Dr. Me-Sung cried loudly and began to run. The remaining Dragons followed him.
“He’s called for a retreat,” Aiko said. “They’ll probably regroup somewhere else in the crater. I’m sure their orders are to prevent you — I mean us — from leaving.”
Titan Six stood as the roar of battle faded.
“What just happened to the cyborg?” Hawkeye asked.
“He’s a prototype. I was given a code to destroy him should he begin to malfunction. He didn’t. He was performing all too well.”
“Let’s get to the EFV,” Hawkeye said. “We have forty-one minutes left until the nuke fries everything in this crater.”
Ops Center
Aboard the Alamiranta
Status reports, everyone!” Caine said.
“The torpedo exploded twenty yards off the aft stern,” DJ said. “We’re taking on a lot of water, and — ”
DJ checked her right-hand monitor.
“Beatrice is overtaking us again,” DJ continued.
“Ten miles before we clear the storm,” came the voice of Nikos Papagantis from the Bridge. “If we can hold out that long. We’ll have to skirt the edge of the feeder band until we’re free. Lower port decks sealed, pumps engaged. We’re listing at a ten-degree angle. We can expect the ship to list even more in the next few minutes.”
“Titan Six is headed back to the EFV with Commander Aiko,” Touchdown said. “The Dragons that were firing on them are moving to the far side of the crater. We won’t be needing all of the choppers waiting near the rim. As for the city, the temples and pyramids are almost leveled.”
Caine turned to the holographic display, which verified that the structures of Raj Kithune continued to deteriorate. She looked astonished. “Is Aiko defecting?”
“Unknown, ma’am. Hawkeye has thirty-nine minutes to get his team into the air and clear of the blast zone. I think his communication is a bit rushed.”
“That sub we spotted earlier — it’s only twenty miles away,” DJ said. “I still can’t get an ID on it.”
“Damn,” said Caine. “Damn.”
* * *
Joshua Ambergris seemed oblivious to the fate of the Alamiranta and Titan Six. He’d been absorbed in analyzing data recorded by the team’s helmet cams. He was methodically sifting through the ancient alphabet and glyphs carved into shrines.
He’d found the symbol that he’d been looking for. He already knew that the Nizia were descendents of the Ancients two hundred thousand years earlier, but the symbol on his screen might help interpret much of the other information that Titan Six would bring back from the ruins.
He glanced at nearby stations and saw the looks of grave concern on the faces of his colleagues.
The information from the ruins would indeed be invaluable . . . but only if Titan Six managed to get back alive.
Titan Six
Ruins of Raj Kithune
“And what do we do with Will Langhorne?” Shooter asked, standing outside the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. “He’s unconscious.”
“He was married to Yang’s daughter,” Aiko explained. “He was our informant about the U.S. Petroleum blast.”
Hawkeye raised his eyebrows.
“His backpacks are filled with scads of treasure,” Shooter said. “I bet Dr. Ambergris would like to have a look at this stuff.”
“Drag his sorry ass inside,” Hawkeye ordered. “He’s coming with us.”
* * *
Hawkeye threw the EFV into gear, the vehicle lurching forward.
“We’ve got twenty-nine minutes left before the nuke detonates,” Quiz said, checking his Digi-Palm.
Quiz’s BioMEMS had restored his strength and alertness. He was busy making new calculations.
“When is this city going to blow?” asked Tank.
“Anywhere from ten to seventy-five minutes from now, depending on the convection flows of the lava, which are suppressing some of the gas and fire.”
“What if the nuke and the city blow at the exact same moment?” asked Gator.
“The thermonuclear detonation will give the natural explosion an enormous boost,” Dr. Madison explained. “The dust cloud will go higher and spread faster.”
With extreme difficulty, Hawkeye managed to turn the EFV around and reach the spot on the northern rim where they had entered the crater. Stones and debris crashed onto the roof. The ground was heaving and buckling in certain areas as the EFV, bucking like a bronco, lumbered forward.
Hawkeye downshifted into low gear. “Gonna have to climb the incline we created when we slid into this hellhole.”
The EFV struggled up, but quickly slipped back.
Titan Six
Ruins of Raj Kithune
“The crater is collapsing!” Dr. Madison informed the occupants of the EFV. “Everything is being pulled downwards by the instability underneath the temple of the sun god, or what little remains of it.”
The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle rocked from side to side, jostling its inhabitants.
Hawkeye threw the EFV into gear again, the treads slipping over sand that was starting to flow towards the middle of the crater.
“Can’t get any damn traction,” Hawkeye said.
