Typhoon Fury (Oregon Files 12)

On the screen transmitting the drone’s camera feed he saw the helicopter exactly where he was expecting to see it.

They must have seen the drone because the minigun began spitting shells directly at the camera. The tiny quadcopter danced around in the air, gracefully evading the rounds.

Although the image of the helicopter bobbed and weaved on the screen, the drone had done its job, giving Juan enough information to target the chopper.

He fired two rockets.

At the same instant, the helicopter banked hard, before the rockets had come out of the smoke screen. Either Locsin or the pilot must have suddenly realized the drone was a prelude to an attack.

The first rocket flew harmlessly past the chopper, missing the fuselage by inches. The second rocket, however, hit the tail rotor, blasting it to pieces.

The helicopter banked crazily to the side as the pilot struggled to keep it from spinning out of control. It flew over them and looked as if it was going to crash into the mountainside, but at the last second it angled over the road and the dissipating smoke screen. It crossed over the landslide that straddled the road two hundred yards behind the PIG and dived out of sight. A moment later, a ball of fire rose above the road, contributing its own black smoke to the haze.

“Looks like you got them,” Eddie said. “Although it might be hard to collect that two million if he’s a crispy critter.”

Juan thought back to the mutant guard who’d attacked him after suffering injuries that should have brought down a rhino.

“Let’s make sure,” Juan said and maneuvered the drone so that he could see past the landslide.

There was the chopper lying on its side, burning. It had just missed obliterating the Humvee that idled nearby. Two men lay in the road. They must have jumped out of the helicopter just before it landed.

Juan got the drone closer and saw that one of the men was Locsin. He was on his back, one pant leg on fire. But, to Juan’s amazement, he wasn’t dead. As Juan watched, Locsin sat up as if he’d simply been taking a nap and patted out the flames with his hand.

The other man, who Juan could now see was Tagaan, also rose. Neither of them seemed particularly concerned about surviving a helicopter crash and explosion. Locsin stood up and shouted orders to the guards in the Humvee, pointing back the way they’d come.

“What do we need to kill these guys?” Eddie asked, incredulous. “Silver bullets?”

“I hope it’s not kryptonite,” Juan said. “Because the last time I checked, we were fresh out.”

Before Locsin got into the Humvee to leave, he turned to face the quadcopter hovering above them. He said something and held out his hand. One of the guards gave him a pistol.

Without pausing, Locsin aimed it at the drone and fired. His aim was better than the guy on the minigun, because he hit it with his fourth shot. The camera feed winked out.

“Lucky shot,” Eddie said.

“Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good,” Juan said. “But he might be both.”

The last remnants of smoke cleared, and it was obvious that the landslide would keep them from pursuing Locsin.

“I suppose it’s time to alert the authorities to seize Locsin’s compound,” Juan said.

Eddie pointed to the dashboard. “Since we didn’t have time to recall the observation drone before our little road trip, it’s still circling the buildings.” Sure enough, the video feed was still coming in sharp. “It should be able to remain on station for at least a few more hours in low-power mode. If we’re the lucky ones this time, we’ll see Locsin returning to the base, and we can call in the Philippine Special Action Force to take him down.”

It was as if Locsin had heard them. The main building on-screen erupted in a massive explosion, followed in quick succession by all the other buildings in the compound. Within seconds, there was nothing left except the burning hulks of the structures. Locsin must have preset the explosives for just such an eventuality.

Juan cocked an eye at Eddie. “You were saying about us being lucky?”

“I did say if.”

A bus was approaching them, slowing as the driver saw the landslide blocking the road and smoke curling up from the helicopter wreckage.

Juan nodded at the bus, which began disgorging curious onlookers, and said, “Let’s get out of here before we have to answer awkward questions.”

Eddie eased the PIG around and moved off at a leisurely pace to avoid further damage to the remaining rear tires. Once they put some distance between them and the helicopter wreck, they’d check the extent of the tire damage.

Juan turned in his seat and saw that Raven was bandaging up Mel Ocampo’s arm. Beth and the rest of the passengers looked dazed from the action.

“How’s his injury?” Juan asked.