Storm Unleashed (Quantum Touch Book 4)

by Michael R. Stern

  Jane was talking to Captain Dolan when Fritz interrupted. She reached into her satchel.

  A soldier poked his head from the conference room and called the colonel. They'd spotted activity on the monitor. Fritz hollered that the mission might have to start early, that something was happening. Jane and Dolan joined Fritz as the colonel hurried from the classroom, his jaw set. “Fritz, we need to go now. The AWACS picked up what appears to be infiltration. Come look.”

  Blocked from view on the ground by sand dunes, specks moved toward the leaders exiting a large helicopter. The TV cameramen set their hookups. Whatever was about to happen would be captured live.

  “Can we call them?” asked Fritz.

  “No reception anywhere nearby.”

  “Colonel, how about the Israelis?”

  “Ten miles away.”

  Dolan said, “Colonel, they have cover until the last three hundred yards. They're within range now about one thousand yards out.”

  “How much time do we have?” Fritz asked again. He looked at Dolan's new pin. “Major.”

  Dolan smiled. “Yeah, promotion. Thanks for noticing. They're coming slowly. Maybe ten minutes until they're in the open.”

  The colonel told the comms team to contact the AWACS and tell them to notify the Israelis that a ground attack was possible. He asked someone to get General Beech on the phone.

  Fritz ran into his classroom with the colonel and Jane. Fritz asked where to go and placed the clip and drew a pencil outline. He asked if it wouldn't be better to bring the leaders and any others through the portal instead of sending soldiers in.

  “We may have to. The attackers know they're close enough,” Mitchell said.

  Jane said. “Colonel, my group will go first. I'll try to hold them off. Let's go.”

  Activity swirled around Fritz as Major Barclay's team lined up. He yanked the door open.

  Fifteen feet inside the entrance, Major Barclay directed the soldiers, telling them to spread out and move forward. A series of twenty-foot tall dunes rose in front of the advancing Americans.

  “Colonel Mitchell, General Beech is on the line.”

  * * *

  A LARGE WALL of sand blocked the view of the Mediterranean. On the seaward side, a cave-like hole had been dug and the opening carefully covered by a matching tarpaulin. Adhesive had been sprayed on one side and sand thrown onto it. Perfect cover. Facing the ceremony at the other end of the hole, the rifleman had dug an opening, sighted his rifle, and waited.

  * * *

  WITH ALL THE soldiers in the desert, Fritz watched the TV screen. “Look,” he said, and ran to the TV. “A hole, big enough to shoot from.” From the camera's view, he tried to visualize where on the map the hole was. “Straight line to the president.” Fritz glanced again at the TV. He watched the president check his watch and turn east to the brightening horizon.

  “Set a map, Fritz.” said the colonel. “I'll try to find him.” He asked a lieutenant for binoculars. With the portal reset, the colonel was ready to go.

  “Colonel, don't go alone,” said Fritz.

  “My guys know what to do. Get them in, Fritz.”

  * * *

  AN AMERICAN ARMY OFFICER appeared out of thin air onto the European feed. A Virginia TV, one of three he had turned on, broadcast the startling sight. The camera changed direction.

  “Don't shoot him,” Richter/Salzmann said to the empty room. He had told the sniper to wait until the others had distracted the ceremony and to avoid the president but to go after the Arabs. They would never trust each other again. After the ceremony collapsed, he would begin to regroup.

  * * *

  ONCE THE SOLDIERS were in, Fritz reset group one and returned to the hall. He turned to the TV. He wanted to see where the attackers were. They were still under cover, and darkness on the ground kept them out of sight. Jane's group moved up the dunes. He returned to the hallway and stood next to Ashley in front of the television. The camera angle had changed again. Another scan picked out the colonel and focused on him. About ten feet above him, like a demonic eyeball, the hole Fritz had seen came into tighter view. The camera swung to the group of dignitaries at the canopy, milling around, waiting for sunrise.

