"There!" Scott exclaimed. "Two o'clock, a lodge in the trees."
"I see it--got it."
Jackie maneuvered the helicopter into a hover over the grassy shoreline thirty yards from the once-exotic retreat. She turned the LongRanger 90 degrees and gently set it down. "I don't see any activity or any sign of a helo. Want to continue down the lake?"
"Let me check the place, and then we'll move on."
"Be careful."
Scott nodded as he touched his 9mm Sig Sauer and reached for an H&K compact submachine gun. He started to get out of the helicopter and then hesitated, reaching for three full magazines for the H&K. "Back in a minute."
He climbed out of the helicopter and cautiously approached the deteriorated lodge. The oversized front door was gone. Behind the main dwelling were two small log cabins, one of which was partially collapsed. Scott walked up three steps to the uneven front porch and entered the dusty main building. He checked the rooms on the ground floor and then went up the short flight of stairs to the loft. A ragged sleeping bag and three crushed beer cans were the only items on the dirty floor.
Turning to go back down the stairs, Scott felt a cold chill when he saw crushed cigarette butts on the downstairs floor. He descended for a closer look. They were freshly smoked cigarettes, the same U. S. brand Khaliq Farkas was known to use.
With his adrenaline surging, Scott began scrutinizing the rooms again and noticed something strange in one of the bedrooms. In the corner of the inside wall he noticed a lot of footprints on the dusty floor. Why would there he dust tracks from the door to an empty corner? Why all the activity in the corner and no tracks across the room?
He paused a moment and then started walking toward the corner. Five feet from the junction of the walls, he stepped on the end of a floorboard and almost tripped when the other end of the board popped up. He gently pushed on his end of the board and grabbed the other end when it came up. Setting the loose board aside, Scott looked into the space beneath the floor and froze. Oh, shit--the nukes!
At the same instant he heard something familiar. He paused a moment and then rushed into the living/dining area and turned toward the open front door. Jackie could not hear the sound because of the noise her helicopter was making.
Scott had started to bolt for the LongRanger when a blue-and-white MD 500 rose above the nearby trees.
Khaliq Farkas aimed an M79 grenade launcher at the Bell 206 and fired. The 40mm grenade exploded under the tail rotor blades, twisting and snapping the tail rotor drive.
Opening fire with the submachine gun, Scott did not count on getting many hits from his position. He fired a few more rounds while Jackie scrambled out of the helicopter. With the engine winding down, she raced for the lodge with the other submachine gun.
Farkas smiled, amused by his strange turn of luck. He finally had the two Americans trapped like rodents in a cage. He and his pilot, Omar Musa, had planned to lie low in the abandoned lodge for a few days. Too many people had seen their helicopter at the B-25 crash site and at the Flagstaff airport.
Farkas had correctly figured that the description of their helicopter would have been sent to all the airports and law enforcement agencies in this part of the country. With a stash of food and water from the helicopter, they planned to wait a day or two and then fly at night to a rendezvous point with their driver. Farkas was going to move the four nuclear bombs to a safer location, but first he had to dispose of the two Americans.
Farkas and Musa had rolled their light MD 500 under a thick stand of trees and then carefully camouflaged it with branches from other trees. They had not counted on the hikers who watched them land and get out of the helicopter.
When the LongRanger suddenly came into view, Farkas and Musa were caught completely off guard. Fearing the FBI might be rapidly closing in, they grabbed all of their gear and raced out the back door. After an eighty-yard run, they yanked the camouflage off the MD 500, tossed their belongings inside, moved the helicopter out into the small clearing, fired up the engine, and immediately took off.
Although he only had three more grenades, Farkas was stubbornly determined to use the grenade launcher to eliminate his tormentors. The opportunity was too inviting to throw away. He knew it might take some time, and it would attract a lot of attention, but now was the moment he had been waiting for.
