Weapons of the Gods

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

The HALO jump should have been exhilarating, a heady rush from beginning to end, but Drake barely felt it. Risk lay everywhere, from the size of the team jumping to the chances of being spotted from below.

And then there was the landing area.

Close to an IS stronghold and a mountainous ridge, they were trying to come down as close as was reasonably possible. Drake had never seen a team so tooled up; they were literally burdened with weapons. Enough to win a war.

It might come to that. Luther had been grinning from ear to ear.

Drake landed and rolled, catching his hip on a rock but coming away with nothing more than a nasty bruise. The others came down one by one, pitch black their ally, stiff chutes guided by GPRS. Despite more bruises and scrapes the team came together in a reasonable mood.

“All quiet?” Mai whispered.

“We’re a few miles from the town,” Drake said. “You see that ridge over there?” He pointed at the horizon where an uneven line was outlined against a silvery sky. “That’s our target. We need to be there before first light.”

They moved out. The air was cold, biting even, chilling Drake’s blackened face. They couldn’t help but make a small amount of noise, weighed down by all their gear, so they took it easier than normal and stayed low. Underfoot, the ground was hard-packed and uneven. Drake heard no sounds drifting along on the slight breeze that scoured the desert. They could easily have been alone.

Very soon, they found they were far from it.

Dahl, ranging to the left, came across a man seated next to a battered-looking rifle. The man didn’t see Dahl at all, but his eyes grew wide when the enormous shape loomed over him. He opened his mouth to scream.

Dahl jabbed a knife into his throat to stop any sound, and caught the fighter as he fell. Then, steadily, he laid the man down next to his unused rifle.

“Guard?” Drake asked through the comms.

“Think so. We’d better range further to the right if they have sentries this far out.”

They followed the Swede’s advice and moved ahead with extra care. To be sighted at this point would be ruinous, terminating the mission. An hour passed as they moved light-footedly through the oppressive gloom, danger to every side. No unnecessary words were spoken; no observations raised beyond terrain and destination. Finally, they reached a ravine and allowed themselves ten minutes respite after sliding carefully down to the very bottom.

Drake shifted close to Alicia. “Not long now.”

“Yeah. You want chocolate?”

“Hell yeah.” Through the years it had become a tradition whenever they could possibly manage it.

“I’ll take some of that.” Dahl was beside Alicia.

“You ready with that tracker, mate?” Drake asked as he chewed.

“Ready and willing,” Dahl said.

Drake checked his watch, then clicked the comms. “Move out, folks.”

Another thirty minutes and they were approaching the foothills. Here, Drake saw several campfires dotted around the folds of the lower mountain and some small structures that looked like tents. The trouble was, they stretched all around the wide, rocky base.

“I’m guessing it’s some kind of overflow,” he presumed, knowing the reason didn’t really matter. Knowing wouldn’t clear the obstacle.

“They’re not so close together,” Luther said. “We can go straight through.”

Drake winced, positive now that Luther was looking for an excuse to start using the hardware. The trouble was — he was right, and dawn wasn’t too far away.

With great care, he crept silently over the nearest rock, then used leg muscles to ease down the other side. Skirting the closest fire, he embraced the shadows, checking every footstep, every rough obstacle. A figure lay wrapped in a blanket next to the fire, snoring loudly as they came closer. Drake held his breath, but slipped past without bothering the man.

And into the second small camp.

Like the first, it consisted of a small fire and a tent, but this time there were two figures sleeping outside — both women. Their faces were blank, pointed up at the stars, their chests lifting and falling gently. Drake stepped across a narrow crevice before negotiating a slight slope on the other side. The tent rustled suddenly, its outside bulging. Drake froze, HK ready, hoping it was just a man turning over in his sleep.

It was. A moment later they continued, stepping into the third camp. Here they could circumvent the main area by hugging a wide ravine that curved up alongside it. The ravine ended in a paddock full of horses, however, and they were forced to double back.

Carefully, they chose another route.

Forty minutes passed. Drake kept an eye on the eastern horizon, which was definitely less dark than it had been twenty minutes ago. Up ahead, the mountain loomed, but not quite as daunting as it first looked. They knew they were climbing the correct side, and that the cave entrances were approximately one hundred meters high.

“Slow down,” Drake said. “We’re here.”

Out of the darkness above, a yawning entrance appeared. To their right another camp had been made, and Drake could see figures starting to stir. Out here, they had no idea what awaited them inside.

“Now or never,” he whispered. “Move it!”

Without hesitation, the entire team dashed inside the mountain.