"Hold here." Between his position and Doc Seay's, Riley knew that they had the van completely covered. There was only one place the Synbat could be.
Riley keyed the radio. "All stations this net. This is Ranger One. The helicopter is down and on fire. Both the pilot and copilot are dead. We've got one body that we can see lying near Search Base. The Synbat is hiding in the van. Over."
"This is Search Six. Wait until I arrive. I'll be there in about five minutes. Over."
Philip's humvee now rolled into the clearing. Riley directed the driver to take up position to his right.
An eerie scream wafted through the damp air, echoing out of the open door of the van. Riley had heard that howl once before. The scream was repeated. They had the Synbat trapped and there was no rush to move in. Riley checked to see where his fourth humvee was.
"Ranger Two, this is One. What is your ETA at Search Base? Over."
On board Ranger Two, MSgt. Joe Knutz was dodging low-hanging branches, trying to prevent the barrel of the .50-caliber machine gun from getting caught up. They were less than a quarter mile from the campsite. He activated the radio to answer Riley's question. "I'll be there in two mikes. Over."
"Roger. Out."
Ranger Two hit a turn on the trail. The left wheels of the humvee lost traction and the vehicle slid sideways, slamming the driver's door against a tree.
Knutz cursed down through the hole as T-bone spun the wheels in the mud. "Put the fucker in four-wheel drive!"
T-bone let up on the gas briefly and yelled back: "It is, Top! We're stuck."
Knutz took off the headset and hopped out of the hatch to push.
On the knoll, Riley called Seay on the radio. "Ranger Three, do you have any movement in that body near the van? Over." He wasn't about to order anyone to go on foot that close to the van.
"Negative. I checked it with my binos. It's Doctor Ward and he looks very dead. Over."
"Roger. Break. Search Six, this is — " Riley paused as another howl split the air. This one came from the west, not from the van. He listened for a few moments, ignoring the squawk of the radio, but the cry wasn't repeated.
"Ranger Four, I want you to move and cover the western tree line. Sounds like another one is heading this way. Over."
"Roger."
"Search Six, this is Ranger One. Over."
"This is Six. Over."
"How many people were in the Search Base van? Over."
"Two of my men and Doctor Ward. Over."
That meant two people, probably very dead people, were still inside the van. Riley wished that Lewis would get here quickly so they could deal with the animal in the van. He suspected the DIA van was having trouble maneuvering in the wet conditions. And where was Ranger Two?
Knutz was slipping in the mud, trying to push, as the humvee's engine whined, fruitlessly spinning the wheels. The team sergeant slammed his fist on the back hood of the humvee to get the driver's attention. T-bone stuck his head out the window.
"Rock it. Reverse and forward in short bursts," Knutz yelled. He put his shoulder on the back end and pushed forward as T-bone shifted gears. Knutz's left foot slid out from under him and he fell in the mud, just as T-bone reversed gear. The humvee rolled back. Knutz screamed as the bottom of the back bumper pinned his leg against the wet ground.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Knutz yelled as he levered a shovel into the mud, trying to push the rear end of the vehicle off his leg. T-bone must have heard him because he turned off the engine. In the silence T-bone could hear Knutz's labored words.
"Don't move it. I think my leg is busted."
A howl sounded almost on top of them and Knutz turned his head. A Synbat stood in the road staring at him, less than ten feet away. The two locked eyes for almost three seconds. Then the Synbat moved.
Riley heard the new howls again. The other one was damn close. Lewis's van came rolling up the hill and stopped about ten feet to the left of Riley.
The colonel got out and splashed over to Riley. "Is it still inside?"
Riley nodded.
"Fire it up."
"What about your men inside?"
"I said fire it up, mister."
Riley knew that the men inside were almost certainly dead. He pushed the send on his radio. "This is Ranger One. I'm going to fire into the van. I want everyone else to hold their fire unless the creature makes a break for it. Over."
"Three, roger."
"Four, roger."
Riley let go of the transmit switch and made sure that he had a good grip on the machine gun. He lay the muzzle directly on the opening and pushed down on the trigger. The first rounds flew right in the door of the van.
Riley kept the trigger depressed as he shifted the string of bullets slightly left and right, smashing into the sides of the van. The half-inch-diameter bullets were tearing holes in the sheet metal and rocking the van on its suspension.
The Synbat exploded out the front passenger door and sprinted for the woods. Riley let up on the trigger as he swung the muzzle to follow. The creature was screaming and moving more slowly than Riley had expected. It was about thirty feet from the tree line.
"Get it! Get it!" Lewis yelled. His men were moving out in front, fanning toward it.
Riley fired over the DIA men's heads, forcing them to duck. His first rounds were slightly low, but he walked the bullets up into the creature. The Synbat flew sideways like a rag doll as the steel-jacketed projectiles sank into its body.
Riley let up on the trigger. The DIA men sprinted toward the body.
"The north! To the north!"
Riley recognized Bob Philips's voice on the radio and turned to look in the indicated direction. The second Synbat must have circled around the camp, bypassing Philips's defensive sector.
Riley could see that this Synbat was carrying something as it moved swiftly toward the body of its comrade. Riley turned the fifty to track, but he didn't depress the trigger because the DIA men were now in the line of fire. One of the DIA men let loose with a wild burst from his MP-5. The healthy Synbat stopped, swung up an M16, and let loose a sustained burst. Two of the DIA men tumbled down as the others hit the dirt.
Riley was stunned by what he had just witnessed. The armed Synbat retreated into the wood line and disappeared.
Chapter 12
"Go after it!" Colonel Lewis ordered.
Riley looked down from his perch on top of the humvee. "No, sir." He keyed the radio. "Ranger Two, this is One. Over." He waited a few seconds. "Ranger Two, this is One. If you can hear me, break squelch twice. Over." The low hissing of the radio continued unabated. Nothing.
Riley looked at his other two vehicles. Doc Seay had driven over to the DIA men and was working on the two bodies while Caruso manned the fifty, pointing it at the woods where the armed Synbat had fled. Philips had moved his vehicle close to that tree line, also providing security. Riley felt a hollow weight in his chest as he pondered various courses of action. He quickly made his decision and hopped off the vehicle, Carter replacing him on the gun.
Colonel Lewis placed himself in front of Riley as he jumped to the ground. "I'm ordering you to pursue that Synbat, mister."
Riley looked him in the eye. "No, sir. I'm not going after that thing until I know exactly what I'm up against. You've lied to me from the beginning and have continued lying throughout. Right now, as far as I'm concerned, you don't have any credibility as an officer." Riley brushed past him and moved over to Doc Seay, Lewis trailing him.
"How are they?"
Seay stood up slowly and shook his head. "Both dead."
"Take care of the crew chief from the helicopter."
Riley turned and addressed Lewis. "That's two more. Because of these things eleven people are dead — that I know of. I don't know how many more you haven't told us about. I've also got two men missing, and I think that might be where the Synbat got the M16. In which case, two of my men are probably dead too." Riley turned to his team members.