Petersen won't surrender, his other option is to detonate the nuke."

  "We won't get far in a few minutes," Guy pointed out.

  "I know that. Give me a minute. I have an idea."

  He looked around for Buchmann. The German was at the foot of the ladder, putting together his charges to sink the Rostam.

  "Heinrich, leave that. I don't think this boat is going to need much help to sink. You see that cabin door next to where Petersen is holed up in the cargo hold?"

  Buchmann nodded.

  "I want you to get in there and plant a small charge that will take down the partition between the cabin and the cargo hold."

  “Jawohl.” He picked up his pack and ran into the cabin.

  "Are you sure this is the way to play it?" Domenico asked him. "That madman is quite likely to detonate early if he thinks we're trying to attack him."

  "If this works, Domenico, he won't be in any position to detonate anything."

  "Even so, that still leaves the nuke. There's no way any of us can disarm it, at least, not in the few minutes we have left."

  Talley nodded. "That's probably true. How big would you say that weapon is? I mean, what would you say it weighs?"

  Domenico shrugged. "I don't know. It's designed as a warhead for a relatively small missile, so I would guess fifty kilos, not much more."

  "That's what I thought. And how deep is the water here?" Domenico's face that had been so serious suddenly broke into a smile. "It's pretty deep, at least a thousand meters, I'd guess."

  "That's my guess too." He keyed his mike to contact the bridge. "Echo Two, this is Talley. Contact the Virginia, and tell them to clear the area. They’re to get out fast.” He checked his watch, "Tell them they have nine minutes before the nuke explodes."

  "Copy that. What about us?"

  "Just do it, Guy. With any luck we'll be okay, but get the Virginia clear."

  "Copy that."

  Buchmann came out of the cabin and nodded, "It's ready to blow."

  Talley turned to the men. "When that charge blows, we're going into the cargo hold through that cabin. They'll be watching the door, so with any luck we should surprise any of them left standing. As soon as they're all dead in there, we're going to abandon ship."

  "What about me," Anika asked. “What do you want me to do?”

  "Yeah, I want you to check that nuke and make certain the time is running like he said. That's really crucial. For this to work, it has to blow."

&
nbsp; She stared at him doubtfully. "I hope you know what you're doing, Abe."

  "Yeah, me too." He looked at Buchmann. "Hit it!"

  The German shouted, "Fire in the hole!"

  They crouched down away from the blast, and he triggered the explosive charge. The detonation was surprisingly small, and even before the smoke had cleared, Talley was charging through the cabin door. Buchmann's explosive had torn a huge hole in the partition wall. They were in the cargo hold, which held six militiamen; four had been catapulted to the floor by the force of the blast. Two others were still standing and beginning to level their AKM assault rifles. Petersen was there too, semi-conscious, and as Talley watched he slid to the floor, stunned and battered by the explosion. He took the first militiaman with a single tap to the face that spun him around. Vince charged in behind him and fired several short bursts from his MP7, raking the other militiaman and cutting down the four who were trying to get to their feet.

  Petersen finally recovered his wits and saw Talley standing in front of him, surrounded by his men and Anika.

  "You must be mad," he croaked, “You know you're going to die?"

  "Maybe," Talley replied, "but I'll have the satisfaction of knowing that I've stopped you, Petersen. Your scheme is over, so why don't you disarm the nuke? At least you'll live."

  "Never! I'm going to stay here and watch you die when that warhead explodes."

  "I think not, Petersen. I have other plans."

  The rest of them watched in horror as he fired two shots into the man's chest and head. The man’s body was torn apart by the high-tech bullets.

  "What the hell did you do that for?” Domenico shouted in dismay. “He could have disarmed the warhead.”

  "He wouldn’t have helped us. He wanted us to die. Contact Guy, tell him to meet us at the underwater hatch, it'll be in the lower compartment at the rear of the boat, and to send a signal to the USS Virginia to let them know we’re leaving. If we survive the blast, we'll need a lift home."

  Domenico shook his head, "I hope you know what you're doing."

  "Do it!" Talley shouted.

  "There's something wrong here," Anika exclaimed. She'd been staring at the time of the bomb. "When he said…”

  "Not now! Is the bomb set to explode, yes or no?"

  "Well, yes, it is, but..."

  "We're almost out of time, so tell me later. The rest of you, follow me. We have to get that hatch open ready to leave."

  He led the way out of the hold and back along the passageway toward the back of the boat. They came to a door with a sign that said ' Diving Operations, Caution - Do not enter'. He kicked the door open, and they rushed after him into a room five meters square, with racks of diving equipment fastened to the bulkheads.

  "Everyone, grab what equipment you need. We’re leaving."

  He snatched a weight belt from the racks of equipment and strapped it around his waist.

  "Hurry, we probably don't have much more than five minutes left."

  Guy came rushing through the door with his squad, and Talley pointed to the equipment racks.

  "Get kitted up, weight belts, fins, anything you ditched when you came aboard. We're leaving now."

  Reynolds pulled aside the moon tank cover. The sea churned and boiled below; a reminder that the entry was only intended for use when the boat was stationary. Guy had left it on autopilot, and it was running at its maximum speed of fifteen knots. It was the only way. Leaving the boat by going over the side, they'd be in full view of the Iranians. If they weren't machine-gunned in the water, the Revolutionary Guard would drop depth charges, which would be enough to kill any divers caught in the open sea nearby.

