Even though it was still hours before dawn, a bright glow was coming from the river below them. It was vaguely ship-sized.
“Our fire ship,” said Adam, noticing the direction of Sam’s gaze.
“What?” said Sam and Grace together.
“Fire ship,” repeated Adam. “Old tactic. Back when ships were made of wood, admirals would load one with combustibles, set fire to it and point it in the direction of an enemy fleet. We’re doing the same thing here.”
Suddenly, Joshua’s disappearance and the rapid departure of his fleet were explained. They were trying to get out of harm’s way.
“What is it?” asked Sam. “It looks huge.” Indeed it did. It filled half of the Hudson River.
“It’s an old oil tanker. We found it abandoned on the coast and relatively sea worthy. Even had a fair bit of oil left if you knew how to get at it. We siphoned off what we needed and kept the rest on board for this.”
Sam watched as the helicopter banked over the massive ship. It was only a few hundred feet away from the dock containing the invasion fleet now, heading directly for them. Even as Sam watched, the Battlecruiser and its two escorting Destroyers were frantically powering out of harm’s way. They’d left their run a little late though. Almost in slow motion, the sheer scale of the impact creating awe in anyone watching, the oil tanker ploughed into the Destroyer on the Battlecruiser’s flank. The bow of the tanker broke the Destroyer in half but diverted the impact away from the Battlecruiser which was probably the Captain’s intention. Both ships erupted in flames. Oil from the breached tanker sprayed over a wide area, encompassing the Battlecruiser and igniting flames along its hull.
Sam lost sight of the unfolding drama as the helicopter banked again, heading towards another large ship coming into view at the river mouth.
“Sorry,” said Adam. “Can’t hang around. Both our choppers and jets have limited flight time. The ash plays havoc with their air filters. Even getting them airborne for this long was a mission.” He pointed in the direction of the new arrival. “Our flag ship,” he explained. “It’s the last aircraft carrier remaining to the U. S fleet. Nimitz class. The George Washington. We got lucky with this as every other carrier got wiped out by tsunamis.”
“What’s happening with Colonel Wheat?” asked Grace.
Adam frowned. “I don’t know. We lost contact with them.”
“What!” exclaimed Sam. “Didn’t anyone warm him about the Holland Tunnel? It’s teeming with Lemure!”
“No,” said Adam. “Grace told me but the warning came too late. We’d already lost contact with him by then.”
“Turn us around,” said Sam.
This changed things. If Colonel Wheat was lost then the U. S forces wouldn’t stand a chance against the invasion fleet. Unless he took out the leadership. That meant his brother. The Antichrist. And the sooner the better. They really couldn’t delay. He could’ve kicked himself for not killing Joshua when he’d had the chance. With any luck though, the fire ship might get him yet. “I have to get to the Chrysler building.”
He explained swiftly. As he did so, he could see Adam calculating. “We might be able to make it. Just,” said Adam. He issued several instructions into his mike and the Blackhawk suddenly turned back the way it had come.
“What’s our plan then?” said Grace.
“There’s no ‘our’ plan here,” replied Sam. “I’ll go in alone. You stay here.”
Grace started to splutter, but Adam interrupted her before she could protest. “Too risky,” said Adam. “I’ll call in one of the jets to do an airstrike. Take out the whole building.”
Sam shook his head. “Can’t chance it. I don’t know if there’s a chapel in the building. If there is, he could escape. I need to make sure. I failed last time — I won’t fail again.”
“And how do you propose to get yourself out before the airstrike?” asked Grace, clearly peeved.
“I’ll jump out the window,” said Sam, trying to sound nonchalant.
Grace’s look was incredulous. “But you just told us he was on the 32nd floor. How are you going to survive that?”
“Don’t forget what I am,” said Sam. The words sounded bitter even to him. “I can easily survive a fall that would kill a human.”
Adam was looking at him with a faint smile on his face. “There’s bravery and then there’s bravery. The jets are armed with iron warheads. They’ll take out several floors at least. You’d better make sure you’re no-where near that floor when the attack comes.” He unstrapped the watch from his wrist and threw it to Sam. “Here, take this. I’ll give you exactly ten minutes from when we drop you on the building. Then I’ll call in the airstrike.”
Sam nodded his understanding, strapping the watch to his own wrist.
“I’m coming with you,” said Grace.
Sam knew she’d do this. Be difficult. It was typical Grace behavior lately. He was about to argue with her when Adam forestalled him.
“No, Grace. I need you to liaise with the Resistance. If we’ve lost Colonel Wheat, we’re going to need them. You know their numbers and capabilities and they know you. Stay with me. Besides, you won’t be able to survive the fall or get out in time.”
Grace said nothing. She darted one angry look in Sam’s direction and then looked down at her feet, conceding defeat. She knew Adam was right, and Sam knew that the knowledge annoyed her. She hated being told what to do.
“Take this,” said Adam, suddenly changing the subject. He pressed a hand sized package into Sam’s palm. “I don’t know how you’re going to make it work, though — you may have to use gloves.”
The object was wrapped in cloth. Sam unwrapped it carefully. Inside were two roughly spherical shapes, both equipped with handles. Sam knew what they were — grenades. He’d seen soldiers with them many times before but they weren’t commonly used against demons, being made of steel. Technically they were fragmentation grenades, commonly known as frags. Once the pin was pulled, the device was on a timer and would explode, killing everything within a five meter radius. Sam didn’t have to ask why Adam warned him against it. They were both made of iron.
Adam was smiling. “Had a team working on them down south for the last few months. Made especially for this attack. Not only is it made of iron but it’s got iron ball bearings inside. Guaranteed to kill absolutely every demon in a room so make sure you’re not one of them when it goes off.”
Sam nodded his thanks and tucked the package into the pocket of his hoodie. Outside the window, he could see they were above Manhattan now, heading for midtown. They were joined by two more Blackhawks, flying on either side of them in a defensive formation. Adam must have called in extra support. Sam even saw a few jets flying overhead, providing some additional cover for them.
Adam nodded towards the open door. “There’s the Empire State. Or what’s left of it at any rate.”
Sam cast around for the iconic building. Finally he located it, looking anything but iconic. It was now about half the size of what he’d seen in pictures in magazines and on TV, a blackened and broken stump of a building. Sam couldn’t help but feel disappointed again. “What happened to it?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
“Hard to be sure,” said Adam, “but if I had to guess, I’d say it was hit by a firestorm. Funny how those things can be so isolated.”
A firestorm had been Sam’s guess, too. It was a shame. The Empire State building had been around for so long and for it to now be destroyed when some other buildings remained virtually unscathed. Didn’t seem fair somehow.
The Blackhawk and their escort approached midtown. Suddenly, the door gunner with the M134 minigun opened up again. Sam craned his head out the door to see what he was firing at. Astaroth.
The great flying demons were circling around the helicopters. At least a dozen of them. The other Blackhawks were doing the same, firing almost continuously, fending off the Astaroth, trying to keep them from the doors.
There seemed to be more activity around midtown — especially fires. A few buildings smoldered, leaking lazy trails of smoke, but others were well lit. Either firestorms had done their worst or they had been deliberately lit by either side. On the ground below, Sam could see tiny figures running around. It was hard to tell who was who but he sensed both demon and human minds. He saw the telltale spark of gunfire a few times as they flew along overhead. A running battle seemed to be taking place, probably between the Resistance and the forces of the Antichrist. He doubted whether Adam’s had landed a ground based force yet and as for Colonel Wheat — well, he
