The result was instant, deafening. The first explosions were followed a split second later by the missiles detonating in their bunkers. The night lit with brilliant orange and yellow light. Chunks and pieces of concrete fountained into the sky and rained down over the site.
"Fire!"
Trails of smoke left the launchers, turning into streaks of light as the rockets ignited. Ronnie's shot struck just below the nose cone, a blossom of flame against the white paint of the rocket. The Russian grenades exploded against the two tankers at the base of the rocket and ignited a gigantic fireball of flame.
Liquid rocket fuel wasn't regular gasoline. It was far more volatile, gasoline combined with an oxidant like nitrogen tetroxide. Even Nick wasn't prepared for what followed when the trucks went up.
The explosion enveloped the tower, the launch pad and the rocket in a sheet of fire. A wave of heat and wind struck Nick in the face. Everyone near the tower was incinerated. What was left of the missile toppled away from the tower. It picked up speed, crashed to the ground and broke into burning pieces.
"Holy shit," Ronnie said.
A half-dozen Korean soldiers had survived the blast. They began firing wildly in the general direction of Nick and the others.
"Hold your fire," he said. "They don't know where we are. Don't give them a target. Move out."
Valentina repeated the order in Russian.
"Ronnie, Lamont, help Selena. Carry her if you have to."
Nick took one last look at the destruction they'd caused, then turned with the others toward the helicopters.
CHAPTER 41
The snow cut visibility to a few yards. Vasiliev lagged behind the rest of the Spetsnaz unit. Valentina was with him. Nick and the others were somewhere in back of them. Vasiliev stopped as if to adjust his gear.
Valentina stopped with him.
"What is the problem, Major?"
Vasiliev pointed his rifle at her. "You are, Colonel. You and that American bitch you call a sister."
"What did you say?"
"I've seen women like you before," Vasiliev said. "You would never have your rank if it weren't for your pet general and your cozy relationship with our president."
He smiled at Valentina's look of surprise.
"Yes, I know about that. Everyone does. Did you think you could jump the promotion list so far and so fast without people wondering why? You earned your rank on your back. You know nothing, whore. You're an insult to the uniform and to real officers like me."
Valentina wondered if he was crazy enough to shoot her, if she could get to him in time.
"You are costing us time, Major. The helicopters are waiting."
"Not for you, Colonel."
The snow fell around them. Vasiliev's unit was out of sight. He swung the butt of his rifle in a quick movement and smashed it into the side of Valentina's head. She went down like a stone. Vasiliev spit on her, turned, and ran for the helicopters.
Nick, Ronnie, Lamont and Selena moved as quickly as they could, slowed by Selena's injury. The Russians were out of sight, their tracks quickly fading in the new snow.
"What do you bet Vasiliev takes off before we get there?" Ronnie said.
"He screwed up," Lamont said. "I don't think that general will be happy with him when he gets back."
"Not our problem," Nick said.
"What's that up ahead?" Selena said. "On the ground?"
"Ah, hell," Lamont said.
They reached Valentina, lying unconscious in the snow. The side of her face was bloodied. Her jaw was at an odd angle. Blood trickled from her mouth.
Selena gasped. "Valentina."
"I'll get her," Nick said. "We'll carry her back with us."
"Careful," Selena said, "I think her jaw is broken."
"Vasiliev must've done this."
"Why?"
"We'll deal with it later. Come on."
He picked up Valentina. They set off for the choppers.
Ten minutes later, they reached the extraction point. One of the big helicopters was gone. The second waited with rotors turning. One of the pilots stood by the cargo door. He said something and Selena let off a rapid stream of Russian. They handed Valentina into the cargo bay. Lamont pulled the sliding door shut. Seconds later they rose into the air.
"What did he say?" Nick asked.
"Vasiliev told him Valentina had gone back to meet us and that her orders were for the first helicopter to take off once Vasiliev and his men arrived."
"What a chicken shit bastard," Lamont said.
"Doesn't say a lot about international cooperation, does it?" Ronnie said.
Nick said, "He probably figured we wouldn't find Valentina. He gets back before us and spins a story to cover what happened to her. Maybe blames us while he's at it."
"Stupid. He'd never get away with it."
Selena was listening to the Russian pilots on her headset. She looked up, wide-eyed, as a shrill alarm sounded in the cockpit. The helicopter banked hard to the right. Ronnie grabbed at Valentina's unconscious form to keep her from sliding across the floor.
"Missile lock-on," Selena said.
The aircraft shuddered as the antimissile weapons fired. Two missiles shot by outside, jagged streaks of light. Seconds later, explosions in the night sky showed two more, knocked out by the helicopter's defenses.
Their headsets filled with excited Russian voices.
Selena held a hand over her ear piece. "The other helicopter is under attack."
They passed over the coast and banked north. The helicopter dove down until it was sYunming the whitecaps churning the surface of the Sea of Japan. The engine over their heads screamed at full throttle. Visibility was bad with the snow blowing outside, but not so bad that Nick couldn't see a sudden, bloom of light somewhere ahead of them.
For a second the headset was silent, then Nick heard cursing in Russian. He didn't need to speak the language to know what they were saying.
"The other chopper is gone," Selena said.
She looked at the motionless form of her sister lying on the floor.
"I guess Vasiliev did her a favor. She would have been on it."
"Wasn't her time," Ronnie said.
"How's your leg?" Nick asked.
"How about the rest of that morphine?" Selena said.
CHAPTER 42
The hospital on the Russian base was small and old, but well equipped because of the fighter pilots stationed there. General Alexei Vysotsky stood by Valentina's bedside. Dull winter light seeped through a window on the other side of the room, splaying across a worn linoleum floor that had been laid down in the time of Brezhnev.
Earlier that morning a Russian surgeon had removed the Chinese bullet from Selena's thigh. An inch to the right, and the round would have cut the femoral artery and killed her. She lay sleeping. Nick sat nearby, thinking about what the doctor had told him.
At the other end of the ward, Vysotsky was talking to Valentina. The side of her face was black and purple, swollen and bandaged. Her jaw had dislocated when Vasiliev's rifle struck her. The doctors put it back in place and bandaged it to limit movement. She could barely talk.
Vysotsky looked at his protégé and shook his head.
"President Orlov wants me to tell you that you are in his prayers."
Valentina snorted and winced in pain.
"Tha's nish. Oo's e pay'ng to?"
"You really must watch what you say, Valentina. One of these days it will get you in trouble."
He held up his hand. "You don't need to talk. Major Carter told me what happened. When you are able to speak clearly again, you can tell me yourself. For now, I will assume Carter's report is accurate."
Valentina grunted in assent.
"Vasiliev's helicopter went down over water. There is no convincing evidence we were involved. Our president has also asked me to give you his congratulations. Yun's plan is stopped and his weapon destroyed. The mission is a success. You will be getting another medal on your tunic."