  A tap on the microphone brought everyone's attention to the canopy. The president of the newly formed State of Palestine spoke first. He welcomed the small gathering. “Salaam aleichem,” he began. Before the expected response, the sound of fireworks reached the cameras and microphone. A rifle barrel poked from the dune. Fritz said, “No one is close to the colonel, and he still hasn't seen the hole in the sand.”

  “Fritz, reset the portal to where he went in,” Ashley said. Fritz stared at him, horrified. “Now. Do it.”

  “You can't.”

  “Then you go. He's aiming at the president. Take the medics, or I will. See if you can open it where the guy can't see me. Now, Fritz.”

  Fritz checked the point where Colonel Mitchell had entered, adjusted the paperclip to a higher spot, and crossed his fingers. When he returned, Ashley was arguing with Linda.

  “Stop him, Fritz,” she said.

  “Lin, we have to move fast. We have no contact with the others, and the guy has a direct shot at the president.” On the TV, they watched briefly as the sniper's shots began.

  “Open it, Fritz,” Ashley said. Fritz twisted the knob.

  “Mr. Russell,” called a soldier monitoring the surveillance, “our guys are outnumbered.”

  “We need to get everyone back here,” said Fritz. “I need to get Major Dolan. He has the most guys.”

  “Fritz, you can't go,” said Linda. Fritz pointed to the TV.

  “I need to get Jane some help, Lin. No one else here knows how this works.” He ran to his desk, moved maps and paperclips. He told Linda he was sorry, and then went through.

  Fritz spotted Dolan running toward the shooting. He rushed toward him, kicking sand as he came. “Bring your men back. I can get you directly to where the fighting is, but hurry.” Dolan called his men, sent some to guard the president, and followed Fritz back to the hallway. Fritz switched the maps. He told Dolan they would enter at the top of the dune and everyone should take cover. As the soldiers entered, Fritz saw Jane and told the last man through to tell her to come back now. Moments later, Jane panted into the hallway. The scream of a rocket was replaced by the explosion of its target—the helicopter. The U.S. feed panned the rocket to its point of impact.

  “Jane, the president is being attacked, too. Dolan sent some men.”

  “Set me up, Fritz. Where's Ash?”

  “He's inside. There's a sniper on a dune, I think to the west.” He looked at the TV. “There he is. On the hill.”

  “Get me to the president now, Fritz.” He switched the maps again.

  Fritz had picked a spot east of the canopy, hiding her entry from the sniper's view. But not from the Al-Jazeera cameraman, who almost dropped his camera.

  “Mr. President,” Jane yelled, “this way. Everyone.” Surprised though they were, they reacted quickly. The cameras caught the action and followed the crowd. The president led everyone through the portal. Two soldiers carried the British prime minister.

  “Mr. President, Ash is inside trying to get Colonel Mitchell out,” said Jane. “They're looking for a sniper. I'm taking these guys back in. Fritz, get us to Ash.”

  * * *

  AS HIS TARGETS disappeared, the sniper retracted his rifle. He knew he'd been spotted. He removed his pistols with as little sound or movement as he could. Waiting and listening for his hunters, he heard sand sliding across the tarp. Alerted to the movement above him, he pointed.

  * * *

  “ASH, THE SHOTS came from lower down. Can you see anything on the other side?” Jane called.

  “Nothing. Just sand. Get the colonel out of here. I'll be down in a second. With all these hills, Fritz could have put me in the wrong place.”

  “Come down. The shooting is done.” She pointed to the cloud of dust to her right
. “The Israelis are coming. We need to be through the portal before they get here. I'll tell the Israeli prime minister his troops have arrived.”

  Ashley worked his way slowly down the dune, caught his foot, and flopped face-first to the bottom.

  “Are you okay? What happened?” Jane asked.

  “Don't know.” He looked up, slapping sand from his shirt and pants. “I stepped in something. Felt like a hole. There.”

  Jane glanced upward, in time to see a metal tube emerge from the dislocated sand. “Down,” she yelled. Spreading red blots on her legs and on Ashley's shirt and pants formed her last conscious memory.

