Echo Six: Black Ops 7 - Tibetan Fury (13 page)

Why not? The kid won’t
give a shit, as long as the
information gets out of Tibet.

Until the Chinese arrested him and sentenced him to death, it put in place a chain of events that threatened to ruin everything. He knew of Nelson Moore, of course, and that Campbell was his stepson. Otherwise, there was no way the President would have launched a SpecOps mission to get him out. The problem was if they did manage to get him out, they'd debrief him at great length. That would mean collating Campbell's statements with Garrick's intel from the Chinese source.

Even a blind illiterate could work it out. Garrick had lied, exaggerated, call it what you like. There'd be questions, too, questions about the large sums of money he'd supposedly paid to his agent in Lhasa. And worse. If they put his financial affairs under the microscope, and they would, they'd discover most of the payments didn't reach her. Instead, they were diverted to an offshore account, in the name of one Ed Garrick. He'd be lucky if he didn't serve a long term in a Federal penitentiary.

There was a way to resolve his problem. David Campbell couldn’t be allowed to leave Tibet. Not ever. Garrick had already begun interfering with the operation to get him out, by making sure the flight taking the team in had gone without a flight plan and permission to overfly Nepal. As a result, the operation became public knowledge when the Nepalese intercepted them, and the NATO Admiral from Kathmandu had been forced to drop with the team instead. So they were on their own. Even if they did succeed in getting Campbell out of the Lhasa prison, there was only one way out of the country, by truck over the Himalayas.

He smiled to himself as he picked up the phone. There was only one smuggler group who could provide those trucks. All it needed was a word from him to make certain it didn't happen. They'd make excuses, of course. Breakdowns occurred all the time, especially in that mountainous, godforsaken region. Hell would freeze over before those trucks reached Tibet. He finished the call and then relaxed. There was no way those trucks would roll, ever.

Then he had another thought. Those NATO Special Forces guys were resourceful, and he needed to be doubly sure.

Who can take care of them, and do it right?

There was only one answer. Inside Tibet, the Ministry of State Security ruled with an iron fist. A word in the right ear, and they'd know it was in their interests to take care of it. He checked in his wallet, a name and number he wouldn't want other people to know he possessed. Then he picked up the phone again and dialed. Somewhere a phone started to ring, a phone inside Beijing, China.

Abbess Dolma glanced around the cave. Most of the refugees tried to sleep, stretched out on the ground. A few children cried, sobbing quietly. They did not understand why they were unable to go up into the light and play like ordinary children. There was nothing for them here, nothing to relieve the tension and the monotony. Not until they could get them away from this place, across the Himalayas and into Nepal. Until then, they had to hide in this dark place.

She looked up as a nun climbed down into the cave from the kitchen above.

"Yes, what is it, Sister?"

"Trucks, Abbess. Tempa Rinpoche heard them coming."

"The Chinese? They've already been here."

"It seems they are coming back."

She nodded. "Very well, I will come at once."

She climbed up through the hatch, feeling the pain in her ancient bones as she negotiated the difficult entrance. And knowing her pain was as nothing compared to that of many of her fellow Tibetans, brutally hounded, tortured, and imprisoned in their own country.

There is no pain.

She joined Tempa Rinpoche in the hallway. He had the door open and was staring out into the chilly predawn darkness.

"You sure?"

He nodded. "There can be no question. They are coming here."

They stood waiting and watching as the vehicles drew nearer.

"I count four trucks," she murmured.

"Yes, the two in the rear are empty. See how they bounce on the springs. It means they do not carry a load."

She glanced at him. "Whom have they come for?"

They both knew the meaning of empty trucks. Knew they were to transport prisoners.

He shook his head. "I don't know. They cannot know about the people in the caves, or they would have needed another half-dozen trucks to get them all out."

The answer dawned on her, and she felt a stabbing pain in her chest, in the knowledge of the horror about to befall them.

"They have come for us."

He glanced at her. "I'm afraid it is a possibility we must consider."

The first truck ran over a small sheep that was too slow to avoid it. The Abbess and the Rinpoche both said a quiet prayer for the animal’s soul. The vehicle skidded to a halt only meters away from them, emitting clouds of fumes and exhaust smoke from its primitive and badly maintained engine. A man jumped from the cab and strutted toward them. The other trucks had halted, and soldiers began clambering out of the first two. As Tempa had said, the third and fourth trucks were empty.

"You are all under arrest!"

