29
Somewhere over New Mexico
Ty’s breaths hissed through the breathing apparatus. He rested his body on his forearms inside the cramped metal compartment. Even through the mask, the metallic tang reached his nostrils. He leaned his head forward to adjust the cup over his nose and mouth, pressing it harder against his skin and wiggling it for a better seal.
“Remember, Ty, you’ve got to switch your oxygen supply to the small canister on your suit once you start your approach,” Travis said into his earpiece.
“Roger that,” Ty said.
His body jerked to the left as the craft banked into a hard turn.
“Whoever is at the stick, can you please apply some finesse to your maneuvering?” he asked.
“Sorry. The route is pre-programmed,” Parker said. “We’ll see if we can smooth it out with some bezier curves.”
“All this nerd talk is putting me to sleep,” Ty said. “Just don’t yank into the turns, alright?”
“Got it,” Travis said.
Ty closed his eyes, picturing where he was in relation to the base. According to the plan, he would begin his approach, dropping from the craft at 35,000 feet, using his wingsuit to glide to the target, threading the needle through the base’s surveillance equipment.
He smiled, the corners of his mouth breaking the seal in his mask slightly. This is gonna be a rush.
* * *
Dr. Spencer changed the programmed flight path to smooth out the turns for Ty. She frowned, staring at the messages that came back. Parker watched the feed from the nose of the aircraft.
“Where did we get this drone from anyway?” he asked.
Travis looked at him with a suspicious grin. “France. It was the drone that the Four Serpents built, based off of the Reaper.”
“How the hell did you pull that off?”
“I didn’t have to do much,” Travis said. “The US pledged to support France in the war on terror, in an effort to sort of keep a lid on what John did over there. As part of that support, we asked for possession of the drone since it was based on one of ours.”
“And you just pulled some strings to get a hold of it for us,” Parker said, finishing what he figured Travis would say.
“I was actually trying to get a hold of a real Reaper, but this was the only thing I could secure,” Travis said. “Poetic, isn’t it?”
“Quite.” Parker glanced over at Miranda’s displays.
“Hang on, Ty, there’s another turn coming up,” she said.
“Hey! I thought you were going to slap some Belzer curves and knock the corners off the flight path,” Ty said, as something rattled and clanged in the background.
“Yeah, I tried, but it looks like the nav system doesn’t like the data I’m feeding it,” Dr. Spencer said.
“Probably because of the rudimentary hardware they installed,” Parker said. “The Serpents only needed this thing to deliver a kinetic javelin, using a preprogrammed release sequence based off of data from weather satellites.”
“Yeah, well now we need it to deliver me in one piece,” Ty said.
“I’m taking control of it now,” Dr. Spencer said, switching the controls to accept the data from her terminal.
“Just take it easy on the sticks, Doc.”
“I, um, I’m typing the flight path directly into your nav system in real-time,” she said. “No fancy joysticks here.”
“Uh, that sounds slow,” Ty said.
“Only if we have to dodge any surface-to-air missiles,” Travis said.
There was a pause.
“Will we have to dodge any missiles?” Ty asked.
“Negative,” Travis said, almost immediately. He pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows at the other two.
“You’ll be safe, Ty,” Miranda said.
“Great, thanks. While you’re in control, can you change the playlist?” Ty asked. “The white noise humming from the engines is like a lullaby.”
* * *
John’s boots hit the ground, crunching on the loose dirt and rocks. He took several steps toward Millie and crouched, bringing his rifle up to his shoulder. Like Millie, he also carried a suppressed M4 converted to fire the subsonic .300 AAC Blackout. It wasn’t completely silent, but it would be more than sufficient to mask his position when firing from a distance.
Chance and Roland dropped from the chopper next, crouching beside John. They each carried an MP5SD with integral suppressors. Chance signaled the pilot, letting him know they were all on the ground. The chopper lifted off as a second one approached.
Hovering overhead, the craft lowered its cargo on a winch. Chance and Roland guided it safely to the ground, releasing the hook and giving the all clear. The helicopter rose up and veered away, staying below the mountains to remain invisible to the base’s radar.
John and Millie helped Chance pull the crates open, revealing a pair of ATVs. Both were beat up, with dents and scratches, covered in matte paint, but they ran. That was all John wanted out of them.
The four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles would carry the small team through the mountain path, getting them in position to infiltrate the base when Ty and Parker opened the surveillance window.
John and Chance slung their weapons and settled behind the controls. Millie sat behind John, facing the rear to provide cover. Roland did the same on Chance’s vehicle.
The engines growled and rumbled, carrying them into the Rocky Mountains as the sun set in the distance. John went over the plan in his mind. They would wait a few miles out until Parker gave the signal. From there, John and chance would drive up until they reached the sentries patrolling the main road.
Neutralizing the guards would allow them to roll right up to the base in the ATVs without fear of the motion trackers and lidar lighting them up. They would ditch the vehicles there and move the rest of the way on foot, reaching the main building.
