greater the likelihood that something bad was right around the corner. It was how Murphy worked.
He gripped the rifle a little tighter. In addition to the shotgun lying on his other side, he also had a pistol. Christina had a pistol, too, as well as a rifle.
Doing a quick mental inventory, he tallied up how many frag grenades he had left and then how many rounds of ammunition they had between them.
In the end, he hoped they wouldn’t need any of it, but if they did, he prayed that it would be enough.
CHAPTER 64
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Pavel, the bush pilot, made his money chartering his old plane to anyone capable of paying. Mostly, he flew hunters and fisherman. Occasionally, he got an arctic research team or a group of mining company executives. No matter who the client was, the seats were removable and the cabin could be reconfigured to handle the load.
It was a tight fit, and would be even tighter on the way back with Harvath and the woman, but they had managed to get themselves and all of their gear loaded.
Haney’s concern over the pilot’s drinking remained. Though Aleksi had convinced him to lay off the booze, when he rose to do his preflight check of the aircraft, he didn’t appear to have sobered up much. He probably kept a bottle in his bedroom, the bathroom, or both. In fact, Haney was willing to bet there was one aboard the plane as well.
“Did you remember to pack a parachute?” Staelin joked, as they watched the wobbly pilot walk around the Pilatus, manually testing the flaps and rudder.
“I did,” Barton deadpanned, as he slid past carrying bladders full of fresh water.
Haney chuckled. Sipping on a fresh cup of coffee, he stomped his boots in the snow and tried to warm up. “You ready for this?”
“As ready as I’m going to be,” answered Staelin. “What’s the latest on Harvath?”
“Everything’s on track. NRO is monitoring two dog sleds heading toward the LZ.”
“What about the weather?”
“We’re going to have to move fast,” Haney replied. “The front is already closing in and visibility is dropping.”
Staelin used his chin to gesture toward the pilot. “Can we rely on this guy?”
“Aleksi says yes, but I don’t trust anyone I don’t know. That’s why I’m riding up front with him in the copilot’s seat.”
“Have you ever flown a plane before?”
Haney nodded. “Just haven’t done any takeoffs or landings.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“Relax. We’re going to be fine.”
“I’ll relax when we’ve got Harvath and we’re out of Russia,” Staelin replied. “Speaking of which, what do we know about those mercenaries who are after him?”
“As far as we know, they’re still looking. The last report I received was that the helicopter had landed at Alakurtti for refueling and probably a crew change.”
“So we’ve got no idea if they’ve given up or are still in the hunt?”
“They’re still in the hunt. There are men on the ground at and around the village where the other Mi-8 went down.”
“And our rules of engagement still stand?”
Haney nodded. “They still stand. Weapons free.”
“Roger that. When do you want to do the final briefing?”
Looking at his watch, the team leader said, “Let’s gather everybody up and do it now.”
It took several minutes, but once Staelin had pulled the team together, he handed the floor over to Haney. He reviewed the mission parameters, the rules of engagement, and all the latest intelligence. He then opened it up for questions. There were none.
After a comms check, he gave the team the ten-minute warning and grabbed Aleksi to have a final chat with the pilot.
The Finnish soldier would not be coming with them. His government had forbidden it. They had no desire to be part of an act of war on Russian soil, no matter how justified.
Haney didn’t like not having a translator along. Pavel didn’t speak a word of English. Even though they were asking for trouble, it was the hand they had been dealt. They were lucky the Finns had gone along with them this far. As long as the Russian and his plane could fly, they’d take everything else as it came.
Anxious to be gone before sunrise as well, Aleksi bade the team good fortune, clamped into his bindings, and skied back into the forest toward the border.
As he did, the first flakes of snow from the storm began to fall. Haney and his crew were now on their own.
CHAPTER 65
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ALAKURTTI AIR BASE
With the Wagner disaster, as well as President Peshkov