A devastating explosion filled Daniel's ears, and for a split second, he thought the Havoc crew had fired a salvo of 127mm rockets. Instinctively, they all flattened against the ground, but when the rockets didn't instantly tear through any of the structures around them, they executed Daniel's silent order. All of them burst forward from their cover, sprinting between houses in the direction of the massive detonation.
When Petrovich rounded the corner, he grinned wickedly as the burning Havoc banked sharply left and plummeted rapidly out of sight. Before he could visually reacquire the mortally damaged attack helicopter, a second, larger explosion sent another shockwave through the village, momentarily heating the cold Siberian air and sending burning metal fragments deep amidst the buildings. No one in Daniel's team said a word, as they raced to find new firing positions to engage whatever might be left of the Russian force.
Upon reaching the northernmost house several seconds later, he saw two flaming metal wrecks twisted together on a flat area of land barely fifty meters from the edge of the village. The out of control Havoc apparently veered directly into the Mi-8 transport helicopter that had landed to extract the remaining Russian ground forces, exploding both fuel tanks.
The second Mi-8 helicopter hovered where the Havoc had been moments ago, fighting the sudden air flow instability caused by the drastic temperature fluctuations radiated from the conflagration of aviation fuel to its immediate right. Leo wasted no time pushing Daniel out of the way and leaned against the house to steady the RPG launcher. He took a few seconds to gauge the distance to the wavering helicopter and fired the rocket without warning. The rocket's explosive booster charge caused a crunching overpressure among the group, bathing them in a toxic cloud of grayish dust dislodged from the ground.
Petrovich saw the rocket motor engage and propel the 93mm warhead toward the Mi-8's cockpit. The helicopter spun at the last moment possible, causing the rocket to miss the cockpit and detonate against the rear cargo hatch area. His team immediately retreated behind the two closest houses and reloaded the RPG, unsure if the Mi-8's pilot would commence a gun run against them. Though the helicopter didn't carry anything as sophisticated as the 30mm "chain gun" found on the Havoc, nobody on the team wanted to stick around to test the skills of a Special Operations helicopter pilot.
He heard the heavy whining sound of turbo-shaft engines and risked a look at the helicopter. He saw the Mi-8 headed due north at high speed, trailing thick black smoke over the road. When the helicopter passed their own smoking SUV and didn't alter course, he knew they were safe for the moment.
"It's headed north. Nice shot," he said and something caught his immediate attention.
Four Spetsnaz soldiers crouched in the open, watching the helicopter abandon them. Daniel raised his rifle and dropped one of them with a headshot. The remaining three commandos raised their hands as the four Black Flag operatives rapidly fanned out to approach them.
"I want solid intel out of these guys. Kill one if you need to motivate them to talk. I need to see if the satellite phone still works," he said.
Daniel sprinted back through the village and found the wrecked mess of concrete chunks and wooden pylons that served as Dusty's ill-conceived cover from 30mm cannon fire. The repeated bursts had leveled the house, and he struggled to tear the debris clear of a boot that he spotted in the monochromatic heap of shoddy building materials. He lifted a sizable chunk of concrete off the boot, exposing the top of the shin, which was no longer connected to a body. Sheared off below the knee, a jagged piece of bone protruded from the dust caked end of the outer limb. He didn't look forward to digging through the rest of this pile.
A single gunshot echoed through the village, and Daniel wondered exactly how long Farrington had tried to get information before blowing one of their heads off. It really didn't matter, none of those soldiers would leave here alive, and his team needed to be back on the road immediately, though he wasn't sure what they would use for transportation. He kept digging through the rubble, finding a severed hand and what looked like intestines. The phone suddenly rang, and Daniel realized it sat ten feet away near the road. Dusty's last act must have been to toss the phone out of the carnage exploding around him.
He jogged to the phone, and pressed "receive."
"Did my little gift arrive?" the familiar voice said.
"I can't imagine anyone will be happy about losing that drone," Daniel replied.
"A simple thank you would suffice."
"I'll thank you over coffee, once you get us the fuck out of here."
"The Predator control team said there were a few vehicles located at the southernmost point of the village. Most, if not all of Kaynar's inhabitants appear to be herded into an area west of the village, in a depression over a small rise. One hundred plus bodies. They had full thermal signatures, and control saw plenty of movement among the group. It looks like they're all alive," Berg said.
"I don't think the Russians had enough time to properly dispose of the villagers, and I'm pretty sure they didn't expect us to survive the IED blast. The helicopters didn't approach in any sort of attack formation. I think they cruised in low to pick up the Spetsnaz, operating under strict radio silence. It's the only explanation."
"What happened to the helicopters?"
"The Havoc crashed into one of the transport helicopters thanks to your Kamikaze drone. We hit the other with an RPG, and it hauled ass back to Russia. This is fucked, Karl. Something doesn't add up here."
"The picture is still developing, but we might have another lead and a possible explanation for the Russian response. I need to send your team north of St. Petersburg to investigate some bizarre rumors that our signals intelligence team has processed. Nearly the entire Kola Peninsula has gone dark, and we've detected a massive military deployment to the area. Nothing can get through the highway running between Murmansk and Kandalaksha. Russian military has it shut down tight. The only major city along that route is an industrial dump called Monchegorsk, and there might be a link. We have nobody on the ground in the vicinity, and your team has the special talents needed to find a way in."
"Sounds like fun. I assume Sanderson has signed off on this one too?"
"You can give him a call. We've already spoken. You need to get the hell out of there before the Russians decide to carpet bomb that town. Based on this new information and the fact that they have a small army dead within Kazakhstan borders, I wouldn't make any long term investments into the future of Kaynar."
"We'll grab a vehicle and continue to Astana. Can you run any diplomatic interference if we are picked up by Kazakh forces?"
"Negative. You need to reach the airport terminal as originally planned. A U.S. military transport will start moving you toward your next destination. I need to work on an infiltration plan and equipment drop for your team, so if you don't mind, I'm going to let you go. Bring Mr. Bremer with you on the plane. He's compromised in Kazakhstan."
"Dusty didn't make it. Neither did Andrei."
"Shit," he said and paused, "stuff their bodies in the trunk of whatever you find. I'll have someone take care of it from the airport. How bad are the bodies?"
"We'll have to bag up Dusty. He did pretty well under the circumstances," Daniel said.
Two more rifle shots filled the air, causing Daniel to look around.
"We're on the move. I'll call once we're on the road." The Black Flag operatives appeared between two of the buildings, jogging toward Daniel. Farrington shook his head as they approached.