‘Our mission is to locate and recover the vaccine. Our mission is to locate and recover the vaccine,’ he repeated loudly and clearly as protocol dictated. ‘We’ll be dropped off here,’ he tapped the pointer on the map, ‘and will tab towards the entrance to the underground complex located here,’ another tap. ‘For the entire operation we’ll have aerial support from a Phantom Eye. Fire support will be from the Merlin and, if necessary, we can call in a missile strike from the supporting frigates that are in range. Once we are in the complex we will have to find the vaccine by whatever means necessary.’
‘That means we need the occupants alive. Don’t kill anyone unless they pose an immediate threat,’ Paddy added. ‘Naval war ships are racing to the area loaded with Marines. They will mop up and secure the island once we’ve gone in.’
‘And what of the hostage?’ asked Rupert.
William looked at the deck and drew breath. ‘Let’s just hope we find her before it’s too late,’ he said.
*
There was little room left in the Merlin once the team had boarded. The gunner was the last man in, he assumed his position behind the powerful mini-gun. William regarded the young Marine, he barely looked twenty years old. He had a serious, professional look about him, clearly unfazed by the work. William had seen the look before, many times. A face that had seen war.
While the pilot started the engines, Paddy checked that everyone’s radio was working. Each of them wore a state-of-the-art headset with a throat mic. Their transmissions were digitally enhanced, filtered to reduce noise, and encrypted for security. The helicopter also acted as a rebroadcasting station, it beamed their transmissions up to a military satellite so they could keep in touch with Ollie. Paddy gave the thumbs up to William when he was confident that everything was working.
Over the radio William told the pilot they were good to go and moments later the engines roared. The helicopter lifted into the air. Pummelled relentlessly by the wind, the Merlin rose above the ship, banked to one side and then accelerated on its way.
Their journey was a bumpy one. To remain under radar the pilot flew as low as he could. This meant riding the storm. The Merlin shook vigorously, the engines moaned and whined. Occasionally the craft dropped out of the sky and plummeted towards the sea before being pulled back up again. To make matters worse, the cabin door had to be left open to give the gunner the best view of any threats. He took hold of the Gatling gun and stared down its long barrel out over the rough seas. Max was sick several times into a paper bag, when he was done he was encouraged to throw it out into the sea.
After receiving word from the pilot, William held up all ten fingers to the team. ‘We’re ten minutes from the target,’ he announced.
Paddy opened the green briefcase on his lap and powered the tracking equipment up. The Merlin wasn’t fitted with the camera module so only one of the screens worked, the geo-mapping. The internal GPS module in the briefcase would pinpoint where they currently were, and if it found the signal from Ella’s watch, it would show where she was too. Once the equipment had booted up, Paddy checked in with Ollie, who would be their third eye.
‘Anything to report?’ Paddy asked Ollie.
‘Nothing significant,’ Ollie replied. He was sat at his desk in the lab, the live footage from the Phantom Eye was displayed on a high definition screen in front of him. ‘There have been no further arrivals at the island, and no departures either. The place is pretty quiet.’
‘Are there any security patrols or obvious defences?’
‘Nothing more than two guards at the entrance to the complex. Occasionally one of them walks a few metres into the forest and then back again. Random timings.’
‘What weapons do they have?’
‘The highly distinctive FN P90 rifle,’ Ollie said. ‘These guys must have some serious money and resources.’
Paddy’s screen flashed. A red circle appeared over a small area near the centre of the island. ‘Ollie, I’m getting a reading from the service watch. It’s within range.’
‘Send me the coordinates and I’ll put the camera on it.’
Paddy read out the grid reference, Ollie immediately relayed it to the Phantom Eye pilot. Within moments he could see the camera panning around on his screen. When it settled on the coordinates it zoomed in on the target.
‘There’s an exit by the side of the mountain,’ Ollie said. ‘The door is open. Someone is standing by the door, it looks like a woman. She’s dressed in a white uniform. Hold on, they are zooming in further. Yes, it’s Ella. It’s definitely Ella.’