“Maybe we should try to climb out of the crater and leave the EFV behind,” suggested Shooter.
Bullets began ricocheting off the vehicle’s heavy armor plating.
“Not our best option,” Hawkeye said, gritting his teeth. “Looks like the Chinese have dispatched a few Dragons to give us a going away party.”
A grenade landed in front of the EFV, blasting through the desert floor. The vehicle’s front end rocked into the air, hovered, and smashed to the ground, tilted downwards.
Hawkeye smiled and revved the motor again. The EFV crawled forwards, lumbering left and right.
“Our former allies actually did us a favor,” Hawkeye said. “That last grenade cleared away sand, exposing rocks and gravel. The treads have something to grab.”
The EFV slowly ascended the crater rim, its motor alternately roaring and whining as Hawkeye pushed it beyond operational limits.
Forty feet to go.
The vehicle abruptly slid backwards by ten feet.
“I think I left my stomach up ahead,” Gator said.
“The ground immediately behind us is giving way faster,” Madison declared. “The entire city’s destroyed and the crater is an inverted cone leading to the detonation chamber.”
Hawkeye throttled up as he aimed the EFV obliquely, hoping to increase traction by steering ten degrees to the left. The vehicle would be less likely to slide if it was slightly angled.
“Thirty feet to go,” Tank said as he glanced at the console.
Aiko examined the screens linked to the external camera array. “Hawkeye, the Dragons are about to fire a shoulder-mounted rocket at us.”
Tank looked at the screens. “Shit! If they hit us, they’ll — ” He drew in his breath. “They’ve fired!”
“I don’t see ‘em,” Hawkeye said.
“They’ve fallen into the crater!” Madison exclaimed.
The slim missile whistled over the EFV, exploding like thunder in the unseen desert beyond the crater.
The EFV was now perched on top of the crater rim.
“A few more feet and we’ve got it,” Hawkeye said.
Quiz consulted his Digi-Palm. “The crater is collapsing quicker than I anticipated. Detonation of the bomb in twenty-seven minutes, but I think the crater is going to blow first.”
Titan Six looked at the young warrior in stunned silence. Quiz’s calculations were almost always correct.
Ops Center
Aboard the Alamiranta
“The U.S. Army is sending in choppers,” DJ reported. “Thirty miles out. Apache Longbows and CH-21Cs.”
“Warn them to stay clear!” Caine said.
“I’ve tried,” DJ said. “They’re not responding.”
“Joshua,” Caine said, “get on the emergency line and n
otify the Pentagon to keep all U.S. forces fifty miles away from the crater. They should definitely cordon off the area, but they need to stay back.”
Ambergris rolled his chair to an adjoining station and, donning a different headset, began typing on a red digital keypad.
“The crater has consumed everything,” Touchdown said. “All Chinese targets have disappeared.”
“Where is Titan Six?” Caine asked.
Touchdown swiveled his chair so as to face the holographic display.
“The EFV is poised on the very edge of the crater’s rim,” Touchdown said. “It could go either way. It’s a game of inches now.”
The Ops Center tilted to the left. The ship was listing hard to port.
Bridge
Aboard the Alamiranta
Captain Papagantis held tightly to the arms of his command chair as the vessel fought its way through the heaving waves of Beatrice. The feeder band had reached the ship, and tall swells were pushing against the starboard hull.
“The torpedo blast took out twenty feet of the aft hull,” said the tactical officer. “Pumps are working at full capacity, but the damage is significant. At least the engine room is undamaged.”
“Five mile until we clear the storm,” said the navigations officer.
“It may be the longest five miles of my maritime career,” said Papagantis. “Maintain present course and speed.”
Titan Six
The Basin Desert
The EFV teetered precariously on the edge of the crater.
“Only seconds to go before we slide backwards for good,” Tank said.
“Everybody move forward,” Hawkeye ordered. “Bring your equipment and anything that’s not secured — food, guns, ammo clips — anything.”
Titan Six, Aiko, and Langhorne carried as much as possible to the forward section of the vehicle. Langhorne clutched his backpacks as if they were his children.
Hawkeye throttled up slowly before driving the EFV forward with as much velocity as the battered machine could summon. It shook, bucked forward, and landed on the desert floor. The EFV moved ahead, its engine rising and falling in pitch as it strained to advance its cargo.
“Twenty-one minutes to thermonuclear detonation,” Quiz announced.
“The cone of instability behind us is expanding,” Madison said. “It’s as if the crater’s following us.”
Hawkeye’s heart skipped a beat. Two Sikorsky helicopters sat on the desert one hundred yards ahead. The one on the right had been hit by the Chinese missile. It was being consumed by fire and black smoke.
