by Mack Maloney
Calculations, permutations, probability quotients, the measurable effect of coincidence — they all had to add up if he was to be successful.
Going after whatever was hidden at Yankee Stadium was an unexpected yet calculated risk. He knew it meant at least one more day that PAAC and the others would have to carry on without the crucial fifth black box, but from the deepest part of his gut instinct, he felt he was making the right decision. Something so valuable to Viktor would also be valuable to the Western Forces, even if all they did was destroy it. So Hunter and his new allies were lying low during the daylight hours and planned to drive to the stadium as soon as night fell. Then Hunter knew he would have some tough decisions to make. And the first one would be what to do about Dominique.
He turned to look at her. Life was so strange and he knew it better than most.
In all that time that she was missing, he had always felt like she was alive — somewhere. And he had vowed to find her. Now she was with him again. The woman who had haunted him since the first time they met was beside him, in the flesh. He had her again. Would he be foolish enough to let her go?
A wave of doubt clouded his mind. Why shouldn't he just take her and take off?
Go to Free Canada, live as normal a life as one could in the New Order world.
Just what the hell was he running around the whole Godforsaken continent for anyway? This dream — this Goddamn myth — that somehow, some way, he could magically put the United States back together again? He had to laugh. It was a joke. Imagine carrying around such an impossible dream of reuniting America again when there were thousands of Soviet missiles sitting in the middle of the country, a huge hostile army holding more than half the territory of the former U.S., and, thousands of Mongol warriors roaming the countryside, terrorizing, murdering, raping.
So why fight it? Why not just chuck it all, leave the wars to someone else?
Grab Dominique and take a sub ride back to Canada and become a fisherman. Or a farmer? Or a crop duster?
There were plenty of reasons to do it.
But there were more reasons why he couldn't. Sure, he could leave the U.S., but he couldn't leave it behind. And he could live with Dominique, but he couldn't live with himself. The whole idea — the whole concept — of the United States of America was alive just as long as one person believed in it. Fought for it. Died for it. He was one person. But there were thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousand, even millions, of people who still believed in the dream. Still would fight for it. Die for it. Tell their children about it. The difference between him and all those people was that he — by a fluke of nature — could have a direct bearing on the outcome. That twist of fate — that he was the best fighter pilot ever born. He knew it. But far from being a glamorous calling, the responsibility was awesome — to the point that sometimes, in his darkest and deepest recesses, he resented it. And the life that went along with it was too hard for him to carry any false modesty about what he was.
So he could flee to Canada and be comfortable, even wealthy. But he wouldn't be free. And neither would his country. And that made all the difference Dominique turned to him, her eyes open only wide enough to let her tears flow out. She knew what he was thinking. They were psychically linked — probably she more to him than the reverse. He felt the pain well up inside his heart and catch him in the throat. Here she was, in his arms, after all that time.
And yet he knew, that all too soon, he would have to let her go again.
They made love again, then they fell into a tightly locked embrace and finally went to sleep.
One hour after the sun set, two House of David Cadillac gunwagons passed through the last friendly checkpoint and started north. The first car — a converted hearse — featured an oddly-sized .35 mm cannon mounted on its hood and twin .50 caliber machineguns hanging off its sides. A small but powerful rocket launcher was installed in a home-made turret drilled into the center of the car roof. This car was filled with House of David night fighters, the best the group had to offer. Car Number Two, a converted limousine with Wack behind the wheel, carried Hunter and Dominique in the front seat with Zal, and the rest of the commandos riding in back. This vehicle was a land version of a recon aircraft. Its only "weapon" was a large camera mounted on the dashboard.
Both cars were heavily armored on the sides and the roof, wore metal skirts to protect the tires and, featured cloudy, but secure-looking bullet-proof glass.
Each was equipped with a CB radio, and as soon as the nine-mile journey to Yankee Stadium began, a non-stop racket of radio chatter commenced between the cars.
The route to the stadium that Wack had selected was the least treacherous of several. The two cars would move up Sixth Avenue, cut through Central Park, emerge at about 110th Street then cut over to what remained of the Henry Hudson Parkway. From there it was a straight line — more or less — to Yankee Stadium.
Wack and his crew were old hands at what they called "turf-busting." That was, driving as fast as possible through another groups' territory, zig-zagging so no one could get a clear shot at you. It was an acceptable practice in New York City these days, to a point approaching sport. But only the fastest survived. Helmets were required, as were elaborate seat harnesses. And, of course, no headlights could be used.
The two cars took off and soon enough, they were skirting the edge of CorpCat country at close to 60 MPH. Only a few shots were fired at them, and to no effect. Wack yelled over to Hunter that the Cats were too blown out from their
'scraper battle with Max-Army the night before to worry about the two House gunwagons.
Once off Sixth Avenue, the cars roared through Central Park, which to Hunter resembled nothing less than photographs he'd seen of the Ardenne Forest during World War I. In the intense moonlight, he could see the ground was churned up like a massive plow had worked it. Acres lay bare of trees or any vegetation.
