“What kind of project?” Christopher asked.
“We’re not sure. Something both Chinese and North Korean scientists have been working on for the past three months. We don’t have many details—just the name, really. Project Zhu.”
“What’s that mean?” Daniel asked.
“Roughly translated, it means ‘Bad Omen,’” Nick replied.
“Oh. Awesome,” Christopher said, rolling his eyes.
“We leave at 0430 local tomorrow morning. We’re taking the same Razor we took to K-13R, and only travelling at night under full stealth. We’ll have some backup about two hundred and fifty miles away, but for the worst part of it, we’re on our own,” Nick told them. “I’d suggest getting as much sleep as possible.”
“Boss, question?” Martin chimed in for the first time all night.
“Yeah, Martin.”
“How the hell are we going to get into North Korea, even with stealth?”
“Gentlemen and lady, some of you have already met him, but for those that haven’t—meet David John Bryce, the best T-5 truck driver the world ever saw.” Nick smiled at Bryce, who tipped an imaginary hat back at Nick. “Finished, what was it, second in the Dakar rally two years ago?”
Bryce nodded.
“You ever handled something as big as a Razor, Bryce?” Anthony asked.
“You know what a T-5 is, kid? It’s about the same size as a Razor, maybe a little bigger. Drove a modified one that was definitely heavier than our Razors in the Baja extreme and finished first.” Bryce shrugged.
“All right. Definitely our man.” Christopher grinned.
“I’ll want to meet with you all individually before we leave to discuss your mission responsibilities. For now, though, relax. Get some rest. We’re going to be stuck in the Razor for a long time, so snatch whatever privacy you can.”
Nick finished off the last of his coffee and headed outside for a cigarette.
“So, I hear they offered to let you command the mission from here,” Christopher said, walking out onto the porch and standing next to Nick.
“Sure. Standard operating procedure for convict units. Real marines have a chance to stay behind and command through their SIC for the really dangerous ones.”
“And you decided to come along?”
“Staying behind was never an option in my mind. I’m with you guys on this one, and the next one, and so on. Whole reason I came back.”
“All right, then, bro. What’s my job on the mission?”
“You’re still my SIC, Chris. You’re there to second-guess any dodgy decision I might make. If and when I get killed, you’re in charge of the unit and the mission. Which means you’ll need this.” Nick pulled an e-reader from his coat pocket and handed it to Nick.
“Which is?”
“Full mission specs. All the classified stuff I’m not allowed to tell the rest of the unit. Anything happens to me, you read that.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to you, boss.”
“So we both hope. But gotta be prepared just in case. Now, before you head back into the house, I need you to track down a couple of things for the mission.”
“Something Command didn’t already hook you up with?”
“Stuff that we’ll need your special talents to procure.” Nick grinned.
“Well, all right, then.”
Nick told Christopher what they needed, and the tall, thin man nodded and walked off into the darkened base.
After another cigarette, Nick crawled into the Razor to make sure all of the equipment he’d requested had been loaded. The interior of the Razor was huge, but it was going to be cramped for the next couple of days, loaded down as it was with weapons, ammo, FSRs, water packets, MREs, Mary’s computers and Martin’s explosives and tools. He expected the mission to take almost two full weeks, in and out—he wasn’t looking forward to the smell once they’d all been cramped inside for a while.
His quick inventory revealed that everything he’d asked for had been loaded, so Nick hopped out of the Razor and closed it up. Michael was sitting outside smoking, and he waved at Nick.
“What’s up, Mike?”
“Hey, Nick. I hate to sound like Captain Bringdown, but this mission doesn’t seem like one we’re coming back from.”
“Don’t worry, my man. We’ll be fine.”
“Man, I hope you’re right.”
Nick hoped he was right, too.
Chapter 24
We Are 138
The first three days had been easy enough—Nathan and G Company had already mapped out a route clear of Chinese patrols, so Nick and his crew didn’t see another soul as they rolled toward the new North Korean border. There seemed to be nothing but time to kill. Nick spent it reading, helping Anthony monitor comm channels, and getting to know the new members of his unit.