John’s sole task was to neutralize the base’s security. Capture and control the enemy leadership, shutting down all resistance. Once they had Faust in custody, Millie would extract him on one of the ATVs. If they also got a hold of Owen Blythe, Roland would carry him out on the other. John and Chance would exfiltrate on foot until they reached a point where the choppers could pick them up again.
They pulled their vehicles off to the side once they reached the staging area, staying out of sight of the main road. The ATVs purred and went silent. Millie and Roland hopped off and took up positions covering the route. John and Chance stayed near the vehicles with their weapons readied.
“Does everyone remember their part of the plan?” John asked.
“Roland and I will take control of the cell blocks to make sure none of the inmates can get out to join the base’s security forces,” Chance said.
“Protect and support Ty,” Millie said.
John knew it wasn’t a task she was happy with, but to the woman’s credit, John only saw and heard professionalism in her actions and words. She didn’t let emotion and personal feelings interfere with the team’s mission.
“Right. I’ll target the leadership in charge of the INSEC training and the facilities security forces,” John said. “I’ll bring the hostages with me to join Chance and Roland. We rendezvous at cell blocks and exfiltrate from there.”
“What if you need help?” Millie asked.
“Ty needs your protection,” John said. “He’s not a soldier, so you can’t leave him alone.”
“Fine, I’ll bring him with me. We can lock him in one of the cells to stay safe.” Millie said with a mischievous grin.
“I like that idea,” Chance said.
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“This is it,” Dr. Spencer said. “The sun is down, and we’re reaching the drop point.”
“Ready when you are, Doc,” Ty said.
“Are we even sure this will work?” Dr. Spencer asked.
“The Four Serpents developed this drone to lob kinetic weapons over great distances,” Parker said. �
�We don’t need that much distance since Ty’s suit can get him to the target.”
“Initiate the launch sequence,” Travis said.
Miranda nodded and keyed in the commands. The terminal gave the confirmation, and the camera feed from the drone dipped, starting its shallow dive. Seconds later, it climbed, and the green light on the control box lit up, signaling that the bay doors opened.
“Something’s wrong, guys,” Ty said. “The doors are stuck.”
Parker watched the speed and altitude of the drone as it passed through the optimal launch zone.
“Doctor, what’s happening?” Travis asked.
Miranda’s fingers twitched across her keyboard. “I don’t know. The drone says the doors are open.”
“Level off. Keep it on course until we can get the doors open,” Travis said.
“Got it.” Miranda sent the new commands to the drone.
“Ty, can you force them open?” Travis asked.
“Doing my best.” He grunted as metal creaked.
“We’ve got bigger problems,” Parker said. “The drone just passed into the base’s surveillance radius.”
* * *
“Sir, we’ve got a hit on our radar.”
Faust and Owen turned to face the technician.
“An intruder?” Faust asked.
“Unknown,” the tech said. “It looks like a UAV.”
“They operate out of the Air Force bases nearby,” Owen said.
“Well, we can’t have them snooping around here,” Faust said. “Take it out.”
Owen turned to face him. “Mr. Kingston, if that’s a military craft, they’ll investigate—”
“Relax. It’s probably just some hobbyists, flying their expensive toys around the mountains, looking for stock footage,” Faust said. “Shoot it down.”
He turned to leave the control room and paused at the door. “Just to be safe, let’s raise the alert level around here too.”
“Sir,” Owen said, watching Faust leave.
* * *
Ty slammed the heel of his palm against the bay doors. He was trapped inside the drone, and it just crossed into the range of the anti aircraft sensors. He managed to pry the hatch open a bit, and shoved his fingers through the space. He listened to the radio chatter as he worked to escape.
“Do you think they spotted him yet?” Miranda asked.
Travis’ voice broke in after a short pause. “Yes. Ty, you’ve got a missile headed your way.”
“Get out of there now!” Parker shouted.
Ty grunted and worked the door back and forth, feeling it give way a little at a time. There was a loud clang, and a jolt reverberated through his arms. One side of the bay doors swung open, and gravity sucked Ty out of the belly of the drone.
“Ty!” Miranda screamed.
Ty looked around the dark sky, trying to orient himself. His breath was heavy in his ears. He flipped over to find the ground, spreading his arms and legs to stabilize himself. He froze when his eyes locked onto the contrail of an approaching surface-to-air missile.
Ty’s reflexes kicked into overdrive, and he tucked an arm to spiral out of the path of incoming projectile. The force of the passing missile hit him like a gut punch, stealing the wind from his suit’s wings.
The drone exploded in a violent fireball an instant later. The shockwave from the blast hit the courier, sending him into a flat spin. Gritting his teeth, Ty squeezed his eyes shut and contorted his body to regain control. He slowed the rotation enough to stabilize himself and start his forward momentum.
He sucked in several deep breaths before the radio chatter registered in his head again.
“Ty, are you there?” Travis asked. “Are you still alive?”
The courier let out a loud whoop at the top of his lungs. He heard the gasps and laughter of everyone’s pent up tension in his earpiece.
“Still got all ten toes,” Ty finally said. “But I’m headed the wrong direction.”
“You’re going to have to abort the approach,” Travis said. “Adjust your angle and head due south. We’ll pick you up when you land.”
