“I don’t know!” Bunny answered shrilly.
“Duh, stealing a tank,” Lopez responded.
“A tank?” Davidson asked.
“Um, no offense, Davidson but they are going to send more than one drone next time and I, for one, want to be ready before that happens.”
Davidson couldn’t argue that logic. If someone wanted the team dead, they weren’t going to mess around this second time, but a tank?
“Lopez, maybe a quick evac might be the more efficient use of our time,” Malvern stated.
* * *
Bunny’s heart was in her throat watching the men rush toward the military base. She could get a bird’s eye view from Davidson’s helmet cam. The neighborhood was in total shambles. No one seemed to even notice the team on their mad quest.
“Come on,” Lopez implored. “Admit it, everyone wants to see a drone versus tank match. It’s pay per view quality. Godzilla versus Mothera caliber.”
Was the man insane?
“If you stay, you’re endangering your extraction window,” Stark reminded the team.
“Oh please, the tank is also our evac vehicle.”
“Instead of the sub?” Malvern asked.
“Dear Lord, no, to the sub,” Lopez sighed. “Guys, is now the time to really doubt me?”
“No,” Davidsons said. “Let me help you.”
Then several shots went off and Davidson was just good enough to shoot the chain link and dislodge the fence from its railings. By the time the men got to the base they had a hole ready made.
“Incoming!” Stark yelled. “Three drones en route.”
Bunny watched Lopez rub his hands together on the screen. “Finally a challenge!”
Even though the Pakistani guards were rushing to the area, Lopez and the team made a beeline to the tank.
“Everybody in!” Lopez yelled as he opened the top hatch of the tank.
Davidson provided cover fire, holding the guards back until all of the team were safely in the tank.
The helmet cams gave her a good sense of how claustrophobic the interior of a tank was. Especially four men in a three-man tank.
“Wahoo! Another bucket list item crossed off!” Lopez bellowed as he swung the tank around to face the drone threat.
* * *
Davidson knew how badly Lopez wanted the tank to win the day, but he couldn’t ignore the shot. He took it, knocking the lead drone out of the sky.
“Hey! No fair!” Lopez yelled, then aligned on the second drone. He fired his guns, missing the drone by inches. The corporal fired again, this time hitting the drone.
The third drone however was able to get a shot off, only it wasn’t aimed at Lopez, it was aimed at Davidson’s roof.
Scurrying the animals out of the way, Davidson ran for the door which flew open to reveal the young boy.
“Come, come!” the child urged.
Davidson didn’t need to be encouraged. They hit the stairs running when the missile hit, taking off the corner of the building. Davidson and the boy kept running until they hit the ground floor, then joined the rest of the residents who were fleeing the apartments.
Unlike the rest who were heading toward the center of town, Davidson pushed through the throng, heading toward the base. Lopez launched another missile at the drone, but the drone fired first. The missile exploding against the tank.
“Lopez!” Davidson screamed, running full tilt.
There was no answer then Davidson realize the boy was running alongside him. “No, go with your family,” Davidson said, urging the boy back.
“But I want to help,” the boy said, looking pretty determined.
There was no time to argue. “Fine, then keep the people moving north. We’re going to need a path south.”
The boy gave one nod, then took off.
Still nothing from Lopez. “Levont? Prenner?”
Then a cough.
“We’re good,” Lopez said, wheezing and coughing again.
“Yah, we might need to redefine ‘good,’” Levont joked. Yep, joking in a tank that just got hit by a missile. That was his team. He’d perhaps never been prouder.
The drone cruised overhead. Even though it had used both of its missiles, Davidson still stopped and took aim, shooting out just the camera. Effers. Take that.
The tank roared toward him. Davidson ran straight for it.
“Grab those oxygen tanks by the amphibious,” Lopez yelled.
Davidson didn’t question the request he just fulfilled it. Snagging five of the scuba gears yet never breaking stride, jumping onto the side of the tank as it rumbled past. By now the guards had regrouped and were heading towards them in an organized fashion firing as they ran. They were probably in as much shock as Davidson was that they had stolen a Pakistani tank.
