Matthew Reilly - Area 7

in the nose.

The shuttle just cracked.

There was an instantaneous flash of blinding white light

and the Chinese shuttle spontaneously blew out into pieces

which, after the initial blast, just radiated outwards in a kind

of accentuated slow motion.

The Yellow Star would not be returning to Earth.

the echo men were still hammering on the cockpit

door as, under the instructions of the tied-up pilot, Schofield

enabled the X-38's automated re-entry procedures.

There was nothing the men from Echo Unit could do.

The cockpit door was three-inch-thick titanium. And

firing a gun through the five-inch-thick glass window didn't

look like a clever option.

Indeed, as the X-38 began its controlled descent out of

its orbit, hit the atmosphere and engaged its heat shields

against the 4,000°F temperatures outside, they could only

strap themselves back into their seats and hang on.

The shuttle rocketed downward under the autopilot. As it did so, Schofield watched the starfield above them slowly

fade away, replaced by a hazy purple aura, before suddenly,

brilliantly, they burst down into dazzling blue sky.

The orbiting X-38 had traveled eastward—but because

it hadn't actually been up that long, only about halfway

across Colorado. Looking down, and facing west now,

Schofield saw steel-gray mountains and lush green valleys.

Beyond them, on the curved horizon, he could see the

sandy-yellow Utah desert.

He looked at his watch.

10:36 a.m.

They hadn't been in orbit long at all. About twelve minutes,

in fact. Now, gliding downward at supersonic speed,

they'd be back in Utah in only a couple more.

Suddenly, the heads-up display came to life:

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SOURCE AIRFIELD BEACON DETECTED

AIRFIELD IDENTIFIED AS UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

SPECIAL AREA (RESTRICTED) 08

PROCEEDING TO SOURCE AIRFIELD

Area 8, Schofield thought.

No.

He didn't want to go there.

So far as he could see, the only way to end this challenge

once and for all was to get away from these bases with

the President and the Football.

But to do that, they needed the Football.

And the Football--whose interminable countdown still needed to be satisfied by 11:30--was last seen at Area 7, in

the hands of Seth Grimshaw.

Schofield turned to his captive shuttle pilot. "We need

to get to Area 7."

The X-38 descended rapidly, shooting westward, blasting

over the barren Utah desert.

It flew down toward Area 8, roaring through the air, but

as it came close, Schofield disengaged the autopilot and,

now flying the shuttle manually like a regular plane, he allowed

the shuttle to overshoot the base.

They covered the twenty miles to Area 7 in less than a

minute, and very soon, he saw the low mountain and the

cluster of hangars and buildings, and the elongated runway

in the sand. In the far distance, on the horizon, he saw the

wide expanse of Lake Powell, with its twisting network of

water-filled canyons.

He aimed for the runway, sweeping in low over the

buildings of Area 7. It ran from east to west, so he was coming

straight for it.

The X-38 boomed over the Area 7 complex, shaking its

walls, -before touching down perfectly on its black bitumen

runway.

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Matthew Reilly

But it came in fast--very fast.

Which was why Schofield didn't see the two black Penetrator

helicopters sitting silently next to Area 7's hangars.

Didn't see one of them immediately power up and rise

into the air as soon as his tires had hit the tarmac.

the X-38 rocketed down the desert runway, its tires

smoking.

Schofield tried to rein in the speeding spacecraft, releasing

a brake parachute which fluttered to life behind it. The

shuttle began to slow.

When at last it had lost all its momentum, Schofield

flicked some switches, prepared to take her back to the main

hangar.

He never even got to turn the shuttle around.

For at the very moment that he brought it to a halt, he

saw the Penetrator helicopter swing menacingly into place

in front of him, hovering above the runway like an evil bird

of prey.

THE SPACE SHUTTLE AND THE WINGED ATTACK HELICOPTER

squared off like a pair of gunslingers on a Wild West

street--the shuttle on the runway, the Penetrator floating in

the air in front of it

Inside the shuttle's cockpit, Schofield yanked off his

helmet. The President did the same.

"Shit. What do we--?" the President asked.

Bang!

The cockpit door shuddered.

The men of Echo Unit were out of their seats and were

once again pounding on it.

Then suddenly the voice of the Penetrator's pilot came

in over the radio. It was one of Caesar Russell's 7th

Squadron men.

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Matthew Reilly

"X-38, this is Air Force Penetrator. Be advised, we have

missile lock on you. Release the boy now."

Schofield spun to look at Kevin, thinking fast.

The world was closing in on them--the Penetrator outside,

the Echo men inside, missile lock ...

And then he saw the compartment sunk into the wall

beyond Kevin's seat.

He turned to the President. "Sir, could you help Kevin

get his suit off, please?"

The President did so while Schofield hit the talk button.

"Air Force Penetrator, what are your intentions?"

As he spoke, Schofield climbed over to the wall compartment

and yanked it open.

A sign on its door panel read: survival kit.

The Echo men continued to pound on the cockpit door.

"If you release the boy," the Penetrator pilot said, "we

leave you in peace."

"Yeah, right," Schofield muttered.

He was foraging frantically through the shuttle's survival

compartment. "Come on," he breathed, "there has to

be one in here. There always is ..."

Into his mike, however, he said, "And if we don't release

the boy?"

"Then we might just have to cut our losses and kill you

all."

It was then that Schofield found what he was looking for inside the compartment: a two-foot-long cylindrical metal tube that looked like a--

He grabbed it, snapped to look up--and found himself

looking out through the five-inch-thick glass window that

opened onto the rear section of the shuttle. On the other side

of the glass, aimed right at his face, was a pistol, held by one

of the Echo men!

With a flash of white light--and a silent bang--the pistol

fired.

Schofield shut his eyes, waited for the bullet to crash

through the glass and enter his head.

Area 7 421

But the glass was too thick. The bullet just scratched the

surface and pinged away.

Schofield breathed again, raced back to his seat.

"Air Force Penetrator," he said as he climbed back into

his flight seat and started doing up his seat belts. "All right.

All right Listen. I also have the President here." As he

spoke, he indicated for the President to undo his belts.

"The President ..."

"That's right. I'm going to send him out with the boy.

I'm sure you won't mind that. Now, I have your word, you

won't fire on us if we send them out?"

"That's right."

"Okay," Schofield said,to Kevin and the President.

"When I release the hatch, I want you two to get as far away

from this shuttle as you can. All right?"

"Right," Kevin said.

"Right," the President nodded. "But what about you?"

Schofield pulled the hatch release lever.

With a sharp snap-whoosh! a small section of the shuttle's ceiling--the part directly above the tied-up shuttle pilot--