“Point,” Tammie said. “Well, pick somebody and get her over to the bird. She needs to get briefed in and we don’t have much time.”
“Tiger One, Tiger One, this is Tiger Two.”
“Go,” Mike said. Pavel was back in contact, Oleg was forward and so far things were going… okay. Not great by any stretch, but… okay.
“Good news and bad news. The bunkers in the pass have been cleared. So the birds will be bringing in heavier loads. Bad news… look at your display.”
Mike hunkered down and stuck out his hand. Vanner didn’t even have to ask, he just slapped it into his palm.
Mike looked at it for a second and shrugged. “What?”
“Try dialing out,” Nielson replied, taking a guess.
Mike zoomed out and stopped.
“Fuck.”
“My first words as well,” Nielson said. “The Predator got a glimpse through the clouds. You want to see the video.”
“Yeah,” Mike replied.
“Feed Two.”
He switched over feeds and watched. The glimpse wasn’t long but it was complete.
“Is that downloaded here?” Mike asked.
“Yeah, while we were feeding.”
“Vanner,” Mike said. “Show me how to replay and zoom.”
Vanner took the device and looked at it for a second.
“Where is that?” he asked, frowning.
“Right in the entrance to the pass,” Mike said.
“Fuck.”
He zoomed in and panned across, holding it where Mike could see.
“Colonel, I get a count of about a hundred,” Vanner said. “Looks like medium machine guns and light arms otherwise. A few RPGs.”
“That’s everybody’s analysis,” Nielson said. “Kildar? My professional opinion is that if you try to screen past you’re going to get your ass shot off; they’ve got defilading fire from the mountain to the plain. You can try to charge it, but I wouldn’t recommend; those are good defenses. You could try slipping out straight up… ”
“Not enough time,” Mike said, automatically. “We’d get caught completely in the open by the pursuers.”
“So far, it looks like his mortars are way behind you,” Nielson noted. “It’s just medium machine guns and light arms. So far.”
“What are you saying?” Mike asked.
“Just a suggestion, but… Sit it out. Do what that guy’s done. Take up a good position and lay in. We’ve got one bird armed, by the way. We can work over those defenses in a little while. Let the Chechens come to you. Get a good position and let them attack. You’ll take some casualties. They’ll take a lot more. At some point there will be an opening.”
“We’re going to go bingo on ammo, fast,” Mike pointed out.
“Got another load on the way,” Nielson said. “Bigger one.”
“And that’s a shitload of Chechens,” Mike added.
“Not really,” Nielson said. “Combat multiples, Kildar.”
“That’s a nice theory,” Mike replied. “But you’re talking about around a hundred effectives at this point and around four thousand Chechens.”
“I didn’t say it was going to be easy or pretty,” Nielson said. “But they’re going to think it’s a walk-over. And, when, not if, their mortars get there it’s going to get bad.”
“That an armed pred?” Mike asked.
“Yeah. And we’ve got tasking.”
“That’s their priority,” Mike said. “Find the mortars. Out here.”
“You have got to be shitting me,” Adams said. “Mike, buddy, we’re talking about most of the Chechen army!”
He was still with Team Oleg, currently humping up a hill to set up another defense point.
“I know,” Mike said. “Would you rather try to assault some serious defenses?”
“Now that you mention it,” Adams said. “Yes! There’s a hundred of them. There’s a hundred of us. That’s one to one. Not twenty or forty to one!”
“They’re in fixed positions and have machine guns covering all their approaches,” Mike said. “We don’t have time to argue about this. We’re going to point 487 right now. You guys stay in place and slow them while we get into place and start digging in. It’s got some natural defenses on it and there are steep slopes covering our sides. There’s effectively, only one lane they can assault on.”
“Fine,” Adams said, swearing under his breath. “But when we come running, we’re going to need some fucking cover.”
“Gotcha covered, good buddy,” Mike said. “Out here.”
Mike grabbed one of the stretchers and continued up the slope. It was a steep motherfucker and the air was thin; the Keldara were barely able to make it at a trot.
The weather was really clearing, now. He could finally see what was going on. Behind him he could see Oleg’s team settling in and Padrek’s team in contact. Hell, in the clear air and gathering light he could even see the Chechens they were engaging.
“Tiger, Tiger, burning bright, this is Valkyrie.”
It was the other pilot, the taller one… Wilson, that was her name.
“Valkyrie, Valkyrie, Tiger One,” Mike panted. “LZ point 487. Winds… Oh, fuck, I dunno. South I think? Drop the shit and get ready to dust-off.”
“Roger, Tiger. LZ Point 487. Inbound. I see your teams. Why don’t you stop the stretchers. I’ll drop the stuff at 487 and come back. You’re in a good position.”
“Got it,” Mike said, stopping, holding up a hand and lowering the stretcher to the ground. “Thanks Valkyrie.”
“Gotcha covered, Tiger.”
Mike watched as the Hind swept in to the hilltop about five hundred meters away. It didn’t even stop or really slow down as the ammo boxes were kicked out the door. Then it banked back towards their position.
They were on a hump in the ridgeline headed up to 487 with a clear view in every direction. Also completely in view of the Chechens but about two klicks away. If the Islamics had heavy weapons they were in trouble. They weren’t taking any fire, though.
The Hind settled down lightly and Mike walked over to the pilot’s cockpit as the wounded were loaded.
“Where’s Captain Bathlick?” Mike asked.
“Hogging all the fun,” Wilson replied. “The Georgians dropped off their left-over Hind armaments. She used them to take out the bunkers in Guerrmo. And she didn’t just take them out, she fucking flattened them. I guess she’s RTB for bullets and gas.”
“I think I got all that,” Mike said. “We’re cut off. Watch the opening to the pass.”
“Knew about it,” Tammie said, tapping an instrument. “We shot it up as we passed. We’ll shoot it up again on the way out. I don’t want to lose another crewchief.”
“D’Allaird?” Mike asked. “We’re fucked without him.”
“No, sir, one of the Keldara girls,” Tammie said, shrugging. She didn’t think to mention her name. “Game as hell. Took some with her, I think, but she got hit by one of the 12.7s. Wasn’t pretty.”
“Damn,” Mike said, sighing.
“Anything else?”
“Nope. Just thanks. Hell of a time, huh?”
“Wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Tammie said then shook her head. “You know, I just was throwing out a line but… I really wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Ain’t that some shit? I just had my crewchief blown all over the bird, I’ve got so many holes I feel like I’m flying a Swiss cheese and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I’m insane.”
“Captain,” Mike said, gently, “why the fuck do you think I hired you?”