Pandora's Succession (31 page)

The attackers streamed down the hillside in beige camouflage, blending into their surroundings. Marx looked over at the tunnel entrance several feet away. There was no chance of her making it over there without being shot. At that moment, she heard a body slam into the boulder on the other side of where she was. She crawled around and saw it was the ninja who had escorted her to safety. He stared back at her pleading with an outstretched arm, his chest and stomach torn open.

It was time to end this. She reached out and grabbed his AK-74.

“Dr. Marx, what are you doing?” yelled Hashimoto.

“What does it look like? I’ll be damned if I am going to lose Pandora again!”

“This is insane. Come back, please.”

She ignored him and took aim at two Ares soldiers on the slopes, fired, and dropped both of them.
Why should they be surprised that I know how to use a gun? I grew up with bombs exploding around me for God’s sake.

***

With each side intent on annihilating the other, no one noticed the Sikorsky S-76 Hexagon helicopter that had landed on the coast. Fox and Parris took advantage of the chaos to reach the summit of the hill that bordered the coastline.

As they crouched and watched the gunfight from the opposite side of the canyon, Fox looked over at the pumps that Parris held in her hands. “Tell me. How did you manage to climb with me up this rocky hill so quickly barefoot?”

“You’d manage, too, if you had the calf muscles.”

“What do you know about my legs? You
have
been checking me out after all.”

“Sure, fine, whatever.” Parris looked at the helicopters below. “From what I see, I don’t think that they’re carrying much cargo. The new variant of Pandora could’ve been brought here earlier, but we can’t know for sure. If Ares succeeds in this battle, they’re sure to get it.”

Fox looked towards the blast tunnel. “It would’ve been easier for them to wait inside the bunker instead of trying to ambush them out here.”

“Unless the access codes to the bunker were changed. They’d need someone alive to give them up.”

“And then execute everyone else.”

“Exactly. Any ideas as to how we sneak around them and get into the bunker?”

Rocks and dust flew up all around them with a backdrop of staccato noises nearby. Instinctively, Fox grabbed Parris by the arm and pulled her up with him until she was able to run on her own. The shots bit at their heels as they bolted along the top of the hill with Fox leading Parris down into a crevice that took a sharp turn to the left. When Fox whipped around the corner, he got a big surprise—there was nothing but a huge drop.

He skidded to a stop. However, he heard sliding behind him seconds before he felt Parris crash into him. Being unable to grab onto anything in time, Fox plummeted over the side with her. Although he leaned slightly forward as he dropped, he managed to keep his feet below his center of gravity. It was then that he realized that the drop was less severe than he previously anticipated, his feet hitting the ground seconds later. Fox tumbled down a rocky incline until it leveled off. He rolled onto his back as Parris came sliding behind him. She too managed to get on her back and Fox caught her with both his legs, wrapping them tightly around her, under her arms. He released her and drew his Sig from its holster just as an Ares soldier appeared at the top of the drop.

Fox fired three shots into his kneecaps before he emptied the Sig’s chamber—but another four shots plugged the soldier in the chest. Like a chopped tree, the soldier’s legs gave way beneath him as he fell sideways and then head first over the edge. He didn’t cry out as he fell, but Fox heard a distinct snap as he hit the rocks below, headfirst. His head was twisted more than ninety degrees. It was then that Fox noticed Parris had her HK drawn. “I still can’t believe I dated you.”

Parris lowered her gun and got out from between Fox’s legs and looked at him as though she was ready to kick him. “You’re a mess.”

She reached out to help him stand. Fox tossed the Sig to the side and walked over to the man, frisked him, and removed an M-11 Bayonet along with its scabbard. He then looked at his boots. “You think those will fit you?”

Parris glanced at them. “Forget it, they’re too big. I’ll be fine for now.”

Fox picked up the AK-108 assault rifle that lay beside the soldier, walked over to Parris, and handed her the M-11. “Take this, we’ll have to split up.”

“Why?”

“While we were running I saw two men with a rocket propelled grenade launcher. I’m going after them. Do you think you can find a way down below into the valley?”

Parris nodded. “It shouldn’t be a problem. Just keep them from firing any grenades at me.”

“I’ll try to. One more thing.” Fox extended his hand to her. “Let me borrow your sat phone. You still have it, don’t you?”

Parris removed it from its belt clip and handed it to him. She had the same issue satellite phone that the technicians at the Office of Science and Technology developed. It was smaller than most satellite phones and could easily pass for a regular cell phone.

Fox dialed the number for headquarters. The phone rang once and then he heard the recorded greeting: “Welcome to Spade Insurance. Please listen carefully for our menu options have changed.” Fox dialed in his code, 062176. The voice recording ended and there was a short pause. He then heard Marie Vasell’s familiar voice.

“Fox, where are you? You’ve had us all worried.”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t use my phone for the time being. Go ahead and track the SIM card on this phone and get some backup over here ASAP, ‘cause Parris and I are going to need it.”

“I’ve zeroed in on the location of Dr. Parris’s sat phone. Military assistance should be on its way. Be careful, both of you.”

Fox turned it off and dropped it back into his pants pocket. “You don’t mind if I hold onto this, do you?”

“As long as I get it back,” Parris replied.

Fox smiled.
She’s actually showing a sense of humor, another good sign.

“I can make my way down this slope.” Parris walked to an edge that overlooked the blast tunnel entrance to the bunker. “Hopefully, I should be able to slip into the blast tunnel unnoticed. I just hope the entrance access codes weren’t changed from the ones in the notes.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure that wouldn’t stop someone like you from finding another way in, would it?” Fox extended his hand to hers. “Good luck.”