“Nah, I’m going to ride this line and see where it ends,” Ty said. “Can’t let John and the others walk into a full-on battle.”
“Kid, you need to cover at least ten miles, maybe twelve, and right now you’re heading in the opposite direction,” Travis said. “You don’t have the speed or angle to pull this off.”
“Wanna bet?”
Ty heard Parker and Dr. Spencer gasp as he brought his arms and legs close to his body, diving straight for the earth, with a slight corkscrew twist.
“Ty, you can’t do this,” Parker said. “Travis is right.”
“Actually he’s wrong,” Ty said. “The record for distance in a wingsuit is eighteen miles. Twelve is child’s play.”
Ty flared his body and arched his back as he rocketed forward, heading straight for the Wolf’s Den.
The polycarbonate visor rattled in his helmet as the wind buffeted against his body. He pulled up to gain some altitude, mentally plotting his best course.
He gritted his teeth and strained against the force until he finally leveled off, letting him make slight adjustments to his angle of approach. His body drifted to the left as he locked his eyes on the mountains growing fast in his field of view.
“You guys getting a good signal from my camera?”
“Crystal clear,” Travis said.
“I’ve got the gap in my sights,” he said. “I’m just a couple of minutes out now.”
“Make sure to keep your camera pointed straight ahead, so we can guide you in,” Travis said.
“Chill out, Dad. I need to concentrate. Let’s keep the chatter to a minimum, and I’ll call you when I land,” Ty said.
“Good luck, kid.” Travis said after a beat.
“Be careful,” Dr. Spencer added.
“I know you’ve got this,” Parker said.
“Jeez, what’s with the Lifetime channel garbage. You saps are messing with my zen,” Ty said.
With slight movements and rotations of his wrists and elbows, Ty shifted his position in the air until he lined himself up with the dip in the rocks between two peaks. The moonlight bounced off the fast approaching landscape, filling his vision with the light blue glow.
Too low, too low, he thought, willing his body to rise just enough to clear the gap. The muscles in Ty’s neck strained as he locked his body out.
The rocks below whipped by him, his vision pulsing with each beat of his heart. Ty let out a battle cry as he shot between the jagged rocks stabbing up into the sky. It was the only spot available to let him sneak through the base’s surveillance system.
Something yanked his arm, almost ripping his elbow from its socket. He grunted and squeezed his fist tight. The pain lanced up into his shoulder, but he bit down hard and fought through it.
In the clear now, he only needed to glide to the designated zone to pop his chute. But something was wrong. He felt an odd rippling from his right arm. Please don’t be dislocated.
He tucked his chin into his chest and looked at his suit. His elbow had survived the impact with the rocks as he threaded the needle, but now Ty stared at a tear in the wingsuit’s fabric.
“That’s not good,” he said.
“What’s wrong?” Travis asked.
“Well, the good news is, I made it through the gap,” he answered.
“I’m guessing there’s some bad news to go with that,” Parker said.
“Bingo. The suit’s ripped,” Ty said. “I’m not going to make it all the way to the base at this rate of descent.”
“Ok, well, uh, what are our options?” Travis asked.
“This.”
Ty reached over to his chest and pulled the ripcord, deploying his chute. The canopy ruffled above him, whipping in the wind before it snapped open, jerking his body as he steered to his right to circle around.
“Whoa, what are you doing, Ty? They’re going to see you,�
� Travis said.
“Gotta take my chances, Pops. If I land in their front yard, they’ll definitely see me. This way at least I can glide in above them,” Ty said. “It’ll just take a bit longer.”
“Kid, if they don’t shoot you out of the sky, they’ll have you in chains right when you touch down,” Travis said.
“Most people are too self-absorbed with what’s going on around them, they generally don’t look up,” Dr. Spencer said. “Perhaps he still has a chance.”
“See, that’s what I call positive mental attitude,” Ty said. “I think she’s right. The spotlights are only scanning the ground. Besides, if I get caught, just let John know that the mission changed to a prison break.”
“They ought to leave you in the cells,” Travis said.
“Hey let me call you back,” Ty said. “I gotta land real quick.”
Ty pulled the chute’s toggles, flaring his canopy as he approached the rooftop of the main structure. He had trouble gauging the distance in the dark as his feet touched down sooner than he expected. The shock rattled his jaw as he bent his knees and rolled into the fall.
The canopy continued forward, pulling him along the rooftop. Ty pulled his body around and dug his heels into the textured surface. The chute yanked him toward the edge, as he desperately jerked the toggles and tried to slow his momentum.
When the canopy passed the edge, the fabric collapsed and folded down, dropping out of sight, no longer pulling him. Ty fell to his back and looked up at the sky, as he tried to catch his breath. The stars grew brighter in his vision, and he raised his fists up in silent celebration.
“Did you see that?” he whispered.
“Yes. We saw every second of that.” Travis’ voice sounded just as exhausted as Ty’s.
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Ty rolled up the chute and tossed it into the shadows behind some shrubs. He peeled the wingsuit off and dropped it on top, flinging the helmet further away.
The Hard Core Page 13