The various ponds and lakes were bone dry. Destroyed military equipment — tanks, personnel carriers, even a few downed helicopters — lay rusting; relics from the war between the New York and New Jersey National Guards. Beside many of the wrecks lay skeletons and parts of skeletons, their bones long ago licked clean by dogs, rats and other vermin.
After passing through the nightmare landscape of the park, the cars began picking up sporadic fire courtesy of soldiers of the Gwanda Nation. Their turf covered the area from West 110th Street to the George Washington Bridge, a critical long stretch of the journey. Wack expertly wheeled the big car back and forth, as Hunter shielded Dominique. The two gun wagon cars were moving at 70 mph, and all the weaving was causing a racket of squealing tires and burning rubber. With little damage done, Wack followed the lead car onto the Cathedral Parkway.
That's when they saw the roadblock…
It was straight ahead of them, right at the entrance to the Hudson Parkway.
There were four vehicles — two cars on the outside and two jeeps on the inside — parked in such a way as to block off the entire roadway. The roadblock looked to be manned by at least 20 Gwanda Nation warriors, fierce-looking men in jungle fatigues. Hunter pushed Dominique all the way down to the floor, then checked his .357 Magnum.
"Don't worry, guys," Wack said confidently. "We've been here before."
Hunter saw the gunner in the car in front of them slip into position behind the turret-mounted rocket launcher. The driver of the first car called back to Wack: "Stay on my tail, Number Two. This is a Red Sea. Repeat, Red Sea. Sam's aiming for the middle."
"Roger," Wack yelled into the radio, then back to his passengers. "Okay, guys>,hang on!"
About 50 feet out the first car stopped swerving. The rocket gunner lined up a shot and hit his launch button. A wire-guided missile leaped from the turret and instantly hit square in the middle of the two center vehicles. The powerful rocket exploded in a ball of orange flame, lifting the first jeep up and off the ground, and knocking the second one back a good 10 feet.
Before Hunter knew
it, the two House of David cars were speeding through the burning hole created by the missile. He could hear a few thuds against the cars as the Gwanda Nation soldiers fired at them. But the armor on the doors prevented any of the bullets from getting through.
Wack laughed as they burst onto the relatively safe Hudson Parkway. "Just like Moses, it works every time!"
The two car caravan reached Yankee Stadium without further incident. Outside, the huge bat that marked the stadium entrance for years now lay broken in several large chunks, as if a giant had smashed it. Slowly, the gun wagons circled the stadium, looking for a means of entry.
There was a garage door to the rear of the place which was both locked and rusted in place. A shot from the rocket car's cannon took care of it, snapping its springs and causing the door to rise high enough for the two cars to sneak through.
They drove out onto the field, the high stadium walls giving them the feeling that they were in a dark valley. The place had fallen into disrepair, yet oddly, the bases were still in place, as was the pitcher's mound. Hunter had been to the stadium as a boy, on all occasions watching the Yanks beat his hometown Boston Red Sox. Now it was as dreary as a place could be, another rusting symbol of a faded American dream.
They drove right out to the left field wall where they found another garage door, an entrance way that maintenance vehicles used to access the field.
Another burst of cannon fire opened this door and soon the tiny band found themselves walking in a large, pitch black room.
Hunter was directing one of two high-powered flashlights Wack had supplied, Dominique glued to his side.
"What could be here, Hawk?" she asked. "Why would this place be so important to Viktor? He never mentioned it in all the time I was with him."
"Beats me," Hunter said, playing the flashlight beam over racks of old grass rakes and bags of baseline lime. "But he knew that Calypso had hidden something here, something he was willing to pay big numbers for. Something he must have thought would help him in winning the war in the 'Bads."
Suddenly they heard Zal call out: "Hunter! Over here!"
They rushed to his side and saw that he had found yet another door, this one smaller and apparently installed fairly recently. A computerized combination lock held the folding door shut.
Hunter made short work, of the combination, finally getting the computer to show three red indicator lights in a row. With the entire force standing around him, he pushed one final button and the door slowly began to rise.
"Well, Jesus Christ!" Zal was the first one to speak.
"Ditto," said Wack, pointing his flashlight beam onto the object inside. The rest of the group could utter no more than a chorus of "Oohs" and "Aahs."
For the first time in a long time, Hunter was speechless. So this is what all the fuss was about, he thought. He had had a clue even before the door opened, detecting a whiff of aviation fuel. Now he knew why.
It was an airplane hidden in the secret room. But not just any airplane. In fact, it was probably the only one of its kind.
"What the hell kind of jet is that, Hawk?" Zal, the experienced F-105
Thunderchief pilot, asked. "Those curves, that material, that design. It looks more like a kid's toy."
Hunter ran his flashlight beam the length of the small aircraft. Ah, yes.
Those curves. That material. That design. He couldn't contain his smile.
"That, ladies and gentlemen, is called 'Stealth.' "
Chapter Twenty-eight
The Stealth airplane was probably the most closely guarded secret the U.S.
Government ever had, before the lid came off when one of its models crashed in the California highlands back in the early 1980s. Oddly enough, just like the Ghost Rider Project, the object of Stealth was radar avoidance. Ghost Rider deflected radar waves through an ultra-complicated, electronic jamming system.'Stealth was invisible to radar primarily because of its design and what it was made of.
