“Striker to all Sun elements: Move it, now!”
Over at the barn, the single usable DShK and the six defending North Korean engineers blindly traded fire with the MRAPs, which replied with long bursts from CROWS-mounted M2s, the .50 rounds ripping through the wooden walls and into multiple defenders. Under the covering fire of the M2s, the agents assigned to secure the barn raced toward it. The rest of the task force charged the ranch house. They triggered off short bursts from their own weapons as the M2s continued shooting into both buildings.
#
Despite the firepower of the Bradleys and MRAPs, several agents went down as the strike team stormed the buildings. A three-round burst from one of the Bradleys obliterated the ranch house’s front door. The barn doors, riddled with both 25mm and .50 caliber rounds, fell apart and tumbled to the ground.
At Vessler’s command, a dozen flash-bang grenades sailed through the holes in HEDGEHOG. The multiple explosions of light and sound seem to last for hours, but in fact lasted less than ten seconds. As the explosions died away, the team stormed inside.
Gunfire met them, dropping two of the first agents inside the house. The strike team replied with their own gunfire, all thought of arrest or seizing evidence replaced with instincts of survival. No quarter was asked or given, even the badly wounded suspects tried to continue the fight, forcing the strike team members to kill them.
The fighting was room to room, gunfire exchanged at point-blank range—and when guns ran dry—hand to hand. More than one agent was killed or injured by the well-trained North Koreans in hand-to-hand fighting, as knives became the preferred close-in weapon of choice.
Five minutes of savage fighting saw the ground floor in task force hands, but at a heavy toll; none of the defenders survived, and the number of injured and dead agents was into double digits. Vessler ordered the wounded to be taken outside onto the covered porch while she considered her next move.
Vessler knelt at the base of the stairs. Splattered with blood from both friend and foe, she was stressed, her joints and limbs aching. She and half a dozen agents had been ready to charge up the stairs, but after the fight on the first floor, none were eager for round two.
“Striker, this is Gandolf. HAYBALE is secured. Three friendlies dead, four wounded. No prisoners. SOBs went down fighting.”
Vessler exhaled slowly. “Copy, Gandolf.”
“Striker, there’s tons of fertilizer in here, along with three trucks, explosives, fuel oil, and what looks like the parts to several detonators. Looks like these bastards were constructing Oklahoma City-sized truck bombs.”
Vessler felt herself get cold. “Ramrod, did you—”
“Copy, Striker,” Mulkerin said. “I have my OD guys on their way. Gandolf, don’t touch anything without my boys’ say-so. If any of that stuff goes off, there won’t be enough of you left to fit into a thimble.”
“Copy, Ramrod. We’re staying away from it all.”
Vessler took deep breaths to steady herself, then felt nauseous as she inhaled the smells of blood, smoke and other smells of combat. “Striker to OUTCAST Six…”
“OUTCAST Six here.”
Vessler felt a surge of anger at Danielle’s calm demeanor, but dismissed it. The tech specialist had done her share of fighting, but her skills were needed elsewhere on this battlefield. “I need you to run Cobra over for a look-see at the second floor of HEDGEHOG. We have the first, but the cost was high.”
“Copy. Cobra’s on the way now.” After a couple of minutes, Danielle said, “Looks like half-a-dozen suspects still on the second floor.”
Vessler’s head dropped. “Striker to Ramrod.”
“Ramrod here.”
“I need your Bradleys to rake HEDGEHOG’s second floor. We’ve lost good people taking the ground floor. I don’t want to lose any more.”
“Any prisoners?”
“Zero. They fought to the death. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I have. I still say my boys should have gone in. They have experience fighting fanatics.”
“Not like this, Ramrod.”
Mulkerin snorted. “Stand by, Striker. My boys will show these shitheads the meaning of firepower.”
“Striker to all: Ramrod’s going to air-condition the second floor. Stay low and be ready.”