Ducking, Davidson swiveled on his heels, firing into the approaching forces, but aiming high. These troops were just doing their job. While not hitting any of them, it still slowed them a bit as Jeeps revved in the background getting ready to get give chase.
“What exactly is the plan?” Davidson asked not really expecting to get a reasonable answer.
“Um, meet the sub?” Lopez replied.
Again, not all that informative.
Then Davidson realized their trajectory. They were heading straight for the docks. “Lopez…”
“What?” the corporal barked. “Jeez, people, keep your panties on.”
“Um, I don’t mean to be questioning but how exactly are we going to meet the sub?”
“Levont open the hatch,” Lopez ordered, “Davidson throw four tanks down.”
Davidson did as requested, then put his own scuba gear on, ignoring the bullets that were flying from the Pakistanis as Lopez sped toward the dock.
Dear god, he was really going to do this.
* * *
“No, no, no, no,” Bunny mumbled, her hand over her mouth. Lopez couldn’t possibly be thinking what she thought he was thinking.
“If this was his plan, why didn’t he just take amphibious, it was sitting right there?”
Stark’s mom answered. “Because that amphibious couldn’t have taken that missile hit, that’s why.”
Lopez always was genius in the most bizarre way possible.
There wasn’t a lot to see from the helmet cams inside the tank. Just smoke, red flashing lights and of course Lopez’s mouth moving a mile a minute in a flurry of Spanish cussing.
Davidson’s helmet cam gave a much better image of the tank barreling down the dock, then tipping over the end. They hit the water with a giant splash, then the view cleared and she could see the bubbles from Davidson’s scuba gear along the side of the screen.
The tank was sinking fast as bullets pierced the water, striking all around them and a few hitting the top of the tank. Davidson tucked down as far as he could, taking shelter against the tank.
“Can we get the sub any closer?” Bunny asked.
“They can’t come in because of the shelf. They are going to have to get out to the sub.”
Bunny chewed on her artificial nail. “How water tight is the tank?”
“Well, to protect against gas attack, it should be air tight,” Stark said, just about when the men’s helmet cams showed multiple leaks and the tank filling with water. “Or not very tight at all.”
“How long?” Bunny asked.
“They’ve got scuba gear, so they should be good on oxygen.”
Dear god, Lopez had this planned from the start. That’s why he had Davidson grab the oxygen tanks.
“People, the Russians do it all the time,” Lopez remarked not making anyone feel any better.
* * *
Davidson held onto the metal handle as the tank lumbered along the seafloor. They were making pretty good time all told. The tank was filling with water, but they kind of needed that to happen to equilibrate the pressure so they could get the tank hatch open.
So far getting attacked by their own government with drones and being c
hased by an entire Pakistani military base, and driving a tank into the water, things weren’t going too badly.
They had the Roomba after all.
Then they suddenly weren’t traveling level. They were heading straight down in free fall, without the ability to stop themselves. If Davidson’s memory served him correctly, there was a sheer two thousand foot drop from this shelf.
He banged on the tank. They’d best get out now while the getting was good.
Davidson was nearly thrown off the tank as it clanged into something. More precisely they clanged into the submarine.
“Sorry,” Lopez announced, sounding slightly contrite for once.
A bloom of bubbles from above indicated the men had opened the tank hatch and poured from the tank. Davidson let go of the handle and allowed the tank to sink out of view. He struck for the submarine, grabbing hold of one of the metal rungs that acted as steps.
They of course couldn’t get into the sub until they surfaced and they certainly weren’t going to do that inside Pakistani waters.
“What’s going on?” Lopez asked. “Why aren’t we moving?”
* * *
“Because they want to be sure you are secure,” Stark answered. It did seem pretty obvious though.
“Tell them to hit the thrust and get us out of here.”
