Chapter 53 - Every plan is good until the first shot is fired

The alarms were generated from inside the facility, TV monitors letting the soldiers inside know they were under attack. It gave them the time to send messages to their country's military command post through underground communication wires and that immediately initiated contingency plans to counter the attack. The facility was picked not because of its location, which was really a disadvantage, but because it was bomb proof, the most bomb proof place in the whole country. So the country's military leaders had to take its location disadvantage into account and an armed response was planned, just in case any other nation, especially the United States of America, tried to get the warhead back. That armed response contingency plan was now put into effect by the country's General Staff.

A rapid ground response team was activated at a military base less than 7 miles from the facility. Equipped with BTR-90 Armored Personnel Carriers and T-72 Tanks the response team moved out 15 minutes after alerted. This armored unit was limited only to the speed of the tanks, where were run flat out at 30 MPH along the paved highway, their engines would have to be rebuilt after this operation, but catching the Americans was thought to be well worth any expense that would be incurred. The 6 Tanks were formable, with their 125 MM cannon, machine guns and armor, but there were also 20 BTR-90s armored personnel carriers with them, each with a 30 MM cannon, machine guns and grenade launcher, and having 7 infantry men in each, along with the 3 crew members. Finally there were two BRDM-2s, NATO designation 9K31 Strela-2, with Surface to air missiles, perfect for defense against helicopters. This unit made its way rapidly, on the roadway, in a dash to the facility.

In another part of the country, two MIG-29 fighter interceptor aircraft lifted off armed with cannon and missiles from a military air base. The country's General Staff knowing that any incursion into their country would have to be done by helicopters and the MIGs would make quick work of any helicopters they found. Two more MIGs were on alert to back up the airborne aircraft, in case the enemy sent in fighters to protect the helicopters, but right now all Threat RADARs where clear of enemy aircraft so they just waited to be launched. The MIG-29s were a modern export version, being some of the more advanced fighter types currently used in the world so were considered by the General Staff to be able to handle any threat that would appear that night. But even more importantly, in addition to the fighters, every surface-to-air missile weapon battery was powered up and started to search the sky, this threat being more deadly to enemy aircraft than the fighters.

The General Staff's plan was now up and running, everything falling into place liked planned and trained for, it was more than just a defense it was a trap and they expected that the Americans wouldn't know what hit them. The country's leader would be pleased when the military had captured American prisoners to parade around to other countries, to show how weak the Americans had become, and how they were just a paper threat. Of course after all the publicity was exhausted, the American prisoners would then be tried and executed as a lesson to all who invade their country.

-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-

Howard watched in awe as the SEALs moved, they all seemed to know exactly what to do and worked together like a well oiled machine. Two men moved to the large steel entrance doors and placed what Howard guessed was plastic explosives, they moved with a speed and efficiency that was amazing. It seemed it wasn't a moment later when they took cover and the explosion blew the hinges off the metal doors and they fell to the ground. However as the doors fell, gun fire erupted, from inside the facility, through the opening the doors once covered. Parsons looked at Howard with a questioning look, which made Howard just stand up, to start walking to the door, hearing more than feeling the enemy bullets hitting the plates on the suit. Two SEALs followed him in, using Tin Man as a shield and, as all the firing concentrated on Tin Man, the SEALs took out the two guards firing at them. There turned out to be only one remaining man inside the main level, an officer and he immediately raised his hands in surrender after seeing Howard and the SEALs, "Don't shoot him." Parson's commanded on the radio.

Moments later Parsons had his men inside and after giving them orders had them set up, two men on the ridge line to watch for enemy reinforcements, two men outside the entrance to guard against the enemy sneaking back in and the rest of the team inside the facility to support finding and taking the warhead. The men went to their positions and Parsons then turned his attention to the enemy officer. "Where is the warhead, he shouted at the man."

The enemy officer responded in Arabic, shaking his head, looking at Parsons and taking glances at Tim Man who stood a little behind him. He acted like he didn't understand a word Parsons said, and the frustration the SEAL commander felt was overwhelming, the evacuation chart, one of him men found on the wall, said there were 15 levels in this facility and Parsons knew it would take hours to check them all, hours they didn't have. "We are going to have to split up and search all the levels." Parsons said to Scott, the BLUE commander.

"Wait a minute." upon hearing Howard, Parsons turned to Tin Man in surprise. "May I?" Parsons nodded.

