Pitts Thompson fired its last cartridge, and he hurled the big gun in the face of an Arab who suddenly up before him. He yanked the Colt automatic from his belt and fired at any face that lurched through the smoke. He felt a stinging sensation at the base of the neck and knew he'd been hit. The Colt quickly emptied, and Pitt fought on, chopping the heavy gun like a small club. He began to taste the begininggs of sour defeat.
Reality no longer existed. Pitt felt as if he were fighting a war. A grenade went off, a crushing explosion that deafened him by its closeness. A body fell on top of him, and he was caught off balance and thrown backward.
His head struck against a steel pipe and an expanding ball of fire flashed inside his head. And then, like a wave breaking in the surf, the nightmare swept over and smothered him.
The Special Operations Forces landed and regrouped behind the ore tracks that shielded their approach from the mine buildings. They quickly spread out in a loose battle formation and waited for the command to move in. The snipers established their positions around the mine, lying flat and watching for movement through their scopes.
Hollis, with Dillenger at his side, crawled up to the summit of the tracks and cautiously peered over. The scene had the look of a graveyard.
The ghost mine was an eerie stage for a battle, but the cold rain and barren mountainside seemed an appropriate backdrop for a killing ground.
The dull gray sky fell and gave the decaying buildings the look of a place that didn't belong to any world.
The firing had stopped. Two of the outer buildings were blazing fiercely, the smoke rolling into the low overcast. Hollis counted at least seven bodies littering the road on one side of the crushing mill.
"I hate to sound mundane," said Hollis, "but I don't like the look of it."
"No sign of life," agreed Dillenger, peering through a pair of small but powerful binoculars.
Hollis carefully studied the buildings for another five seconds and then spoke into his transmitter. "All right, let's mind our step and move in-"
"One moment, Colonel," a voice broke in.
"Hold the order," snapped Hollis.
"Sergeant Baker, sir, on the right flank. I have a group of five people approaching up the railroad track."
"They armed?"
"No, sir. They have their hands in the air."
"Very good. You and your men round them up. Watch for a trap. Major Dillenger and I are on our way."
Hollis and Dillenger snaked around the mine takings until they found the railroad and began jogging along it toward the fjord. After about seventy meters, several human figures took form through the pouring rain.
Sergeant Baker came forward to report.
"We have the hostages and one terrorist, Colonel."
"You've rescued the hostages?" Hollis exclaimed loudly. "All four of them?"
"Yes, sir," replied Baker. "They're pretty well worn out, but otherwise they're in good shape."
"Nice work, Sergeant," said Hollis, pumping Baker's hand in undisguised exuberance.
Both officers had memorized the faces of the two presidents and the United Nations SecretaryGeneral during the flight from Virginia. They were already familiar with Senator Pitts appearance from the news media.
They hurried forward and were enveloped in a great surge of relief as they recognized all four of the missing VIPS.
Much of their relief turned to surprise when they saw the terrorist prisoner was none other than Rudi Gunn.
Senator Pitt stepped forward and shook Hollis's hand as Gunn made the introductions. "Are we ever glad to see you, Colonel," said the Senator, beaming.
"Sorry we're late," mumbled Hollis, still not sure what to make of it all.
Hala embraced him, as did Hasan and De Lorenzo. Then it was Dillenger's Turn, and he went red as a tomato.
"Mind telling me what's going on?" Hollis asked Gunn.
Gunn took grim delight in rubbing it in. "It seems you dropped us off at a very critical point, Colonel. We found almost twenty terrorists at the mine, along with a hidden chopper they planned to use in clearing off the island. You didn't see fit to include us in your communications, so Pitt tried to warn you by sending a runaway train down the mountain into the fjord." Dillenger nodded in understanding.
"The helicopter explains why the Arab hijackers deserted the ship and left the Mexicans to fend for themselves."
"And the chopper was their transportation from the mine," Gunn added.
Hollis asked, "Where are the others?"
"Last I saw of them before Pitt sent me to rescue his father and these people, they were under siege inside the crushing mill building."
"The four of you took on close to forty terrorists?" Dillenger asked incredulously.
"Pitt and the others kept the Arabs from escaping as well as creating a diversion so I could rescue the hostages."
"The odds were better than ten to one against them," stated Hollis.
"They were doing a pretty good job of it when I left," answered Gunn solemnly.
Hollis and Dillenger stared at each other. "We'd better see what we can find," said Hollis.
Senator Pitt came over. "Colonel, Rudi has told me my son is up at the mine. I'd like to tag along with you."
"Sorry, Senator. I can't permit it until the area is secure."
Gunn put his arm around the old man's shoulder. "I'll see to it, Senator. Don't worry about Dirk. He'll outlive us all."
"Thank you, Rudi. I appreciate your kindness."
Hollis was not so confident. "They must have been wiped out," he muttered under his breath to Dillenger.
Dillenger nodded in agreement. "Hopeless to think they could survive against a heavy force of trained terrorists."
Hollis gave the signal and his men began moving like phantoms through the mine buildings. As they neared the crushing mill they began to find the litter of dead awesome. They counted n bodies crumpled in rag-doll positions on the road and ground outside.
The crushing-mill building was riddled with hundreds of bullet holes and showed the splintered results of grenades. Not a single pane of glass was left intact anywhere. Every entry door had been blown into splinters.
Hollis and five men cautiously entered through holes blown in the walls while Dillenger and his team approached from the shattered opening that was once the front main entrance. Small fires burned and smoldered everywhere, but had not yet joined to build a major conflagration.
Two dozen bodies were heaped about the floor, several stacked against the front of the ore crusher. The helicopter stood amazingly clean and pristine with only its tail section in mangled condition.
Three men still lived among the carnage-men who looked so smokeblackened, so bloody, in such awful shape, that Hollis couldn't believe his eyes. One man was lying on the floor, his head resting in the lap of another, whose hand was held in a gore-stained sling. One stood swaying on his feet, blood streaming from wounds on one leg, the base of his neck where it met the shoulder, the top of his head and the side of his face.
Not until Hollis was only a few meters away did he recognize the battered men before him. He was absolutely shocked. He couldn't see how those three pitiful wrecks had kept the faith and won out over fearsome odds.
The Special Operations Forces grouped around in silent admiration. Rudi Gunn smiled from ear to ear. Hollis and Dillenger stood there wordlessly.
Then Pitt painfully straightened to his full height and said, "About time you showed up. We were running out of things to do."
PART IV
October 27, 1991
Washington D.C.
Dale Nichols and Martin Brogan stood waiting on the White House steps as the President stepped from his helicopter and walked swiftly across the lawn.
"You have something for me?" the President asked expectantly as he shook hands.
Nichols could not contain his excitement. "We've just received a report from General Dodge. His Special Operations Forces have retaken the Lady Flamborough intact in Southern Chile. Senator Pitt, Hala Kamil and Presidents De Lorenzo and Hasan were rescued in good condition."