Hot Zone (27 page)

The birds continued to stare at them and slowly, they started inching towards them from both sides. To Ice, it felt like the walls were closing in on them. Jordan on the other hand started thinking there just might be a way out of this after all. She had seen how the birds had acted earlier, what they were doing here was feeling their next victims out. This was going to give Jordan and Ice the time needed to come up with a very simple plan that was really their only hope.

"Ice. I got it."

"Got what?" He asked.

"A plan."

2:35.27.

43

On Hao Atoll, Colonel Hansie Farry sat at his desk, the telephone receiver gripped tightly and pressed hard up against his ear. On the other end of the line was his commanding officer giving orders from a small base outside Pretoria, South Africa.

"Colonel. There is a distinct possibility the International Court of Justice is going to hold up the New Zealand appeal to put a cease on our final test. They are in session right now. A verdict is coming at any time."

"So what do we do, sir? Shall I continue the preparation?" Farry asked.

"More so Colonel. I would like you to hasten preparations."

"Hasten, sir?"

"Speed them up Colonel. We are going to move the test up by six hours. That would make it twelve hours from now, no?"

Farry pulled the receiver away from his ear for a moment and looked at this ceiling, his eyes rolling back in his head. What the Commander was telling him could cause an uproar across the political powers of the world. It was common law that any nation conducting nuclear tests of any size report them to all nations, with the exact time and date of the tests. The world knew their test was coming, to move it up would create great disdain for the French, legal problems and certainly safety issues.

Oh, and they weren't ready yet. He didn't have any idea how they would have the preparations finished in time for a blast just twelve hours from now. He pushed the receiver back to his ear and said: "Sir. You are sure of this. You know what could come of this?"

"It is easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission, Colonel. All I ask of you and your regiment is that you carry out the task as ordered."

Farry pause for a moment then said: "It will be done."

"You are dismissed, Colonel."

Click.

Now Farry had to set the wheels in motion with his own men. They would be working double time until the warhead was ready for detonation. For reasons unknown the powers that be wanted to test done under the cover the night. As if being three hundred feet below the surface of the ocean was not private enough.

Farry got back on the phone and dialed over to Mururoa Atoll where they were setting up the test.

"Sergeant Gilchrist. There has been a change in plans. Expect to see me in the next hour. Your men need to double-time their preparations. Do you understand?" Farry asked.

"Yes Sir." Gilchrist responded.

Farry hung up and dialed again. "Andre. Prepare my boat, we are going to Mururoa."

Farry hung up and stood back from his desk. He looked at the framed picture that hung from his wall. One of the first French tests conducted underwater. It was an overhead view of the explosion. A large circle of white with jets of water erupting from it's center. It was three times smaller than what he was about to unload, the thought of it sent shivers up his spine. At that moment he felt incredibly powerful.

He then reminded himself of Grosjean and the team just two miles from the blast. He had no way of knowing the outcome of the exchange unless Grosjean himself made it to tell him. He had given Grosjean the pick of recruits but should they run into any American soldiers he was not so sure the recruits would have the skills required to take them out.

There was the very real possibility that none of them would make it back.

It was not the worst thing Farry could imagine.

44

2:35.00

Ice and Jordan stood back to back now, each one of them staring down the barrel of their weapons as the birds headed towards them. Each bird was fifteen feet away and closing.

"You sure this plan is going to work?" Ice asked.

"No. You sure if it doesn't we can shoot our way out."

"Oh yeah. But that's going to attract a whole bunch of attention we don't want."

"On three, start jumping." Jordan said.

"Man, I hope your right about this." Ice said.

Much louder now Jordan began her countdown: "One."

The birds both stopped in their tracks, heads tilted to the side they tried to figure out what it was in front of them."

"Two."

The curiosity of the birds built, their bright yellows eyes blinked furiously.

"Three."

Jordan and Ice began jumping up and down on the spot, flailing their arms around furiously. The birds began to hoon and howl, then it happened. Just as Jordan predicted.

They charged.

"Wait for it." Jordan said with clenched teeth. "Wait for it."

Jordan could smell their stench, almost reach out and touch them when she said it. "Go, go."

Together Ice and Jordan ducked and rolled out of the way of the birds. The birds collided in a mass of flying feathers and shrieks. Then they began fighting each other. Jordan and Ice sat up against the wall watching the whole thing take place.

The birds were totally oblivious to them now as they pecked and clawed at each other with a ferocity Jordan had never seen before.

