by Charles Lamb
As he observed, the general, Sandy, and her two guards stood watching as several other soldiers scrambled around the square. In a short time, they had piled a sizeable amount of wood to one side of the square, well away from the aircraft.
“Shit,” Jake declared as he watched them back a recovery vehicle into the square, extending the tow boom up and out at a forty-five degree angle while lowering the hook. Quickly moving over to one side of the room, Jake started flipping through various screens on the display.
“Shit, shit, shit. Somebody find me the closest asset to that square,” he shouted.
“What kind of asset,” Patti asked with a confused look on her face.
“Anything!” Jake bellowed, startling everyone in the room as he continued to scan the workstation display, “where are those damn drones?”
“We sent them into China to locate all the units inland, this is from the satellite. Jake, what’s wrong?” Patti finally asked.
“They are gonna cook her!” Jake replied, turning from the workstation to watch the guards lead Sandy over to the tow hook hanging at head height.
At that declaration, several of the others started scrambling.
“The drones are closest, but they are twenty minutes out. Sending them back now,” someone announced, while the others continued to search.
“The SAS?” Jake asked.
“Still on plan. They won’t be in play for a few hours,” was the reply.
With everyone else scrambling now, Jake turned back to watch the guards lead Sandy over to the hook as it hung at about head height. They had to actually lift her slightly to get the hook between her outstretched arms. As they stepped back, she dangled just off the ground, the hook firmly wedged in the binding at her wrists. With a signal from the general, she was raised a few feet higher.
Another signal from the general, and the wood was set ablaze, a flare used to ignite whatever fuel they had doused the wood with. In a very short time, the pile was burning brightly.
“Drones?” Jake asked, the urgency in his voice clear to everyone in the room.
“Still fifteen minutes out,” was the reply.
“Jake, the drones are unarmed. What good are they?” Patti asked.
“I can crash one into the fire, disrupting the chain of events and buy us some time,” he replied, the desperation in his voice obvious to everyone.
“Now you will tell me how to operate the craft?” everyone heard the general command, via the pickups in Sandy’s helmet.
“Bite me!” they heard as a reply.
Some small portion of Jake’s mind registered the bravery being displayed. He had no idea Sandy had it in her to endure such treatment.
With a wave of the general’s hand, the vehicle backed her over the fire, blazing high enough to engulf her dangling legs.
“Jake, the suit can’t dissipate that heat,” ALICE announced to the collective group.
“Drones!” Jake shouted.
“Still ten minutes out,” came the pained response.
“Tell me now!” they heard the general shout over the flames crackling in Sandy’s mic.
“NEVER!” was the shouted reply.
Everyone could see the figure struggling to free herself over the flames. Then the screaming started. Jake scanned the room, having to pry his eyes from the display before him. Every face had tears streaming down their cheeks, male and female alike.
“Five minutes,” he heard between sobs.
Suddenly there was complete silence as the figure hanging over the flames stopped moving, hanging limply from the cable. Jake turned to the woman monitoring the suit data. With tears flowing freely, she shook her head no.
“Call the drones off, we don’t want to tip our hand now,” Jake replied flatly, as Patti rushed to bury her face in his chest, her sobs uncontrollable.
Jake continued to watch, as they pulled the vehicle forward, lowering the boom until the dangling body rested on the stones of the square. The general stood over her lifeless form for a moment, and then turned to head back inside the building holding the others.
----*----
The command center in Nevada was not the only location that had witnessed the event in China. At this moment, there wasn’t a soul on earth or in space that wasn’t prepared to rain death down on the Chinese. It was immaterial that they weren’t part of whatever plan was currently in motion, they would be ready. Popular consensus was the only reason Hong Kong wasn’t a smoking crater was the four remaining Marines held in the building.
ALICE-1 was witness to all the cross communications, seeing the shared rage and grief. In all her years of existence, she did not recall seeing a single moment solidifying all parties as she was now. It gave her a sense of satisfaction that the closest similar response had been the loss of Kola.
Surprisingly, she grasped she was experiencing a sense of sadness. She realized that while Kola might again live, the lifeless form laying on the stones in China was lost forever.
----*----
Colonel Banks sat in the high-speed transport with ten of his troops, heading to their drop point. When Jake had called to ask for his help, he had agreed without asking for what. His initial reason for declining to join had only one basis. He and his people would join as full partners, nothing less.
Banks did acknowledge that the American did seem to have the good sense to choose partners for their expertise. The tasks requested of Banks and his people were of a sort they prided themselves on. Unlike the US Marine unofficial motto “When it absolutely, positively has to be destroyed overnight,” this mission required a more delicate touch.
That being said, after what had been witnessed in that square in Hong Kong, he doubted anyone there would survive.
----*----
Jake sat in his office, fighting every urge in his body to alter the plan currently in play. Unfortunately, the operation in motion did not include his ability to strangle the life out of the Chinese general responsible for Sandy’s death.
