Tiger by the Tail

by John Ringo

“Any more questions?” Mike asked.

  “Yes.” The leader pushed himself up into a sitting position on the floor. Gingerly probing his swelling jaw with scraped fingers, he spat out a tooth. “What the fuck are you going to do with us now?”

  After getting the translation from Jace, Mike replied. “Well, as attractive as digging gems for the fucking military for the rest of my life sounds, my friends and I are going to break out of here tomorrow morning. All of you can either stay here, or you can join us.”

  Those trustees who were still conscious broke out in ragged laughter. “Man, you must be crazy, and not just by taking all of us on,” the leader said. “Don’t you think others have tried to escape? Where do you think you are going to go? There’s a hundred kilometers of jungle between us and any place larger than a village. We can’t count on the surrounding villages to help, not since the warden put out a five-hundred-thousand-kyat reward for any information about escaped prisoners. We can’t even smuggle out gems to try to pay our way to freedom, since the guards strip search us every day—every goddamn inch.”

  Another prisoner spoke. “The last two times someone tried to escape, the guards hunted them down like dogs, running them through the jungle until they dropped from exhaustion. They shot them and brought the bodies back for us to bury. No one’s been stupid enough to try since then.”

  “Then it’s a good thing I have an ace in the hole. How many people are held prisoner here?” Mike asked.

  “At least three hundred,” the leader said.

  “And how many guards?”

  “About fifty,” came the reply.

  “Don’t you see?” Mike asked. “Our enemy has already given us enough energy for victory.” He pointed at each one of them. “All of you and the rest of the prisoners are a force powerful enough to overcome twice as many guards.”

  “Oh yeah? And what about their guns?” Another one asked.

  “Before morning, I will eliminate that advantage,” Mike said. “However, there will be plenty to do in the meantime. Look, either you all accept what you think is your fate here, and work until you die, or you take a shot at being free men again. Me, I would rather die than live under another man’s boot. None of you really look like the kind to do that either. Now, what’s it going to be?”

  “Do you swear you can take care of the guards?” a prisoner asked.

  “I guarantee it,” Mike replied.

  “We need to talk about this,” the leader said. “Give us a few minutes.”

  “You’ve got five. Master Chief, Jace, with me.”

  Jace followed Mike over to a relatively unspoiled corner of the room to huddle with Adams.

  “Okay, now I know you can pull off some crazy shit, ’cause I’ve watched you do it, but how in the hell do you expect to do this?” Adams asked.

  “Because Katya’s coming to find us,” Mike answered.

  “And just how do you know that?” Adams pressed.

  Mike shrugged. “The practical answer would be that she hasn’t gotten paid yet.” He tapped his chest. “This part that knows she’s coming would say, even though she would never admit it, that we’re her—”

  “You’re not going to say family, are you?” Adams asked.

  “I doubt if she would go as far as that, but yes, that’s the general idea. We, or I, if you prefer, have given her a home, a place to belong. That is something she has never had, not even as a child. Call me sentimental, call me soft if you want, but deep down, I know that counts for something with her. Trust me, she’s coming.”

  “And if she’s not?” Jace asked.

  “Then we go to Plan B,” Mike replied.

  “Which is?” Adams asked.

  “General prisoner revolt. Ideally, through, we’ll be able to combine both of them. Right now we’ve got to establish communications with the other groups, and to do that, we need a way out of here. Let’s rejoin the others, see what they say, and figure out how we’re busting out of this building.”

  “You know that if some of them don’t go along with this, they’ll have to be put down so they don’t rat us out to the guards,” Jace said.

  “I think they’ll all go along with it. I know I wouldn’t want to stay here a day longer than I had to.” Mike looked over Adams’ shoulder. “Looks like they’ve come to an agreement. Come on.”

  He walked back to the center of the room, where the deposed trustee leader was waiting for him. “You talk a really big game.”

  “I’ll deliver on it, too,” Mike said.

