Multiple pings hit the Chinook’s windshield. Which did little damage. The cockpit was impenetrable to rifle fire. However, the irateWoohantawas definitely not in the mood to comply withWolf’s demands. A pity. Plan B would be much more difficult on everyone.
“Is that asshole firing at us?” O’Neill asked, his voice lacking surprise.
“So, it would appear.” Wolf sighed. There went plan A.
“AggressB now in effect.” The pilot said through the comm system as he guided the chopper straight up.
Wolf turned. O’Neill and Aiden had already disappeared back into the cargo hold. Wolf followed, swaying slightly beneath the Chinook’s maneuvering. By the time he arrived at the weapons locker, O’Neill had already opened the equipment cage and removed a tranquilizer gun from the rack. He handed the gun to Aiden. As the most proficient shooter on board, Aiden would target the trawler’s crew, while Simcosky and Winters provided distraction and cover. O’Neill removed the final two tranquilizer guns and handed them to Wolf.
They only had three loaded tranquilizer rifles, so they’d have to reload the rifles for subsequent shots.
Unlike the Harbinger’s crew, the men aboard the Bountiful Harvest showed no signs of bot infection. No aggressive behavior or standing and staring. It was imperative that Wolf check the hold and assess the likelihood that the crew were infected before deciding Bountiful Harvest’s fate. But to see in the hold, the men on board the trawler must be knocked out.
The knockout gas they’d used on Kuznetsov wouldn’t work here. Out in the open, with a heavy breeze, the gas would be swept away.
Which left tranquilizing the crew as their only option. Yet that was problematic too. For one thing, the pitch and roll of the deck would make targeting difficult. Plus, effective tranquilization meant using the proper dosage. And the dosage was determined by the target’s weight. They had no weights on the men below,so they’d have to use the guidelines for a standard human male, which might not correspond to the trawler’s crew.
Wolf took down a pair of binoculars and slipped the strap over his head as O’Neill grabbed a handful of extra darts. Once they’d completed a weapons check on the three tranquilizer guns, and the rifles the former SEALs would be using, they headed for the cargo hold door. Simcosky and Winters were already in position, rifles in hand. They’d act as cover and create a distraction while Aiden targeted the men below.
“In position,” the pilot said through the comm as Aiden harnessed up. As the Chinook settled into space, Aiden and his two former teammates dropped to the floor and eased onto their bellies. Wolf and O’Neill deftly attached the left and right tethers to the three warriors’ harnesses, then stepped back, taking positions on either side of the door.
“Holding position.” The pilot’s laconic voice came over Wolf’s headset.
“Ready for go?” Wolf asked into his mic.
“Ready for go,” Aiden responded immediately.
“Good for go,” Cosky and Winters added.
Wolf dragged back the cargo hold door. The pilot had parked the Chinook slightly above and to the port of the trawler. Even with his eyes flush with the cargo bay door, the crew was visible below.
“Looks like the dosage should be right.” O’Neill’s voice came through Wolf’s headset. He stood on the other side of the door, shielded by its metal frame. “Four of the five targets appear to be on the average side.”
Wolf had noticed this as well. They were due for some luck...perhaps this was it.
Rifles in position, the wind whistling past their helmets, Aiden and his former teammates slid on their abdomens up to the lip of the cargo hold, trusting that their harnesses and tethers wouldhold them inside the craft. Cosky and Winters immediately started shooting.
Crack...crack...crack...crack
A steady barrage of rifle fire whistled above the heads of the crew below.
Crack...crack...crack...crack
The staccato cracks echoed through the cargo bay, deafening even with ear protection on. The sharp, sulfurous smell of spent gunpowder swept over Wolf. He blinked the burn from his eyes and watched the Bountiful Harvest’s crew hit the deck.
Aiden locked onto the exposed neck of one of the deck hands and fired. But the trawler rolled, and the dart sailed over the target’s head. He passed the spent tranquilizer gun to Wolf. Wolf handed him a fresh one and passed the spent rifle to one of his warriors for reload.
The next dart struck true, sinking into the target’s neck.
Pressing the binoculars to his eyes, Wolf watched thewoohantahisjavaaneehad shot frantically claw at the dart in his neck.
Crack...crack...crack...crack
Cosky and Winters’s cover fire continued unabated.
The next dart disappeared into mist as a swell broke over the deck. A third and fourth hit the deck as the boat rolled beneath heavy waves.
“Fuck,” somebody said into the comm. “This is going to take forever.”
