按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
Legs flailed backward； losing his balance for a second； before turning his gun back toward the enemy and letting loose with an extended burst of gunfire that would have woken the dead。 In 2。2 seconds thirty rounds were spent and that clip was dry； too。 Mother grabbed him and yanked him out onto the catwalk； away from the tunnel。
Now wounded and dripping with blood； Legs began to fumble with a new clip。 The clip slipped through his bloody fingers and fell out over the railing； dropping fifty feet through the air until it splashed into the pool at the bottom of the station。 At that point； Legs cut his losses； tossed his MP…5； and pulled out his Colt 。45。 Single fire from here。
Schofield and Gant continued to sweep the uppermost deck with their fire。 Gant had watched as Legs's clip dropped all the way down into the pool； had watched as one of the killer whales banked upward to see what it was that had fallen into its domain。
Mother went dry。 She cut the empty clip and reloaded fast。
Schofield watched anxiously as the three of them… Mother； Rebound； and Legs…moved along the catwalk between the west and the north tunnels of B…deck； heading toward the north tunnel。
They were almost there when suddenly Buck Riley burst out from the north tunnel with four civilians in tow behind him。
Right in front of Mother； Rebound； and Legs！
Schofield saw it as it happened and his jaw dropped。
〃Oh； Jesus〃 he breathed。
This was a disaster。 Now four of his people were out in the open； with four innocent civilians！ And any second now the French would appear and cut them to ribbons。
〃Book！ Book！〃 Schofield yelled into his helmet mike。 〃Get out of there！ Get off the catwa…〃
And then it happened and Schofield's horror was plete。
In perfect synchronization； five French mandos burst out onto the B…deck catwalk。
Three from the west tunnel。 Two from the east。
They opened fire without the slightest hesitation。
What happened next happened almost too fast for Schofield to prehend。
The five French mandos on B…deck had just pulled off a perfect pincer maneuver。 They'd flushed Mother； Rebound； and Legs out onto the catwalk and now were about to finish it off by firing upon them from both flanks。
The appearance of Buck Riley and the four civilians was an added bonus。 It obviously hadn't been expected…when they had appeared out on the catwalk； all five of the French soldiers had had their guns firmly trained on Mother； Rebound； and Legs。
As it turned out； however； they never got a chance to turn their fire on Riley and the civilians anyway。
The three French mandos who had emerged from the western tunnel fired first。 White…hot tongues of fire shot out from the muzzles of their guns。
At point…blank range； Legs； Mother； and Rebound were all hit。 Mother in the leg； Rebound in the shoulder。 Legs took the brunt of it…two to the head； four to the chest…his whole body being a shuddering explosion of blood。 He was dead before he hit the ground。
But that was all Schofield saw。
Because that was when it happened。
Schofield watched in amazement as； at the exact moment that the French mandos on the western side of the station fired their rifles； two enormous fingers of fire shot out in both directions from where they stood。
They looked like twin ets。 Two seven…foot…tall balls of fire that rocketed around the circumference of the B…deck catwalk； leaving in their wake a wall of blazing flames。
The whole of the B…deck catwalk disappeared in an instant as the spectacular curtain of flames shot up from every point on the circular metal catwalk； concealing from view everybody who had been standing on the deck。
For a full second Schofield could do nothing but stare。 It had happened so fast。 It was as if somebody had laid down a trail of gasoline on the B…deck catwalk and then lit a match。
Then it clicked and Schofield immediately spun around to face…
…the air…conditioning room。
And in that instant； it all suddenly made sense。
The air…conditioning cylinders had no doubt been substantially damaged by the detonation of the rocket grenade minutes earlier。 Thus punctured； they had immediately started spewing out their store of chlorofluorocarbons。
Highly flammable chlorofluorocarbons。
That was what had happened when Schofield had seen the two…meter length of fire spew forward from the muzzle of Gant's machine pistol only moments earlier。 It had been a warning of things to e。 But at that time the CFCs hadn't yet filled the station。 Hence the small two…meter flame。
But now。。。 now the amount of flammable gas in the station's atmosphere had multiplied considerably。 So much so mat when the French had opened fire on the Marines on B…deck； the whole deck had gone up in flames。
Schofield's eyes widened。
The air…conditioning cylinders were still spewing out CFCs。 Soon the whole station would he contaminated with flammable。。。
The horror of the realization hit Schofield hard。
Wilkes Ice Station had bee a gas oven。
All it needed was one spark； one flame…or one gunshot… and the whole station would spontaneously bust。
Rivets began to pop out of their sockets on B…deck。
Spot fires burned all over the B…deck catwalk。 Agonized screams echoed out across the open space of the ice station as soldiers and civilians alike lay writhing on the catwalk； their bodies alight。
It looked like a scene from Hell itself。
The three French soldiers on the western side of the station…the ones who had opened fire on Mother； Rebound； and Legs…had been the first to go up in flames； the gaseous air around them having been ignited by the white…hot tongues of fire that had burst forth from the muzzles of their guns。
The twin fireballs had immediately shot out from the barrels of their guns。 One had surged forward while the other had turned on them and rushed with all its fury back at their faces。
Now two of those French soldiers lay on the deck； screaming。 The third was frantically banging himself against the ice wall nearby in a desperate attempt to put out the flames on his fatigues。
Mother and Rebound were also on fire。 Beside them； Legs was already dead。 His motionless body lay flat on the catwalk as it was slowly devoured by crackling orange flames。
Over by the north tunnel； Buck Riley was trying to smother the flames on Abby Sinclair's pants by rolling her over on the metal catwalk。 Beside them； Sarah Hensleigh slapped frantically at a cluster of flames that had ignited on the back of Kirsty's bulky pink parka。 Warren Cordon just screamed。 His hair was on fire。
And then； suddenly； there came a sickening sound。 The lurching； wrenching sound of bending steel。
Riley looked up from what he was doing。
〃Oh； no；〃 he moaned。
Schofield also looked up at the sound。
He scanned the catwalk above him and saw a series of triangular steel supports that fastened the underside of the B…deck catwalk to the ice wall。
Slowly； almost imperceptibly； those supports began to slide out from the wall。
Under the intense heat from the fire on B…deck； the long rivets that fastened the supports to the wall were starting to heat u