  “If we throw in with you, everyone here goes free, not just some of us.”

  “I can get you all out of the camp. Getting anywhere else is your problem. But at least you’ll have a fighting chance.”

  The man stared at him for a few seconds, then thrust out his hand. “We’re in, all of us.”

  Mike shook it. “All right, we’ve got a lot to do, and not a hell of a lot of time to do it. First assignment is to find us a way out of this building that isn’t visible from the yard out front.”

  That proved easier than expected—the boards on the back wall had already been modified to provide a secret way out. When Mike frowned at the leader, who identified himself as Maung, the man said, “I said people tried to escape, I didn’t say that the guards found every bit of work that had been done on each plan.”

  The trustees’ building, along with the rest of the prisoner barracks, had been built along a high cliff of rock. Mike, Adams, and Jace used this cover to sneak from building to building, where Keldara were already waiting to talk. Mike filled them in on the plan, which all hinged on one thing; that Katya really was coming to find them.

  * * *

  “Nabozvaro! Bozis shvilo!” Katya cursed as she retraced her route for the second time. “Son of a bitch! Son of a whore!”

  When she had set out to catch Mike and the others, Katya had figured she was only about forty-five minutes behind them, an hour tops. But that was before she had had to navigate the Myanmar jungle in the dark with no readable maps and only voice directions from the Big Fish command room to guide her. Exhausted and pissed off, she was worried about getting lost, of running out of gas, of running into more soldiers, and of failing most of all.

  “You are almost there. Just a few more kilometers,” Greznya said in her head.

  “Easy for you to say. You are sitting on boat while I am driving circles in goddamn jungle!” Katya took a deep breath. “I am sorry, Greznya. I do not mean to be so harsh. I could not be doing this without your help.”

  “That is all right. I am not sure I could do what you are doing right now.”

  Katya snorted. “I bet you would do a better job of not getting lost!”

  That made the Keldara girl chuckle. Katya grinned at hearing the other woman laugh, then chuckled, then finally laughed at the absurdity of it all. “Damn it, girl, do not make me drive off the road!”

  “Is not my fault, you made me laugh first.” Greznya took a deep breath. “Okay, are you back on Route 312?”

  “Yes, finally! Main road, my ass! Is barely better than the dirt roads you all had before the Kildar.”

  “You are doing fine. If you are where I think you are, you have only about twenty kilometers to go,” Grezyna said.

  “If there is a prison camp there, I certainly do not want to just barrel in, even in this thing,” Katya said.

  “True. Are you planning to try to sneak all of the weapons inside?” Greznya asked.

  “Depends on what I find when I get there. I am sure that the Kildar and the others will need everything they can get to break out. I am driving a vehicle with a big gun, but it is not as if I know how to use it.”

  “True, but the guards at the camp do not know this,” Greznya replied. “That may work to our advantage later. Best to concentrate on the here and now. The rest is something to figure out once you find where the Kildar and the men are.”

  “Right.” Katya drove in silence for several more kilometers, then slowed when
she saw a road sign covered with gibberish. “Please translate this and tell me how far I have to go.”

  Greznya had the answer in seconds. “That is the sign for Mogak ahead. It says the town is about seven kilometers away.”

  “Good. Another five, and I will stop and walk in the rest of the way.”

  Eight minutes later, she reached what she estimated was the proper distance away from the city. It took another ten minutes to find a side road and drive down far enough to hide the Cascavel. She turned it off, removed the keys, grabbed one of the pistols, and headed back to the main road.

  “If you are not sure how far away it is, count your steps as you head in. That way you will have an estimate of the distance, give or take one hundred paces,” Greznya said.

  About to retort with a snide comment, Katya stopped herself and thought about the other girl’s words. “That is a very good idea,” she replied, starting the count at fifty to include how far she had already gone.

  One thousand, eight hundred and sixteen steps later, she came upon the valley of Mogok, and the city inside it.

