Net Force - Tom Clancy [130]
Well, shit, Fernandez said.
Howard yelled at the pilot. Will my headset reach C2?
Yes, sir, it should.
Howard trigged his com. To the commander of the other copter, Howard said, C2, this is Alpha Wolf, do you copy?
Alpha Wolf, we copy your trans.
C2, I want you to stand away, repeat, stand away. Circle back and well call if we need you. No point in giving them two targets.
Yes, sir.
To his pilot, Howard said, Put it down, Loot. Between our truck and the incoming.
Yes, sir.
Howards stomach lurched as the bird dropped toward the road. He felt his skin tighten. Nobody fires unless fired on! Deploy in a staggered grid and stand ready.
Howard looked at the uprushing road. No cover, but he wouldnt start blasting in the middle of an oil-tank field if it was his property. He was banking on the Chechen force commanders surprise and sense of responsibility. If it was Howard running some out-of-the-way post, and he got a call to investigate a shooting in the middle of the night, and an unmarked copter put down and disgorged armed and unidentified troops, he would hesitate before opening fire-as long as they didnt shoot first. There would be some important questions hed want answers to: Who were they? What were they doing there? Could they be his own, doing some covert deal? Before you started blasting, you needed some information. It was one thing to shoot at some criminals in a truck you thought might have a hostage, but if you cut your own troops down, that would be bad for your career. If you riddled a bunch of oil tanks with AP rounds and created knee-deep pools of the stuff, that would also be bad. In the Chechens place, Howard would be making some fast calls, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
The Huey touched down. Lock and load! Howard yelled.
He checked his own weapon to make sure it was ready, then went out to collect his squad and their catch.
40
Sunday, October 10th, 12:18 a.m. Grozny
The three Chechen vehicles skidded to a halt as Howard and his troops piled out of the Huey and spread out, weapons held ready but not locked on targets. The Chechens had the advantage as they bailed from their rides-they could use their vehicles for cover. There were fifteen, maybe eighteen, Chechens in military gear, and they deployed, pointing their weapons from behind the Jeep-clone, the van and the police car.
Howards men were in the open, and the pucker-factor here was extremely high. A car body would stop a lot of small-arms fire; thin air would not.
Marcus! Howard said, quietly enough so he hoped his voice wouldnt carry to the Chechens. Get the package into the bird and then get out here.
Behind him, the squad hustled Plekhanov toward the Huey. Marcus was the language expert, and as soon as he had the Russian onboard, he hopped back out and came to stand next to Howard.
Sixty meters away, somebody in the Chechen force began yelling in Russian. Howard had a few words and phrases, enough to recognize a Who the hell are you? query when he heard it.
What is the name of their secret police force? Howard asked Marcus, sotto voce.
ZhalitKulk, sir.
Tell them thats who we are. Tell them were on a secret mission. Tell them to get the hell away from here or well have their balls for breakfast. Howard didnt think theyd buy it, but theyd have to think about it. What if it was the truth? Could they take the chance?
Sir. Marcus turned and loudly rattled off a fast string of Russian.
Howard kept his voice low, but loud enough for his troops to hear over the Hueys twin engines. Fall back into the transport by twos. Last out, first in.
As the first pair of his troops climbed into the Huey, the Chechen commander yelled something, and his men took more precise aim with their