Typhoon Fury

21

While Raven and Beth tended to the injured and frightened passengers in the back, Juan operated the PIG’s defensive systems, leaving Eddie to keep his eyes glued to the road. All Juan had overheard from the discussion behind him was that the people they’d rescued weren’t in the art field. They were scientists. Ph.D.s.

“The shimmy is getting worse,” Eddie said, straining to control the PIG. “I think we may be close to losing the other right rear tire if we keep up this speed.” The self-sealing tires were designed to withstand rifle fire, but the RPG explosion had caused far more extensive damage.

“This might not be the best time to install the spare,” Juan replied.

“Maybe they’ll let us call a tow truck.”

Juan heard the helicopter approaching and said, “No need. That must be the auto club arriving now.”

He looked up to see Salvador Locsin clearly visible in the front seat next to the pilot. He was focused on Juan with a nasty grin. He waved jauntily and mouthed the word Good-bye.

Then the rear door behind him slid open, revealing the spinning barrel of a minigun aimed directly at him.

“Stop!” Juan yelled.

Without hesitation, Eddie stood on the brake just as the minigun spat fire. Tracer rounds chewed into the road directly in front of the cab. The forward momentum of the chopper kept the gun’s operator from compensating fast enough to hit them. The PIG’s armor was stout, but it would be no match for the high-powered rounds.

In the side mirror, Juan saw that the smoke was lingering in the calm air.

“Back into the smoke!”

Eddie threw the gear into reverse and launched the PIG backward as the helicopter came around for a killing pass, but their view of it blurred as they were enveloped by the smoke.

“What now?” Eddie asked once they were concealed yet still moving backward slowly. “They may not be able to see us, but they could still hit us with a lucky shot.”

“And their friends won’t be far behind in that Humvee.”

“Too bad we don’t have any antiaircraft capabilities.”

At this point, Juan couldn’t see more than ten feet in front of him. “Believe me, I will be having a talk with Max about upgrades.” They did, however, have the mortars and guided rockets.

Juan looked at the steep mountainside that rose out of the smoke. The loose earth had to be soaked from the rain of the last few days.

“How about we give ourselves a little breathing space between us and that Humvee?”

He opened the roof hatch and used the targeting screen on the dashboard to aim the mortar at the steep hillside along the road between them and the pursuing Humvees.

Over his shoulder, he called out to the passengers, “Fire in the hole!” They looked at him in confusion until he mimed covering his ears. They followed his example, and he launched three mortar shells in quick succession, the thump of each reverberating through the PIG.

Juan couldn’t see the blasts as the rounds landed, but soon the ground shook as an avalanche of mud and rock tumbled down the hill in the distance.

“That sounds like it was plenty to cover the road.”

“And keep that Humvee and its RPGs off our back. Now to deal with this Locsin guy.”

The rockets that could be fired from drop-away panels on the side of the PIG were meant to be antivehicle weapons, and their guidance systems were minimal. They certainly couldn’t home in on a moving aircraft.

Juan could hear the helicopter out there waiting for them to emerge from the smoke. It was perpendicular to the road, hovering in place, providing a stable platform for its gunner. He wouldn’t miss a second time.

“Eddie, turn us to face the sound of the helicopter.”

Eddie raised his eyebrows but turned the wheel, and the truck began turning. “The road’s not much wider than the PIG’s length. There won’t be much room to maneuver and make an escape if things don’t go well.”

“Then I’d better not miss, but I think having another set of eyes out there will help.”

Juan launched one of their quadcopter drones. He maneuvered it until it was just above the smoke.

On the screen transmitting the drone’s camera feed he saw the helicopter exactly where he was expecting to see it.

They must have seen the drone because the minigun began spitting shells directly at the camera. The tiny quadcopter danced around in the air, gracefully evading the rounds.

Although the image of the helicopter bobbed and weaved on the screen, the drone had done its job, giving Juan enough information to target the chopper.

He fired two rockets.

At the same instant, the helicopter banked hard, before the rockets had come out of the smoke screen. Either Locsin or the pilot must have suddenly realized the drone was a prelude to an attack.

