Temple of Fire (10 page)

Aft Cargo Hold 6

Aboard the
Alamiranta

 

Pyro
stood up and stepped back from the Chinese torpedo as he spoke simultaneously to the Bridge and
Ops
Center
.

“It’s good news-bad news time,” he said.

“Let’s have it,” said
Caine
.

“I’m listening,” Captain
Papagantis
said.

Pyro
took a deep breath and began.

“The torpedo has three separate explosive charges in it.  The redundancy is built in to ensure that at least one of the charges will detonate on impact.  Best-case scenario for an attacker using such a weapon is that all three detonate and do that much more damage.  I’ve managed to disarm two of the charges.”

“Well done,” said
Caine
.

“Now for the bad news,”
Pyro
resumed.  “The first two charges were deactivated by applying ten-digit alphanumeric codes to the appropriate circuits.  There were millions of combinations of numbers and Chinese characters, but I hooked a computer to the torpedo.  It was able to find the correct combinations in a few minutes.  The last charge must be deactivated with a key, however.  As you can guess, the only key for this torpedo exists on board Chinese submarines and in Chinese factories.”

“Can we duplicate the key?” asked
Papagantis
.

“Maybe,” said
Pyro
.  “I could try a laser scan of the slot where the key should be inserted and then attempt to fabricate a metal facsimile once we have a template.  But I’m hesitant to aim a laser inside the guts of this thing.  The option is to let the last charge explode and allow the ship to employ damage control.”

“We may or may not be back in the typhoon again when it happens,”
Papagantis
pointed out.  “Even in calm waters, damage control is a challenge.  I’m not sure we can handle it if we reenter Beatrice’s storms.”

“
Do the laser
scan,”
Caine
ordered.  “It’s our best chance.  Titan Six is out there, and we can’t risk having a detonation compromise our communications more than they already are.”

“Understood,” said
Pyro
.  “We’ll get to work on it.”

 

Titan Six

Ruins of
Raj
Kithune

 

Bullets bounced off the heavy steel plating of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.

Hawkeye engaged the
EFV’s
stealth mode and began driving on a sand and limestone path bordering the row of pyramids.

“The bullets pose no threat,” he said, “but
— ”

The rear of the EFV was lifted ten feet in the air by the blast from a concussion grenade.  As if moving in slow motion, the vehicle hung above the sand for several seconds and then crashed to the ground.

“ —
but grenades are another matter,” Hawkeye said, finishing his sentence.

The EFV began to fade from view as it turned left beyond the observatory and headed for the
Royal
Palace
.

Checking the monitors that displayed pictures from the external camera array, Hawkeye saw a dozen Dragons assembled in the street.  They were looking in all directions and seemed to be talking in puzzled, agitated voices.  Their target had literally disappeared.

“We stuck it to ‘
em
,” said Tank, laughing.

“We’re not home free yet,” Hawkeye proclaimed in a sober tone.  “That damn grenade damaged the transmission or the treads — or both.  Traction is sporadic and uneven.”

The EFV, nothing more than a heat shimmer, lurched

ahead
.  “The steering is a bit erratic as well,” Hawkeye said.  “It’s hard keeping this beast moving in a straight line.”

Ten minutes later, the EFV, the engine growling unevenly, had maneuvered around the
Royal
Palace
and was parked between a granary and the temple of a minor god.

Hawkeye turned to Langhorne.  “I think you said something about taking us to Commander
Aiko
,” he said.

Langhorne nodded.

“Good,” said Hawkeye, “but when you show us her location, she’s not going to sit down amicably and have tea while I describe our dilemma.  She’ll think it’s a trap.”

“What are you proposing?” asked Tank.

“We’re going to kidnap her.”

 

Titan Six

Ruins of
Raz
Kithune

 

Hawkeye and Gator emerged cautiously from the EFV.  The
Ops
Center
had indicated that twenty-six Dragons were below the
Temple
of the Moon.  Will Langhorne had explained how the two soldiers could gain access to the chamber beneath the temple.

Titan Six moved down a stairway at the rear of the adjoining temple, the
Temple
of
Ashtak
.

“Langhorne’s correct,” said Touchdown.  “I’m showing a tunnel connecting the two temples.”

The tunnel was musty and dark, cobwebs spread thickly from wall to wall.  A large rat scurried across the path, illuminated by Titan Six palm beacons.  It froze, looked at the soldiers, and disappeared into a chink in the stone blocks.

Gator raised his SAW to waist level.

“Killing these people isn’t going to gain their cooperation,” Hawkeye reminded him.  “We’ll use our weapons only if forced to do so.”

As he said this, Hawkeye took a gas grenade from his utility belt and motioned for Gator to do the same.

The sound of Dragons conversing in Chinese could be heard as the team neared the end of the tunnel.

“Set your helmet controls to filter out any gas,” Hawkeye whispered.  “We go on three.”

The team leader silently counted down using his fingers. 
One, two, three.

Hawkeye pushed his entire weight against a heavy stone panel, budging it six inches.  Conversation from within the chamber ceased immediately.  Hawkeye and Gator rolled their gas grenades through the narrow opening in the stone and retreated down the tunnel.

Within, Dragons spoke loudly as a red gas cloud dispersed throughout their makeshift headquarters beneath the
Temple
of the Moon.  The dual sounds of panic and coughing traveled the length of the tunnel, where Hawkeye and Gator now held their weapons higher as a precaution.  Hawkeye knew only a smattering of Chinese, but he was fairly certain that the Dragons were tossing around more than a few expletives.

“Okay, let’s move in,” Hawkeye said.

All of the Dragons were on the floor, unconscious.

Except for one.
  The modified Lieutenant
Cho
was impervious to poisonous gas.

