Man with a Mission

by McKenna, Lindsay

  Stunned, Jake felt the soft alpaca wool of the scarf against his hot, sweaty neck. He saw love and fear in Ana’s huge, widening eyes. His heart soared with joy. With anguish. No one knew better than they did what the Kamov was capable of doing to them in very short order. He lifted one end of the scarf in his muddy fist.

  “Okay…okay, Ana…just get out of here. Stay safe. I’ll try and get the Kamov to come after me. Just get Tal outta here….” He gulped and held Ana’s damp eyes. “I love you—you know that, don’t you?” There, he’d said it.

  The Kamov was taking off. The entire hillside trembled with the power of the hunter aircraft lifting into the sky.

  Choking, Ana whispered, “And I love you, too, Jake….” She reached out and gripped his hand. “I want the time…the time to get to know you—”

  “Get outta here!” he ordered hoarsely. “Run! Now!”

  There was no time left. Ana felt him grip her fingers one last time and then release her. Turning, the landscape blurry through her tears, Ana ran down the hill to where Tal was standing. Sobbing, Ana tried to gather in her powerful emotions. The Kamov would hunt them down with the cold precision of a lethal hunter. Jake was putting his life on the line in drawing the Kamov away from them.

  Reaching out, Ana grabbed Tal’s hand. “Come on, we’ve got ten minutes to make that ravine where the helicopter is coming in to rescue us!”

  Tal hesitated. “But Jake—”

  “No time, Tal! Come on, follow me! The Kamov’s up and is going to hunt us. Rojas knows you’ve escaped. Hurry!”

  Tal jerkily turned away from Jake and swiftly followed Ana as she headed on down the trail. Above them, she could hear the thump, thump, thump of the Kamov moving slowly toward them. Gasping for breath, Tal pushed herself. Her brother was nowhere near them.

  With superhuman effort, Tal managed to come abreast of Ana. “Where’s Jake?” she cried.

  Ana shook her head. “He’s going to try and lure the Kamov off to hunt him and not us. Keep running!”

  “But,” Tal cried, “can’t we help him?”

  “No!” Ana reached out and grabbed Tal’s arm as she started to slow down. “Nothing can stop a Kamov except an Apache helicopter. We’ve got one coming, Tal. It’s a question of time.” Ana jerked Tal’s arm and pushed the woman ahead of her. “Keep running! We’ve got to make that rendezvous point at the base of the hill.”

  “But Jake!” Tal cried.

  Ana saw tears streaking down Tal’s face. She wanted to sob herself. Tal knew what Jake was doing: making himself a target so that they might survive.

  Maybe they had a chance. Ana knew that the Kamov pilot had to not only fly the machine but work the weapons and radar simultaneously. That took time. The Apaches had two pilots—one to fly, the other to work the instruments, weapons and radar. In the long run, the Apache was quicker on the draw because of it. The Kamov pilot might be overwhelmed with multiple demands on his attention. That might play in their favor as seconds and minutes of precious time slipped by. Ana hoped that would be the case.

  “Keep running!” Ana barked. “Run for your life!” She shoved Tal hard to force her to run faster, drawing her pistol as she followed. Ana knew their headlong dash for the ravine was going to be close. If the Kamov swept his IR toward them and not Jake, they could become his target. No, nothing was guaranteed now, and Ana knew it. Keeping her ears tuned to the approaching Kamov, she felt her heart bleed with fear and joy. Jake had said he loved her! And she’d blurted out her love for him as well.

  How had it happened? When? Ana wasn’t sure at all. As she jumped over some roots, she saw Tal’s boot snag on a vine. Jake’s sister went tumbling end over end and landed in a heap against a tree trunk. Sobbing for breath, Ana skidded to a halt, mud flying in all directions. Curving her hand around Tal’s arm, she helped her stand. The front of Tal’s clothing was nothing but mud. Her hair was sprayed with it from her fall.

  “You okay?” Ana gasped, keeping a hand on her arm.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m okay.”

  Gasping, Ana ordered, “Then keep running. Concentrate, Tal. Watch where you’re putting your feet!”

  Tal wiped her shaking fingers through her stringy blond hair. Glancing back up the trail, where she knew Jake was, she turned and started to run once again.

