The storm increased in intensity, the sheer power of the wind rocking the vehicles. At one point the wheels of one of the vehicles left the ground for long seconds. The quick thinking of those sheltering beside it, reaching up to put their combined weight against the vehicle, prevented the vehicle from tipping over.
BY MCCARTER’S WATCH three hours had passed when the wind began to ease. He leaned across and tapped Hung on the shoulder. The Chinese raised his head.
“What do you think?” McCarter asked.
Hung pushed away from the vehicle and checked the velocity.
“I think it may be weakening. Moving away from us. Let’s get these vehicles started and get out of here. If it clears for us, it will be the same for Kang.”
THE MAJOR WAS ROUSED out of his semisleep by the sound of the helicopter powering up. Kang sat upright, peering through the canopy. Not only had the dust storm receded but the day was brightening around them.
“Is it safe?” he asked.
The pilot nodded, concentrating on getting the helicopter back in the air. As it rose, swinging back on course, the radio crackled into life.
“Yes?” Kang asked.
The reply he received lifted his spirits. Two helicopters were coming to rendezvous with him. They were troop-carrying transport helicopters, each with a complement of soldiers from the main base. As they had been coming from a distance beyond even Guang Lor, they hadn’t encountered the dust storm until its final phase, so they hadn’t lost as much time as Kang had expected they might.
“I am going on,” Kang said. “Get to my location as soon as you can. We need to control the area and pin these dissidents down. Remember that if we engage I want to try to take them alive if possible. Wound them if need be, but do your best to recapture them.”
HUNG’S VEHICLE REFUSED to fire up when he hit the start button. The engine turned over, but the ignition refused to catch. McCarter left his idling vehicle and hurried to Hung’s. He freed the hood and raised it, reaching inside to inspect the engine.
“Try her again,” he said.
The response was the same. The engine wouldn’t start, and it soon became apparent the battery wasn’t going to give them endless power to keep trying.
“What is it?” Anna asked.
“Can’t prove it without stripping the bloody thing down, but I think she sucked dust in through the air filter and it’s clogged up.”
“Nothing we can do?” Manning asked.
McCarter shook his head. “Needs time and equipment. We’re short on both. We leave this one. It’s going to be a squeeze, but we’ll have to make do with what we have left.”
They moved off minutes later, McCarter at the wheel, with Hung guiding him. As the dust storm abated enough to allow them a clear view of the way ahead, Hung was able guide them with a little more certainty, and McCarter used his skill behind the wheel to keep the vehicle moving at a steady pace.
The first pale streaks of dawn began to show as the storm faded behind them. Hung called a halt so he could establish their current position.
“We’ve drifted north a few miles,” he said. “We need to get back on our path. That way.”
McCarter upped the pace. Now that they were able to make out the terrain they were crossing, travel was easier.
“If the fuel holds out,” the Briton said, “I think we might just do it.”
“Hey, you want to rethink that?” James called.
They all followed his finger and saw the military helicopter swooping down out of the cleared sky. The moment it was in range, the 12.7 mm machine guns it carried opened up, sending lines of shells toward the vehicle.
“What was it you were saying about making it?” Encizo asked.
The Cuban hauled himself up behind the swivel-mounted machine in the rear of the vehicle and returned fire as the helicopter burned overhead, the rotor wash rocking the bouncing vehicle.
“Son of a bitch,” McCarter yelled, jamming his foot on the gas pedal, sending the vehicle roaring forward. “As they say in the best circles, ladies, hang on to your hats. This might get a little bumpy.”
The helicopter made a wide sweep, then angled in again, its weapons firing as it came. McCarter saw the earth-spouting bullet hits and swung the wheel hard, taking the vehicle out of the line of fire. Everyone was forced to grab hold of something to prevent being thrown out of the bouncing, bucking vehicle as it cut a wild track across the uneven terrain. Even Encizo, trying to handle his machine gun and return fire, was forced to abandon the idea while he clung on to the weapon.
