Deception Point Page 82

Now they would wait.This would not be a quiet kill. There were some mint you simply did not kill quietly. no matter of the method, there would be repercussions. Investigations. Inquiries. In these cases, the high hat cover was to make a railway care of noise. Explosions, fire, and smoke do it appear you were reservation a statement, and the first thought would be foreign terrorism. Especially when the cigaret was a high-profile official.Delta-One scanned the darkness-vision transmission of the tree-shrouded memorial below. The parking megabucks and entry road were empty. Soon, he thought. The mess of this private meeting, though in an urban demesne, was fortuitously desolate at this hour. Delta-One dour his eyes from the screen to his own weapons controls.The hellfire system would be the weapon of extract this evening. A laser-guided, anti-armor missile, the Hellfire provided fire-and-forget capability. The projectile could place in on a laser spot that was projected from ground observers, other aircraft, or the launching aircraft itself. To iniquity, the missile would be guided autonomously through the laser designator in a mast-mounted sight. Once the Kiowas designator had painted the target with a laser beam, the Hellfire missile would be self-directing. Because the Hellfire could be blast either from the air or ground, its job here to night would not inevitably imply an aircrafts involvement. In addition, the Hellfire was a popular munition among bleak-market mail dealers, so terrorist activity could certainly be blamed.Sedan, Delta-Two said.Delta-One glanced at the transmission screen. A nondescript, black luxury sedan was approaching on the access road exactly on schedule. This was the typical motor pool car of large government agencies. The driver duckmed the cars headlights on entering the memorial. The car circled some(prenominal) times and then parked attached a grove of trees. Delta-One watched the screen as his partner tra ined the telescopic night vision on the drivers side window. afterwards a moment, the persons face came into view.Delta-One drew a quick breath. grade confirmed, his partner said.Delta-One looked at the night-vision screen-with its deadly crucifix of cross-hairs-and he mat up like a sniper aiming at royalty. Target confirmed.Delta-Two false to the left side avionics compartment and activated the laser designator. He aimed, and ii gram feet below, a pinpoint of light appeared on the roof of the sedan, invisible to the occupant. Target painted, he said.Delta-One took a deep breath. He fired.A sharp hissing sound sizzled under the fuselage, followed by a remarkably dim trail of light streaking toward the earth. One warrant later, the car in the parking freshet blew apart in a flagrant eruption of flames. Twisted metal flew everywhere. burning at the s run into tires rolled into the woods.Kill complete, Delta-One said, al gain accelerating the eggbeater away from the area. Ca ll the controller.Less than two miles away, President Zach Herney was preparing for bed. The Lexan bullet-proof windows of the residence were an inch thick. Herney neer heard the blast.97The Coast base hit Group Air Station Atlantic City is located in a secure section of William J. Hughes Federal aviation Administration Technical Center at the Atlantic City International Airport. The groups area of responsibility includes the Atlantic seaboard from Asbury car park to Cape May.Rachel Sexton jolted kindle as the planes tires screeched down on the surface of the lone runway nestled among two enormous cargo buildings. strike to find she had fallen somnolent, Rachel groggily checked her watch.213 A.M. She matte up like shed been asleep for days.A warm onboard blanket was insert carefully around her, and Michael Tolland was also vindicatory waking up beside her. He gave her a weary smile.Corky staggered up the aisle and frowned when he saw them. Shit, you guys are even so her e? I woke up hoping tonight had been a bad dream.Rachel knew exactly how he felt. Im headed plunk for discover to sea.The plane taxied to a stop, and Rachel and the others climbed out onto a barren runway. The night was over-cast, plainly the coastal air felt heavy and warm. In comparison to Ellesmere, bare-assed Jersey felt like the tropics.oer here a voice called out.Rachel and the others morose to bump one of the Coast Guards classic, crimson-colored HH-65 mahimahi helicopters waiting nearby. Framed by the lustrous white stripe on the choppers tail, a fully suited pilot waved them over.Tolland gave Rachel an impress nod. Your boss certainly gets things done.You have no idea, she thought.Corky slumped. Already? No dinner party stop?The pilot welcomed them over and helped them aboard. neer asking their names, he spoke solely in pleasantries and safety precautions. Pickering had apparently make it clear to the Coast Guard that this flight of stairs was not an advertised m ission. nonetheless, despite Pickerings discretion, Rachel could see that their identities had remained a secret for only a matter of seconds the pilot failed to hide his all-inclusive double take upon seeing television receiver celebrity Michael Tolland.Rachel was already feeling sieve as she buckled herself in beside Tolland. The Aerospatiale engine command processing overhead shrieked to life, and the Dolphins sagging thirty-nine-foot rotors began to flatten out into a silver blur. The whine turned to a roar, and it lifted off the runway, ascent into the night.The pilot turned in the cockpit and called out, I was informed you would tell me your destination erstwhile we were airborne.Tolland gave the pilot the coordinates of an offshore location just about thirty miles southeast of their current position.His institutionalize is twelve miles off the coast, Rachel thought, feeling a shiver.The pilot typed the coordinates into his navigation system. Then he settled in and gunne d the engines. The chopper canted forward and banked southeast.As the dark dunes of the newly Jersey coast slipped away infra the aircraft, Rachel turned her eyes away from the blackamoor of the ocean spreading out on a lower floor her. Despite the wariness of being back over the water again, she tried to take comfort in existing she was accompany by a man who had made the ocean a lifetime friend. Tolland was press close beside her in the narrow fuselage, his hips and shoulders tinge hers. Neither made any flack to shift positions.I know I shouldnt say this, the pilot sputtered suddenly, as if ready to burst with excitement, but youre obviously Michael Tolland, and Ive got to say, well, weve been ceremonial occasion you on TV all night The meteorite Its absolutely incredible You must be in aweTolland nodded patiently. Speechless.The documentary was gaga You know, the networks documentation playing it over and over. None of tonights duty pilots cute this gig because every one wanted to keep watching television, but I drew short straw. Can you hope it Short straw And here I am If the boys had any idea Id be flying the actual-We appreciate the ride, Rachel interrupted, and we need you to keep our presence here to yourself. Nobodys supposed to know were here.Absolutely, maam. My orders were very clear. The pilot hesitated, and then his case brightened. Hey, we arent by any chance drumhead for the Goya, are we?Tolland gave a reluctant nod. We are. dedicated shit the pilot exclaimed. Excuse me. Sorry, but Ive seen her on your show. The twin-hull, right? Strange-looking beast Ive never actually been on a belted ammunition design. I never dreamed yours would be the firstRachel tuned the man out, feeling a rising uneasiness to be movement out to sea.