Chapter 6 - The Landing That Should Not Have Worked
Sandstone Strip had not handled an aircraft in nine years.
Cracks divided the runway.
Desert brush had pushed through the pavement, and loose debris covered the northern end.
Rachel approached without normal flaps, with unreliable brakes and one engine producing uneven thrust.
The aircraft crossed the threshold too fast.
The right landing gear touched first.
The A-10 bounced.
The left gear collapsed on the second impact.
The wing struck the runway, sending sparks and broken metal across the pavement.
Rachel fought the controls long enough to keep the fuselage from rolling.
The aircraft slid beyond the runway into rough desert ground.
When it stopped, fire had reached the rear fuselage.
Rachel tried to release the harness.
Her injured hand would not cooperate.
Smoke entered the cockpit.
Then figures appeared through the canopy.
Combat medics.
Fire crews.
Colonel Shaw’s emergency team had arrived before the aircraft stopped moving.
They pulled Rachel from the cockpit while firefighters contained the flames around the data systems.
Kessler contacted them during the rescue.
Destroy the aircraft and walk away.
Shaw heard the order.
So did the medics.
So did the rescue technician recording communications through his helmet camera.
The flight-data module was recovered intact.
Inside it were command transmissions, time stamps, and a digital record proving Talon Team’s support was canceled before the ambush began.
Kessler’s voice was clear.
Do not commit additional assets. The canyon must remain contained.
Another transmission followed forty minutes later.
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If Mercer reaches the survivors, divert the extraction until the situation resolves itself.
The situation he wanted resolved was the death of every witness carrying evidence against him.