  Ana’s heart beat hard in her chest. She had to make sure Tal got to the landing area. As much as she wanted to go to Jake, Ana knew she couldn’t. He was alone. He was going to take on one of the world’s most lethal hunter helicopters, and she knew he couldn’t possibly win the confrontation. Could he?

  Chapter Eight

  Jake found a small gap, not large enough to be called a clearing, between the trees so that he could take a clean shot at the approaching Kamov. The helicopter was moving slowly, and as Jake pressed himself against a tree to steady his aim, he could feel the puncturing vibration of the double rotors on the gunship as it crawled toward him.

  Sweat ran down into his eyes. He lifted his arms, both hands wrapped around the butt of the pistol. He pressed his left wrist against the tree, the barrel pointing upward. Would the Kamov’s IR detect his body heat behind this tree? Jake wasn’t sure. He knew the infrared equipment was powerful and could penetrate thick tree core at a distance, but how much, exactly, he wasn’t sure. The wind began to whip and change direction. Twigs, leaves and small branches began to break and fly around him like a battering tornado as the Kamov inched closer.

  Blinking his eyes, his breathing harsh and ragged, Jake jerked a look over his shoulder. He couldn’t see Ana or Tal. They must be down at the base of the hill by now. Safe in the ravine awaiting rescue by the Cobra. Where was that damned Kamov? The entire jungle began to vibrate around him. The power of the gunship was terrifying, and Jake had never had to experience the Russian helicopter in such a situation. Every leaf trembled. Bushes swayed violently as if in an earth tremor. Birds shot past him. He saw several small mammals running ahead of the creeping Kamov, terrified by the thunderous sound and earsplitting vibration.

  Jake knew the Kamov had a 30 mm cannon, with shells as big as a man’s fist, which it could spit out at him like a Gatling gun. Or would the pilot use a rocket, which would blow up a helluva lot of real estate in the process and him along with it? Digging his right boot into the mud, Jake tried to anchor himself and wait. Waiting was the hardest part. He would have only a few seconds to try and place one of the nine bullets in his pistol into the rotor assembly cuff at the top of the gunship. The rotor assembly was the most vulnerable part on any helicopter. Had the Russians protected it with a thin titanium wall to deflect bullets? Again, Jake didn’t know.

  Were the cockpit windows bulletproof like they were in an Apache’s windshield? Jake thought about trying to kill the pilot instead of trying for that one lucky shot into the assembly cuff. An Apache cockpit could withstand a direct hit from a 30 mm cannon and not shatter. If the Kamov was similarly designed, then his measly 9 mm bullets would bounce off that cockpit window like flies trying to kill a gorilla.

  The ground began to tremble beneath his booted feet. The Kamov was coming….

  Jake held his breath. He aimed the pistol skyward, his arm steady against the trunk of the tree. He saw the tips of the double rotors along with the ski-shaped snout on the Black Shark appear in the clearing. It was a lethal-looking machine. It stopped its forward progress. It was hunting…for him.

  Jake released an explosive breath. The Kamov was barely six feet above the top of the jungle canopy. He saw the pilot clearly; he was in a flak vest and helmet, a dark visor drawn down across the upper half of his grim-looking face. Jake watched, almost mesmerized, as the pilot looked at his instruments—to get a fix on him. The Kamov needed to come just a few feet closer in order for Jake to take the shot at the rotor cuff.

  Come on! Come on, you bastard! Just a few more feet…

  Jake stopped breathing. The Kamov moved cautiously forward. It hovered again. The ground shook and shuddered around him.
Wind whipped through the jungle and stung his eyes. Dirt and debris whirled everywhere. Jake was unable to protect his eyes and blinked rapidly in order to keep a bead on the Kamov at the same time. His hands gripped the pistol hard. Slowly, his finger brushed the trigger. The pistol bucked sharply. The sound of it firing was drowned out by the roar of the Kamov’s powerful engines.

  Jake saw a spark of light explode near the cuff. He squinted. The rotor cuff had protection around it. Damn! The pilot seemed oblivious to him having fired off a shot. Mouth tightening, Jake swung the pistol and aimed it directly at the pilot. The Kamov’s tail moved slightly, as if to line up directly with where Jake was hiding, until the entire front of the cockpit, with its lethal rockets, was aimed at him.

  Jake fired three bullets in rapid succession. He watched in disbelief as they all struck the front window and deflected. This time the pilot reacted. He probably heard the bullets cracking into the hardened Plexiglas surface.

