“They’re getting into a van!” yelled the pilots.
It was a stroke of luck.
Jing Yo turned and ran back to the cabin. “Shoot at the van,” he told the gunner there. “Shoot it when it comes down the road.”
“We have only a few rounds left.”
They had gone through a dozen boxes of ammunition during the mission.
“Fire until you’re out of bullets. Then use your personal weapons.”
Jing Yo raised the rifle in his hand. He too was nearly out of ammunition — one more box of shells besides the one he had in the gun.
“Get us over the van!” he shouted as the helicopter swirled. “Get us close!”
The helicopter circled back, following the van. Jing Yo began to fire. So did the door gunner. Bullets flew back at him. The pilot backed off.
Jing Yo’s anger exploded. He leapt to the cockpit. “That van must be stopped. Get closer!”
“I’m as close as I dare.”
“You will crash into it if necessary,” said Jing Yo.
“No, I won’t, Lieutenant.”
Jing Yo put the muzzle of his rifle against the pilot’s neck. The barrel was still hot, and the pilot yelped with pain.
“Crash into the bastards. It is our duty.”
The gunfire seemed to have died down, if not stopped. They were past the Chinese, beyond the worst of it.
The van skidded around the corner. Mara backed off on the gas, pushed into the skid, then corrected, trying not to oversteer. She got onto a patch of dry, smooth road and went straight for a few yards, then came to water and began skidding again. The SEALs on the roof — there were at least three — lurched and slid with the van.
Josh had pushed into the front seat beside her, along with one of the SEALs, who was leaning halfway out the window with his gun.
“The helicopter!” yelled Josh. “It’s coming back around.”
“Shoot it down!” yelled Mara.
Josh grabbed her gun from the floor. The SEAL began firing. The helicopter arced in front of them, giving whoever was in the cabin a good angle to fire. Mara swerved, trying to stay with the road as it pushed right. The chopper passed overhead.
“Good one!” yelled Josh. “Now go! Get us out of here!”
The road took another sharp turn right. It was rising out of the flooded area. Mara stepped on the gas but quickly went into another skid. She just barely retained control.
“He’s coming back!” yelled Josh.
The helicopter swung around in front of them. Everyone in the van seemed to be firing at him, but he was coming in, still firing.
“I think he’s going to crash into us!” yelled Josh.
“Hang on!” yelled Mara as the turn came up.
She started to yank the wheel right, to take the switchback, but the wheels of the van kept going straight. She gave up trying to correct it and instead spun the wheel to make the skid worse, spinning into the bend of the road. Mara jammed the brakes, trying to stop as they slid in among the trees. The helicopter passed within a few feet, its undercarriage ripping into the treetops as it shot by.
“Go, go, go!” yelled Josh.
“No fucking kiddin’,” growled Mara, pulling out of the jungle and back onto the road.
The helicopter whirled in a backward circle. Jing Yo clawed at the side of the cabin, pulling himself toward the cockpit.
“The van!” he yelled. “The van!”
The pilots were too busy to hear him. The chopper’s engine, hit in a dozen places, had given out. They saw a flat, open space before them — the overflowing creek — and aimed for it.
“Brace for impact!” yelled the copilot.
A half second later, the helicopter crashed into the water.
32
“God, this thing is impossible to steer,” she said, taking the turn. “Did we lose anyone? Josh — where are the SEALs?”
“Don’t worry about us,” said the sailor to Josh’s right. He turned around, putting his feet on the seat and leaning across what had been the windshield before it was shot out. “Just keep going.”
“I’m not leaving any of you behind.”
“You aren’t.” Kerfer leaned over the side, his head at her window. “Just keep going.”
“Okay, okay.” She downshifted to take the next curve. “I hate manual transmissions.”
“I’m going to check on M?,” said Josh. He left the gun and climbed back.
M? was sitting between two of the SEALs, watching as they performed a silent puppet show with their fingers. The girl started laughing as the fingers crashed into each other. They’d finally won her over.
Things are going to be all right, thought Josh.
Then he realized that wasn’t quite true. They had escaped, but things weren’t all right. They were going to be very messed up for a long time.
Maybe forever, as far as M? was concerned.
He had to get back to America. Once there, he’d tell his story. A lot of people weren’t going to believe it. They’d see the video, and probably think he’d faked it.
He’d make them believe. This was a world war, bigger than anything the world had confronted in decades.
Bigger. Neither side could wipe out life on the planet then. They sure could now.
“How you doing?” asked Zeus.
“I’m doing okay, Major. Thanks for coming for us.”
“You can call me Zeus.” He stuck out his hand. “We should be back in a couple of hours. I just talked to my general. Another truck is going to meet us at Tuyen Quang. He’s driving it himself.”
“Good.”