Thankfully, Christopher had managed to scam an MP3 player, and Mary had wired it into the Razor’s system, so they didn’t have to make the drive in silence this time. Nick quickly realized he’d have to implement a time-sharing policy on the music, however—the tastes of his crew ran from Mecho Thrashcore to late 1970s punk rock.
As they approached their extraction point, Peter’s selection of classic hip-hop was on. Nick cut off the music as Daniel attempted to locate the other two Razors on camera.
“Got anything yet?” Nick asked, looking over Daniel’s shoulder at the screen.
“Negative. Sure we can’t just call them?”
“Can’t take the chance on our transmissions getting picked up. We’ve got approximate coordinates that Lieutenant Nathan took from the satellite photos of the area—if you haven’t found them by the time we reach those, we can try signal lights.”
“Roger that. I’ll see if I can’t track ‘em down before then.”
“Chris? How much time before daylight?”
“An hour and ten,” Christopher replied.
“If you can locate our boys before then, that’d be helpful.” Nick smirked, clapping Daniel on the shoulder.
Nick walked to the back of the Razor, careful not to disturb Martin, Gabriel, Michael and Ryan, who were passed out on the collapsible racks. Mary was sitting at the stealth station, keeping one eye on its status screens while keeping the other on an open netbook.
“How’s our power consumption looking, kiddo?” Nick asked quietly.
Mary slipped the earbuds out of her ears. “Sorry, sir. What?”
“Jesus, kid. Start calling me Nick. I asked how our power consumption was looking.”
“Not too bad. Solar batteries are down sixty percent, which means we have maybe three, three and a half hours left under full stealth. Solid fuel’s barely below the top line.”
“Whatcha got going on the netbook?”
“Not a lot,” Mary said, turning the small computer’s screen to face him. Nick saw she was playing a game of Solitaire.
“Gotta respect the classics.” Nick grinned. “How you holding up? I know this is a little different to what you’re used to.”
“I’m used to sitting at a desk looking at a screen. I’m sitting at a desk now, looking at a screen. Just, this desk moves,” she said, miming the moving Razor with her hand through the air. “Not bad so far. Just not looking forward to when the bullets start flying.”
“Hopefully, we won’t have to deal with that.”
“You really believe that?”
Nick shook his head.
“Boss!” Daniel hissed from the front of the Razor. Nick winked at Mary and made his way up to the passenger seat.
“What’s up?”
“Think we’ve got ‘em. Four-story office building with an underground parking level. No energy signature, but that’s where I’d hide a Razor or three.”
“Bryce?”
“Gotta agree with my man. Better than average chance that’s where they’re holed up.”
“Take us in. Flash the signals as soon as we clear the entrance—don’t want them firing on us.”
“Right on.” Bryce smoothly turned the huge vehicle toward the office building. As they slid underground, Daniel flashed the signal lights on the front of the Razor. Almost immediately, Nick saw the return signals flash on camera, coming from the dark at the far end of the garage.
“All right, Bryce. Find the valet and park this big bitch. I could use a good leg-stretch.” Nick smiled.
Bryce nodded and headed for the signals. On the cameras, they saw a single man with glowsticks leading them in to a parking space. When he held the glowsticks straight up, Bryce stopped the Razor, its hybrid engine idling silently. Thirty seconds later, someone knocked on the passenger door. Nick opened it and saw Gunnery Sergeant Mendel standing there, shoving the glowsticks into his cargo pockets.
“Welcome to the Las Vegas Hilton, folks. I’m your casino host, Gunny Mendel. Please completely shut down anything electronic in your Razor—we don’t want any random UAVs picking up an energy signature.”
“Do it,” Nick said as he turned to Bryce, who shut down the engine and started turning off the Razor’s systems one by one.
Mendel handed a few more glowsticks into the cabin. “We’ve got solar collectors camo’d outside—my guys will hook up your Razor, and I’ll get a couple of extra men on guard duty down here.”