Howard knew that most of these countries had used Russian equipment and had Russian advisors, so many of the officers knew some Russian. Howard's Russian wasn't bad, especially after spending several weeks in space with a Russian Cosmonaut. He walked up to the enemy officer, whose eyes went wide, and in the mechanical voice of the suit asked him in Russian, where the object they were looking for was. The man looked at Howard and Howard saw in the mans eyes understanding at what was being said to him, but the man just shook his head like he didn't understand. He was obviously lying and Howard took a step towards him yelling the same question, which then made the man, now scared, respond in broken Russian that he didn't know, which Howard again, looking at him, thought he was lying. Howard suddenly got an idea, he remembered the first Star Wars episode with Darth Vader trying to get information from Leia's ship captain, so he reached out and grabbed the officer by the front of his uniform lifting him completely off the floor, so his feet where dangling in the air, and bringing him almost nose to nose with Howard's helmet. Then in a loud voice Howard asked him the same question, and then told the suit "Targeting", making the shoulder turret activate and point at the mans head.

The enemy officer started telling Howard everything he knew and after a minute, Howard turned to Parsons, "5th Level." Dropping the man to the floor. The SEALs quickly put tie wrap cuffs around the mans hands and feet, put him in a janitors closed and put a chair against it so he couldn't get out, even if he managed to get untied.

Howard pointed to the left and told Parsons, "Stairs", the officer had been very free with his information after Howard had brought him nose to nose with Tin Man. Parsons nodded and the team headed to the stairs.

-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-

The F-22 Stealth fighters had been waiting for the air defense RADARs to turn on for over an hour as they circled over the country. The had a secret weapon, the AGM-88N advanced compact HARM missile, it specifically made to carry in the internal bay of the stealth fighter and its purpose was to knock out enemy RADARs. They were now going to use them, as the paired weapons bays of the two aircraft shot open ejecting a missile each, for a total of four missiles, each targeted on a different RADAR. The missiles fell away from the aircraft, their folded fins opening up until locked in place and stabilizing the missile in flight, then each missile had their motors ignite as they each accelerated to over 1400 MPH for a RADAR. The aircraft flew on for another five minutes before ejecting their remaining 4 missiles, and ten minutes later all enemy surface to air missile RADARs were nothing buy flaming pieces of scrap metal. The two F-22 aircraft, having released their weapons, then turned back to a friendly base their work tonight done.

Those two F-22 aircraft, that launched the HARM missiles, where no threat to the two MIG-29s closing in on the facility, since they had no air-to-air missiles, the MIGs where also no threat to them, as their RADARs could not pick up the stealth aircraft. The real threat to the MIGs was a large aircraft with a huge RADAR dish on top of it, call AWACS, this plane was not fast, maneuverable or even armed with weapons, but its RADAR and controllers commanded aircraft that were more dangerous than anything in the sky. This large plane flew along with a pair of F-15C fighters, its own personal bodyguard, but they weren't the threat the MIGs had to worry about, it was the four stealthy F-22s still over the country, these planes fully armed with air-to-air missiles.

The AWACS plane had a powerful RADAR that looked hundreds of miles into the country making it never have to leave friendly skies and the RADAR picture it saw was transmitted to one of the satellites for rebroadcast to the invisible F-22s. The F-22 pilots never had to turn on their RADARs or any other electronic broadcasting equipment on their aircraft, they got all their information from encrypted satellite transmissions from the AWACs aircraft, never having to give away their position. With nothing turned on and their stealth fuselages the F-22s were nothing but two holes in the night sky as they approached the MIG-29s from the rear, vectored by the data from the AWACS. As they got closer, the MIGs engine glow acting like a beacon in the night for the F-22s to home in on . It was all over in seconds, the F-22s getting within minimum range of their missiles, the missiles were launched and hit their targets in seconds, there were now no more MIGs in the air as the F-22 climbed away to continue their patrol, owning the night sky.

