unhook himself from the sniper restraint was thrown from side to side as he yelled to the pilot for their status. When he did not answer Storm already knew what had happened. On his next time across the cabin he caught a glimpse into the cockpit and saw the pilot slumped in his seat, the windshield shattered and the world outside spinning out of the control.
The Black Hawk smashed hard into the water, bobbing for a moment before turning nose down and began sinking like a rock.
* * *
Beau had fired a rocket propelled grenade or R.P.G as the Legion called them. It was a direct hit to the overhead rotors on the Black Hawk and sent it spinning out of control. He sat, watching the disfigured craft sink to its watery grave, waiting and half expecting someone to appear on the surface.
No one did.
Then Beau felt something. A dull pain in his lower left side. He reached down and felt it. A small entry wound from the gunfire he took. Then he felt the exit wound!
A gaping hole in his front side the size of a fist. He had been so charged up during the battle he hadn't even noticed he'd been shot. Looking at the wound now, Beau realized he was in serious trouble. He was losing blood and losing it fast. In fact the small deck of the zodiac had been coated by the red ooze. Beau decided he needed to finish this. He was concerned about Marcus and what had happened to him.
Believing the threat from the Americans was now over he turned the zodiac around and headed in the direction he last saw Marcus traveling.
Dazed and confused by the impact, Storm hung limp from the sniper harness as the Black Hawk began sinking to the ocean floor. A brief gush of cold water whooshed through the cabin and snapped Storm back into reality. Struggling for a moment he finally released himself from the harness and swum across the cabin to where he thought the dive equipment was.
Sinking with furious speed, Storm began to feel the pressure build up in his lungs and sinus cavity.
Frantically groping around the cabin for dive equipment, he came across his A-12 and re-breather but no mask.
Storm grabbed his re-breather, placed the regulator into his mouth taking in deep breaths and kicked the A-12 into gear taking him out of the wreckage and into the big blue beyond.
Free and clear, Storm began rising to the surface. With some awkwardness he managed to get the re-breather unit on his back and continued to breathe through the regulator all the while holding onto the A-12 tightly with one hand. Not being able to read his depth gauge without a mask meant not knowing how deep he had actually sunk. Without a moments hesitation he headed for the surface. The risk of the Bends, while clearly on his mind, did not out weigh the threat of the Manta Ray that lurked in the shadows.
18
Skip's fighting instincts told him to dive the second he felt off balance on the boat; therefore he didn't fall uncontrollably into the water but instead dove out six feet away from the boat and clear of Marcus, who was still underneath the zodiac.
Immediately, Skip surfaced and turned around to find Marcus swimming towards him underwater.
He had a knife!
Skip timed it right, inches from the knife thrusting at him, he reached down and grabbed Marcus's wrist, squeezing on the pressure point with surgical precision. With his other hand he grabbed the knife and wrenched it from Marcus and tried to plunge it into him.
But Marcus wasn't defeated yet.
Exploding up and out of the water he grabbed the knife back and at the same time punched Skip square in the nose. Blood splattered across Skip's face, his nose leaned to the left, his eyes filled with tears as he felt a knee go straight into his groin.
The two matched strengths and even with the pain he felt, Skip's grip on the knife did not weaken as he struggled to regain control. With his other hand he grabbed Marcus by the throat, dunked him under the water and crushed his larynx. In return Marcus clutched at Skip's shirt and
The Black Hawk smashed hard into the water, bobbing for a moment before turning nose down and began sinking like a rock.
* * *
Beau had fired a rocket propelled grenade or R.P.G as the Legion called them. It was a direct hit to the overhead rotors on the Black Hawk and sent it spinning out of control. He sat, watching the disfigured craft sink to its watery grave, waiting and half expecting someone to appear on the surface.
No one did.
Then Beau felt something. A dull pain in his lower left side. He reached down and felt it. A small entry wound from the gunfire he took. Then he felt the exit wound!
A gaping hole in his front side the size of a fist. He had been so charged up during the battle he hadn't even noticed he'd been shot. Looking at the wound now, Beau realized he was in serious trouble. He was losing blood and losing it fast. In fact the small deck of the zodiac had been coated by the red ooze. Beau decided he needed to finish this. He was concerned about Marcus and what had happened to him.
Believing the threat from the Americans was now over he turned the zodiac around and headed in the direction he last saw Marcus traveling.
Dazed and confused by the impact, Storm hung limp from the sniper harness as the Black Hawk began sinking to the ocean floor. A brief gush of cold water whooshed through the cabin and snapped Storm back into reality. Struggling for a moment he finally released himself from the harness and swum across the cabin to where he thought the dive equipment was.
Sinking with furious speed, Storm began to feel the pressure build up in his lungs and sinus cavity.
Frantically groping around the cabin for dive equipment, he came across his A-12 and re-breather but no mask.
Storm grabbed his re-breather, placed the regulator into his mouth taking in deep breaths and kicked the A-12 into gear taking him out of the wreckage and into the big blue beyond.
Free and clear, Storm began rising to the surface. With some awkwardness he managed to get the re-breather unit on his back and continued to breathe through the regulator all the while holding onto the A-12 tightly with one hand. Not being able to read his depth gauge without a mask meant not knowing how deep he had actually sunk. Without a moments hesitation he headed for the surface. The risk of the Bends, while clearly on his mind, did not out weigh the threat of the Manta Ray that lurked in the shadows.
18
Skip's fighting instincts told him to dive the second he felt off balance on the boat; therefore he didn't fall uncontrollably into the water but instead dove out six feet away from the boat and clear of Marcus, who was still underneath the zodiac.
Immediately, Skip surfaced and turned around to find Marcus swimming towards him underwater.
He had a knife!
Skip timed it right, inches from the knife thrusting at him, he reached down and grabbed Marcus's wrist, squeezing on the pressure point with surgical precision. With his other hand he grabbed the knife and wrenched it from Marcus and tried to plunge it into him.
But Marcus wasn't defeated yet.
Exploding up and out of the water he grabbed the knife back and at the same time punched Skip square in the nose. Blood splattered across Skip's face, his nose leaned to the left, his eyes filled with tears as he felt a knee go straight into his groin.
The two matched strengths and even with the pain he felt, Skip's grip on the knife did not weaken as he struggled to regain control. With his other hand he grabbed Marcus by the throat, dunked him under the water and crushed his larynx. In return Marcus clutched at Skip's shirt and
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