“To the right,” Hung yelled. “That will take us to the border. The pass is beyond those ridges.”
McCarter wrestled with the steering wheel, gripping it hard as the vehicle crabbed from left to right, the spinning wheels jumped over the harsh ground. Out the corner of his eye he saw the fleeting shape of the pursuing helicopter as it came in for yet another attack, dropping even lower. The hard rattle of the machine gun sounded. Bullets struck only feet away. McCarter heard the rattle of splintered rock as the burst moved in closer. He wished he could give Encizo a better chance to fire back, but he knew that if he stopped, or even slowed, it would simply present the helicopter with an easier target.
Machine-gun fire raked the side of the vehicle, whining off the metal panels. McCarter felt the vehicle shudder.
Too bloody close, he thought. The bugger is getting his range now.
He stamped down hard on the gas pedal, working the gears, and felt the vehicle surge forward. In the pale dawn light he was able to see his way easier. Or so he thought, until someone yelled a warning. McCarter responded quickly, but he felt the vehicle hit a hidden ridge. It seemed to rise in slow motion before plunging over the ridge and dropping into a shallow ravine. The vehicle hung suspended for what felt like an eternity before it actually dropped. The rear wheels spun as they lost traction. Clouds of dirt and loose stones flew into the air as the truck bounced down the side of the fissure, swaying from side to side. The creak and squeal of tortured metal mingled with the roar of the heavy engine.
McCarter hung grimly on to the wheel, trying to keep the vehicle on a direct line as the base of the slope rushed toward them. He ignored the brake. There was no point even trying to halt the truck’s motion. Momentum and the sheer bulk of the vehicle kept it moving. One side of the windshield cracked with a loud sound.
“Hang on,” McCarter yelled above the din. “We’re—”
He didn’t get the chance to complete his warning as the front of the vehicle plowed into the base of the ravine, throwing a roiling cloud of dust up and over the hood. The truck lurched, almost stopped, then traveled a few more feet before it came to a complete halt, the engine stalling. A hiss of steam rose from the radiator.
McCarter pushed himself away from the steering wheel. The impact had slammed him bodily into the wheel, and he could feel a burning ache across his left side. He grabbed his P-90 and kicked open the door, almost falling from the vehicle. He climbed to his feet and saw the rest of the team disembarking.
He took some dirty looks as they stumbled to the ground.
“Is this the way you test those sports cars?” Manning asked. “I thought you were an expert driver?”
“Bloody hell,” McCarter said, unable to hold back a grin. “This isn’t exactly a thoroughbred. It’s a Chinese military truck.”
Further discussion was abandoned when James warned of approaching hostiles. He had climbed to the lip of the ravine and had seen Kang’s helicopter disgorge a six-man armed squad.
He spotted something else—a second military helicopter fast approaching the same coordinates.
“Looks like Kang called in help,” James said as he slid down to join the others.
McCarter indicated the snaking course of the ravine. “Let’s move. Right now there are too many, too bloody close. Move back then hold.”
He led the way, the rest falling in behind, distancing themselves from the crash site.
The
sound of shouted orders reached Phoenix Force as they scattered, using the truck’s bulk while they pulled back, looking for better cover. As they headed along the boulder-strewed base of the ravine Manning, spotting movement above them, yelled his warning. “Incoming.”
One of the Chinese soldiers had appeared on the rim, dropping to one knee and shouldering the launcher he carried. He pressed the trigger and the missile burst from the rocket tube, streaking for the truck. It sailed beneath the tailgate and impacted against the steel chassis cross members. The dull boom of sound became a sucking roar as the fuel tank blew, engulfing the stricken vehicle in a ball of flame and smoke. Debris flew in every direction, smoke trails in its wake. The fireball and smoke obscured the view of both groups. As it dissipated, Phoenix Force took the offensive, moving to firing positions and raking the oncoming Chinese with steady, accurate fire. Two of Kang’s men went down in the first few seconds, another stumbled, his shoulder torn and bloody.
