Cliff Ryder - Aim And Fire

“Hang on back there!” Nate shouted.

Tracy saw the guard post looming dead ahead in the windshield. She ducked back and wedged herself into the corner of the cargo area. Across from her, Briggs had done the same thing, folding himself into a surprisingly compact ball. Their eyes met, and he actually dropped her a wink.

“Here we go—”

The armored SWAT van hit the fortified guard post in a shriek of tortured metal and exploding concrete—the ultimate unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.

Tracy was thrown hard into the back of the driver’s chair, the breath driven out of her with the impact. Incredibly, the van was still moving forward. Peeking out, she saw a scratched and battered windshield, and the Spaceworks compound stretched out before them. Nate had plowed the guard post completely off its foundation. He lolled in the driver’s seat, stunned by the impact.

“Order Team Charlie in!” Tracy said as she got up to check Nate, grabbing the radio mike at the same time. “Insertion team, the front door is open. Repeat, the front door is open.”

“We’re right behind you.”

Briggs had recovered his earpiece from where it had been knocked out, and Tracy heard him order the back-door team to make their way inside. Tracy checked Nate’s body as gently as she could. “At least you wore your seat belt.” She unbuckled him and held him up as he leaned forward, coughing for a moment.

“Wha’s—did we do it?”

“Yes, you dumb son of a bitch, we certainly did,” she replied.

Nate came more awake at her words, then his eyes cleared, and he looked around. “We’re not done yet.” He started to get up out of the seat, but groaned and folded his arms across his ribs.

“ We aren’t, but you are, buddy. You’ve got at least two cracked ribs, maybe a broken one. Time for you to hold the fort here, and we’ll go in and wrap this up,” Tracy said.

“Aw, hell, no. I started this, and I’m sure gonna finish it.” Nate leaned back to find Briggs. “Hey, buddy, you SWAT guys must have something to rev me up a bit, don’t you?”

The officer went to a small backpack and opened a side pouch. “Lucky you snagged the medic, as well.” He shook out two small blue pills and held them out. “Take these— they’ll keep you going until this is over.”

Nate picked them up and tossed both into his mouth, then stood with an effort and grabbed his shotgun from where he’d stored it beside the seat. “Let’s go hunt us some terrorists.”

“Sir, the roof teams report they have driven off the infidels’ helicopter, but the front gate has been breached, and the enemy is inside the fence!”

The young man’s voice was tight with fear, but he remained at his post on the security console, watching the assault unfold. Sepehr could hear the faint, sharp chatter of automatic rifle fire, punctuated by the deafening booms of the Barrett sniper rifles the three terrorists had smuggled into the country along with the nuclear weapon. He scanned the monitors, looking for the infidels. “Where are the biggest concentrations of Americans?”

“Team Three reports a large group of intruders at the rear fence, and the front guard station has just been destroyed by a vehicle that rammed into it. The Americans are crazy! What should we do?”

Sepehr glanced at Joseph, who seemed to be coming unhinged at the idea that his company was being invaded.

He looked back at the young man, whose name he couldn’t remember—Mamood, or something like that. “Order all of the men to fire at will on any infidel they see. They must keep the Americans away from the rocket at all costs.”

He ran to Joseph and grabbed the other man by his shirt. The once-proud scientist was mumbling under his breath. “I can talk to them…explain that this was all a mistake…they’ll listen to me….”

“Joseph—Joseph!” The other man stared at him dully.

“What is the status of the guidance system?”

“Last I checked, they were almost done—just a couple more minutes—”

“And they have their orders to launch once the repairs are complete, yes?” Sepehr asked.

“Of course.” Joseph flinched as another explosion shook the walls around them.

Sepehr turned back to the guard. “Mamood, do you truly believe in the glory of Islam and the righteousness of Allah?”

“With my very last breath.”

“Good, I am entrusting you with this most sacred mission.” Sepehr snatched a short-barreled AKS-74U from its clips under the table and thrust it at the man. “You must protect this room with everything you possess—above all else, the enemies of Islam must not be allowed past this point. Do this, and the highest respect and honors will be yours.” He decided against adding “in Paradise.” This one might be naive enough to believe that he could come through the onslaught outside in one piece. “I must get Joseph to safety, but I will radio you when the time comes to leave, all right?”

“Yes, sir.” The young man took the weapon and checked the load, then hunkered down behind the console to await the coming invaders. Meanwhile, Sepehr took Joseph’s elbow and steered him out of the room, making sure the security door closed behind him. Once inside, he smashed the key card panel with the butt of his pistol until it was completely destroyed.

Joseph stared at him in shock. “What—what are you doing?”

“I am sorry, my friend, but precautions have to be taken to insure that we are able to complete our divine mission.”

They heard the chatter of rifle fire from outside, then another explosion that made the hallway tremble. “Your man out there will be in the hands of Allah soon enough, and the rewards of Paradise will far outweigh any pleasures he might have known in his life here. You said the tunnel is ready?”

“Of course, this way.” Joseph took the lead, and Sepehr followed him past the main workroom to a small supply closet. Producing a different key card, he swiped it through the reader, making the red light turn to green. Opening the door revealed a small, empty space with a patterned metal floor and a hatch in the middle. Joseph bent down to open it, while Sepehr made sure no one was around.

“All right, everything is ready. I’ve even set the trap on the door—once we go through, we cannot go back.”

Joseph turned back to him. “We must leave now.”

“Contact your team once more,” Sepehr urged. “To ensure that they have finished their task.”

Joseph raised his cell phone and hit the walkie-talkie feature. “Guidance control?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Give me a status report on repairs to the nozzle guidance system.”

“Sir, the fix has been made, and the entire system is functioning perfectly. The rocket will go to full launch status in the next sixty seconds.”

“You have done well. As soon as the launch status is confirmed, initiate ignition cycle, I repeat, initiate ignition cycle as soon as you have confirmed launch status. Once done, you will take up arms and fight the infidels as long as possible. The rocket must take off unmolested.”

“Yes, sir.”

Joseph flipped the phone closed. “You see, we have done it. Now, let us get out of here before it is too late.”

Sepehr motioned at the square of darkness in front of them. “After you.”

As Joseph turned to descend, Sepehr raised his pistol and fired point-blank into the back of Joseph’s head. The founder of Spaceworks, Inc., died instantly, collapsing to the ground in a limp heap.

Sepehr dragged the body out into the hallway. “You see, my friend, precautions have to be taken, and leaving you here is the best way of insuring that no one comes looking for me.” He walked back inside the room, closed the door behind him and climbed through the hatch, pulling it shut above him once he was completely inside the narrow tunnel.