  “This actually looks easier than I thought it would be. There is no fence or guards or anything,” she said after observing the grounds for fifteen minutes through a pair of binoculars she had found inside the car. “No one is patrolling even. It almost looks deserted except for a few lights here and there. There is a guard tower, but I’m pretty sure the men inside are asleep. Infiltration will not be a problem.”

  “Great, but there is still one problem. We do not know where the Kildar or the other men are,” Greznya said.

  “I do not think they will be hard to find. The Kildar is probably still awake, planning his escape. All I will have to do is look for the building that still has people moving around or talking inside, and that will be the one.”

  It took her ten minutes to get to the mining camp compound, and another five to scout out the drab gray building that had people talking inside. Katya snuck around to the rear, where she found a large hole covered with a mattress.

  Pistol in hand, she gently knocked on the wood. “Kildar?”

  Silence fell over the interior of the building, then the mattress was whisked away to reveal Mike standing on the other side with a big smile on his face.

  “What kept you?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Not only was Mike very happy to see Katya, he was overjoyed when he found out what she had brought with her.

  “You stole one of their fucking armored cars?!”

  “It was the nearest vehicle, and no one has taught me how to hotwire yet, so, yes.”

  “That’s my girl! What other presents did you bring?”

  Katya handed her pistol to him. “Three more and a rifle, one extra magazine apiece. I left them in the car, in case I was caught coming in, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem here.”

  “Smart thinking anyway.” Mike turned to the trustees to find them all gaping at what was going on. First this Kildar and his two men beat the shit out of all of them not three hours ago. Then, out of nowhere, a blond, teenage girl snuck into camp and not only handed him a loaded pistol, but brought him an entire armored vehicle.

  “What are you, a magician?” one of them asked.

  “Nope, I just work with really great people,” Mike replied. “As I said, I have nullified the guards’ guns, and with this vehicle, I will now eliminate the guards themselves. The plan has changed, gentlemen. Here’s how it will go down . . .”

  * * *

  Major Timmons came in on his final approach to the runway at Tbilisi International Airport. The Super Hercules landed gently, the cargo plane settling onto the tarmac like greeting an old friend. As they headed toward the terminal, they received instructions to head to the cargo loading and unloading section, specifically the warehouses owned by Georgian Air Gate, one of three cargo companies that operated out of the airport.

  When they pulled up, Timmons saw a man in neat digicam fatigues and sunglasses, with high-and-tight black hair, standing in front of the open hangar. His MOLLE gear was simple; a basic harness with a pistol on his right hip and a radio and two extra magazines on his left. Inside the hangar were three black Ford Explorers and a cargo truck. Next to the vehicles were at least twenty very large men, also dressed the same way. Among them were two gorgeous women, both dressed casually with their hair pulled back.

  “Remember, if you or any member of your team is caught or killed, the U.S.A.F. will disavow any knowledge of your actions,” Wolfe intoned. “This guy screams operator, or I’m a fiddler crab.”

  “What the hell have we been dropped into?” Timmons asked. He made sure the aircraft was secure before getting out of his seat.

  “I guess we’re about to find out,” Wolfe said, falling in right behind him.

  Sergeant Wilcox joined them as well. “Best see what I’m gonna be loading up.”

  Exiting out the forward crew hatch, Timmons walked down the stairs and over to the man in fatigues. “Major Alan Timmons. By the looks of things, you must be the man we are supposed to meet.”

  “Colonel David Nielson, former U.S. Army Special Forces, and that is correct. What was your briefing on this hop?”

  “Get here and talk to you. Extend any and all assistance that we can.”

  “Excellent. Let’s get your bird refueled, and then get the vehicles and operators loaded. While that’s happening, you can plot our flight to Mandalay International Airport.”

  “Mandalay, Myanmar?” Timmons asked.

  “The same.”

  “We’re gonna need to avoid Iran and refuel. Do you care if we go over or under?”