On the other hand, Omar Musa wanted to get as far away as possible in short order. However, like many others in the terrorist community, Musa knew it was a bad idea to question Khaliq Farkas.
"Are you okay?" Scott asked, as Jackie flew through the open door.
"Yeah, but the helos trashed--we re stranded."
"The nukes are here, all four of them!"
Jackie's eyes opened wide. "Oh, my God."
"The sat phone?" Scott asked.
"I was in a bit of a hurry--left it in the helo," she said with a shrug. "But I have my cell phone."
"Now might be a good time to use it."
Jackie called Frank Wakefield and explained their dire situation. She gave him their basic position and quickly signed off.
Scott heard the MD 500 slowly circling over the lodge, waiting for the right opening to hit them again. When the helicopter slowed with the left side to the lodge, Scott looked at Jackie. "They're going to try putting a grenade through the front door. Follow me!"
They went into the large kitchen, putting a wall between them and the open front door.
"Get on the floor," he said as a grenade blasted through the wide door and hit the stone fireplace. It shattered the fireplace and blew out the only window remaining in the main room.
Jackie looked up. "I think they're directly over us."
"Into the bathroom!"
They slammed the door as another grenade ripped through the decaying roof and exploded in the main room. It blew debris out the door and the windows.
Scott opened the door a few inches. "I don't know how many grenades he has, but they're going to take us out if we don't do something."
"Let's get some rounds into them, do some damage."
He listened to the sound of the turbine helicopter. "They're directly behind the lodge; I'm going out the front. Let me know which side they're coming up."
"Okay."
Rushing out the front door, Scott's instincts told him to go to his right. Helicopter pilots traditionally fly from the right seat and Farkas would be on the left side of the MD 500. He heard the helicopter approaching. "Which side?" he yelled.
"I can't tell!"
Counting off three seconds, Scott jumped off the porch and started firing head-on at the helicopter.
Omar Musa yanked the cyclic back and the MD 500 shot skyward. Some of the rounds had penetrated the cockpit, slightly wounding Musa. Most of Scott's rounds had hit the belly and tail.
He quickly ducked inside the shattered lodge. "Well, they know we're still here. Don't know how long they can stand off and pick away at us."
Jackie took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "We know they topped off their fuel in Flagstaff, so I'd say at least another hour or more."
He looked out the window as the MD 500 passed over the lodge. "They'll eventually get us if we don't do something. We have to split up."
"Are you nuts?" "No."
Another grenade blew a large hole in the roof over the kitchen, stunning Jackie. Ears ringing and bleeding from a minor wound on her neck, she stumbled into the main room. "They're going to level this place if we don't do something."
"After they make another pass," Scott said, as he darted a look at the circling helicopter, "you take off out the back door and run straight into the woods. Once you're twenty yards inside the tree line, cut a right forty-five and go about a hundred yards in and camouflage yourself."
"What are you going to do?"
"Fm going out the front door and run ninety degrees to your right. Do the same thing you do, but to the left. You stay in your position, and I'll come to you."
"Okay," she said, and wiped
the layer of dust off her face. "How are you on clips?"
"I have two full ones left."
The MD 500 had climbed and picked up speed. It circled the lodge three times and then made a high-speed pass low over the roof. Farkas raked the structure with an AK-47 while the helicopter climbed steeply and turned back toward the lodge.
"Let's hit it!" Scott said.
Farkas and Musa saw the Americans run into the dense woods and disappear. They swore and Musa slowed the MD 500. He was against flying directly over the area where the two people had vanished, but Farkas insisted on it.
They discussed the idea of landing so Farkas could get out and track the Americans with Musa orbiting over them. They collectively ruled out the idea as too risky. When Farkas finally caught a glimpse of Jackie, he ordered Musa to turn around.
"Slow down," Farkas ordered.
"It isn't safe."
"I said slow down."
Musa quietly complied. We're going to be a perfect target
"Get lower."
