The Chimera Vector (The Fifth Column #1)

Chapter 27: Hook Engaged

‘Alpha Zero Two to Whiskey Six Five Zero,’ Nasira said.

Her voice was husky even through Sophia’s flight helmet. The operation currently hinged on her acting ability.

‘We’ll be escorting you to Desecheo Island under terror attack threat level “severe” in this region. Please stand by as we move into position. Over.’

‘Whiskey Six Five Zero to Alpha Zero Two,’ the cargo plane’s pilot said. ‘Standing by. Over.’

Sophia breathed easy. Well, not too easy. The next phase was going to require a little more than acting.

She looked out the window of the helicopter to see the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean collide below, the water’s surface rolling under the three-quarter moon, concealing the five-mile depth below.

Sophia was happy with her team. It was smaller than she would’ve liked, due to time constraints, but the ex-operatives under her command were no less than exceptional. In addition to Nasira, the team included Cassandra and Renée.

Cassandra had been on an operation in Libya when Sophia and Nasira captured and deprogrammed her. She was African American, had brilliantly dark eyes and naturally pentachromatic vision, wore her hair in micro-mini braids, had a flair for explosives and quantum chaos theory, and an impatience bordering on intolerance. Still, she found passion in the Akhana’s crusade.

Sophia had collected Renée in Ireland, which, coincidentally, was also Renée’s background. She had strawberry blonde hair cut short above her frequency sensitive ears. A sliver of Spanish warmed her freckled cheeks.

Only moments ago, Sophia had told her team this was no longer a trial. It was a live op, weapons hot. She hadn’t been able to give them any forewarning because the spy in their midst might very well be a member of her hand-picked team. She hoped that wasn’t the case but she couldn’t rule it out. It wasn’t paranoia, it was common sense. She’d split her team into pairs so no one would be alone. Lucia accompanied Nasira in the cockpit, while Cassandra and Renée controlled the winch.

Nasira was piloting a heavily modified Hughes OH-6A light helicopter, pulled right out of the early 1970s. They’d done what they could to make it airworthy: modified the main and tail rotors so they spun at a lower rate; altered the tips of the main blades, added an additional rotor blade; installed a large muffler on the rear fuselage, and even a baffle to block noise slipping out of the air intake.

Through her helmet visor, Sophia had a visual on the cargo plane.

‘Five Zero,’ Nasira said, ‘bring your speed back to niner zero and descend to flight level one zero. Over.’

There was a pause, then an uncertain, ‘Alpha Zero Two, copy that. Over.’

Sophia concentrated on her breathing as she waited for their response. If the cargo plane’s crew became suspicious, they’d contact the facility immediately. Then it was up to Lucia to block their outgoing transmissions as fast as possible, and Nasira would need to pull out an Oscar-winning performance and pretend to be the cargo pilot as she explained to Desecheo Island that her distress call was a false alarm.

Sophia didn’t take her eyes off the cargo plane as it descended to 10,000 feet. At this elevation, what she had to do next would be a hell of a lot easier. Easier but definitely not easy.

‘Alpha Zero Two, we’re at flight level one zero and steady. Over,’ the pilot said.

‘Copy that, Five Zero. Over,’ Nasira said.

Ten minutes passed and the aircrew still hadn’t attempted to contact Desecheo Island.

This was it.