Cho
rose from a sitting position and walked defiantly across the underground room.

“Fire!” said Hawkeye.

Gator opened up his machine gun, filling the chamber with deafening bursts from his weapon, but
Cho
advanced, unfazed by the rapid-fire rounds.  He was surrounded by shifting, blurry squares, force fields protecting his body.

Cho’s
large hands grabbed Gator’s SAW and threw it to the floor.  He then seized Gator by the throat and lifted him from the ground.

Gator struggled to speak, but his windpipe was closed off.  Harsh gurgling sounds issued from his throat as his face turned red.

Hawkeye slammed the butt of his assault rifle against the side of
Cho’s
face, causing the
cyborg
to drop Gator and turn his head dispassionately.  Hawkeye looked with alarm at the Dragon’s colorless, soulless eyes.

Hawkeye rammed his fists against
Cho’s
jaw again and again — one-two, one-two — but his blows had no effect except to distract the enhanced warrior.

Cho
pivoted sharply towards Hawkeye.  He drove the team leader against the wall and pushed on his ribcage.

“Can’t . . . breathe,” Hawkeye gasped as
Cho
exerted a superhuman pressure on Hawkeye’s chest.  A wheezing sound escaped Hawkeye’s lungs, his arms flailing helplessly.

Gator spied a portable Chinese generator in the corner of the chamber.  He stepped back five paces and then charged the
cyborg
, left shoulder lowered.  His right hand had retrieved shiny metal loops from his belt.

Gator’s body slammed against
Cho
like a diesel locomotive, knocking the second-in-command off balance.  Gator’s right hand moved swiftly downwards in an arc, slapping an open cuff around
Cho’s
thick wrist. 
Cho
was already beginning to stand when Gator clasped the other cuff around a steel bar encasing the generator, metal clanging against metal.

Coughing, Hawkeye motioned for Gator to retrieve his weapon and follow him up a stairway illuminated by the glaring
Nevada
sunlight.

The indomitable
Cho
was back on his feet, bent at the waist and dragging the generator behind him as he gave pursuit.

“That thing has to weigh a ton!” Gator cried.  “He’s pulling it like a children’s wagon!”

“We’ll worry about him later,” Hawkeye said. 
“Move!”

Lieutenant
Cho
paused, breathed deeply, and yanked his cuffed hand away from the generator.  The handcuffs snapped in two, leaving the
cyborg
free.

Above, Hawkeye and Gator emerged into the light.

* * *

 

 “This one is a handful of pepper,” Tank said, standing over the body of Commander
Aiko
.  “You were right.  She bolted out of the temple all by her lonesome. 
Quick damn reflexes.”

Tank held up a dart gun and smiled.  “Grace’s go-to-sleep tranquilizer is fast-acting and effective.”

Cho
emerged from the temple and stood on the top step of the stone stairway.

“Fire, Tank!”

Tank raised his rifle and shot a dart into
Cho’s
thigh.

“Again!”
Hawkeye ordered.

Cho
was advancing.

Tank planted two more darts in the tall, muscular warrior.

“Get
Aiko
!”
Hawkeye said, turning to Gator.

The machine gunner lifted
Aiko’s
body and threw her over his shoulder.  “She’s all muscle,” Gator grunted.

Cho
was ten feet from Hawkeye, his face chiseled with the same relentless determination that was its only countenance.

And then he paused before continuing forward more slowly.  His head jerked to the right in two quick spasms, as if he were disoriented.  He now moved ahead robotically, step by step.

“We’re out of here,” Hawkeye said.

The Titan team, carrying
Aiko
, was twenty yards away when Hawkeye glanced behind him and saw
Cho
sprinting after them.  He’d recovered quickly.

Hawkeye tossed a grenade at the Lieutenant and ran, smoke and sand hanging in the air after the explosion.  The team didn’t wait to assess
Cho’s
condition lest they see that he was still pursuing them.  They made best possible speed back to the EFV.

 

Ops
Center

Aboard the
Alamiranta

 

DJ, who had been silently studying navigational charts for the previous hour, turned to Catherine
Caine
and spoke with deliberation.

“Ma’am,” she said, “I’ve plotted the exit strategy from Beatrice that you requested.”

Caine
held out an upturned palm, indicating that DJ had the floor.

“It’s going to be a rather tricky maneuver,” DJ began.  “Beatrice is currently stationary, although I believe she’ll start to move due west in the next two hours.  The feeder bands for hurricanes are just that, bands that have spaces between them.  Think in terms of the spiral arms of a galaxy.”

Caine
nodded that she was following while pushing a

digital
COM button at one of the stations.  “I want you to hear this, Captain,” she said. 

“I’m listening,” said
Papagantis
.

Simultaneously, Touchdown converted the holographic display to a three-dimensional rendering of the typhoon.

“There’s an especially large gap between two of the storm’s bands in the northwestern quadrant of Beatrice.  I think we should plot a gently arcing course through the gap in the feeder bands.  The seas will still be rather choppy, but we might just be able to slip through.”

“Captain, what happens if Beatrice starts to move should we attempt this maneuver?”
Caine
asked.

“We can adjust our course to compensate for any movement while slipping between the bands,” said
Papagantis
. 
“Not a lot of room for navigational error, however.
  It’s threading the proverbial needle.”

“When should we do this?”
Caine
asked.

“As soon as possible,” DJ answered.  “The cloud patterns and feeder bands within Beatrice could shift at any moment, especially if it does indeed start to move again.”

“Agreed,” echoed Captain
Papagantis
.

“Bridge, plot your course and make it happen,”
Caine
said.

“Roger, Ops,” said
Papagantis
.

“And let’s hope and pray that
Pyro
can finish disarming the torpedo,” said
Caine
.