The Crucible: A Lawson Vampire Novel (The Lawson Vampire Series)

by Jon F. Merz

  “Awesome. While you might enjoy flirting with those sorts of odds, I’d really like to maintain my mortality, thanks.” Jack shook his head. “We should have gone right for China instead of wasting time here.”

  “It wasn’t a waste,” I said. “If anything, it might be the only item we have that means the difference between failure and success.”

  “If Wirek can figure it out,” said Jack. “Last I heard, he’d been tipping the bottle again.”

  I frowned. “That’s bullshit. Wirek is clean. He’s on the Council now and thinks he has to uphold some sort of idealized image of a Council member.”

  Jack just looked at me. Then we both started laughing.

  “Yeah. Good one.”

  I smiled. “That was my reaction, too.”

  Jack finished stowing his rig. “All right, maybe the trip wasn’t a waste, but we’ve got to figure out the next leg of our mission. And I hope it doesn’t involve trying to get through the border crossings.”

  “It doesn’t,” I said. “It just so happens I have some friends - even in this part of the world.”

  The pilot stuck his head back into the passenger compartment and gave me the thumbs-up. In broken English, he said, “We will leave in one hour.”

  I nodded. “Paperwork?”

  The pilot laughed. “Is joke, right? Tibetans are so desperate for goods - even Chinese military in region - they not care if we come in or not. As long as we fly low to avoid radar, all will be good.”

  “Fly low?” I asked.

  The pilot gave me another thumbs-up. “Sure. Easy to do. Gets a bit bumpy on either side of mountains, but all will be well. You rest now. I will wake when it is time to go.”

  Jack nudged me. “How the hell is he planning to fly low when we’ve got sky-scraping mountains all around us?”

  “I don’t know. But he’s one of the best there is. If he says he can do it, then he can.”

  Jack sighed. “Another risk.”

  “Welcome to my world.”

  “How’d you find this guy anyway?”

  “Another contact of mine.” I shrugged. “He flies black market goods into Tibet and China all the time. If he says he can get us in, then he can.”

  Jack slumped into one of the nylon seats. “And what happens when we land? You know, when the Chinese want to inspect the plane or something? What then?”

  “We won’t be there,” I said.

  “That simple?”

  “Yup.”

  Jack shook his head and turned to the fuselage. “Sometimes, Lawson, I think you have the bad habit of oversimplifying things.”

  I couldn’t argue with him. And he was right. The task ahead of us was huge. A lot of people would have looked at it and thought it insurmountable. Then they would have quit. Quitting was a luxury I didn’t have; hell, I didn’t think I’d ever had it. My personality wouldn’t let me off the hook just because things got hard. I knew what I needed to do to save Talya’s life and I was damned sure going to get it done. If I died in the process, then so be it.

  I just hoped Jack didn’t get hurt.

  True to his word, the pilot nudged us both awake when the hour was up. I must have dozed off because I hadn’t even heard the propellers start back up, but the rush of noise collided with me coming awake and jolted me hard. Jack rubbed some sleep from his eyes and then glanced around.

  “Damn, I was having a dream we were in a classy hotel.”

  I grinned. “Your standards are too high, this is good living compared to some places I’ve been.”

  “And where we’re going, too, no doubt,” said Jack. He stretched his legs out into the aisle and yawned. “How long is the flight?”

  “Hour or so, I’d expect.” I glanced out one of the few windows and saw that the sun was almost gone. That was good. I always preferred being inserted by night. Since most people are attuned to be sleepier when it’s dark, the chances improved that we might be able to sneak across the border without arousing suspicion from the Chinese.

  The plane creaked as the pilot shifted his position and held up a wrinkled map. “We go now. Arrive one hour.”

  “Good. Tell me when we’re five minutes out.”

  The pilot gave me a thumbs-up and chuckled. “You will know.”

  “I will?”

  “Sure. No more up-and-down.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” asked Jack.