When the tail of the helicopter was finally pointing at him, Scott fired three short bursts and continued running toward Jackie. He did not want them to see any muzzle flashes and give away his position. When he had another chance, Scott fired two short bursts. It was difficult shooting up through the trees, but at least he had some cover. He was confident that he was getting hits, but it seemed to have little if any effect.
After taking a circuitous route, Scott finally found Jackie.
"Any idea how much longer on fuel?" he asked, breathing hard.
"I really don't know, but it can't be much longer or they won't have enough to reach an airport."
Scott schooled himself to breathe slower. "If we can keep them guessing, they either have to depart for fuel or Wakefield's boys will show up."
Jackie was about to speak when a high volume of automatic weapons fire ripped through the trees, spraying rounds in every direction. The indiscriminate rain of fire was unnerving.
Scott grimaced as he shoved another magazine into the submachine gun. "They're going to get us if we don't respond now."
"Let's open fire at the same time," Jackie asserted. "Pour it to them."
"Give me a few seconds to get about thirty, forty yards away." Scott closely watched the helicopter. "Catch 'em in a crossfire."
"Go!"
The MD 500 again picked up speed, but it was flying much lower than it was before. Another long burst from the helicopter shredded everything in a large area twenty feet from Scott. When the weapon went silent, Scott rose and began firing. Jackie commenced firing a split second later. They ceased firing when the MD 500 made a tight climbing turn to reposition for another firing run.
"Concentrate your fire on the engine," Scott yelled above the sound of the helicopter.
Jackie yelled back. "These are designed for close-quarters combat, lucky to hit anything!"
Scott was waiting until the last second when Jackie began firing. He immediately responded, trying to bracket the engine area. Whether he or Jackie had connected, there was an instant effect. Smoke poured from the MD 500 as the pilot tried to make an emergency landing.
As an experienced helicopter pilot, Jackie could discern the attempt to auto-rotate into the small clearing by the lodge. "He s going in hard!"
"Let s go--get on em!"
Scott and Jackie were almost to the edge of the tree line when the MD 500 slammed into the ground, shedding its skids and wheels.
"Hit the deck!" Jackie ordered, seeing what was coming.
They sprawled on their bellies and covered their heads.
The helicopter bounced high into the air and rolled as the main rotor blades made contact with the ground. The shattered blades came off and became deadly shrapnel, flung in every direction. The MD 500 hit the ground again and violently tumbled into the tall trees on the other side of the clearing.
With their weapons in hand, Jackie and Scott rose to their feet and raced toward the smoldering wreckage. Approaching the destroyed helicopter, they had their submachine guns pointed at the hulk.
Scott motioned for Jackie to hold her ground while he inspected the totally demolished aircraft. He carefully approached the crushed cockpit and peered inside.
He stepped back and lowered his weapon. "Clear, no threat."
When Jackie viewed the remains of the cockpit, she could see that the pilot had died from head injuries. Khaliq Farkas was still alive but rapidly loosing blood. He was semiconscious but able to move his legs and arms. They needed to get him to a hospital if there was going to be any chance for the FBI and the CIA to interrogate him about other terrorist activities.
While Jackie was on the phone requesting a Life Flight helicopter, Scott retrieved all their gear from the damaged Bell LongRanger. He used one of the satellite phones to contact Hartwell Prost and gave him a situation report. Prost was more than pleased; he was elated by the double dose of good news.
Shortly after the medical helicopter landed in the clearing, another helicopter arrived carrying five members of Frank Wakefields FBI team. They orbited overhead until the medical helicopter left and then landed in their spot.
The agent in charge had been briefed by Wakefield about the two covert operators and the nuclear weapons at the lodge. Questions about Scott and Jackie were off-limits. FBI agents would guard the suitcase nukes until the bombs could be removed.
The bureaus pilot gave Jackie and Scott a lift to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Once they were airborne, Jackie turned to Scott. "What did Hartwell have to say?"
"It was a brief conversation. He was ecstatic about Farkas and the nukes, but we may have a new assignment."