  * * *

  AS THE HALLWAY filled, George took over Ashley's job. As in previous missions, wounded soldiers came through the portal. The president came into the hall with the Palestinian president, who was bloody from hand to shoulder.

  “The Israeli prime minister patched him up, and he's working on the Eledorian president now.”

  “Mr. President,” said Fritz, “the medics went through the portal. They went to get Colonel Mitchell. And Ash and Jane too.”

  The president called down the hall for help. Major Dolan led a dozen men to the commander-in-chief.

  “Major, we still have men inside. Bring them back.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Fritz reset the maps to where Jane had entered and told Major Dolan he would enter on a sand dune. What the major saw first were two still bodies below him. Above him, the medics were sliding down.

  “Major, a shooter is hiding here somewhere. We can't find him,” one medic told him.

  “Go help them,” said Dolan, pointing to Jane and Ashley. Then he told his men he would meet them at the bottom of the dune.

  “Mr. Russell, can you put the portal opening lower? We have wounded to bring out.” Fritz made the adjustment and Dolan returned to the desert, gunfire loud as he stepped through.

  Fritz stood by the door, impatient. No one returned. “Mr. President, we need doctors. The medics aren't back. They should have just come through.”

  The president called down the hall. Another group ran to the doorway. Fritz stopped the Marine lieutenant at the doorway. “We heard gunfire when Major Dolan went in. Maybe you should crawl in and take a look first.” Sliding in, the officer looked around and pulled back as sand exploded in a spot where his head had just been.

  “Someone is up near the top, still shooting. No one inside is moving.”

  “What about Jane and Ash?”

  “I can't tell, but no one was moving. I saw dust clouds in the distance. Israelis, I think.”

  WHEN THE ISRAELIS reached a safe distance, they began to shoot across the upper third of the dune. After ten minutes of waiting, their prime minister received a call. The shooting had ceased.

  Fritz pulled the door open and walked through with a dozen soldiers. A few feet in front of him, Ashley's motionless body lay face-down with Jane prone over his legs. Above him, a hole emitted sunlight like a flashlight. He knelt next to Ashley and noticed the gentle but steady rise and fall from his back. “He's breathing,” he yelled. Leaning to Jane, he couldn't see any movement.

  Fritz stumbled back through the portal. George grabbed him.

  “Fritz, were you shot?” George asked.

  “Ash is hurt. I think Jane is dead. Colonel Mitchell is dead. A lot of men are down. They need help.”

  The president turned to the Israeli. Both men had heard. “My troops have arrived. Can I go through?” asked the prime minister. Fritz tested the door. The portal was closed. He reset the clip and tried again. The prime minister hurried through.

  “Mr. President, we should have gurneys here. They'll be bringing a lot of people out,” said Fritz. “George, will you hold the door, please? I can't hold it.” He slid down the locker and sat on the floor. He shuddered as he held back tears.

  Chapter 41

  AS BODIES WERE carried into the school, ambulances waited at the exit. Numb, Fritz waited for Ashley and Jane, tears rolling down his cheeks.

  The prime minister returned and said, “Mr. President, we've chased the attackers away. My medics have transported everyone else out of the area, and helicopters will take them to hospitals. The Eledorian is bloody, but he'll live. We should all leave now. I suggest we confiscate the camera film and any other recording devices. A helicopter for the leaders is waiting.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. I'll cancel the ceremony in Turkey when I'm back in my office.”

  The Israeli shook his head. “Mr. President, you should come with us now. Everyone will wonder how you got to Washington so quickly. You can stay with me, and we'll work out what we need to do.”

  The president looked at Fritz, who was staring at the lockers. He needed someone to end the mission. He looked for the soldier with the highest rank and called Captain Washburn. “I'll take care of everything, sir,” said the captain. “We've been here before.” He walked out and waved. A truck backed up to the door. He gathered some men and emptied the hospital room.

  “Mr. President,” said the Israeli prime minister, “we should take the prime minister with us. We will prepare his body for transport to London when we reach Tel Aviv. I've ordered helicopters to meet us on the way.”

  “Thank you. Would you tell the others? I need to talk to Fritz.” The Israeli said he would. “Fritz, we need to go back to the canopy. Will you set it up?”

