Fire Force(130)
The end of the sentence was cut off by a deafening explosion. A Spiral missile had landed 100 yards away, igniting as it hit the ground and knocking a huge crater in the woodland. Ten trees had been incinerated on impact, and at least fifteen had been knocked down by the aftershocks of the blast. Their branches and trunks were crashing to the ground with a thump that shook the earth all around them. If it wasn’t for the relentless rain, half the forest would be on fire by now, Steve realised.
‘He’s going to keep firing until he gets us,’ said Ollie, his voice tense.
‘How many missiles does that bastard carry?’ Dan asked Maksim.
‘Usually twelve,’ answered the Russian.
‘More than enough to destroy this whole forest,’ Nick commented.
‘Then we fight back,’ said Steve. He looked around the men for ideas.
‘Lure and destroy,’ said David. ‘That’s the technical term for how you defeat a helicopter gunship. They’re deadly, but they are also vulnerable to counter strikes because they’re a big bloody target.’
‘With what?’ Steve scoffed. ‘An FN rifle and an Enfield revolver?’
‘There’s one RPG round left,’ Nick put in. ‘That soldier left it in the mud when we dropped the bastard.’
‘Maksie, will that bring down an Mi-24?’ asked Steve.
‘If you fire it right,’ the Russian said thoughtfully. ‘There’s no point in trying to put anything into the underbelly. Its thick steel plating is strong enough to withstand just about whatever you throw at it. But an RPG round has a range of 900 yards, and a time fuse of 4.2 seconds. Fire it so it explodes just above the rotary blade, and the shrapnel by itself should be enough to bring the bastard down. Next, the Mi-24 is packed with electronics, but most of it is 1980s-vintage Soviet kit. The shockwaves from the explosion should jam its systems. Put the machine into a tailspin, and in this weather, he’s fucked.’
‘Fucked?’ said Ian. ‘I like the sound of that.’
Steve glanced towards Nick. ‘You’re the best shot here,’ he said. ‘Reckon you’re up to it?’
Nick paused. It was a brief but definite moment of hesitation, noted Steve. One that suggested he wasn’t sure. And men with doubts in their mind didn’t make good shots.
‘There’s no shame in saying no,’ he told the youth. ‘We’ve only got one RPG round and we can’t afford to waste it.’
‘I’ll do it,’ said Nick.
‘Good lad.’
‘Maksim and I will use these bombs to create a diversion,’ said Ian, pointing to the fire extinguishers he had brought with him. ‘We’ll ignite them up the track, and lure the chopper into the target. Nick can blast it from behind.’
Just then, another Spiral missile crashed into the forest. It was at least 200 yards away, but the shockwaves were still brutal, making the earth shake all around them. Sam was weeping uncontrollably as the deafening noise of falling trees engulfed them.
‘Come on - let’s move it,’ said Steve. ‘We’re sitting ducks here.’
Steve led the way, with Nick at his side. He’d drawn his revolver: its bullets weren’t going to be any use against a heavily armed gunship, but Steve always felt better with a gun in his hand. There was something reassuring about a cold slab of steel against your skin. He looked up into the skies, but they were briefly silent. The Mi-24 had soared upwards into the clouds, was turning and coming back for another hit.
Steve ran hard and fast towards the empty troop carrier. The man had taken one bullet to the neck, another to the shoulder and, at a glance, it looked like he’d bled to death. He was lying face down in the mud, his corpse half-covering his RPG. Grabbing his shoulder, Steve rolled him away and snatched up the weapon. It was a Type 69 RPG, a knock-off of the legendary Soviet RPG-7 made by the Chinese arms manufacturer Norinco, and sold to China’s allies around the world. Like the RPG-7, it was a simple and lethally effective piece of kit. It weighed just under thirteen pounds, and could be easily held by a single man.
Steve checked the one remaining grenade left in the man’s ammo belt. It was an ‘anti-personnel high-explosive incendiary device’, or HEI. That will do us just fine, he decided. Created for use in environments such as jungles and mountains, it was no surprise that Wallace had equipped his men with HEIs. The grenade contained 900 steel balls, and up to 3,000 incendiary pellets which, on detonation, would spread over a radius of 15 yards. So long as it exploded right above the Mi-24, it would create a deadly rain of steel and fire that would literally melt the machine out of the sky.