The helicopter banked hard again, shuddering as it traded altitude for speed and spiraled down, dropping so fast Jacob thought he could feel his stomach touch the roof of his mouth. A machine gunner opened up near the nose, the weapon vibrating the fuselage as it fired.
Duke clawed and scrambled in James’s lap at all of the commotion and the extreme maneuvers of the aircraft. James held him down tight, pulling the dog into his chest. The Chinook banked hard again and dropped fast, leveling out just above the treetops. This time when it flared, Jacob saw green grass below and the sides of the steel factory. The helicopter swooped hard then held position just feet from the ground. Rogers jumped up first and rushed the ramp with the other soldiers rushing out behind him.
“This is our stop,” James yelled nudging Jacob with his shoulder.
Jacob reached down and grabbed both of their packs before running to the ramp. He jumped and found the drop farther than he expected. He hit the ground hard but rolled as he impacted, avoiding injury. He dropped the bags and quickly scrambled back into his own before helping James into his. The Chinook’s pilots powered down quickly as Merritt led everyone out, shouting, “Move! We need to get away from the helo so it doesn’t remain a target.”
They moved away from a grassy enclosure, shielded on one side by the factory. Following Rogers’s directions, Merritt led them around a corner and toward the nearest tank farm. The ground was slightly banked here, forming a bowl around the yard containing the chemical tanks. Merritt moved the men out of the bowl then forced them into a hasty perimeter with rolling grass to their front. Half a football field away was a tall chain link fence running parallel to a perimeter road. Beyond that was a sparse tree line. Sporadic gunfire came at them from all directions. Some men broke from their positions and ran for the cover of the steel-sided building; they were quickly cut down by the increasing fire. “Stay put and dig in!” Merritt yelled.
The chemical plant’s perimeter was completely enclosed in chain link fence. Jacob looked ahead and saw that a small pedestrian gate was hanging open. The Deltas saw it too and ran for the breach. Jacob dropped his pack then lay behind it, steadying his rifle. He fired round after round, dropping the creatures as they pressed through the narrow opening. A machine gun on Jacob’s right joined in and quickly put down the assault.
With the first wave stopped, two men were ordered ahead to the gate with a small length of rope. They reached it, removed bodies from the opening, and then tightly secured it.
Soldiers called out directions, seeing the Deltas moving from high ground and running at the plant from distant streets. Jacob heard Duke growl and turned to see James lying prone over his own weapon beside him. “This was probably a stupid idea,” James said, removing an entrenching tool from his pack. He hastily scratched at the dirt, digging a hole, pushing the fresh dirt in front of him. Jacob didn’t have a shovel, so he drew a long knife from his gear, used it to break up the soft dirt, and did the same.
A group of several men broke off with Rogers and ran toward the chemical plant’s tank farm. “Where are they going?” Jacob asked.
James looked over his shoulder at the running men then turned back. “They’re NBC guys.”
“Like the TV channel?” Jacob shook his head, not understanding.
“Chem warfare experts Nuke, Bio, Chem. They are going after the MX4.”
The two soldiers at the pedestrian gate, having secured it, turned to run back to the small perimeter. Duke barked frantically. Jacob saw another wave of Deltas emerge from the trees across the street and watched as the two men were knocked down from behind. Mere seconds later, a full wave launched itself at the fences from deep in the trees—lines of attackers, most armed and firing as they ran at the fences. Jacob looked into their crazed faces as they assaulted forward, screaming and shooting.
Incoming fire ripped by his head, smacking the dirt. He watched a puff of fabric as his pack in front of him was hit. Jacob dropped low and hugged the ground. All along their hasty line, soldiers opened fire. The machine gun opened up again, catching the charging deltas in the open. It mowed them down, sweeping left and right as more advanced. More men ran forward from the back. Jacob watched them sprint and drop to the ground near James where they set up a bipod and steadied a second machine gun.
Jacob pressed his face to the soft dirt while the gunfire made his ears ring. He could barely make out the screams of the wounded and orders from the soldiers up and down the line. He looked over at James and saw him reloading his rifle. Duke was pressed into the hole behind James’s pack, the dog’s rear legs shaking with fear. James glanced across at Jacob and slapped him hard on the back. “One hell of a party we got invited to, isn’t it?” James said. “You know this is one of those moments, Jacob. It’s time to embrace the suck.”
More screams and roars filled the air from the distant wood line. The main mass had arrived. Jacob could hear the trees and brush cracking as the mob formed together in the woods.
“Get ready!” Merritt yelled over the noise. “Hold this line; nothing gets through.”
Men dumped their packs, pouring out belts of 240 ammo which they passed down the line, stacking it in front of the machine gunners. Another soldier collected 40mm grenades and passed them to the Grenadiers. The soldiers pushed together, tightening
