Chapter 10: In the line of duty
Late May 2002
The corridor ended abruptly, leading simply to another closed door. Glancing back the way he'd come Lorne put the pieces together. Assuming the room in front of him was the heart of the facility where they were making WP, the closed doors his captors had dragged him past at the start had to be where the prisoners were kept. That was a problem because he'd counted on finding the marines before he set things up for their escape. He couldn't risk going back though - this might be his only chance to do part of what he'd come for; destroy the WP al-Qaida had already manufactured and make sure they couldn't make any more.
"Right," he muttered, reaching for his trusty knife again and bending to 'open' the door by inserting it in the gap and carefully forcing it past the catch.
Stepping inside he noticed immediately the drop in temperature and the sound of machinery running in the background. In front of him were a number of large circular vats - most likely made of concrete. He couldn't see their contents but the whole set up was pretty much what he'd expect for the storage of a volatile substance. Without a doubt this was where they were storing the completed product. The furnace room itself probably shared at least one wall with the exposed part of the building otherwise the heat build up would have affected their ability to keep the WP cool enough. He didn't need to see that though - everything he needed was right there, in the room.
Sitting down he quickly unlaced his boots and pulled them off, reaching inside and ripping away the inner soles. Underneath where the heels should be solid the special forces guys had concealed two small packs of shake n' bake - high explosives, complete with timed charges he'd have to detonate remotely. Putting his boots back on Evan grabbed the explosives, moving to the middle vat. Ducking low he scooted around the vessel until he found what he was looking for, a small outlet used to drain the vat for cleaning or transport. He unscrewed it slowly, watching carefully until an oily liquid began to well up over the edge of the cap he was holding. A few more revolutions and the liquid - a safe storage medium to keep the WP stable - began to gush over the cap, splashing to the floor. Stepping back, Evan assessed the height and circumference of the container, doing a rough mental calculation of the likely volume. That coupled with the rate of flow from the outlet he estimated it would be about 25 minutes before the vat was empty, assuming they'd filled it to the top. Setting the alarm on his watch - a simple model the Afghans hadn't seemed interested in taking from him - Lorne moved to the next vat, repeating the same process over again until all the outlets flowed freely. The floor under the vats was already covered with the oily liquid by the time he was done and he had to step carefully as he placed his explosives, one on the central vat and the other on the side wall. If he'd gotten his mental map right, that would be the closest point to the outside - with any luck it'd open up the side of the mountain when it went off.
"Damn," Lorne glanced at his watch, grumbling low when he saw he'd already used more than ten of his estimated twenty five minutes. Moving back to the door he stood listening for a moment and then carefully opened it. The corridor was clear which didn't surprise him. Why guard a room that led nowhere if you were confident no one could get inside your facility in the first place? Setting off at a run, Evan went back the way he'd come, passing his own room and slamming to a stop at the corner, peeking quickly around it. Pressing his back against the wall again he reached for the weapon he'd stolen from his guard, quietly checking that it was loaded. Of course the leader had replaced the guards at the other doors once he'd put Evan inside his cell – and there they stood, armed and ready.
At the back of Lorne's mind the silent countdown was running and he felt the urgency of needing to do something - he literally didn't have time to muck around. "Just like training," he told himself, dropping to one knee and sighting his weapon. Leaning out from the corner very slowly he aimed and fired two short bursts that echoed loudly in the narrow corridor. He'd aimed to kill - the first guard dropped like a stone but the second got off a shot before he too fell to Lorne's attack. Evan grunted as that one shot found its mark, hitting his left shoulder with a force that had him slamming back against the wall before he really understood what had happened.
Dazed, he put a trembling hand to the wound and pulled it away, frowning at a palm now wet with blood. He'd never been shot before ... it was a damn sight more painful than he would have expected. And that was with the adrenalin that was buzzing through his system. Shaking his head to clear his mind, Lorne leaned against the wall, pulling off his chapan and ripping away a strip. It was awkward and untidy but he managed to wrap enough layers around the area tightly enough to hopefully slow the bleeding - it'd have to do until he could get proper medical attention. The natural rush created by the need for action ... the danger ... and the urgency of the moment helped dull the edges enough for Evan to be able to ignore his wound ... for the time being anyway.
Shoving off the wall Lorne stood in front of the first doorway. "Move away from the door," he yelled after knocking to get the attention of whoever was inside. Not bothering with finesse this time he stepped back and fired at the lock, disabling it beyond repair. The door swung open revealing three men – U.S. marines, dirty and tired but all grinning as they caught sight of Lorne.
"About time," one of them commented, stepping forward. "Sergeant Green," he said.