  Digging his boots into the damp soil, Jake took off. He knew the Kamov had him on IR. If he didn’t move, he was dead. Heading in the opposite direction from the ravine at the base of the hill, Jake ran as hard as he could.

  He heard the pitch and whine on the Kamov’s engines change. Jerking a look up through the thick trees, he saw the Black Shark slowly move—toward him. His heart pounded savagely in his chest as he hit the cow trail and headed back up it—toward the villa far above him. There was a good chance Rojas was in his vehicle with his soldiers, coming down the road toward him. Jake had a plan. Maybe it would work. Leaping over a number of fallen logs, he headed toward the main dirt road, less than a tenth of a mile away.

  As he did, he heard a sound that made his skin crawl. The thump, thump, thump of shells being shot from the 30 mm cannon on the Kamov ripped through the jungle—right at him. Blasts of white-hot light exploded around him. Jake threw up his hands and dived for cover. Trees shattered. Splinters shrieked through the air like hundreds of needles being blasted at him. Dirt and rock vomited upward like gray-and-black geysers all around him. Burying his head beneath his arms, Jake felt rocks and dirt savagely pelt him. He groaned as something hard and heavy struck him in the lower back.

  Struggling to get up, he heard more thudding thumps of cannon shells being fired at him. Sprinting to the left, across land torn up with small craters and leaning trees, Jake again headed for the main road. Breath torn from him, gun in hand, he ran as hard as he could. More cannon shells struck, but not near him. They were being aimed somewhere else….

  And then something happened. He heard the Kamov turning away from him. Sliding to a halt, Jake spun around. His eyes widened. The Kamov was moving back down the hill—right toward the ravine. Why? Had the pilot gotten its IR on Tal and Ana? Sobbing for breath, Jake ran as hard as he could down the hill after the retreating helicopter.

  He’d gone only two hundred feet when he saw why the Kamov had stopped hunting him. Ana was standing in a small clearing, in full view, her pistol aimed upward, firing away at the Kamov!

  “No! Damn…no,” he sobbed as he ran. Ana was standing there, legs spread apart for balance, her face impassive, her pistol raised defiantly to the sky. She was challenging the Kamov directly. She’d die.

  Jake screamed her name. “Ana! Get out of there! Get out!” But his voice was drowned out by the Kamov, which was now slowing to a hover. The pilot had Ana in his sites now. Running and stumbling through the thick underbrush and around trees, Jake knew he’d never make it in time to where Ana stood. He passed a small opening in the canopy. Wait! Sliding to a halt, he leaped backward.

  The fuselage of the black Kamov was accessible! He couldn’t even wait to steady his pistol against something solid. Aiming for the side window, Jake fired off four quick shots. This time the bullets didn’t deflect. This time, they shattered the Plexiglas on the right side of the cockpit. Jake gave a yell of triumph. Had he hit the pilot? He stood there panting, holding the gun in his hand.

  The Kamov suddenly moved—toward him again. Damn! Jake caught Ana’s gaze. He yelled at her.

  “Get out of here! Get to the ravine!” He gestured wildly, pointing toward the ravine.

  Ana heard Jake’s deep, emphatic voice. The Kamov’s engines drowned out whatever he was screaming, but she saw the terror in his eyes and knew he wanted her out of there. Hesitating, Ana saw the Kamov turn toward Jake. They had to buy time!

  Just then, Ana heard another voice. A woman’s voice. It was Tal, calling up to her from the ravine. Ana couldn’t look. Her gaze was narrowed on the stalking gunship, which was now siting on Jake. Why wouldn’t Jake move? He had to run! Ana didn’t want him to die. Gulping hard, she shrieked at Jake to run, but he didn’t hear her.

  Ana lifted her pistol and fired the last four bullets into the left side panel of the Kamov cockpit. The window shattered outward in a spray of rainbow colors at it caught the sunlight and fell earthward. Had she wounded the pilot?

  No! A scream lurched from Ana. She saw the Kamov firing cannon shells in Jake’s direction. He dived for cover.

  With shaking hands, Ana quickly released the spent cartridges and slammed another clip into the butt of her pistol. She stood and started firing again at the Kamov, to try and draw him off Jake. It worked!

