Hot Zone (30 page)

The men continued on until they found the room that housed the insurgent's prisoners. A solitary guard, slumped asleep in his chair, a semiautomatic cradled in his lap, was all that stood between the soldiers and the freedom of seven prisoners. One of which was the prize, the foreign affairs minister's daughter.

Wasting no time, Lucas put a bullet between the sleeping guard's eyes. Roo opened the cell, hushing the shocked and blurry eyed prisoners. Quietly the men led the freed out of the compound and into the open air of the highlands.

It was almost too easy.
Roo thought. Then he remembered what he had allowed Lucas to do in order for it to happen.
Of course it was easy, they'd killed everyone in their sleep!

On the way back during their two day trek out of the highlands Roo came across the tortured body of the informant who had led the men to the prisoners. Roo wasn't sure if it had been the insurgents who had caught him, he assumed it probably was, the man had begun getting a reputation as a turncoat around town.

He knew it could quite have easily been himself and Lucas lying there, he also knew the informant had known the risks associated with the chance he took. He didn't give it a second thought as they continued passed the body. What never left his thoughts was the methods he used for his mission to be a success. Although Lucas and Roo returned to applause and accolades within the ranks Roo never forgave himself for the events that took place in the Timor highlands and more so, he never forgave himself for allowing Lucas to do what he ultimately did. It sat with him right through his career, on every mission he'd ever been on and any combat he'd ever participated in, including his current situation.

* * *

The dank tunnels in the French compound took Roo back to that night in the highlands, back to those feelings of regret and remorse. Walking the tunnel, nearing the door of the lab a loud screech boomed behind Roo. He hit the ground fast, spread flat against the dirt, half expecting to be scooped up by whatever had made the sound. He also expected the bombs attached to his belt to explode. After ten seconds of waiting for one of these two things to happen he regained his footing and looked behind him.

Nothing was there.

Roo made his way into the lab room and was instantly thrown back from what he saw.

"Oh no. Pete, oh no."

Jansen was propped up on one of the lab tables, in a seated position so his legs dangled over the sides. The point of a spear protruding from the front of his chest.

Jansen had been shot in the back.

Roo noticed that there was something placed in Jansen's mouth. Looking closer, Roo realized what it was.

Another explosive!

Roo carefully removed the charged from Jansen's clasped jaw and watched as the numbers continued to count down.

1:49.52.

1:49.51.

49

It shimmered in the distance, the green light from their light sticks bouncing off its shiny surface. After thirty minutes of pumping furiously to keep the cart moving the tunnel that seemed never ending came to a sudden halt. In front of them was a solid steel wall. Built within it was a large circular door missing a critical component: the handle.

"You know, most times when something like this comes up I can't wait to find out what's on the other side. After what we've seen today, we might not like what’s behind this." Ice said.

Running her hand across the cool steel, Jordan said: "Well I want to know. But how do we get it open without a handle, Ice?

"Who ever built this, it was clear they didn't want anything down here getting out. Still, there's got to be a way around it."

As if an answer from the god, Ice heard a sound come from the other side of the wall. He checked himself, nodded to the door then shook his head in disbelief. The sound stopped briefly, then it started again. Ice could barely make out a conversation, amongst the clanging of steel on the other side of the door.

"What are the chances they're friendly on the other side of this door?" Ice asked.

"Right now we're in a shoot first, ask questions later mode, Jordan. I'm not going to wait to find out."

Ice looked around the immediate area, he saw what he was looking for in the form of a rock protruding from the wall. After several attempts he wiggled the rock loose from the moist soil and stepped forward to the steel door.

"You're not?" Jordan asked.

"It's our only chance, be ready." Ice said. After a brief pause Ice smashed the rock against the door three times and in his best french which was in fact not good at all he simply said: "Help". Both of them noticed immediately that the noise and conversation on the other side of the door stopped. Whoever was there had to be surprised to be getting a knock from deeper inside the tunnel.

Again, Ice banged the rock against the steel, loud
clangs
resonating through the tunnel. If they had been followed they were certainly giving up their location now. On the fourth knock a rusted squeal came from the other side of the door. Ice and Jordan both stepped back and raised their sig-sauer's simultaneously.

"Don't shoot until I do." Ice said.

"Don't take too long then." Jordan responded.

It seemed whoever was on the other side of the door was having trouble opening it, there was a long delay followed by more rusted grinding noises and then it happened. The door began opening inwards. A burst of light flooded into the tunnel.

