Tiger War by Don Pendleton

understand.
Ne panimaiyu.
In the meantime, what is status of cargo? Romeo one?"
    "Clear."
    "Romeo two?"
    "Clear."
    "Romeo three?"
    "We still have to drop the mortar," replied the pilot of the llyushin.
    "Got to have that," said Nark to Bolan.
    "Not if it's going to cost us a crew, we don't," Bolan told him. "The moment he tries to make an approach, they'll shoot." Bolan jabbed the talk button. "Okay, guys, we'll forego the mortar. Prepare to split."
    "Romeo one to Phoenix!" The voice was frantic again. "We're ordered to proceed to Oudon."
    "Keep saying you don't understand in Russian and standby."
    Bolan slung the radio over his shoulder and ran for the woods. He grabbed a Degtyarev machine gun, inserted a drum of ammunition, and ran out. He climbed the slope to a rocky tower and took up a position in the entrance to a cave, gun at his hip.
    The Sabres were curving toward him, coming from the left. They went out of sight, and he heard them fly past behind him. They reappeared on his right, exhaust glowing. They curved once more and straightened out over the opposite ridge.
    Bolan pulled the trigger and a line of tracers arched over the valley. The rounds came nowhere near the planes, but Bolan was not interested in hitting them; he only wanted to attract their attention. And attract it he did. The fighters zoomed and peeled. Two Immelmann turns followed, and they came shrieking down at him.
    "Split, Romeo!" Bolan shouted into the radio. "Split!"
    The nose of one of the fighters winked, and colored tracers from its cannon flew at him. Bolan stepped into the cave. It was a trick he picked up from the VC though they, he had to admit, were much more sophisticated. The VC pulled the stunt using artillery.
    The rocky tower thudded under the impact of the projectiles. The planes roared over, and a bomb exploded outside. The ground shook, the cave blurred. A section of the wall collapsed, and the cave filled with dust.
    Bolan ran out, coughing. There was a crater ten yards from the tower. As for the planes, they were banking, coming out of their dive. One left the valley, heading after a plane, the other prepared to pay Bolan another visit.
    Bolan teased it with a burst and stepped inside. Once again, the tower thudded. Another bomb exploded. As it did so, the entrance of the cave flashed white and a blast of hot air swept the inside. Close!
    Bolan ran out and tumbled headfirst into a crater just outside the entrance. As he was scrambling from it, the radio came on. Over the crash of static a voice was shouting.
    "Fighter on your tail! Fighter on your tail! Look out!"
    "Oh, shit," a voice said calmly. In the northern sky something flashed.
    "Fire! Fire! We're burning! We're hit!"
    "Pipe down," the calm voice told him. "Damage report."
    "Fire in number four engine. Fuel pressure dropping."
    "Phoenix to aircraft on fire," said Bolan into his set. "Can you make it back to land here?"
    "We'll try," the calm voice replied. "Thanks for the invitation."
    The sound of cannon in the sky sent Bolan diving into the crater. The Sabre roared over, the rocky tower flashed as if hit by lightning, the ground shook, rocks and dirt rained on Bolan.
    When he finally got up, the tower was no more. Nor was the cave. Had Bolan gone back into the cave for the third time, he would be climbing the ladder to heaven, as the Meo put it so poetically.
    A drone filled the sky, the Ilyushin was returning. From its starboard wing trailed two tongues of flame. Both engines were now on fire. On the field, Nark was supervising the clearing of the drop zone. The last crates were being dragged off by teams of ponies. Bolan scanned the sky for the fighters, but they were gone. Gone to refuel, which meant others would be coming.
    "Romeo three to Phoenix," said the voice in the sky. "We're coming in."
    The Ilyushin approached, one of its two remaining engines coughing. Then both fell silent. The plane lost height rapidly. It flew over the first bonfire, and Bolan could hear