"HQ copies Centurion...standby!" Marcus felt the seconds tick by slowly.
"This is ASGuard Actual, go ahead Centurion!" said the voice of General Titus Roman over the airwaves.
"Sir, three bad birds airborne...repeat, three bad birds airborne! Suggest grounding all civilian flights and using all available radar units to look for the bogies. Anyone not pinging friendly is a bad guy." Lieutenant Colonel Roman suggested.
Another short pause followed then General Roman replied, "Sounds good. I've got folks started on it from our end. Where are you at?"
Marcus chuckled. Dad knows me all too well! "Uh...at about 3,500 feet heading...south east in an Apache Longbow...chasing the bad guys."
General Roman chuckled and thought, That's my boy! Always in the thick of things! "Roger that. Go get 'em, son!"
***
Back inside the compound, Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al Zahrani linked up with his lieutenant, Mustafa Muhammad Al-Fakeeh, near the shaft leading into the underground bunker. "Mustafa, we shall have our men make a stand here and repel the infidel attackers. Once we retake the compound, we will take the attack to those outside the fence line," the wealthy Saudi said.
"Yes, amir," replied Mustafa with more enthusiasm and confidence than he really felt. He quickly began ordering those mujahedeen still in the bunker to come to the protection of their leaders. The sand bags, telephone poles, and railroad ties that the men had set up to protect the entrance to the bunker provided some protection from the infidel's weapons.
The jihadists fired back into the ASGuard troopers and CBII agents who raced forward into battle. Among the Americans were SGM Aaron Templeton and Special Agent Phillip Caldwell. Inch by inch, foot by foot...the Americans pressed the advance. As much as the jihadists had trained with their weapons, the Americans were better trained.
Caldwell called a young ASGuard trooper over. "Gimme that weapon you're carrying!" he said to the young woman. She handed him the M136 AT4 portable anti-tank weapon.
"Agent Caldwell," said Templeton, "what do you plan to do with that weapon, sir?"
"I'm going to get as close as I can to that bunker and slam this bad boy down their throats, Templeton. So get the hell outta my way," snarled Caldwell.
Templeton remembered Caldwell's tendency to give into the bloodlust and get wound up in combat. "Caldwell, stand down! We're gonna want prisoners that we can interrogate. We need to capture them alive to find the people behind this," the senior NCO said. He reached out swiftly and snatched the weapon tube from the agent's hands and returned it to the ASGuard trooper.
Caldwell's face contorted and he growled, "Roman ain't here to protect you, old man! Stay the hell out of my way." Caldwell checked his M4 then followed a group of CBII agents who were making their way towards the entrance of the bunker. Templeton swore under his breath and followed. This sonuvabitch is gonna get everyone killed! he thought. The jihadists...and us! He waved his arm and a squad of ASGuard troopers raced over to his side. "Follow me, stay close, and stay alert!"
Chapter 16
July 4th
Over Western, AZ
"Colonel, any sign of our bogies on your screen?" asked Major Henley.
"Not yet," responded Marcus. "I'd bet they're going to stay in the canyons as much as possible...use the hillsides to clutter our radar. As much as I hope radar will pick 'em up, I ain't betting on it. Fortunately, we've got the sun coming up to the east and that should help us somewhat. If everyone but the bogies and us are grounded, if we see someone in the air...the odds are it'll be them."
"Roger that, colonel," replied Harpy Henley. "Looks like we'll have to resort to using our highly calibrated eyeballs." With that she fell silent and the two ASGuard officers scanned the air space ahead and around them. They were not alone. The crews aboard the other eight ASGuard helicopters were scanning the skies as well.
The ASGuard aircraft flew along for several minutes before someone called out, "Tally Ho!" over the radio. "Centurion...this is Madman! Bogie spotted one mile ahead, approximately 5 o'clock, around angels 3."
Marcus turned his head slightly left then down. A glint of light off of the glossy yellow paint of the crop duster's upper wing caught his eye. "Roger that, Madman. I've got him in sight. Two helos...one Apache, one Chinook...break off and pursue! Remember...we don't want his cargo spread all over Hell's half acre. Get him to land, if possible. If not, try to bring him down in an isolated area."