By now, Banks and his people should be on the ground, under the cover of darkness, doing what the SAS did best. In support, he had the entire 10th Calvary on hovercycles in overwatch positions. In addition, VMFA-314 and VMFA-323 sat in high cover with the entire Alpha Company of the 1st Marines in battle armor ready to drop.
Before the final go signal, Jake had broadcast a single reminder that not every Chinese soldier was responsible for Sandy’s death, just one. This was a recovery mission, and not an eradication effort.
Rules of engagement were only to kill those standing between you and our people.
Chapter 15
Ju was preparing to retire for the night, having changed out of his uniform. He was extremely disappointed in the events of the afternoon. He wasn’t particularly upset over the death of the American, beyond the loss of information it represented. One thing his grandfather preached consistently was you could never have too much information.
The experience hadn’t been a complete loss, however, as he had verified the American uniforms could withstand gunfire. He ordered that all observation personnel include rocket-propelled grenades as re-enforcement to their positions. He very much doubted the American uniform could withstand a direct RPG hit. He ordered the body to remain where it lay, its presence an incentive for the next prisoner to cooperate in the morning.
Additionally, he ordered the aircraft covered in netting to at least prevent easy detection should someone come looking tomorrow. While he didn’t expect any visitors for at least another day or two, he preferred to be ready. He had also doubled the number of observation posts, adding some to the high-rise buildings on the island across the way.
It was possible the Americans had restored one of their Naval Vessels, using it to ferry the aircraft across the ocean. He knew nothing of the craft or its capabilities, so he could only guess at its range.
The thought drew him to the window overlooking the square below. If he could only decipher its mysteries, the aircraft obscured be
neath the netting would be an incredibly valuable asset to his budding empire. As he had ordered a complete blackout, he could hardly make out the shape in the square below.
As he was about to turn and douse the lone candle in his room, when lights appeared below, emanating from the aircraft under the netting. Ju assumed his men had made some sort of progress and hurried below, not bothering to stop and change.
----*----
The command center in Nevada was at capacity, every station occupied by a volunteer ready to assist in any necessary function. Jake had also provided that anyone so interest could observe the activities in any of the dining facilities. All were filled in every location, including London. There they had portable holographic projectors, courtesy of Sara.
In the holograph before Jake, the tactical displays were a confusing group of images, showing the various aspects of the operation. In one, they had the overall position of each unit and its location in the area of operation. In another was a subsection, showing the SAS, with each of the eleven members clearly identifiable in location and function.
A third represented the eight hovercycles in a larger subsection, positioned to cover the SAS and neutralize all the observation posts atop the adjacent building. Unknown to the Chinese troops below, each had been stationed in the night sky to sit silently in wait. On command, all eight would drop knockout gas grenades, incapacitating the troops below in reasonable silence.
Should an all-out battle break out during the retrieval and extraction phase, the Marines and fighters in high cover would intervene. Forty marines in full combat armor with combination projectile and energy weapons would be sufficient to clear out any local resistance before the Chinese could mount a coordinated assault.
In addition, the two fighter squadrons would remove any armor called in to assist the ground troops. Jake had no doubt the combined rail gun and energy cannon fire from the fighters would decimate the Chinese tank units. He hoped they would be unnecessary though, as that was his go-to-hell plan.
As he scanned each display, he tried to skip over the lifeless form still laid out in the square. Images of Sandy frolicking in the warm Australian surf ran through his head. With a deep breath, he forced the thoughts from his mind as he concentrated on the tasks at hand.
At the moment, Jake was waiting for each unit to report in as ready. The last unit, still in motion, was the SAS team. They had been tasked with the most difficult and dangerous part of the plan. As such, Jake had offered them all the protection of the same BDU’s the Americans wore.
While the offer was politely refused, Jake had insisted they at least take the undergarments. Incomplete, they would provide no protection from inhalants or head protection. They would, however, act as body armor from the neck down, against small arms fire.
“Sierra Alpha Sierra, in position,” Jake heard Banks radio in. He envied the man, as he wished he had been able to attend in person.
“All units are green, wait for your cues,” Jake replied.
“Over watch, you are a go,” Jake declared.
With the command, all eight hovercycles dropped their gas canisters. There was a slight breeze, but it was not enough to prevent the effects of the gas from doing its work. Something dreamed up in the labs now controlled by ALICE-9 before the NeHaw attack, it rendered anyone who came in contact unconscious. Just external contact had immediate effects on a person, inhalation was not required.
“Objective one, complete. Going for two,” Jake heard Joe declare.
With all observation posts directly overlooking the square disabled, six of the hovercycles repeated the process at locations identified as problematic. They were not in local proximity to the square, but they were in a position in high buildings that their location and elevation gave them good visibility to the square far below.
