Romanov mining camp
Dragon’s Fire
Sam lifted her head ever so slightly, and watched the two-man guard team amble by, completely oblivious to her hiding spot behind a snow-covered boulder only a few meters back from the electrified fence. Waiting until they were out of sight, Sam leaped up with her silenced M4 snug in her shoulder, and ensured the location was safe. “All clear,” she said, barely above a whisper.
Jackson’s large frame appeared as if from nowhere. He moved forward, knelt, and studied the fence before rummaging through the pouches on his chest-rig until he pulled out a small aerosol spray can. Jackson started at the base of the fence and sprayed the concentrated liquid nitrogen in an arc until he reached the other side. The metal instantly froze and cracked. Without being touched, the fence buckled and then fell quietly onto the snow. With lightning-fast relaxes, Sam dove through the opening and took up a fire position on the far side, while Jackson barely managed to fit his larger frame through the hole.
“Don’t say a thing,” huffed Jackson quietly. “I know what you’re thinking. My wife’s gonna put me on a diet as soon as we get back to the States.”
Sam shook her head; she knew better. Jackson had been promising to lose weight for years. Sam keyed her throat-mic. “Okay, Cardinal, we’re both in.”
Cardinal acknowledged and took deliberate aim at the men nearest Sam and Jackson, just in case he needed to deal with them right away.
Jackson looked over at Sam with a broad, reassuring grin on his face as he extended his hand. “Good luck, Sam. Stay safe, and I’ll see you back at the tower shortly.”
Sam shook Jackson’s hand. “You too, and remember to keep that big ass of yours down.” With that, she winked at Jackson and, like an Olympic sprinter, dashed off toward the cover of the nearest building.
“I don’t have a big butt,” mumbled Jackson to himself, as he peered toward the entrance of the tunnel where Mitchell was being held. “Now, what I need is a new set of duds,” said Jackson to himself, as he quietly crept after the men who had walked past only moments ago.
Teplov rode up to the tunnel with the second bomb. An overconfident smirk emerged on his lips when he saw Mitchell cuffed to the first nuclear device. He leaped from his still-moving ATV and walked over beside the bomb specialist, Markov, who was standing to one side, busy checking and double-checking the weapons’ remote arming devices as usual. A smoldering cigarette hung limply from his mouth.
“Markov, are we ready to go?” asked Teplov.
Markov did not bother to look up from what he was doing. “This isn’t a simple roadside IED that we are playing with here. Give me five more minutes to ensure the triggers are fully functioning, and then you can place the bombs,” replied Markov.
Teplov shook his head at the aggravating technician. He was going to kill Markov the instant that the bombs were detonated. After Markov’s last impertinent remarks, he was looking forward to it.
Alexandra Romanov got out of her Jeep at the entrance to the tunnel and joined Teplov inside the darkened passageway. She removed her designer sunglasses and gazed down the length of the angled shaft as it led deep into the heart of the volcano. It looked as cold, dark, and uninviting as a tomb. She did not consider herself claustrophobic, but standing there, looking into the bowels of the earth, made her skin crawl. It was a feeling of dread and impending doom. Shaking off such unwelcome thoughts, she looked over at Teplov and said, “How far into the volcano does this tunnel go?”
“The tunnel goes for about a kilometer and then it branches off into two different directions for about another kilometer on either side, which is where we will plant the two bombs,” explained Teplov.
“Have you driven the tunnels before?”
“No, but Chang has, and he says with the ATVs pulling the additional weight of the bombs, it shouldn’t take more than ten minutes to get the devices into position,” replied Teplov. “However, Markov, the damned perfectionist, has asked for an extra half hour once the bombs are in place to ensure that the devices are good to go. After that, we will return to the surface. Your father’s helicopter will be back by then, so we will be safely onboard the yacht hours before your father remotely detonates the bombs.”
“What if they are discovered before we can activate them?”
An evil gleam shone in Teplov’s eyes. “That possibility is quite remote, considering no one can come here without your company’s permission. However, should someone decide that today would be a good day to come sniffing around, Colonel Chang isn’t in the loop as to the exact timeline for detonating the bombs. Let’s just say that he and his men will still be here guarding the nukes when they go off, eliminating the threat of anyone ever speaking to the authorities and saving your company tens of millions in payments at the same time.”
Alexandra smiled. It seemed like everything was ready. All they needed to do now was place the bombs and leave.
Sam edged to the corner of an abandoned wooden shack and peered at the building where Jen was being held. She watched two tough-looking men standing guard outside the front entrance, each cradling his weapon in his arms. The ground from her location to the building was open and sparse. There was no way she could make her way over to the other building without being seen. Sam keyed her throat-mic. “Gordon, I’ve got two ugly mothers outside of Jen’s building. Can you see them?”
“I’m already laid on them,” replied Cardinal in Sam’s earpiece.
Sam did not expect anything less. “Okay, my love, once Nate starts the fireworks, I need you to clear them out of the way so I can make it over there in one piece.”
“Consider it done,” said Cardinal, his voice trailing off as though he was distracted.
Sam knew something was up and waited.
“Fahimah’s just heard back from General O’Reilly. The cavalry is on the way. ETA to our position is just over two hours,” reported Cardinal.
“Who did they find out here? Iceland doesn’t have an army,” said Sam.
“Seems a Marine amphibious ship was on exercise with NATO naval forces off the coast of Scotland and is now steaming our way. When they’re close enough, they’re going to launch a company of Marines to assist us.”
“Sweet, they’re gonna show up when we don’t need them.”
“Enough chatter. Focus on the task at hand,” said Jackson, ending it for everyone.
Sam pumped her legs expectantly like a professional sprinter waiting for the race of her life to begin. She took a deep breath and readied herself for the inevitable clash coming their way in the next few minutes. Nervous tension filled her body. Waiting for the first round to be fired was always the hardest part for her. Once it started, Sam knew that she was ready to do her part.
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