There was a lull before the squad from the second chopper appeared, swarming over the rim, firing as they came. Another half dozen soldiers came into view, rushing to join up with the remainder of the first group. Within seconds they came streaming down the slope toward the blazing remains of the truck and Phoenix Force, who had pulled back again during the break in hostilities. As the first line entered the ravine, additional soldiers appeared to reinforce their ranks.
“What the hell they got out there?” James asked. “The First Beijing Brigade?”
“Hey, don’t ask for something you don’t really want,” Encizo warned.
They backed along the ravine, firing as they moved, using every piece of cover they could find.
James fed an HE round into his M-203 launcher, sending the explosive shell into the bunched Chinese on his flank. The detonation put three down and wounded a couple more. The action held the others back long enough for James to load a second HE round and send it in the direction of the advancing squad. This one scattered the troops and they stayed out of range.
“Time we got out of here,” McCarter yelled above the crackle of autofire.
Crouching beside him, Hung nodded. “Wisest thing you said since we fell in this hole.”
“Anna, you move Hung and Tan up the far side. Rafe, give them cover fire. Gary, far side. Watch for any movement up there.”
He caught James’s eye. “You’re with me.”
“THEY WILL NEVER GIVE IN,” the sergeant from the relief troops said. “As long as we fire only to wound, they are going to keep killing us, Major.”
Kang watched as more men from the two reinforcement helicopters moved in the direction of the spot where the truck had crashed. Smoke was still rising from the vehicle. He knew the sergeant was right. The Americans and their allies were offering strong resistance and already had taken out a number of the soldiers. Their determination had not slackened. If they continued fighting back, they would deplete his force even more and additional reinforcements were unlikely in the short term.
His desire to capture the enemy alive might not happen. Kang wanted it desperately, but the situation was not working in his favor. It appeared he might yet have to deliver his prize to Beijing in body bags rather than in chains.
“Pass the order,” he said. “If capturing them alive can’t be done, take them dead. But at least achieve that, Sergeant.”
HUNG HAD ALMOST REACHED the top of the slope when Dar Tan and Anna were distracted when one of the advancing soldiers, coming down the far side, opened up with his assault rifle. The burst of 5.56 mm fire peppered the rocks around them.
Tan swung his own weapon on line and returned fire, his shots way off target. They spit chipped stone against the soldier’s legs, distracting him for a moment. Seeing this, Dar Tan advanced against Anna’s warning, losing target acquisition in the process. By the time he realized his error, the soldier had taken advantage.
Dar Tan’s rising muzzle trailed behind the soldier’s. His weapon crackled harshly, the short burst catching Tan in the right side, in his lower ribs. Tan gave a startled cry, his face rigid with the shock of being hit. He stumbled to his knees, sucking panicky breaths into his lungs.
Anna had moved quickly to cover the soldier, her P-90 coming on track. She triggered a burst that punched into the man’s chest a split second after he had fired on Tan and knocked him off his feet.
“Are you badly hit?” Anna asked.
Tan stared at her, his gaze vacant.
“Dar,” she yelled. “On your feet.”
He stared a few seconds longer as her harsh words penetrated, then blinked, and when his eyes focused again Anna could see a gleam of coherence in his gaze.
“I…Mei Anna?”
He didn’t finish the sentence. A figure appeared at his side, gripping his upper arm.
“Come. Let us go quickly.”
It was Loy Hung. He had returned to assist Anna and between them they pushed Tan up the slope and over the far rim, where they lay in the dust, hearing the firefight raging around them.
Anna bent over Dar Tan, her hands pressed over the bloody wounds in his side. She could feel the warm liquid oozing between her fingers. She felt helpless, knowing there was little she could do for him. Without medical attention he might simply bleed to death.
“Loy, how far to the pass from here?”
Hung glanced over his shoulder, then back to stare at her.
