PARADOX - Chapter 47

Chapter 47

May 10, 2012 – Near Isla Wikham in the Tierra del Fuego - Chile



“Will you tell the man to slow down?” The rapid Spanish being thrown at him exasperated Chester. “Just the facts, not how hot or cold his wife is or how big a fish he caught.”

“The man and his brother say they see a round flying object go into this lake many times,” replied the Chilean soldier. “It goes in and many days later, it come back out.”

“Ask him how big it was, what color, any noise, anything else he can tell us about it.”

The soldier spoke again with the fisherman, who returned with another round of rapid Spanish. He jesticulated with his arms, his eyes shining, and he had white spittal at one corner of his mouth. His brother and half a dozen other fishermen standing at his side were pumping their heads up and down in agreement.

“He say the thing was half the size of football field,” the soldier translated. “He could no see color because it kept changing, but there was a whining sound not easy to hear. His friends and family they agree with him.”

“Why didn’t they report it to the police, especially if it has happened so often?”

“I asked him before Colonel. He say they many times report it but the policia think they loco. They say he drink too much and see things that not there.”

Typical bureaucratice response, Chester thought.

“According to our information this man, in fact, most of them are illiterate,” Dorbec added. “Nor do they have telvision. It’s not as if they watch or read about UFO’s or flying saucers on a daily basis. I think they are sincere in what they have seen.”

“That’s what we’re here to find out?” Chester turned and headed for the Zodiak. It was a Combat Rubber Raiding/Reconnaissance Craft, CRRC, borrowed from the Marine Force Recon unit attached to the Carrier. The CRRC was equipped with a 55 horsepower two-stroke engine with a pumpjet propulsor and could carry six fully equipped commandos in addition to the coxswain and assistant coxswain who sat in the stern and guided the boat. The Coxswain is usually the commander of the Team, but in this case they borrowed a Medic from the navy who was trained on the craft. The Navy and Marine Corps called them Corpsmen instead of Medics.

Chester gave the signal to load up and head out into the lake. The depth of the water dropped immediately. It was also ice cold from constant glacial runoff. For over an hour they ran parallel to the lakeshore looking for any unusual signs. Chester finally ordered them to turn around and move to the center of the area from which the fishermen had allegedly seen the object enter the water.

“You sure you Army pukes know how to use that diving gear?” The Navy Corpsman was curious as to why he had been shanghied to join Army Special Forces.

“Le Légion étrangère.” Dorbec smiled, playing with the Corpsman’s mind. “I am French Foreign Legion, not American Special Forces. I have used this equipment on many occasions even under combat conditons.”

The Corpsman gave Dorbec a dubious grin and spat a large wad of tobacco juice into the water. “That doesn’t make these other men qualified.”

“We wouldn’t be here doing this if we didn’t know what we were doing…Corpsman,” Chester stated, seeking the man’s name.

“Carney sir, John Carney. Petty Officer First, and I’ll take your word for it.”

“We have a Carney on our Special Ops Team,” Chester returned. “Kenny Carney, our Scout. Any possible relation?”

The Corpsman grinned back. “Hell. We have an entire county of Carneys in Ireland. Course most of them ain’t related. I guess somewhere along the line one of his ancestors laid one of mine, or vice-versa.”

“You’ll do,” Chester smiled and spat into his facemask. He and Dorbec had opted to take the first run into the frigid water.

Not only was the water cold as ice it was also crystal clear. Chester could see for a long distance into the darkening depths. He and Dorbec allowed themselves a maximum depth of two hundred feet and no longer than half an hour submerged then Lars and Claude would take a turn. It would not take long for hypothermia to set in even with their wetsuits protecting them.

Almost at the limit of their depth, they had to swim out to avoid a large overhanging shelf of rock. As they passed the end of the overhang it curled back in on itself and a gigantic opening spiraled down at an angle into the depths of the mountain. The opening resembled the mouth of a watery volcano. They could see nothing but darkness as the tunnel faded out of sight. Chester signaled for Dorbec to head for the surface. It would be impossible to explore the depths of the huge opening with the light gear they had with them.

They broke the surface at the same time.

“One thing for sure,” Chester coughed water from his nose. “That opening is big enough to swallow a sub and there’s no way we can explore it without one.”

Dorbec agreed and raised his arm to signal for the Zodiac to pick them up. “It may simply be a natural cavern left by volcanic activity,” he stated. “It’s large enough for a very big craft to enter though.”

