“We need a distraction,” Rob said.
“I agree, but what?”
A new sound joined the chorus of anarchy outside the chamber. Randall peeked out to find the source and spotted a lone missile launcher slowly churning through the snow, far from the rest of the main Chinese force. It was at the far end of the ice field, well away from the alien base.
“They’re getting ready to launch the missile carrying the electromagnetic pulse weapon!” Randall shouted.
Jamie and Rob appeared by his side, anxious to see for themselves. The large tracked vehicle carrying the missile moved into position for a launch. The missile carrier stopped, then its launcher tilted upward, the tip of the projectile lifting high into the gray sky.
A bright flame ignited from the base of the weapon as it rocketed into the heavens, leaving a smoky trail in its wake. Before long, the missile was little more than a dark pinprick in the sky and then it disappeared entirely.
“Are they insane? How are they going to direct the EMP blast so it just takes out the base and not their own equipment?” Rob asked.
“I guess they know the yield of the weapon and the range affected by the blast. What I don’t understand is why there hasn’t been a response against them,” Randall replied.
The Chinese troops began pulling back, their vehicles turning in unison as they increased the distance between themselves and the base. As they did so, the troop stationed at the base of the cliff entrance entered an armored vehicle, retreating as well.
“Look, they pulled back. Maybe we can get out of here!” Jamie said.
“Maybe so, but they’ll probably come back after the EMP blast to guard the entrance. If they do, we’ll be sitting ducks,” Rob replied.
The thought of being trapped between Chinese Special Forces and a hostile force of unknown origin from the facility they had just escaped was chilling. Randall struggled to devise a better plan to escape. “I think Jamie’s right. Our best chance is to head down the ramp before the missile impacts and the Chinese move back in to cover the entrance again.”
“What about the missile? When it blows, we’ll be roasted if we’re sitting out in the open,” Rob said.
Randall smiled at the thought. “That’s true, but what’s one more bomb to contend with?”
“What do you mean, one more bomb?” Jamie asked.
Realizing that Jamie was unaware of Flores’ backup plan, Randall explained the details.
“How long do we have before it strikes?”
Randall checked his watch. “A little more than two hours, by my calculation.”
“That doesn’t leave us much time,” Jamie said. “Like Rob said, what do we do when we make it to the bottom?”
“We’ll have to hope that the Red Dragons are too busy with them to care that we’re trying to escape,” Randal said, tossing his thumb back to the base they had just exited.
The three waited until the APC carrying the guards was well clear of the ramp before beginning their trek back down the ice shelf. The bitterly cold wind howled, gnawing at them as they worked their way to the midpoint of the slope. Winded from the run, the three stopped for a moment, huddling against the side for some relief from the gale. Jamie and Rob arrived first, with Randall struggling to keep up. His body ached from Dumond’s beating.
A loud cracking sound appeared overhead. Then another and another. The sound was unlike anything they had ever heard and repeated every several seconds. The three looked back toward the entrance to the ice tunnel. Spaced at even intervals within the icy cliff face, there were approximately a dozen new openings matching the size and shape of the tunnel they had used to enter the alien base.
“This isn’t good,” Rob said.
Jamie nodded. “I get a feeling someone’s not happy with the Red Dragons.”
The three resumed their trip down to the base of the icy slope, this time running as hard as possible in anticipation of the encroaching battle. As they approached the lower quarter of the ramp, a single Red Dragon APC lurched forward from the ranks of the other vehicles, bearing down on them.
“So much for the Chinese not taking an interest in us,” Rob observed.
They continued their run down to the base of the hill as the APC raced toward them. Randall searched the landscape, hoping to find a natural feature for cover when the battle began. He spied an orange fleck in the distance moving quickly across the white terrain. It was moving in a path that would take it directly to the base of the ramp and place it on a collision course with the APC. The dot grew larger and larger and began to take shape.