  Ana released the emptied clip and slammed her third and final one into the pistol. She saw the Kamov turn—toward her. Leaping out of the clearing, Ana headed down toward the ravine at top speed.

  It was then that Ana saw Tal standing in the middle of the ravine, in plain view. She’d told her to hide, not be a target! Speeding up, Ana raced wildly down the hill, screaming at Tal to take cover. The Kamov suddenly moved forward. The pilot had spotted Tal out in the open!

  Ana no longer thought, she only reacted. She knew what had to be done. Racing down into the dry ravine, filled with dust kicked up in thick, yellow clouds by the Kamov’s approach, she headed directly for Tal. The woman was stricken, frozen with fear. Lunging toward Tal, Ana pushed her heavily to the ground, to the embankment.

  It was then she heard a sound that made her cry out. The Kamov had loosed a rocket directly at them! Ana had thrown her body over Tal’s to protect her as they hit and rolled to the hard, unforgiving ground. In the next instant, they were both lifted violently into the air. The explosive concussion ripped into Ana’s ears. She screamed. Tal cried out. And then darkness deluged Ana and she heard nothing more.

  Jake slowly got to his feet. He saw the Kamov firing a rocket into the ravine. Dazed and semiconscious, he gasped for breath, heedless of the blood running out of his nose and mouth. Cannon shells had exploded all around him. Crying out Ana’s and Tal’s names, Jake staggered forward. He tripped. He fell. And then he heard the Kamov once more turning—toward him.

  He was out of ammunition. He was helpless. Jake was ready to die. Below, he could see a huge cloud of yellow dust rising into the air where the rocket had been fired into the ravine. Where Tal and Ana had taken cover…Tears flooded into his eyes. Anger surged through him.

  To his amazement, as he leaped down toward the ravine, the Kamov suddenly revved its engines and headed away again. Shaking his head in puzzlement, Jake staggered toward the area where Tal and Ana had been waiting for rescue.

  And then he saw why. Two black Apache helicopters were blazing down from higher altitudes, aimed right at the fleeing Kamov. Then he saw the Cobra coming—their rescue ship.

  Stumbling, Jake holstered the pistol and concentrated on running. Rounding a bend, he saw the dust beginning to clear. Where the rocket had landed a huge crater had been created. And up on the embankment were his sister and Ana. A cry lurched from his parched throat. Ana was leaning over Tal, who was lying on her back. Tal was screaming in pain.

  As Jake raced up, his eyes widened with horror. His sister’s right thigh had been torn open, the stark white bone of her broken femur sticking out of the bleeding flesh. Dropping to his knees, he saw that Ana was doing what she could for Tal. His sister was in shock, her eyes black and glass
y looking.

  “Take it easy…easy….” Jake rasped. He put one shaking hand on Tal’s shoulder as she flailed wildly and tried to sit up.

  Ana jerked a look at him. Jake’s face was bloodied and cut. She quickly took her belt from around her waist and slid it under Tal’s thigh above the compound fracture. In the background, she could hear the Cobra’s beating blades as it came in for a landing.

  “Jake, get to the Cobra!” Ana cried, the noise of the landing helicopter almost drowning her out. “We need a stretcher! They’ve got one on board. Hurry!”

  He hesitated, then got to his feet. The Cobra had just landed a hundred feet away, viciously kicking up dust as it powered down. He saw one pilot up front. A short, copper-skinned woman who looked Peruvian leaped out of the opening door on the side of the helicopter. She was dressed in a black, body-fitting uniform with no patches or identification. Her black hair was twisted in a knot at the base of her neck. The expression on her face was grim. Jake ran toward her as she ducked beneath the whirling rotor blades.

  “I need a stretcher!” Jake yelled at the woman.

  “How many down?” she yelled back.

  “One. My sister. Leg fracture.”

  The woman nodded and hurried back to the Cobra. Jake went with her. In moments, he and the woman had the portable stretcher and a paramedic bag in their hands. They ran back to where Ana was leaning over Tal and trying to console her.

  Ana looked up. “Angel!”

  Angel Paredes grinned tightly and nodded to Ana. She dropped the stretcher and knelt down to examine the injured woman. “Hi there, Lieutenant. Looks like you’ve seen some trouble.”

  Ana wiped her bloody nose. Her ears had blood leaking out of them as well because of the rocket concussion. “Yeah, a little hell on earth. Can we help you?”