Tiger by the Tail (41 page)

Greznya had the answer in seconds. “That is the sign for Mogak ahead. It says the town is about seven kilometers away.”

“Good. Another five, and I will stop and walk in the rest of the way.”

Eight minutes later, she reached what she estimated was the proper distance away from the city. It took another ten minutes to find a side road and drive down far enough to hide the Cascavel. She turned it off, removed the keys, grabbed one of the pistols, and headed back to the main road.

“If you are not sure how far away it is, count your steps as you head in. That way you will have an estimate of the distance, give or take one hundred paces,” Greznya said.

About to retort with a snide comment, Katya stopped herself and thought about the other girl’s words. “That is a very good idea,” she replied, starting the count at fifty to include how far she had already gone.

One thousand, eight hundred and sixteen steps later, she came upon the valley of Mogok, and the city inside it.

“This actually looks easier than I thought it would be. There is no fence or guards or anything,” she said after observing the grounds for fifteen minutes through a pair of binoculars she had found inside the car. “No one is patrolling even. It almost looks deserted except for a few lights here and there. There is a guard tower, but I’m pretty sure the men inside are asleep. Infiltration will not be a problem.”

“Great, but there is still one problem. We do not know where the Kildar or the other men are,” Greznya said.

“I do not think they will be hard to find. The Kildar is probably still awake, planning his escape. All I will have to do is look for the building that still has people moving around or talking inside, and that will be the one.”

It took her ten minutes to get to the mining camp compound, and another five to scout out the drab gray building that had people talking inside. Katya snuck around to the rear, where she found a large hole covered with a mattress.

Pistol in hand, she gently knocked on the wood. “Kildar?”

Silence fell over the interior of the building, then the mattress was whisked away to reveal Mike standing on the other side with a big smile on his face.

“What kept you?”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Not only was Mike very happy to see Katya, he was overjoyed when he found out what she had brought with her.

“You stole one of their fucking
armored cars?!
”

“It was the nearest vehicle, and no one has taught me how to hotwire yet, so, yes.”

“
That’s
my girl! What other presents did you bring?”

Katya handed her pistol to him. “Three more and a rifle, one extra magazine apiece. I left them in the car, in case I was caught coming in, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem here.”

“Smart thinking anyway.” Mike turned to the trustees to find them all gaping at what was going on. First this Kildar and his two men beat the shit out of all of them not three hours ago. Then, out of nowhere, a blond, teenage girl snuck into camp and not only handed him a loaded pistol, but brought him an entire armored vehicle.

“What are you, a magician?” one of them asked.

“Nope, I just work with really great people,” Mike replied. “As I said, I have nullified the guards’ guns, and with this vehicle, I will now eliminate the guards themselves. The plan has changed, gentlemen. Here’s how it will go down . . .”

* * *

Major Timmons came in on his final approach to the runway at Tbilisi International Airport. The Super Hercules landed gently, the cargo plane settling onto the tarmac like greeting an old friend. As they headed toward the terminal, they received instructions to head to the cargo loading and unloading section, specifically the warehouses owned by Georgian Air Gate, one of three cargo companies that operated out of the airport.

When they pulled up, Timmons saw a man in neat digicam fatigues and sunglasses, with high-and-tight black hair, standing in front of the open hangar. His MOLLE gear was simple; a basic harness with a pistol on his right hip and a radio and two extra magazines on his left. Inside the hangar were three black Ford Explorers and a cargo truck. Next to the vehicles were at least twenty very large men, also dressed the same way. Among them were two gorgeous women, both dressed casually with their hair pulled back.

“Remember, if you or any member of your team is caught or killed, the U.S.A.F. will disavow any knowledge of your actions,” Wolfe intoned. “This guy screams operator, or I’m a fiddler crab.”

“What the hell have we been dropped into?” Timmons asked. He made sure the aircraft was secure before getting out of his seat.

“I guess we’re about to find out,” Wolfe said, falling in right behind him.

Sergeant Wilcox joined them as well. “Best see what I’m gonna be loading up.”