  “Whichever gets us there faster.”

  Timmons calculated altitude and weather conditions in his head. “Over will probably be faster, but refueling is a problem, unless you can get us a tanker over Kabul about five hours from now. If we go south, we skirt more of Iran, which adds miles and we’ll need to stop at Mumbai, which will definitely take more time to get in and out of their flight pattern.”

  Colonel Neilson nodded. “The tanker is not a problem. Time is, however. When can we get wheels-up?”

  Timmons turned to Wilcox, who jumped in. “Should take about twenty minutes to secure your vehicles. We can take all three Explorers, or two and the panel truck.”

  “The latter configuration is fine. The truck is holding our gear right now, so it has to go regardless.”

  “Let me get started then. I’ll load the men once the vehicles are secure.”

  “Talk to the woman named Vanda inside. She’ll be your translator if you need to direct them.”

  “I will tell them to bundle up. It can get a bit chilly at angels thirty-five.” With a nod, the tech sergeant headed into the hangar.

  Timmons took over. “Our tanks are almost full, so we just need to top off. Refueling will probably take a half-hour if we’re lucky, since these guys aren’t known for their speed . . .” He trailed off as a fuel truck pulled to a stop nearby.

  Neilson smiled. “It helps to know people. Let’s get that flight plan and the necessary clearances taken care of, shall we?”

  * * *

  The next morning dawned bright, sunny, and humid—just like every other day in Myanmar.

  Just after sunrise, Mike joined the rest of the men at the morning formation. Just like Maung had said, there were at least three hundred men assembled on the hard ground in front of the row of barracks. They were a mix of Burmese, Chinese, and a fairly large group that Mike thought might be Nepalese, judging by their broad faces and the epicanthic fold of their eyes. He made a mental note to check on that later. It was easy to see the Keldara among them; each one typically stood several inches taller than the rest of their group. Oleg was there as well, leaning on a bedpost he had fashioned into an improvised crutch.

  The plan had been explained in detail to everyone, and mostly involved the prisoners getting to cover before everything went to hell. Strategically placed personnel had been assigned key
duties for the escape to go off successfully. Not the least of which was Katya, who was already in position and awaiting the go signal.

  Warden Sein came out to inspect the men. He walked down the line, hands clasped behind his back, then came back up it, stopping at Mike.

  “The two men who were with you last evening, where are they?”

  Of course, with Jace gone, Mike didn’t understand a word the other man was saying, but he replied anyway. “If you’re asking about Jace and Adams, they left.”

  Sein frowned at the English until one of the prisoners translated what he had said. The warden blinked several times, as if he didn’t understand the answer. “What?”

  “I said, they left. They weren’t thrilled about being here, and decided to bug out. They should be back soon, however. Oh wait, here they come now!”

  Mike pointed at the road behind the warden, who turned and looked just as the Cascavel roared over a small hill and headed straight for the man.

  “Ko may ko loe!” the Burmese man swore as he dove out of the way. “Motherfucker!” He scrabbled to draw his pistol when he saw the armored car skid to a stop and the turret swivel toward the guards’ barracks.

  Then the world exploded.

  * * *

  When she heard Mike’s shout, Katya ran to the shack containing the base’s radio communications equipment. Her shirt hung open, revealing her bare breasts, and she had tried to make herself look as attractive as possible under the circumstances. As she headed for the door, she kept repeating the two short Burmese phrases Jace had drilled into her to throw the guard on duty completely off his game.

  She reached the door and threw it open, making the man spin around in his chair and reach for his pistol. Taking a deep breath, Katya said—

  * * *

  “—I am so lost. Do you want sex?”

  Of all the things Chankrisna Salai Kyi expected to see in this prison camp, a half-naked teenage blond woman coming on to him didn’t even make the list.

  He was totally flustered by her appearance, and even more confused by her second question. All he could do was slowly rise out of his chair as she walked toward him, staring at him with those odd blue eyes . . .