Shadow Strike. Don Pendleton

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      CHAPTER FOUR

      Mazagón, Spain

      “Bah, this smells like death,” a man announced, sniffing the stiff collar of his British uniform. An L-85 assault rifle was slung from his shoulder as per regulations, and a canvas belt of spare 5.56 mm magazine clips was strapped tightly around his waist.

       Placing both hands behind his back, Thorodensen stood rigidly at attention. “Nonsense! All these uniforms have been thoroughly washed several time. They are absolutely clean.”

       The man wearing the uniform of a CPO gave no reply, but his expression clearly stated that he completely disagreed with the former Icelandic ambassador, as did several other members of the group.

       “I love this heat!” a large woman said, smiling into the warm sun.

       “Dear God, I miss snow,” a small man growled in reply, wiping a sheen of sweat off his brow.

       The ancient ridge of cooled lava had been smoothed over time by the crash of the gentle waves, yet the landscape still held a certain aspect of raw power that reminded the people of their distant home.

       The dozen armed members of Penumbra stood in an orderly row, NATO equipment bags stacked neatly off to the side. Behind them rose a hulking concrete building situated at the extreme end of a rocky peninsula. Every door to the NATO disposal facility was made of solid steel, with three different types of locks. There were no windows whatsoever, and two massive chimneys rose from the middle of the structure like the horns of a demon. The entire grounds were enclosed with an electrified fence topped with razor wire, and a radar antenna spun nonstop on a nearby hill, where a SAM bunker was hidden.

       The shore was lined with antipersonnel mines, a sunken WWI battleship blocked the narrow harbor, and a state-of-the-art NATO sonar sensor was hidden among the barnacles, rust and colorful coral.

       The best way to approach the place was along a narrow road, a twisting ribbon of asphalt studded with concrete tank traps, edged with more land mines, and lined with rows of steel spikes fully capable of rendering even bulletproof tires into ragged shreds.

       The exit ramp from the main highway was normally closed with a steel barrier designed to stop a modern-day tank, along with a secondary spread of steel spikes jutting from the pavement that would shred tires.

       “I hope everything goes well this time,” Professor Vilhjalms said, hunching her shoulders. “Brooklyn was a disaster.”

       “Yet we did get the mines, correct?”

       “That is true,” she hedged. “But still…”

       “Everything will be fine, Lily. The staff of the facility accepted my credentials, did they not?” Thorodensen said, minutely adjusting his cap. The insignia of a commander was stitched on the bill. “And why should they not? The papers are real enough. They were just not assigned to me.” He turned to smile at her tolerantly. “Everybody is gone, and we’re here alone. What could possibly gone wrong?”

       “The unknown is what frightens me,” Vilhjalms said, glancing out to sea. Their Hercules seaplane was moored just over the horizon, well past the reach of any ground-based radar. If all went well, they would be gone within the hour. If not, escape was only minutes away. That gave her some solace.

       Nervously, she tugged on the heavily starched uniform again. This had been the largest shirt among the dead sailors. However, it had been designed for a man, and it simply didn’t fit conformably across her more ample feminine contours. In an effort to flatten her breasts, she had removed her brassier. That helped, but not much, and now every step produced a very undignified jiggling effect. Everybody was trying not to notice, and she deeply appreciated the courtesy.

       Trying not to be obvious, Vilhjalms glanced at Thorodensen, standing so close that she could almost feel the heat radiating from his body. The white uniform fitted him perfectly, of course. But then the man was built like a Norse god of war, and she wouldn’t have minded at all if he had noticed her unbound freedom. Not even a little bit. On impulse, she bumped a soft breast into his bare forearm.

       Curiously, Thorodensen glanced down. “Something wrong?”

       Suddenly, they heard the low roar of truck engines in the distance.

       “Here they come.” She sighed, trying to cover the blunder. Science and math she understood, but clearly, seduction was not one of her many skills.

       “And right on schedule,” Thorodensen said with a smile. “Okay, people, stand at attention! Remember, from now on only speak English! Even among yourself. Understood?”

      “Ja, samkomulag!” the men and woman answered in a ragged chorus.

       “And what did I just tell you?” he bellowed.

       “Yes, sir!”

       “Better,” Thorodensen growled, feeling a trickle of sweat going down his spine.

       There was a loaded pistol at his hip, as well as an L-85 assault rifle across his back. More importantly, he had a remote control in his pocket. If necessary, he could destroy the entire facility, along with his own people and a huge section of the peninsula. But that would purely be a last resort, death instead of being captured. His fledgling organization, Penumbra, desperately needed this cargo. Without it, the plan fell apart completely, here and now.

       As the convoy rumbled closer, Thorodensen noted in relief that it was a standard NATO formation, nothing special. There were three primary vehicles and a few escorts. The main three were massively armored NBC-class trucks, nuclear-biological-chemical proof, able to withstand any type of modern-day weapon, even a near hit from a tactical nuke. Of course, a direct hit would vaporize them, just like anything else. But where most armored vehicles would be torn to pieces and nearly vaporized, these resilient trucks could ride out the shock wave with the crew intact and alive.

       “Trouble?” Vilhjalms whispered, licking her dry lips.

       “Not in the least,” Thorodensen said with a thin smile. Accompanying the four NBC trucks were two Hummers full of combat troops, and six motorcycle riders in full body armor. An Ashanti gunship hovered in the sky overhead.

       Thorodensen grunted. That was normally more than enough protection for this type of cargo. Just not this day.

       As the convoy got close to the exit ramp, Thorodensen waved a hand, and the Icelander in the guard kiosk operated the controls. Hydraulics thumped, and the flimsy-looking gate slowly moved out of the way.

       The convoy braked to a halt at the kiosk, and the motorcycles spread out in a defense pattern. Saluting the guard, the driver of the lead Hummer offered a clipboard full of papers. Saluting back, the Icelander pretended to read them, gave a curt nod, then waved the convoy on.

       “Pass,” he said in a perfect Liverpool accent.

       That caught the driver by surprise, and he beamed in delight. “Cor’ blimey, you from the Puddle?” He laughed. “Me, too! Where СКАЧАТЬ