“That’s how we do that, gentlemen,” he said off-handedly, looking relieved but satisfied with himself. He took an immediate left turn and accelerated to the containment center where the nuclear fuel they had come to extract was stored. So far, everything was going according to plan.
At the time of the explosion, however, a four-man security detail came roaring up to the area where both teams had breached the fence. They stopped beneath the tower so Starkovich was unable to draw a bead on this advancing counter-force.
“We’ve got company,” Krilenko said in his heavy Russian accent. He began firing at this security detail, hitting the first two guards. The other two took cover and began returning his fire. They were unprepared for additional firepower coming from Tooz, who had taken a cover position equidistant between the tower and the demolished substation.
“I’m on it,” Tooz replied in a steely voice. He returned their fire and both men went down, but not before calling in reinforcements. It would soon become apparent just how many guards were actually at Livermore Lab. Reinforcements were on the way.
“Special delivery, boys,” Colt said with a touch of bravado as he brought the Humvee to a skidding halt in front of the containment room. “Let’s do this,” he added, looking over his shoulder with a smirk while Kilmer and Weaver threw open the door. Scrambling from the Humvee, they raced the last few feet to the entrance of the containment building. As they did, Colt repositioned the vehicle for a fast get-away and took up a hidden position to provide cover for Kilmer and Weaver.
“Let’s put a bite on,” Kilmer yelled, as he and Weaver raced to the corridor leading down to the repository. They recognized the large cargo door that was used to transfer restricted material into the building, but it was the smaller door the men isolated. Kilmer shot out the backup lighting while Weaver began placing the shape charge on the door hinges, just as Ventura had specified. He pressed the malleable Simtex explosive onto each of the hinges, taking care not to introduce the firing mechanism until each was properly set. It was only minutes before he was ready to blow the door.
“Fire in the hole,” he said to Kilmer, ready to detonate the charge. Both men ducked behind the side of the building as Weaver pressed the remote control to trigger the explosion. They felt a slight tremble and saw a brief flash of light as the Simtex detonated.
“Damn…that was it?” Weaver asked, as they both returned to the door opening. The shape charge worked perfectly, blowing the door from the building with a minimum of damage. “Terry’s a surgeon, alright. Look at that…nothing’s damaged but the door.” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Move yer arse!” said Kilmer, wasting no time in discussing the obvious. The smoke was still clearing as they entered the building. Kilmer ran to the elevator, pressed the button, and was relieved that the building’s backup electrical system had kept the elevator operational. The doors immediately opened and the men stepped inside.
“All teams, hostiles responding from unidentified location,” Stark said from his vantage point on the water tower. He drew a bead on the driver of the first vehicle, squeezed the trigger, and watched the truck drive into a light standard at the corner of the upcoming intersection. The remaining men scurried from the back of the truck like roaches from beneath a restaurant dumpster.
“Stay alert! Counter-forces everywhere! Shadow, three vehicles converging on the substation. Colt, two more heading your way. The exits are cleared.” He kept pumping out. 308 rounds of ammo from the M-24 as fast as he could focus and fire.
Things were no better in the containment building. As soon as Kilmer and Weaver exited the elevator, they were greeted by an unexpected guard outpost that stood between them and the room holding the nuclear material. Having heard the explosion above, they rushed to defend this area with all force necessary.
Weaver was first to exit the elevator and stepped into a hail of bullets. Kilmer saw him fall with a gunshot to his face that tore his jaw away. Other bullets hit him in the chest and legs.
“Bugger me…shit, Colt, git yer arse down here,” Kilmer bellowed into his com unit. “Dallas is down…it looks ugly. I repeat…Dallas is down!”
“Ten-four,” Colt replied. “On my way.”
Kilmer reached into his belt and pulled out a flash-bang. He pulled the pin to activate the grenade-like countermeasure and tossed it down the hall toward the guards. It exploded, blinding them with intense magnesium light that would keep them incapacitated for the next few seconds until their retinas recovered.
Kilmer made his next move without hesitation. He pressed the elevator button, returning it to the surface. At the same time, he charged into the hallway, both his nine-millimeter guns blazing at the guards. He could see them perfectly with his night-vision goggles, but neither of them would ever see anything again. He fired three shots into each guard, stopping to put a final bullet into the head of each, guaranteeing that neither would recover.
He raced back to check on Weaver. The bullet that tore through his mouth had nicked the carotid artery and his heart was spurting blood all over the floor. He was alive and unconscious, but wouldn’t last more than a few minutes.
“Colt, Dallas is beside the lift; have a gander and do what ya can for ‘im. I’m goin’ for the cargo. Hang before goin’ topside,” Kilmer said, composing himself. He knew that Colt was already approaching the elevator and would follow orders.
Hearing Kilmer report that Weaver was down filled the other men with a new sense of urgency. They knew without hesitation that the mission parameters were blown, and that the new imperative was to evacuate as soon as possible. Everyone began retreating to the Humvee, being extra vigilant to provide cover fire as they made their way to the rendezvous point. Stark didn’t falter, leaping up from his prone position he immediately descended the water tower.
“ Thor’s out of action,” he said, so everyone knew he was no longer their eyes from high above the compound.
“Ten-four, Stark, I’ve got you covered,” said Tooz, who was still nearby the tower. The remainder of the men had left for the Humvee, but Tooz wouldn’t leave Stark alone and unprotected while he vacated his position.
Kilmer reached the door to the containment center, which had a pass-code to activate before opening. He entered the code that Holloway had provided and was pleasantly surprised that it opened, first try. Crikey, he thought. I’ve got the pass-code but no intel on guards down here? Gimme a fuckin’ break.
Kilmer entered the containment room. He scanned the area left of the door and immediately located the cart containing the enriched uranium they came to retrieve. The two-foot, square, lead-lined box was positioned to the left of the entrance. He unlocked the wheel-casters and began pushing the cart toward the door. Even with the terrible difficulties encountered so far, he felt they were still on schedule. All he needed was to get this cart back to the surface, load it into the Humvee, and exit the premises. He tried not to think about Weaver. There would be plenty of time to debrief the mishap following the mission.
“What the hell just happened?” Colt asked as Kilmer made his way into the elevator with twenty pounds of enriched uranium. Even in the pitch dark of the elevator, both men could see clearly with the night-vision that Weaver was in shock and dying, with blood still pumping from his neck and a tangled mass of red flesh and cartilage barely hanging where his mouth used to be. There was no way to stem the flow and nowhere to compress the wound; nothing could be done. He was a casualty of the mission.
“My bad…we’re balls up, pally,” Kilmer replied, half shrugging his shoulders and leaning over Weaver to inspect the severity of his wound. “No time to yap about it. Let’s git him topside…maybe Sully can figure somethin’. I’m dead cert on one thing…this recon sucks. Holloway’s full ‘o shit. This pisses me off…I’m gonna kill somebody’s arse for this.”