Back on board the Zodiac, Oddball was waving his hands back and forth and pointing out into the lake. From their low vantagepoint in the water Chester and Dorbec could see very little in the distance. As soon as the Zodiac pulled up next to them Oddball yelled. “We’ve got company coming!” Lars and Claude helped them into the boat.

“Three boats.” Chester handed the binoculars to Dorbec. “Chilean military?” he mused.

“Anything on the radio?” Dorbec turned to The Geek.

“Nothing.”

Chester’s sixth sense told him that things weren’t quite right. The Chilean military had been very cooperative and the lack of communication portended unusual activity. “Get us back to shore,” he addressed Carney.

As soon as the Zodiac powered up and headed for shore, a hail of waterspouts sprang up around the boat, followed in the distance by the echoing noise of automatic weapons fire. Chester was pleased to see that no one returned fire, it would be a waste of ammunition considering the distances between them and the approaching boats.

Carney threw the Zodiac into a zig-zag course at top speed towards a small rocky channel. Waterspouts were still erupting around the boat as they turned sharply into the channel. They could see rock chips flying off the granite walls and quickly made for a hasty landing spot hidden behind the small peninsula.

As soon as the Zodiac hit the small muddy beach they grabbed their weapons and gear and raced for cover amid the jagged bolders and crevaces. Chester pointed to a spot at a higher elevation, which would afford them a view of the enemy craft approaching on the other side of the peninsula.

As soon as they reached the heights they could see the three boats had fanned out and two were making a beeline for shore. Their intent was to flank Chester’s Team on two sides while laying down a covering fire from the one remaining boat on the lake.

Chester signaled for his men to open fire on the enemy boat now within striking range. Oddball and the two legionnaires begin to pour three round bursts into the circling craft. The distance was still far enough away that their rounds had little effect on the fast moving boat.

The rocky terrain around them was rugged with plenty of cover and concealment. It was not an ideal place to fight from because the enemy also had plenty of cover and concealment. The two boats that had landed were packed with at least a dozen men each, which meant that Chester’s Team of seven was facing at least tweny-four commandos.

Chester could see happy grins on the faces of Lars and Claude. They were in their element doing what they were trained to do. Oddball had a similar smile on his scraggly face, while the Navy Corpsman was shaking his head wondering just what in hell he’d gotten himself into. The Geek calmly held a laptop and was tied into a military satellite. He was obviously trying to bring up a realtime satellite image of their location.

Suddenly, mortar rounds started falling all around them. Pieces of jagged schrapnel were hitting the rocks with davastating effect, sending hot screaming schrapnel in all directions. Instinct told them to hunker down to avoid this deadly rain of searing metal fragments but training told them that the enemy was using this barrage to work their way nearer their position.

The mortar barrage stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Their ears were ringing from concussion and most of them had small schrapnel cuts on their bodies and equipment. A bullhorn suddenly punctured the silence.

“Throw down your weapons and stand up!”

Chester glanced at Dorbec who shook his head in a determined no.

“We have flame throwers and men within range of your position,” the voice continued. “I understand that being burned alive is a terrible way to die. I will not waste the lives of my men assaulting your position. Surrender or burn.”

Chester could tell from the commanding tone of the man’s voice that he meant exactly what he said. He had no idea who the attackers were or even why they had been attacked in the first place. He would not sacrafice his Team’s lives for no reason.

“Throw your weapons down and stand up? Chester commanded. Dorbec and his men did not like the order, but obeyed. “I’ll never go out without taking some of the bastards with me,” Chester smiled at Dorbec. “I figure today’s odds of heading to hell empty handed is not worth it. Better to fight another day.”

“Move to the top of the ridge!” the voice demanded. “In single file.”

As soon as they assembled in a tight group in a small open area, the attackers stood. Two men were no more than twenty meters away holding flame-throwers. The remaining enemy was scattered in a semi circle around them. A tall, muscular and commanding man walked forward holding the bullhorn. Chester and Dorbec instantly knew that he was a Special Forces Commando, like themselves. His face radiated character and authority.

“I do not like butchering unarmed warriors,” the man stated. “But, my orders are to eliminate you. I will give you a last request before I carry out the order.”

Their defiant looks told him that no last request was needed.

“Bishop Kahn!”

A loud voice interrupted the uncomfortable silence. The commanding figure turned in the direction of the voice. The voice sounded familiar to Chester.

“A change of plans,” the voice called, heading in their direction. “Evidently one or more of them is needed. Their lives are to be spared, for the moment.”

As soon as the last word was spoken, Cencio walked into view from behind a rock outcropping.