"Centurion, Madman copies! Madman and Thumper rolling in!" An Apache and a Chinook sped forward and dropped altitude until they caught up with and were slightly above the Omega plane. "Centurion, Madman...bogie is a Grumman Ag Cat biplane. Bogie must be heavy...airspeed about 115 knots. Will intercept and attempt communication."
"Copy that Madman," Marcus responded.
Madman, also known as Lieutenant Jim Weller, tried to contact the crop duster's pilot by radio, trying several commonly used aviation frequencies. The jihadist pilot remained silent. Weller turned on an exterior speaker on his Apache Longbow then keyed his mic. "Crop duster pilot...this is Lieutenant Jim Weller of the Arizona State Guard! You are ordered to set your aircraft down NOW at the nearest available space. If you do NOT set down, we will FORCE you down. Wiggle your wings if you copy." The crop duster flew on, dipping and dodging from side to side trying to lose the two helicopters.
Weller repeated his warning to no avail. Certain the jihadist pilot had no intention of following Weller's order so the ASGuard pilot had his copilot/gunner fire several warning shots in front of the plane. The pilot continued to fly on.
Madman's radio crackled then the voice of Captain Billie "Thumper" Tapper came through his headset. "Madman, this is Thumper...let me and mine give it a try."
"Go for it, Thumper," replied Madman. Weller wasn't sure what the pilot of the lightly armed CH-47 Chinook had in mind. In truth, neither did Thumper's copilot, Lieutenant Agatha "Aggie" Commons and two door gunners, Sergeants Roberto Abril and Jean Schatzberg.
Thumper keyed the intercom and said, "Hey, Roberto! Pop the belly hatch, lay down, and act as a spotter for me...give me some eyes downward."
Sergeant Roberto Abril smiled getting the general idea of what Thumper had in mind. "Will do, Captain!" Abril unplugged his intercom line and walked back to the middle of the Chinook's cargo area. He pulled a long comm line from the wall and plugged into it before kneeling next to the belly hatch. Abril popped the latched and lifted the plug-type hatch up and out. Setting it on the deck, he pushed it toward the rear of the helicopter.
SGT Abril moved around the opening, positioning himself between the open hatch and the rear of the aircraft then he lay down upon the deck. "Hey, Captain! I've got him in sight. Move on in!" The Chinook sped up and slid to the left slightly to come in behind and slightly above the crop duster. Thumper brought the Chinook in over the top of the airplane.
"Alright," Abril called out over the intercom, "about 15 feet forward and 10 down. Doing good...doing good. Ten feet forward, five down! Watch his prop, Captain! Good...good! Almost there...NOW! Thump 'im, Thumper!" Captain Tapper lowered the front wheels of the Chinook down onto the crop duster's upper wing. The airplane dipped slightly and its pilot over-corrected, threatening to fly out of control...and possibly crash into the Chinook.
"Whoa...whoa! Captain, that was awfully close to knocking him every which way but loose!" shouted the sergeant over the intercom.
"Just trying to get his attention," replied Thumper. "Let's do it again in case he didn't get the message."
Abril looked toward the front of the CH-47. "Uh...Captain?!? You think this is wise?"
"Relax, Roberto; everything will be juussttt fine," Thumper responded and dropped the Chinook onto the crop duster again. Both aircraft shook horribly this time. "Okay! That wasn't what I meant to do," admitted Thumper.
"Thumper, this is Madman. There's a relatively flat area coming up ahead that would be a good place to force him down," suggested Lieutenant Weller.
"Cop
y that, Madman," said Captain Tapper over the radio.
SGT Roberto Abril slid over to the webbed seats along one wall of the cargo bay and pulled a roll of webbing from a small, open compartment. As he did, he saw the longer and much heavier cargo sling stowed in another open compartment. Abril had a sudden flash of inspiration.
"Captain," he called over the intercom, "what's the cargo weight for this bird?"
Captain Tapper answered back almost immediately. "About 28,000 pounds, Roberto. Whatcha got in mind?"
In for a penny, in for a pound, thought SGT Abril. "Captain, what do you think that crop duster weighs fully loaded?"
Thumper smiled as she began to see what the sergeant was thinking. "Oh...somewhere between 6 and 7 thousand pounds. Why? Whatcha thinking of?"