The heavy hammering of two M242s was accompanied by the sound of breaking glass, tearing wood and shattering plaster. After ten seconds a high-pitch whine started up and what sounded like a swarm of angry bees ripped through the walls. Vessler watched as the railing on the second floor landing was chewed apart as if it was being eaten by a swarm of invisible termites, and the walls were shredded to almost the point of non-existence. There were a couple of screams from upstairs, short bursts of gunfire, but neither lasted long.
After thirty seconds of intense fire, it stopped, and the silence was as intense as the noise had been.
“Ramrod to Striker. That’s it. Any more and we risk collapsing the house. I doubt anyone up there survived that.”
“Thanks. Striker to all Sun elements: Take it upstairs.”
They crept up the stairs slowly, senses wide open to the first sign of trouble. At the head of the stairs, the team split up and swept each room. Most of the rooms were horror scenes, torn bodies on the floor with blood and gore everywhere.
“Striker,” an agent called out. “We have a live one! Front bedroom at the end of the hall.”
Vessler dashed from the main bedroom to the other side of the house. One of the task force members met her at the door. “He won’t last long. Hell, as shot up as he is, I’m surprised he isn’t dead already.”
The man lay in the middle of a pile of bodies. His clothes, a flannel shirt and jeans, were soaked in blood—both his and that of the others around him. One arm lay across his body. He slowly turned his head to look at Vessler with hate-filled eyes. Vessler walked over to him, staying out beyond his arm’s reach despite his wounds. “You’re under arrest.”
He spat at her, the bloodied saliva making it only a few inches before striking the blood-soaked floor. “Americans,” he said in accented English. “You will lose.”
“We won this round, buddy,” one of the agents in the room said.
The North Korean chuckled, then coughed and his breathing became labored. “D-do you think so?”
Alarm bells rang through Vessler’s mind. “Everyone out! Now!”
Her tone garnered an instant response and the three men raced for the door. As Vessler turned to follow, she saw the man relax in death and the grenade he’d been holding close to his body rolled free. She yelled, “Grenade!” and then threw herself across the hall and into another bedroom, sliding across the floor to put a dresser between her and the explosion. There was the crack of the grenade and she felt everything shudder. She waited a few seconds, then raised her head.
“Everyone okay?”
A chorus of affirmative replies greeted her still-ringing ears, and she got up slowly. “Ramrod, this is Striker: I need your medics in here ASAP. Gandolf, leave half your men at HAYBALE and bring the rest of them over here. Someone check the basement, while the rest of you check the bodies. Watch for booby-traps.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Rhee strode into the meth lab. “You three are coming with me!”
Ryuk was shaking. “W-what is happening, Major?”
“The Americans have found us. We need to leave now.”
“How did they find us?” Chang asked.
“That does not matter now. What matters is the escape tunnel is still secure.”
Mori turned toward him, her expression mocking. “Aw, the poor major,” she said in a sarcastic tone. “The ‘stupid Americans’ seem to have found us so quickly. I guess they aren’t as stupid as you believed?”
“We are leaving.” Rhee looked at all three chemists. “Leave everything where it is.”
Ryuk stared at Rhee in fear. “But the Americans will kill us!”
Rhee too
k out his pistol and pointed it at Ryuk. “I will kill you if you do not start moving!”
Mori smirked and folded her arms. “So much for your clever plan.”
“Enough.” He looked at the two guards standing in the corners of the lab. “Report to Captain P’il. There are intruders in the complex. Kill them.” The men snapped to attention and left the lab at a run.
Rhee motioned to Muhn. “Bring Dr. Mori.”
He addressed Ryuk and Chang. “Go to the door.”
Muhn walked over to Mori, who waited until the man was within reach before launching herself at him. He slipped her punch, twisted so that her knee was aimed at his crotch and struck him in the thigh. He slapped her hard across the face, hard enough to stun her. Before she could recover, Muhn had kicked her feet out from under her, rolled her over, and handcuffed her arms behind her back.
Rhee walked to the door. “Bring her. We need to–”
Rhee was interrupted by a pair of explosions, muffled but loud.
