“Chopper,” Mendelson explained, pointing up and to the left.
Kalinin squinted as he peered into the rain, and a dark object passed slowly by beneath the gray clouds.
After the helicopter melted into the haze, Stone conferred with Harrison, then turned to Kalinin. “Get comfortable. Visibility is improving and they have air assets. We can’t risk the transit to Michigan aboard the RHIBs in daylight. We’ll wait until nightfall.”
The day passed slowly, then dusk finally arrived. Kalinin rested beside a tree, with Mendelson and Stone not far away. Kalinin figured they had another hour until it was dark enough to begin moving again when Stone spoke into his headset, concern in his voice. Kalinin listened to the one-sided conversation.
Russian soldiers were advancing toward them, arranged in a line between the SEALs and the shore. The SEALs would have to create a gap in the line like they’d done the previous night. Darkness hadn’t yet fallen, so they couldn’t slip through unnoticed this time. Once their presence was revealed, it’d be a race to the shore.
Stone approached Kalinin. “How’s your foot? How fast can you travel?”
Kalinin massaged his ankle. The tenderness was fading, but it was still stiff and swollen. He could walk unassisted if he had to, but running through the forest was out of the question.
Stone informed Harrison, and a moment later, Mendelson removed his backpack and crouched beside Kalinin. “Hop on.”
Kalinin climbed onto Mendelson’s back as Senior Chief Stone slung Mendelson’s backpack over his shoulder. Stone informed Harrison they were ready. The three men remained stationary, and Kalinin quietly asked Stone what they were waiting for. Stone informed him they were waiting until they were discovered, letting the line of soldiers approach as close as possible before the SEALs burst through toward shore.
“How much farther?” Kalinin asked.
“About a half-mile,” Stone answered, then added, “One kilometer for you metric types.”
The conversation ceased, and Kalinin waited tensely until Mendelson whispered, “Get ready.”
Kalinin tightened his grip around the SEAL’s neck, and a few seconds later, Mendelson and Stone bolted forward. As they surged through the forest, Kalinin took in the scene. The six SEALs ahead were arranged in an arrow formation piercing the Russian line, with Mendelson and Stone in the middle. There was a gap ahead and soldiers were falling to the ground on both sides as the SEALs fired.
As the SEALs passed through the Russian line, the remaining soldiers on either side began pursuit. The Russians fired as they followed, their bullets slamming into tree trunks and branches, sending splinters into the air. Two SEALs on either side of the formation slowed occasionally to take out several Russians, keeping them at bay. The strategy seemed to be working; the Russians failed to gain ground. Kalinin figured they had covered half the distance to the shore, leaving only a half-kilometer to go.
A heavy beat of helicopter rotors advanced toward them, then the right side of the SEAL formation was engulfed in a half-dozen explosions. The ground shook and the concussion blast knocked Stone and Mendelson from their feet, but not before Kalinin spotted tree limbs and SEALs flying through the air.
Kalinin remained attached to Mendelson. The large SEAL regained his feet, as did Stone, and the two men sprinted through the forest, changing course forty-five degrees to the left. Stone spoke into his headset, trying to ascertain the status of the other SEALs, but couldn’t establish communication with Rodrigues or Stigers. Listening in on the conversation, Kalinin gleaned that Harrison had ordered them forward. With several dozen Russians in pursuit and air assets above, they couldn’t afford to stop and search for the missing SEALs.
The forest erupted to the right; another half-dozen explosions. If they hadn’t altered course, they would’ve been killed. Even though the missiles missed, Mendelson and Stone were knocked to the ground by the blast. They scrambled to their feet, with Kalinin still clinging to Mendelson, and altered course again, aiming straight toward shore. They were almost there. Unfortunately, Maydwell could no longer keep up.
He’d taken a bullet to the thigh the previous day, and had done amazingly well thus far. Stone listened on his headset for a while, then joined the discussion, the conversation becoming heated. Maydwell was disobeying a direct order. Harrison had ordered him to continue on as best he could, but Maydwell had decided to make a stand and take out as many Russians as possible, buying valuable time. They’d be vulnerable on the beach as they hauled the RHIBs into the water.
The discussion ended with Stone cursing into his headset. A few seconds later, Kalinin heard the distinctive thump of an M79 grenade launcher as Maydwell fired several rounds. The grenades exploded in the middle of the Russian formation, driving the soldiers to the ground. Maydwell kept firing until he ran out of grenades, then shifted to his M4 carbine. Kalinin listened to the firefight behind him until it suddenly went quiet.
Mendelson and Stone halted abruptly. They were standing beside Harrison and the other two SEALs, standing on a bluff overlooking the beach. Kalinin estimated the height to be sixty meters, with the bluff sloping down at a seventy-degree angle. It’d be a difficult trip down, but they could make it. Unfortunately, while Maydwell had bought them time, it wasn’t enough. The Russians would reach the bluff before the SEALs completed their descent. They’d be out in the open, easy targets. They wouldn’t make it.
Harrison came to the same conclusion. “Rosenberry, Brown. Stay behind and provide cover.”
The two SEALs acknowledged and took up defensive positions behind several boulders. Facing the pursuing Russians, they pressed their M4 carbines against their shoulders and eyes to the sights. Mendelson gently lowered Kalinin to the ground behind him.
“You’re going to have to do the best you can,” Harrison said to Kalinin, “but you’ve got to descend quickly.”
Stepping over the bluff edge, Harrison slid down the steep incline. Mendelson went next, followed by Kalinin and Stone, with the four men offset a few feet to each side. Kalinin kept his right foot elevated as he slid down the slope, trying to avoid hitting anything on the way down. But with only one foot and a hand on the ground to keep him stable as he descended, he lost his balance and tumbled down the bluff face. He did his best to protect his head and midsection, clamping his arms beside his head and pulling his knees up, spiraling head over heels until he rolled to a stop on the pebble-sand beach.
Aside from a few tender spots, he’d survived the descent without further injury. The three SEALs joined him and Kalinin climbed onto Mendelson’s back again. They hurried down the beach toward a patch of foliage several hundred meters away.
From high above, Kalinin heard rifle fire. The Russian soldiers had reached the bluff and been engaged by the two SEALs. Rosenberry and Brown pinned down a good number of Russians, but a few worked their way around them and reached the bluff edge on both sides. They spotted the fleeing men below and opened fire.
The three SEALs sprinted down the beach as bullets burrowed into the sand around them. After they reached the vegetation, they stopped between the two RHIBs. Mendelson dropped Kalinin and the three SEALs turned their attention to the bluff, spotting several Russians on the way down. The SEALs aimed their weapons and took out the descending soldiers, their prone bodies sliding to a halt on the bluff face.
It was now almost completely dark and Harrison and the other SEALs dropped their night vision goggles into place, scanning the bluff ridge. No additional Russians descended, but they now held the entire bluff; Rosenberry and Brown had been either killed or captured. The Russians kept raking the vegetation with gunfire, forcing the three SEALs and Kalinin to take cover beside one of the RHIBs. When Kalinin thought it couldn’t get worse, he heard the sound of approaching helicopters.