The base of the vehicle was a long, low, black stripe and Randall judged its speed to be 60 to 70 miles per hour. It grew larger as it approached, its form becoming clearer. The craft was long and wide, with a low hump in the back and another at its midsection. Randall finally realized that it was a hovercraft and it was traveling much more quickly than the APC. Although it was farther away, it would easily beat the Chinese attack vehicle.
“I think we have our way out!” Randall yelled, pointing at the quickly approaching hovercraft.
The APC bore down on the base of the ramp, but additional movement began in the Chinese ranks as a tank pivoted and pointed its giant muzzle in the direction of the hovercraft. A tongue of orange and yellow fire spewed from the barrel as it lobbed a large projectile in the direction of the craft, which began zigzagging in anticipation of the attack.
A large plume of black snow and rocks churned up from the ground directly in front of the hovercraft, just as it jogged to the right. The blast struck harmlessly to its left, spraying the side with snow. The orange vehicle zipped forward, picking up speed, looking like an orange and black streak staining the pure white snow. The next shell fell just behind the charging craft, which was now cutting back to its left.
While the hovercraft danced around the tank rounds, another loud boom thundered from the sky. The ballistic missile had broken the sound barrier on its return arc toward the earth, announcing its impending arrival.
Randall, Rob, and Jamie chugged their way down the remainder of the ice ramp, aware that the Chinese APC was closing on their position. The armored vehicle was no more than three hundred yards away from them now. The hovercraft was slightly closer, but its forward progression had been greatly slowed by its need to dodge the artillery fire. It was going to be close.
A solitary figure popped its head from the main cabin of the craft holding something long. It took several minutes for the vehicle to cover enough distance for Randall to see it was a rifle. For their part, the Red Dragon soldiers seemed unfazed by the prospect of a single gunman firing on them. They ignored Randall’s would-be rescuers and focused their shots on the three figures running down the slope.
A loud buzzing noise, emanating from deep within the mountain, joined the chorus of chaos. The sound fed through the large tunnel openings, amplified as it bounced through the icy inner surface.
Fearing that all hell was about to break loose, Randall turned to Jamie and Rob. “Run for the hovercraft and don’t stop!”
The three sprinted through the deep snow, struggling to make progress in the direction of the rescue vehicle, now fifty yards away. The slower APC was twice the distance but continued firing in Randall’s direction. Bullets buzzed by his head like angry hornets seeking revenge on someone for disturbing their nest. Small bursts of snow sprang up where the large caliber gunfire impacted the earth.
The gunman in the hovercraft fired small bursts back at the APC, trying to distract the gunner from the three exposed figures running through the snow. As before, the Chinese gunner wasn’t biting. A stream of shots pecked at the ground in a straight line directly behind Jaime, Rob and Randall as they zigzagged to avoid being hit.
The hovercraft finally skidded to a stop a mere twenty feet from Jamie, who reached the vehicle first. Rob was next, turning to look for Randall, who lagged badly, holding his midsection as he struggled forward. When he finally reached the vehicle,
the door kicked open to reveal John in the driver’s seat.
“Get in!”
With everyone inside, John wheeled the craft around one hundred and eighty degrees and pushed the throttles to their stops while the APC closed to within twenty-five yards, unleashing a punishing volley of large caliber gunfire. The rear window of the hovercraft disintegrated under the barrage as bits of orange-painted fiberglass and metal splintered everywhere.
Not to be left out, the Red Dragon tank fired another volley, which struck perilously close to the right side of the craft, showering it with snow. John kept the vessel on a heading straight in the direction they had come.
“Where did you find this?” Randall asked.
“Dumond’s base. After the Red Dragons captured you, Gabby and I combed through the wreckage and found this tucked away under a white tent. At first we didn’t see it because the tent blended in so well with the snow.”
“Thank God you arrived when you did!”
“Incoming!” Rob yelled.
John swerved the hovercraft just in time to avoid a round fired from the tank. It landed harmlessly to his left. Randall gazed out the broken rear window as the distance grew between them and the base.