Jackie's usual pleasant smile and easygoing personality had gone missing. "New assignment?"
"I'm just reporting what he said. Prost is sending a military transport to pick us up in Phoenix and fly us to Spokane to retrieve our plane. He wants us to meet him at his home tomorrow night at seven."
"What do you think is up?"
Scott shrugged his shoulders in a noncommittal gesture. "I really don't know, but there was something in his voice."
"Like what: sorrow, elation?"
"Excitement comes to mind, a sense of enthusiasm."
USS STENNIS
The tension was palpable on the bridge and throughout the ship. The nighttime raid from the North Arabian Sea deep into Afghanistan and Iran was about to enter the next phase. The strike aircraft had refueled en route to their various targets. Tomahawk missiles had damaged or destroyed key military airfield runways, tactical aircraft, enemy air defense sites, and weapons storage and assembly centers. Additional Tomahawks were striking terrorists' headquarters, supply centers, and training camps.
After the carrier aircraft struck their targets, B-2 stealth bombers would continue to pound specific terrorist targets and enemy air defenses. On the heels of the B-2 Spirits, B-1Bs and B-52S would carpet-bomb military and civilian airfields used by terrorists.
The Joint Chiefs had deployed eleven B-1B bombers to the tiny gulf state of Bahrain. A second detachment of B-1B bombers was en route to the island of Diego Garcia, a coral atoll in the Southern Indian Ocean. F-117 Night Hawk stealth tactical strike fighters were being deployed to Kuwait's A1 Jaber Air Base. Other fighter planes, bombers, tankers, and support aircraft were landing at the al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar and the new base north of Assab, Eritrea.
The British were sending the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal to sail in harm's way for their dependable ally. Accompanied by several vessels, the British STOVL (short takeoff, vertical landing) ship would be carrying Harriers and Sea King helicopters. A trio of U. S. carriers, George Washington, Nimitz, and Constellation, would soon join Stennis in the ongoing war on terrorism.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Sitting at his desk in the Oval Office, President Macklin was relaxed when he directed his attention to the television camera. "My fellow Americans, as a nation we have suffered yet another brutal attack by
terrorists. We will continue to assert our leadership in the war on terror. The time for fainthearted diplomacy has long passed. We will systematically destroy every known terrorist compound and the military capability of the host country.
"If the terrorist attacks continue, we will destroy the entire infrastructure of the host countries. We will keep relentless pressure on all our adversaries, al-Qaeda, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, the PLO, and other terrorist groups. One by one, we will hunt down and bring the terrorist leaders to justice. The nations that are involved in terrorism, and that includes Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Lebanon, Algeria, Yemen, and Libya, will pay a tremendous penalty
"From this day forward, while Fm president of the United States of America, we will answer terrorism with an assured response. If you host terrorists, support terrorists, or allow terrorism to thrive by ignoring it, your country will pay the ultimate price." His intense stare was locked on the camera. "You have my word."
Macklin allowed a moment for the message to be absorbed. Prepare them for the skirmish with Mexico.
"As we fight the terrorists overseas, we cannot overlook our battle against terrorism right here on our soil. Secretary of State Austin has conferred with the president of Mexico, and President Cardenas has agreed to do everything in his power to regain control of the situation in his country.
"We applaud President Cardenas for his efforts in this matter, but we must also look at our responsibility, both short-term and in the future. My administration is going to take immediate steps to seal our border with Mexico. We will restore law and order on the border.
"As a good neighbor to Mexico, it is incumbent on us to work with President Cardenas to help improve their economy and living conditions. However, we will not tolerate blatant disregard for our sovereignty by drug smugglers, illegal aliens, or a corrupt military.
"These are grave and uncertain times for Americans everywhere. As your president, I ask only three things of you: patience, resolve, and your prayers. We must have the patience and resolve to see this war on terrorism to its conclusion. With your prayers, we will prevail."
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