The Chinese officer had a face that was screwed into an expression of harsh brutality. He was spoiling for trouble, and they both knew he was looking for any excuse to send his men on a violent rampage that would see heads and limbs broken.

"Excuse me, officer. May I ask the reason for your visit?" Abbess Dolma asked him.

He glared at her. "You may not. It is a security matter."

Tempa Rinpoche stepped forward, his palms held upward to show he posed no threat. "Could it be a mistake, Sir? Is there any way we can resolve this?"

The Captain looked at four of his soldiers who were watching and waiting nearby.

"This man may be a spy. Deal with him."

Rinpoche waited calmly as they leapt forward to surround him. Their rifle butts rose and then repeatedly smashed down into his head and body. When he was lying in the snow, his blood leaking out to stain the white surface red, they used their boots.

"Captain!" a man shouted.

"What is it?"

"More Tibetans, Sir, mainly women, a few old men, and some children. We found them hiding in a cave. There's a false floor beneath a closet in the kitchen."

"Bring them up. They can go in the trucks with the nuns."

"But there are too many. There must be a hundred of them, maybe more. We are still searching."

"A hundred!" He looked around him and saw the solution, "The corral for the goats, put them in there."

"But some of them are children. It's very cold," the soldier objected.

Captain Lao rounded on him. "Are you questioning my orders? Perhaps you'd like to go in there with them."

"No, Sir, I'll do it at once."

* * *

They stopped to survey the ground two kilometers from their destination. Drew Jackson took the opportunity to work on Grace's injured forearm. Guy and Admiral Brooks climbed out of the truck to join Talley, and together the three men stared across the snow-covered ground at the nunnery in the distance. Instead of the peaceful scene they'd expected, four trucks were drawn up outside the building.

As they watched, soldiers rushed inside and began herding the women out into the open. They then loaded them on the trucks, and as they watched, Tampa Rinpoche went down under the rifle butts and boots of the guards. Talley felt useless, but there was nothing they could do. And then he cursed as the troops started to drive the refugees that had been hiding in the caves out into the open, and secure them in the corral guarded by a half-dozen soldiers.

The soldiers began destroying the building, tossing furniture and fittings out into the snow. It was clearly an operation designed to punish and brutalize.

"We have to do something," Guy exclaimed, "There's no way we can just stand here and let this go on."

He shook his head. "I feel as bad as you do, my friend. But remember, our mission is to bring out David Campbell."

A voice interrupted them from behind, "I'm not leaving."

He turned to see the American, Tenzin Davaika, David Campbell. He’d limped across to them. Grace was supporting him with her one good arm.

Jesus Christ, it's like a nightmare. Campbell tortured and barely on his feet, Tibetans, women, old men, and children at the mercy of the bitter cold. And a bunch of State Security troops in between. What can we do? Nothing.

He shook his head. "If we go down there, we won't help them. All we'll do is get ourselves killed. I want you back in the truck. We’ll find a way out of this place and start heading south over the Himalayas. We’ll dump the truck when we get clear. The Chinese will be looking for their vehicle, and it'll be a target for every gunship and fighter aircraft they can get up. Admiral, as soon as we get moving, I need you to contact Garrick, and this time make sure you get that transport organized."

"There's another way in."

He looked at Grace. "A way in to Nepal?"

"To the nunnery, to save them. We can't abandon these people."

"We have to. There's no alternative. The operation…"

She stared at him, her expression determined. "No. I'm staying. I must help them get away. Cho and Davaika are staying, too."

He looked at her for a few moments. He'd seen that expression before, on the face of his ex-wife. And more than one girlfriend. He was in no doubt she meant what she said. As did Campbell, the stepson of the US President's Chief of Staff.

Fuck! Without David Campbell, the whole thing’s a bust. Could we carry him out, whether he likes it or not? Maybe. But Grace, too, no way!

He glanced across at the nunnery. A soldier walked past the prone body of Tampa Rinpoche and gave it a casual kick. Another soldier joined him, laughing, and for a few moments, the boots hammered the defenseless old monk.

Something inside him snapped. It was too much.

No operation, no
amount of mission security is worth it, not to see that kind of mindless brutality inflicted on a peaceful and defenseless old man. And then there are the nuns, the women, and children.

He was aware of Brooks watching him closely.

"We can't let it go. I'm sorry, Admiral. We have to help these people."

Brooks sighed. "I shouldn't be saying this, but I'm starting to feel the same way." He looked at Grace, "What's this other way in you mentioned?"