“Nick, you’ve gotta see this!” Rob called out.
Randall climbed over the seat and made his way to Rob’s side. The sight that befell his eyes was extraordinary. The rumbling sound from the tunnels in the ice cliff grew louder and louder. Just as it seemed the mountain would crumble, dozens of craft appeared from each tunnel, momentarily blotting out the gray skies. The craft were unlike anything they had ever seen, their angular features and reverse swept wings cutting a fearsome silhouette against the bright gray sky. The craft descended upon the Chinese force, unleashing a brutal assault on the Red Dragons.
The Chinese were slow to respond, the enemy catching them unprepared. Dark green attack choppers attempted to engage the attacking aircraft, but they were simply too slow. Pulses of light emanating from the craft annihilated the Chinese choppers, leaving burning metal hulls floating briefly in mid-air before smashing into the ground.
Like passing black ghosts, the sleek craft swooped in and out of the main battlefield, stinging the Chinese forces and herding them back toward the alien base. The Dragons struggled to defend themselves, unable to get radar lock on the advanced craft, which operated with impunity. As quickly as they had arrived, the stealthy craft banked hard, flying over the ice shelf, leaving the Red Dragons to lick their wounds.
The reprieve was short-lived as the Chinese missile fired earlier streaked back toward the earth. The ballistic device whistled through the air, detonating above the Red Dragons’ force, which had been herded back toward the base by the marauding aircraft. The electromagnetic pulse sent a shockwave through the air that disabled all of the Chinese vehicles.
The ensuing scene resembled ants escaping from an ant hill. Dozens of soldiers scrambled from their vehicles, trying to determine what they should do next. Some attempted to repair their damaged craft, trying desperately to get them running again. Others rushed to take defensive positions around their vehicles while seeking shelter from another anticipated attack. A final group simply dropped their weapons and ran in sheer terror.
The rumbling sound from above the ice cliff grew louder again, as the black craft reappeared, heading back toward the defenseless Dragons. However bad the first attack had been, this one was far worse. From a distance, the battle played out like a slow motion scene from a war movie as the advanced craft descended upon the incapacitated Chinese force. Some of the soldiers tried in vain to fend off the attackers with nothing more than small arms fire. They fared poorly. The battle was decidedly one-sided.
The single Chinese APC that had broken ranks and attacked the hovercraft tried making a mad dash from the base to the safety of the icy fringes. It was unsuccessful as well. A single craft left the main battle and tracked the vehicle down. Like a hawk circling its prey, the black vessel closed on the carrier, swooping in for an attack. It was over quickly as a single strike instantly reduced the APC and its inhabitants to smoldering wreckage.
John had opened a large gap between the battle and the hovercraft. Randall judged they were more than a mile away, the terrifying scene fading into the distance. The stealth craft, having finished off the Red Dragons, were returning to the ice tunnels from where they had come. All except for the single craft that had destroyed the APC.
Much to Randall’s horror, it took a path directly after them.
“John, step on it. Looks like we have company,” Randall said, gripping his son’s shoulder.
“It’s at full throttle already,” John replied.
“How much further to Dumond’s base?”
“About ten to fifteen minutes.”
Randall scrambled over to Gabby. “What weapons do we have?”
“Small arms. We picked up a couple of hand guns and assault rifles, that’s all we could find. Why?”
Randall pointed out the window to the attack craft. It was getting closer.
“I don’t think we have anything that can damage that thing, never mind take it out completely.”
“We’ll just have to work with what we have. What’s the effective range for these rifles?”
“Under these conditions, a couple hundred meters at best … if we’re lucky.”
“Okay, we’ll have to hold our fire until that ship is within range. Rob, take the right, Gabby take the left.”
“What about you?” Gabby asked.
“I’m going out there,” Randall said, pointing to a small flat area on the back of the hovercraft.
“Be careful, it’d be easy to fall off, and at this speed you’ll be nothing but a dark streak on the ice if you do!” Gabby warned.