However things on the ground were not so easy, the Special Operations Company, Rangers, had no armor, only portable anti-armor weapons and it wasn't going to be long before they found out if that was enough. The Rangers had set up two advanced TOW anti-tank missiles, the only heavy weapon they had that could guarantee destroying a tank with one missile, on each side of the road at the point where it narrowed. They hoped to bottle neck and halt any attacking force, so soldiers with LAW handheld rocket launchers could take out their trucks and armored personnel carriers. Like the famous quote of the German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, 'Every plan is good until the first shot is fired,' this is what exactly happened when the first tank rode into the trap. The TOW missile hit the tank right where the turret connected to the main body, since it was an advanced TOW, the tanks reactive armor did not help, and its turret was blown off. The second tank, that was following the first, was set on fire when the second TOW missile team hit it, then everything went crazy. Both TOW teams tried to reposition, since their positions were now compromised, however the first team was raked by 30 MM fire from one of the BTR-90s, that came up behind the now burning tanks, destroying the missile launcher, the crew only barely getting away with one spare missile. The second launcher was pulled away, but its spare missile loads destroyed when a tank 125 MM round took out the now evacuated position, catching all the spare rounds. There were still four tanks but now only one launcher with one missile that was made to engage them. The battle now turned in a free for all, groups of soldiers trying to knock out armor vehicles while the armor vehicles tried to get by the Rangers to get to the facility. It would have been a disaster, the flesh and bones American soldiers trying to fight armored vehicles, except for the foresight of their commander who had every one of his soldiers take one of the small light disposable LAW anti-armor rockets with him. There were now over a hundred of these portable one shot rocket launchers all over the battle field with the American Rangers who knew how to use them.

-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-TIN MAN-

Howard led the team down the stairs, Parsons had no objections after seeing the bullets not harming him when they first went in the facility. Leonard had told Howard how hard it was to move up and down stairs, so when Howard was building the new suit he redesigned the boots, taking the jump jets out of them, which made them smaller and easier to move on stairs, so even though it was still tiring, Howard was able to move with out too much difficulty. Howard leading the SEALs turned out to be a very good idea, because between the second and third level shots were fired up the stair well, hitting Howard. Howard looked at Parsons who grabbed an object from his combat vest, immediately pulling out a pin.

"Flash bang coming down." Howard heard and hit his darkening visor as he watched the grenade fly past. The bang not being too bad, even in the stair well, the light brightness being hidden by his visor. Two of the SEALs quickly moved ahead of him, then he heard the quiet firing of their suppressed submachine guns and all the enemy fire stopped, so he continued down the stairs, passing but not looking at the bodies on the next level as all the SEALs fell behind him again.

They reached the fifth level with no further resistance, which was actually scary because they knew there were more soldiers in the facility. They had left a SEAL at each of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th levels just in case, but otherwise the trip down had been without too much trouble. Howard turned to Parsons, and over the radio, "I better go in first." Parsons just nodded.

Howard opened the door and stepped into the level, he was immediately hit by machine gun fire pounding on the suit, it didn't hurt, but he felt it, Howard realizing it was a heavier weapon then they had faced before. He could actually see the muzzle blast from behind sandbags down the hallway along with muzzle blasts from additional rifles, the problem was he didn't really have a weapon, well a weapon like theirs. Over the radio, he called Parsons, "RED 1, goggles." Parsons quickly told his men to put on their special goggles.

Howard hit the switch that connected him to the computer, "Dazzlers on."

DAZZLERS ONLINE

"Dazzlers quick charge."

DAZZLERS COUTDOWN ABORT

THREE ABORT

TWO ABORT

ONE ABORT

The armored flaps over the two dazzlers opened.

READY

"Fire."

The dazzlers fired three times, the machine gun firing stopping after the first dazzler discharge and not starting again after the third. Howard could see a man walking around the hallway, his hand over his eyes, obviously blind and as he stepped more into the hallway, the SEALs came through the door weapons firing. It was over in less than 10 seconds, Parsons walking up to Howard his submachine gun still smoking from the barrel. "We need to find it, do you have something to detect it?"

Howard nodded, however it took him a second to realize Parsons couldn't see the nod, "Yes, standby." He had a radiation detector in a pouch on the suit, that he reached into and hit the switch, then turning in a 360 degree circle watching the display in his helmet to see the readings. "That way." Howard pointed to Parsons.

It was actually anti-climatic, they found the secure room and blew the doors open, the SEALs taking out the two guards and officer inside, quickly and efficiently. The warhead was heavy, but Howard picked it up and held it under his arm, the weight meaning nothing to the suit. The SEALs then surrounded Howard and they all moved as fast as they could back up the stairs, to the outside, only stopping a few seconds to drop about a dozen grenades down the stair well when a few shots came up towards them.

Once outside the facility, Parsons immediately sent the pickup order to the waiting helicopters, which had landed a few miles away waiting for Parsons message. Even though they had the warhead and the mission was a success, the SEALs were trained professionals and never let their guard down until they were back on home base, but Howard relaxed a little. He had the warhead under his arm and soon they would be picked up and going home, it actually brought a small smile to his face, as he walked away from the facility, with the SEALs, to the designated landing zone.