The Chosen One by Walt Gragg

Author:Walt Gragg
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2019-11-18T16:00:00+00:00

36

11:15 A.M., OCTOBER 21

BLACKJACK SECTION, FIGHTING SQUADRON VF-57

USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN

NEARING RHODA ISLAND

As the late morning rains withered and the first wisps of sunlight peeked through the clouds, twenty-four exacting Super Hornets rocketed down the Nile.

The city was drawing near.

Blackjack Section, with the farthest to travel, was in the lead. Beneath his mask a smile spread across Bradley Mitchell’s face. This was an exceptionally dangerous, highly arduous task. One demanding the most skilled of the American fliers. And Mitchell’s had been the first name the wing commander called at the early morning briefing. The struggling pilot had done nothing to hide the pride he’d felt in being designated to lead the furious assault.

It was exactly the type of action-laced mission he enjoyed. The coming hour would be filled with tension and significant uncertainty for the members of the advancing force. Mitchell’s every thought would be consumed by the enormity of the swiftly unfolding events. The assignment would require lightning-quick reflexes and split-second decisions. Just the thing to allow him to break free from his essence-consuming funk.

With the storm-induced lull in the attacks upon the Marines, the Americans had been able to focus, at least for a few hours, on another critical component in their defense of Egypt. Before that window closed they needed to strike.

Over the past days, they’d been able to use their carrier-based aircraft to destroy every temporary span the Pan-Arabs built across the Nile. Only a few of the hastily constructed pontoon bridges had survived long enough to be of any use to the Chosen One’s armored forces as they attempted to ford the wide waters. The Hornet pilots’ determined efforts had ensured no more than meager numbers of the Mahdi’s tanks reached the streets of Cairo.

They’d been far less successful, however, in stopping Mourad’s infantry from arriving on the eastern shore. Most of the ardent enemy had traversed the broad currents unopposed. There hadn’t been the time, or the resources, to halt the streams of resolved warriors from setting foot upon the eastern banks. From the northern edge of Cairo to its far southern reaches the agile feluccas had continued to cross the Nile filled with soldiers ready to join in on the visceral attack. If the Americans didn’t soon stop them, their growing numbers would permanently tip the scale in favor of the fanatics.

The outmanned defenders had no choice. They had to eliminate the legion of sailing ships to have any chance of holding on to the city. And they had to do it now.

With Mitchell in the lead, the F-18Es had sprung from the Lincoln intent on doing just that. None would return to the carrier until they had destroyed all the little boats, effectively limiting Mourad’s ability to place additional numbers on the other side. The daunting fighter aircraft would swarm over every inch of the dark waters until not a single sail remained.

Each of the deadly Hornets was configured for an air-to-ground attack. All were armed with pods filled with Hydra and Zuni rockets.

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