Meltdown

The Russian was up in an instant.

Bolan heard the rumble before he noticed the hole opening in the earth in front of him. He dived to one side just as a deep chasm opened in the snow. The rushing torrent underground had been too much for the tu

While Bolan watched helplessly, Glinkov climbed into the chopper. The Executioner cursed. The man was getting away. He fired twice. The first slug bounced harmlessly off the chopper's fuselage, the second flattened against the bulletproof glass of the cockpit.

Eli and Rachel had caught up to him. Eli hit the ground, hauling Rachel down with him. The chopper's engine roared as its gun pods rotated, seeking them out. There was a burst of fire, and the earth exploded around the three warriors.

"Holy shit," Eli whispered when the firing stopped. "What the hell is that?"

"That's a 30 mm ca

"Damn. We're in for it now."

"We can't let him get away," Rachel cried. "Anybody got an idea?"

Another surge of ca

"Why the hell isn't he taking off?" Eli asked.

The shadows in the cockpit were stationary for a moment, then changed places. The chopper lifted off sluggishly. Glinkov was inexperienced, at least with the Cobra. At a height of fifty feet, the chopper spun on its axis. Bolan stood helplessly. But the helicopter wasn't going anywhere. With a roar, it loosened a salvo of rockets. The three warriors on the ground watched as the missiles crashed into the containment building near its curved peak. The roar was deafening.

The top of the building disappeared in a shower of flame and smoke. The ground trembled. But the concrete held. Four feet thick and reinforced with steel, it was built to withstand incredible stress. The machine wobbled under Glinkov's uncertain hand. Again the chopper belched fire, and a second cluster of rockets flew toward the building. But this time the pilot's shaky control was costly. The cluster of rockets sailed past the containment building. They vanished into the trees and exploded harmlessly against the mountainside.

The Cobra descended abruptly. As it touched down, the cockpit door slid open. There was the distant sound of an argument, barely audible over the roar of the chopper's engine. A second later, there was a muffled gunshot, and Peter Achison tumbled out into the snow.

The chopper's engine surged again, the rotor spi

"Eli, don't be an idiot," Rachel said. She jumped to her feet and grabbed Cohen by the arm.

He shook her off and ran toward the chopper. At first Glinkov didn't see him. Eli was counting on the Russian having his hands full controlling the chopper's flight. He dodged back and forth like a halfback in broken field.

Charging straight ahead, Eli tried to draw attention to himself. Bolan saw the ca

It hovered in the air, wobbling like a dead puppet on its last string. The turret swiveled again, this time seeking Bolan. Glinkov seemed uncertain of himself. Cohen was closer, but he knew Bolan was the bigger threat. The first burst of ca

Then, getting control of the machine, Glinkov rose higher. Fifteen feet in the air now, and rising. Eli ran right under it, and out of range of the deadly ca

Pulling the pin on his first grenade, Bolan chucked the M-56 in an arc. It bounced off the fuselage just in front of the air intake and fell into the snow.

Bolan hit the deck as the grenade went off, sending razor-sharp steel fragments whizzing overhead. Glinkov banked the chopper slightly to the left, and Bolan was on his feet. The turret swiveled as the Russian tried to draw a bead on the man below. Bolan pulled the second pin and sprinted straight at the chopper.

The angle was too tight for effective control of the ca

Its engine mangled, the rotor shaft seized and one blade snapped off. The chopper fell like a stone.

Its fuel tank exploded as its nose tipped forward. The ruined machine was consumed in flame for an instant and then fell into the churning maelstrom of radioactive waste. The hiss of the extinguished flame was applause to Bolan's ear. Bolan sprinted to Achison and rolled him over. There was a jagged exit hole where his forehead had been.

Splinters of bone stuck out at odd angles. The gore oozing from the ruined skull had already stained the snow in a small circle around the dead man. Robert Hanley would never know it, but his account had just been closed. Turning back toward the plant, Bolan stood motionless for a long moment.

He didn't want to face Rachel. Eli was dead, he knew. There was no way in hell he could have survived the burst of ca

His head was cradled in her arms, and she was rocking back and forth. She crooned softly, as if to a child.

Bolan knelt beside her. He put his hand on her shoulder. She turned her face toward him for a moment but said nothing. Her face was streaked with blood and tears. Her lips moved spasmodically for an instant, as if she wanted to speak. But when the words didn't come, she turned back to her brother, bending low over the motionless body, and kissed him softly on the forehead.

"Please, go away," she whispered.

Bolan knew he had no choice.