V Plague (Book 11): Merciless Read Online Free PDF Page A

fight against the men restraining her.  Her struggles had diminished some after the second dose, but the Soldiers were still barely able to contain the much smaller woman. 
    “One more,” Blanchard said after five minutes had passed and Katie was still alert and fighting.
    The man gave him a look, but did as he was ordered.  Almost immediately, she ceased battling against the strong hands that held her down.  The ear piercing screams became moans as her chest heaved air in and out.  Within another minute, her head rolled to the side and her eyes closed.  Cautiously, the four Rangers who had restrained her began releasing their grip on her arms and legs.
    “Fuck me, sir.  How much was that?”  Chico asked, rubbing hands that had cramped from grasping Katie’s arm.
    “Three,” Blanchard said, staring down at the unconscious woman.  “Enough for a 600-pound animal.”
    “I believe it,” Drago said, climbing to his feet.  “I couldn’t hold her by myself.  Not without hurting her, anyway.”
    “Get her properly restrained and let’s get out of here,” Blanchard said.
     

4
     
    It took two precious seconds for me to figure out how to turn on the NVGs after my feet left the rear ramp of the crippled plane.  They came on, but all I could see was what I knew was already around me.  Thick clouds. 
    A second later there was a flash of orange light that enveloped me as it lit the clouds, then a shattering explosion as flames found the jet’s fuel tank.  The goggles dimmed automatically, then came back to full intensity as the flare of the blast died out.  Turning my head, I looked around, trying to spot the pilot who had jumped successfully.  All I could see were more clouds.
    How long before me had he gone out of the plane?  My best guess was three seconds, perhaps five at the most.  I kicked myself for not having started counting when he disappeared off the ramp.  And just how high were we?  How long would he fall before opening his chute?
    The clouds I was in meant nothing.  They could have been high or low altitude, or anywhere in between.  About all I knew was that before the pilot threw us into a downward spiral to evade the Navy fighters, we were at cruising altitude, probably about 40,000 feet.  We’d reached the clouds in a hurry, so they had to be fairly high.
    Not too high, I reminded myself.  I was breathing, and though I was very cold, my flesh wasn’t freezing.  I was guessing I’d come out of the plane at no more than 20,000 feet.  That meant I would have a freefall time of over a minute, depending on the position of my body. 
    But what about the pilot?  How long would he fall before opening?  I doubted he had much more than basic jump training.  Just enough to make sure he knew how to control his fall and open his chute.  If he stuck to what he’d been taught, he’d most likely open around 5,000 feet.  And I had to get to him first.
    I emerged from the bottom of the clouds as this last thought went through my head, immediately beginning to search for the pilot.  Finally, after a few seconds of panic, I spotted a shape below and to my front.  I couldn’t even guess how much lower he was.
    Pulling my arms tight along my body, I pressed my legs together and tilted over until I was falling nearly straight down with only a slight angle of descent.  Quickly, the form in my night vision began to grow.  As I got a better look, I could see that the Russian was falling belly down, arms and legs spread to control his speed and prevent spin.
    He continued to appear to draw closer in my field of view.  And I started to worry about something else.  If I came in too fast, I might not be able to slow in time and wind up overshooting my target.  Once I was below him, I was screwed.  There was no way I’d be able to slow my fall enough.  All he’d have to do would be stay belly down until he opened his parachute, then he could dangle in the air and watch me blast a crater