Armageddon

“Not much of a bomber’s better than no bomber at all,” said McKe

Southeastern Brunei

Exact location and time unknown

Mack felt his leg starting to go to sleep. He rose, shook it, and then walked back and forth. The man with the pistol paid no attention to him.

What would happen if he just walked away?

He had started toward the door when the man who had brought him here came in, followed by two others whom Mack had not seen before. The men started talking to the man with the pistol excitedly; they seemed to be arguing.

“Say, uh, you mind if I ask some questions?” said Mack finally.

One of the men gave him a disdainful look, then signaled for the others to go outside.

“Don’t leave on my account,” said Mack, watching them go. He sat back down.

“They’re arguing about what to do,” said one of the women near them.

“You speak English?”

One of the other women reached to stop her but she pushed away, defiant. “They said they would kill us and our children if we spoke. They’ve taken the men who were here. They arrived two days ago. They wore white uniforms until today. Now they seem scared.”

“Where did they take the men?” asked Mack.

The woman said nothing, instead looking toward the door.

The two men Mack had seen before came in. They walked to the nearest woman, yanking her up so ferociously her baby slipped from her hands. They pushed her, not letting her bring the child.

“What the hell?” said Mack as they left. “What the hell?” The answer came a few seconds later, with the muffled crack of a pistol fired into a skull at very close range.

Off the coast of Brunei

1720

Je

The second ship, larger and better armed than the first, was clearly the Kalsamana, an Italian-built corvette obtained only a month ago with her sister ship, the Laksamana. The Kalsamana packed Aspide anti-aircraft missiles and Otomat anti-ship missiles, along with a sixty-two-millimeter ca

“Sergeant Garcia, what do you make of this?” Je

“Maybe they’re looking for those bastards we took care of the other night,” said Garcia. “They claimed they were rebels who had stolen the ship.”

“Maybe we should send the helicopter up, just to get it off the platform so we don’t call attention to ourselves,” said Je

“Let me get Sergeant Liu,” said Bison.

Liu and the helicopter pilot came down and took a look at the screen, staring at it as Je

“The Malaysians are our allies,” said Liu.

“I know,” said Je

“Agreed,” said Liu.

The pilot nodded. “I’ll loop away, then come in from the north, ask them what’s going on.”

“Have you received an update from the base in Malaysia?” asked Liu.

“Colonel Bastian was recovered,” said Je

Liu nodded. They already knew that Merce Alou and Kick had been killed. The helo kicked up above, and the building shook as it took off.

“Ships are probably nothing,” said Liu.

“Probably,” said Je

“I’m going back to my lookout post. We’ll take turns eating at 1800”

“Sounds good to me,” said Garcia.

Just as Liu walked out, the LADS system emitted a loud beep. Je

LAUNCH DETECTED.

“They’ve fired a missile at us!” she yelled, jumping up from her chair.

VII

“ H ANG O N”

Brunei International Airport

1720

THE LARGE RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT LOOKED LIKE AN ANGEL astride the ramp, its wings giant arms that extended over the turf and dirt. Its silver skin gleamed in the low sun, and as he stared at it Sahurah felt himself drawn to the craft, as if beckoned by Allah himself. The throb in his head vanished; the cacophony of the others around him, his assistants and lieutenants with their reports and demands and updates—all faded as he looked at the plane. Truly, God had sent it. Two brothers who were mechanics had come forward from the city to volunteer their knowledge of the aircraft. They had found the fuel tanks nearly filled—the hand of the Lord, obviously. It was the only explanation.

Yayasan and the other pilot would fly the plane. The second man had experience with large jets, including the 737 sitting on the civilian side of the airport. That experience, Yayasan said, would serve him well with the large Russian plane, whose multiple engines and big body made it complicated to fly.

It seemed to Sahurah as he stared at the plane that he could fly it himself. God had sent it for him—to carry him to heaven.

“Commander, the Badger is ready,” said the pilot. “Do we have your permission to take off?”

“I am going with you,” Sahurah told him.

“To survey the city?”

“I am going with you”

“Yes, of course, Commander. Come and let us fly while we have plenty of light.”

Off the coast of Brunei

1722

Je

The Otomat ship-to-ship missiles fired at the platform carried a 210 kilogram warhead, just under five hundred pounds. Developed by the French and Italians, the missile traveled close to the speed of sound; that gave them roughly two minutes to get off the platform and as far away as possible.

Je

“No,” yelled Liu. “He’s going to take on the ships. Come on. We’ll use the boats. This way”

The sergeant pulled her down to the lower deck, and then prodded her toward the ladder. Garcia had reached it already, and with Bison had revved the motor on one of their two Zodiacs. Je

“Down, down!” yelled Liu at her as they flew across the waves. Je

The missiles skimmed over the water on their final approach on the platform. The first soared almost directly over her head. Je

When Je