room’s walls. He watched the glowing screens intently as they projected a topographical grid map of the Oklahoma Swamp. A tiny flashing dot appeared near the upper left-hand corner of the main monitor, and the screen automatically enlarged, giving Landers coordinates as well as a clear, three-dimensional view of the terrain surrounding the downed Stratocruiser.
“Come in, HQ. This is Agent Mitch Perkins. Do you copy? Over.”
“We hear you loud and clear, Perkins.” Landers replied, releasing a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. “What’s your status? Over.”
“Not good, Chief. We encountered enemy surface-to-air fire and were forced to ditch fifteen miles north-northwest of our initial LZ. We’ve taken heavy casualties. Most of us are banged up pretty bad, and I just received an emergency call from Agent Rush five minutes ago requesting an immediate medevac for Agent Tagawa.”
“What happened? Was it more Swampers?”
“Negative, HQ. … It was an alligator.”
“An alligator? How the hell did that happen?”
There was a moment of silence then Perkins spoke again, slowly this time. “We … lost Miss McKelly, sir. She couldn’t fasten her seatbelt and was sucked out of the aircraft when we were hit. … But we were flying low, and we were over water at the time. So we think she may have survived the fall. Agent Tagawa was adamant about going back for her, sir. He, Patterson, and Rush headed out a few hours ago and apparently found an alligator instead. The last thing he said before he lost consciousness was for me to contact you and request that you locate and extract Miss McKelly if at all possible, sir.”
“That idiot. ” Landers muttered under his breath, then he said, “All right, Perkins. You men just sit tight. I’ve got three choppers on the tarmac ready and waiting. We’ll be in the air ASAP.”
“Affirmative, Chief. Perkins out.”
The Chief sighed and turned back to his aide, “Rosa, upload the coordinates of Tagawa’s Stratocruiser to the other choppers and tell them to take off. Once you’re done with that, start scanning for the homing chips. Let’s see if we can locate Miss McKelly’s body.”
“Yes, sir. Right away.”
Landers sank into a high-backed chair and massaged his temples, mentally composing his condolence letter to Luna’s next of kin. He knew that even if by some miracle Miss McKelly had survived the fall, the chances of her surviving the night in a swamp crawling with hostile insurgents and predators were almost nonexistent.
“Sir …” Rosa said slowly, “I found her.”
What a waste, Landers thought solemnly, staring at the floor in front of him. He sighed and looked up. “Upload her location to the choppers, and have a team retrieve the body.”
“Um, sir … the tracer chip is broadcasting strong, stable vital signs. … She’s alive. Alive and … and moving, sir.”
“What?” He said, rising from his chair. “How is that even possible?” Landers muttered, watching the flashing light that marked Luna’s location. “If she’s alive, she’d be too badly hurt to even walk. How is she moving?”
“I don’t know, sir,” Rosa replied, raising an eyebrow, “but she’s traveling at nearly thirty miles an hour. … ”
Landers’ brow creased with deep furrows. “Are the choppers in the air?” He asked.
“All but the last one, sir.”
“Contact that pilot, tell him to hold his position. I’m going out there myself.”
Landers didn’t wait for her to complete the call. He had to get ready immediately. There was something horribly out of place about the events unfolding in the swamp. He just couldn’t put his finger on it.
Fifteen minutes later he was aboard the Stratocruiser, watching the swamplands racing beneath him as the V-244 soared out into the stormy night sky beyond New Denver’s energy shields. Somewhere in the swamp, Miss McKelly and his agents were awaiting his aid, hoping for rescue.
Chapter 14
Luna
“Come in, HQ. This is Agent Mitch Perkins. Do you copy? Over.”
“We hear you loud and clear, Perkins.” Landers replied, releasing a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. “What’s your status? Over.”
“Not good, Chief. We encountered enemy surface-to-air fire and were forced to ditch fifteen miles north-northwest of our initial LZ. We’ve taken heavy casualties. Most of us are banged up pretty bad, and I just received an emergency call from Agent Rush five minutes ago requesting an immediate medevac for Agent Tagawa.”
“What happened? Was it more Swampers?”
“Negative, HQ. … It was an alligator.”
“An alligator? How the hell did that happen?”
There was a moment of silence then Perkins spoke again, slowly this time. “We … lost Miss McKelly, sir. She couldn’t fasten her seatbelt and was sucked out of the aircraft when we were hit. … But we were flying low, and we were over water at the time. So we think she may have survived the fall. Agent Tagawa was adamant about going back for her, sir. He, Patterson, and Rush headed out a few hours ago and apparently found an alligator instead. The last thing he said before he lost consciousness was for me to contact you and request that you locate and extract Miss McKelly if at all possible, sir.”
“That idiot. ” Landers muttered under his breath, then he said, “All right, Perkins. You men just sit tight. I’ve got three choppers on the tarmac ready and waiting. We’ll be in the air ASAP.”
“Affirmative, Chief. Perkins out.”
The Chief sighed and turned back to his aide, “Rosa, upload the coordinates of Tagawa’s Stratocruiser to the other choppers and tell them to take off. Once you’re done with that, start scanning for the homing chips. Let’s see if we can locate Miss McKelly’s body.”
“Yes, sir. Right away.”
Landers sank into a high-backed chair and massaged his temples, mentally composing his condolence letter to Luna’s next of kin. He knew that even if by some miracle Miss McKelly had survived the fall, the chances of her surviving the night in a swamp crawling with hostile insurgents and predators were almost nonexistent.
“Sir …” Rosa said slowly, “I found her.”
What a waste, Landers thought solemnly, staring at the floor in front of him. He sighed and looked up. “Upload her location to the choppers, and have a team retrieve the body.”
“Um, sir … the tracer chip is broadcasting strong, stable vital signs. … She’s alive. Alive and … and moving, sir.”
“What?” He said, rising from his chair. “How is that even possible?” Landers muttered, watching the flashing light that marked Luna’s location. “If she’s alive, she’d be too badly hurt to even walk. How is she moving?”
“I don’t know, sir,” Rosa replied, raising an eyebrow, “but she’s traveling at nearly thirty miles an hour. … ”
Landers’ brow creased with deep furrows. “Are the choppers in the air?” He asked.
“All but the last one, sir.”
“Contact that pilot, tell him to hold his position. I’m going out there myself.”
Landers didn’t wait for her to complete the call. He had to get ready immediately. There was something horribly out of place about the events unfolding in the swamp. He just couldn’t put his finger on it.
Fifteen minutes later he was aboard the Stratocruiser, watching the swamplands racing beneath him as the V-244 soared out into the stormy night sky beyond New Denver’s energy shields. Somewhere in the swamp, Miss McKelly and his agents were awaiting his aid, hoping for rescue.
Chapter 14
Luna
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