Echo Six: Black Ops 7 - Tibetan Fury by Eric Meyer Page B
Authors: Eric Meyer
Tags: thriller, Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure, Mystery, War & Military, Genre Fiction, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, War, Men's Adventure
Ads: Link
down the shaft, out of sight. And then there was only Grace, Jesse Whitefeather, himself, and Heinrich Buchmann, the massive German. Jesse was busy covering the last evidence of their passing, the telltale boot prints in the snow. Fortunately, the fresh snowfall was already starting to cover them.
"Heinrich, strip off your gear. Otherwise you won't make it."
They both smiled as he muttered Teutonic curses, stripping off his webbing, hand grenades, together with packs and pouches of ammunition for his weapons. Talley took hold of the Punisher, the grenade launcher he'd carried all the way, together with his HK 416 and his Sig Sauer P226 handgun. The German put his massive shoulders into the tunnel entrance. They fitted, but only just. He moved a couple of feet down the shaft, and then stuck.
Talley keyed his mic. "Heinrich is coming down. Give him a tug. Jesse, we'll push from this end."
They started to push, but nothing happened. And then willing hands pulled from below, and he slid inside the dark tunnel. Talley indicated for Jesse to go next, took a last look around and saw the enemy was getting close. He looked at Grace.
"You next."
She shook her head. "I have to replace the stone. Go, hurry."
He dived into the ramp and slid down a couple of meters until hands grabbed him and stopped him from crashing to the stone floor. Seconds later, he heard Grace coming down, and he caught her as she landed on icy floor. She stood up and nodded to him.
"Thanks. The stone slab is back in place. We should be safe."
They waited. The tiny underground chamber was smaller than he'd envisaged, and the troopers were packed shoulder to shoulder. Grace waited at the foot of the narrow, sloping tunnel, ready to climb back up and open it. They heard the soldiers up above, talking to themselves, shouting, and a couple of men banged their rifle butts on the stonework. More for show than for any suspicion there was something hidden inside. In truth, it was an amazing piece of deception. If it hadn't been for the presence of sixty or more armed Security troops above their heads, they might even have relaxed.
They didn't relax. There was no sign of the Chinese moving on.
"They seem to be having a rest," Grace murmured quietly, as she listened to the alien sound of the Mandarin Chinese, "I suspect their officer is out of sight, and they're taking advantage."
"Understood."
He didn't need to say anything more. They'd struck out on the primary objective, Prison Number 529. It was vital, imperative that they reach the secondary objective, the Buddhist nunnery, before dawn. The prospect of being caught out on the open, snow-covered plain in broad daylight was not something he even wanted to consider.
He checked his wristwatch as the minutes rolled by. It became an hour since they'd been in the dark cavern. The air was foul, and he studied the faces around him carefully, using his night vision goggles. There was no fear. They were not those kinds of men. Even though they were all aware that if the enemy found the hidden entrance, it would only need a grenade rolled down that sloping shaft to kill them all.
He wasn't fooled. Behind the seemingly relaxed expressions he could sense the tension, could smell it. Except for Grace. She'd gone into some kind of trance, no doubt the result of her Buddhist training. He almost envied her serene, calm expression, as if everything was right with the world, and a bunch of savage troops weren't patrolling on the surface, only meters away. Hunting them like dogs.
It took two hours before the last of the sounds from above ground faded, and Grace went up to open the entrance. They enemy were still visible. The nearest men were about one kilometer away, but it was the best they could do; they had to move on before daylight. First out was Guy Welland, and he'd arranged it so he would pull while the others pushed Heinrich Buchmann back out through the narrow shaft. The German made it out with only a small amount of
"Heinrich, strip off your gear. Otherwise you won't make it."
They both smiled as he muttered Teutonic curses, stripping off his webbing, hand grenades, together with packs and pouches of ammunition for his weapons. Talley took hold of the Punisher, the grenade launcher he'd carried all the way, together with his HK 416 and his Sig Sauer P226 handgun. The German put his massive shoulders into the tunnel entrance. They fitted, but only just. He moved a couple of feet down the shaft, and then stuck.
Talley keyed his mic. "Heinrich is coming down. Give him a tug. Jesse, we'll push from this end."
They started to push, but nothing happened. And then willing hands pulled from below, and he slid inside the dark tunnel. Talley indicated for Jesse to go next, took a last look around and saw the enemy was getting close. He looked at Grace.
"You next."
She shook her head. "I have to replace the stone. Go, hurry."
He dived into the ramp and slid down a couple of meters until hands grabbed him and stopped him from crashing to the stone floor. Seconds later, he heard Grace coming down, and he caught her as she landed on icy floor. She stood up and nodded to him.
"Thanks. The stone slab is back in place. We should be safe."
They waited. The tiny underground chamber was smaller than he'd envisaged, and the troopers were packed shoulder to shoulder. Grace waited at the foot of the narrow, sloping tunnel, ready to climb back up and open it. They heard the soldiers up above, talking to themselves, shouting, and a couple of men banged their rifle butts on the stonework. More for show than for any suspicion there was something hidden inside. In truth, it was an amazing piece of deception. If it hadn't been for the presence of sixty or more armed Security troops above their heads, they might even have relaxed.
They didn't relax. There was no sign of the Chinese moving on.
"They seem to be having a rest," Grace murmured quietly, as she listened to the alien sound of the Mandarin Chinese, "I suspect their officer is out of sight, and they're taking advantage."
"Understood."
He didn't need to say anything more. They'd struck out on the primary objective, Prison Number 529. It was vital, imperative that they reach the secondary objective, the Buddhist nunnery, before dawn. The prospect of being caught out on the open, snow-covered plain in broad daylight was not something he even wanted to consider.
He checked his wristwatch as the minutes rolled by. It became an hour since they'd been in the dark cavern. The air was foul, and he studied the faces around him carefully, using his night vision goggles. There was no fear. They were not those kinds of men. Even though they were all aware that if the enemy found the hidden entrance, it would only need a grenade rolled down that sloping shaft to kill them all.
He wasn't fooled. Behind the seemingly relaxed expressions he could sense the tension, could smell it. Except for Grace. She'd gone into some kind of trance, no doubt the result of her Buddhist training. He almost envied her serene, calm expression, as if everything was right with the world, and a bunch of savage troops weren't patrolling on the surface, only meters away. Hunting them like dogs.
It took two hours before the last of the sounds from above ground faded, and Grace went up to open the entrance. They enemy were still visible. The nearest men were about one kilometer away, but it was the best they could do; they had to move on before daylight. First out was Guy Welland, and he'd arranged it so he would pull while the others pushed Heinrich Buchmann back out through the narrow shaft. The German made it out with only a small amount of
Similar Books