The first rocket flew harmlessly past the chopper, missing the fuselage by inches. The second rocket, however, hit the tail rotor, blasting it to pieces.

The helicopter banked crazily to the side as the pilot struggled to keep it from spinning out of control. It flew over them and looked as if it was going to crash into the mountainside, but at the last second it angled over the road and the dissipating smoke screen. It crossed over the landslide that straddled the road two hundred yards behind the PIG and dived out of sight. A moment later, a ball of fire rose above the road, contributing its own black smoke to the haze.

“Looks like you got them,” Eddie said. “Although it might be hard to collect that two million if he’s a crispy critter.”

Juan thought back to the mutant guard who’d attacked him after suffering injuries that should have brought down a rhino.

“Let’s make sure,” Juan said and maneuvered the drone so that he could see past the landslide.

There was the chopper lying on its side, burning. It had just missed obliterating the Humvee that idled nearby. Two men lay in the road. They must have jumped out of the helicopter just before it landed.

Juan got the drone closer and saw that one of the men was Locsin. He was on his back, one pant leg on fire. But, to Juan’s amazement, he wasn’t dead. As Juan watched, Locsin sat up as if he’d simply been taking a nap and patted out the flames with his hand.

The other man, who Juan could now see was Tagaan, also rose. Neither of them seemed particularly concerned about surviving a helicopter crash and explosion. Locsin stood up and shouted orders to the guards in the Humvee, pointing back the way they’d come.

“What do we need to kill these guys?” Eddie asked, incredulous. “Silver bullets?”

“I hope it’s not kryptonite,” Juan said. “Because the last time I checked, we were fresh out.”

Before Locsin got into the Humvee to leave, he turned to face the quadcopter hovering above them. He said something and held out his hand. One of the guards gave him a pistol.

Without pausing, Locsin aimed it at the drone and fired. His aim was better than the guy on the minigun, because he hit it with his fourth shot. The camera feed winked out.

“Lucky shot,” Eddie said.

“Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good,” Juan said. “But he might be both.”

The last remnants of smoke cleared, and it was obvious that the landslide would keep them from pursuing Locsin.

“I suppose it’s time to alert the authorities to seize Locsin’s compound,” Juan said.

Eddie pointed to the dashboard. “Since we didn’t have time to recall the observation drone before our little road trip, it’s still circling the buildings.” Sure enough, the video feed was still coming in sharp. “It should be able to remain on station for at least a few more hours in low-power mode. If we’re the lucky ones this time, we’ll see Locsin returning to the base, and we can call in the Philippine Special Action Force to take him down.”

It was as if Locsin had heard them. The main building on-screen erupted in a massive explosion, followed in quick succession by all the other buildings in the compound. Within seconds, there was nothing left except the burning hulks of the structures. Locsin must have preset the explosives for just such an eventuality.

Juan cocked an eye at Eddie. “You were saying about us being lucky?”

“I did say if.”

A bus was approaching them, slowing as the driver saw the landslide blocking the road and smoke curling up from the helicopter wreckage.

Juan nodded at the bus, which began disgorging curious onlookers, and said, “Let’s get out of here before we have to answer awkward questions.”

Eddie eased the PIG around and moved off at a leisurely pace to avoid further damage to the remaining rear tires. Once they put some distance between them and the helicopter wreck, they’d check the extent of the tire damage.

Juan turned in his seat and saw that Raven was bandaging up Mel Ocampo’s arm. Beth and the rest of the passengers looked dazed from the action.

“How’s his injury?” Juan asked.

“Painful but not serious,” Raven replied. “He’ll need stitches at a hospital, but it can wait until we get back to Manila.”

“I’m fine,” Ocampo said, his voice thin from fatigue. “I’m just glad the rest of my people are uninjured. Thank you for saving us.”

“Glad we could help, Dr. Ocampo,” Juan said. “Now, we’ve got a long ride back to Manila and plenty of time on our hands. When Raven finishes dressing your wound, I think it’s time you told us a story.”