"Good to see you Sergeant. We'll do the introductions later," Lorne ground out. "For now we need to get out of here asap." Ordinarily he should have confirmed their identities but in his current condition and with the time restriction decided that was something the SAR team could do once they were clear.
Nodding, the first guy quickly liberated Lorne's victims of their weapons, keeping one and handing off the other to one of his companions. Evan carefully kept his eyes away from those Afghan guards - he had no illusions about what he'd done, and no regrets either but that didn't mean he wanted to dwell on it or create any mental images he'd regret adding to the memory file. Time enough later to contemplate the different between taking a life with a bomb as opposed to taking one with a gun.
Shifting away, Lorne repeated the process of lock destruction with the other door to reveal the second half of the marine team. The men greeted each other with relieved expressions but then all turned to Evan, looking for direction.
"This way," he ordered, motioning them to follow him. He was already surprised that gunfire hadn't drawn more guards but when they got to the outer door unchallenged he suddenly realised why - the Afghan leader would have amassed his troops outside. The message was clear. 'You might have gotten free on the inside but there is no way you're getting out of this building alive.'
"Damn it," Evan growled. Pacing away, he thought for a moment. The SAR's team should be watching the village - they'd see the guards amassing at the door. He just needed a way to signal them to start firing - without alerting the enemy that they were there. He might need that element of surprise later.
"Right, hold position here," he told the marines, handing Sergeant Green the radio he'd taken earlier. "Take this just in case," he said before turning and running back into the heart of the facility, stopping only to grab another radio from one of the downed guards.
Ten minutes left - he'd be cutting it close but they should make it. Slamming open the door to the vat room he skidded across a floor swimming in oily solution. "Great idea Evan!" he shouted, slipping and sliding to the nearest vessel and grabbing the ladder attached to the side. Half way up he stopped, wrapped his bad arm around the next rung with a growl of pain, and then reached down to take off his boot. It was slippery difficult work but finally he removed it and holding it by the laces, continued up the ladder until he reached the top and could look inside.
The situation was closer to boiling point than he'd calculated. There were only a couple of inches of oil still covering the white phosphorus - once that was gone he'd be in serious trouble. Hooking his feet into the ladder rungs he lowered himself into the vat, bending at the waist and hanging his boot down by the laces. "Come on!" he yelled when it fell just short, his voice sounding weird inside the concrete vat. Stretching as much as he could, he had to shift until he was hanging fully upside down in order to get the reach he needed. The muscles in his legs quivered and his shoulder screamed with pain as he hung on grimly. The boot dropped into the mixture, sinking slowly. Evan waited a few seconds and then carefully raised it. His stomach muscles clenching painfully as he pulled himself upwards enough to grab the top of the ladder. Then it was all about carefully manoeuvring himself back down the ladder.
Considering the stretch of oil covered floor in front of him and the likelihood that he could stay on his feet Lorne sat, pulled off his other boot and tossed it aside. Then, with a boot full of 'disaster waiting to happen' balanced carefully on his lap, Lorne scooted his way across the floor until he was clear of the oil. Jumping up he ran on stockinged feet down the corridor and back towards the front door.
"Okay," he was puffing just slightly as he stopped in front of the marines, all gathered at the door.
"What's waiting for us out there Sir?" Green asked, instinctively assuming that Lorne was a higher rank even though he wore no insignia and hadn't introduced himself.
"I'd say every al-Qaida soldier pretending to be an Afghan that was living in that village Sergeant," Evan replied distractedly, his eyes assessing the door in front of him. "You'll all need to take cover around that corner," he stated, pointing back down the corridor.
"What about you Sir?" Green persisted, motioning for the rest of his team to do what Lorne had ordered.
"I'll be right behind you as soon as I've set this up," Lorne replied, stopping to pin the other man with a look that had him nodding and doing what he was told. Alone, Evan considered the contents of his ruined boot and the door in front of him. How did you transfer toxic and highly flammable material to a solid surface without touching it when you had to be really, really quick?
Looking at the radio in his hand he shrugged. It'd have to do. Placing his boot in the middle of the door, easily at hand, Evan carefully pulled at the front of it to make sure the opening was as big as possible and then dipped the radio inside, removing it and using it to smear the white, pasty substance down the centre of the door. Again he dipped the radio, removed it and transferred the contents halfway to the floor now. Oil was running down the door and the beginning of his line of WP was already close to being exposed to the air. Hurrying now Evan chanced adding a third application, getting it almost all the way down the door. A faint trail of smoke appeared, sparked and flashed white. Pausing only to push the still mostly full boot of WP against the doors, Lorne dropped the radio, turned and sprinted down the corridor, throwing himself to the floor just as a huge flash of white fire exploded, burning intensely.