"Captain, what if we could get a sling around the fuselage forward of his tail assembly? We'll lower the sling as a loop, work it over one horizontal stabilizer then over the one on the other side. That should snag the tail assembly then you pull up! That'll slow us...and him...down until he stalls and is left dangling from the sling?"
Captain Tapper thought a moment before responding, "That might work! It's a gamble...but it's worth a try! Okay, rig the sling."
Abril cut off his microphone and gave a low whistle. He thought, Hoo boy...this is gonna be one for the record books...if we pull it off!
Tapper radioed Madman and Centurion to explain what he planned to do. Both wished her good luck. Back at the belly hatch, Sergeant Abril passed the ends of the sling through a large, heavy ring, which he tied off to an overhead stanchion with a piece of thin webbing. Then he rigged the large, heavy duty cargo sling to some overhead shackles and dropped the bulk of the sling through the hatch as a loop. Then he looped a length of the lightweight webbing around his body then through a cargo tie down ring set in the floor. It didn't make him feel much safer but it was better than nothing in case he fell through the open hatch! He crossed himself and muttered a quick prayer in Spanish.
Captain Tapper's voice came over the intercom again. "Hang on, everyone! This is could get real bumpy!" She brought the Chinook back in close to the tail of the Ag Cat. "Go for it, Roberto!"
Abril didn't respond initially; he was busy guiding one edge of the sling forward so the one edge trailed the other, parallel to the aircraft below. Finally, he spoke, "OK, captain...take us to the right then forward. There ya go, there ya go...almost there...now, slow down a bit and move to the left!" The front edge of the loop was now in front of the Ag Cat's right horizontal stabilizer. The pilot of the crop duster tried to zig and zag but the sling seemed to have caught something on the leading edge of the stabilizer and stayed in place.
The Chinook slid back and then to the left while SGT Abril guided the second edge of the loop under and around the tail of the crop duster. "Now, skipper! Forward...forward...forward!" he called out. He felt the Chinook drop slightly and accelerate forward and the sling edge passed around the outside of the left stabilizer. The crop duster zigged and zagged again, only helping ensnare the aircraft further in the sling. The loop of the sling now passed under the crop duster's rear fuselage just forward of the horizontal stabilizers on both sides of the aircraft.
"Captain, I think we've got 'im! Give it a try!" SGT Abril shouted over the intercom.
"Everyone hang on!" Tapper shouted back and pulled back slowly on her control stick while throwing more power into the helicopter's two turbo-shaft engines. The nose of the CH-47 came up slightly and the distance between the two aircraft increased. As the sling grew taut, the two sides of the loop moved closer together. Abril untied the webbing holding the large metal ring, letting it slide down the sling until it wedged tight several feet above the Ag Cat. Unable to spread back out, the sling was now less likely to slip back over the stabilizers.
The Ag Cat pilot felt the tail of his plane lift and tried to maintain control of his aircraft. He noticed his airspeed slowing and the zig zagging only slowed it more. He quickly discovered he couldn't break away from the helicopter overhead.
Back in the Chinook, Abril released his makeshift webbing harness and scooted over to one side of the helicopter. After unplugging his comm line, he used every possible handhold he could find he made his way forward, up the tilted cargo floor, until he was behind Captain Tapper. The Chinook shook and creaked but was slowly overpowering the Ag Cat. Abril buckled into a web seat and reconnected his helmet comm line in time to hear the senior pilot call out, "Hang on! Here goes everything! Aggie, help me with the controls!"
Tapper continued to lift the Chinook's tail by adding more lifting power. The heavy duty sling, the overhead shackles, and the helicopter itself groaned as they took on more and more of the Ag Cat's weight. Tapper and Commons fought with the controls trying to keep their helicopter airborne. The Chinook shook and rattled, its engines roared, but the old, powerful helicopter stayed airborne.
The Ag Cat suddenly turned to one side as its tail rose and its nose dropped. The torque of the engine turning the propeller began to spin the now dangling aircraft. In the cockpit of the Ag Cat, its pilot realized what was happening and pulled back on the throttle to try to slow the spin. The rotation of the small plane slammed his head to one side of the cockpit, knocking him out.
Lieutenant Jim Weller radioed the Chinook's senior pilot. "Thumper, this is Madman. Great catch! What kinda fish is that on your line?"