"It's not far from here, maybe ten minutes. There's a narrow entrance between two rocks. When you get inside, a long tunnel will lead us into the main cave system. We could be underneath the nunnery in about twenty minutes."

Brooks nodded. Talley started to work out a plan of action.

It’ll mean taking on the State Security troops, but what the hell? Someone has to do it.

"Sir, stay here with Campbell and his pal Cho. I'll leave Buchmann, Virgil Kane, and one other man. You'll have the Minimis with you and the grenade launcher, as well as the assault rifles. That's a lot of firepower. I'll call you on the radio when I need you. If everything works out, we'll hit them from both sides and wipe them off the face of the earth."

Brooks nodded. "I doubt there's ever been a time when I've wanted to do some serious damage than this one. Those bastards deserve a bad end."

"Roger that. Grace, are you sure you can make it through this tunnel? I mean, your arm..."

"I'm sure."

"Okay. Guy, form them up, we're going in. We'll split into three fireteams. Four men each, I'll take point with Grace to lead the way. You take the second. Domenico, your team will bring up the rear. Let's go."

They set out at a fast jog. He quickly sensed Grace was struggling with the pain and blood loss, but there was no way she'd give up. He took her uninjured arm and helped her along. She gave him a look of relief.

"I'm sorry, it's worse than I thought, but I'll be fine. There won't be any way to run when we're in the cave system."

They reached a part of the hillside that was covered in loose rocks. They were big, great boulders which over the millennia had tumbled down from the higher, more distant peaks. She indicated a place where two of the boulders leaned against each other, and there was a gap between them about a meter high, enough in which to crawl. He passed her his flashlight, and she went on her knees and crawled inside. He followed her, and after a few meters, they were able to stand in a small cave about three meters on each side. A side tunnel branched off the cave. It looked high enough to walk through.

"It's doesn't look so bad," Guy nodded, "We should make good time."

She grimaced. "If only. The nunnery is about fifty meters from here," she told him, "But it's a very low tunnel, and we'll need to crawl part way. I'll lead the way through. There are a couple of forks, and you need to know which one to choose."

She twisted into the narrow entrance, and within three meters, the roof had dropped to less than a meter high, so they were forced to crawl. Another few meters, and they were on their stomachs, squeezing through the narrow opening. Talley reflected it was fortunate they hadn't brought Buchmann along.

He heard Grace grunting in pain as she hauled herself along using her one good arm. There was no alternative, no way to help her. He sweated even though the touch of the cold, damp rocks was icy. The effort of dragging his body through the narrow space was grueling. There was barely enough room to move his limbs, and the only way to go forward was by using a snakelike movement.

He pushed on behind her, and after five gut-wrenching minutes the roof started to get higher, and he was able to get on his knees and crawl. Then it was almost head height, and he stood in a half-crouch. Grace was waiting for him, and her face was bathed in perspiration. It wasn't difficult to imagine the agony she'd endured during that long, hard crawl. They waited for the others. Guy emerged, and then the rest of the men crowded next to them.

She put a finger to her lips. "The tunnel opens out a few meters further along, into the main cave system. The Chinese could be in there."

He nodded. "Switch off the flashlight, and get behind me. We'll use our NV goggles from here on in."

She clicked off the light, and he switched on the goggles to negotiate the final few meters of the tunnel. They walked for a short distance before they heard voices. Chinese voices. Grace caught up with him.

"They're looking for any of the Tibetans they may have missed. It sounds like two men." The voices were raised, and it was obvious they were having a disagreement, "They're arguing over something they found. I think it's a religious artifact. Each man says they found it first."

"Good," he murmured, "That'll keep them occupied. Guy, let's go settle their argument."

He shouldered the MP7 and unholstered his Sig. Guy had his own pistol ready, and they edged forward. Almost immediately, the two soldiers came into view. He reached up to switch off the NV. The men had kept the oil lamps burning, and there was no need for the goggles. The two men were glaring at each other, hissing curses and insults. One held a small gold statuette, which the other was trying to pull away from him.

He walked forward in silence with Guy alongside him. They were only three meters from the men when they sensed movement in the gloom, and their heads turned. At first, they betrayed no panic; they would have assumed they were dealing with unarmed Tibetan civilians. Their eyes widened when they saw the unfamiliar uniforms, and the faces of the Westerners who wore them. Lastly, they saw the handguns. In a simultaneous movement, their mouths opened to shout a warning, and they made a grab for their assault rifles, which they'd placed on the floor of the cave while they argued over the statuette.