Exiting out the forward crew hatch, Timmons walked down the stairs and over to the man in fatigues. “Major Alan Timmons. By the looks of things, you must be the man we are supposed to meet.”

“Colonel David Nielson, former U.S. Army Special Forces, and that is correct. What was your briefing on this hop?”

“Get here and talk to you. Extend any and all assistance that we can.”

“Excellent. Let’s get your bird refueled, and then get the vehicles and operators loaded. While that’s happening, you can plot our flight to Mandalay International Airport.”

“Mandalay, Myanmar?” Timmons asked.

“The same.”

“We’re gonna need to avoid Iran and refuel. Do you care if we go over or under?”

“Whichever gets us there faster.”

Timmons calculated altitude and weather conditions in his head. “Over will probably be faster, but refueling is a problem, unless you can get us a tanker over Kabul about five hours from now. If we go south, we skirt more of Iran, which adds miles and we’ll need to stop at Mumbai, which will definitely take more time to get in and out of their flight pattern.”

Colonel Neilson nodded. “The tanker is not a problem. Time is, however. When can we get wheels-up?”

Timmons turned to Wilcox, who jumped in. “Should take about twenty minutes to secure your vehicles. We can take all three Explorers, or two and the panel truck.”

“The latter configuration is fine. The truck is holding our gear right now, so it has to go regardless.”

“Let me get started then. I’ll load the men once the vehicles are secure.”

“Talk to the woman named Vanda inside. She’ll be your translator if you need to direct them.”

“I will tell them to bundle up. It can get a bit chilly at angels thirty-five.” With a nod, the tech sergeant headed into the hangar.

Timmons took over. “Our tanks are almost full, so we just need to top off. Refueling will probably take a half-hour if we’re lucky, since these guys aren’t known for their speed . . .” He trailed off as a fuel truck pulled to a stop nearby.

Neilson smiled. “It helps to know people. Let’s get that flight plan and the necessary clearances taken care of, shall we?”

* * *

The next morning dawned bright, sunny, and humid—just like every other day in Myanmar.

Just after sunrise, Mike joined the rest of the men at the morning formation. Just like Maung had said, there were at least three hundred men assembled on the hard ground in front of the row of barracks. They were a mix of Burmese, Chinese, and a fairly large group that Mike thought might be Nepalese, judging by their broad faces and the epicanthic fold of their eyes. He made a mental note to check on that later. It was easy to see the Keldara among them; each one typically stood several inches taller than the rest of their group. Oleg was there as well, leaning on a bedpost he had fashioned into an improvised crutch.

The plan had been explained in detail to everyone, and mostly involved the prisoners getting to cover before everything went to hell. Strategically placed personnel had been assigned key duties for the escape to go off successfully. Not the least of which was Katya, who was already in position and awaiting the go signal.

Warden Sein came out to inspect the men. He walked down the line, hands clasped behind his back, then came back up it, stopping at Mike.

“The two men who were with you last evening, where are they?”

Of course, with Jace gone, Mike didn’t understand a word the other man was saying, but he replied anyway. “If you’re asking about Jace and Adams, they left.”

Sein frowned at the English until one of the prisoners translated what he had said. The warden blinked several times, as if he didn’t understand the answer. “What?”

“I said, they left. They weren’t thrilled about being here, and decided to bug out. They should be back soon, however. Oh wait, here they come now!”

Mike pointed at the road behind the warden, who turned and looked just as the Cascavel roared over a small hill and headed straight for the man.

“
Ko may ko loe!
” the Burmese man swore as he dove out of the way. “Motherfucker!” He scrabbled to draw his pistol when he saw the armored car skid to a stop and the turret swivel toward the guards’ barracks.

Then the world exploded.

* * *

When she heard Mike’s shout, Katya ran to the shack containing the base’s radio communications equipment. Her shirt hung open, revealing her bare breasts, and she had tried to make herself look as attractive as possible under the circumstances. As she headed for the door, she kept repeating the two short Burmese phrases Jace had drilled into her to throw the guard on duty completely off his game.