‘William, we’ve found her,’ Paddy said.
William’s eyes widened. He felt an odd mixture of relief and fear.
‘She’s running now,’ Ollie added. ‘She keeps looking back. I think she’s trying to escape.’
‘Escape?’ William said, almost laughing. ‘What’s our ETA to her location?’
Paddy studied the map on his little screen. ‘Three minutes tops. I’ll contact the pilot.’
‘Listen up everyone,’ William said addressing the team. ‘We’ve found the hostage. We will track and extract, then tab on for the primary mission.’
‘We need to keep the element of surprise,’ Paddy warned.
He nodded. ‘We’ll pick her up when she’s a safe distance from the complex.’
‘She’s being pursued,’ Ollie reported. ‘Three soldiers are chasing her. They’re firing at her, small arms.’
‘We’re tracking,’ Paddy replied. ‘One minute to intercept.’
‘They’re under the canopy of the forest,’ Ollie said. ‘Switching to thermal.’
Quickly, Paddy assessed the map. The red circle moved steadily through the forest. ‘There’s nowhere to land,’ he said to William.
‘We’ll fast-rope it,’ William replied. ‘Just find somewhere to hover.’
Predicting Ella’s route, Paddy picked out a spot. Making clear the urgency of the situation, he relayed the orders to the pilot.
The Merlin sped to the drop zone, it banked this way and that over the terrain. Max shut his eyes and held on tightly to his seat. William moved forward to the cabin door and took up a position next to the gunner.
‘Five hundred metres,’ Paddy announced.
Over a forested hill they flew, beyond was a narrow ravine with steep, rocky sides. Up ahead, at the edge of the forest above the ravine, William could just make out the figure of a woman dressed all in white.
‘I have visual. It’s her,’ William shouted. ‘Get there now!’
The Merlin angled towards the lonely figure, the pilot reduced altitude but not speed. Within seconds they had reached the drop zone. Banking steeply the pilot slowed the craft to a hover.
Ella had dropped to her knees on the forest floor. William saw three soldiers approach, one of them had a flame thrower and was pointing it at Ella.
‘Shoot them!’ he ordered to the gunner. ‘Now!’
Head down in concentration, the gunner narrowed his eyes and took aim. When he squeezed the trigger the Gatling gun barrel spun around and spat out an almost solid beam of red hot rounds. A nano-second later there was an explosion on the ground where the soldier with the flame thrower had stood. An orange and black fireball billowed upwards and scorched the trees as it rose. The two other soldiers had been thrown to the side, they rolled around on the forest floor trying to douse the flames that engulfed them. The gunner showed no mercy, he squeezed the trigger once again and brought the focused beam of hot metal onto each target.
With the three soldiers eliminated, William fast-roped down onto the ground. Small fires were scattered across the forest floor where he landed. An acrid smell of burnt fuel and smoke filled the air. He ran towards the white figure that was lying face down on the ground.
‘Ella,’ he shouted as he approached. She didn’t move. He crouched down by her, placed his fingers on her carotid vein and was relieved to find a strong pulse. She had passed out.
‘Ella,’ he repeated.
‘Wake up. It’s me, William.’ He shook her shoulders gently and swept her hair from her face.
When she opened her eyes she initially recoiled at the sight of another soldier. But when she focused on his face, she relaxed and smiled.
‘William,’ she said and smiled.
‘In this world,’ he said, ‘definitely in this world.’ He grinned at her.
She laughed and stood up. William took her hand; he leaned towards her and gazed into her eyes. She gazed back and they both smiled at each other. When they embraced, they hugged one another tightly.
*
‘Sorry to break up the party,’ Paddy said as he approached, he had to shout to be heard over the noise of the hovering Merlin. ‘But this isn’t a rescue mission. We need to find that vaccine before it’s too late.’
The troopers fast-roped down and took up defensive positions across the forest floor. Rupert helped Max down with his equipment. Max hit the ground heavily, but he picked himself up, put his glasses back on, and dusted himself off.