Even Hunter wasn't entirely sure how it worked — not yet anyway. It looked like a flattened-out teardrop with French curve wings and tail section. It was about two thirds the size of an F-16, small for a military jet. It was painted dull black. But it was because of this small, curving design and the use of mostly non-metallic building materials and paint, that U.S. aeronautical engineers were able to get the Stealth airplane's radar signature down to nothing. Unlike the five Ghost Rider B-1 bombers, this airplane was designed as a fighter. It sported two .20 mm cannons and also hardpoints on its wings to carry missiles or bombs. Hunter instantly knew that if he could get this airplane back to the Badlands, along with the fifth Ghost Rider black box, then the Western Forces would be nearly invincible against the Russian SAMs.
No wonder Viktor wanted it so much.
"We've got to get it out of here," Hunter said. With that, the group took positions around the wing and fuselage and started to push. The airplane was lightweight by design so it was fairly easy to get it rolling. Once it was out on the field, Wack produced a length of chain and worked on setting up a makeshift towing line.
Meanwhile, Hunter had popped the airplane's canopy and had climbed inside. How the airplane got into Calypso's hands and into Yankee Stadium, he would never know. But he could tell by one sniff that at some point recently, the airplane had been expertly maintained, right down to clean oil in the engine, and fresh fuel in the tanks. Its battery was still charged, and Hunter was glad to see that like his F-16, the Stealth was equipped with a self-starter.
By this time, they had towed the airplane out into the stadium's enormous parking lot. Hunter had everyone stand clear as he flipped a barrage of preliminary switches. Then, he crossed his fingers and hit the start button…
Without an instant's hesitation, the engine sprang to life.
He quickly adjusted the fuel mixture and activated the computer. Then he climbed out.
Zal met him. "Jesus, Hawk," the ADF pilot said. "If that thing can penetrate their radar net, their aircover will be zilch. Once the word gets out and you show up over the battlefield in that, and you'll have half of them turning tail and running back home."
Just then an idea flashed through Hunter's mind.
"Wack," Hunter yelled to the House leader. "You got film in that camera?"
Five minutes and 20 high-power strobelight flashes later, Wack was removing a roll of film from the camera and handing it to Hunter. "I'll be sure to send, you prints," Hunter said, jokingly.
But it was the last laugh he'd have for a long time. For now it was decision time. The others wisely stood off to the side as Dominique stood by him. He turned to her and opened his mouth to speak. But no words would come out.
She did all the talking necessary. "Oh, Hawk," she sighed as she held him. "I know what you have to do." She was crying. He felt a heaviness in his chest.
Before they had departed House of David territory, Wack had made arrangements for two of his fighters to meet the Free Canadian sub at its rendezvous point and direct it up the Hudson River to a point off the Hunter's group's position. The plan had been for the sub to carry the commandos out, head for JFK where only Hunter would be dropped off to pick up his F-16, and bring the rest of the group — Dominique included — back to the safety of Free Canada.
Wack and his guys would then make their way back to safer ground.
Now there was a slight change in plans. Hunter was determined to fly the Stealth back to the war zone. This would mean leaving behind two of his greatest loves — Dominique and his F-16.
"Come for me darling," she said, kissing him hard. "Come for me when the war is over. I'll be waiting, like I always have."
He looked at her. She was beautiful. "1 love you, honey," he said, hugging her tightly. He didn't want to let go. "Someday…"
He could say no more.
Suddenly, he saw a muzzle flash off in the distance. Wack and Zal saw it to. A shell came crashing into the parking lot, landing nearby. A check of Zal's NightScope confirmed their worst fears
.
"Christ!" Zal yelled. "It looks like an armored column coming our way."
Hunter took a look through the scope. He counted at least twenty vehicles, all gunwagons of some sort, including several tanks.
"Who the hell are they?" Simons, the Canadian commander asked, taking the scope from Hunter.
"Probably some 'instant allies,' " Wack told them. "If Viktor is still alive, he could have rounded up some heavy metal from the other groups. Either that or word got around real quick as to what we found here."
"Whoever they are, they're coming to claim this package," Hunter said referring to the Stealth. Suddenly a tank round landed even closer to them, causing the group to hit the pavement. "And they ain't going to be friendly about it," he finished.
Another round came in, and landed dangerously close to the Stealth. The column was about a half-mile away, traveling quickly up the Hudson Parkway. At this rate, Hunter's tiny army would soon be overwhelmed.
Suddenly they saw another muzzle flash — this one coming from the blackness of the nearby Hudson. A shell landed right in front of the column hitting squarely on the lead gun wagon.
Hunter took the NightScope and peered in the direction of the latest gunfire.
"It's the sub!" he yelled.
Hunter could see the definite outline of the submarine as it sat in the middle of the river. Several figures were scurrying around its deck, working the gun installed there.
"Come on!" Hunter yelled. "They're giving us the cover we need…"
He turned to look at the parking lot. It was only about 1800 feet long and he, calculated the Stealth would need at least 2500 to take off. Still he had to try it.