OUTCAST Ops: Red Ice

CHAPTER FORTY

“Sir!”

Rhee went from asleep to alert in between heartbeats. He rolled out of bed and was on his feet, a type 56 assault rifle that had been next to the bed in his hands almost as quickly. “What is it?” he snapped.

Myoung stood in the doorway, his face serious. “The Americans are here!”

“What?”

“Coming up the road! Soldiers and armored vehicles! A large force. They will be here in a minute.”

Rhee hadn’t bothered to undress when he’d decided to rest, so he headed for the door. “Full alert! Tell the base we’re under attack and prepare to destroy the lab on my command.”

Myoung stepped back, allowing the major to stride past him. “Yes, sir!”

“Turn off all the lights!”

“Yes, sir!” Myoung spoke rapidly into a handheld radio.

By the time Rhee reached the front door, the lights were out and his men were ready and armed. Through the small windows on either side of the door, Rhee could see that the driveway was filled with military vehicles. Spotlights were aimed at the ranch house.

“Attention in the house!” a voice thundered over a loudspeaker. “This is the United States Drug Enforcement Agency! We have arrest and search warrants! Come out with your hands up!”

Rhee snorted. “Myoung!”

“Sir!”

“Show them we have no intention of surrendering. Order all machine guns to destroy those spotlights and put the fear of their so-called God into them.”

The machine gun fire from the ranch house, barn, and the house on the hill was ragged at first but became fierce as the enemy warmed to their task. In a few seconds, there were half a dozen heavy machine guns spewing lead at the oncoming convoy. A hailstorm of 12.7mm rounds slammed into the armored vehicles, sparks lighting up the night like a fireworks display.

Then the assault team set off their own fireworks.

The Bradleys, leading the assault column, turned their attention on the house on the hill and opened fire with their M242 Bushmaster 25mm autocannons. The ten-second bursts from each IFV sent more than sixty M791 Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot with Tracer (APDS-T) rounds into the house. The rounds, designed to destroy lightly armored vehicles, ripped through the block walls, windows, interior walls and human flesh with equal ease.

The MRAPs, each armed with a Browning M2 Heavy machine gun mounted in a Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) added their firepower, half aimed at the ranch house, the rest at the barn. The air became thick with 12.7mm and .50 caliber rounds. But while the DShK machine guns were trying to break through the vehicle’s armor, the “Ma Duce” rounds were having more success punching through the ranch house’s block walls; the barn’s wooden walls were no match as the heavy machine guns punched fist-sized holes in both structures.

The defender’s gunfire slackened as some of the machine guns were put out of action. One of the guns from ICEHOUSE fired down at the assault column, only to abruptly stop when the Bradley’s Bushmasters fired another ten-second burst of APDS-T rounds into its location. By now, ICEHOUSE was beginning to burn, flames leaking through the windows but growing larger as seconds passed.

The machine gun fire from the buildings finally stopped. Vessler, riding in the back of the second Bradley, picked up her radio. “All Sun elements, move in!”

Inside the ranch house, the place was a wreck. Holes were blown through walls, machine guns were on the ground, mixing with sand, glass and blood. Rhee, covered in dust, stood in the doorway of the kitchen and glared at the damage. Muhn stood next to him, carrying a Type 73 light machine gun.

“Myoung!” Rhee barked. “Get those machine guns back into operation!”

“Sir,” the captain replied, “six of my men are dead and two are critically wounded!”

“Get your men ready to defend. Muhn, assign five of your fighters to reinforce Myoung. Don’t let the invaders in!”

The field phone rang in the kitchen. Rhee turned away from the scene before him and picked up the receiver. “What?”

“I think the Americans are trying to slip a team through the mine into the base,” Captain P’il said. “My perimeter guards report hearing gunshots, and neither Machine Gun Post Seven or Eight are answering. I’ve sent a team to investigate.”

Rhee’s jaw tightened. His plans had included laying a minefield to prevent easy access to the mine shaft. But the short-sighted bureaucratic fools in P’yŏngyang had failed to supply the needed land mines. Assuming Rhee could escape, those bastards would have a lot to answer for. “I am coming to see for myself. How many troops do you have left?”

“Twenty-seven. I lost five in the hill house.”

Rhee looked out the window and saw the house above him burning fiercely in the night “Are the charges ready?”

“Of course.”

“Make sure the detonator is ready to be used!”

“Yes, sir!”

The enemy will not capture this base intact. Do you understand?”

“Perfectly,” P’il said. “My men will not let that happen.”

“They’d better not!” Rhee dropped the handset onto the table. “Myoung!”

“Sir?”

“You’re in command. Stop them. Do you have any patbingsu patches up here?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Issue two patches to each man. That will give us an edge against the Americans. I want this land soaked in the enemy’s blood!”

Myoung smiled. “Yes, sir.”

Rhee nodded and strode toward the basement and the tunnel entrance downstairs. “Muhn! You and the rest of your squad come with me.”

It took Tanner, Stephen and Dante a few minutes to reach the gully. Liam and Naomi were waiting for them. Tanner stopped and stared at the gully for a few seconds. “Send the Wasp to take a look see.”

Stephen maneuvered the small drone up the gully, which was wide enough for two men to walk abreast. At the end, it branched off in different directions. One fork led to a steep slope going up, while the other terminated after five yards in a dark tunnel.

“Not good,” Liam said. “That gully’s an ambush waiting to happen.”

Tanner nodded. “That’s why you four are going to stay on top of the slope on each side of the gully. Leave the Wasp overhead for now.”

“Where are you going?”

Tanner loaded a buckshot round into his grenade launcher. “Up the gully. I’ll draw their attention, giving you a chance to hit them first.”

“Isn’t it my turn to play bait?”

Tanner smiled. “Nah. You can be bait next time.”

“You get all the fun.”

They split up, Naomi and Liam going up the right slope of the ravine, Stephen and Dante taking the left. Tanner started up carefully. Above him and to each side, the rest of his team kept pace, MP5s up and ready.

“Prime to Six,” he transmitted. “What’s happening over there?”

“ICEHOUSE is totaled,” Danielle replied. “Striker and her people are trying to secure both HEDGEHOG and HAYBALE. Heavy resistance.”

“Copy. We’re approaching PYRITE. Four Tangos down.”

“Copy Prime, when—”

A group of armed men wearing NVGs emerged from the mine and spotted Tanner the same instant he saw them. Shouting in Korean, they raised their AK-47s and opened fire.