“Maybe a half mile,” he said. “Why? We can’t move Tan ourselves.”
“I wasn’t thinking of that.”
“Then what?”
“Going for help. Bringing that helicopter here to us. It could fend off Kang’s people easily and we could airlift Dan out, too.”
“Anna?”
“I can do it,” she said.
Hung watched as she discarded her combat harness. She thrust the P-90 into his hands. All she retained was her holstered 9 mm Beretta with a couple of extra magazines.
“This is foolish,” Hung protested.
“No one ever told me I was being wise joining the Pro-Democracy group, either,” Anna said, smiling briefly. “Loy, Kang has too many men out there. I can’t just sit here and let you and my friends die for nothing. I have to at least try to help them.”
“That’s what I was told about breaking you out of Guang Lor. What is it about these Americans that they refuse to abandon one another?”
“It’s the way they are.” She touched his arm. “Looks as if it’s catching, too.”
Before Hung could say another word Anna pushed to her feet and moved off. He watched as she cut off across country, marking the distant ridges as her destination. She broke into a gentle trot, then increased to a steady run, moving in an easy, rhythmic stride.
Behind Hung came a rattle of sound. The Chinese turned, bringing up his weapon as David McCarter hauled himself over the rim and lay flat on the ground. He took in the picture, searching for Mei Anna.
“Hung, where is she?”
“Gone for help. To the pass.”
“That crazy…”
McCarter twisted and brought his P-90 into play, raking the slope below to drive back a rush from some of the Chinese troops. His covering fire helped the rest of Phoenix Force to clear the rim of the ravine, bullets smacking into the slopes around them. There was a break in the firing as the Chinese realized they were exposing themselves too readily if they continued to try to breach the ravine with the enemy strung out along the opposite rim.
“Hung?”
“Tan got hit. He’s going to need medical help soon. Anna just decided. She was gone before I could do a thing.”
“Sounds like our girl,” James said, moving to Tan’s side. “There’s not a lot I can do, either. Those mothers took my first-aid pack when they detained us and I didn’t get it back.”
Hung freed the backpack he had around his shoulder. It held the circuit board and digital camera. There were some folded cloths he had used for protection. Hung unwrapped the board and handed the cloths to Jam
es.
“I might be able to fashion a pressure bandage,” James said.
He bent over Tan and began to open the man’s clothing.
THE BINOCULARS TOLD Kang all he needed to know. He saw Mei Anna and Loy Hung assist the wounded Dar Tan over the rim of the ravine. The sight of the Chinese woman roused his anger to a high level. He was unable to ignore the image of her bloody, battered face and those defiant eyes daring him to hurt her more.
Damn you, Kang, you should have killed her when you had the opportunity, he thought.
He was regretting that more with each passing second.
Then he was rewarded by the sight of Mei Anna discarding her equipment. She was talking to Loy hung, making some point. And then she rose to her feet and began to move, breaking into a run as she turned in the direction of—the border.
She was going for help. Of course, he realized. The Americans had to have some transport waiting on the Afghani side of the border, there to pick them up on completion of their mission.
“Sergeant, take command. Don’t pull back. I want those men dealt with.”
“Where are you going, Major?”
“One of them is trying to escape. If she reaches the border we could lose her, and she might bring reinforcements.”
Kang turned back to his waiting helicopter, indicating to the pilot to start the engine.
This time Mei Anna had made an error. Out there in the open there was no way she could run a helicopter. He flung himself inside, closing the door.
“Go,” he yelled. “The other side. The woman is trying to reach the border. This time she will not make another of her famous escapes.”
The chopper rose, hovered, then swooped forward, over the ravine in pursuit of Mei Anna.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Just go,” Manning said. “Sitting there making faces isn’t helping anyone. On your feet and go get her.”
“Do it, hombre,” Encizo said.
“Get the hell out of here,” was all James said, without looking up from ministering to Tan.
China Crisis (Stony Man) Page 16