“Same to you.” She didn’t want to dwell on a farewell. She immediately proceeded to the edge and knelt down when he said something else to her.

“Dr. Parris.”

She looked over her shoulder, up at him.

“I expect to see you when this is all over.” And Fox meant it.

Parris smiled and hopped off the edge. Fox bolted along the top of the hill. If he was quick enough, he could still get the drop on the two men he had seen. Once done, he would even out the odds.

Chapter 32

On the opposite side of the canyon from where Parris and Fox were, in a more secluded area, the October Man watched the fight unfold through his binoculars, watching the enemy scatter at the first blasts of gunfire. Five, he counted, went down easily, due to the element of surprise his soldiers had dished out. Apart from the men who had accompanied him to Tokyo, he had reinforcements flown out specifically for this battle. It was the perfect plan. Fly out close to the island by helicopter and then board rubber rafts to avoid detection by those that may be working inside the bunker. The access codes hadn’t worked and now he would see to it that each and every member of that cult was eliminated until someone either gave up the codes or Pandora.

As for Tom Walsh and Pyotr, who had not yet reported to him within the last hour, he could only assume that they had been compromised and assumed to be dead.
But by whom?
It was a shame to lose Pyotr, for he was a valuable squad member. As for the American, he couldn’t care less. If he was dead now, it only saved him the trouble of executing him later.

Finally, the moment he had waited for was close, and he would soon get back what was his. Matters would be better for the Arms of Ares now that Pandora’s value had tripled, if not quadrupled, because of its recent modifications.

The October Man’s early celebration was cut short when Demyan ran up to him. “Sir, a helicopter was spotted on the shore. It’s one of theirs.”

The October Man lowered his binoculars and looked at him.
Why would they land one of their helicopters on the shore while the rest landed in the valley?
“Take a few men and see if you can find who was in it.”

Demyan was about to leave when the October Man called him back. “Wait.” Fox was the first person who came to mind.
Walsh had lost contact with him. Could he have landed here? If he contacted his superiors and led them here, God help them all.
He grabbed his binoculars and scoured the hills.
Where was he? Here, nothing, there...and there he was and with the dark-skinned woman, too, Dr. Nita Parris.
He got on his walkie-talkie and barked into it. “Attention. Fox is in the hills. Whoever kills him and the girl he’s with gets to stay alive.”

A reply was heard through the walkie-talkie a few seconds later. “I see them, sir, I’ll intercept them.” It wasn’t too long after, that he saw Fox and the girl get up and run after his man had fired shots at them. He watched them as they fell off the edge of the drop. He could no longer see them. His man went to the edge and not a second later he saw him being shot several times before he fell over the edge.

“Govno!” said the October Man as he stamped into the ground. The pen was out and he twirled it as he tensed all over. He then turned to Demyan. “The helicopter Fox and Parris rode in, how easy would you be able to fire your multi-shot grenade launcher from it?”

Demyan smiled and appeared to control his childish excitement at the suggestion. “It’s too small. It’s just regular helicopter, no side door.”

“Then call back one of
our
helicopters. That should make it easier for you.” The October Man stopped twirling his pen and clenched a fist around it. “I’ll deal with Fox myself.”

Chapter 33

The first blast caught Fox off guard. At the last second, he caught the warhead streak leaving behind a plume of smoke. It exploded in the midst of a group of ninjas, sending rocks and bodies flying. Fox estimated about a third of the ninjas had been wiped out by the blast. Other ninjas came to take the place of the fallen, while the two Ares men were taking their time to re-arm the launcher.

Fox’s window to react was wide open, but it would close very soon. He quickly studied his two choices, both of which would leave both men dead. He could shoot them from where he stood. The advantage for him was that it would be quick. The disadvantage was that he could not get a clear shot. If they had a chance to return fire, they’d also have a chance to alert others on his, and possibly Parris’s, whereabouts.

The other option would be to sneak up on them and take them out with his bare fists. He’d have to ditch his AK-74 for now—its weight would slow him down. But instead he’d gain the RPG launcher.

He climbed down to the ledge, and dropped to eight feet below. Facing the rocky surface, he edged his way along it until he was able to hear the two men speaking in Russian. Fox estimated their distance from him to be about one hundred feet.

He climbed up using the small indentations in the rock for leverage, until he was high enough to see above the edge of the platform, where he saw a side view of the two men and their launcher. Very delicately, he pulled himself up as he heard them talk about re-arming the launcher. Like a cat, he remained in a crouched position.

They still had not seen him.

As though a starter’s pistol had fired, Fox blasted from his position just as he saw them fitting a set of grenades into the launcher. He was less than a few feet away when one of them noticed him, but Fox was already in the air with one leg extended, the heel of his shoe aligned with the man’s nose. He heard a cracking sound and was able to rebound off of him. He landed and immediately turned to the man with the launcher, with a crescent kick, knocking teeth and blood from his mouth. However he had overlooked one thing. As the soldier with the launcher fell on his back he unintentionally pulled the trigger.

What Fox didn’t want to happen, happened. The grenade shot straight up. There was no time to grab the launcher, Fox just bolted. He heard a scream from the soldier seconds before the propellant in the warhead grew louder as it came back down on both him and his partner. Fox felt the instant flash of heat that might have burned him had he been closer to the explosion. But he could not escape the force of the shockwave that threw him to the ground into an uncontrollable forward roll.

Several tons of rock ripped off the side of the hill and the chain reaction caused a landslide. Amidst the explosion, Fox heard even more screaming, most of which, he expected, came from the recruits. The amount of gunfire decreased. This went on for about half a minute, at which point nothing could be seen through the large dust cloud that rose several feet above the height of the hills themselves.