  “Where's Ash?”

  “They flew him and Jane to a hospital, along with the colonel and everyone else that was still alive.”

  “Alive?”

  “He's alive, Fritz,” the president told him. “I'll call you later.”

  Fritz started to rise, but slid back to the floor. Linda stood and held out her hands, and the president reached out also. On his feet, Fritz went into his classroom, thumbed through the maps, and found the one where Jane had rescued the leaders. He dropped the others on his chair.

  “Ready,” Fritz said.

  Fritz held the door as the leaders crossed the hall, but none spoke to him as they stepped into the sand. Last through, the president said, “I'll talk to you later. I'll be with the Israeli prime minister. We'll work this out.”

  “MR. RUSSELL, I'm Hal Washburn. The president asked me to finish up. The clean-up guys are here. We're ready to move out.”

  “Sure. Sorry. Been a rough night. Do what you need to.” Within ten minutes, the buses were headed out of the parking lot.

  “Remember George. I won't be in tomorrow.”

  “You and Ashley.”

  “Go home, Fritz,” said Lois. “George and I will take care of it.” Fritz nodded, staring at the floor.

  “I'll call you in the morning,” said George. “Good night, Linda.”

  LINDA DROVE. Fritz stared out the window. The number of houses with lights on surprised him. It was past one in the morning.

  “Something must be going on,” said Fritz.

  “Those people are watching the news. They saw what happened. They might even have seen you. And Ash. How could you have let him do that?” He didn't respond. Linda glanced at the silence. “You didn't have to open the door.” She sounded like the bullets he had just watched. “You could have tried to stop him.”

  “But I had no other way to let them know. No soldiers were left at school.”

  She turned into the driveway. “Those cameramen picked up everything. Now everyone knows about the portal. And they know where it is.”

  “They may know about it, but no way that they know where. The president took the video.” For the first time, Linda wasn't on his side.

  * * *

  “COLLATERAL DAMAGE then,” said Richter/Salzmann. “The Brits won't care or do anything. They'll just have an election. If we're lucky, they'll pull their support.”

  “People just popped up. I was inside the dune. One man tripped over my shooting hole and opened it up. They were thirty feet away and could see me. I had to shoot.”

  “I don't care. The grand op
ening hit a snag. That's all that matters. Good job.”

  “When they were talking outside my burrow, I heard them mention “Fritz, the portal, Jane.”

  “That's good. We can find them.”

  * * *

  MARY OPENED THE back door when she heard the car doors shut. “The TV is on. They're rerunning all the footage. Lots of questions about where you all came from and disappeared to.”

  “Wonderful,” said Linda. “That's just perfect.”

  “Did they say anything about casualties?” Fritz asked.

  “Nothing yet. Is the president okay?”

  “He is, but they shot Ash and Jane. And Colonel Mitchell. I'm going to bed,” Linda headed out of the kitchen.

  “Good night,” said Fritz.

  Linda turned. “Fritz, it wasn't a good night. Right now, I'm tired and upset. The whole world knows, and the bad guys are still out there.” She walked out.

  Fritz poured a soda and dragged himself to the TV. The anchor was reporting that helicopters had transported the soldiers to a hospital. He mentioned that unknown civilians had been observed in the area. Fritz began to flip through channels. He stopped at Al-Jazeera and watched video of his race through the sand. No military were supposed to be in the area, the report said. The Israeli army was held at the border. American soldiers hidden in the sand dunes had repelled an attack, but no one knew who the attackers were. A shot of the world leaders disappearing raised the biggest question.

  Fritz responded to the anchorman's question. “I hope you never get an answer.”

  “What happened, Fritz?” Mary asked. Fritz told her the details he re-watched in his head. Fritz continued channel surfing, until he found a live news conference from Tel Aviv. The Israeli prime minister, surrounded by most of the leaders who had been at the morning's gathering, was answering questions. The president stood behind him. The prime minister told the reporters that each leader would have a short statement, but a press conference would be delayed. The president was the last to speak.