  I glanced at him. “We’d better strap in. If he’s doing what I think he’s going to do, we don’t want to get injured.”

  Jack wrestled with his seatbelt. “For the record? I’m liking this plan less and less all the time.”

  I strapped my belt on. “I’m starting not to like it, myself.”

  Then the plane started to taxi and we were off.

  Nap-of-the-earth flying is one of those things I’d prefer to avoid, if at all possible. Using ground terrain features to mask an aircraft approach sounds good on paper, but when you’re up in the air jumping and diving as the features change, your stomach is all over the place and you start to get a good idea of why it’s actually incredibly dangerous. Flying so close to the ground the pilot has to be hyper-aware of what is coming up ahead of him so he can make altitude changes while still managing to stay on course.

  Which is why it’s so much better to do it during the daytime.

  At night, the potential clusterfuck factor goes up exponentially. I hadn’t seen the pilot with any sort of night vision gear, so he either had some out of sight, or else he was simply flying by gut instinct. I wasn’t sure which was preferable. NVGs can wreck your depth perception. And gut instinct can be flawed.

  I tried to lean back in my seat and think of it as being on an amusement park ride. If we could just get through this part unscathed, I could at least have a hand in determining my fate afterward.

  “This is wonderful,” said Jack. “Seriously. Can’t think of a better way to spend my time than trying to keep from bazooka barfing.” He snapped his fingers. “Oh wait, yeah I can. Having my fingernails yanked off. Sure, that’d be almost as pleasurable.”

  I frowned. “Your sarcasm needs work.”

  “Sorry, I’m not up to your standards just yet.”

  The plane fell away from our stomachs again as the pilot sent us into another valley. “Don’t worry about it,” I said swallowing. “A few more operations with me and you’ll be up to snuff in no time.”

  “Wonderful.” Jack gripped the arms of the seat. “You think this will be over soon?”

  I’d been waiting for the plane to come back out of the valley, but we still seemed to be pointing down. Either we’d just come over a huge mountain or the pilot had us on final approach. A few seconds later, the pilot shouted back from the cockpit. “Two minutes!”

  “Crap.” I unbuckled and hoped that the plane wasn’t going to jump about anymore and smash my skull into the fuselage. I nodded at Jack. “Time to go.”

  “Go? Go where?” Jack undid his seatbelt.

  “Time to disappear.” I headed toward the rear of the plane.

  Behind me Jack was grumbling still. “This had better not involve any parachutes or balloons.”

  “It doesn’t.” I made my way to the stack of pallets by the very back of the plane. They’d been positioned just so and it took me a minute to find what I was looking for. But there on the floor was the nearly invisible seam and I pulled at it. A section of the fuselage came away in my hands revealing a very small cramped space. I turned to Jack. “Get inside.”

  He peered around me. “You’re joking.”

  “Not even close.”

  “We can’t both fit in there. Not with our gear, too.”

  “Well we sure as hell can’t stay out in the open. Unless you happen to be extremely convincing with Chinese border guards.”

  Jack sighed. “My Mandarin sucks.” He pushed past me and entered the small opening.

  I handed him our rucks and followed before pulling the section back over us. It was completely
dark inside and the plane continued to bounce, although somewhat less as I felt it level out a bit. “Relax, they’ll never know we’re here. Besides, it worked in Star Wars.”

  “In what?”

  If I could have turned, I would have. “You’ve never seen it?”

  Jack paused. “Seen what?”

  “The movie.”

  “I don’t think so. Is it like Iron Man?”

  I shook my head. “I’m horrified.”

  Jack grunted. “Congratulations. I’m nauseous.” He sighed. “So, let me get this straight: your big idea to avoid detection was to steal a trick from a movie?”

  “Well, when you put it like that, it sounds a lot less cool.”

  Neither of us spoke for a moment, and then Jack cleared his throat. “Let me ask you something there, strategic genius…”

  “What now?”

  “What happens if the Chinese border guards have seen that movie, too?”

  “Then we’re screwed,” I said. “But we’re not stopping at the border.”