Tapper radioed back, "One that's still fighting the hook! I'm gonna set him down in that field ahead before he twists my sling apart. Give us cover as we come in!" Tapper switched to the intercom. "Great job, Roberto! Let's see if we can land this sucker without rupturing his tanks. Get back to the belly hatch and gimme some eyes, okay?"
SGT Abril rose from his seat and answered, "You got it, Captain!" He unplugged his comm line once more and moved carefully back near the hatch and reconnected his intercom line. Laying on the cargo bay floor and looking through the belly hatch, he called out the approximate distance between the nose of the suspended plane and the ground. As they drew closer to the ground, Abril could see the dust kicked up by the wind and began to call out wind direction to Tapper.
Slowly, the Chinook lowered the Ag Cat toward the ground until its still spinning propeller smacked into some chaparral brush. The Ag Cat jerked at the end of the sling.
Abril called out, "Captain, the plane is nose down is in some brush! Bring us down another 5 feet. The prop blades could tangle in the heavier branches and stall the engine, if we're lucky." Their luck held as the Ag Cat propeller tried to continuing spinning but the thick branches snapped the prop. Then, suddenly, the engine stopped.
"We're good, Captain!" yelled Abril over the intercom. "Lower away!"
While Tapper and her crew were busy catching and lowering the Ag Cat, another Chinook swooped in and landed near the downed plane. As Tapper's Chinook finished lowering the Ag Cat to the ground, two armed ASGuard troopers ran down the second Chinook's ramp and approached the aircraft carefully. Seeing no apparent leakage of fuel or other chemicals from the aircraft's tanks, the two troopers moved in swiftly, opened the cockpit, and extricated the unconscious pilot. They pulled him well away from the Ag Cat before zip tying his hands behind his back then dragged him toward the second Chinook.
"Centurion, this is Thumper! One bogie down safely...no apparent leakage. One bad guy in custody. I need to set my bird down and check for damage. Copilot will radio our coordinates for haz mat crew and pick up," radioed Captain Tapper.
"Thumper, Centurion. Good job to you and your crew! Get your bird checked out and take a break," responded Marcus. "Stay with your prisoner and guard that crop duster until we can get someone to take over for you!" Thumper acknowledged her colonel's orders.
Abril disconnected his comm line, stood up, and ran forward to congratulate Captain Tapper and Lieutenant Commons. As he poked his head into the forward area of the helicopter he saw both pilots sitting numbly in their seats. Their faces were pale, sweat stained the armpits of their f
light suits, and both were shaking slightly.
"Way to go, Captain...Lieutenant! I didn't think we'd pull it off..." SGT Abril began.
Captain Tapper looked at Commons then Abril before responding in a weak voice, "Neither did we!" Tension flowed from the bodies of the two pilots and they slumped, drained yet triumphant, in their seats.
Chapter 17
July 4th
Over Western, AZ
In Harpy Henley's Apache Longbow, Roman and the major were scanning the sky looking for the other two Grumman AG Cats. With every mile they covered, Marcus became more and more worried that they had lost the two planes...and hundreds, maybe thousands of innocent Arizonans would suffer for their failure. Marcus shook off the momentary dread and resumed scanning the canyons and valleys below and ahead of the Apache Longbow.
Suddenly, the radio came alive! "This is Bulldog! Got a bogie at 8 o'clock low! It's in that wide canyon that angles to the southeast." Bulldog was Captain David Ayotte, a CH-47 pilot, who came to the Arizona State Guard from the U.S. Marine Corps. "Bulldog...rolling in!"
Marcus keyed his mic, "Roger that Bulldog. Trigger and Gandalf, you're with Bulldog. Remember the rules of engagement." Lieutenant Vonda "Trigger" Morales and Captain Jaime "Gandalf" Quesada acknowledged Roman's orders and peeled their AH-64 and CH-47 helicopters from the formation.
The two Chinooks and single Apache Longbow closed quickly on the Grumman Ag Cat. Quesada and his copilot, LT Adam "Huskie" Williams, flew alongside Bulldog's Chinook while Trigger and her copilot/gunner, LT Bella "Batty" Carter, took a high cover position over the Chinooks.
"Bulldog, this is Trigger...this canyon dead-ends about 5 klicks ahead. Canyon bottom ahead is relatively flat. What if we box him in, reduce speed, and try to force him down in that area?"
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