“This is Titan Six,” Hawkeye said into his COM set. “Titan Global One, can you read? Repeat. Can you read, TG1?”
Only static crackled on the assigned frequency.
“Ops Center,” said Hawkeye, “give me a report on the Sikorskys.”
“One has been hit,” Touchdown said. “The other has sustained collateral damage. Extent unknown.”
“Where in the hell are the others?” Hawkeye asked. “I thought we had intended to evacuate the Chinese.”
“Affirmative,” said Touchdown. “But we told ‘em to bug out for safety sake when it was obvious that the Chinese weren’t leaving with you. They’re already thirty miles away from your position.”
“What’s the status of TG1?” Hawkeye asked.
“We lost radio contact a few seconds ago.”
A loud grinding noise came from the undercarriage of the EFV. The motor screamed . . . and died.
Hawkeye took a deep breath and turned to his team. “Exit the EFV and run like hell to the Sikorsky. Carry your primary weapons only.”
“Nineteen minutes to detonation,” Quiz said.
Bridge
Aboard the Alamiranta
The helmsman shot a worried look at the Captain. “If we turn any harder, we’re going to accelerate the flooding of the aft section of the ship.”
“Flood compartments twelve and twenty-six on the starboard side of the ship,” Pagagantis ordered. “Let’s give this mammoth some equilibrium.”
“Two miles until we clear Beatrice,” said the navigations officer.
The ship was buffeted by strong winds from the east. Sheets of torrential rain limited visibility to only two hundred yards as angry, gray swells moved across the ocean like leviathans.
“Are you there, Catherine?” asked Papagantis.
“Yes, Captain.”
“The next few minutes will tell the story. We’re sending out an SOS. I trust you’ve contacted any rescue ships in the vicinity?”
Caine spoke in a calm but somber tone. “Yes, Captain. Two freighters are en route.”
Titan Six
The Great Basin Desert
Titan Six, Aiko, and Langhorne stopped short of the rotating blades of the Sikorsky S-92. Although the chopper was resting on desert hardpan, its propellers created a whirling storm of sand and grit around the struggling Titan team. Each member resembled a stone carving in the all-enveloping sand.
Crouching, Hawkeye waved his team members towards the Sikorsky. Their bodies leaned forward against the rotor wash.
A door unfolded from the side of the helicopter, a crewmember standing on the top step.
One by one, Titan Six climbed into the chopper.
“Come on!” yelled the TG1 crewmember.
“What’s holding us up?” asked Hawkeye, standing in the cabin.
“Some lead-ass is having a hard time with his baggage.”
Hawkeye rushed to the doorway and saw Will Langhorne struggling to haul his backpacks up the steps. The Titan Six leader reached down and grabbed Langhorne by the shirt and hauled him unceremoniously into the helicopter. Inside, Hawkeye slammed Langhorne’s body against the floor.
“I didn’t say anything about bringing your lousy treasure with you!” Hawkeye screamed, his face flush with anger.
Langhorne wore two of the packs, but he struggled to his feet and beat his fists against the chopper door, which was now closed and sealed.
“You can’t leave the other backpacks behind!” he wailed. “They’re worth millions!”
Tank approached the mercenary and landed a right hook on his cheek. The blow knocked Langhorne to the floor, unconscious.
“Eighteen minutes until detonation,” said Quiz.
The ground beneath the helicopter was shaking.
“I think the crater’s about to blow,” said Madison. “Let’s hope a fault line doesn’t open up beneath the chopper.”
Huge boulders were ejected from the growing conical crater. Two rocks the size of basketballs impacted the aluminum skin at the rear of the chopper.
Hawkeye crept to a position behind the pilot, Major Gus Daniels.
“Can you get us out of here, Gus?” Hawkeye said.
Daniels turned his head partially to address Hawkeye. He spoke loudly to be heard over the revving of the four propellers above the heavy-lift aircraft.
“We lost one of the turboshaft engines to the Chinese missile,” he said, his index finger pointing above his head. “The jet engines are mounted directly behind the props. Engine two is out.”
“Can we fly on one engine?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” the Major said.
The props revved faster and louder as Daniels threw two switches and pulled back on the throttle.
“Seventeen minutes to detonation,” Quiz said.
The roar of the props unexpectedly decreased in pitch.
“What’s the matter?” Shooter asked from her seat midway back.
“Engine one just shut down,” Daniels said.
“You may have just written our epitaph,” declared Hawkeye.
Bridge
Aboard the Alamiranta
Temple of Fire Page 12