  “We’re not?”

  “Too obvious. That’s where they expect people to try to cross, so they’re more alert.”

  “So where-?”

  “Gongar. Just south of Lhasa. The Chinese have been beefing up the military infrastructure all over Tibet in recent years. It’s going to be crawling with all sorts of wonderful things.”

  Jack sighed again. “I love this plan. I’m excited to be a part of it.”

  I smirked. “Ghostbusters?”

  “Figured you could use an old reference to make you feel better.”

  “I’m not old. I’m polished with experience.”

  “A dull glow,” laughed Jack. “What was that?”

  I felt it, too. The plane had noticeably dropped lower and a whine sounded in the cabin. I took a second and then relaxed. “Flaps coming down. We must be really close.”

  Jack sighed. “Does it ever get easier?”

  “What?”

  “The butterflies in your stomach? I can’t figure out if I want to puke or take a dump.”

  I tried to swallow down on my own anxiety. “The truth? It never does. Anyone ever tells you they don’t get scared or nervous going into a situation like what we’re about to face - they’re lying to you.”

  “Even with all of your experience? I mean, you’ve been operational almost longer than anyone else in the Service.”

  “Even with,” I said. “There are so many variables you can’t control, you never feel the confidence that Hollywood gifts its action stars with. Unfortunately.”

  “Damn,” said Jack.

  “Yeah. I wish I had better news for you, but the best you can hope for is to get used to feeling that way anytime you go into combat.”

  “I hope this works, Lawson.”

  “Me, too, pal.”

  Jack jerked suddenly. “What’s that noise?”

  “Relax. It’s just the landing gear coming down,” I said. “The pilot’s committed. If he pulled off now, they’d probably blast us out of the sky. The Chinese are trigger happy when it comes to their air defense systems. Like it or not, we’re going in.”

  In minutes, I’d find out if my plan was going to work or not.

  8

  When the plane touched down, it felt like we were going to be crushed on the underside, scraped into oblivion. My ears filled with the roar of gravel being ground together as the wheels of the plane rolled over them. As the plane slowed, the noise dropped.

  “Stay absolutely quiet,” I said to Jack.

  “Duh,” he answered.

  We finally taxied to a stop and the engines shut down. It was several minutes before the propellers stopped spinning enough for me to hear anything of what was going on outside. I sensed movement all around the plane, however. And in that moment, I felt my stomach twinge like someone had punched me in the liver. Had the pilot sold us out? There was always a risk when you had to rely on an asset. Things could have changed since the last time you’d worked together. People change their loyalty when the price is right.

  Still, the pilot had no idea why we wanted to get into China unseen, just that we did. And without that knowledge, he couldn’t presumably contact anyone of importance. He only knew us as what I told him. Jack still looked young enough that he could pass as a college student. And I’d let my beard grow out some. For all the pilot knew, we could have been New Age wisdom-seekers who wanted to get to Tibet without going through the bureaucratic nightmare that existed for wanna-be Buddhists.

  Still, I held my breath and hoped that we’d be safe.

  I heard footsteps coming toward us from the direction of the cockpit. Only one person, though, which meant the pilot had finished shutting down the plane. Now the real challenge lay ahead. I heard him walk to the door and open it up.

  Instantly, there was a barrage of Mandarin aimed at him. From what I could tell, the exchange went something like this:

  “What are you doing coming in here at night? We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow.”

  But the pilot didn’t wither under the barrage. He laughed and shot back some of his own. “Relax, relax, things got moved up. My plane is being inspected tomorrow and the last thing I wanted them to find is this shipment of whiskey and cigarettes.”

  “You have whiskey?”

  The pilot chuckled again. “Of course. Even American beer. If you’ll help me unload it, I can get it out to you even faster.”

  I heard the soldier who must have been in charge start barking orders at his subordinates. In no time, there was a scampering of feet on the fuselage directly above our heads. Boxes were pulled from the pallets. The movement made me think our panel might inadvertently get opened, but it never did. As more of the containers vanished from the plane, I could hear the conversation continue between the pilot and the commanding officer.

