Battle Beneath the Earth Page #4

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"The barn doors"?

Oh, do not bother yourself.

An American expression.

I shall be with Dr. Kengh

Lee at the advance base.

You know, in a way, we've

gotta hand it to them.

They've completely undercut

our military power.

- Yes, and created a stalemate.

- That's right.

Well, you can see

what they've done.

Three separate tunnel complexes.

The first, running into Texas...

...under our space center and

the big aircraft plants.

Second, cutting through

our population centers.

And the third, snaking north

under our missile sites.

And the big Air Defense

Command Center...

...that cost a billion dollars

to carve into the rocks.

And they're just sitting there

waiting to press the button.

And if we don't find an answer soon,

we can write off the entire country.

Brandy?

Courvoisier in coffee?

Why not?

You know...

...perhaps it's a mistake to assume

that they already have the bombs.

That's one hell

of an assumption.

Yeah, but suppose the bombs

we've already destroyed...

...were the heart

of their offensive.

Well, they'd be desperate to get

replacements back into the tunnels.

Yeah, and forget our

dangers for a moment.

Put yourself in their position.

Consider their lifeline.

One long slender thread

under the Pacific.

That could be their big mistake.

You all right, Jon? Rough?

We lost most of the team.

I'm sorry.

What you say about their supply line

is exactly what we've been working on.

Now, this report, just

received from Hawaii...

...reveals the existence of

a deep volcano, inactive.

An expeditionary force going in

here could cut their jugular.

But how could we reach it?

With our own tunnel borer.

Kramer?

Uh-huh. He's just about

performed a miracle.

I'll show you.

It's not as sophisticated as their machines

but it works. It works damned well.

All right, let's get comfortable. We have

a lot of work to do before the morning.

- Welcome to Hawaii.

- How's it going?

I just left the general staff

meeting. Everything's set.

- And the backup troops?

- Standing by to follow our probe.

Oh, I'm sorry. This is Miss Yung

from the University of Hawaii.

- How do you do?

- Miss Yung is an expert potholer...

...or spelunker, if you wish.

She's a top authority

on volcanic passages.

- Does she know what we're up against?

- I'm fully aware, commander.

We've got the borer unloaded.

Where do you want it?

- Let's get it down in the hole immediately.

- Right.

Kelly, bring her through.

We continue north through

here as far as it goes.

How long will that take?

Another six hours, at least.

Well, it ends here, all right.

I read 325 degrees to intercept.

I make it 330.

All right.

Okay, let's have

the borer up here.

- Ready?

- Yes, it's all yours.

Switch on.

More power.

Increase to phase

five intensity.

Cut the lasers!

We're too close.

Reverse about two feet...

...and hold it.

Switch on.

Phase seven intensity.

And watch your temperatures.

We don't wanna reach critical.

Cut the lasers!

Watch it.

Careful, that's hot.

Look what's ahead.

Fabulous.

Mulberry, I think we're

close, very close.

Split up the men. Check these passages.

One of them should go where we wanna go.

Right. Sergeant Mulberry,

take Kennedy, scout the left.

Bronsky, Hoffman, check straight ahead.

Wilson, Williams, check the left.

Sellack, come with me.

- Cigarette?

- Thanks.

How long have you

been exploring caves?

Oh, about 11 years.

I come from a family of potholers. My

father believed in starting us young.

- What do you do at the university?

- I'm a geologist.

We're very glad that you

could come along with us.

Jon, what happens when

we find their tunnel?

We destroy it.

But how?

I'll show you. Come with me.

With this.

It's an atom bomb, 10 megatons.

Assembled especially

for the job.

We've found the passage.

It's a dead end but it should lead us

right up against the Chinese tunnel.

- All right, let's get the borer in.

- Right.

Bring her through, Laski.

Increase to phase seven.

Petrified silica. Switch off.

- Can't we shift to another location?

- Where?

Besides, we'd lose

too much time.

Okay, I'll try again. Switch on.

Increase to phase nine. Slowly.

Phase 10.

- It burnt out.

- Can't we repair it?

Not a chance.

Well, we've finally

got a lead on them.

- Do you recall this medallion?

- Yeah.

Well, it's an ancient

emblem of the Lu warlords.

Going back as far as

the Ming Dynasty.

And there's a direct descendant.

- General Chan Lu.

- Chan Lu?

- Well, wasn't he purged?

- We thought so.

But now we've got reliable word that he

broke away from the central government...

...organized a private army...

...and took over the plutonium plants

he was supposed to be guarding.

Well, how can he get

away with that?

He has.

He's a very important man.

A veteran of the Long March.

Our guess is that he's got a couple of

bombs sitting under Peking right now.

So nobody dares

move against him?

Nobody, not even us.

Come on, Wilson.

What do you think this

is, a poker game?

Put your backs into it.

That rock's almost as tough

as the petrified stuff.

- Jon, I'm sorry about the borer.

- Oh, relax, it wasn't your fault.

I've been thinking, suppose we

missed something back there.

Such as?

A direct route to their tunnel.

Yeah, but we checked

the cavern thoroughly.

We moved through awfully fast.

Major, I've been at this

underground game for years.

I've got a feeling, a hunch,

there is a way through.

You'll be digging here for days.

All right, Arnold, it's worth a

try. We'll get a scouting party.

Just two. I wanna

travel fast and light.

I'll come with you. Ryan.

This could be it.

Yeah, but can we

find our way back?

Don't worry, I've kept track.

It must be straight ahead.

So, Dr. Kramer, you

are finally awake.

Welcome to our Sub-Pacific

Headquarters.

How did you know I was Dr.

Kramer?

You have told us all

about yourself.

Indeed you have, doctor.

And I sympathize with

your frustrations.

A man of your aptitude should have been

acclaimed by his countrymen long ago.

Tell me, doctor, have you ever

considered changing sides?

It could be most advantageous

to all concerned.

Swimming the Yangtze

does not agree with me.

You do not understand. I

owe nothing to Peking.

Sorry.

I still won't help you.

What a pity.

Ah! Ah!

Permit me to introduce Dr. Arnn.

We have reason to think that our

American friend struggles with...

...shall we say,

subconscious desires.

Subconscious desires

to join our forces.

- But...

- His mind is not free.

Exactly.

Please look at me.

I am your friend.

Remember and think and remember.

I am your friend.

Red is green and green is red.

The East sun rises and

the West is dead.

Red is green and green is red.

The East sun rises and

the West is dead.

Red is green...

...and green is red.

The East sun rises...

...and the West is dead.

Red is green...

...and green is red.

The East sun rises and

the West is dead.

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