Chopper Ops by Mack Maloney Read Free Book Online Page A

wind blew hotter, but still they could not see a living soul anywhere. They were both wearing their heavy thermo-wear arctic flight suits and they were beginning to broil in them.
    "Let's get out of the sun at least," Ricco finally said.
    They began walking. The first building they reached was the restaurant. They stopped at the front door and listened. Voices . . . They could hear a group of people talking inside. Or at least they thought they could. Gillis tried the door, but it was it locked. They both pounded on it for almost a minute, but no one answered. Then they listened again, but the voices had gone away.
    Next, they walked to the boat slips, but no one was there either. Then they walked back to the section of the base where the three hangars were located. The stink of aviation fuel was thick there. But all three buildings were locked up tight as well.
    "OK, I give up. Where the hell is everybody?" Ricco cursed.
    "Still asleep?" Gillis replied wearily. "Like I want to be?"
    They finally reached the pair of motel-type buildings. With their long sloping roofs and logwood ranch construction, the buildings looked like they'd be more at home out West somewhere, maybe in Arizona or Montana. They seemed very out-of-place here in the Caribbean.
    Both pilots were drenched in sweat by this time. They were tired, hungry, more than a little confused by their long flight to nowhere. Ricco took a deep breath and tried the front door of the first building.
    It was unlocked.
    "Hallelujah," he grumbled. "At least we can get out of this heat."
    They walked into the one-story building and were surprised to find it was dark inside—and very spare. It appeared to be a barracks of some kind, or more accurately, a cross between a boot camp and a prison. There were two dozen bunks lined up perfectly along one wall; that was the extent of the building's contents. There were many windows, but just one door at each end of the building. Everything looked old, yet smelled of freshly cut wood. In many ways, the outside of the building didn't match up at all with the inside.
    "What the hell is this place?" Ricco asked. "A movie set?"
    Gillis just dropped his bag and groaned.
    "I don't care," he said. "If it's a place to lay my head, then its home."
    Not counting the bumpy ride down there, neither of them had slept much in the forty-eight hours since receiving their new orders. The odd surroundings were doing nothing to dispel the sleepy notions. So Gillis walked over to the first bunk and collapsed on top of it. Ricco selected the bunk next to him and did the same.
    They were both quiet for a few minutes, drifting in and out of sleep. Finally Gillis broke the silence.
    "Hell, you know, there's a chance we might be looking at something pretty good here," he sighed. "A couple weeks in the sun wouldn't hurt me any."
    "Same here," Ricco replied sleepily.
    Yet no sooner had they both drifted off again when they were awakened by a huge crash. This was followed by a flash of light so bright, it blinded them both. Then they heard shouting, and the sound of glass breaking and doors being kicked in.
    "Jessuz! What the fuck? " Gillis yelled, nearly falling off his bunk.
    Suddenly the building was full of armed men. They were coming through the doors, through the windows, falling from the ceiling. They were soldiers, in full combat gear, from shielded Fritz helmets to gas masks to ammo belts and flash grenades. They were running up and down the room, expertly "clearing it" as if they'd done it a hundred times before. In seconds, many very nasty-looking machine guns were pointing at Ricco and Gillis.
    The two pilots were terrified. Several soldiers picked them up and hurled them to the floor, their gun barrels jammed to the backs of the pilots' necks. Both pilots were certain now that they had landed somewhere other than the U.S. and that they were about to be shot to death. Ricco cried out. On his lips was one last curse for Norton and Delaney.
    "Those