#
The OUTCAST team ran through the tunnel just as a trio of soldiers appeared from around a bend. Tanner and Naomi fired their M-203s, the buckshot rounds filling the tunnel with a cloud of steel balls that tore into all three guards. The North Koreans went down as if they’d struck an invisible wall. The team barreled down the tunnel, hurtling over the bloody bodies, speed and surprise replacing stealth and silence.
Around the bend, the tunnel was longer and well-lit. Shouts could be heard up ahead and more armed men appeared in the tunnel. The team threw themselves against the wall as the enemy opened fire, filling the passage with scores of bullets. Liam grunted and spun as he reached the wall.
“You okay?” Tanner yelled.
“Grazed along the ribs,” Liam replied with a grimace. “The armor took the impact, but still hurts like a son of a bitch.”
The team opened fire, both Stephen and Dante firing HE rounds from their M203s into the enemy group. The tunnel seemed to heave as both 40mm rounds exploded in the middle of the defenders. Tanner leapt up and ran into the dust and smoke, followed by the rest of the team. Overhead, the rock groaned dangerously.
They ran through where the North Koreans had been, hopping over rocks and what had been parts of a fanatical enemy a few seconds ago. As they ran, the tunnel roof cracked and small rocks and rock dust started to fall. Twenty yards behind them, the tunnel roof gave way and began collapsing in earnest.
The team ran harder as more of the tunnel filled in.
#
The rumbling was distant but loud enough for Vessler and the other members of Task Force Sun to hear. “What is that, an earthquake?”
Gary Daniels, standing a few feet away, shook his head. “That’s a tunnel collapsing. I’ve heard a few of them in my time.”
They were standing in what was left of the ranch house’s kitchen. Shattered glass and spent shells were everywhere. The bodies of the North Koreans littered the floor, covered with plaster dust pieces of wallboard and wood splinters. The dead and wounded agents had already been carried outside where army medics were working on saving lives and preparing them for transport. Agents moved through the wreckage, picking up rifles and piling them in one corner of the dining room.
“Vess!” Phil Brock called from the basement.
Vessler went over to the doorway and saw her fellow DEA agent at the bottom. “What?”
“There was a tunnel down here, but it collapsed before we made entry. We’re not getting through there.”
“All right, haul your ass up here.” Vessler tapped her radio “Striker to Ramrod. Anything from your boys?”
“My EOD boys say the barn is secured and the detonators had been disassembled. The perimeter guards report everything’s quiet. No sign of anyone trying to escape.”
Any word from OUTCAST?”
“Negative. I’m not hopeful.”
“I need some of your guys to secure the building. I’m taking Sun to PYRITE to find out what’s happening down there.”
“Copy, give me ten minutes. Ramrod out.”
“Vess,” Daniels said. She turned to see him hold up a plastic bag with skin patches on a strip of paper. “These look familiar?”
“Hell yes! Bag it into evidence, but don’t let out of DEA sight!”
She tapped her radio. “Striker to all Sun elements. Bag your evidence, put it into the lockers. I want one member from each agency assigned to guard them until we can get them transported off-site. The rest of you, gear up, we’re going underground.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
The rumbling echoed through the underground base and the vibrations greeted Rhee as he exited the lab. The reverberations became louder and changed to a low roar, the deep grinding of rocks on rocks. Rhee recognized the noise of a tunnel collapsing and his grimace deepened. “Stand your ground!” he hollered at the dozen guards standing around the central area.
The eight members of Rhee’s group — Rhee, Muhn, Sergeant Hyoung, the three chemists and two soldiers — started toward the passage leading to the escape tunnel. The tunnel that led to the prisoners was filled with dust and smoke. Rhee took out a handkerchief and held it over his mouth.
“Where’s Captain P’il?”
“He went down the tunnel.” one of the guards replied.
Rhee motioned to his scar-faced subordinate. When Muhn leaned closer, Rhee said quietly, “Set the detonator for three minutes. It won’t destroy the prison pens, but it will bring down everything else.” Muhn nodded and went to the security chamber.
“Warriors of the Fatherland!” Rhee said. “Hold this position for ten minutes, then follow us. The Americans will pay for this setback.”