As the Merlin hovered the gunner scanned the area for any threats while a harness was winched down for Ella.
‘You’ve come for the vaccine?’ Ella asked, she looked quizzically at William.
Despite her slightly hurt look there was no time for lengthy explanations. ‘Things have gotten worse,’ he said. ‘Much worse. We need to search the complex for their vaccine. Assuming they have one, that is.’
‘They do,’ she said brightly. ‘And I know exactly where it is. It’s in the medical centre. Room M-101.’
Paddy and William looked at each other then at Ella.
Ella picked up her rucksack and strapped it to her back.
‘No way,’ William said, shaking his head. ‘No way. You’re leaving right now.’ He took her by the arm and guided her towards Rupert who was holding the harness under the Merlin.
‘Yes way,’ she said defiantly and shook away from his grip. ‘I’m coming with you. Don’t you dare leave me again.’
‘It’s too dangerous,’ William said. He took the harness from Rupert and held it out to Ella. ‘You are leaving. Right now.’
Defiant, Ella stood with her arms folded and refused to move. Her hair blew around in the downdraft. ‘I can help you. I know my way around. With me you are all safer.’
‘We don’t have time to waste,’ this was from Rupert who was growing impatient.
William looked from Rupert to Ella, then to Paddy. Paddy seemed to shrug. William shut his eyes and sighed knowing there was no arguing with her. ‘Okay, okay. It looks like we’re all going. Let’s not waste any more time, we’ve probably already lost the element of surprise.’
It was Paddy’s turn to shake his head. He turned to the rest of the team and said, ‘Right troops. You heard the boss, let’s do this.’
*
The Merlin backed off out of sight, but remained close enough in case called upon for fire support or extraction. The team then made off in the direction of the entrance to the complex. The light was failing, it would soon be pitch black. But by using the thermal imaging intelligence from the Phantom Eye, which was relayed to them over the radio from Ollie, they were never left in the dark. With the troopers leading the way, the team swiftly navigated through the forest until they were only a few hundred metres from the main entrance to the underground complex. Paddy stayed close to Max, while William walked with Ella. They met no resistance.
The island, it seemed, was deserted.
*
‘This makes me nervous, it’s been too quiet. Where are they all? They must have more defences than this,’ Paddy whispered to William as they lay down in a dense wooded area close to the base of the volcano.
Night had fallen, the air was still and quiet. The storm had passed and the clouds had all but vanished. The sky above the forest canopy was full of stars. The crescent moon had been their only light source, it lit their path through the forest with a silvery half-light.
A few metres from where the team lay was the path that led from the port, through the forest and up to the complex entrance. At the entrance, bright halogen spot lights attached to the cliff-face lit up the forest edge.
Paddy scanned the entrance through the telescopic sight on his PDW. Just as the Phantom Eye had reported, there were two armed guards stood just inside the entrance on each side. Next to Paddy, William rested his cheek on the butt of his weapon and studied the scene through the telescopic sight.
‘They’re all inside, Paddy,’ he said. ‘And they’re not an army, they’re a cult.’
‘Even worse,’ Paddy retorted. ‘Nutters.’
‘We can’t wait for the guards to patrol, we need to draw them out.’
William crawled ahead to where Rupert was and whispered to him that it was time to make a move. Rupert nodded and flicked his hand at two of his men. He then spoke into his radio and ordered the Merlin pilot to get ready.
Using the trees for cover, Dipper and Fitz cautiously approached the entrance. They crawled as close as they could get to the forest edge. Dipper, lying on the ground, moved his silenced HK53 into position. Carefully controlling his breathing, he closed one eye and settled the crosshairs onto the head of his stationary target. Gently, he squeezed off a single shot. The sub-sonic round barely made a sound as it was coughed out of the weapon and hit the target.
At the entrance the soldier slumped to the floor. The other soldier on the opposite side of the entrance took a second to realise what had happened. It was a second too late. Before he could react another silenced shot was fired. The second soldier fell to the floor, dead.