Lopez wasn’t wrong. The Pakistani air force had put up several birds already and were coming around for an air to sea strike.
Stark hit the com button. “Dive. Now.”
Okay, he wasn’t an admiral or anything but the sub’s captain took him seriously and the sub lurched forward, pointing down.
Stark could hear Bunny pace behind him, her jasmine perfume floating in the air. If the scene before them wasn’t so spellbinding, he would have been totally distracted.
But that ship had sailed. Bunny and him. He’d been monitoring Malvern’s hotel room and the hallway outside of it during his stay. Imagine his surprise when he found Davidson and Bunny out in the hallway. At first he had been stoked. It looked like the classic. Let’s be friends talk that ended in well…not friend status. He really wished he could wipe that memory from his mind. They had gotten close, fast.
It was crazy. It was like a switch had flicked or something. And it seemed to be for the long hall. Even Bunny’s almost inappropriate flirting had stopped. Cold.
She treated Stark like Prenner, which was never a good thing.
So together yet apart they watched the screen as the sub made its dive. Avoiding air to sea missiles coming its way. They skimmed by with minimal damage as the team clung to the sub’s side, however it could only go so deep. If they really wanted to get out of the Arabic sea, they were going to have to do something quickly to get the men inside so they could dive properly.
Ships were moving in rapidly. All armed with anti-sub mortars. They couldn’t run away with the team still attached and have any hope of avoiding those.
He glanced over to Bunny who was chewing on her nail. She must really be worried to destroy such an expensive manicure.
Perhaps it was best that she and Davidson had gotten together. She clearly needed a man who liked adventure as much as herself. Stark wouldn’t be clinging to the side of a submarine any time soon.
“Captain, you are going to have to take them on while underwater,” Stark instructed the sub. It was unusual but doable. They would just have to rotate the water in and out of the chamber. The sub was built for it even though it wasn’t normal protocol.
“Then tell them to make it quick,” the Captain snapped back.
“Guys, haul ass to the hatch, they are letting you in,” Stark stated. This was their window. If they didn’t get inside before the mortars started rolling off those ships, no counter measures in the world were going to save them.
On the helmet cam screen they watched the men, hand over hand make their way up to the hatch. Lopez knocked on the metal, because Lopez was Lopez.
As the men piled into the submarine, Bunny let out a huge breath and put her hands onto the back of Stark’s chair. “Oh thank god.”
“They still aren’t out of the woods yet,” his mother reminded Bunny.
* * *
Davidson shivered as he pulled off his soaking wet clothes. His boots were waterlogged and he feared his socks would never be the same. The rest of the men were stripping and toweling off before putting on the underwater camo the submarine had “kindly” let them borrow. “Kindly” because Davidson’s outfit was two sizes too large. He was swimming in the pants. If he didn’t have a belt, everyone would have gotten a good look at his tighty whiteys.
And Levont’s tee shirt was three sizes too small. His biceps were threatening to rip the fabric. As a matter of fact Levont was the first one dressed, as tightly as it was, despite the fact he had taken the time out to check the Roomba in its waterproof sack. The little spy vacuum was as dry as the Sahara in there.
A seaman burst into the room. “The CIA liaison wants to see you ASAP.”
“Too bad,” Lopez said, pushing his way out the hatch as he shoved his tee shirt into his pants. “We’re going to the bridge.”
“You can’t, sir,” the seaman replied. “You must be invited onto the bridge, you can’t just barge onto it.”
“Watch me,” Lopez grunted just as two explosions, only second apart rocked the ship.”
“The Pakistani war ships must be in position,” Levont added.
“Ya think?” Lopez said with a snort then ran down the long metal hallway. Levont handed over the Roomba to Prenner then hauled ass after the corporal.
Malvern patted the seaman on the back. “Trust me, after a moment, a long moment, your Captain will be happy to have him on the bridge.”
* * *
Bunny leaned forward between Stark and his mother. “Ask him for a wireless USB adapter.”