“Appreciate it.” Nick cracked his glowstick and hopped out of the passenger door, landing solidly on his feet in the pitch-black parking garage. “Where’s your CO?”
“Lieutenant Nathan’s sacked out, sir. He’s been running day watch, I’m on night watch. He’ll be up in an hour or so. We’ve got some quarters set up on the second level of the building, away from the windows. Your men who need to sack out can rest up there. I’m sure you and the L.T. will want to convo—he’s set up on the fourth level.”
“Right. Okay, kids. Follow Gunny Mendel—he’ll get you set up with a place to sack out. Chris, come with me—we’re going to chat with Lieutenant Nathan.”
“Coming, boss.”
As Christopher hopped out of the Razor, Mendel tossed him a lit glowstick, which he caught in his left hand. Mendel pointed to the stairwell with another glowstick, and Nick and Christopher set about to climbing the darkened stairs to the fourth floor.
“So where are we, exactly?” Christopher asked.
“Just across the North Korean border. Still another few days from our destination.”
“And that is?”
“Just outside of Pyongyang.”
“Shit. The Lion’s Den.”
“And then some.”
“Well, look at the bright side. At least we’re not in the Razor. Michael snores.”
Nick passed his glowstick over the wall as they climbed yet another flight of stairs. He saw the number four and gestured to the door with his glowstick.
“Wish they could turn some lights on in here.” Christopher shook his head, passing his glowstick over the door, looking for the handle.
“Power might be off in the building. Even if it’s still connected, they wouldn’t want the Chinese or the Koreans to track them through the grid,” Nick said as Christopher found the handle and opened the door. The two of them stepped into a long hallway dimly lit by a single crank-powered lamp.
“G’morning, Lieutenant. Glad you found us.” A young Marine smiled at Nick.
“Good morning, Corporal. Your L.T. up and around yet?”
“Rousing for day watch now, sir. Can we offer you gentlemen a bit of breakfast? MREs, I’m afraid, but better than nothing.”
“Appreciate it.”
The young Corporal—Parker, by his name tag—led Nick and Christopher down the hallway and through a door that opened up onto a large, open office floor crammed with cubicles. Corporal Parker dropped into a crouch, gesturing for Nick and Christopher to do the same. They followed suit, and the three of them crept along the base of one of the cube walls. They stopped at a cubicle set up with four chairs.
“So what’s with the crawling around?”
“Gotta stay off the windows. Chinese see movement up here, we’re 138,” Parker said, a half-grin creeping onto his face.
“What’s 138?” Christopher asked, nodding as Parker handed him an MRE.
“You guys didn’t hear? You’re not the first unit to get sent into North Korea. About two weeks ago, an Air Force AWACS was shot down. Command at Zulu sent in a detachment of the 138th Rangers to go for the pilot and the data.”
“And?” Nick asked, opening his MRE.
“Poof. Gone. Never heard from again.”
“Well, that’s encouraging.”
“They were Army. What do you expect?” Parker chuckled, spooning some dehydrated fruit into his mouth.
“Lock it up, Parker,” Lieutenant Nathan snapped as he appeared in the cubicle’s entryway. “Report?”
“Scopes were clear all night, sir. The tech geeks at Rock Island’ll be glad to know we didn’t see the Razor coming under stealth.”
“Excellent. You’re dismissed, Corporal. Head on down to three and get some rack time.”
“Yes, sir.”
Parker gathered up his MRE and crept to the door. Seconds later, he was gone.
“Sorry about Parker, Lieutenant Morrow. He’s kind of an idiot,” Nathan said, glaring after the vanished Corporal.
“It’s Nick. And no worries.”
“Right. I’m Wyatt.”
“So, Wyatt—was it true what he said about the Ranger unit?”
“Hundred and thirty-eighth Rangers, Operational Detachment Alpha? Sadly, yeah. Twelve men, sent into NK sixteen days ago. Haven’t heard thing one.”
“Expect to?”
“No. Not really. Though I suppose it’s possible. Command hasn’t picked up any traffic saying the Chinks or the Koreans captured them. Like I said, haven’t heard anything.”