"Nice." Ice panted.

Jordan sat there, her lips curled into a small smile. Ice looked at her and said: "You got a knack for this."

"Not bad for a girl from the desert." She replied.

"Yeah, now let’s get out of here." Ice said, standing up. He helped Jordan stand, noticing her wounded arm looked worse. It was still bleeding and looked painful. She showed no sign of discomfort to him and he respected that.

Together they left through the tunnel where the smaller bird had come from. In the background the sickly sound of ripping flesh and a dying bird reverberated off the walls.

2:32.44.

In the tunnel Jordan found a spear gun, loaded with the same arrows that had ripped through her arm earlier. She picked it up and said: "This is mine now."

Ice looked at her, nodded as they continued down the tunnel. It didn't take them long to reach the end and when they did they came across friendly faces.

Jansen and Roo were standing there, weapons aimed at the tunnel exit for a moment until they realized who it was.

"Jesus. I didn't think we'd see you guys again."

Ice was happy to see Roo, too. However he couldn't help but notice they were in the main dive pool cavern. The dive pool was in its center.

Ice looked around, something was not right.

The dive gear. It was gone!

"Where is our dive equipment?" He asked.

Roo shook his head: "It's gone, Ice. It's all gone. I got a feeling the frogs ditched it."

"So where is theirs?"

"Maybe on their backs, halfway to the surface."

Jordan's attention was drawn to a small metallic object inserted into a crack on the wall. Blue numbers beeped, counting down.

"Ah, guys, what is that?" She asked pointing towards the first charge Grosjean had planted.

Roo ran over to it, pulled it out of the wall then dropped his head.

"Roo, what is it?" Ice asked.

"Semtex. It's a semtex charge. One of eight going on the fact he numbered this one. We're screwed, mate."

"Either of you guys know how to dismantle bombs." Jansen asked.

"Dismantle is a general word. We have some training and experience with explosives but semtex is a highly unstable substance, one slip and we're all toast. I wouldn't want to even try to take the outer casing off of this. My guess is they planted these around the compound, jumped back in the water, whoever was left that is and left us here to die." Roo said.

"It can't be that easy." Jordan said, "They didn't get us that easy, there has to be a way out of here." Jordan turned to Ice: "They didn't get us that easy did they?"

Ice thought for a moment then said: “The way I see it we have two options. We can split in two, locate the charges, throw them into the water and see what happens."

"And what's number two?" Jansen asked.

"In this journal Jordan and I found the author talked about a mining tunnel out of the complex, but he never said where it went. It might not lead anywhere, we could be walking into a dead end and by the time we realize it our time with these charges will be up."

“
Or, it’s our way out.” Jordan added.

Roo nodded his head: "We've seen that tunnel, Ice. There's a mining room back through the tunnel we came from." He paused and then said: "That's where Ghost is."

“
What’s he doing there?” I asked.

All Roo could do was shake his head. “Didn’t make it.”

There was a second of silence before Jordan broke it up.

"Well, let’s go over the pro's and cons." Jordan said. "We can try to find all eight of these things while avoiding the birds, not likely. Or we see where the mysterious tunnel leads and hope there's not a grizzly bear waiting at the end of it."

"Maybe there's one other thing we could do." Ice said looking squarely at Roo. "We could split up but one of us takes the tunnel and one of us the charges."

"I said we're fucked either way, Ice. Whatever you want. At least maybe then someone will get out and explain what happened down here." Roo said.

"So who takes what?" Jansen chimed in.

"Well, when SEALs get into situations like this there really is only one thing to do." Ice said.

Roo nodded and together they both said: "Rocks, paper, scissors."

"Oh god, you've got to be kidding me." Jordan said.

"Jordan. It's fifty-fifty, it's really doesn't matter which one we take. We have no dive gear, we either stop those charges or take the tunnel, you said it yourself, it doesn't matter." Ice said, he turned to Roo. "You ready, Aussie."

"On three."

"One." Ice said, banging his fist in his palm.

"Two." Roo barked, already knowing it was
rocks
all the way.

"Three." Ice snap slamming a flat hand palm down in his other hand.

Roo knew the second his fist hit his palm that he was done. Deep down he wanted to take the tunnel, he hadn't dealt with the birds as Jordan and Ice had and he didn't think Ice would want any further part of that action. But Ice was right. It really didn't matter at this point. All that did matter was getting one person out who could recount their story.