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examining the structure, inch by inch, parsing it in every way possible. The clouds had parted, and illumination was good. Not so much as a dog barked.
“Ain’t nobody home down there, Shake,” said Double-Oh after watching for a half hour. “Place is run-down and empty.” Wind had covered up most vehicle tracks, which indicated nothing had been driving around recently, and they could see no footprints.
“Yeah,” said Kyle. “I don’t think we’re going to need to watch this for three days. It feels empty.”
“Spooky,” said Tipp. “So we stay here all day and go in tonight? Why not go in right now and be done with it?”
Swanson shook his head. “We only have a good hour left beforedaybreak. We need to take our time in there. Remember, slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”
“Too risky right now,” added Double-Oh. “I don’t think anyone is down there, but there may be some activity in the area. We’ll watch it all day, then go in as a four-man team tonight. The other four guys will set up a firing position here while we make a thorough snoop.” He found the keypad on his digital communications terminal and typed a message that flashed up on Captain Newman’s DCT. Send Rawls.
Darren Rawls, carrying a heavy machine gun, appeared at the OP in a few minutes as the other three wiggled around to make room for him. He smoothly set up the weapon, which gave the OP more firepower. Then they began a rotation of two men on watch while the other two slept for a few hours. It was going to be a long day in Iran.
With the sun up, they had a clearer view of the surrounding area. A main highway led out of the city, heading northeast, and the road the Marines were watching seemed to be an isolated track that led only to the site. It was about ten miles long. Two guard posts, one a mile from the site and the other near the wire, were abandoned. Not a vehicle came up the road all day.
Rick Newman crawled to the OP as the sun started to set and found all four of the men there already wearing their heavy MOPP suits, except for the hoods and masks. He agreed to accelerate the mission by a day and went back to bring forward his other Marines and do a communications update. The helicopter was scheduled for 0400.
Swanson, Double-Oh, Joe Tipp, and Rawls hurried through the open gate and stacked beside the gaping entrance to the building, then plunged through as a group. They did a hasty search and clear of the small layout, and Kyle read the dials: nothing dangerous. Their flashlights, however, scanned the walls in four bright circles, and the evidence of a recent fire was clearly visible. Kyle reached out a finger and swiped a path through a deep layer of soot.
A freight elevator was in one corner at the edge of an exterior loadingdock, and a broad staircase led down into darkness. The Marines descended in pairs on each side, and Double-Oh kicked the door at the bottom. It burst open to reveal another empty room, which must have been an office before it was destroyed by fire. Through another door at the rear, and down another staircase, they found the tangled debris of what once had been a laboratory.
While the others stood in protective positions, Kyle waved his wands and sensors throughout the room. Whatever the monster that caused so much destruction was, this was where it was born and probably also was where it died. There was no sign of an accident, so the fire was likely deliberate. Apparently the occupants had thrown in some thermite-style grenades after soaking the place in flammable liquids. Fire is the best way to destroy chemical and biological agents, which vanish in the flash of intense heat. The blackness of the soot was even thicker in the ruined laboratory, and the MOPP booties were almost ankle deep in the stuff. The dials remained steady and harmless.
One more door, one more staircase.
They were far underground now, and since fire burns up, not down, the damage was not as great as on the lower
“Ain’t nobody home down there, Shake,” said Double-Oh after watching for a half hour. “Place is run-down and empty.” Wind had covered up most vehicle tracks, which indicated nothing had been driving around recently, and they could see no footprints.
“Yeah,” said Kyle. “I don’t think we’re going to need to watch this for three days. It feels empty.”
“Spooky,” said Tipp. “So we stay here all day and go in tonight? Why not go in right now and be done with it?”
Swanson shook his head. “We only have a good hour left beforedaybreak. We need to take our time in there. Remember, slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”
“Too risky right now,” added Double-Oh. “I don’t think anyone is down there, but there may be some activity in the area. We’ll watch it all day, then go in as a four-man team tonight. The other four guys will set up a firing position here while we make a thorough snoop.” He found the keypad on his digital communications terminal and typed a message that flashed up on Captain Newman’s DCT. Send Rawls.
Darren Rawls, carrying a heavy machine gun, appeared at the OP in a few minutes as the other three wiggled around to make room for him. He smoothly set up the weapon, which gave the OP more firepower. Then they began a rotation of two men on watch while the other two slept for a few hours. It was going to be a long day in Iran.
With the sun up, they had a clearer view of the surrounding area. A main highway led out of the city, heading northeast, and the road the Marines were watching seemed to be an isolated track that led only to the site. It was about ten miles long. Two guard posts, one a mile from the site and the other near the wire, were abandoned. Not a vehicle came up the road all day.
Rick Newman crawled to the OP as the sun started to set and found all four of the men there already wearing their heavy MOPP suits, except for the hoods and masks. He agreed to accelerate the mission by a day and went back to bring forward his other Marines and do a communications update. The helicopter was scheduled for 0400.
Swanson, Double-Oh, Joe Tipp, and Rawls hurried through the open gate and stacked beside the gaping entrance to the building, then plunged through as a group. They did a hasty search and clear of the small layout, and Kyle read the dials: nothing dangerous. Their flashlights, however, scanned the walls in four bright circles, and the evidence of a recent fire was clearly visible. Kyle reached out a finger and swiped a path through a deep layer of soot.
A freight elevator was in one corner at the edge of an exterior loadingdock, and a broad staircase led down into darkness. The Marines descended in pairs on each side, and Double-Oh kicked the door at the bottom. It burst open to reveal another empty room, which must have been an office before it was destroyed by fire. Through another door at the rear, and down another staircase, they found the tangled debris of what once had been a laboratory.
While the others stood in protective positions, Kyle waved his wands and sensors throughout the room. Whatever the monster that caused so much destruction was, this was where it was born and probably also was where it died. There was no sign of an accident, so the fire was likely deliberate. Apparently the occupants had thrown in some thermite-style grenades after soaking the place in flammable liquids. Fire is the best way to destroy chemical and biological agents, which vanish in the flash of intense heat. The blackness of the soot was even thicker in the ruined laboratory, and the MOPP booties were almost ankle deep in the stuff. The dials remained steady and harmless.
One more door, one more staircase.
They were far underground now, and since fire burns up, not down, the damage was not as great as on the lower
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