Клайв Касслер - Typhoon Fury

“You’re sure it’s the Picasso?”

“Yes, comrade. The intruders are armed, so I’ll need more men to help me search for them.”

“No! Bring the paintings to me at once. I’m in the warehouse.”

“Yes, comrade. I’m on my way.”

• • •

JUAN HAD BEEN listening to the conversation between Locsin and Dolap over the radio he’d taken from the dead guard. He didn’t know why the paintings were so important to Locsin, but the communist leader seemed desperate to get them.

But Juan and Linc had more pressing problems. Specifically, the forty or so men who were currently inching their way through the rows of Kuyog drones. None of them had a clear shot yet, but it wouldn’t be long before they did.

As they crouched behind the partially dismantled Kuyog they were using for cover, Juan said to Linc, “You ready?”

Linc had the crossbow on his back and now held his assault rifle. He snapped the 40mm grenade into the under-barrel launcher, took a breath, and nodded. “Let’s cause a mess.”

Juan smiled and aimed his own M4 at the bricks of Semtex against the rear wall on the other side of the warehouse. It was a common mistake in movies that rifle rounds could set off extremely stable plastic explosives, but he wasn’t going to shoot bullets at it. He had his own grenade launcher.

They needed an escape route, and all their breaching charges were back in the Semtex storehouse, which was why Juan had raided the Kuyog for its payload. He squeezed the trigger, and the grenade hit the pile of Semtex dead center. The grenade itself wasn’t powerful enough to blow a hole in the wall, but its explosion acted as a detonator for the plastique.

The resulting blast knocked the wind out of Juan’s lungs and ripped a huge hole in the building’s exterior, but the job wasn’t done yet. Linc quickly recovered and leaned over the Kuyog to aim at the Kuyog closest to the front of the warehouse.

He fired, and the grenade lofted over the heads of the men interspersed amongst the dozens of drones filling the warehouse. Then he and Juan ran for their newly created exit route.

The shell hit the Kuyog dead center and exploded, setting off the Semtex inside the drone. It blew up in a fiery eruption that began a chain reaction, with one Kuyog after the other exploding like a synchronized fireworks display.

Locsin’s men, horrified to realize what was happening, ran for their lives, but the efficient arrangement of the Kuyogs meant they had no chance. The last thing Juan saw as he plunged through the exit was the insurgents disappearing in the white-hot flames and deadly shrapnel.

Linc and Juan ran toward the empty vastness of the cavern, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the warehouse as possible.

The explosions from the warehouse were coming so fast now that they seemed to meld together until finally the whole building blew apart, tossing girders and pieces of metal high into the air before being reduced to rubble. The concussion was so powerful that it knocked them off their feet, and, as he was falling, Juan really didn’t know if this was his last moment on earth.

66

Tagaan blinked his eyes as he regained consciousness. For a few seconds, he didn’t know where he was. Then he saw that he was close to the truck with the Typhoon supply inside. He must have been thrown far from the warehouse in the explosion.

Now he remembered that he had been right by the entrance with Locsin, trying to deflect the suspicion that Cabrillo had cast upon him. Knowing that Locsin would interrogate him further when the situation was under control, Tagaan had been backing out of the building as the first Kuyog exploded. His shirt was full of tiny holes where bits of the building had pierced his skin, but none of them seemed to have done real damage.

He pushed himself up and felt a sharp cramp in his calf, the first time he’d felt any significant pain since he began taking the drug. He looked down to see what could have caused it and went cold when he saw that his left foot was gone below the ankle.

Although it throbbed, the pain was manageable, but he had to get out of the cavern. His future here was over. If Locsin didn’t kill him, the police would no doubt be raiding the place as soon as Hidalgo had passed.

He looked up to see the first hint of daybreak through the hole in the cave roof. They were still in the eye of the storm. If he could get out now, he could get to a safe hideaway and tend to his leg. With the huge supply of Typhoon in the truck, maybe his foot would even grow back. He’d heard of salamanders regrowing lost limbs, so it might be possible.

He didn’t worry about putting on a tourniquet. The blood was no longer gushing from his leg and would soon stop flowing completely.

He crawled over to the truck and pulled himself up. He opened the rear door just to make sure the Typhoon was still inside. He counted the barrels and saw that all nine were there. He quickly opened the closest one and saw the cardboard piece holding the pressed flower. He took it and closed the door, then hopped to the driver’s seat.

The keys were in the ignition. He started the truck and patted the remote detonator in his pocket.

Sure that he had everything he needed, he shifted the automatic transmission into drive and accelerated toward the entrance tunnel.

• • •

JUAN SHOOK HIS HEAD as he sat up. Linc was doing the same.

“You all right?” Juan asked him. He worked his jaw to try to get the ringing in his ears to stop.

Linc winced. “I’ll need about four hundred ice packs when we get back to the Oregon , but I’ll live.”

Then two noises added to the sounds of the burning warehouse. One was the exchange of gunfire echoing through the cavern, which made it difficult to tell where it was coming from. The other was the sound of a truck speeding away.

They turned to see the truck that had been parked near the front of the still-intact factory tearing across the compound. Tagaan was driving, and he wasn’t waiting for anyone else.

“That’s the one with the Typhoon inside,” Linc said.

Three nearby Humvees were in flames, but one looked undamaged. Juan pointed to it and said, “We can’t let him get away with the drug. Tail him, and stay in touch. We’ll intercept you after we get back to the helicopter.”

Linc nodded and sprinted to the Humvee.

Juan stood. “Eddie, what’s your status?”

“Juan, this is Beth” came the reply, amid intermittent three-shot reports of assault rifles in the background. “Eddie and Raven are busy right now shooting people.”

“How many?”

“A lot. I don’t think they’re real happy about you blowing up the place. Are you all right?”

“Tell Eddie we’re fine. Where are you?”

“I don’t know exactly. I think we’re on the other side of this complex from you.”

“I’m on my way.”

“I don’t think we’re going anywhere. Just follow the gunshots.”

Juan picked up his M4 and ran along the side of the burning warehouse as Linc got the Humvee started. He gunned it just as Tagaan disappeared into the tunnel.

• • •

IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR, Tagaan could see a Humvee giving chase. That might be one of his men, but he couldn’t take the chance.

When he got to the entrance, he didn’t even slow down. The guards didn’t move as he sped toward them and he realized it was because each had a hole in his head.

He rammed the gates and they went flying into the jungle as the hood of the truck crunched from the impact. It had been modified to travel muddy roads, with a more powerful engine and bigger tires, so Tagaan knew it could take the punishment.