The hovercraft sped forward over the flat snowy surface as John piloted the vehicle in a nearly straight line for Dumond’s former camp. The fan motor protested loudly as John pushed the vehicle to its limits.
Despite their high speed, their pursuer easily closed the gap, aided by the fact that it didn’t have to contend with terrestrial obstacles.
Randall climbed through the broken window and flopped down onto the rear of the speeding ship. He struggled to find his footing and was nearly knocked over the side as the vehicle sped over a rough patch of ice. Randall tumbled, grasping the side rail before nearly toppling over. He moaned as he struggled to regain his balance, his injured ribs burning like fire from the strain of staying upright. He finally made his way back to the small flat opening in the rear of the ship. Finding an old tarp used to protect cargo, he slipped beneath the plastic sheet.
Their pursuer closed within a couple hundred yards, prompting Gabby to fire her gun in short bursts. Seeing her do so, Rob followed suit. Gabby’s training paid off as she landed several rounds on the slowing aircraft, which momentarily broke pursuit, shaken by the hits to its exterior.
The victory was short-lived as the vessel resumed its pursuit. Rob and Gabby continued to fire upon the ship, but despite landing hits, the pilot now appeared to be unfazed by the small arms fire.
“This isn’t working!” Gabby yelled.
“We have to keep trying!” Rob replied.
The hovercraft cleared a small rise and Dumond’s former base came into view. They were within several hundred yards of the camp when the otherworldly vessel moved in for the kill. It weaved back and forth, avoiding Gabby and Rob’s shots, closing in on the hovercraft. Her assault rifle spent, Gabby tossed it aside and resumed firing with a handgun. Several rounds pinged harmlessly off of the aircraft. Rob did the same, and soon they were both out of ammunition.
No longer receiving cover fire, the craft simply followed them in a straight line, continuing to draw closer. A section of each wing began to rotate outward from the main body as the craft slowed. A loud whining noise arose from its base as a single pulse of light emanated from its belly.
The electronic gauges in the hovercraft spiked momentarily and then
went out. The fan motor fell silent and the craft skidded to a halt.
The vessel slowed and began circling the hovercraft. It finally stopped in mid-air floating directly behind the stalled vehicle as a soft humming noise emerged again from its belly. A single panel opened on the craft, revealing a long circular weapon.
Randall popped up from his hiding place and fired on the vessel, striking its nose repeatedly. He unloaded his weapon into the craft, which began to dart wildly, the pilot shaken by the surprise attack at such close range.
His weapon empty, Randall watched as the vessel nearly crashed to the earth. It came within a few feet of the snowy terrain, but recovered and slowly ascended back into the sky and resumed its position directly behind the stalled hovercraft.
“What do we do now?” John asked.
“I think we’re out of options,” Gabby replied.
They steadied themselves for the final attack, having fought valiantly but ultimately coming up short.
The craft aimed its weapon at them as a loud thudding sound came from its rear flank. Much to their surprise, it exploded in mid-air, sending sparks and flames darting into the gray sky. The craft fell to the earth in a great fireball that illuminated the darkening afternoon.
Dumbfounded, Randall watched as it tumbled to the ground and lay in a smoldering heap. It was then that he saw the reason: a large, black helicopter hovered in the sky directly behind where the alien craft had been only moments earlier, smoke rising from its rocket pod.
The chopper hung in the air like a menacing bird of prey ready to pounce on its victim, and Randall feared the worst. But instead of attacking, it hovered to the side and landed softly on the snow beside the stricken hovercraft. A solitary figure exited the helicopter, making his way to Randall.
He was huge and his black thermal suit only added to his bulk. As he drew closer, he removed his face mask and goggles, revealing a familiar visage, one Randall hadn’t seen since his encounter with the shooters in the alley in D.C.
“Michael! It looks like I owe you again,” Randall said, scrambling from the hovercraft and walking over to his rescuer.
The Bermuda Connection (A Nick Randall Novel Book 2) Page 24