While that was in progress, Jake triggered two members of the SAS team to slip into the square. Fortunately, concerns over highlighting the aircraft’s location had spurred the Chinese to insure it was as dark as possible. Moving quickly to their objective, both froze, dropping next to the body in the darkness, as there was movement from one of the nearby antiaircraft vehicles.
Everyone watched as one of the vehicle's occupants climbed out, then moved to relieve himself on the wall of the building behind the vehicle. Taking his time, the Chinese soldier appeared to be in no hurry to return to his post. Everyone seems to hold their breath, as the man started to head out into the square.
As he stepped to within a few feet of the prone SAS team, someone inside the vehicle spoke and he stopped. Spinning in place he quickly returned to his place inside, a small light appearing as he entered the vehicle.
Waiting for only a moment, the SAS team got the all clear and a hovercycle dropped from above with a cable and a harness. Slipping the body into the harness, it quickly disappeared up into the night, the hovercycle lifting it to the transport above.
“Big risk to recover a body,” someone said aloud.
The speaker dissolved into the floor under Jake’s stare. He dared not speak for fear of what might escape his lips.
“We don’t leave our dead behind,” Patti provided in his place.
With the body removed, the two SAS troops retreated to their secondary position, well away from the square and in a place to cover the others in extraction.
“Any word from the SAS main unit?” Jake asked once he had regained his composure, thankful for Patti’s intervention.
“No sir, if they are still in the building, we can’t reach them,” one of the Brit’s operating the communication desk replied.
----*----
Colonel Banks was leading four troopers down into the basement of the high-rise above them. He had positioned people on the way down who’s role was to protect their six and assist in their retreat once the prisoners were recovered.
He and his team had been dropped into the city a few blocks from the target area and had moved stealthily into position without being discovered. While they had drilled and even performed similar functions in London, he had to give his predecessors a lot of credit. It was a far different experience with a credible foe in a hostile land. He was in heaven. This was everything he had spent his life training for.
Once given the green light in the target area, they had met with only minimal resistance, dispatching and concealing a half dozen sentries. They did need to move with some haste now as at some point those sentries would be missed.
He had the four biggest members of his team with him, should the prisoners be unable to move on their own. After a small amount of wandering, they had located two guards standing outside a metal door. They assumed it was their goal and waited for the final signal.
Unfortunately, the concrete and metal around them prevented him from contacting Jake directly. However, the people he had stationed in his wake could relay a message out.
----*----
“Sierra Alpha Sierra Charlie Oscar reports ready,” suddenly sounded over the communications line.
“SAS Commanding Officer? Banks is with them?” Patti asked, apparently not recognizing the man’s voice earlier.
Jake gave a nod.
“Banks is ready, are we?” he asked in reply.
“Yes sir,” came the replies from all over the room.
“Ok, start the distraction,” Jake ordered one of the people sitting at a workstation nearby.
With that, the analyst hit a few keys on her keyboard. Suddenly, in the display window covering the square, the aircraft started flashing lights and sounding alarms. It looked like a spastic car alarm with irregular flashing and disparate audio alerts.
The effort had its desired effect, though, as the Chinese troops appeared from all around the square. Jake watched as men emerged from the vehicles and buildings nearby, but it wasn’t until a form Jake recognized as the commanding general appeared that his interest was captured.
As he watched, the man emerged from the building in his robe. He observed as he began sho
uting questions at his men, demanding an explanation for the commotion and questioning if they had successfully activated the aircraft.
Jake raised one hand, as he willed the general on toward the aircraft. With each step the man took forward, his eagerness grew. Eventually the man was standing in front of a crowd, at the edge of the netting, shouting for someone to turn off the alarms.
“This is for Sandy,” Jake declared as he dropped his hand in a signal.
The same analyst who had been in tears earlier, smiled as she pressed the key on her keyboard.
The display containing the square was suddenly engulfed in a blinding white flash, as the aircraft exploded. The force of the blast tumbled the vehicles in the square, blowing out the contents of several floors in all the surrounding buildings.
With the ready declaration from Banks, all the surrounding troops and hovercycles retreated to safety, either underground or high above the square. It took a few moments for the dust and smoke to clear, revealing the devastation.
“Go for extraction,” Jake announced.
----*----
Banks was aware that the explosion was his cue to go after the prisoners. However, the effects of said explosion were so violent it threw him and his men to the ground. Hurrying to his feet, he quickly rounded the corner, in time to catch both Chinese guards still struggling to get up. A quick burst into each placed them firmly back on the ground.
Waving his team forward, they quickly reached the door the two were guarding. Unfortunately, the door was jammed in place due to shifting concrete walls. Whatever it was Jake had exploded above them, it had damaged the foundations.
“Oi, stand back in there,” he heard one of his men declare as he placed a charge on the door near the latch. Unsure of what they would encounter, they had come prepared.