“Sir,” the same guard said. “There’s no way—”
Gunfire exploded from the collapsed tunnel. More guards were cut apart by the storm of bullets. Rhee pulled his pistol and grabbed Mori by the arm. “Muhn, hurry! Ryuk, Chang—follow me.” Rhee dragged Mori into the tunnel.
They failed to notice the stalking figures emerge from the dust and smoke spewing from the collapsed tunnel.
#
It was kill or be killed, and the OUTCASTs had the advantage of surprise and cover. Half the North Koreans in the chamber died in the first exchange. Through the thinning dust clouds, Tanner saw Rhee dragging a woman matching Dr. Mori’s description into a tunnel at the far end of the chamber. Three soldiers and two men in lab coats followed Rhee.
The remaining North Koreans recovered from their surprise and opened fire. The team darted into safety behind several stalagmites, the rock shielding them from the gunfire. Tanner leaned out and fired another buckshot round from his M-203, the blast butchering two North Koreans. He pulled back, changed magazines on his MP5, reloaded the M-203 and alerted his team. “Rhee’s escaping!”
Liam leaned out and fired two short bursts, killing one North Korean and forcing another to find cover. “What’s the plan?”
“CS rounds. Two, you and Three hit the Tangos on the left, Four and I will hit the ones on the right. Five, drop both your rounds into the tunnel at the far end. Masks on, then load CS!”
They prepared their equipment accordingly and then, just as they started to lean out, a tall and muscular scar-faced man stepped out into another opening, his weapon spitting out lead at the OUTCASTs, forcing them to retreat behind their cover. After a few seconds, the gunfire faded, most of the soldiers swapping out magazines at the same time.
“Now!” Tanner shouted, stepping out from behind his stalagmite cover just enough so he could fire his M-203. In the span of three seconds, the other four also fired.
The five grenades flew across the cavern and exploded, filling half the space with roiling white smoke. Dante reloaded and sent his second CS round after his first, into the tunnel where Rhee and the others had fled. They heard the choking and shouts of anger and frustration as the enemy was hit with the full effect. Tanner reloaded the buckshot round. “On three…”
The team darted out from the columns an
d raced toward the sounds of suffering. Tanner marked an area to his right where several people coughed and cursed breathlessly. He pulled the 203’s trigger. The load of double buckshot cut through the gas and the enemy gunmen with brutal efficiency, three men catching the brunt of the blast. To Tanner’s left, one of the gunmen charged out of the white cloud, eyes swollen shut, wildly swinging his AK-47 like a club. Tanner cut him down with a short burst. Stephen, a few feet behind them to Tanner’s left, dropped two more North Koreans who staggered out of the CS fog with paired 9mm volleys.
Two more North Koreans ran into the central area from another tunnel. One went down when Dante stitched him from naval to chin, while the other dove into cover behind a stalagmite.
Another soldier, eyes red but still able to see, charged out of the gas. He’d lost his rifle, but tried to gut Naomi with a fixed blade knife. Too close to aim and fire, the former ATF agent stepped back and slammed her MP5 down on the knife arm hard enough to break his wrist. As the soldier grunted in pain, Naomi stepped to the right and kicked him hard in the knee, her steel-tipped boot shattering his kneecap. His strangled snarl ended when she fired a four-shot burst into his head as he fell.
Stephen saw movement behind the stalagmite where the North Korean had taken cover after his partner was shot. He spun and raised his MP5 just as the soldier stepped out, AK raised. Stephen fired first, his 9mm rounds striking the rock formation with most of his long burst, but a few struck flesh and the soldier fell over backwards.
Sudden silence fell over the cavern. The tear gas thinned out as the chemical radiated into the side tunnels off of the chamber, and the team could see that they were the only people in the cavern still on their feet.
“We need to get after Rhee,” Liam said.
“Three,” Tanner said. “You and Four check the entrances on the right. Two, you and Five check the ones on the left.”
“But Rhee—”
“Is the type to leave surprises. Quick check, people, then we go after Rhee.”
Red Ice Page 25