"You're over the Gulf right now?"
"Yes."
"Langley has a restricted airfield near Lubbock. I'll send you the coordinates. Land there. I'll transmit an emergency code to you after this conversation that will get you through our border defenses and onto the airfield. I'll have an ambulance waiting there. It might be better if you kept Colonel Korov out of sight."
"Thank you, Clarence."
"You may not thank me if this doesn't work out," Hood said. He paused. "Elizabeth."
"Yes?"
"No one can protect you if this goes bad."
"If this goes bad, I won't be the only one without protection," Elizabeth said.
CHAPTER 49
They touched down at the CIA airfield an hour and a half later. A scorching Texas sun glinted off the windshield of an ambulance speeding toward them as they rolled to a stop.
Lamont's breathing was harsh and ragged. Nick held his hand.
"Shadow," Nick said. "You're back on US soil. We'll get you to a hospital."
"Yeah." Lamont coughed. There was blood on his lips. He turned his head away and closed his eyes.
A fuel truck rumbled up. A man in orange overalls got out of the truck and hooked up to the plane. Fuel began pumping into the tanks. A black SUV came toward them across the concrete and stopped. The man who got out wore a blue sport jacket and a white shirt open at the collar. He had on a pair of aviator Ray Bans. He didn't introduce himself.
"Are you Carter?" he said.
"That's right."
"I was told to give you what I've got in the truck."
He opened the doors of the SUV. Ronnie and Nick looked inside.
There was a box of faded uniforms that looked like they'd come from an Army-Navy surplus store. On the back seat were three M16s that had seen better days. A cardboard box held magazines, ammunition and two holstered Beretta M9 pistols. There were two satellite phones next to the pistols.
"You gotta be kidding," Ronnie said.
"That's it?" Nick said. "This is everything they sent?"
The man shrugged. "I'm only the delivery boy. You want this stuff or not?"
Nick picked up an M-16. The stock was battered and marked from use. He racked the bolt and examined the rifle. It had the old-style pronged flash suppressor on the end of the barrel. Left over from Vietnam, he thought. At least it's clean and oiled.
"Yeah, I want them. Grab the boxes Ronnie."
They carried the box and weapons to the plane. Nick said to Elizabeth, "Director, you and Stephanie get off here."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Elizabeth said.
"It's my decision," Nick said. "There isn't anything you and Steph can do if you go with us. If you get killed, everything goes in the crapper. I don't want you along."
"You don't mince words, do you?"
"I don't see much point to it," Nick said. "I need you to watch our back."
"What about your hand?"
"What about it? I can still handle a weapon."
Elizabeth wanted to go. The time on the island had changed something. She felt more like a part of the team, close to them, not just their boss. She wanted to stay with them, but Nick was right.
"What about communications?" she asked.
"Hood sent two phones." Nick handed her one.
"All right, Nick. Stop them." She walked away.
The attendants loaded Lamont into the ambulance. Elizabeth and Stephanie got in with him. Nick watched the ambulance drive off. It was a relief. He didn't have to think about Lamont anymore, or the two women. He felt just a twinge of guilt for feeling that way. He brushed the thought aside.
Back at the plane, Korov picked up one of the M16s. "These are old," he said.
"Yeah. Better than nothing. They only sent three," Nick said.
"I have my own."
Korov reached into an overhead compartment and took out an odd looking weapon. It was equipped with a scope and had a futuristic looking stock.
"Interesting," Ronnie said. "Can I take a look?"
"It is loaded," Korov said. "Be careful."
Ronnie found the selector switch and made sure it was on safe. He brought the weapon to his shoulder, brought it back down. It was light weight. Ronnie guessed it at around three pounds.
"Is this a spare magazine in back, like a stock?"
"Da. It holds 44 rounds. Nine millimeter. This is a PP2000. We like it, although the MP5 is perhaps better."
"Rate of fire?"
"Around 850."
Ronnie handed the weapon back. he sat down and began stripping one of the rifles.
Twenty minutes later, they were in the air.
CHAPTER 50
Flying straight into DIA didn't seem like a good idea. They landed in Colorado Springs, 70 miles South of Denver. Another anonymous agent met them and gave them the keys to a GMC Suburban. The car was several years old and spattered with mud and dirt. One of the fenders was dented.
Nick looked at the car and shook his head. "I guess Langley is getting hit with budget cuts."
"I hope this is in better shape than the guns," Ronnie said.
On the front seat was a brown envelope. It held cash and a road map, along with satellite photos of Denver International Airport. The photos were marked with the location of the buried buildings. The site was almost three miles away from the main terminal.
They settled into the car and headed for the interstate leading north to Denver.
Ronnie drove. Nick and Korov sat in back, Selena in front with Ronnie. They'd changed into the uniforms. The clean clothes felt comfortable but Nick wished he had his regular gear. Without armor he felt half naked.
"Let's look at the airport layout," he said.
Selena turned around in her seat. They studied the satellite pictures.
"Whatever's there has to be accessed from a lower level," Nick said. "There isn't going to be anything obvious, where anyone could see it."
"How about the train tunnel?" Ronnie said. "It could be like the subways in New York, where they sealed off the old stations and they're still there."
"That makes sense," Selena said. "But how are we going to find the entrance?"
"I have a better question," Korov said. "How do we get through your airport security?"
"We have to look like we belong," Nick said. "Someone with a legitimate reason to be seen away from the passenger areas. Someone with a key card. Maybe maintenance workers or baggage handlers."
Selena pointed at the map. A street called 75th Avenue split off from the main feed into the airport and passed a series of hangers and warehouses used by UPS, FedEx, and others.
"There's a cargo facility here," she said. "We could slip into one of those. There will be vehicles, clothes, IDs, everything we need."
"It will be dark soon," Ronnie said. "That will help."
"It's an idea," Selena said.
Nick shook his head. "It's an idea but it's not a plan. We're looking for something that's been well hidden. We can't go in blind and hope we stumble on it by luck."
"Why go through the airport at all?" Selena said.
"What do you mean?"
"The bunker is where those buried buildings are, right?"
"That's what we've thought all along," Nick said.
"Why don't we look for an entrance there? There has to be more than one way in. No one could bring supplies or people in and out through the train tunnels without being seen. It would defeat the whole purpose of keeping it secret."
"She's right," Ronnie said. "They have to be able to bring in equipment, whatever else they need. That means a road."
Selena shuffled through the satellite photographs and pulled out the photo with the location of the buried structures.
"There's a farmhouse and barn nearby," she said. "It's the only building in the area and its right off a paved road."