"That was close," Green reached down a hand, grabbing Lorne's injured arm as he helped him to his feet. The marine frowned when Evan groaned, his face paling through the dirt coating it. Eyes narrowing he took in his rescuer's overall condition, noting the clumsily wrapped shoulder and the fresh blood trailing down Lorne's arm. He didn't look good ... but Green already knew better than to mention it.
Evan nodded his thanks and then carefully peered around the corner to see how much damage he'd done. The door featured a large smoking hole that ended at the floor and still smoked in places. Outside the scene was one of confusion - he could see al Qaida soldiers running around yelling, bashing at their own clothes where smoking holes could just be seen. There were bodies lying on the ground too - the toxic nature of the WP wouldn't have killed that quickly so Lorne could only conclude that they'd been too close to the door and caught in the flash fire, or that the SAR's team had picked them off.
Glancing at his watch he felt his pulse quicken again. Two minutes and that was being generous. He had to blow the charges now - there was no other choice. Otherwise the WP would flare all right, but it wasn't guaranteed it would destroy the whole facility.
"Still got that radio?" Lorne asked, holding out a hand when Green nodded. Turning the dial Evan tried each successive channel, looking for the one his guys would be using. "This is Lorne, is anyone reading me? Over." He had to repeat it a few times before he got a response.
"This is Lieutenant Chang. What's your status Sir?"
"Get your men well clear of the facility Lieutenant," Lorne ordered forcefully. "We're coming out and then this place is going boom."
"Acknowledged."
Lorne turned to the six marines. "Step carefully through the door - don't touch anything. When you're clear run. Get as far away as you can and then find cover. Don't stop for anything." They all nodded, expressions grim but determined. "Go!" Lorne pushed the nearest man into action, the rest following closely behind. There was a minor bottleneck at the door as they all made it through but thankfully there didn't appear to be any enemy soldiers nearby to take advantage of that. As soon as they were clear Evan detonated the charges with the small device he'd taken from the toe of his boot before he'd discarded it. Two small explosions he wouldn't have heard from so far away were set off. The WP, exposed to the air, became unstable as expected and would even now be burning intensely. Adding in the explosives inside that fire would accelerate everything, to the point it couldn't be contained. That was the plan, anyway.
It was instantaneous - he literally hit the button and then felt an answering rumble of noise rushing up behind him.
"Crap!" Diving through the door, feeling the wood scraping his arm on the way through, Evan landed in the dirt and rolled to his feet. Sprinting across the road in front of the facility he shifted direction, heading up hill where he'd noticed a rocky outcrop before. Diving, he felt the shock wave of an explosion pushing at him, turning the dive into a gigantic leap that ended in a crash landing on solid rock. "God," he coughed, ducking his face into the dirt and covering his head as a shower of debris rained down on him.
In seconds it was over ... the noise level dropped and an eerie silence was left behind until the villages started shouting ... people were crying too but it was hard to feel guilty about that. Lorne stayed where he was for a moment, trying to catch his breath. He couldn't tell if he'd acquired any additional injuries but nowhere felt any more painful than anywhere else – apart from his head which was still ringing from the noise and the fact that he'd slammed it into the dirt when he landed. No burning though ... not that he was feeling. Luckily WP burned intensely but fast - it could burn through clothing but it usually lost its punch after a couple of layers. Evan needed to be checked out though - if left unchecked a WP burn could get nastier than third degree burns, not to mention the effect exposure could have on the liver and other internal organs.
Finally staggering to his feet, Lorne swayed for a moment, almost fell again but managed to keep it together. He'd smashed his borrowed radio on landing too and from the looks of it had ended up on the opposite side of the ridge from everyone else. Walking slowly, he headed for the trees intending to cut across and then back down again.
The boot to the stomach was an unwelcome surprise that sent him gasping back to the ground.
Looking up Evan groaned as a man stepped from behind the rocks. "You've gotta be kidding me!" Lorne complained, rolling to his feet and turning to confront the al-Qaida leader.
"Do you know what you have done?!" The man accused him angrily, fists clenched. "Months of work, money ... time ... reduced to nothing."
"I guess you shouldn't have messed with something so volatile then," Evan shrugged mildly.
"What could you know of our plans," the Afghan spat out. "You are nothing!"
"I know a lot more than you thought," Evan laughed harshly. "White phosphorus isn't banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention but it should be. Anyone who thinks to use it as a weapon should be prepared to have that turned against them."
"You planned this all along," the Afghan almost whispered, comprehension dawning sickly on his face. "And I led you inside."