The adrenaline surged through Jordan's body, she had never felt as alive as she felt right now, even more so then when she had the monster birds charging at her. The fear of the unknown coupled with the power the sig sauer exuded gave her a charge she could never have imagined possible.

All Ice could see were two silhouettes framed in back light, a large cavern behind them, brightly lit with another tunnel leading away in the distance.

"Freeze." Ice boomed "Don't move or we'll shoot."

Instantly the two figures raised their arms. The two French Foreign Legion weapons specialists were more surprised to see Ice and Jordan than scared. Neither of the two men had been armed and neither of them had expected to hear people calling from the other side of the rusted door. A door that both men believed had lead nowhere.

Ice rushed into the cavern, Jordan right behind him. He shoved the men down, onto their knees.

"Do you speak english? English?" Ice asked.

The younger of the two men nodded: "Oui, I speak."

"So speak. What are you doing down here?"

The men turned their heads to the center of the room. A nine by nine foot platform was built ten inches off the ground. In the center of it a cradle holding a nuclear warhead.

"What is that?" Jordan asked Ice.

"It is an atomic bomb. We are testing, you should not be here." The young man quipped in a thick french accent.

Ice calculated the coordinates in his head. He was aware of the tests but France's final test was scheduled to take place miles from this location, on the other side of Mururoa Atoll.

"Neither should you. What bomb is this? This isn't where the final test is being held?"

The men stayed silent.

"Talk." Ice yelled, waving the sig in the air.

Jordan was distracted by the bomb, she edged her way closer to it and what she saw made he heart jump into her throat.

"Um, Ice. Get over here."

Turning his head he asked, "What is it."

"It's the time we have left, it's not good." Jordan said.

Ice shuffled across to her, never taking his eye of the men.

He leaned over and looked at the timer, the red numbers blinking down by the second.

52:11

52:10

He turned back to the men. "How do you shut it off?"

"You cannot shut it off. It is automatic once it is started."

Ice shook his head. Suddenly he realized that he didn't have the time to go back and get Roo and Jansen. Once he arrived back into the compound he'd have to find them and avoid the birds at the same time. Then make it back past here and follow the tunnel, wherever it lead.

Not enough time.

And when the bomb goes so does the structural integrity of the compound and it's surrounding tunnel systems.

Everyone in the compound would die instantly.

He shook his head: "There must be a way to shut this off."

The Frenchman spoke: "No, they make this so it cannot be shut down. If you try to disarm it, it will explode."

"Why are you here with this?"

"It is our orders. Where did you come from, American soldier?"

Ice looked into the dark tunnel, then said: "Hell. You want to go back there with us?"

While the discussion was taking place Jordan was staring at the bomb. She knew very little about them but she didn't believe that it couldn't be disarmed.

Everything can be disarmed.

"Ice, I think we should take a shot at this, if we don't Roo and Peter die."

Ice thought quietly for a moment then instructed the two Frenchmen to get to their feet. "You want to know where we came from? Go." He said, pointing toward the dark tunnel. The two men looked at each other, utter fear in their eyes.

"C'mon, let's go." Ice barked and began walking them into the tunnel.

"You cannot do this." The young man said.

"Who will ever know?" Ice asked him.

With the men on the other side of the door Ice pulled it closed and spun the wheel, locking the door in place.

Ice put his sig in his holster, Jordan did the same as they turned their attention to the bomb.

"You know that well lit tunnel probably leads to somewhere. Those guys had to come from land." Ice said.

Jordan nodded. "But Roo and Peter won't stand a chance. If this blows it will take them with it, right?"

"Yes. So why don't you go and see where that tunnel leads. I'll take care of the bomb." Ice said

"If you aren't leaving then I'm not leaving. One goes, we all go." Jordan said defiantly.

"Where did we find you?" He asked.

"The middle of the desert." She answered.

"And here you are, three hundred feet below the surface, still stubborn as all hell."

"I came here because of Art Montoya, I'm seeing this through, Ice. I'm not going to let his death be for nothing."

He had had little experience with explosives. Small ones mainly, set to cause distraction or blow a lock or a wall, nothing of this size or magnitude and he had never had to disarm one before.

He stood on one side of the canister, Jordan on the other. Together they stared at it, half expecting it to open up for them. When it didn't, Ice pulled out his leatherman and looked for the screws that held on the outer casing. The outer shell of the bomb was split into a top and bottom half and was held on by eight screws, four on each side, two top, two on the bottom. Ice went to work on the top screws and before long was removing the top half of the outer casing.