Third World War by Unknown

craft back and forth, keeping them heading on, while heavy-calibre bullets cut into the water around them.
    One searchlight went dead, shattered by the Gazelle's 20mm cannon. Burrows was less than a minute from the waterfront. Hostile fire came from the surviving armoured vehicle. For a few seconds it went silent, searching for a new target. Unless it was taken out within seconds, one of the boats would take casualties.
    The helicopter crew fired another anti-tank missile, but missed again. The aircraft's machine-gunner, fully exposed with the side door open, kept up sustained fire while the pilot took the Gazelle higher to get a clearer shot. He was turning back when the helicopter juddered as if caught in a mid-air tornado and exploded in a ball of fire. Its tail broke off. The main body dipped on the weight of the engine and plunged into the water.
    Burrows's boat twisted sharply to avoid the burning debris. A helmsman, two boats away, ran straight into the field of fire maintained throughout by the Bruneian gunner. The helmsman was hit. He lost control as the bow of the craft came down on to the wake of the next boat. At such high speed the craft flipped, throwing the soldiers into the water. They were picked out by the searchlight and shot.
    To the left of the customs house, the tanker fire was spreading. People ran from their homes, screaming at the horrendous sight in the water and fled away from the gunfire.
    Burrows managed to get under the trajectory of the armoured vehicle, too close and low for the machine-gunner to hit him. His helmsman slowed, staying on the water. Burrows steadied himself with an anti-tank weapon. He waited a few extra seconds for the rocking of the boat to quieten. But as he fired, a rogue swell encompassed the boat. The round went high.
    Campbell's boat reached the concrete steps of the promenade. The first man out was hit. Campbell leapt out behind him and picked up the fallen anti-tank weapon. The Gurkhas, only seconds behind in their boats, sent withering fire ashore, giving Campbell enough time to sight the target. He fired into the belly of the armoured vehicle, scoring a direct hit, engulfing the turret in flames.
    With the armoured vehicle out and the machine-gun silent, there was a momentary pause in the advance of the Bruneian troops. The Gurkhas were ashore, advancing in a thin khaki line, covered by fire from the boats still on the water.
    Somehow Burrows's booming voice managed to cut through the noise of battle, confusing the rebels even more. 'All units hold fire,' he ordered.
    The Bruneian officer, Colonel Rokiah Daud, leading the rebel counter-attack, later admitted that that one command had been the turning point. Daud was a graduate of British military training. Hearing the order from a British commander, he automatically repeated it to his men who obeyed.
    A sudden, deathly quiet descended on the waterfront, while Daud realized his mistake.
    Burrows walked up to him. 'What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?' he said. As Daud raised his gun to shoot Burrows, a roar filled the sky. Two Australian fighter jets flew over only a few hundred feet high, the chaff and deflectors throwing out decoys against the Rapier missiles still coming from the airport.
    'Stupid little shit,' sneered Burrows, and shot Daud cleanly in the knee.
    ****
    13*
    ****
    Delhi, India*
    Until now, Vasant Mehta had refrained from making the call. But earlier in the day, as he was driven past the ruin of the parliament building, his mind filling with fresh memories of the attack, he realized that if he didn't, peace would be impossible to achieve. The man in his sights was President Song Ligong of China, better known outside his country as Jamie Song. Song had called on the day of the attack, but Mehta had refused to speak to him.
    They had only met twice. Vasant Mehta had spent a day and a half in Beijing during a visit to East Asia, and more recently he had attended the closing ceremony of the Asian