  “Your men look tired.”

  “They are stuck here without a break for months on end. Your whiskey will be a good thing for them. It will keep their morale up.”

  The pilot cleared his throat. “I have a friend in a Lhasa. Perhaps he can bring some women down here. You know, for the same morale-lifting purpose.”

  “That would be good. But don’t you have to leave to get your plane back for inspection?”

  The pilot laughed. “I can enjoy a drink or two with my best customers. Now come on, now that the boxes are unloaded, let’s see about having a bit of fun, eh?”

  The sound of trucks and voices died away, leaving the plane utterly silent. Next to me, I could tell Jack was still on edge, but for the moment, there didn’t seem to be any real threat. I shifted and then pushed the panel up and out. Fresh air greeted us and we both breathed deep, filling our lungs.

  I got out of the cramped space and Jack followed. At the door of the plane, which was still open, I could see the tail lights of the trucks a hundred yards away. In the nearby vicinity, there didn’t seem to be a single guard. No doubt the promise of booze and women was enough to draw them off their posts. But I had to assume there were still a few sentries around. Even if I couldn’t see them.

  I glanced back at Jack and he was perched behind looking down into his sweatshirt. He had his cell phone out and was using the compass so we would know which direction to head in. He switched it off and his head reemerged. He pointed toward our left.

  I nodded once and we moved out of the plane, stepping down onto solid ground. We paused there again under the belly of the plane and waited, listening to the ambient sounds and acclimating to the environment. A stiff breeze edged with frost cut through us as we huddled there. When it shifted and came from the west, I nodded and we moved again.

  I didn’t have any current intelligence on how expansive the base was. Ideally, I would have come in here with a full working knowledge of the area thanks to Niles and his intel team. But since I’d gone off the reservation and Niles had no clue where I was, I was literally and figuratively in the dark.

  The tarmac led us past se
veral hangars. Outside of one of them, I saw what I recognized as a Chengdu J-10 fighter aircraft. It was impressive and sinister looking. If there was one here, then I felt sure the other hangars would house them as well. The J-10 had been designated as an all-weather fighter, something that would suit it well in this environment.

  We continued walking, trying to keep to the shadows as much as possible. Jack’s movement was solid; he made little noise and was able to keep up with me as we moved, stopped, and moved again. The last thing we wanted was contact with any base personnel. Even knocking someone out would have left sign that we’d been there. I didn’t want anyone knowing we’d passed through.

  I spotted a perimeter fence slung up against the base of a hill, but disregarded it. Even if we got over the fence, we’d still be visible walking away. Instead, we followed the perimeter until the hill started to slope away and led into a valley. I stopped and nodded at Jack. He knelt and examined that fence itself. I hadn’t spotted any signs warning of alarms or electrocution, but then again, the Chinese had never been known for advertising their security procedures.

  While Jack checked for obvious alarms, I scanned the area. We were far enough from the border that the security around the base seemed pretty relaxed. In this distance, I spotted a few vehicles moving back and forth.

  Jack clucked his tongue and I turned. He waved me over the fence and I climbed it in a hurry. The sooner we were off base, the better.

  He followed me over and then we heard the vehicle. It zoomed toward the area of the fence that we’d just come over.

  The temptation was to run. But the guards would have spotted us easily. Instead, I pulled Jack down into the tall grass and prayed we had enough cover. Sometimes, you just had to take a gamble.

  Twin beams of a flashlight swept over us. I couldn’t hear the voices clear enough to make out what they were saying, but from the radio chatter, we must have tripped some sort of perimeter alarm. It couldn’t be helped. We didn’t have time to evade all of them, and if we’d disabled it, it just would have clued them in to someone being on base.

  The beams of the flashlight swept over us again, slower this time. The guards were being careful. But now over the radio, I could hear laughter. And the voices of women.