Rogue Element Read Online Free PDF Page A

on. The three, still strapped in their row of seats, were blown out of the hole in the side of the 747 and into the freezing vacuum of the upper atmosphere.
    There was an explosion followed by a shockwave that rippled down the skin of the plane, and the air turned instantly milky white with mist. Frost glazed the window beside Joe’s face. He was startled, and frightened, but he felt removed from the scene at the same time, as if watching a movie. A roaring sound filled his ears, along with intense pain in his eardrums. The screams were all around him and the loudest of all, he realised, rose from his own throat.
    Raptor saw what appeared to be a group of seats tumble out of the hole in the fuselage, but he wasn’t sure. The jumbo’s wounds now appeared mortal. It was falling away to the right. Slowly at first, then faster. The fall became a plunge. Raptor followed the 747 into the accelerating dive. The two aircraft picked up speed, engine thrust and gravity combining with frightening exuberance.
    The F-16’s altimeter wound down, counting back through the thousands of feet in a matter of seconds.
    Granger and Flemming were checking their instruments, and Rivers was setting up the coordinates of Hasanuddin in the Flight Management Computer, when the second missile hit. The 747 yawed violently with the blow.
    The flight deck instantly filled with mist as the rapid pressure change condensed all the water vapour out of the air. ‘Jesus Christ!’ shouted Granger as warning lights illuminated and flashed, lighting up the panel in front of him like a city after sunset. His ears popped viciously with thesudden change in pressure. The cabin rate-of-climb indicator was racing. A warning horn sounded. Granger hit the Alt Horn Cutout switch to silence it. The air pressure inside the 747 was rapidly equalising with the air pressure outside – at around 30 000 feet, an environment lethal to humans.
    The flight crew immediately fitted their oxygen masks. Granger checked that the breathing system for the flight crew was correctly pressurised, and that the Pass. Oxygen On light was illuminated, indicating that the passengers were also getting theirs. The captain hit the switch that instructed the passengers to fasten their seatbelts. It was an odd thing to do in the circumstances, thought Granger, as if the passengers were all standing around in the aisles, unperturbed and unaware of the current critical situation. But it was procedure and couldn’t be argued with.
    ‘Emergency descent,’ said Flemming loudly, his voice muffled by the oxygen mask. He selected the PA and announced as calmly as he could, ‘This is the captain. Emergency descent.’
    Granger immediately dialled up the frequency for Air Traffic Control to advise them of QF-1’s intention to descend to 3000 metres, and obtain the QNH for the area – the correct local air pressure at sea level that would allow them to rescale their altimeters for an accurate altitude reading.
    He made the call and listened. Nothing. He tried again. Nothing. He checked the communications panel quickly. Jesus! It was completely dead, not even receiving power. They had no communications. They were completely cut off. Adrift. He couldn’t let that distract them so he kept the knowledge to himself.
    Flemming relentlessly continued the checklist for an emergency descent. ‘Engine start switches.’
    The number three engine now had a fire. They shut it down and fired both bottles. Granger, Flemming and Rivers had punishing earaches and stomach cramps from the gases expanding inside them. They were in excruciating pain, as was everyone in the aircraft. At this altitude, their blood was almost at boiling point and there was intense pressure building up in the cavities in their heads. Blood flowed freely from Flemming’s nostrils into his oxygen mask. Start switches for engines one and two were selected to the On position.
    ‘Thrust levers.’ Flemming pulled the levers to the closed