The Reply

CHAPTER 25

Exactly on schedule O’Callaghan smoothly banked his aircraft away from the O’Bannion and headed for the shore. He adjusted the throttle for maximum fuel conservation and they were on their way, skimming along at fifty feet above the waves at 130 knots.

The sun was starting to settle in the sky and he knew that soon, just before they reached the shore, it would be dark, which was just the way they had it planned. Just under six hours of flying to the pickup zone.

The sound of automatic fire echoed dully into the chamber. Turcotte’s head snapped up and he grabbed his MP-5 before hustling out the door, followed by the rest of his men and Kostanov. Turcotte had sent Howes and DeCamp to guard the entrance as soon as Nabinger had made contact with the pyramid.

Halfway up the side corridor they paused as a loud explosion thundered down the rock walls, the sound multiplied by the confined space.

Farther up they met the two Special Forces men, both of them covered in dust. “We had to blow the entrance,” Howes said. “The Chinese were bringing up a tank.”

“What now?” Kostanov asked.

“We’ll figure something out,” Turcotte said. “What about where you came in?” “It was on the other side of the large chamber but now it’s blocked from the outside.”

“We’ll get out,” Turcotte said, wishing he were as confident as he hoped he sounded.

Inside the “Fort” the cables fell away from the ships. Through tunnels hooked in to the base of each ship figures moved, crews manning vessels they had last been on board over five millennia ago. The tunnels pulled back.

Without any visible sign of energy being expended, the ships smoothly lifted off the surface of Mars. As they gained altitude their paths began to interlace in an intricate dance, six lean talons, their tips pointed toward Earth.