She reached the door and threw it open, making the man spin around in his chair and reach for his pistol. Taking a deep breath, Katya said—

* * *

“—I am so lost. Do you want sex?”

Of all the things Chankrisna Salai Kyi expected to see in this prison camp, a half-naked teenage blond woman coming on to him didn’t even
make
the list.

He was totally flustered by her appearance, and even more confused by her second question. All he could do was slowly rise out of his chair as she walked toward him, staring at him with those odd blue eyes . . .

The next thing Kyi was aware of was a sharp pain in his stomach, followed by coldness radiating out from his belly. Looking down, he saw a dark stain on his shirt and realized that blood was seeping from his abdomen. Even more in shock now, he looked back up at the woman, who was thrusting a bloody knife at his throat—

* * *

In the commander’s seat of the Cascavel, Adams watched through the panoramic day sight as their gunner, a man called Thant, aimed the 90mm main gun at the guards’ quarters.

“Hope everyone outside’s eating dirt right now!” the master chief said as the high-explosive fragmentation round shot from the barrel. It covered the hundred yards between the car and the building in an eye blink, penetrating the wall and detonating less than a second after firing.

The entire structure blew apart. The explosion launched the roof straight up into the air, only to crash back down on what was left of the place a few moments later. Mixed with the fragments and splinters was a rain of body parts and blood, which came down in a fifty-foot radius.

A machine gun started up outside, and Adams heard the sharp
ping ping ping
of rounds ricocheting off the armor plate outside. He glanced at Thant, who was reloading the 90mm. “I take it he’s going to do something about that!” he called to Jace, who was driving. The cannon roar a few seconds later answered his question, and Adams put his eye to the sight again to see more body parts and chunks of wood rain down over the far side of the yard.

Thant started working the 12.7mm guns next. He mowed down the remaining guards trying to stand after being blasted off their feet by the twin concussions. The prisoners had all hit the ground the moment the vehicle had appeared. Small groups of them were belly-crawling back to their individual barracks. The Keldara, however, were heading toward the various guards. As their remaining captors struggled to their feet, they were quickly taken down again. Oleg proved particularly formidable at this, with his improvised crutch becoming a limb and skull-crushing club in his huge hands

In the forward driver’s seat, Jace was ready to take directions as to where they should be going next. Thant, however, had complete coverage of the field of fire from where they were. Less than a minute after the destruction of the guard quarters, only the prisoners, Mike, and the warden were still alive in the yard. All of the other guards had either fled or were dead.

On the radio inside the Cascavel, Adams heard: “Master Chief, this is Katya.”

He grabbed the microphone. “Go ahead, Katya.”

“Radio room is secure.”

“Roger that.” Adams turned to the other two. “Okay, I think the zone is secure, too.”

* * *

Half-deafened by the blasts from the 90mm, Sein rolled over onto his back to find a smiling Mike standing over him, pointing a pistol at his face. He was joined by the prisoner who had translated for him earlier.

The warden raised his hands in surrender. Mike said, “Told you I would find a suitable arrangement for everyone. I just didn’t include you in that group.”

Sein couldn’t understand the man’s words, but his next action was unmistakable as he pointed his pistol at the warden’s knee and pulled the trigger.

The warden’s world exploded again, this time in agony.

* * *

“Figure we’ve got maybe six to eight hours before someone in the army notices there’s no communications coming out of their little mining operation and sends someone up here to check it out. So we have to unass in a hurry.”

Mike was talking to Vanner on the guards’ radio system, with Adams, Jace, and Katya listening.

“Right. Listen, since you had never been captured before, we went into serious rescue mode. Neilson’s on his way over with an entire team in case we needed to spring you,” Vanner replied.

“Good to know I’d be missed. Where are they now?” Mike asked.

“I heard from them an hour ago. If everything went as planned, they’re just leaving Afghanistan airspace. They’re going to edge around the top of Pakistan and shoot the border between Nepal and India. The plan is to land at Mandalay International in about three hours,” Vanner said.