Fitz knelt by the side of a tree and gave cover with his silenced MP7 while Dipper made a dash for the side of the entrance.
But before he reached it all hell broke loose.
A blaze of gunfire emanated from somewhere inside the entrance. Dipper went down instantly. A moment later there was a flash of light and a loud explosion from close to where Dipper lay fighting for his life. The grenade blast ripped through him.
Fitz shouted back to his commander and fired several shots into the entrance. He couldn’t see the soldiers but saw the flashes from their weapons as they fired indiscriminately into the forest. Fitz retreated backwards for cover and waved frantically to his commander.
‘Contact, contact at the entrance. Fire support required, now!’ Rupert commanded to the Merlin pilot.
While they waited for Merlin the entire team fired suppressing shots into the entrance. Thick metal doors began to slide shut.
‘Ollie, we’re taking fire. Has anyone appeared on the outside,’ Paddy shouted over the radio.
From his screen, Ollie could see the action in full thermal high definition. The Phantom Eye software had marked each person on the ground with a numbered yellow box. If any other heat signatures appeared, they would be marked and highlighted. ‘No one has left the complex,’ he replied. ‘I’ll let you know if they do.’
‘They’re locking themselves in,’ Rupert shouted.
Ish fired a grenade from his H&K G36k. It hit the side of one the doors and barely made a dent in it. The shots emanating from the entrance reduced, and when the doors closed it stopped.
‘Ceasefire!’ Rupert shouted. ‘Is everyone okay?’
In turn everyone shouted out ‘okay’, except for Dipper.
‘Do we have any charges?’ William asked.
Paddy smiled, and said, ‘We’ve got better than that.’
A second later they heard the Merlin approach from overhead. Before it was even in position the gunner released the fury of the M134 Gatling gun. An intense beam of bright orange tracer rounds rained down on the entrance. Stone, metal and brick exploded into a cloud of dust, sparks of molten metal and debris. It made quick work of the doors, they were reduced to a mangled mess in seconds.
‘Ceasefire,’ Paddy ordered to the Merlin pilot.
The burst had only lasted a few seconds, but it had devastated the entrance. Smoke billowed out of it, small fires burned
inside. Paddy nodded to the troop commander.
‘Prepare to move. Move!’ Rupert ordered to his remaining men.
All four troopers immediately ran towards the entrance in a well practised fire-manoeuvre. As they approached they fired covering shots into the smoke filled hole. Their fire was not returned. When they reached the side of the entrance, one of the men threw a grenade in. After it exploded they stormed the entrance. Several shots were fired.
‘Clear,’ one of the troopers shouted when it went quiet.
‘Entrance clear!’ Rupert said into the radio for the benefit of the rest of the team.
William and Paddy took Ella and Max and headed towards the entrance. They passed the shredded body that was Dipper. Ella tried not to look. Max’s eyes were wide open, he nearly tripped and fell as he was ushered past. Rupert waved them into the entrance. Inside, an alarm was sounding. A thick cloud of dust and smoke filled the air. Small fires burned all around. The troopers had taken up defensive positions on all sides.
‘How far is the medical room?’ William asked Ella.
Speechless and eyes wide open, Ella looked in awe at the carnage that lay before her. Amongst the rubble were several mangled bodies, or at least what was left of them. She saw at least ten Society members that were dressed in the green combat uniform she had seen earlier. Four bodies were dressed all in red.
‘Ella!’ William prompted. ‘Look at me.’
She shook out of it. ‘Not far. Maybe fifty metres down the corridor. It’s built on a grid system, letters for the horizontal row, numbers for the vertical. But they’re not particularly straight lines.’
Paddy raised his hand, he listened to something with his headset, and then said, ‘Ollie said that dozens of people are exiting the complex on the other side of the mountain.’
‘The emergency exits. Good,’ said William. ‘Let’s hope the place is empty.’
After William spoke to the troop commander, he quickly walked around and checked the faces of the dead enemy soldiers. When he finished he looked up at Paddy and shook his head.
The Secret of Hades' Eden Page 34