The group of four walked up silently behind the two unsuspecting Chinese men who were now knocking on the door of the mobile communications center. Chase and team timed their approach so that they were just behind them at the moment that the door opened.
The Chinese soldier who opened the door saw the two Chinese men who were about to relieve him and his comrade. He also saw four men in dark tactical uniforms jogging towards them, each holding black weapons pointed in his direction.
In the split second before the shotguns began firing, a confused look appeared on his face.
The suppressed shotguns barely made any noise while firing. The silencers were modular units, which added about ten inches to the end of the weapon. They were bulky, but not heavy. The rounds were subsonic. But the quietness of these shotguns wasn’t the reason that Chase and gunny Darby were using them. It was the ammunition.
The ammunition was a type of Taser, developed from an earlier prototype called the Wireless Extended Range Electro-Muscular Projectile (XREP). Taser International created the XREP to be fired from a twelve-gauge shotgun at ranges beyond twenty-five meters.
Chase and Gunnery Sergeant Darby fired their suppressed weapons from less than three meters away. The two oncoming watch standers each took two projectile rounds in the back, while the man who had opened the door took two in the chest.
The shotgun-like shells delivered a powerful blunt impact as their small metal prongs dug into the flesh and triggered the release of electronic energy. The three men’s muscles locked up, and they fell to the ground twitching as thousands of volts of electricity ran through their body.
Darby hopped over the man in the doorway, careful not to touch him, and found the fourth man walking towards them inside the trailer, saying something unintelligible. Darby fired two more wireless Taser rounds and the man hit the floor, shaking. Behind him, Chase and the Marines were dragging the incapacitated bodies of the men into the communications center, using special rubber gloves to remove the Taser rounds.
The trailer had a single walkway, wide enough for one person to move at a time. Chase quickly worked his way over the rows of electronics, communications equipment, and displays. Dials and knobs, all labeled in Chinese characters.
“There.” Chase found the section he was looking for. The crypto key was a large rectangular box made of dark green metal, the size and shape of a DVD player. He took out his tools and began removing it as the Marines bound and gagged the Chinese men on the floor.
Chase checked his watch once more: 2304 local time. Calhoun’s diversion could be any moment now.
Captain Calhoun looked through his observation scope once more, knowing he wouldn’t see anything useful but hoping he would be surprised.
The fog had become so thick that it robbed him of his ability to see the base below. It would take too long and be too risky to move to a lower elevation. And it would take away the Marines’ ability to make it down to the road, which the plan stipulated they must maintain access to.
He looked at his man holding the drone. “Launch it.”
One of his Marines flipped the switch to turn on the small propeller and then hurled the drone like it was a giant football. The RQ-11B buzzed off into the night, a pound of C-4 strapped to its undercarriage.
They had pre-programmed its flight path. It would travel at five hundred feet above ground level and then make its way down to the runway. The C-4’s detonator was set to go off on impact.
Calhoun sighed. “Alright, let’s hope this works.”
Chase had just finished placing the crypto keys in his pack when they heard the explosion. The comm center had no windows, but the radio chatter increased dramatically.
Darby said, “Was that it?”
“Yeah. Must have been.”
“What should we do?”
“Look out the door window. Do you see a supply truck nearby?”
“I don’t see shit.”
Chase walked over to the door and cracked it open, looking around. There was no sign of any vehicle waiting for them like the CIA briefer had promised.
Chase stared down at the Chinese troops. They had all regained their ability to move, but the restraints, gags, and blindfolds kept them docile. He looked up at the gunny. “What do you think?”
“I say we go right back the way we came.”
“In the bush? Back up the hill?”
“We’ll have about five seconds of vulnerability. If they see us, we can make a run for them jeeps. They’re fifty meters away, and one of my Marines here can hotwire it if he has to. But that’s not a good option. You know it.”
“Crawling up through the brush and jungle while they’re alerted doesn’t sound great either.”
The gunny looked at the men. “You sure we shouldn’t…”
Chase shook his head. “ROE. No shooting unless it’s in self-defense.” He frowned. “Hold on, I’ve got something we can use.” He reached into his pack and pulled out a small case with a syringe. It took him about two minutes to inject each man in the ass with a dose of the stuff. The men’s eyes began to flutter and close shut.
The gunny said, “What is that?”
“It’s enough drugs to keep them out of it for several hours. That should buy us time.”
The four men stood at the door, ready with their weapons. Chase said, “Just walk normal until we get into the brush. If we move fast, it’ll catch more attention. Walk normal, and anyone who sees us might not get a good view and overlook us.”
They opened the door and walked through the opening in the razor-wire coil, then around the trailer and back into the long grass. As they crouched down into the prone position, Chase looked out over the runway. A fire truck sprayed water onto the flames. About a dozen men stood around it, staring. He could see the Chinese troops in the nearest anti-aircraft bunker. There were three of them, each watching the flaming wreckage on the runway.
“Psst. Hey.”
A short Hispanic man stood near the trees, outside the illumination near the mobile communications trailer.
The man whispered, “You guys looking for a ride?”
Chase nodded, “Yes, where is it?”
“Come.” He waved. The four men followed him around the group of trees. In the darkness, Chase hadn’t seen it. But there, parked in grass, was a small covered pickup truck, bags of laundry in the rear.
“Please. We go right now.”
The four men piled in back.
“Put the bags on top. They won’t check us on the way out. The Chinese are not guarding the gates. Only the Ecuadorians. They don’t look at us when we leave. But we must go now.”
A minute later, the four men lay in the back of the pickup truck, bouncing as the truck drove through the base, big white laundry bags covering them.
“Okay, we’re off the base now. I will drop you off in a few minutes. There is a road up here that will take us near the mountains. That is where I am to leave you. Will that be okay?”
Chase said, “Yes. Thanks.”
Ten minutes later, they were once again in the jungle, heading up the mountain. The sound of the truck fading in the distance.
Chase couldn’t believe their luck. The distraction had worked perfectly. No one was looking for attackers after the explosion. There were no alarms. People were just watching the flames, curious. Like they didn’t know that they were about to be at war…
15
The following morning, two battalions of Chinese Special Forces soldiers stood at attention on the flight line outside the Manta base hangar. The Leishen Commandos looked like statues, Lena thought. Strong, tall and disciplined. Everything that a warrior should be.
A company of Ecuadorian regular Army stood at attention next to the Chinese. Behind them all, a few hundred of the new Chinese Junxun recruits rounded out the audience.