At least the weather was good, Hunter was thinking, when he saw a bright flash of white lightning, then a firestorm of arching electricity. A blue fireball ballooned about thirty meters away from them in the air, to their three o’clock, then he felt their Pave Hawk shake as the blast wave passed through them.
Oh god. JACKAL TWO. Power lines.
An electrical line had snagged another bird.
The helo smacked into the ground and an orange fireball shot a hundred feet into the air, turning night into day. Within seconds, ammunition started to cook off and began popping and shooting out in all directions. Bullets rained on them, pinging against their Hawk while rockets screamed overhead, flames streaming behind them as they launched themselves from the crashed Hawk. Damn Charms.
Hunter ducked, then felt stupid for doing it.
A few moments later, more rocket trails spewed wildly as their motors detonated. Hunter felt for the seven men aboard, then he realized he had just witnessed the rescue mission going up in flames.
Stella.
“Beach Dog,” Iggy said as he released the safety restraints. “You think you can pry that cage off the fuel intake?”
“NSDQ.”
“Night Stalkers don’t quit, I know-but did the Hawk quit us?”
“The coupling didn’t disengage. We were stuck to the end of the fuel hose until the hose finally broke. Without the fuel and air pressure to hold the basket on, you should be able to pull it straight off-don’t even need a hammer.” Beach Dog was already pulling out a toolkit.
“So what’s that for? Something you failed to tell me?”
“The gearbox chip light came on.”
“Serious?”
“Could ground us. You get a lot of false readings in desert conditions, but it can also mean the tail rotor’s gearbox is ready to go. I need to check it out.”
“Do that first. I need to know if she’s airworthy.” Iggy turned to the rest of the crew. “Wilson, get that piece of crap off the probe. Monroe, Ashland, secure the perimeter. Stone, GENGHIS, check if anyone was thrown clear. Look out for the electrical wires and the unexploded ordnance that’s still cooking off.”
“If the aircraft checks out, is the mission a go, sir?” Hunter said, fully aware they were dancing on the edge of the go/no go parameters. He felt to make sure his sidearm was still in place.
“If there are survivors, we have to scrub and work out something else for tomorrow night.” Iggy shook his head. “This is going to hell fast and I can’t leave men here to die.”
“Then call in the Cobra, bump the gunner and let me take the front seat. You can insert me tonight and I’ll gather intel for a second shot tomorrow night. You know Stella might not have until then. Hell, she might not have until morning.”
Iggy ignored him as he put his hand on the fuel probe. The metal arm extended from the right front of the helicopter and was half the length of the crew cabin, but didn’t go out as far as the rotors. The tip was mated with the metal basket and a couple meters of hose dangled from its end. Most of the rubber sheath had been stripped away from the steel hose.
Hunter stood staring at Iggy, waiting for a response. Iggy looked up at him.
“You go in there, Rambo, without support, you’ll get yourself and Cam killed. I’m not going to let that happen. I’m going to get her.”
“Sending me in tonight might be her only hope.”
“We’re not there yet.” Iggy reached for the metal basket and tugged. It slid off. He threw it as far into the desert as he could, then a transmission from the Cobra came over the headsets.
“TIN MAN this is DRAGON ONE. Be advised we are at joker.”
The Cobra had reached the fuel state where it needed to start thinking about getting onto the ground so the Hawk could refuel it. The Cobras were killer machines, but they had one critical flaw: they couldn’t refuel in the air.
The burning wreckage continued to send out sporadic rocket fire and bullets. Iggy wanted to wait as long as he could to let the fireworks die down before bringing the Cobra in. They would have to stay in the air until their fuel situation reached critical-bingo. At that moment it didn’t look like the mission would proceed and there was no need to risk another bird if he didn’t have to. He keyed his mike, “DRAGON ONE, TIN MAN. Land at bingo. Caution high-voltage lines.”
The Pave Hawk lay on its side, its tail rotor broken off. Hunter could see bodies burning inside the airframe and he could feel the heat increasing. He and GENGHIS walked around it, giving it a wide berth due to the popping ordnance. The fire crackled with gunshots as bullets aboard the downed craft heated up, but the electric lines troubled him more. When they were near the line, both he and GENGHIS shuffled along, keeping their feet close together and in contact with the ground at all times to avoid electricity arcing through them. The flames were so bright they made his night vision goggles useless.
Beach Dog hurried to the tail and opened a panel so he could get to the intermediate gear box. Holding a penlight in his mouth, he pulled out the chip detector screen, hoping he wouldn’t find metal slivers. The dipstick looked as if it had been rolled in glitter. Beach Dog smiled as it sparkled at him-sand. Sand had gotten into the system and magnetic particles in it were causing the false readings. The gearbox was fine.
“Iggy,” he called back, “she’s good.”
Iggy spoke into his microphone to bring in the Cobra and hurry up with the fuel transfer so they could get moving. “DRAGON ONE, this is TIN MAN. Cleared to land at our eight o’clock. Caution high-voltage lines.”
Hunter and GENGHIS had canvassed the area near the burning helicopter, then methodically expanded their search grid. Hunter heard the Cobra come in for the fuel transfer and knew he had to get back in the next five minutes to have a chance at persuading Iggy to send him on it. He was ready to break off from the search and return to the Hawk.
“You hear that?” GENGHIS said.
The Cobra’s engines stopped and Hunter could hear a faint moan that seemed to come from the desert, beyond where he could see with the light of the flames. He turned away from the wreckage, put on the goggles and cupped his hands over the sides to block out as much light as he could. As he scanned the desert floor, he was sure he heard someone.
“My ten o’clock, twenty meters out,” GENGHIS said.
Hunter spotted the body and shuffled in that direction. When he was confident that he was far enough away from the power line, he sprinted. He smelled burnt flesh as he approached the man. Shining an infrared beam on him, he could see black crispy flesh and raw meat. The face was a grotesque Halloween mask, unrecognizable. His clothes had burned away along with most of his skin. The legs and arms were twisted and obviously broken from the fall. The moan grew fainter.
Hunter squatted down beside him and started to feel for a pulse in his neck, then decided it was better not to touch him and risk further injury. “Can you talk to me? What’s your name?”
The guy groaned softly, giving no sign he comprehended anything. Hunter looked at GENGHIS and shook his head. “You know even if we get the bird in the air, Iggy’s gonna scrub the mission because of this guy.”
“I heard. You fly. Do you think they can fix it?”
Hunter took a deep breath. “We’ve been through quite a bit of sand and dust. I’d bet on a false read.”
Iggy’s voice came over Hunter’s earpiece. “SABER TOOTH this is TIN MAN. Return to base. Any survivors?”
Hunter didn’t respond, but stared at the charred casualty. If he allowed a dying man to keep him away from Stella, he would never forgive himself. He also knew he couldn’t live with himself if he left a teammate behind.