Kindle Edition
Amazon
Nashville Mystery Writer Chester D. Campbell
Chester D. Campbell.
Category:
Action/Thriller
Publisher: Night Shadows Press
Pages: 511
Copyright: Aug. 31, 2013
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
The theft of Soviet nerve gas weapons as the Cold War ends and the fate of a Special Operations helicopter mission to Iran set the stage for a thrill ride across continents as international chicanery gone wild seeks to restore dictatorial rule in the former Soviet republics. Can a disgraced Air Force colonel, a Belarus investigator framed for murder, and a spymaster suddenly left in the cold stop a disaster that will paralyze Washington?
It's a thriller right out of today's headlines, though it takes place in the early nineties.
The theft of Soviet nerve gas weapons as the Cold War ends and the fate of a Special Operations helicopter mission to Iran set the stage for a thrill ride across continents as international chicanery gone wild seeks to restore dictatorial rule in the former Soviet republics. Can a disgraced Air Force colonel, a Belarus investigator framed for murder, and a spymaster suddenly left in the cold stop a disaster that will paralyze Washington?
Excerpt
The chopper's sophisticated electronics countermeasures system could detect SAMs and warn of active radars or infrared devices. The plane was equipped with chaff dispensers, infrared jammers and other high-tech protective measures.
"Guns are hot, Colonel," Nickens reported. "The Major has his troops ready."
"Roger, Barry. Heads up, everybody. Hopefully this will turn out just another milk run. Two minutes to touchdown."
Roddy pushed up on the throttles as they scoured the horizon for chemlites.
"There she is. One o'clock." Captain Schuler's excited voice broke the silence. Chemlites. A nice, neat square. Plus an IR strobe in the center."
"ECM's quiet," Roddy advised. "Keep a sharp eye out, guys." He circled the area at about two hundred and fifty feet.
"Can't make out anybody close by, Colonel," said Schuler. "Guess they're keeping back out of the way."
The FLIR showed a few vehicles at the far end, including a large one that was probably the stolen tanker truck.
"Okay. We're going in," Roddy said.
That undefined sense of apprehension returned suddenly as he pushed the nose down and the MH-53J dropped straight in toward the center of the cleared area. And as the chopper approached the ground, his worst fears became reality. The muzzle flash of rifles suddenly flickered in the darkness around the perimeter of the LZ, appearing like super-bright fireflies swarming on a summer night. Bullets immediately peppered the sides of the chopper.
"Ambush!" Captain Schuler screamed over the intercom.
"Return fire!" Roddy called, but the electrically operated miniguns had already begun to pour a torrent of ammunition into the area.
The aircraft was equipped with titanium armor plating, which kept down the automatic rifle damage. But as Roddy reached for the throttles to put on full power in preparation for a quick retreat, the fruits of Iran-Contra suddenly came to haunt him. A wire-guided TOW anti-tank missile slammed into the Pave Low amidships. Since the TOW was steered by sight, the high-tech electronic countermeasures system was powerless against it. Because the chopper was descending, the gunner's aim had been high. In fact, another few inches and it would have sailed harmlessly over the fuselage. Most of the force of the explosion was dissipated upward and outward, but part of the missile knocked out one engine and, more fatally, shredded a rotor blade.
Immediately after the impact, Roddy saw the port engine fire warning light flash on. He called, "Bold Face...engine fire!"
The emergency action signal would normally have alerted the flight engineer and copilot to give the good engine full throttle, shut off the malfunctioning engine, activate the fire extinguisher and take other steps to cope with the life-threatening situation. But before they could act, the heavy chopper dropped like a wingless bird. The imbalances caused by destruction of the rotor blade made it a lifeless albatross.
Dutch Schuler shouted "Mayday!" into his microphone, unaware that he was transmitting to a deaf bird in the blackness of space.
Roddy had been aiming for the cleared center of the LZ, but the impact of the missile, the disintegrating main rotor and the still spinning tail rotor deflected the helicopter to one side. It plunged onto an outcropping of rock, striking a wedge-shaped formation that acted as a blunt but formidable blade, shearing off the cockpit from the rest of the airframe. The bulbous nose, with the two pilots still strapped, tumbled forward on the rocky ground, coming to rest with its armor-plated bottom facing aft. That was the only thing providential about the mission's untimely end. The commander's last utterance before the crash was a fragmentary prayer for his crew and passengers.
|