  "Five minutes won't do it," Guy pointed out. "Is it worth being slaughtered in an underwater atomic blast, or would quicker to end it here?"

  "That's not the full story," Anika shouted to him. She was standing by the sea hatch, possibly contemplating jumping into the roaring maelstrom kicked up by the propellers. "I tried to tell you, but I didn't get a chance. After Abe shot Petersen, I checked the time on the warhead. Petersen lied to us, probably to give him more time to negotiate. He set it for thirty minutes, so we have about twenty minutes left."

  He made a quick calculation in his head. It meant they would be ten kilometers away when the device detonated.

  It's still painfully close, but we have a chance.

  He shouted at the men, "Let's go, move. Swim away on the opposite bearing to the yacht’s course. Follow me, and forget the weapons and equipment. All we need is to get out of here and fast."

  He pulled down his mask, bit onto his mouthpiece, and jumped into the sea. Immediately, he was caught in the roaring turbulence kicked up by the two powerful Caterpillar diesels pushing the yacht through the water at maximum speed. He was spun around like a spinning top, and he felt his mask being wrenched off. With a huge effort, he kicked away from the swirling water and managed to fit his mask back into place. He swam further from the vessel, looking around to watch the rest of his people tossed around by the angry turmoil of the twin screws, and then they were all clear. Now all they could do was swim as fast as possible and hope to get enough distance between them and the yacht. Guy swam right behind him, and Rovere brought up the rear to make sure there were no stragglers. Anika was a surprisingly strong swimmer, and she swam along right next to Guy. As he fought his way through the water, he made the calculations. Of course, there was no way of knowing what kind of warhead the Pakistanis had supplied to Petersen, but it had to around ten kilotons. The underwater shockwave from the explosion would be enormous. There was no doubt it would create a tsunami that would travel for many hundreds of kilometres. The Revolutionary Guard vessels would be totally destroyed in the blast, as well as the frigate that had arrived in the area.

  That's too bad. If these people want to play with nukes, that's the risk they have to take.

  But he also knew that the sledgehammer effect of the underwater shockwave would almost certainly kill his entire unit. It would be like being hit by a truck. The enormous pressure would explode their lungs and every other organ in their bodies. They would become lifeless corpses, hanging in the water as ruptured lungs and stomachs slowly filled, until they all sank to the bottom.

  Better to go that way, better to lead my people in a last desperate surge of hope than to sit around waiting for death, like animals in a slaughterhouse.

  He checked his wristwatch, six minutes to go, and he kicked his fins harder, spearing through the water to put as much distance between the yacht and the swimmers; and to give the men behind him the illusion of safety.

  They swam on. His lungs were bursting, his muscles aching, but it was worth one final effort, worth going out in a blaze of hope. The effort was so great he sensed everything was going dark, and he wondered if he was suffering from oxygen depletion.

  That's strange. I'm a former Navy Seal, a trained combat swimmer.

  He looked down and saw it wasn’t darkness that had engulfed them. It was the great black hull of the Virginia that had appeared beneath them. The underwater hatch was open in an obvious invitation. Hope flared, and he pointed with his arm, turning to make sure the rest of them had seen the sub. They swam down a few meters, and the first group went into the hatch. Talley pushed Anika inside, and then Reynolds, Valois, DiMosta, until ten troopers were packed in the tight space. He pulled the lever that closed the watertight door and looked around him. As he guessed, Guy was still outside, with Domenico, Buchmann and the last of his squad. There were eleven of them remaining, a tight squeeze. But they still had to get the first batch inside the submarine and flood the compartment again for the second batch. He checked his watch again, expecting at any second to feel the effect of the blast as the weapon detonated, but they still had fifty seconds. He counted down, forty seconds, thirty seconds. It wasn't enough, but then the hatch reopened, and they crammed inside. Eleven swimmers in a compartment design for only nine, but it was the most luxurious feeling in the world, the slight
est chance of life. Guy pulled the lever to close the door, and immediately the pumps started emptying the water from the compartment to enable them to enter the submarine. They were still knee deep in water when the warhead detonated, and everything went black.

  Chapter Ten

  A bright light shone over his head, and his mind wandered as he tried to make sense of where he was.

  Is this the afterlife, some kind of heaven?

  " Lieutenant! Can you hear me?"

  Something floated over him, a dark shape that was blurry and indefinable.

  "Talley!"

  This time it was a human voice. He fought to clear his brain and focus his eyes. The blurry shape swam into focus, and it was nothing unworldly. A man's face, a corpsman wearing the uniform of the United States Navy.

  "Where am I? What happened?"

  "When the nuke detonated, you were tossed around inside the outer chamber. We got you out of there mighty fast, but there were some injuries from the blast wave."

  "What about radiation?"

  He shivered as he waited for the answer. Every man feared radiation when from nuclear fission, invisible but deadly after any kind of explosion or nuclear accident. The corpsman reassured him they'd conducted a number of tests, and all of them were in the clear, but Talley could see that it wasn't the whole answer.

  "There's something you're not telling me. What is it?"

  The man shook his head. "Not everyone made it, Sir. There was one fatality, a Robert Valois. I'm afraid the concussion hit him too hard. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, one of those things. He died straightaway. It's a miracle he was the only death. One of your people has been pestering me to see you, a Sergeant Guy Welland."

  “He's my second-in-command. I'd like to speak to him."

  When Guy came into the sick bay, he was wearing a bandage over his head. He smiled ruefully.

  "I banged my head against the hatch. How are you feeling?"