Despite her injured arm and some scrapes on her face, she managed to reach down and turn the vest back on. “I’m not sure.” Once the blue light appeared, DeeAnn grinned. “What do you say we find out?”
87
Just twenty-five percent below Mach One, the Chinese Y-20 cargo plane thundered over the southeastern border of Venezuela and headed directly for the Acarai Mountains.
At fifteen minutes out, two crewmen began unlatching the straps holding the giant bomb in place. They then used the hold’s loading assembly to slowly roll it back to the edge of the aft ramp, securing two heavy chains to each side.
Once in position, one of the crewmen picked up the phone on the wall and spoke loudly over the Y-20’s powerful turbofan engines. After a pause, he replaced the phone and closed the metal cover.
It took less than thirty seconds for the bomb’s panel to light up and begin its remote programming.
Seven minutes later, the giant aircraft approached the Acarai summit, hidden thousands of feet below in the pitch-black jungle. The plane gently increased its pitch and began a slow upward climb.
Inside, the crewmen attached one final powerful cable to the device, with an electronic release in the middle nearly the size of a bowling ball. They promptly removed the side chains and moved further up the cargo bay’s wall, attaching themselves to nylon safety lines.
There they waited, watching the wall until a bright green light signaled their position.
One of the men looked to the other, who nodded back. He then opened the clear cover and slammed his hand down on the giant button.
Overhead, several red flashing lights filled the cargo bay, accompanied by a loud siren, as the ramp door disengaged and began to lower. The bomb slid backward toward the tail of the plane until it was halted by the thick cable.
It took two full minutes for the ramp door to fully open and provide a smooth path out the rear of the plane.
Then at last, when over their target, the strap disconnected. The long, elliptically-shaped bomb abruptly accelerated, leaving the ramp and disappearing into the night.
The Russian thermobaric bomb detonated at one thousand feet above the Acarai peak, releasing a brilliant orange mushroom cloud into the dark sky, along with a supersonic shockwave hot enough to evaporate solid rock.
88
A jolt from the truck’s old suspension shook John Clay from his unconscious state. His head rocked side to side from the continual shaking of the bumpy road, making it hard to focus. He could hear rocks pelting the inside of the wheel wells, indicating a rapid speed over a dirt road.
His eyes closed again for a moment before he was able to find the strength to force them back open. As the light began to sharpen, he tilted his head to see what appeared to be the dark shape of the driver against the bright front windshield. A second person was ahead of him in the passenger seat.
His next sensation was the pain. Every part of his body screamed out from under a thick wool blanket which covered all but his face. He tried to move but couldn’t. Not anything. Instead, he tried his mouth and managed a slight whisper.
On his third attempt, the passenger turned around and looked down at him.
“You’re awake.”
Clay fought to make his lips move again.
“Don’t talk, save your energy.”
The driver glanced over his shoulder at Clay and quickly turned back to the road.
A severe dip sent a wave of pain through Clay’s limbs, causing him to moan.
“Hang in there, man. We’re all trying to get you out of here.”
“W-what happened?” Clay whispered.
The Chinese passenger shrugged. “Hell if we know. Someone at the agency hit the panic button. Instructions are to find you and then get the hell out.”
Clay blinked slowly. His memory was a jumble of images and he was struggling to put them in order.
“Where’s Li Na?”
The other man looked at the driver before replying. “We don’t know. She escaped and disappeared into the forest before we could stop her.”
Clay shook his head. He could see the girl’s face, frightened and alone. “Stop.”
“What?”
“Stop the car.”
“Sorry, can’t do that. We have to get out of the country. There’s a team waiting for us in Huludao.”
Clay shook his head. “We have to go back.”
The driver abruptly pulled the truck over to a stop. He twisted around in his seat and Clay recognized him from Qin’s team. “Look, I don’t think you understand what’s happened here. A lot of covers just got blown to find you. Agents who can now be traced to a lot of others all over this region.”
The second agent in the passenger’s seat nodded in agreement. “Our only priorities are you and this case.” He held up the metal case.