She looked to Stark who nodded. They wanted that information before the CIA got their hands on it.
Listening to the back and forth, Bunny’s lips finally broke into a smile as the seaman took them to an electronics room and grabbed the adapter. When the seaman wasn’t looking, Prenner plugged the USB into the Roomba. A red light blinked. Prenner then put it back into its sack and continued on with the rest.
It sounded like Davidson was making small talk with the seaman, trying to put him at ease as they hurried to the bridge. The seaman seemed pretty concerned about how the Captain was going to take Lopez’s intrusion.
“Right up here,” the seaman said, “But Mr. Trapp was pretty insistent that I deliver you to his quarters.”
Malvern again patted the seaman on the shoulder. “Let me worry about Mr. Trapp.”
The seaman seemed the most comforted by the older man. Like if that high ranking a man said it, it must be true.
Finally they were on the bridge to find Lopez and Levont under arrest. Two security specialists had guns on the two men and another two guards were handcuffing Lopez and Levont.
Another two explosions knocked the sub at least six feet to the left.
“If you don’t let me drive the sub, we’re all going to die,” Lopez pleaded. Although not a stretch, Lopez had been talking about how steering a sub was on his bucket list.
Malvern stepped forward. “Captain Peel, I understand the breach of protocol here, but Corporal Lopez is not --”
Another two explosions.
“Are we putting up counter measures or not?” The Captain barked.
Malvern took another step forward. “I do believe Lopez is our only hope of surviving this.”
The Captain looked to Lopez. “You’ve steered a submarine?”
“Define steered and submarine?”
The Captain looked aghast. “No. Just No.”
Lopez lost that devil-may-care attitude and jutted his chin toward the topographical maps. “Look twenty feet down there is a shelf overhanging the seafloor.”
Peel was pissed, but also curious. He glanced over to the map. “That’s way too tight to fit in
to.”
Despite being summarily dismissed, Davidson watched Lopez continue. “Seriously you are going to let us all die because you are worried I can’t parallel park?”
“What harm would it do?” Malvern asked.
Peel’s jaw muscles worked overtime. “He could scrape a hole in the hull.”
Malvern pointed up to another two explosions, this time so close the submarine quaked all around them. “And those won’t?”
Everyone’s eyes were on the Captain as his gaze flittered between his own helmsmen, Lopez and Malvern.
“Do it,” the captain finally barked. The crew looked shocked. The helmsmen didn’t even move until Lopez bumped him with his hip, still holding his hands behind his back for the guards to unlock him.
“Come on, come on, come on,” Lopez urged, then finally got his hands back and plopped into the helmsman’s chair.
“Full stop. Right rudder twenty degrees, route the impulse power to this station,” Lopez ordered.
The crew looked to Peel first. After he gave his nod, the crew related the message onto the engineering room. Davidson grabbed hold of a railing as the submarine came to an abrupt stop.
Then he watched with fascination, along with the rest of the crew as Lopez inched the sub under the low hanging rock, then moved them forward slowly.
“See?” Lopez said. He could never just let it go.
“Alright, helmsman, relieve the corporal.
There was another set of explosions, but they felt further away. The sound was loud and clear but the sub didn’t shake the way it had.
“Yah, um…” Lopez said. “I’m going to take us in there.”
The corporal pointed to the dark entrance to what looked like a sea cave.
“Oh no you aren’t,” the Captain replied.
“Come on, look at your map. This tunnel cuts west all the way out to international waters,” Lopez explained.
The captain and helmsmen checked the map again. “It is tight.”
“My middle name is tight,” Lopez said.
Peel looked to Malvern.
The older man nodded. “He’s as good as he says. And I hate to admit perhaps better.”
The Captain didn’t seem to believe that but gave Lopez the nod.
* * *
Stark watched as Davidson turned to observe the CIA liaison burst onto the bridge.
Bull's Eye Sniper Chronicles Collection (The Second Cycle of the Betrayed Series) Page 32