With a roar of insult he charged Lorne, sending them both crashing to the ground. Evan grappled with the other man but he wasn't carrying a serious injury like Lorne was and he had the strength of an almost insane anger fuelling him. Evan felt the man's fists pummelling his stomach and chest, tried to block but the blows were just coming too fast. He was sure he saw stars when the leader's fist connected forcefully with his jaw and for a few moments he spaced out.
"This is for my men," the Afghan slicing a path across his chest brought Evan back to reality in a painful rush. He bucked and growled, trying to shake his captor but it was no use.
"This is for all the trouble you have caused me," the leader continued. Expecting another slashing cut Lorne almost lost it when the man stabbed his knife down forcefully, planting it firmly in Evan's right thigh. He kept the yell of pain he wanted to voice in with difficultly, glaring up at the leader, determined not to give him the satisfaction. He could feel blood pooling now, across his chest, down his sides ... the pain was intense and he felt his vision narrowing, the edges getting fuzzy and indistinct.
"And now I will kill you," his captor declared, a pistol held high in the air.
When did that happen? Lorne was confused now - he'd lost time in the fight again and found himself pinned beneath the other man, unable to even move. He watched the gun barrel descend, sure this time that it was gonna be lights out when the man suddenly stiffened. His eyes were disbelieving as he looked at Evan and then, as if in slow motion, he slowly toppled forward, landing on top of Lorne without a word.
"Aaarrrggg!" Lorne yelled in pain, cursing that the guy was a lot heavier than he looked. Struggling a little he finally managed to push the dead body off his chest, taking a deep and welcome breath than sent him into a coughing fit.
"You okay Sir?" Green moved to his side, dropping down to look at Lorne closely.
"I've been better Sergeant," Evan admitted, his voice raspy. "You wanna help me up?"
"I think it would be best if you were stretchered out Sir," Green said carefully. "Looks like you've lost a lot of blood and we really shouldn't move you with that knife where it is."
"It might be best but I walked in and I'm going to walk out again," Lorne insisted stubbornly ... some might have said stupidly.
He couldn't help the groan that escaped as he sat up, head swimming dizzily. He waited a moment and then looked down at his leg. "Oh crap," he muttered, watching the embedded knife that seemed to be throbbing in time with his heartbeat, the one that had suddenly picked up its pace again. Reaching down, Evan ripped out the knife quickly, swaying at the resurgence of pain. When a strip of fabric he could use as a field dressing appeared in his line of vision Lorne just grabbed it silently, quickly applying it and tying it off as tightly as he could stand.
Gathering his reserves, Lorne carefully got to his feet. Again he had to wait a few moments until he felt steady enough to move. Green didn't protest, just shifted to a position close enough to catch Evan if he fell. "Thanks for the assist Sergeant," Lorne said as they walked, or kind of stumble-shuffle-limped in Evan's case, past the body of the dead leader.
"You're welcome Sir," Green grinned. "Thanks for the rescue."
"No problem," Lorne returned lightly, like it had been a lazy morning's work instead of the ordeal it had turned into. The SAR's team leader met them halfway down the incline, Lieutenant Chang taking one look at Evan and moving in to assist. Lorne didn't bother protesting when the man placed an arm around his back, taking some of his weight.
"Nice explosion," Chang complimented, eyes narrowed as he watched Lorne carefully, waiting for the fall he suspected was coming.
"It was pretty impressive wasn't it," Lorne chuckled, wincing as it turned into a pained cough. Recovering he grinned. "Serves them right for playing with dangerous materials."
"It does," Chang kept Lorne talking as they walked down the main road bisecting the village. There was a clearing at the end and now that the man beside him had taken out all the resistance it was safe to call in the rescue helicopter to come and get them. He was more than impressed that Lorne was even still standing ... the evidence said he'd taken a few hits, been shot, stabbed, blasted with burning shrapnel and then slammed into the dirt. "Is it all gone?"
"Yeah - I made pretty sure of that," Evan frowned when his two human crutches stopped suddenly. He'd been moving on autopilot, most of his focus on staying on his feet and not crying like a baby because his entire body hurt.
"This is where we're catching our ride Sir," Chang explained. "You can sit down now ... shouldn't be more than a few minutes until the chopper gets here."
"So it's done?" Lorne looked around, doing a count in his head. Six marines who all looked a little worse for wear but were in one piece, and four SARs team members ... and him ... all persons present and accounted for.
"It's done Sir," Chang agreed.
"Great," abruptly he sat down, the only thing stopping him from slumping sideways to the ground the fact that Sergeant Green was propping him up. "Sorry," he mumbled, swallowing sickly as a wave of dizziness washed over him.
He'd passed out before he could register the reply.
Authors Note:
Apologies for the extra day delay in posting this ... after too many late nights in a row I crashed early last night, not like me at all! Hope the extra wait was worth it .... and thanks again to everyone reading this.