Page 123 of Dead Fall

As Hookah went down, a gigantic, baldheaded monster of a man came barreling into the room. It was the man the Ravens called the Colonel. He had been shot several times, yet, undeterred, was charging right at him.

Harvath didn’t have time to gain control of his rifle or draw his Glock. The man was almost on top of him.

Adjusting his knife, he leapt up and drove the blade as far as he could into the monster’s stomach. Then, with all his strength, he ripped the blade as far as he could to the left.

The gash was enormous, and the man’s blood and bowels began pouring out of his body.

He must have been hopped up on some sort of drugs, as the damage didn’t seem to affect him at all.

Landing on top of Harvath, he rained down blows—his massive fists crashing into Harvath’s helmet like sledgehammers.

Harvath tried to get out from under the man, but it was nearly impossible. He must have weighed more than three hundred pounds, all of it muscle.

Reaching up with his free hand, Harvath punched the man over and over again in the face, breaking his nose and shattering one of his orbital sockets.

When the man shifted to readjust his attack, Harvath kneed him as hard as he could in the groin.

It seemed to catch the monster off guard, some modicum of pain finally registering in his brain, but as he bent forward, he brought his massive fist crashing into Harvath’s jaw.

He felt the blow from his teeth all the way down to his toenails. He alsosaw stars—and it wasn’t just because his night-vision goggles had taken such a beating. One more solid hit like that and Harvath was done for.

Planting his feet, Harvath surged with all his strength, trying to roll or throw the ogre to the side. No dice. The guy was just too big.

As the man drew back his fist for another strike, Harvath plunged the knife and his entire forearm into the giant’s gut and drove the tip of the blade straight up into his heart. Confident he had found his mark, he twisted the blade, ripping it through the rest of the organ, causing as much damage as possible.

When the monster’s fist dropped, Harvath once again planted his boots, and this time successfully knocked him over.

The Colonel landed with a wall-shaking thud and his head slammed against the floor.

His hand slick with blood, Harvath pulled his Glock, rolled over, and placed it beneath the man’s chin. He felt for a pulse, but the man was dead.

Getting to his feet, he went to check on Hookah. Miraculously, he was still alive. He had taken one round, maybe more, to the head and face, but his helmet and shattered night-vision goggles had saved him. It had been enough to knock him over, and he was bleeding, but he was going to make it.

Harvath was about to help him to his feet when Krueger’s voice came over the radio.

“The Ravens are getting in their vehicles,” he said. “I think they’re about to abandon ship.”

“Roger that,” said Harvath. “Stay with the package.”

He didn’t want anything happening to Anna Royko. But by the same token, he would be damned if he was going to let the rest of the Russians escape.

Handing Hookah his Glock, he told him to keep an eye on the little girls and that he would be right back.

Stepping over the gun the Colonel must have dropped when he got shot, Harvath slipped into the hallway and, weapon up, headed for the stairs.

“Coming out,” he radioed when he got to the main front door.

When Krueger had confirmed the message, Harvath stepped into the courtyard and ran toward the main gate of the fortress.

Breaking a pane of glass on the locked gatehouse door, he stuck his arm through and opened it from the inside.

Once he’d gained access, he ran his hand beneath the counter until he found what he was looking for.

Out the window, he could see the remaining Ravens, their headlights full and bright, as they fled.

Flipping up the safety covers of the detonators, he then activated the chains of MON-200 antipersonnel devices running up and down both sides of the road, barbecuing the last of the mercenaries.

As the thunderous roar of the explosions drifted away and the charred vehicles burned, Harvath had done his job. Anna Royko had been rescued and the Ravens were no more.