“Where was the AWACS reported lost?”
“Couple hundred kliks off your route. Don’t expect you’ll be the ones to solve that particular mystery. Besides, they’ve already been listed MIA. Command’s not gonna risk another unit to go out and find a dozen corpses.”
“Nope. They’ll just risk ours on a rumor,” Christopher mumbled.
“He’s a cheerful one, isn’t he?” Nathan grinned, ripping open another MRE.
“So what have you seen so far? We looking at much resistance?” Nick asked.
“We’re not seeing much, really, but we’re limited to traditional optics. I don’t want to risk cameras or drones. About three miles from here, though, is where the electronic frontier kicks in. Anything sends up a signal that’s not supposed to be there, the Koreans will lock onto it and send everything they’ve got handy.”
“Which is a lot, according to the last UAV flyover we got. Chinese have armed them up good, and they weren’t even hurting for weapons before.” Christopher shook his head.
“Yeah. In addition to the North Korean armor and air cover that was patrolling the border last year, the Chinese have given ‘em CDMs, armed UAVs, electronic counterintrusion tech, cameras, listening posts…really, it’ll be amazing if you make it twenty miles from here.” Nathan shrugged.
“What about our stealth? Any idea how it’ll hold up to all of this?” Christopher asked.
“The cameras’ll be a breeze. Silent running should keep the listening posts from picking you up. It’ll all depend on how good their electronics-detection technology is—it shouldn’t be able to penetrate the Razor’s skin, but there’s no guarantee there.”
“And you wonder why Chris is so cheerful.” Nick smirked.
“Only thing I can say for sure is that you can’t, under any circumstances, use anything electronic during the day when the Razor’s powered down. Your solar collectors won’t show up on their scans, but anything else—a computer, a cell phone—and they’ll have you. Hand radios in short range should be okay, though.”
Nick nodded. “About that…what about comms? Any safe frequency you know of?”
“There’s one we’re pretty sure the Chinese haven
’t broken the encryption on, but I wouldn’t risk it unless it’s absolutely necessary. Channel Victor 1-9 in your comm system. We’re monitoring it at night, so if you need to get to us, that’s the one to use. It’s low-freq, though, so it’ll be useless for calling us after a day or two.”
“Thanks for the info, Lieutenant. I’m going to go down and catch some rack time. Mind getting me up in five hours or so? A few things I’ll want to check out before we get rolling.”
“Yeah. Offices down on level two have been set up for you and your crew. Ain’t the Vegas Hilton, but it’s a damn sight better than the drop-downs in the Razors. I’d suggest sleeping with your gun by your rack—we get raided, and you’ll know it. All the power in the building will kick on.”
“Thanks for the hospitality, Lieutenant.”
“Me captured office building es su captured office building,” Nathan said, waving his hand to indicate the empty office around them.
On the second level of the building, Nick found that individual small offices had been set up for each of his crew. He found an empty office, kicked off his boots and settled on the cot on the floor. After a second’s thought, he grabbed his M4, thumbed the safety off, and set it on the floor next to him.
Chapter 25
The Warrior’s Code
To keep everyone on a rotation, Nick had four of his men keep day watch with Nathan’s crew. Those four, unfortunately, didn’t get to crash out in the makeshift apartments on the building’s second level—quite a lot more comfortable than the Razor’s drop-down racks, which were little better than canvas stretchers. Still, to their credit, Martin, Gabriel, Michael and Ryan didn’t complain one bit. Ryan, in fact, still looked mostly confused about what he was doing hanging out with a bunch of convict Marines. He didn’t say much at all.
Nick and the rest of 47 Echo were loaded up and ready to roll by twilight. Before they started up the Razor’s systems, Nick, Bryce and Christopher studied the satellite photos and planned out their route. There was only recent UAV data for about two thirds of the trip. The last AWACS data they had came from the last transmission of the downed Air Force plane, and was dated from early October. That made it more than two weeks old, and horribly out of date. Past about three in the morning, Nick realized, they’d be on their own as far as recent intel.
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