At the left side of the main building, just like they’d seen in the satellite imagery, there was an open hangar that housed several military trucks, guarded by two armed sentries. From that distance, Alex could see they also had machine guns, but didn’t have any night-vision equipment.
Several light sources illuminated the area. A couple of larger spotlights covered the main entrance and the hangar access. Five floodlights covered the piece of asphalt road that connected the two structures, and several tens of feet of the road leading to the silo. The advantage presented by darkness was gone.
Martin signaled his men, and three of the military contractors joined him near the tree line. A rapid sequence of hand signals followed, then they split into two teams. All four men had holstered their weapons and carried their tactical knives in their hands, ready to strike. The rest of the fighters spread out behind the tree line, getting ready to charge.
Alex felt her heart pounding in her chest. She tightened the grip on her Tavor, her finger hovering above the safety lever, but not releasing it. She felt her spine tingling, and adrenaline hitting her gut. This was it… she better be ready.
She felt Lou’s touch on her shoulder.
“This is an SS-19 Stiletto base,” he whispered quietly, barely audible.
“And?” That bit of information didn’t mean anything to her. She felt a wave of irritation at her own lack of knowledge. Here I am, the clueless soldier. Fucking great!
“That means it goes deep underground.”
They kept their eyes on the two teams, as they made a silent and slow approach toward the two sentry groups. The team approaching on the right side, targeting the main silo entrance, had the forest line cover them for most of the way, then the silo’s wall curvature was going to work in their favor, keeping them hidden from view as they advanced.
The team headed for the truck hangar had it a little rougher; they had to cross thirty feet of open, well-lit field. Martin saw them hesitating to leave the cover of the tree line, and ordered them to stop by extending his arm with his palm facing up and outward. Then Martin and his companion made their move toward the silo entrance.
Alex held her breath, feeling her heart pounding. Oh, we better be right about this, she thought. Otherwise, we’re all going away for a long, long time, and I’m not even sure which country will sentence us to death first. She felt a wave of nauseous anxiety at the thought that she had brought all these people here, in harm’s way, based on her theories. She quickly revisited her deductions, and inspected her logic. She hadn’t taken any wrong turns in her investigation, or cut any corners. She was sure. The passengers of flight XA233 were there, just a few yards away. They had to be. She felt her anxiety dissipate and she took a long, refreshing breath.
Martin and his companion had approached the sentries, crawling single file against the wall. When they were just a few feet away, they pounced silently and deadly. Martin got the one on the left. With one hand, he covered his mouth keeping him quiet, while the other, holding the tactical knife, stabbed the Russian in the throat, an inch below his ear, slicing deep into his brain. His companion decided to grab his target’s head and quickly break his neck with a swift rotating move. He then slowly eased the dead man down to the ground, making sure his fall was noiseless.
They dragged the two bodies a few yards along the wall toward the back, getting them out of sight. Martin signaled the other team to be ready, then whistled loudly, enough to be heard by the other two Russians. The sentries perked their heads and started approaching fast, turning their backs toward the forest line, where the second team waited for the right opportunity to attack. The second team made its move, and within seconds, both Russians were dead.
Martin gave the “clear” signal, and the rest of the support team advanced to his location, followed by Alex, Blake, and Lou. Sam declined wearily, seeming unable to stand, and signaled them to go ahead without him.
They approached the silo door walking briskly, almost running. Martin placed a couple of his men on watch duty, and opened the massive door. It creaked loudly, causing them to freeze in their tracks and clasp their weapons, listening intently.
They entered the structure cautiously, their weapons ready. A long, curved corridor extended both ways inside the structure, with metallic doors every twenty yards or so. Martin split them into two teams, taking opposite directions in their search. Blake joined Alex on the team headed left, and Lou went with the other team.
After a few yards, Martin’s fist popped up in the air and they froze in their tracks. He then signaled with his fingers at his ear that he was hearing something, and gestured them to align along the inside wall, to take cover.
They heard footsteps approaching. Alex held her breath, getting ready to pounce. She released the safety lever on her Tavor, and she heard the others cock their weapons.
Then she saw who was approaching; two men and a woman wielding their Kalashnikovs falteringly, who froze when they saw them. One of the men lifted his Kalashnikov in a firing position, but hesitated to open fire. Her team immediately took positions on the corridor, and lifted their weapons, ready to pull the triggers. She felt her hair stand on its ends; this was wrong, very wrong.
“Hold your fire,” Alex shouted. She stepped away from the wall, approaching the three people, and lowering her weapon. “Hold your fire. We’re Americans; we’re here to take you home.”
“Really? You’re not fucking with me?” one of the men asked in a choked voice, lowering his weapon.
The woman dropped her weapon to the ground and almost jumped forward, hugging Alex.
“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you all.”
Alex felt her eyes moisten; she hadn’t expected that reaction.
“There are more of us,” the same man said, “many more. And Russians too, with guns.”
“Name?” Martin asked.
“Davis. Dr. Gary Davis.”
“Dr. Davis, how many Russians, and where are they?”
“We don’t know. We just broke free, right now. We were going to try to free the others. Five Russians are unconscious and tied up in the lab.”
“All right, let’s get you to safety,” Martin replied, then directed them to the door, with one of his men leading. “Take them outside, behind the tree line, and wait there for my signal.”
“Have you seen Adeline?” Blake asked, grabbing Dr. Davis’ sleeve. “Is she all right?”
Gary Davis stopped and turned to face Blake. “I am sorry; I don’t know who that is.”
Blake’s hand fell, releasing Dr. Davis’ sleeve.
“Let’s move,” Martin commanded.
They advanced carefully, stopping at every door, clearing the structure room by room. Most of the rooms were empty and dark. Then they found a makeshift lab.
Martin opened the door carefully, and stiffened when he saw light. It was a large structure equipped with lab tables and equipment. His eyes met the scared glances coming from several people. Then he noticed the five inert bodies tied on the floor, dressed like the sentries he’d just taken out at the main silo entrance.
Martin entered the lab lowering his weapon and saying, “We’re American; we’re taking you home.”
The harrowed men and women started to cheer, but Martin quickly silenced them with a quick gesture. He then directed them to leave the structure and join the others at the tree line.